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Better Teaching: Only Stuff That Works

Better Teaching: Only Stuff That Works

Gene Tavernetti 108 Episodes Oct 14, 2026

This podcast challenges the pursuit of perfection in teaching, arguing that aiming for 75% effectiveness is more realistic and impactful. It offers guidance for educators seeking continuous improvement rather than unattainable perfection. The host, Gene Tavernetti, provides practical strategies and insights for effective teaching.

Episodes

Starfish Teachers: It Made a Difference to That Teacher
Starfish Teachers: It Made a Difference to That Teacher Oct 14, 2026 617 Summary What happens when some of the best teachers in a district are invited to present at conferences across the country, but are never asked to share what they know in their own schools? In this solo episode, Gene Tavernetti reflects on the way classroom teachers with deep expertise in evidence-informed instruction can be sought out by educators elsewhere while their knowledge is overl
Digital Captives: Reclaiming the Human Side of Teaching
Digital Captives: Reclaiming the Human Side of Teaching Oct 7, 2026 3750 Summary In this from-the-archives episode, Bart Hoffman interviews Dr. Frank Rodriguez and Gene Tavernetti about their book Digital Captives: Helping Schools Strike a Balance Between Humans and Hardware. They trace how technology moved from a tool intended to augment instruction into something that can displace attention, relationships, reading, and meaningful learning. Frank and Gene dis
Culture Is Built, Not Inherited: How Schools Actually Change
Culture Is Built, Not Inherited: How Schools Actually Change Sep 30, 2026 485 SummaryGene Tavernetti examines the familiar explanation that school improvement is difficult because “it’s just the culture.” Drawing on work with schools across the United States and Canada, he argues that culture is not fixed atmosphere—it is the residue of daily decisions, habits, and follow-through.The practical path to change is to change what people do. Gene lays out a focused appr
How to Sabotage a Coach
How to Sabotage a Coach Sep 23, 2026 448 Summary Instructional coaches are often treated as a school’s all-purpose backup: covering classes, managing testing logistics, joining extra committees, and handling whatever emergency appears next. In this episode of Better Teaching, Gene Tavernetti explains how those individually reasonable requests quietly dismantle a coaching program. Gene makes the case for protecting coaching time
The Coaching Trap: Why Scripted Feedback Makes Coaching More Human
The Coaching Trap: Why Scripted Feedback Makes Coaching More Human Sep 16, 2026 636 Summary In this episode of Better Teaching, Gene Tavernetti challenges the belief that effective coaching must be spontaneous and unscripted. He explains why a well-designed coaching script does not make a feedback conversation rigid or inauthentic—it gives the coach a reliable structure for specific, courageous, and useful feedback. Gene connects coaching scripts to classroom-management
Teaching Adolescents to Read: Faith Howard on Literacy Intervention That Works
Teaching Adolescents to Read: Faith Howard on Literacy Intervention That Works Sep 9, 2026 2881 SummaryWhat does effective literacy intervention look like for students in middle and high school? Faith Howard returns to Better Teaching: Only Stuff That Works to explain how she built Literacy Lab, a 6–12 intervention model that combines the science of reading with age-appropriate, grade-level texts.Faith shares how a glorified study hall became a focused literacy intervention, why sec
Before Innovation, Fluency: Why Every New Teacher Needs Explicit Instruction
Before Innovation, Fluency: Why Every New Teacher Needs Explicit Instruction Sep 2, 2026 932 SummaryWhat should every new teacher know before they are asked to improvise, differentiate, or innovate? Gene Tavernetti argues that one of the most important foundations is fluency in explicit instruction—not just hearing about it in professional development, but learning to design it, deliver it, practice it, and receive feedback until the work becomes automatic.Gene explains why that
Evidence-Based Schools with Glenn Whitman
Evidence-Based Schools with Glenn Whitman Aug 26, 2026 2651 Summary Glenn Whitman is a distinguished educator who has worked with schools around the world to support schools and teachers bringing evidence practices to their classrooms. In this episode Glenn talks about his own school’s journey to becoming an evidence-based teaching institution, his continued role in that journey, and how his school supports schools around the world who also want t
AI Literacy with Kate Meyer and Nicole Davis
AI Literacy with Kate Meyer and Nicole Davis Aug 19, 2026 3527 SummaryKate Meyers and Nicole Davis, AKA Two Maine Teachers and authors the EduProtocol Field Guide: AI Literacy Edition, discuss AI, AI in schools, AI for teachers, and AI for literacy for students.Show NotesLinkedIn: two-maine-teachersFacebook: FacebookWebsite: twomaineteachers.comBook: The EduProtocol Field Guide AI Literacy Edition This podcast sponsored by:The Bell Ringer, a weekly n
How to Start Coaching Faster and More Effectively
How to Start Coaching Faster and More Effectively Aug 12, 2026 749 In this episode, I talk about how to get a faster and more effective start to coaching this year.  This podcast sponsored by:The Bell Ringer, a weekly newsletter providing news, tools, and resources on the science of learning, written by education reporter Holly Korbey. Subscribe here. 
From the Archives: Teach FAST with Gene Tavernetti
From the Archives: Teach FAST with Gene Tavernetti Aug 5, 2026 2054 Everyone says one of the most effective ways to teach new content is by using explicit instruction. But fewer teachers than you might think can deliver an effective explicit instruction lesson. Dr. Tavernetti wrote Teach FAST to help remedy that situation and help guide teachers to more effective explicit instruction lesson.In this episode Gene lists and explains the differences between t
Show Your Work with Beth Hawks
Show Your Work with Beth Hawks Jul 29, 2026 2352 Beth Hawks talks about her new book, Show Your Work: Teaching Smarter with the Science of Learning as well as her professional path to the Science of Learning and how she utilized it in her teaching. This podcast sponsored by:The Bell Ringer, a weekly newsletter providing news, tools, and resources on the science of learning, written by education reporter Holly Korbey. Subscribe here. 

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