Vocational Schools
D. Assessment and Evaluation
Direct Instruction model emphasizes the importance of compatibility between the testing strategiesand evaluation with specific learning objectives. According to Arends [5] and Nur [12],the use of Direct Instructionmodel is more suited to teach knowledge and skills, therefor there are two kinds of evaluation, thatare written testsof knowledgeand skills to assess declarative knowledge and performance test which assess the development of skills. For example, a test to identify the type of tools for physics practice. This test does not mean students have been able to identify the tools of physical practice, but this information will be known after students had a test of skill by showing the type of tools of physics practice.
VI. THE USE OF DIRECT INSTRUCTION STRATEGIES
Borich [3] stated thatDirect Instruction strategy is suitable to disseminate information that is not in a textbook or workbook of which composition is incomplete. So teachers should segregate, sort out and interpret the material of textbooks and workbooks into a form that is more easily understood by students. If the material has been written, students can learn the material from other sources freely.And
constructivecomments.
The use of direct learning strategies can increase student interest. The teacher direct involvement with the student in presenting the subject matter can provide the necessary humanismelements in learning so that students can actually experience it.
Direct Instructional strategies are used to fundamentallyachieve mastery of the material about facts, rules and sequences of action which is essential for subsequent learning. And it is not appropriate to use if the goal is to not about facts, rules and sequences of behavior because the learning strategies can instantly become more rigid, inefficient and ineffective than the strategy of inquiry or problem- solving [3]. The mastery of basic skills in physics concept allows students to develop further skills in technology applications for other subjects.
The flowchart of Direct Instruction for learning mastery can be seen as the following:
Fig 1.The Flowchart of Direct Instruction [3]
1. Overview of understanding
The overview of understanding in the beginning of learning emphasize on the relationship between lessons so that students can recall their prior knowledge and get new knowledge as a logical development of the content of the material has been mastered. In addition, it is the most efficient and appropriate way to determine the level of student mastery of the initial knowledge to start a new lesson. If students have not mastered the material yet, the teacher can teach it again.
2. Presenting and structuring (compiling)
The presentation of new material is done in small steps.The method of structuring or compiling the materials is done through several ways, for example: from the general to the details, from simple to complex, from the concrete to the abstract.
Borich[3] suggested four ways to organize the content that is relevant to Direct Instruction, namely:
a. Full relationship: Full format is in the form of the most common topic, then the topic is divided into subdivisions that are easily distinguished from the wholerelationship. This arrangement form small parts that can help students to organize the
155 students about the content of the existing parts.
b. Sequential relations: Sequential setting is that the teachers teach the lessonbased on the facts, rules or sequences learned in the real world.
c. Combined relationship (combination): To combine the lesson content is by bringing together the various elements or dimensions that affect the facts, rules and sequences into a single format.
This makes the whole framework steer the content sequencebyshowing the logic of some factscombination, rules and sequences.
d. Comparative relationship: In thearrangementof comparativecontents, the different parts of the content are put side by side so that students can compare and distinguish. The facts, rules and sequences are placedside by side in two or more categories to make students see the similarities and differences.
3. Guided practice / exercises
In Direct Instruction, teachers should provide practical/guided exercises for their students.
Arends [5] explained that activepractices can improve retention, make more automatedlearning, and allow students to transfer learning into a new situation.
There are some principles that teachers can apply:
a. Provide short and meaningful practice: On learning that involves skill, teachers need to provide the students guidance to perform their skills in a short period. If it is a complex skill, teachers should simplify the task since the early stages of learning. Nevertheless,short practice assignments that have been simplified should not deviate from the pattern of overall skill.
b. Provide practice for improving overlearning: The criticalskills to future performance is important to continue until beyond the stage of initial mastery.
A skill can be used effectively in new situationsonly through overlearning and total master.
c. Know the advantages and disadvantages of Sustained Practice and Distributed Practice:
Sustained practice is recommended when the students learn new skills, while distributed practice is reccomended when the students develop the skills already possessed.
d. Pay attention to the early stages of practice: In the early stages of practice, the students want to show their performance. But the students do the practices inappropriately or inadvertently, so it requires special attention from the teacher at this early stage.
4. Checking understanding and providing feedback This phase is a phase of recitation and a very important aspect in the Direct Instruction because teachers provide meaningful feedback to students and knowledge of the learning outcomes so that the practice becomes useless for students. Teachers do feedbacks in various ways, for example: they give the
written comments.
Some guidelines for teachers to provide feedback are as follows:
a. Give feedback as soon as possible after having practice.
b. Give specific feedback.
c. Focus on specific behaviors.
d. Make sure that the feedback in accordance with the stage of student‘sdevelopment.
e. Emphasize onpositive feedback and give feedback on the correct performance.
f. Show the correct procedures when giving negative feedback,
g. Help students to focus on the process, not the result.
h. Teach students to provide feedback themselves and to assess their own performances.
When all the stages of Direct Instructionhave been done and the students still need additional understanding, the teachers must teach them again in the next cycle with several additional studies and more in-depth materialcontent. If it is needed, the teachers givecontinuedpractice and additional feedbacks until the student really understand the material being taught by the teacher.
REFERENCES
[1] Poedjiadi, Anna, Sejarah dan Filsafat Sains. Bandung:
Yayasan Cendrawasih, 1987.
[2] Degeng. Sudana. I Nyoman, Pengorganisasian Pengajaran Berdasarkan Teori Elaborasi dan Pengaruhnya terhadap Perolehan Belajar Informasi Verbal dan Retensi. Disertasi tidak diterbitkan. Malang: Program Pasca Sarjana, Universitas Negeri Malang, 1988.
[3] Borich, Gary. D, Effective Teaching Methods (3rd ed). New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc, 1996.
[4] Joyce, Bruce. & Weil, Marsha. Models of Teaching. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc, 1972.
[5] Arends, Richard I, Learning to Teach. Singapore: McGraw- Hill Higher Education, 2001.
[6] Lindsay, Jeff, What the Data Really Show: Direct Instruction Really Works! Jurnal Policy Research Institute Report, Direct Instruction and the Teaching of Early
Reading, 2004. (Online),
(http://www.JeffLinsay.com/EducData.shtml, diakses 13 Juni 2005).
[7] Kozloff, Martin, Direct Instruction Is Applied Philosophy.
Jurnal Policy Research Institute Report, Direct Instruction and the Teaching of Early Reading, 2004. (Online), (http://people.uncw.edu/kozloffm/ditechprof.htm, diakses 13 Juni 2005).
[8] Ismayati, Euis, Pengembangan Model Pengajaran Conductive untuk Meningkatkan Kemampuan Siswa Berpikir Kritis dan Bekerja Berkolaborasi Pada Pembelajaran Fisika di SMK (SMK Kelompok Teknologi dan Industri Bidang Keahlian , eknik Listrik). Disertasi tidak dipublikasikan. Program Pasca Sarjana Universitas Negeri Malang, 2009.
[9] Dahar, R.W, Teori-teori Belajar. Jakarta: Erlangga, 1996.
[10] Kardi, Soeparman. & Nur, Mohamad, Pengajaran Langsung. Surabaya: University Press, 2004.
[11] Slavin, Robert E, Educational Psychology Theory and Practice, Sixth Edition. Singapore: Allyn and Bacon, 2000.
[12] Nur, Mohamad, Guru yang Berhasil dan Model Pengajaran Langsung. Depdiknas. Dirjendikdasmen. LPMP Jawa Timur, 2005.
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