Welcome back to Progressively Incorrect. I’m your host, Dr. Zach Groshell.
This season, I’ve been diving deeply into writing instruction — what the research actually says, where classroom practice often drifts, and what it truly takes to help students become confident, capable writers. Writing is one of the most cognitively demanding things we ask students to do, and yet instruction can vary dramatically from classroom to classroom.
In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Leslie Laud to explore Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD).
We begin with Leslie’s professional journey and how her work became centered on strengthening writing instruction for students across grade levels. From there, we dig into what SRSD looks like in classroom practice and why it has such a strong evidence base behind it.
A key part of our conversation focuses on Think SRSD, which Leslie clarifies in the episode. We discuss what Think SRSD is, how it supports teachers in implementing SRSD effectively, and how schools can learn more through the official site:
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We also explore the instructional shifts involved in moving toward explicit strategy instruction in writing. What questions do teachers have when encountering SRSD for the first time? How does structured strategy instruction interact with student motivation and engagement?
Another major theme is the integration of explicit strategy instruction with self-regulation. We discuss how students learn specific strategies—such as POW+TREE or TIDE—and how they gradually take ownership of these tools as independent writers.
Implementation is central to the discussion as well. What does it take to layer SRSD onto an existing ELA program? When schools attempt to scale this work across classrooms, what supports—coaching, leadership, materials, collaboration—matter most?
Finally, we look ahead to what’s next in Leslie’s work and the broader trajectory of writing instruction.
This episode is a focused conversation on evidence-based writing instruction and the practical realities of helping students become stronger writers.
Questions We Explored
- How did your professional journey lead you to focus on SRSD and writing instruction?
- What does SRSD look like in real classroom practice?
- What is Think SRSD, and how does it support teachers implementing this approach?
- Why does explicit strategy instruction work so effectively for developing writers?
- What misconceptions do teachers often have about structured writing instruction?
- How does SRSD combine explicit teaching with student self-regulation?
- How can schools successfully integrate SRSD into existing ELA programs?
- What supports make large-scale implementation successful?
- What’s next in your work?
🚨 Registration is open! 🚨
This summer, join me in New York City for The Explicit Teaching Institute—a five-day deep dive into the science of learning and the highest-leverage moves in explicit instruction. We’ll spend our mornings unpacking the research, our middays studying expert teaching on video (courtesy of Steplab!), and our afternoons rehearsing the moves that make instruction clear, efficient, and reliable—so you leave with a practical toolkit you can use on day one.
🗽 NYC | July 27–31, 2026
👉 Learn more + register here: 🎟️ Explicit Teaching Institute registration
Books I can actually recommend…
The podcast you’re listening to is sponsored by John Catt from Hachette Learning and hosted by Dr. Zach Groshell. John Catt publishes some of the best books in education, including my book, Just Tell Them: The Power of Explanations and Explicit Teaching.
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