Discussion is key to learning.
In a screen-bound world, face-to-face conversation is hard.
But it’s important—and teachable.
We help teach it.
The R.E.A.L.® approach has been featured by:
Our Story
It all started during second period. Yet another discussion fell flat – the same kids spoke up, sat back, eye-rolled, panicked – and Humanities teacher Liza Garonzik realized that the Gen-Z students in her class lacked the in-person communication skills they needed to talk and trust each other.
Liza knew that discussion skills are critical for learning and life – and wanted her students to thrive even as they grew up in a screen-bound, cancel-culture world. So she spent a decade working with experts, teachers, and Gen-Z students to develop R.E.A.L.®: the first research-backed method for explicitly teaching face-to-face discussion skills.
Today, R.E.A.L.® has several programs for teaching, measuring and celebrating discussion skills in grades 2-10. R.E.A.L.® is used by thousands of students, hundreds of teachers, and dozens of teams across diverse schools and youth-facing organizations. The results speak for themselves.
Our Story
It all started during second period. Yet another discussion fell flat – the same kids spoke up, sat back, eye-rolled, panicked – and Humanities teacher Liza Garonzik realized that the Gen-Z students in her class lacked the in-person communication skills they needed to talk and trust each other.
Liza knew that discussion skills are critical for learning and life – and wanted her students to thrive even as they grew up in a screen-bound, cancel-culture world. So she spent a decade working with experts, teachers, and Gen-Z students to develop R.E.A.L.®: the first research-backed method for explicitly teaching and equitably assessing in-person discussion skills.
Today, R.E.A.L.® has several programs for teaching discussion skills and ultimately building Conversation Culture, used by thousands of students, hundreds of teachers, and dozens of teams across diverse schools and youth-facing organizations. The results speak for themselves.
Our School Partners
PROGRAM PREVIEW
R.E.A.L.® is a method for breaking the deeply human art of great discussion into teachable, assessable, transferable skills for students who would rather text than talk. R.E.A.L.® has programs for Gr. 2-10.
98%
of teachers would recommend R.E.A.L.® to a colleague
96%
of students see R.E.A.L. skills as useful beyond the classroom
98%
of students report more confidence in speaking up in discussion
96%
of students listen more actively to their peers
94%
of students show a growth mindset towards discussion
5
The top five words teachers use to describe R.E.A.L. PD :
Practical, Innovative, Fun/Funny, Motivating, Helpful
