Ten Instructional Design Efforts to Help Behavior Analysts Take Up the Torch of Direct Instruction
Follow the 10-step Direct Instruction Planning Guide to turn any skill into a tight, generative lesson.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Spencer (2021) wrote a how-to paper. It gives 10 clear steps for building Direct Instruction lessons.
The steps work for any learner. You follow them like a recipe to make teaching faster and more powerful.
What they found
The paper does not give new data. It gives a ready-to-use planning guide.
The guide shows how to pick examples, sequence skills, and check for mastery.
How this fits with other research
Cadette et al. (2016) tested the idea. They used DI steps to teach 'wh-' questions to teens with autism. Most students learned two of three question types.
degli Espinosa (2022) adds a twist. That paper warns that question teaching can create rote answers. It tells you to add extra checks so kids don't just name the object when you ask for its color.
Together, the three papers make a chain. Spencer gives the blueprint, N shows it works with autism, and degli Espinosa tells you how to avoid verbal traps.
Why it matters
You can print the 10-step guide and plug your target skill into it today. Start with step one: write one clear sentence that says exactly what the learner will do. Then pick five practice examples that differ only on the key feature. Your student will learn quicker and use the skill in new places.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Although behavior analysts are trained in discrete trial instruction, other instructional approaches like Direct Instruction are underutilized in behavior analytic practice. Direct Instruction is a specialized technology that capitalizes on sophisticated instructional design and highly effective delivery strategies. What makes Direct Instruction so powerful is that it emphasizes the development of generative repertoires and establishes them efficiently. The purpose of this article is to introduce 10 critical instructional design efforts that behavior analysts can use in their practice, regardless of the population they serve and repertoires they build. The 10 instructional design efforts are summarized in a Direct Instruction Planning Guide. Behavior analysts can follow this sequence of design efforts and refer to the guiding questions as they develop efficient instruction for their learners. In doing so, behavior analysts can take up the torch of Direct Instruction, extend this remarkable instructional approach into their research and practice, and strengthen the behavioral technology available to behavior analytic practitioners.
Behavior Analysis in Practice, 2021 · doi:10.1007/s40617-021-00640-1