Science of Learning Institute

Building leaders

Reviewed · 2 min read

Built for: Five-minute visits

36 ten-minute staff meetings

One per week of the school year. Every session uses the same shape: 2 minutes on the finding, 5 minutes watching or practicing the routine, 3 minutes committing to one change this week.

WeeksThemeSessions
1–4How memory worksWorking memory is small; long-term memory; why rereading fools us; myths we retire
5–8Review from memoryThree-two-one warm-ups; brain dumps; building a question bank; low-stakes, not graded
9–12Checking every studentWhiteboards; cold call; hinge questions; acting on what you see
13–16Explicit teachingSmall steps; modeling and thinking aloud; I do, we do, you do; when to release
17–20Worked examplesSplit-page examples; fading; correct examples first; examples outside math
21–24Spacing and mixingUnit review planners; mixed homework; cumulative quizzes; the parent letter
25–28FeedbackOn the task, not the student; whole-class feedback; time to act on it; what backfires
29–32KnowledgeWhy knowledge drives reading; text sets; protecting science and social studies; vocabulary
33–36Bringing it togetherLesson shape; peer visits; what worked this year; plan for next year

Protecting the core blocks

  • Put reading, math, science, and social studies on the master schedule as fixed blocks before anything else is scheduled.
  • Schedule tutoring as a period, not as a pull-out from core instruction or an after-school option.
  • No interruptions during core blocks: announcements, pull-outs, and assemblies go elsewhere.
  • Check it in visits. If science isn't happening at 1:30, the schedule isn't real.
  • Count minutes once a quarter. Compare scheduled with actual time for each block.

The Fordham analysis found social studies time was linked to better reading (Fordham(opens in a new tab)), and tutoring effects were larger during the school day (Nickow et al.(opens in a new tab)). The schedule is where both are won or lost.

Listening path

Building leaders

What great schools do, and how to handle pushback.

Principles

Sources

  1. Tyner & Kabourek 2020 (opens in a new tab)

    fordhaminstitute.org

  2. Nickow, Oreopoulos & Quan 2024 (opens in a new tab)

    nssa.stanford.edu