Apologies for my inactivity. Family and work comittments have been at an all time high and time seems to be set at warp speed! Excuses I know, but valid ones. I am now well behind - but would like to continue to participate as this course is really interesting and worthwhile.
The article for direct instruction is a model that provides a very sensible and logical sequence of lessons. It provides a scaffolded approach to learning new concepts and leads to students ultimately working independently. It is unlikely that students will fall behind in the learning concept being covered using this approach as the teacher is checking each student's understanding at each step. This model has been explicitly being taught to teachers and used in the NZ Maths Curriculum - resulting in students enjoying a higher understanding of maths.
Falling behind can result in a loss of student engagement and this is virtually eliminated using direct instruction. Case in instance is my feeling of falling behind (timewise) in this very course! I feel disempowered and out of touch - not a good feeling! :) Being behind and missing a couple of weeks made me almost want to pull out of the course altogether (loss of engagement). However I will forge on at my own pace hoping that I can work through all the modules even after the course officially finishes.