Better Teaching: Only Stuff That Works

Dave McAlinden is an instructional designer at Columbia University’s School of Professional Studies. In this episode, we start by clarifying a question many educators have: What does an instructional designer actually do? If you’ve ever taken an online course, you’ve already experienced the impact of instructional design—whether you realized it or not.You can connect with Dave on LinkedIn: (2) Dave McAlinden | LinkedInFeel free to reach out—Dave enjoys engaging with educators and talking through ideas about teaching, learning, and instructional design. This podcast sponsored by:The Bell Ringer, a weekly newsletter providing news, tools, and resources on the science of learning, written by education reporter Holly Korbey. Subscribe here. Murmuration Author Services by Mark Combes. Looking to write your first book? Murmuration Author Services is your friend and coach for this journey. Learn more here. 

Lauren Brown, a former K–12 and university U.S. history teacher turned consultant, shares her insights on meaningful history education. They dive into the importance of teaching history as an evidence-based inquiry and the role of controversy in making lessons engaging. Lauren advocates for age-appropriate discussions, emphasizing the need for developmental readiness when tackling complex topics like the Constitution. She also highlights strategies for connecting historical events to students' lived experiences, fostering agency and literacy in social studies.

Dr. Carl Hendrick is known throughout the world for his expertise in the science of learning. In addition to publishing numerous articles, he has co-authored two books How Learning Happens and How Teaching Happens in which he shares the most impactful research on this topic.In this episode he shares what he believes is the most important information that all teachers should know about how students learn but is still not being taught in many schools of education. He also has some advice for teachers about some things they can safely stop doing.Links:X: @‌C_HendrickBlueSky: @‌carlhendrick.substack.comLinkedIn: Carl HendrickWeekly Science of Learning newsletter at The Learning Dispatch How Teaching and Learning Happens e-learning course can be found here. 

Joe Finch is a dedicated fifth-grade teacher from Kelseyville, California, with a master’s in curriculum and instruction. In this discussion, he shares his journey of self-directed professional development through the science of learning. Joe highlights the importance of reading research and connecting with coaches. He explains how lesson scripting transformed his teaching style, allowing for more authentic engagement. He emphasizes the value of recording lessons for honest reflection, offering insights that can guide new teachers towards effective instructional strategies.

Dr. Jared Cooney Horvath, a neuroscientist and author of The Digital Delusion, discusses the impact of technology on learning and the importance of bridging the gap between research and teaching. He emphasizes that learning principles remain consistent across ages and reflects on how technology often falls short compared to traditional methods. Jared shares insights on building teacher-student relationships, critiques the pitfalls of educational technology, and advocates for teachers to leverage their expertise to enhance classroom learning.

Karen Vaites, an education entrepreneur and advocate for effective literacy and math teaching, shares insights on the Southern Surge in literacy improvements across states like Mississippi, Louisiana, and Tennessee. She discusses the four pillars driving these gains: training, screening, curriculum, and third-grade retention. Vaites contrasts different state models of reform and emphasizes the importance of execution over legislation. She also critiques teacher preparation programs and proposes a national database for curriculum analysis, aiming to raise educational outcomes.

Two teachers, one middle school and one elementary, share how they have made writing instruction a priority. Josie Wozniak and Kimberly Voge are avid users and proponents of EduProtocols to support their writing instruction. In this episode they share how students are able to write more. But more importantly, how the students take more responsibility for improving their writing.Twitter: @‌ms_woz @kvoge71LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kim-voge-662b905b/Facebook: (5) Facebook(5) EduProtocols Community | FacebookInstagram: @‌jwoz_teaches @‌hermajestyvogeBluesky: @‌jwoz-teaches.bsky.socialTik Tok: @‌jwoz_teaches @techsassyDeploying EduProtocols This podcast sponsored by:The Bell Ringer, a weekly newsletter providing news, tools, and resources on the science of learning, written by education reporter Holly Korbey. Subscribe here. Murmuration Author Services by Mark Combes. Looking to write your first book? Murmuration Author Services is your friend and coach for this journey. Learn more here. 

The process of deciding which High Quality Instructional Materials to adopt is not as straight forward as it might seem. There are good options, and there are good teachers with varying opinions. Kelly Harkins, Supervisor of Elementary English Language Arts, describes her district’s two different processes for selecting two different ELA curricula.Facebook: The Reading League DelawareWebsite: the reading league DelawareReading League Delaware Memberships 2025 This podcast sponsored by:The Bell Ringer, a weekly newsletter providing news, tools, and resources on the science of learning, written by education reporter Holly Korbey. Subscribe here. Murmuration Author Services by Mark Combes. Looking to write your first book? Murmuration Author Services is your friend and coach for this journey. Learn more here. 

Doug Lemov, an educator and author renowned for the Teach Like a Champion series, dives deep into the importance of reading fluency beyond early grades. He highlights the alarming levels of disfluency in older students and advocates for effective read-aloud techniques to model prosody and enhance comprehension. Comparing building reading stamina to athletic training, he emphasizes gradual increases in sustained reading time. Additionally, Doug shares insights from his work with sports teams, revealing parallels between teaching strategies and coaching methods.

Enjoy another installment of Thinking Out Loud with Zach Groshell. In this episode, Dr. Groshell and I discuss how to begin when providing support to teachers. Both Zach and Gene currently work in schools supporting teachers in their quest to be their best for students.Dr. Zach Groshell is the host of the popular podcast Progressively Incorrect and the author of:Just Tell Them: The Power of Explanations and Explicit TeachingDr. Gene Tavernetti is the author of:Maximizing the Impact of Coaching CyclesTeach Fast: Focused Adaptable Structured Teaching This podcast sponsored by:The Bell Ringer, a weekly newsletter providing news, tools, and resources on the science of learning, written by education reporter Holly Korbey. Subscribe here. Murmuration Author Services by Mark Combes. Looking to write your first book? Murmuration Author Services is your friend and coach for this journey. Learn more here.