The Explicit Teaching Institute with Zach Groshell

Most PD isn't good. This is different.

Immerse yourself in a five-day institute on the fundamentals of explicit instruction, led by Dr. Zach Groshell, best-selling author of Just Tell Them: The Power of Explanations and Explicit Teaching, at Inwood Academy for Leadership in New York City.

All participants receive:

• Daily interactive workshops on the science of learning and the core principles of explicit instruction
• Daily opportunities to practice and refine high-leverage teaching techniques
• Catered lunch - please send dietary restrictions to the organizer
• A copy of Just Tell Them
• World-class instructional coaching in a small-group, high-support format
• Access to Steplab’s expert video library for analysis and model examples
• A practical, ready-to-use toolkit for planning, explaining, checking for understanding, and managing classrooms with precision

Mornings: Science of Learning Foundations

The science underpinning effective instruction

• The Evidence for Explicit Teaching

• Attention: The Gateway to All Learning

• Cognitive Load Theory: Working Memory and Long-Term Memory

• Spaced Practice and Retrieval Practice: Consolidation and Retention

• Generative Learning: Helping Students Do Something With Ideas

• Dual Coding: Designing Visual Supports and Organizers

• Worked Examples and Faded Guidance: The Gradual Release of Responsibility

• The Power of Background Knowledge

• Examples and Non-Examples: Clarifying Concepts With Contrast

• Common Instructional Myths That Waste Time

Midday: Video Study of Expert Teaching

Supercharged by Steplab’s world-class video library

• Analyze real teaching in high-definition video

• See explicit instruction techniques in action

• Break down the moves that drive learning

• Identify high-impact habits to rehearse later in the day

• Learn to use video for coaching and self-improvement

Afternoons: Active Rehearsal and Deliberate Practice

Practical application of high-leverage instructional routines

• Gaining and Sustaining Student Attention

• Scripting Routines and Directions Students Actually Follow

• Lesson Planning That Isn’t Weird or Time-Consuming (simple, repeatable design)

• Cutting the Fluff and Explaining With Clarity

• High-Reliability Student Response Techniques (choral, turn and talk, cold call, mini-whiteboards)

• Teaching Vocabulary Explicitly and Systematically

• Feedback and Error Correction (clear, fast, supportive)

• Differentiation Without 30 Lesson Plans for 30 Kids (active observation, small-group instruction)

• Calibrating the Gradual Release (“I do → We do → You do” done right)