The “Thinking Out Loud” episodes on Better Teaching: Only Stuff That Works are a running set of conversations to make sense of instruction, coaching, and implementation as they actually function in schools—not as we wish they did. The premise is straightforward: Gene Tavernetti and I take a concrete problem of practice, name what tends to go wrong, … Continue reading S5E14: Thinking Out Loud… What comes first in coaching, techniques or lesson design?
S5E13: Mike Schmoker on How Schools Can Get Results Now
Mike Schmoker is one of the most influential voices in school improvement, urging schools to recommit to the fundamentals: coherent curriculum, strong lesson design, and authentic literacy—reading, discussion, and writing—throughout the school day. Across books like Focus and Results Now 2.0, and decades of essays and commentary, his through-line is the same: schools don’t usually … Continue reading S5E13: Mike Schmoker on How Schools Can Get Results Now
S5E12: Brian Poncy on Better Ways to Teach Math Facts
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
Registration Open for The Explicit Teaching Institute July 27-31 in New York City!
Want to level up your teaching this summer? Join me in NYC 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, and our afternoons rehearsing the moves that make instruction … Continue reading Registration Open for The Explicit Teaching Institute July 27-31 in New York City!
S5E09: Marty Siegel on Direct Instruction Engineering and the Future of EdTech
In this episode of Progressively Incorrect, I’m joined by Marty Siegel, Professor Emeritus of Informatics and Instructional Systems Technology, and a pioneer whose career bridges early Direct Instruction, large-scale computer-based learning, human–computer interaction, and the emerging world of AI-driven instruction. Marty began his career at the University of Illinois in the 1960s, right at the … Continue reading S5E09: Marty Siegel on Direct Instruction Engineering and the Future of EdTech
Why Direct Instruction Remains Relevant Today
Direct Instruction—note the capital D and I—is the OG of explicit teaching. Back in the mid-1960s, folks at the University of Illinois and later at Oregon arrived at a simple but essential insight: better teaching leads to better learning. As Siegfried Engelmann liked to point out, if students didn’t learn it, the teaching didn’t happen. … Continue reading Why Direct Instruction Remains Relevant Today
S5E08: Doug Lemov on “What to Do” and Active Observation Techniques
In this episode of Progressively Incorrect, I’m re-joined by Doug Lemov—author of Teach Like a Champion and The Coach’s Guide to Teaching, and one of the most influential figures in the history of education. Doug has spent decades studying what the best teachers do differently—turning the art and science of teaching into something that can … Continue reading S5E08: Doug Lemov on “What to Do” and Active Observation Techniques
S5E07: Denarius Frazier on Belonging, Rigor, and Scaling Effective Teaching
In this episode of Progressively Incorrect, I’m joined by Denarius Frazier—Regional Superintendent of Instruction at Uncommon Schools, co-author of Reconnect: Building School Culture for Meaning, Purpose, and Belonging, and perhaps the best teacher ever captured on film. Link to blog and video Denarius is one of the most thoughtful and influential voices in the Teach … Continue reading S5E07: Denarius Frazier on Belonging, Rigor, and Scaling Effective Teaching
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