In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Brian Poncy to explore a claim you’ve probably heard in schools: “Teaching math facts interferes with understanding.” From there, we dig into better ways to think about math facts, what schools can do differently, and the practical decisions that show up when schools decide to take facts … Continue reading S5E12: Brian Poncy on Better Ways to Teach Math Facts
S5E11: Alex Gingell on Setting the Culture and Conditions for Effective Instructional Coaching
In this episode, I sit down with Alex Gingell to unpack what it actually takes to make instructional coaching work in a school. Alex explains why his first priority wasn’t improving teaching, but stabilizing behavior, curriculum, and trust—and why coaching can only succeed once those foundations are secure. We talk through how he used Steplab … Continue reading S5E11: Alex Gingell on Setting the Culture and Conditions for Effective Instructional Coaching
S5E10: Laura Doherty on the Baltimore Curriculum Project
In this episode of the Direct Instruction podcast, I’m joined by Laura Doherty, President and CEO of the Baltimore Curriculum Project (BCP)—Maryland’s largest operator of neighborhood, PK–8 public charter schools, and one of the longest-running Direct Instruction networks in the United States. For nearly three decades, BCP has been quietly doing something that many systems … Continue reading S5E10: Laura Doherty on the Baltimore Curriculum Project
Are Teachers Change Agents?
Today I read Robert Pondiscio’s piece, Public Schools Are Molds Not Platforms, and he’s right about something fundamental: public schools are not platforms for personal expression or ideological performance. They are civic institutions with a public mandate. A teacher in a classroom is not a freelance partisan activist — they are a public servant with … Continue reading Are Teachers Change Agents?
The Truth About Lesson Planning
The first truth about lesson planning is a paradox: In a perfect world, it wouldn’t even exist. Designing curriculum and instruction is its own science, and a difficult one at that. When well-designed programs (e.g., Direct Instruction) are in place, the heavy lifting of content analysis, sequencing and integrating of concepts, and field-testing of lessons … Continue reading The Truth About Lesson Planning
Knowledge-rich curriculum and direct instruction go hand in hand
I woke up today to a wonderful surprise. Daniel Buck of the Fordham Institute has written a favorable review of Just Tell Them, which has now gone out to the thousands of people who receive these e-mails in their inboxes. Something I never thought I'd see in my career was Buck's suggestion that my book … Continue reading Knowledge-rich curriculum and direct instruction go hand in hand
Education Rickshaw 