Is Direct Instruction an Answer to the Right Question?

Kirschner, Sweller, and Clark (2006) Kirschner, P., Sweller, J. and Clark, R. 2006. Why minimal guidance during instruction does not work: An analysis of the failure of constructivist discovery, problem-based, experiential, and inquiry-based teaching. Educational Psychologist., 41: 75–86. [Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar] make a general case for the effectiveness of a teaching method—direct instruction—without reference to any context of what it is that is being taught by whom and to whom. In so doing, they bypass what is arguably the most pressing concern facing educators—not how to teach students but what to teach them. An argument is made for the need to contemplate instructional methods within the broader context of instructional goals.