Maximizing Academic
Learning Time
Direct Interactive Instruction
Jason Willoughby
jwilloughby@actionlearningsystems.com
Omar Ezzeldine
oezzeldine@actionlearningsystems.com
Liz Steinhart
lsteinhart@actionlearningsytems.com
Keep Connected with ALS
www.actionlearningsystems.com
www.facebook.com/ActionLearning1
Twitter: @Student_Success
High Performing
Districts/Schools Believe:
 All students can learn
 Success breeds success
 We control the conditions of success
What Conditions DO WE Control?
The Focus Principle
Focus on what ALL students should know and be able to do successfully. The focus
of a school includes clearly defined performance standards across the disciplines
and through the grade levels.
The Alignment Principle
Align all programs, practices, procedures, and policies to what we want ALL
students to know and be able to do.
The Expectations Principle
Expectations are high for ALL stakeholders (students, teachers, administrators, staff,
and parents). What we expect, align, and allocate time to is “what we will get.”
The Opportunity Principle
Opportunity for ALL stakeholders (students, teachers, administrators, staff, and
parents) at their highest potential is ensured by schools and districts that provide
increased time, duration, frequency, and access to research-based strategies known
to increase achievement.
Academic Learning Time
Direct Interactive Instruction
Demonstration Lesson
Direct Interactive Instruction
Observations
Standards and
Measurable Objectives
Lesson Structure
and Sequence
Student Engagement,
Feedback, and
Correctives
Proactive Classroom
Management
Standards and
Measurable Objectives
Standard: A standard is a basis of comparison, a reference point against which things
can be evaluated, the ideal in terms of which something can be judged, a widely and
regularly used, public “expectation” that communicates and provides direction to a wide
audience. Standards-level assessment tends to be summative and long-term.
Objective: An objective is a specific, measurable, observable student behavior, the
description of a performance you want learners to be able to exhibit before you consider
them competent, the intended result at the end of a lesson, a unit, a course, or a year of
instruction. Objectives-level assessment tends to be formative and short-term.
Standard = Objective 1 + Objective 2 + Objective 3 = Standard Mastery
Three Essential Features of
a Standard or Objective
Lesson Structure and Sequence
 Standard(s) and Lesson Objective(s)
o Explicitly introduced and clarified
 Connecting To Prior Knowledge
o Students making the connection to new learning
 Input and Model
o “I do, and you watch”
 Structured Practice
o “We do it together”
 Guided Practice
o “You do it, and I support”
 Independent Practice
o “You do it”
 Standard(s) and Lesson Objective(s)
o Revisited and reflected upon
Student Engagement:
Multiple Levels of Communication
Student Engagement: the multiple levels of communication
and the various ways that teachers and students interact
T
TS
T = Teacher
C = Class
TS
TS
G = Small Group
S = Student
S
Lesson Structure and
Engagement Opportunities
Lesson Structure
Standard(s) and Lesson Objective(s)
Connecting to Prior Knowledge
Input and Model
Structured Practice
Guided Practice
Independent Practice
Standard(s) and Lesson Objective(s)
Engagement Opportunities
Student Engagement:
Structured Student Interaction
 Teacher provides prompt/question.
 Teacher tells students how long they have to
think about the question.
 Students think about the topic.
 Teacher provides sentence frames.
 Teacher tells students how long they have to talk
to their partners about the question.
 Students talk to their partners about the topic.
 Teacher monitors student interaction.
 Teacher calls on students to share with class.
 Students share with class in complete
sentences.
Correctives and Feedback
PreCorrectives
Correctives
Feedback
Pre-Correctives
 A caution light to avoid making a mistake on
new learning.
 Teacher analyzes the content and competence of
the lesson and identifies potential student errors/
misunderstandings.
Correctives





When a student gives a response that is incorrect or not
entirely correct
Teacher conducts an error analysis
There are FOUR overarching types of errors that students
can make:
o Motor Error
o Memory Error
o Discrimination Error
o Process Error
Systematic way of correcting the student so that he/she knows
the correct response and why he/she made the error to begin with
Corrective should be immediate, explicit, unambiguous, and targeted to
the student(s)
Explicit Feedback
 Direct and explicit feedback given to student to
reinforce or redirect student learning
 Context-directed feedback to guide process
 Content-directed feedback to guide learning objectives
Proactive Classroom Management
 The momentum of the instruction is forward moving and fastpaced, leaving little opportunity for behavioral interruptions.
 The teacher has a high degree of “withitness.”
 The teacher uses a variety of strategies to limit
behavior issues.
 Minimal “downtime” with smooth transitions.
 Classroom management is positive, preventative, and
embedded within the instruction.
Proactive Classroom Management:
Strategies for Implementation
Strategy
Description
Walk and Talk
Proximity to students is achieved by frequently
and randomly moving around the room
Change-Ups
Constant changing of response modes, input
mode, grouping structure, pacing, tone of voice,
questioning, etc.
Name Dropping
Incorporating the use of names into the
instruction when giving examples or directions
Alerting
Alerting and telling students where they are
currently in their learning process and where
they are going
Evidence
Direct Interactive Instruction
Achievement-Focused Coaching
Organized Abandonment
 What do we STOP doing?
 What do we KEEP doing?
 What do we START doing?
Next Steps