In Edison schools, direct instruction — explicit teaching combined with skilled questioning and observing to assess student understanding — is an important component of a teacher’s instructional repertoire. Good direct instruction is dynamic and interactive. It is appropriate for large and small groups and is distinguished by a series of steps: demonstration, guided practice, and feedback. Edison teachers know that successful direct instruction engages students as active listeners and participants. So they frame questions not simply to elicit answers but to get students to think, whether responding directly or listening to a classmate’s response.