Direct Interactive Instruction Curriculum Analysis

This paper evaluates the curriculum initiative of Direct Interactive Instruction (DII) and its effectiveness in attaining higher scores on state level assessments in math and English. Clement Middle School took on this challenge in hindsight of the No Child Left Behind Initiative in which closing the gap in levels of student performance was seen as the ultimate tool in combating successful academic outcomes. “Educators are always called to consider something new, something that enables students to participate completely in an evolving world dynamic” (Ornstein & Hunkins, 2013, p. 231). The enactment of DII involved a curriculum design, development, and implementation stage to ensure it was well executed. Moreover, DII has positive and negative facets to its methodology. Introduction Clement Middle School, located in Redlands, California serves a population of nearly eleven hundred students in grades six through eight. The diverse …show more content…
217). For Redlands Unified School District, the implementation of DII began as a district-wide requirement with all elementary grade level students. Additionally, highly qualified teachers were given two year contracts to act as Teacher’s on Assignment (TOA) at each school to design, teach, or co-teach lessons in the classroom. After this two-year trial period, DII was brought to the middle school level. During this time, the beginning stages of DII at Clement Middle School entailed an initial all-day training for English and math teachers. At this professional development day, the philosophy of why DII was an important attribute to use in the delivery of lessons was announced, as well as a binder that included techniques and strategies instructor could use during DII