S03E06 - Dr. Carl Hendrick on Five Things Every Teacher Should Do

2025-03-23

In this episode, Brendan Lee speaks with Dr. Carl Hendrick, a leading voice in education and co-author of What Does It Look Like in the Classroom?, How Learning Happens, and How Teaching Happens. Carl has been instrumental in helping teachers bridge the gap between research and practice, addressing the key question: That all sounds great, but what does it mean for me? Together, they explore five essential things every teacher should do Being open to powerful evidence Using retrieval practice Checking for understanding Aligning curriculum and assessment, Embracing the illusion of instruction. This episode is...

In this episode, Brendan Lee speaks with Dr. Carl Hendrick, a leading voice in education and co-author of What Does It Look Like in the Classroom?, How Learning Happens, and How Teaching Happens. Carl has been instrumental in helping teachers bridge the gap between research and practice, addressing the key question: That all sounds great, but what does it mean for me?

Together, they explore five essential things every teacher should do

Being open to powerful evidence
Using retrieval practice
Checking for understanding
Aligning curriculum and assessment,
Embracing the illusion of instruction.

This episode is packed with actionable insights to support and enhance teaching practice.

Resources mentioned:

What Does It Look Like in the Classroom, How Learning Happens, How Teaching Happens, and Illusions of Instruction (forthcoming, co-authored with Paul Kirschner and Jim Heal)
Dan Willingham’s Ask the Psychologist pieces for the AFT
Research by Paul Kirschner
ResearchEd, founded by Tom Bennett
Work by Tom Bennett and Daisy Christodoulou
Ignaz Semmelweis’ paper on puerperal fever
A 2021 EF review on cognitive science in the classroom by Thomas Perry
Research on working memory by George Miller and Nelson Cowan
The 1960s Follow Through study on direct instruction
Barak Rosenshine’s principles of instruction
David Ausubel on the importance of prior knowledge
Madeline Hunter on checking for understanding
Engelmann and Carnine on Explicit Direct Instruction (EDI)
Peps McCrea’s Evidence Snacks newsletter
Robert and Elizabeth Bjork on desirable difficulties
The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande
John Biggs on constructive alignment
Christine Counsell on curriculum as a narrative
The How Learning and Teaching Happens eLearning course through Academica
No More Marking, where Jeanette Breen works