My previous account (@PamelaSnow2) was hacked so please disregard that handle and join me here 🌻

When students are anxious/depressed, one method of remediation might be TEACHING THEM TO DO SCHOOL BETTER. Just got this message from a mental health professional.

Why don’t we use a forklift to move weights at the gym?

Because the point isn’t to move the weights. It’s to get stronger.

The same is true of learning. If the goal is simply to get a task done as quickly as possible, technology will often do it better.

But at what cost? @daisychristo.

I have done a major update on my article on direct instruction vs inquiry based learning, thanks in no small part to Mat Burns new research, which really changed how my understanding of the topic.  

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Technology is another example of premature implementation in education. Where was the careful piloting and pre-testing? Where were the evidence-based guidelines for stepped roll-out?

Education consistently gives itself a free pass on this kind of rigour, in favour of trying to put the toothpaste back in the tube after the inevitable problems arise.

Empirical evidence surrounding mathematics pedagogy concludes that explicit and direct instruction consistently outperforms constructivist, inquiry-based, and discovery-based approaches in fostering mathematical achievement.

Discovery-based learning yields a negative effect on = -0.30), while explicit and Direct Instruction consistently deliver large, reliable gains averaging 0.72 rising to 1.22 for struggling learners. Complex problem-solving does not bypass foundational procedural fluency; it depends on it. If we want authentic mathematical reasoning, we must teach the concepts and procedures explicitly from the start.

​In practice, inquiry functions effectively only as a later-stage consolidation tool for advanced learners who have already mastered foundational skills through explicit instruction never as a primary vehicle for novices to learn them from scratch.

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Sold a story - a narrative on how warm, fuzzy ideologies about childhood have damaged & harmed millions of students, significantly harming the ones that are least likely to recover.
Effective instruction should be the first act of kindness in schools.

30 years ago, John Stossel asked why San Diego schools weren’t using Direct Instruction to address students’ struggles in reading and math.

The superintendent’s response? Classrooms should be “more than just worksheets and multiplication facts.”

When Stossel pointed out that basic skills, she cited rising graduation rates.

His retort: “You’re graduating them, but they can’t read.”

Fast forward to today, the reflex remains the same: When students aren't academically proficient, deflect to gameable metrics.

Imagine walking into a special education classroom and discovering that students with disabilities are reading fluently while students in general education classrooms are struggling, only to learn that the instructional approach responsible for that success isn’t being used le don’t like it. At some point we must stop allowing adult preferences and low expectations to dictate what children have access to in order to become successful. A child’s disability, race, or socioeconomic status should never determine the quality of instruction they receive or what we believe they’re capable of achieving. We have to start prioritizing what actually works for kids.

🎧 Sold a Story, S2 E4: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sol…

#SoldAStory #ScienceOfReading #DirectInstruction #LiteracyForAll #DyslexiaAwareness

Children are not dandelions. Their learning doesn’t thrive in any old conditions we adults choose to confer on them. They’re more like orchids, flourishing when we adults provide optimal conditions. Natural experiments, such as the one described in this latest episode of #SoldAStory Season 2 bear this out. Outstanding journalism once again from @ehanford 🙌

“We have too many people who have low expectations of children”. Hear, hear!

Today's Sold a Story tells the heartbreaking story of Wesley Elementary: Thaddeus Lott built a school where disadvantaged children thrived, only for those gains to fade after he left.

But there may be a happy coda.

Wesley was an F-rated school when Texas took over #HISD in ? An A.

And reading proficiency has surged from 22% to 52%.

Perhaps Thaddeus is looking down with a smile.

👏This is so great!
Huge demand for Harvard's notoriously demanding Humanities 10 course. Students are lining up for a class that requires reading hefty books weekly, regular essays, no devices, regular attendance, and strict grading.

Be the kind of student who works hard, ks, thinks critically, and seeks out intellectual challenges. Be the kind of parent that encourages your kids to be like this!

It's great to see students actively seeking academic rigour rather than avoiding it. These students will go places.

wsj.com/lifestyle/harv…

Episode 4 of Sold a Story Season 2 is out now. apmreports.org/episode/2026/1…

The results were so good that people accused them of cheating. youtube.com/watch?v=n2EOPA…

I love it when people from the education world break into the wider public consciousness.

And delighted that we’ve sent education’s mightiest avenger for this task.

Find below, the Department of Education's latest guidance on phonics instruction for primary schools.
education-ni.gov.uk/sites/default/…

Giving novices problems they lack the knowledge to solve makes little sense. Ausubel said this in 1968 and it still holds true.

"If I have to reduce all educational psychology to just one principle, I would say this: the most important single factor influencing learning is what the learner already knows. Ascertain this and teach [the learner] accordingly."
-David Ausubel

"Educational malpractice." 🚨

That's how @HeatherPeske of @NCTQ describes colleges of education that still don't teach the science of reading.

And she's right. When a teacher prep program skips the science of reading, it fails twice:

❌ It fails the teacher, who never learns asic building block of a child's education.

❌ It fails every child who ends up in that teacher's classroom.

Then Ron Noble Jr. said the part that should make everyone furious:

📍 Your child's chance of learning to read depends on their ZIP code.

States with strong literacy laws are pulling ahead. A child in Alabama or Ohio has a better shot at reading than a child in New York or California.

Reading shouldn't depend on where you live. It's a right, not luck. 📚

If this makes you mad, good. Channel it. Join us.

🎧 Listen to the full conversation: youtu.be/wQMrFu-zn9o?is…

@FulcrumLiteracy @KJWinEducation
#ScienceOfReading #LiteracyIsACivilRight #ReadingJustice #TeacherPrep #LiteracyNowTogether #ParentsForReadingJustice

Nearly 30k students from Years 1–6 took part in our Term 3 Australian writing assessments.

Over 5,000 teachers helped judge their writing - alongside our indefatigable AI judges, who also provided student & teacher feedback.

Explore the results here.

medium.com/no-more-markin…

I’m excited to share that I’ll be heading to Winnipeg, Manitoba, in October 2027 as a featured presenter at a two-day professional learning event hosted by Manitoba Teachers for Students with Learning Disabilities (MTSLD), alongside fellow presenter Dr. Stephanie Stollar!

My something I’m particularly passionate about: bridging the gap between literacy research and classroom practice in French Immersion.

French Immersion teachers face unique challenges when supporting students with diverse learning needs, particularly when access to specialized resources, interventions, and professional learning opportunities is limited.

But equitable access to French Immersion must also mean equitable access to effective literacy instruction.

That’s why my presentations will focus on practical, evidence-based instructional strategies that French Immersion teachers can implement in their classrooms the very next day!

Because I believe professional learning should do more than inspire teachers.

Teachers should leave knowing more, understanding more, and feeling better equipped to DO more.

My goal is to ensure educators leave with concrete instructional routines, practical tools, and a deeper understanding of HOW to support struggling readers and improve literacy outcomes in French.

I’m looking forward to connecting with Manitoba educators and sharing strategies that can make a meaningful difference for students learning to read in a second language.

📍 Winnipeg, Manitoba
📅 October 21–22, 2027
🏫 Soul Sanctuary
📚 Hosted by MTSLD

Registration details to follow! @DrValdineB
#FrenchImmersion #StructuredLiteracy #ScienceOfReading