I am excited to bring you an episode of the Thinking Out Loud series with my friend, Gene Tavernetti, who is cross posting these episodes on his podcast, Better Teaching Only Stuff that Works. During the episode, we talk about "rehearsal tasks", which are simply practice opportunities that a coach or presenter can plan for teachers. … Continue reading S4E19: Thinking Out Loud… Is Rehearsal Necessary for Effective Coaching and PD?
S4E18: Blake Harvard on Attention and Memory Constraints
In this episode, I chat with Blake Harvard, aka The Effortful Educator, about applying cognitive psychology to the classroom. Blake and I presented together as part of the cognitive science strand at EdFest USA this year, and we share similar perspectives on the importance of bridging the gap between research and practice. In this interview, … Continue reading S4E18: Blake Harvard on Attention and Memory Constraints
Defining Explicit Teaching and Direct Instruction
Something about the label, direct instruction, seems to conjure images of boring lectures. The change to using explicit instruction was probably, at least in part, an attempt to remedy this, just like how testing got changed to retrieval practice to avoid associations with standardized tests. Retrieval is still testing, and explicit instruction is still direct, … Continue reading Defining Explicit Teaching and Direct Instruction
The Literacy View & Lucy Calkins
I was recently invited to speak on The Literacy View, where we had a laugh and discussed some of the policies that are being put in place to filter out nonsense in some of the worst reading programs, like three cueing. We also sipped to our concerns that the gurus of balanced literacy past may … Continue reading The Literacy View & Lucy Calkins
Just Tell Them, Don’t Play Guessing Games
Today I was interviewed by Robert Pondiscio, who has hosted talks by me before. It will be a while before that article is published, so in the meantime, I thought I would share two media appearances of my new book, Just Tell Them: The Power of Explanations and Explicit Teaching. 1. Just Tell Them: A … Continue reading Just Tell Them, Don’t Play Guessing Games
Explicit Teaching: A Podcast and a Webinar
Training opportunity approaching!!! I am hosting a free instructional coaching webinar on November 25, 2024. Sign up here and join me and special guests to learn about Steplab’s platform and approach to responsive coaching. Several people have asked me recently if explicit teaching and structured learning is making a comeback. I cannot be sure, because the people who … Continue reading Explicit Teaching: A Podcast and a Webinar
Direct Instruction Demystified
Have a listen to me talk about explicit instruction and Engelmann's DI in this episode of The Saturday Lunch Show with Jamie Clark! https://www.youtube.com/live/7ExMCHs5pss?si=zKSPyBzIIbJbE4Wr Or listen as a podcast below https://open.spotify.com/episode/1J8orBDsOTVdlSGzMr7zij?si=Y8nkdaEbQKW3Ufl1HO2oWQ Interested in having me over to train your staff? Send me a message through my Contact page. Contact
Morningside Academy: Not the “Michaela of America”, but just as important
Today I visited Morningside Academy, an evidence-informed school that I featured on Progressively Incorrect last month. While Morningside is famous amongst educators with a behavior analysis background, it is practically unknown by teachers - including me, until recently - on EduTwitterX. The few short hours I spent at Morningside left me absolutely blown away by … Continue reading Morningside Academy: Not the “Michaela of America”, but just as important
The teacher shortage shouldn’t mean we drop the ball in schools
I was recently interviewed by Education HQ. Follow this link to access the article: https://educationhq.com/news/the-teacher-shortage-shouldnt-mean-we-drop-the-ball-in-schools-leading-educator-165596/ Also, check out my new side project on Direct Instruction. https://zachgroshell.wordpress.com/category/direct-instruction-podcast/feed/
S3E3: Craig Barton and Ollie Lovell on Tools and Tips for Teachers
Today I have the great pleasure of bringing you a very special episode featuring two of my podcasting rivals, Craig Barton and Ollie Lovell. This episode is brought to you by John Catt Educational, which publishes some of the absolute best books in education. In addition to publishing Craig’s How I Wish I’d Taught Maths, … Continue reading S3E3: Craig Barton and Ollie Lovell on Tools and Tips for Teachers


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