Welcome to the National Institute for Direct Instruction
The National Institute for Direct Instruction (NIFDI) is the world's foremost Direct Instruction (DI) support provider. This website provides information and resources for administrators, teachers, and parents to help them maximize student achievement through DI. The website also contains information on DI's extensive and broad research base, including a searchable database of more than one hundred article summaries.
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Direct Instruction (DI) programs are based on over 40 years of research on how children learn and the most effective ways to teach. Studies involving DI curricula and its implementation have been conducted with a wide variety of populations, in different settings and within all subject areas related to the programs. As such, the volume of research on DI is expansive. The National Institute for Direct Instruction (NIFDI) makes this extensive research base more accessible to educators and researchers through a free online searchable database of over 200 entries.
Latest News
- NEW! Are you smarter than a BCP 5th grader?
- NEW! Have you found errors in the DI programs?
- NEW! Literature in Reading Mastery Signature Edition Downloadable Booklet Now Available!
- NEW! Engineering Society of Detroit Recommends DI as Remedy for Lack of Early Reading and Math Skills
- Report on the WWC and Its Reviews of DI Programs
- NIFDI and IDEA Public Schools to Present at National Charter School Conference (Updated 4-23-13)
- DI and the Common Core State Standards
- NIFDI Announces Revised DI Research Database
Grade K Reading Mastery Language maximizes vocabulary acquisition through direct teaching of word meanings and word relationships. The daily lessons teach students the words, concepts and statements important to both oral and written language. Grade K focuses on the language of instruction—following directions, answering questions, sentence production, comparatives, classification and if-then reasoning. Grade K Language is appropriate for kindergarten and primary school aged children who have not acquired the language knowledge and skills for their age. It is also appropriate for preschool programs and primary-aged students in bilingual and ELL settings.
Español to English is a program that is designed to help Spanish-speaking students enter and succeed in Signature Grade K Language. It provides initial explanation in Spanish, with the students responding in English, thereby giving them the practice they need to become proficient in speaking English. By the end of the program, all instruction and student responses are in English.
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Video Library
Video Series Available for Training, Coaching and More...All Free!
Visit our Video Library today to view full-length coaching and training videos for FREE! While you're there, check out our latest success stories from schools and from the founder of DI, Siegfried "Zig" Engelmann.
How to Ensure Success
Do you know how to ensure that your school's DI implementation is successful?
The services and implementation materials provided by the National Institute for Direct Instruction (NIFDI) provide schools and districts with a strong basis for implementing the comprehensive Direct Instruction (DI) model successfully with all children. However, a successful implementation requires much more than the services NIFDI provides. What a school does with the services makes the biggest difference.
Find Research on DI
Visit the Research Database Today!
- More than 100 studies featured
- Seach by Year, Author, or Area of Interest
- Each research study is summarized for your convenience!





