Sold a Story

Zig Engelmann’s Direct Instruction has a strong evidence base — so why is it so hard to find in schools? We look at why schools keep giving it up and visit a charter network in North Carolina that’s stuck with it for more than a quarter century.

Read: Direct Instruction doesn't last in schools. Here's why
Video: Scripted lessons make teachers cringe. Should they?

Read: Transcript of this episode

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Direct Instruction has decades of research behind it, but what makes it work? We dig into Zig Engelmann’s theory of instruction, what cognitive science reveals about how children learn and what hundreds of studies show about the program’s effectiveness.

Read: The evidence for Direct Instruction
Read: Transcript of this episode

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Call us: (612) 888-7323
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In a poor, Black neighborhood in Houston, Principal Thaddeus Lott transforms a struggling elementary school with Direct Instruction. Soon, his students are outperforming students at much wealthier schools. The results are so remarkable, some people think it’s too good to be true.

Video: The secret to Wesley Elementary’s success
Read: Teachers who use Direct Instruction tend to like it

Read: Transcript of this episode

Support: Donate to APM Reports
Email us: soldastory@apmreports.org
Call us: (612) 888-7323
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Zig Engelmann gets the chance of a lifetime: Put Direct Instruction to the test in one of the largest education experiments ever conducted. The results could have changed the direction of American education. Instead, they’re contested — and ultimately cast aside.

Read: Why America’s massive educational experiment didn’t transform schools
Read: The forgotten voices of Project Follow Through
Video: The biggest education experiment you’ve never heard of

Read: Transcript of this episode

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Email us: soldastory@apmreports.org
Call us: (612) 888-7323
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At an experimental preschool in Illinois, Zig Engelmann and his colleagues begin turning his ideas into a classroom teaching method. Along the way, they make a series of discoveries about effective instruction. Their mantra: “If the student hasn’t learned, the teacher hasn’t taught.”

Read: What is Direct Instruction?
Video: The 5 key concepts of DI
Video: Who was Zig Engelmann?

Read: Transcript of this episode

Support: Donate to APM Reports
Email us: soldastory@apmreports.org
Call us: (612) 888-7323
More: soldastory.org

Dive deeper into Sold a Story with a weekly email newsletter from host Emily Hanford.