In-class discussions and small group work require less teacher directed activity. Many teachers find these methods intimidating, imagining that classroom management issues would overwhelm and sabotage any learning gains. Some training in collaborative teaching and inquiry based learning may encourage teachers to take more risks in the classroom along with their students. In addition to the notion that direct instruction is important for building a good foundation for exploration, building vocabulary skills and imparting factual information are necessary for later demands on higher order skills like critical thinking (Kirschner et al., 2006). The ways in which materials are presented may also impact students’cognitive abilities (Moussa-Inaty, Ayers, & Sweller, 2012). Rather than asking teachers to abandon the strategies and skills they may currently use, principals should promote initiatives that help them build bridges between more directed activitiesand more student centered strategies.