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The Fellowship Using the Science of Engagement (FUSE) is a multi-year fellowship for secondary STEM and Career and Technical teachers. FUSE originated in Texas and has now expanded internationally. fuseteach.substack.com

Sep 8

Engaging Brains with Prediction

Ask a room full of ninth graders to guess how many jelly beans are in a jar, and something interesting happens. Most of them do not care about jelly beans. They care about being right. The moment they write a number down, they are locked in, and they will not walk away without finding out how close they got. That is the whole idea behind Engaging Brains with Prediction, the FUSE cognitive science practice Ryan Smith and facilitator Amalia deGuzman unpacked in this week’s FUSE Live. Amalia has taught math for sixteen years, most recently with a virtual school across Texas, where much of her focus is on supporting students retesting end-of-course exams; the kids' school has often already told, one way or another, that they are not good at this. The practice sounds almost too simple: before you answer a question, ask students to guess first. What matters is what that does to the moment between the question and the answer. A prediction plants an expectation, and once a student has one, they want to know if they were right, the same reason a movie trailer works even when you did not know you wanted to see the film until you saw the trailer. “That seeking understanding is the learning. That is the engagement.” Amalia deGuzman The harder shift is what happens when the guess is wrong. Most classrooms, math classrooms especially, run on the assumption that the right answer is the point and getting there fast is what makes a good student. Amalia pushes back on that directly, and the research backs her up. Psychologists Nate Kornell, Matthew Hays, and Robert Bjork found that even an unsuccessful attempt to retrieve an answer strengthens memory more than simply being told the answer would. A wrong prediction is not a failure to route around. It is where the real information lives: what the student was thinking, what they already know, what they connected it to. Get a prediction right, and it confirms something. Get it wrong, and the attempt itself already did some of the work. Either way, the student was invested enough to find out. None of this requires a new curriculum. Amalia’s advice for starting Monday: find one place in a lesson where students are about to get an answer, and pause first. Expand the blank space on the worksheet. Ask what they notice, what they know, what they think is going to happen, and have them write something down before they see it confirmed. For students who freeze at a blank page, give them a stem to start from: I notice, I remember, I wonder if, I think, or just a final guess. Once they trust that a wrong guess will not cost them anything, they get more comfortable trying, which for a lot of secondary students is the harder skill. The version Amalia loves most: hand a concept back to students once they have some footing in it, and have them write their own prediction questions, multiple choice if you can manage it, distractors included. Writing a wrong answer that another student might plausibly pick means knowing exactly where the concept tends to break. That is assessment literacy most adults do not have. One more piece worth sitting with. The hardest part of this practice is not the question, it is the wait afterward. Amalia calls it overcoming the compulsion to tell: the urge every teacher and every mentor has to jump in and rescue a student from the discomfort of not knowing yet. That silence usually is not a student asking to be saved. Reframed as an investment instead of a risk, wait time is often where the real respect gets shown. A few things to try this week Pick one spot in an existing lesson, a new concept or one of those special cases (vertical lines, edge cases, anything that already trips students up), and ask what do you think happens here before you show them. Have them write it down first. Then, once or twice this unit, let students write their own version of the question, and see what they choose as the wrong answers. That is often where the real teaching happens. Worth a look The mentor mindset research behind this and every FUSE practice comes from the work of our Lead Scientific Director, Dr. David Yeager, and his collaborators. Pick up a copy of his latest book, 10 to 25: The Science of Motivating Young People. If your campus or district is running a book study on it this year, FUSE can help develop the guiding questions or join for a live Q&A. FUSE will be at the Region 13 Chief Academic Officer Conference this October, and running a longer pre-conference workshop at the Learning and the Brain Conference in Austin this November. FUSE is also recruiting teachers for the 2027-2028 fellowship cohort, launching next July. If your team wants to join us at either conference, or you would rather bring this practice, or any FUSE practice, to your whole campus directly, reach out and FUSE will find time to talk. Thank you to Amalia for the conversation, and to everyone who joined live. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit fuseteach.substack.com
Aug 16

