Zach Groshell Education, Interviews, Language, Learning, motivation, relationships, Research, Science of Learning, Teachers

Science of Reading Meets Explicit Instruction

I'm an advocate for evidence-based instruction, and one of the few shining areas in that space is early reading. The science of reading provides a wealth of insights into how the mind learns to decode, comprehend, and engage with text. But simply knowing what goes into a science-based literacy block or textbook isn’t enough—students require … Continue reading Science of Reading Meets Explicit Instruction

Zach Groshell Education, Instructional coaching, Interviews, Science of Learning, Student, Teachers, Workshops

Harnessing Attention and Explaining Better

Blake Harvard, a teacher and author of the best-selling book, Do I have your attention?, and I share an obsession with improving teaching through evidence-based practices. A major focus of both of our work is the translation of principles of learning science into practical strategies that can be used in tomorrow's lesson. You can hear … Continue reading Harnessing Attention and Explaining Better

Zach Groshell Classroom management, Education, Inquiry, Interviews, Learning, motivation, Play, relationships, Research, Science of Learning, Student, Teachers

A Refreshing Case for Explicit Instruction

I was happy to see a fantastic and thorough review of my book, Just Tell Them, in the Learning & the Brain blog. This comes after I just presented at Learning & the Brain alongside folks like Doug Lemov, Haili Hughes and Dan Willingham (click those links for podcasts of mine that they each featured … Continue reading A Refreshing Case for Explicit Instruction

Zach Groshell Education, Instructional coaching, Interviews, PD, Science of Learning, Student, Teachers

Teacher PD Without Ice Breakers

I was recently invited onto Chris Baker's podcast/YouTube hybrid series, Leadership Launchpad, to discuss some of the things I have learned over the last few years about consulting and PD. It is, surprisingly, a bit of an emotional rollercoaster at times! https://youtu.be/4bGfBc6iY98?si=AXk9cmlM1esrxth0 I am quite proud of the result, and I think you'll appreciate some … Continue reading Teacher PD Without Ice Breakers

Zach Groshell Education, Interviews, Math, Science of Learning, Teachers

Building Thinking Classrooms is Repackaged Discovery Learning

In education, nothing is truly new. Consider project-based learning, which made its debut in the 18th century under the guise of "The Project Method." Inquiry-based learning has similarly worn many hats over the years, from discovery learning to exploratory learning to experiential learning. As the veteran teachers have long said, everything old becomes new again. … Continue reading Building Thinking Classrooms is Repackaged Discovery Learning

Zach Groshell Classroom management, differentiation, Education, Instructional coaching, Interviews, Language, Learning, Math, motivation, Research, Science of Learning, Student, Teachers

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

Zach Groshell Classroom management, differentiation, Education, Instructional coaching, Interviews, Language, Learning, Math, motivation, Research, Science of Learning, Student, Teachers

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

Zach Groshell Classroom management, differentiation, Education, Instructional coaching, Interviews, Language, Learning, Math, motivation, Research, Science of Learning, Student, Teachers

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

Zach Groshell Classroom management, differentiation, Education, Instructional coaching, Interviews, Language, Learning, Math, motivation, Research, Science of Learning, Student, Teachers

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

Zach Groshell Classroom management, Creativity, Education, Inquiry, Interviews, Papers and Podcasts, Science of Learning, Student, Teachers

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