Studies evaluating the effectiveness of direct instruction curricula and teaching procedures are reviewed and, in some instances, critiqued. The six studies indicate that direct instruction tends to produce higher academic gains for handicapped children than traditional approaches. They also suggest that some of the more subtle principles of direct instruction—such as insistence on complete (rather than partial) mastery of each step in the learning process—are important. The author contends that future research should more carefully measure program implementation and begin to look more precisely at specific instructional variables. Suggestions for appropriate research designs are presented.
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