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
You can connect with Dr. Carl Hendrick:
Twitter/X: @C_Hendrick
Websites: https://carlhendrick.substack.com/ and https://carlhendrick.com/
You can connect with Brendan:
Twitter/X: @learnwithmrlee
Facebook: @learningwithmrlee
Website: learnwithlee.net
Support the Knowledge for Teachers Podcast:
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Male Room with Dr. Jesse Mills
As Director of The Men’s Clinic at UCLA, Dr. Jesse Mills has spent his career helping men understand their bodies, their hormones, and their health. Now he’s bringing that expertise to The Male Room — a podcast where data-driven medicine meets common sense. Each episode separates fact from hype, science from snake oil, and gives men the tools to live longer, stronger, and happier lives. With candor, humor, and real-world experience from the exam room and the operating room, Dr. Mills breaks down the latest health headlines, dissects trends, and explains what actually works — and what doesn’t. Smart, straightforward, and entertaining, The Male Room is the show that helps men take charge of their health without the jargon.