ACT Alliance for Evidence-Based Education

Zach Groshell is an elementary teacher by training and an instructional coach, learning scientist, podcaster, and the author of Just Tell Them: The Power of Explanations and Explicit Teaching (2024).

🔑Despite the popularity of inquiry-based, discovery-based, and project-based learning, effective teaching should not involve withholding information from students.

🔑Effective teachers present new content in small steps, model concepts, ask a high volume of questions and check the responses of all students, provide immediate corrective feedback, guide practice closely, and build in extensive cumulative review.

🔑Contrary to its common caricatures, explicit instruction is not a teacher monologue, a hindrance to student creativity or problem-solving skills, or a risk to children’s self-esteem.

https://www.aei.org/research-products/report/explicit-instruction-works-education-schools-just-wont-admit-it/

Only someone who sees explicit teaching every day can talk about it in the way Colin Campbell from Doonside THS does.

Checkout the first in the new series of the What Works Best vodcasts from CESE in full here 👇

https://education.nsw.gov.au/about-us/education-data-and-research/what-works-best/what-works-best-2025-vodcast-series

NAPLAN: Where to from here for students who “need additional support”? As the news cycle moves on from its annual NAPLAN frenzy, school systems, teachers, and most particularly parents are left wondering “What happens next?” for students in the lowest band of NAPLAN, which now has the transparent descriptor “needs additional support”.

How high expectations drive student achievement with Doug Lemov

In this episode of Chalk and Talk podcast, Anna Stokke is joined by Doug Lemov, author of Teach Like a Champion and one of the most influential voices on effective teaching practice. They discuss educational equity and why strong teaching, clear behaviour routines, high expectations, and academic rigor are essential for helping every student succeed.

They also discuss practical classroom strategies, including how to use cold calling effectively, active observation in math class, and building a culture where students are engaged and accountable for learning. Teachers, school leaders, and anyone interested in evidence-based education will find practical, actionable insights in this conversation.

👂 https://www.annastokke.com/podcast/episode/37889efe/how-high-expectations-drive-student-achievement-with-doug-lemov-ep-75

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-07-08/djidi-djidi-aboriginal-school-reading-success/106780294?utm_source=abc_news_app&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_campaign=abc_news_app&utm_content=link

The 'amazing' turnaround in literacy at this primary school An inspiring turnaround at an Aboriginal community school could provide a scalable solution for closing the gap on Indigenous literacy.

Beyond Straw Men and False Choices: Guest Post by G. Reid Lyon, PhD Dr Reid Lyon is a neuroscientist who completed his pre-and postdoctoral training in learning disorders, developmental neurophysiology and neuroanatomy in 1978. His early research focused on applying neuropsychological models to determine neural systems engaged in learning componential reading skil....

Why You Cannot Believe Your Way Into Learning Why growth mindset works in the laboratory, fails in the classroom, and reveals something true about both.