As a middle school teacher, I use many teaching strategies. I know that there are many different types of learners and that doing something with newly attained knowledge is the best way to retain it and fully understand it. That being said, I love direct instruction. I realize that I learn best from direct instruction, but I think that more people can learn from direct instruction than they think.

At the Tucson Festival of Books, the main way to transmit information is via direct instruction. People watch music, performances, lectures. Some booths do have activities for people to do, especially Science City. However, the majority of presentations are hour-long lectures given to groups of 30-600 people. If direct instruction is so terrible, why keep using it? I do realize that adults have longer attention spans, but I know that adults learn with as varied strategies as children.

I noticed that the lectures of direct instruction were very well received. Not only did groups of 500+ listen on the edge of their seats for an hour, but they took notes and waited for up to an hour in advance. People enjoyed the presentations, behaved perfectly, and retained information. Now, did I retain as much knowledge simply listening without taking notes? No, probably not. However, I did retain the theme of the lecture, as well as the messages that most resonated with me; the messages that I needed to hear and use at this point in my life.

Another aspect of direct instruction working in this scenario is interest. Anyone can sits through hours of TV or movies, provided that they are interested. I think that is extremely important. At the Tucson Festival of Books, everyone was interested in what they were doing. If I were to change how education works, I would try to revamp the curriculum so it is interest-based.