Supporting professional educators for nearly 30 years.  

ADI is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting and supporting the use of Direct Instruction programs. 

That support includes conferences, publications, on-line networking and assistance, and two semi-annual publications Direct Instruction News and The Journal of Direct Instruction. Local ADI member chapters are forming nationwide and in Canada to offer local support, workshops, discussion groups, and newsletters.

What is Direct Instruction?

Direct Instruction is a curriculum, methodology and delivery system that was developed by Siegfried Engelmann and his associates at the University of Oregon during the nineteen-sixties. Seigfried, originally coming from a background in advertising, wondered why the lessons of communication, deeply studied and applied in business, weren't used in education. The result of his endeavors was Direct Instruction. Since its' inception it has been thoroughly developed, researched, and field-tested. It has proven itself effective for all students, all grade levels, in all settings, when the goal is to create classrooms where students really learn. 

The philosophy of Direct Instruction is essentially simple.  We say in effect, “Kid, it doesn’t matter how miserably your environment has failed to teach you the basic concepts that the average five-year-old has long since mastered. We’re not going to fail you. We’re not going to discriminate against you, or give up on you, regardless of how unready you may be according to traditional standards. We are not going to label you with a handle, such as dyslexic or brain-damaged, and feel that we have now exonerated ourselves from the responsibility of teaching you. We’re not going to punish you by requiring you to do things you can’t do. We’re not going to talk about your difficulties to learn. Rather, we will take you where you are, and we’ll teach you. And the extent to which you fail is our failure, not yours. We will not cop out by saying, “He can’t learn.” Rather, we will say, “I failed to teach him. So I better take a good look at what I did and try to figure out a better way.”

The ADI website features an online storefront where materials can be purchased, a digital library of publications related to the subject of Direct instruction, and an interactive events calendar.   

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Visit the ADI website.