DI Specialists & Programs
Read Write Think is a team of Direct Instruction specialists located in Vaughan, Ontario. We implement DI programs and methods for 1-on-1 tutoring and small group classes. We frequently re-assess DI programs to make sure they are best suited to the student’s needs.
This is an intervention program proven to work best by years of intensive research. Students are prescribed a program after an initial assessment of academic and learning skills.
What is Direct Instruction(DI) method?
The philosophy behind the term Direct Instruction is simple. If the child hasn’t learned, the teacher hasn’t taught. In many aspects, this is a challenging concept to accept. Schools today are overflowing with “student-centered learning”, “holistic education”, “whole language approach”, and “teacher is a facilitator” approaches.
At the same time, nowadays more than ever schools are in need of external help – government funding is needed, more and more children get diagnosed and require great resources for internal and external help, educational technology dominates classrooms, etc. On top, parents get blamed for poor parenting.
Meanwhile, some schools have taken a different approach and proven repeatedly that using the right approach, even the neediest students can succeed. Combining high-pace, immediate teacher feedback, precise examples and instantaneous correction of mistakes, direct instruction is one of the most effective teaching methods today.
DI Programs
Testimonials
Skills Assessment
Take advantage of our free Academic Skills Assessment that we offer for every student. The goal of the assessment is to help us determine your child’s current academic level. After that, we offer a placement into the right program to meet your child’s individual learning needs.
FAQ
We can accompany you to the meeting and help you advocate for your child. Communication between all parties involved cannot be overestimated in helping your child succeed.
Definitely. Any information you have about your child will help us put a proper learning plan in place. Additionally, it will help us save time in getting to know your child’s strengths and needs.
We will meet with your child for an academic assessment aligned with Ontario school expectations. Following that, we will assess which DI program and level is best suited to the student’s current level.
Definitely. Any information you have about your child will help us put a proper learning plan in place. Additionally, it will help us save time in getting to know your child’s strengths and needs.
History & Results
Its creator, Siegfried Engelmann, and his colleagues, have successfully proven, that if applied correctly, DI will improve academic standards and as a result, self-esteem.
There have been many studies related to Direct Instruction, but there is a specific one that parents looking to improve their child’s academic outcome need to be aware of. Project Follow Through began in 1967 and finished in 1977. For 10 years, 200,000 at-risk students in 178 communities in grades K-3 were being evaluated for the most successful intervention approaches.
22 sponsors of different approaches took part in the study. Direct Instruction was one of the sponsors. The project’s only objective was to determine which interventions worked best.
The results of the project were evaluated nine years later. They were loud and clear. Students in DI had placed first in reading, writing, language, math and spelling. No other model came even close. As a bonus, DI students also placed first in self-esteem. Apparently, students who have mastered reading, writing, spelling and math felt better about themselves than those who did not.
Some other studies followed and confirmed the results – Direct Instruction works, bringing gains, gains that stay and persist.
