Ever had a student ace all the assignments, but then struggle on a final essay or a state assessment? In this episode, Ashley and special guest co-host Jason Adair sit down with instructional coach Christi Edwards to tackle a key challenge in education: helping students transfer their learning beyond the classroom. Christi shares the first two of her four key strategies for ensuring students not only succeed in class but can apply their knowledge in future learning situations.

Key Topics Covered

• Why misalignment between class grades and assessment performance happens.
• The role of planning in ensuring students reach the depth of understanding required by the standards.
• How to foster curious and creative learners who think deeply and problem-solve independently.
• The power of engaging instructional tasks—moving beyond compliance to active, meaningful learning.
• Debunking the myth that project-based learning is only for STEM subjects—why it works in every classroom.

Resources Mentioned

• Debbie Robertson’s episode on planning 
• John Hattie’s Visible Learning research on engagement and its impact on student success.

Quotable Moments

• “Instead of asking students to show their work, ask them to show their thinking.” — Christi Edwards
• “If students don’t see the purpose in a task, they won’t be engaged—and they won’t retain the learning.” — Christi Edwards
• “Coaches don’t tell teachers what the problem is. We help uncover root causes.” — Jason Adair

Don’t Miss

• Ashley’s realization: Why students struggle when they take things too literally—and how to help them adapt.
• Jason’s coaching insight: The best instructional coaches guide teachers to find solutions rather than dictating them.
• Christi’s example of turning a short story unit into an engaging, student-driven project.

You can find this episode on Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music or wherever you listen to your podcasts.