How to Open Your School Year Using the Science of Engagement

A Quick ask before we get into it: FUSE is working to bring this research to SXSW EDU next March with a proposed session, “Disengagement Isn’t About Attention, It’s About Status,” chosen by public vote. If this conversation is useful to you, a vote would mean a lot. Every teenager walks into a new classroom running the same quiet calculation: Who’s in here? Is this safe? What kind of adult is this? Can I take a chance without getting embarrassed? That calculation is mostly finished in the first five minutes, before the syllabus even comes out. In this week’s FUSE Live, Ryan Smith sat down with Krisstian Langford, a FUSE facilitator and 14-year secondary math teacher, to talk about what to do with that window. Krisstian was once told not to smile the first week of school, to be firm, no exceptions. It took her years to unlearn that and see that a classroom feels safe not because a teacher is strict, but because students can tell whether the adult in front of them actually respects them. Krisstian’s day one isn’t a syllabus review. It’s marshmallows, spaghetti, and a challenge to build the tallest tower. That’s not an icebreaker. It’s a first, low-stakes test of whether mistakes are welcome, whether people listen to each other, whether getting it wrong together is something to hide or work through out loud. “Teenagers aren’t used to being given justifications of adults’ actions. And when a teacher does that, it takes them back for a moment, like, wow, they respect me enough to tell me why they’re doing what they’re doing.” Krisstian Langford The conversation also gets into the harder stuff. Krisstian used to have “no late work, ever” written into her syllabus, until a student she cared about needed an exception. What she built instead, a clear and honest window for late work, shows that a real deadline and genuine respect for a sixteen-year-old’s reasons aren’t in tension. They only feel that way when the why never gets explained out loud. “That’s a sign of respect. Like I respect you too much to lower my expectations. And this is how I am going to support you.” Ryan Smith, on wise feedback That’s the idea running through this whole conversation. Teenagers aren’t used to adults justifying themselves, so when one does, it lands as respect. And kids notice fast when that respect is real versus performed. “Teenagers are the world’s best hypocrisy detectors.” Dr. David Yeager If your school year is starting or about to, this one’s worth the half hour. Krisstian’s closing advice is simple but hard to do: remember your own first week somewhere new, and ask whether the way you’re opening this year would have made you feel worth investing in. Wishing everyone a strong start to the school year. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit fuseteach.substack.com
Jul 24

