Ch.11 - Curriculum & Instruction

According to Morrison, in his 4th edition of Teaching in America he states:

Nondirect instruction is any form of instruction that is not transmitted
directly to the students by the teacher. The teacher’s role is to structure
opportunities for students to advance their own learning. Thus, nondirect
instruction includes learning that students acquire on their own through
reflection, experimentation, or discovery. It also includes learning that
students acquire through interaction with other students in peer-mediated
instruction, such as group investigation and cooperative learning.

When I get into my classroom I think that I’ll use both direct and nondirect approaches. There will be times when I will tell my students directly what I want them to do but for the most part, I would want them to figure things out for themselves. Once I feel that they’re comfortable working on their own and they’re comfortable with my expectations of them, I would like to focus more on nondirect instruction. I believe the best teachers teach their students to teach themselves! That’s one of my goals for my students.