DISTAR
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[edit] DISTAR (Direct Instructional System for Teaching and Remediation)
[edit] Synonyms
Reading Mastery and Connecting Math Concepts
[edit] Definition
DISTAR is a phonics-based reading program that was developed to help students (from lower income families) who lagged behind their peers in language skills (Sexton 2001). Created by Bereiter and Engelmann in the 1960s, the programs uses direct instruction, high levels of student response, error correction, and other forms of teacher feedback to improve the students’ reading comprehension (Sexton 2001).
[edit] Overview
The curriculum is fast paced with highly structured and scripted reading lesson. The stimulus-response interaction between the teacher and students is extremely important and requires that teachers ask 200-300 questions each day (Palmaffy, 1998). Its tight structure decreases reading/comprehension rate, while increasing accuracy (Sexton 2001). “The reader repeats sentence patterns that are different from those that the reader normally hears and uses. She or he practices using grammar and vocabulary in oral statements. The students receive oral language experience with many of the statement patterns that appear in the books they read�? (Sexton 2001).
[edit] Program Outline
• Lesson plans are scripted, each sequence having little or not variations
• Very quick student-teacher interaction. 100% participation from students
• All mistakes are corrected immediately
• Students work in small groups. Each group is comprised of student at similar reading levels
• Testing and other assessments are frequent
Association for Direct Instruction, 2004
To view short movie clips of DISTAR in action, visit the link below
[edit] Research
[edit] Study A
A study by C. Waynel Sexton (2001)outlined in the Journal of Educational Research set out to determine if the DISTAR reading program was more effective than the basal reading program in improving reading comprehension and "school-based language ability." It was also designed to determine if DISTAR could improve language ability for students who entered school with below average language ability/skills.
Subjects:
80 black first grade student randomly selected from two urban schools
Experimental group (DISTAR)
40 black students, 18 boys and 22 girls
Control Group
40 black students, 15 boys and 25 girls
Procedure
The DISTAR group was given 120 minutes of instruction per day and the control group was instructed using the Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Basal Reading Program (HBJ) for first graders for 125 minutes each day. The control group also received additional language training.
Findings
Language ability was assessed using the Slosson Intelligence Test. The DISTAR group's average score was 9 points higher than the average of the basal group. Additionally, researchers determined that the DISTAR program was just as effective for students who initially had high language ability as it was for students who had low initial language ability.
[edit] Study B
Similarly Kuder(2001) set out to compare the effectiveness of DISTAR compared to basal reader programs. This particular study focused on the effects of the tow programs for children with learning disabilities.
Subjects:
48 students from 3 urban schools All students were identified as learning disabled
Experimental group (DISTAR)
24 students
Control Group (Basal reader)
24 students
Procedure
The DISTAR group received 7 months of training using no additional materials. Students in the basal group also received training for 7 months and their instruction was supplemented with non-basal materials.
Findings
After the first year of testing, no significant differences were found between the two groups on reading grade. In reading subtests, the DISTAR group performed better on word comprehension and "word attack," while the basal group scored better on "letter identification." No statistically significant differences were found between the two groups.
[edit] Reference List
Cole, K.N., Jenkins, J.R., Mills, P.E., and O’Conner, R.E. 1993. Two Approaches to Reading Instruction with Children with Disabilities: Does Program Design Make a Difference? Exceptional Children. Vol. 59: 312-24
Kuder, S.J. 2001. Effectiveness of the DISTAR Reading Program for Children with
Learning Disabilities. Journal of Learning Disabilities. Vol. 23: 69-71
Palmaffy, T. 1998. No Excues: Huston Educator Thaddeus Lott Puts Failing Schools to
Shame. Policy Review. [1]
Sexton, C.W. 2001. Effectiveness of the DISTAR Reading I Program in Developing First
Graders’ Language Skills. Journal of Educational Research. Vol. 82: 291-93
[edit] Testimonials
When I was in third grade my family moved to Ithaca, New York for a year. I was placed in a reading program that used DISTAR to teach reading. It was one of the most miserable experiences of my life. I learned very little from the program and it definitely left a negative feeling in my mind.
Source: Ithaca New York Elemetary Education system.
It seems like DISTAR combines Phonics-based reading with rigid rules to help the instructor implement a tight Socratic Method for teaching and/or correcting children immediately when they make mistakes. Certainly nothing here is really newer than about 500 years old - and I do not think the program should be considered controversial or radical at all.
As a special education teacher, I have utilized DISTAR with some children who experience great difficulty in learning to read with some success. I have a boy who is labelled moderately, mentally impaired and struggled to read the traditional way. I implemented DISTAR and because of the very structured presentation and repetitive nature, he began making strides in the blending of sounds to create words. G. Cabutti
Whether or not you support the use of DISTAR for early literacy instruction, it's worth visiting the web site of Association for Direct Instruction (ADI) at <[2]>. Founded by Zig Engelman, the creator of DISTAR, ADI works to promote use of direct instruction and research on its effectiveness. ADI also creates instruction materials for use in teaching. One of the most interesting parts of the site for some visitors may be the library of video clips of teachers using direct instruction for reading and classroom discipline (see [3]). Also see reading for dummies.