Culture of Learning Speech with Charles House

Last week, Charles House and I sat down to talk through one of the core practices in the FUSE library: the Culture of Learning Speech. If you joined us live, you heard the research behind it and a handful of stories about how fellows are using it this fall. Here is everything you need to actually sit down and write your own. Most teachers spend the first days of class on rules, homework, and grading. That’s necessary. It’s not enough. Students walk into a new classroom carrying assumptions from every classroom they’ve sat in before, and left to guess, they assume the worst. A teacher asking a struggling student to come in for tutoring gets read as a threat. A cold call gets read as a setup to embarrass. Not because the teacher intended that, but because nothing was said out loud to correct the assumption. This misinterpretation has a name. Dr. David Yeager calls it the Adolescent Predicament, and we get into it in the recording. Puberty raises a young person’s hunger for status and respect faster than their confidence that they’ll actually get it. That gap between what they want and what they’re sure of is why an ambiguous action from an adult defaults to the worst interpretation. It’s the safer assumption when you don’t know where you stand. Being a good teacher and letting it show over time doesn’t fix this. That’s “show, don’t tell,” and it’s too slow. A semester can pass before actions alone settle the question in a student’s mind. The fix is “tell, then show”: say what you believe first, then let your policies and your language confirm it. Adolescents notice fast when what an adult says doesn’t match what an adult does. They are society’s best hypocrisy detectors. That’s why the speech needs an actual policy behind it, not just words. The module organizes a strong speech around three parts. Below is each one, with a line from a sample speech to show what it sounds like in practice, and a few questions to help you write your own. 1. Beliefs & Values - say what you believe, out loud Teachers assume it’s obvious that they believe in their students. It usually isn’t. Students who’ve struggled in a subject before have often concluded, quietly, that the subject “isn’t for them,” and that belief doesn’t correct itself just because you’re a nice teacher. You have to name it directly. From the sample speech: “I believe every single one of you can learn, grow, and succeed in this class. I know this class can feel tough at times, but struggling here does not mean you are not capable. It means you are learning. That is exactly what is supposed to happen.” To write your own, answer this: What do you actually believe about struggle in your class? Not what you’re supposed to say, but what you’d tell a colleague after a hard year. Write that down first, then simplify it until a fourteen-year-old could repeat it back to you. 2. Policies & Routines - make sure your policies say the same thing This is where belief becomes credible instead of just nice. If you tell students that mistakes are normal, but your grading punishes a first attempt as harshly as a final one, the words don’t hold. Pick one real policy that backs up your belief, and say it plainly. From the sample speech: “Tests in this class are not a final judgment on you. They are checkpoints that help us see what you understand right now... After you take a test in this class, you will have the chance to revise your work... If you correct your work, you can earn back half of the points you missed.” To write your own: pick the one policy you already have that proves your belief is real, revisions, retakes, participation grading, whatever it is. If you don’t have one yet, build it before you write the speech, not after. 3. Language & Communication - define the moments that get misread Every class has two moments that go sideways without warning: someone makes a mistake, and someone has a question. Left undefined, both moments carry the same risk: looking dumb, looking behind. Naming them ahead of time takes the risk out. From the sample speech: “In this room, mistakes are not something we shy away from. They are a normal and courageous part of learning, because they mean you are challenging yourself instead of only doing what already feels easy... When you have a question, please ask. You are not interrupting me, you are contributing to the whole class’s learning.” To write your own: think of the specific moment last year where a student’s face told you they thought they’d done something wrong just by asking or missing an answer. Write the line that would have told them, in advance, that they hadn’t. Putting it together You don’t need all three sections to be long. The sample speech above covers all three in well under a page. What matters is that all three are there: belief, backed by policy, made concrete in language. Any one of them alone doesn’t hold up. A belief without a policy is just a slogan. A policy without belief feels bureaucratic. Language without either is just a nice thing to say once. Write a draft, read it out loud, and cut anything that doesn’t sound like you. Give it more than once. The first week matters, but so does the week of the first hard test, when students need to hear it again. Want some feedback on your speech? Drop it in the comments or send us a chat and we will share our thoughts with you. If you’re a principal or district leader and want this taught across a whole campus, not left to individual teachers to try on their own, reach out. We’ll talk through what a FUSE partnership could look like for your school or district. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit fuseteach.substack.com
May 1

Support Student Outcomes and Teacher Well‑Being: Lessons from the Science of Engagement

Across districts, leaders are being asked to solve two urgent challenges at once:How do we improve student outcomes—especially in rigorous courses—while also supporting teacher well‑being and retention? In this episode, we share how the FUSE (Fellowship Using the Science of Engagement) program at The University of Texas at Austin is addressing both challenges by translating decades of research on adolescence, motivation, and belonging into practical, everyday practices for educators. At the core of this work is a simple but powerful insight from the research:Adolescents are highly attuned to status and respect—and the way adults communicate during moments of struggle can either fuel disengagement or unlock motivation. What the research shows Led by UT Austin researcher Dr. David Yeager, whose work builds on foundational research by Dr. Carol Dweck, FUSE focuses on how teacher language, framing, and expectations shape students’ willingness to engage—particularly when learning feels uncertain or demanding. Rather than lowering standards, the research points to the importance of maintaining high expectations while making support unmistakably visible to students. When students interpret struggle as evidence that they do not belong, disengagement cycles take hold. When adults communicate belief, respect, and purpose—especially in moments of error—students are far more likely to persist, seek help, and improve. What this looks like in classrooms FUSE does not ask teachers to adopt a new curriculum or instructional model. Instead, teachers learn and practice research‑backed communication strategies that are embedded into what they are already doing: * How they talk about mistakes and assessments * How they frame challenge and effort * How they explain why rigorous expectations matter Teachers are supported throughout the year through a cohort‑based fellowship model, coaching conversations, and structured reflection—allowing these practices to take root over time rather than fading after a single workshop. Why districts are paying attention Districts partnering with FUSE consistently point to two outcomes that matter deeply to system leaders: * Stronger classroom cultures, where more students report feeling respected, supported, and willing to engage * Improved teacher well‑being, with participating teachers reporting significantly lower burnout and greater intention to remain in the profession At a time when engagement, morale, and retention are top concerns, this dual impact has made the work especially relevant for schools serving adolescents in academically demanding settings. Interested in a brief conversation? If strengthening student engagement and supporting teacher well‑being are priorities for your district, we invite you to schedule a short discovery conversation to explore fit for the 2026–2027 school year. 👉 Schedule a brief conversation: Meet with the FUSE TeamOr reach us at fuse@austin.utexas.edu This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit fuseteach.substack.com
Apr 16

