Explict Direct Instruction tells how to set up a lesson for the best way to make it retainable by students. EDI is a method for delivering lessons within the classroom. Is it new? No. Does it work? Absolutely!

If it isn't new then where did it come from? I can personally trace it back to 1976, when I began teaching.

Madeline Hunter first showed the best way to deliver a lesson. She developed a method that was touted as the most progressive way to provide students with knowledge that would stay with them forever. Her ideas were developed with children's developmental stages in mind. There are common "things" that improve all lesson plans and delivery. Use the link in the sidebar to see what she believed. (1976-1982)

Bloom spun off of this at the same time as Hunter was refining her method. He belived that by using particular questioning styles a teacher could refine the Hunter model. This has borne out filling volumes of research. (1976-2007)

Direct Instruction became the vogue in the early 1990s. It meant that you could and should use any book, text book or classic novel to teach reading or any subject. Thematic Teaching got a great boost from this expoused method of questioning and teaching. (1989-1994)

From these two came the research that expanded their works and made it easier for teachers to use the theories in the classroom. TESA was created. (1994-1998) Look up TESA (Teacher Expectations, Student Acheivement) in the sidebar for a more in-depth view.

Math Matters brought these practices (I can't call them theories because they work!) together to define ways to manage a classroom and write lesson plans. (1999-2006)

Marilyn Tabor took all the theory and created a workable way for teachers to coach other teachers in these Best Practices. Her non-intimidating coaching style allows teachers a chance to help their colleagues Become The Best They Can Be. (2003-2007)

Best Practices became a New Thing in 2004. It never caught on. The business world grabbed a hold on it and is still echoed in some professional settings. But not Education! It reiterated all the previous studies and research.

Now all of this has congealed to become EDI. This is now the next New Thing! It fills a nitch that is needed today. New teachers come into the profession not having been exposed to these techniques. It becomes an "Ah-Ha!" moment for them.