Progressively Incorrect S5E09: Marty Siegel on Direct Instruction Engineering and the Future of EdTech
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Nov 23, 2025 In this captivating discussion, Marty Siegel, Professor Emeritus of Informatics and Instructional Systems Technology, shares his groundbreaking insights into the evolution of education technology. He recounts his early days with Direct Instruction and the innovative PLATO project, emphasizing the importance of corrective feedback and accelerated learning for struggling students. Marty also critiques the potential pitfalls of AI in education, contrasting it with established instructional methods, and envisions personal AI tutors that promote learner ownership and contextual understanding.
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Early Apprenticeship With Zig Engelman
- Marty Siegel stumbled into Zig Engelman's Breuder-Engelman preschool program as an undergraduate and apprenticed there for years.
- He iterated lessons with Zig behind one-way mirrors until they refined precise instructional techniques.
Close Gaps By Raising Learning Slope
- Zig taught that to close gaps you must teach low performers at a faster rate than high performers.
- That requires explicit, efficient instructional design to change the slope of learning curves.
Use Scripts When Principles Won't Scale
- Create scripted lessons when practitioners cannot reliably generate principled instruction at scale.
- Enforce adherence to scripts to ensure consistent, high-rate learning for students.