Culture Building Moments with Sergio Estrada

A foundational principle of The Fellowship Using the Science of Engagement is to take the latest research in motivational science and put it into action in classrooms. In this episode of FUSE Live, Sergio Estrada and Ryan Smith discuss Sergio’s experience as a teacher and instructional coach. Two research papers in particular have influenced his views on engagement and creating a classroom culture where students feel the level of support they receive matches the high academic expectations he sets. Here are links to both: Boring but Important: A Self-Transcendent Purpose for Learning Fosters Academic Self-Regulation Lessons in Learning This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit fuseteach.substack.com
Mar 15

FUSE Live - Teacher Reports

Oftentimes, we hesitate to share our personal change goals. As teachers, parents, and leaders of any kind, it takes great courage to admit we don’t have all the answers. We worry that those in our charge may respect us less if we share areas in our practice where we are seeking help. We challenge FUSE members to examine those internal feelings; to think about who they are protecting by putting up that wall. We also build an understanding that one of the most powerful ways to show someone else respect, especially adolescents, is through acts of transparency. And that transparency starts with how you are approaching your own learning and development. FUSE members are encouraged to tell their students that they joined this program and to be specific about the impact they are hoping to achieve. Three points are raising the percentage of students who believe their teacher: * Rejects an “all or nothing” view of ability * Believe all students can be successful And that students believe: * Their classroom is a place where everyone feels comfortable making mistakes We foster this culture through a variety of research-backed strategies in motivation and cognitive science that tap into adolescents’ need for status and respect. In this month’s FUSE Live, Krisstian Langford and Ryan Smith discuss the Teacher Reports that members receive after each student module. We discuss the impact of sharing this data with students and how the three interventions improve student outcomes and engagement. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit fuseteach.substack.com
Mar 9

FUSE Live - How to Join Our Next Cohort

Here is a copy of the slides. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit fuseteach.substack.com
Feb 14

FUSE Teacher Interview - Adam Santos

Krisstian Langford from FUSE and Adam Santos, a FUSE member from Dripping Springs ISD, sit down to discuss teaching, navigating change, and their classroom experiences across a variety of instructional settings. Are you ready to join teachers like Adam in the 2026-2027? We are enrolling new FUSE fellows right now, and the program will kick off in June. Send us a message here on Substack. Or learn more at www.fuse.prc.utexas.edu. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit fuseteach.substack.com
Feb 1

Disrupting the Disengagement Cycle - FUSE Live January Recording

Our monthly webinars give our team a chance to share a glimpse into the individual science of engagement practices that FUSE members experience during their fellowship. Subscribe here on Substack to stay up to date with every episode. If you missed our sessions about Engaging Brains with Prediction or Mining for Mistakes: A Collaborative Troubleshooting Routine, check them out here: Adolescents often worry that if they make a mistake publicly, they will lose their teachers' respect and face humiliation from their peers for being labeled a “bad” student. But what if we could chip away at that worry? What if, rather than choosing to hide their confusion or mistakes, they believed their teacher and their classroom culture saw mistakes as a natural part of learning? Teachers and students participating in FUSE learn science-based techniques to intervene at the moment of potential embarrassment and disrupt the disengagement cycle. Watch this month’s FUSE Live above, where we share how to tweak your language during certain key culture-building moments during instruction. Here are a few slides from the webinar. We would love to hear about how you are implementing this strategy in your classroom. Feel free to share your feedback, ideas, and questions in the comments or join the FUSE chat. The 2026-2027 FUSE cohorts launch June 16th-18th. It’s open to secondary teachers from around the world. Book a call here to learn how to join. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit fuseteach.substack.com
12/15/2025

How Exam Speeches Improve Cultures of Learning with Dr. David Yeager - FUSE LIVE December

