Introduction to Authentic Direct Instruction

Join us for live webinar on Direct Instruction. Seats are limited and registration is required for attendance.

Bryan Wickman

Outreach Director

Bryan has been involved in Direct Instruction for 40 years. Literally starting as a shipping clerk and receptionist at Engelmann-Becker (the development arm of DI) in 1978. From there, he assisted in development, field-testing and production of the Reading Mastery, Connecting Math Concepts, Spelling Mastery and Reasoning and Writing programs as well as many other projects. He was also an “employee on loan” to the Association for Direct Instruction from its infancy in 1981.

In 1995, he moved over to working full time for the Association for Direct Instruction as Executive Director. There, he led the development of open registration event DI trainings, including conferences across the US and Canada. In 2012, he began assisting NIFDI in broadening their outreach activities, such as the National Direct Instruction Training Institute. Through events such as this, educators will have access to quality training and information to assist in their implementation of DI.

Tamara Bressi

Implementation Manager

Tamara is an experienced Direct Instruction (DI) teacher, trainer and coach. She holds a Master of Science in Special Education from the University of Oregon and Oregon teaching certificates for Basic Elementary, preprimary through grade 9 and Standard Handicapped Learner II, preprimary through grade 12. From 1992 to 1998, Tamara was a resource room/self-contained special education teacher in Shasta & Cascade Middle Schools in the Bethel School District in Eugene, Oregon. From 1998 to 2004, Tamara was a 2nd grade teacher at Meadow View School, also in the Bethel School District. While at Meadow View, she served as a Teacher on Special Assignment for the school’s K-3 reading program, with responsibilities of conducting observations of Direct Instruction reading groups, data analysis and curriculum training in addition to her regular teaching assignment.

From 2003 through 2009, Tamara was an Implementation Manager for NIFDI at middle schools and elementary schools in Guam. In 2010, she was Co-Director of Training for NIFDI and in 2012 through 2018 became the Director of Training Development (DOTD). Both positions carried the responsibilities of creating, arranging and evaluating training sessions for teachers, administrators, paraprofessionals and NIFDI consultants. In addition to her current position as an Implementation Manager for 4 schools, Tamara continues to provide DI training to teachers and administrators. Tamara is also one of two trainers for the Academy on Becoming an Effective Direct Instruction Trainer, which is an integral component of the National Direct Instruction Conference held in Eugene, OR.