It’s been a BIG year at REAL! Read more in our Annual Report
Want to build a discussion skills program?
Listening skills are critical for students of all ages. They matter for academics, friendship, and all relationships – and yet, most schools stop proactively teaching students how to listen after age eight! Even then: children are most often taught how to “listen-to-comply” rather than the art of true, deep listening. At R.E.A.L.®, we know that…
We are delighted to announce the winners of The Second Annual R.E.A.L. ® Discussion National Essay Contest! We invited the thousands of students who have used R.E.A.L.® this year to submit an essay exploring the differences between communicating in-person and on-screen. We asked for predictions about how Gen-Z will communicate in 10 years, and we…
Thank you to Holly Silberman for sharing her REAL life with us! Holly is a middle school English teacher at William Penn Charter School in Philadelphia. Here are her thoughts on discussion, R.E.A.L.®, and learning. Name/Hometown: Holly Silberman/Doylestown, Pennsylvania Current School: William Penn Charter School, where I teach sixth and eighth grade English. Can you…
Dr. Emily Weinstein is a Principal Investigator at Harvard’s Project Zero, a lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and the founding Co-Director of the Center for Digital Thriving at Harvard Graduate School of Education. What follows is a conversation between Emily and R.E.A.L. ® Founder Liza Garonzik. This conversation has been lightly edited…
Adults everywhere lament kids’ conversational skills (or lack thereof) – in schools, restaurants, around family dinner tables. The causes are debatable and myriad: blame iPads, TikTok, parents, politics, COVID – the list goes on! Here’s what’s not up for debate: today’s students struggle to communicate…especially live, in-person, and across any kind of difference. As teachers…
R.E.A.L.® Discussion is a professional development program that equips faculty to teach, measure, and celebrate discussion skills – which students use in the classroom, in the cafeteria, on the court, and, even, at the grocery store (said one sixth grade girl) and on dates (shared a ninth grade boy)! The system is based on the…
Teachers don’t always get the feedback they want and need. At R.E.A.L.®, we’re trying to change that with our program that offers on-demand instructional coaching for the educators within our network. We sat down with R.E.A.L.® Director of Program Emily Gromoll to chat about feedback: what it typically looks like for teachers, what it would…
Thank you to Matt Tilford and Jack Fischer for sharing their REAL lives with us! Matt and Jack teach history at Woodward Academy in Atlanta, Georgia. Here are their thoughts on discussion, R.E.A.L.®, and learning. Names/Hometowns: Matt Tilford: Joshua Tree, CaliforniaJack Fischer: St. Louis, Missouri Current School: Woodward Academy in Atlanta, Georgia Can you describe…
Thank you to Shaila Richmond & William Berry for sharing their REAL lives with us! Shaila and William teach seventh grade English and History, respectively, at St. Catherine’s School in Richmond, Virginia. Here are their thoughts on discussion, R.E.A.L.®, and learning. Names/Hometowns: Shaila Richmond and William Berry, Richmond, VA Current School: St. Catherine’s School Can…
Susanne Carpenter is the founder and principal at Carpenter Leadership, a leadership consulting and executive coaching firm that helps leaders and leadership teams become high-performing and strategy-focused. What follows is a conversation between Susanne and R.E.A.L. ® Founder Liza Garonzik. This interview has been lightly edited for clarity. Liza: Susanne, we’re so excited to have…
Want better discussion? We do.
join us + get your
free resource