Our monthly webinars enable our team to share a glimpse into the individual science of engagement practices that FUSE members experience during their fellowship. Subscribe here on Substack to stay up to date with every episode. If you missed our sessions about Engaging Brains with Prediction or Mining for Mistakes: A Collaborative Troubleshooting Routine, check them out here: This month, Dr. David Yeager, FUSE Lead Scientific Director and author of 10-25: The Science of Motivating Young People, joined the discussion to review the research and share the critical importance of the FUSE Exam Speeches module. Fellowship members first encounter the Exam Speeches module during the FUSE Fall Professional Learning Institute. We look deeply at how we might reframe our language about exams to help students build confidence and re-appraise the stress they may feel before, during, and after an exam. Here is a condensed version of the above video focusing specifically on the Exam Speeches FUSE practice: Next month, we are focusing on the Optimizing Memory Encoding FUSE practice and on how understanding the science of learning can make it less likely that your students will make the same mistakes in April that they did in October. We are currently enrolling teachers from around the world for our 2026-2027 FUSE cohort. Share this post with your colleagues, and we would love for you to join us in the Fellowship. Schedule a call below to start the journey. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit fuseteach.substack.com
11/17/2025

Engaging Brains with Prediction - FUSE Live November

Our monthly webinars enable our team to share a glimpse into the individual science of engagement practices that FUSE members experience during their fellowship. Subscribe here on Substack to stay up-to-date with every episode. Our subscriber numbers have grown significantly over the last month, so if you missed our October session about Mining for Mistakes: A Collaborative Troubleshooting Routine, check it out here. Using Predictive Language to Improve Student Engagement I see how prediction makes them more engaged in their learning because it feels different from what they’re used to in math.” -FUSE Fellow A recurring theme throughout the Fellowship Using the Science of Engagement experience is closely examining every aspect of communication in the classroom and how we influence the culture of learning. This month, we look at Engaging Brains with Prediction. Fellows first encounter this practice at the FUSE Summer PLI and incorporate it The full video at the top provides an overview of FUSE, featuring a conversation between Krisstian Langford and Ryan Smith about the strategy, as well as information on joining our fellowship in 2026. We also know your time is precious, so here is the portion focused on elements of the practice you can try out in your classroom immediately: We would love to hear about how you are implementing this strategy in your classroom. Feel free to share your feedback, ideas, and questions in the comments or join the FUSE chat. Join us next month on December 11th at 11:00 am Central Time when we examine our next element of the FUSE Library of Practices - Exam Speeches. Watch live here on Substack or join on LinkedIn. See you then! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit fuseteach.substack.com
10/20/2025

Mining for Mistakes: A Collaborative Troubleshooting Approach - FUSE Live October

Our monthly webinars allow our team to share a glimpse at individual science of engagement practices FUSE members engage with during their fellowship experience. Subscribe here on Substack to never miss an episode. This month, we focused on a practice that fellows consistently point to as one of the most impactful when improving student engagement - Mining for Mistakes: A Collaborative Troubleshooting Approach. If you are familiar with 10-25: The Science of Motivating Young People, by FUSE Lead Scientific Director Dr. David Yeager, then this will sound familiar to chapter six. The process focuses on three key steps: The full video at the top shares a background on FUSE, Krisstian Langford and Ryan Smith’s conversation about the strategy, and information on joining our fellowship in 2026. We encourage you to check it out. But we also know your time is precious, so here is the portion focused on elements of the practice you can try out in your classroom immediately: We would love to hear how you might be trying out this strategy in your classroom. Hit us up with feedback, ideas, and questions in the comments or join the FUSE chat. Join us next month on November 13th at 11:00 am Central Time when we examine our next element of the FUSE Library of Practices - Engaging Brains with Prediction. Watch live here on Substack or join on LinkedIn. See you then! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit fuseteach.substack.com

12 Episodes

The Fellowship Using the Science of Engagement (FUSE) is a multi-year fellowship for secondary STEM and Career and Technical teachers. FUSE originated in Texas and has now expanded internationally. fuseteach.substack.com

Creator

The Spark
Years Active

2025 - 2026
Episodes

12
Rating

Clean
Copyright

© The Fellowship Using the Science of Engagement
Show Website

The FUSE Podcast