Sold a Story

4 episodes 400 views

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S2 E4: What Can You Do for My Black Children?

A struggling Houston school in a poor neighborhood posted results that rivaled wealthy schools, and many doubted them.

27:06 18 min read 16 views

S2 E3: The Forgotten Experiment

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: soldastory@apmreports.orgCall us: (612) 888-7323More: soldastory.org Dive deeper into Sold a Story with a weekly email newsletter from host Emily Hanford.

31:15 22 min read 38 views

S2 E2: The Remedy Is Always Teaching

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: soldastory@apmreports.orgCall us: (612) 888-7323More: soldastory.org Dive deeper into Sold a Story with a weekly email newsletter from host Emily Hanford.

27:36 18 min read 57 views

S2 E1: It’s Not Just Reading

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: soldastory@apmreports.orgCall us: (612) 888-7323More: soldastory.org Dive deeper into Sold a Story with a weekly email newsletter from host Emily Hanford.

20:47 13 min read 76 views

About Sold a Story

Millions of kids can't read well. Scientists have known for decades how children learn to read, but many schools don’t know about the research. They buy teacher training and books that are rooted in a disproven idea. In Sold a Story, Emily Hanford investigates four authors and a publishing company that have made millions selling this idea. The podcast has won some of the biggest awards in journalism. Twenty-five states (and counting) have changed their reading laws because of it. Now, Apple Podcasts has recognized Sold a Story as a Series Essential. To celebrate, we’re making it available without ads or other announcements for a limited time.