For this blog post I would like to discuss the direct instruction learning approach and explore its advantages and disadvantages.

What is direct instruction?

The ubiquitous learning environment where a teacher presents explicit information directly to a class. Known for its efficacy, direct instruction is based on the core philosophy that all students can be taught and all teachers can succeed with adequate resources. Normally, teachers would begin with an introduction of the topic for the lesson then slowly unpack the details and demonstrate wherever necessary. Teachers can then guide students through examples and give them opportunities to ask questions about details. It is crucial that the teacher gauges the understanding of students and provides specific feedback.

Advantages

Delivering information directly leaves little room for ambiguity and allows students to have a centralized understanding. Furthermore, teachers can explain concepts quickly and efficiently, minimizing wasted class time. This also applies to scalability, where lesson plans can be copied and repurposed around multiple classrooms creating a standardization of information. For subjects with a strong foundations in theory such as math and science, it is the ideal way to describe concepts. Since students are directly interfacing with the teacher, misconceptions can easily be mitigated through accurate feedback.

Disadvantages

Although direct instruction is efficient, it assumes that students learn information immediately and otherwise expects them to learn outside of class time without the direct support of the teacher. This can create a situation where students are compelled to take note of every detail of the lecture instead of prioritizing their understanding. Critics also point out that while the structured nature of direct instruction ensures consistent delivery of content, it may inadvertently stifle creativity and diminish student engagement by prioritizing memorization and passive learning (Albison, Rumie). This teaching style may not adequately serve students who excel in dynamic, interactive, or inquiry-driven environments. Additionally, direct instruction might not fully address the diverse learning speeds and styles of all students.

Our Topic

This method of instruction aligns great with our topic since many of the facets of computer networks are comprised of simple definitions and diagrams. For example, to explain what DNS (Domain Name Service) is without getting into how it is practically implemented, a professor would simply need to provide a definition and examples of what a domain name is and how it is used to identify ip addresses. However, direct instruction requires the active presence of a teacher, which may be difficult to implement for our online learning resource. Our group will discuss this further.

Reply to Ziming Dong’s blog post:

agarrett

May 26, 2024 at 5:22 pm

I agree that computer science classes like csc 361 require a great deal of self directing learning and existing understanding. I found it difficult to learn exclusively through lecture slides and found myself doing a majority of the learning in tutorials where we were encourage to discuss assignments with peers. I am looking forward to the different approach to learning this course offers.

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