Facebook Twitter Linkedin Instagram Youtube Vimeo Tiktok

877.485.1973 ⎸ 541.485.1973
Info@NIFDI.org

Sold a Story, Season 2 Episodes 3 and 4 Released

Sold a Story, Season 2 Episodes 3 and 4 Released

Sold a story podcast banner

Episodes 3 and 4 of the American Public Media Podcast Sold a Story have been released.

Episode 3, The Forgotten Experiment, focuses on Project Follow Through. Host Emily Hanford reports in great detail the origins and results of the largest educational experiment in history. The podcast features the dramatic success of Direct Instruction and the lack of dissemination of the results. The description from the website states:

“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.”

A companion article to the podcast is available here.

Episode 4, What Can You Do for My Black Children?, chronicles the story of Wesley Elementary School and its dynamic leader, Thaddeus Lott. Wesley is located in Acres Homes, a poor, Black neighborhood in Houston, Texas. The combination of Lott’s leadership, strong training support, dedicated instructors, and Direct Instruction transformed Wesley into a high-performing school.

Here is the Sold a Story home page link: https://features.apmreports.org/sold-a-story/

Which best describes your role?

Curriculum Decision Maker
School and District Leader

Interested in learning how to implement Direct Instruction in your district, school, or home? NIFDI can help. Click a button below to learn more. 

Leaders
Coaches
Teachers
Parents
What is a Peer Coach?

Peer coaches play a critical role in sustaining strong implementation of Direct Instruction (DI) at the school level. Selected during the first year of implementation, peer coaches are classroom teachers who demonstrate strong instructional practice, effective communication with colleagues, and a willingness to support others. Because they teach the same programs as their peers, they bring practical expertise and shared experience that help build trust and collaboration across the school.

As implementation progresses, peer coaches extend the impact of NIFDI consultants by providing ongoing, school-based support when consultants are not on-site. Their coaching is non-evaluative and focused on improving student outcomes. Peer coaches reinforce effective teaching practices and guide colleagues to make targeted adjustments that directly impact student performance and behavior.

Peer coaches participate in a structured, multi-year training sequence through NIFDI. Over the course of two to three years, they are trained to analyze student performance data, conduct both brief and extended classroom observations, and support data-driven problem solving. Advanced training prepares them to lead grade-level meetings and contribute to broader instructional planning with school leadership.

By developing peer coaches, schools build internal capacity to maintain and strengthen DI implementation over time—ensuring continuity, supporting new staff, and driving sustained student achievement.