Sold a Story

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 successRead: Teachers who use Direct Instruction tend to like itRead: Transcript of this episodeSupport: Donate to APM ReportsEmail us: [email protected] us: (612) 888-7323More: soldastory.orgDive deeper into Sold a Story with a weekly email newsletter from host Emily Hanford.

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 schoolsRead: The forgotten voices of Project Follow ThroughVideo: The biggest education experiment you’ve never heard ofRead: Transcript of this episodeSupport: Donate to APM Reports Email us: [email protected] us: (612) 888-7323More: soldastory.org Dive deeper into Sold a Story with a weekly email newsletter from host Emily Hanford.

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 DIVideo: Who was Zig Engelmann?Read: Transcript of this episodeSupport: Donate to APM Reports Email us: [email protected] us: (612) 888-7323More: soldastory.org Dive deeper into Sold a Story with a weekly email newsletter from host Emily Hanford.

In the 1960s, an education outsider named Zig Engelmann begins challenging conventional ideas about what young children can learn. He teaches his 4-year-old twins basic algebra. But he has a hard time getting anyone in education to take him seriously, until a professor gives him a chance to see if his ideas will work in a classroom.Read: What is Direct Instruction?Video: The 5 key concepts of DIVideo: Who was Zig Engelmann?Read: Transcript of this episodeSupport: Donate to APM Reports Email us: [email protected] us: (612) 888-7323More: soldastory.org Dive deeper into Sold a Story with a weekly email newsletter from host Emily Hanford.

Sold a Story is back with a new season that goes beyond reading. Emily Hanford explores an approach to teaching that's been largely rejected by the education system — despite decades of evidence that it works.Video: Watch the trailer on YouTubeMore: soldastory.orgDive deeper into Sold a Story with a multi-part Extra Credit email series from Emily Hanford.