Knowledge Matters

We champion the role of content knowledge in the sciences of reading and learning.

[Knowledge Matters @KnowledgeMatrs]

🎧 Season 3 of the #KnowledgeMatters Podcast drops June 24!

This season, we’re diving deep into Literacy + the Science of Learning!

Our hosts are three powerhouse voices:
🧠 @dylanwiliam
📘 @Doug_Lemov
✍️ @natwexler

📅 New episodes drop here:
https://t.co/FxOR1PhOEx

[Knowledge Matters @KnowledgeMatrs]

Knowledge Matters is proud to endorse ARC Core Fusion and Novel Middle School ELA!

These content-rich, knowledge-building curricula join our growing list of high-quality programs aligned to the sciences of reading and learning.

Learn more: https://t.co/cXoLp0T45l

[SoL in the Wild @SoLInTheWild]

I don’t know who needs to hear this, but I don’t know a single teacher who doesn’t believe in the importance of inquiry and critical thinking. You’d be hard-pressed to convince me otherwise.

What many teachers also understand, rightfully so, based on decades of evidence, is that novices cannot successfully engage in deep inquiry or critical thinking without first building a strong base of domain-specific knowledge.

The problem becomes time.

Course guides, pacing guides, and standards dictate the scope and sequence of instruction, and by the time students have built enough knowledge to meaningfully engage in inquiry and critical thinking, it’s already time to move on to the next unit, concept, or standard.

And yes, I understand that elements of inquiry and critical thinking can and should be embedded into the knowledge-building process. But when students are still in the acquisition and fluency-building stages of the instructional hierarchy, the focus should primarily be on building and strengthening knowledge to the point of fluency and automaticity. Only then can students meaningfully engage in deeper inquiry and critical thinking.

One of the most common practices I use to embed these elements into my instruction, when appropriate and applicable, is visible thinking routines. But again, I only have students engage in these routines when the knowledge necessary for the thinking and inquiry involved has been automated in long-term memory and retrieval strength is high. That allows students to devote their limited working memory capacity to the actual thinking and inquiry demands of the task, rather than to simply recalling background knowledge.

[Dylan Wiliam @dylanwiliam]

@tomloveless99 And the easier you find reading, the more you do it. I recall one study (I think mentioned by @DTWillingham) that in a class of 11 year olds, the least avid reader reads around 50,000 words in a year, and for the most avid the figure is around 4 million...

[Knowledge Matters @KnowledgeMatrs]

“They were not merely reading words. They were building knowledge.”

@SusanBneuman’s latest is a timely reminder that comprehension grows when students build vocab, language, & knowledge alongside reading skills. Knowledge isn’t extra. It’s essential.

🔗 https://t.co/csxNeZRDhM

[Susan Neuman @SusanBneuman]

Check out my new substack: https://t.co/hXJAUzcJF9

[SoL in the Wild @SoLInTheWild]

There is a great deal of valuable nuance here regarding the importance of prior knowledge. This section especially stood out to me given my recent experiences with pre-questions, their potential to prime prior knowledge, and their ability to direct and sustain attention.

https://t.co/iUscGM1Dhb

[Knowledge Matters @KnowledgeMatrs]

Don’t miss this 🧵! 🔥

[Doug Lemov @Doug_Lemov]

Lots of belated attention on this platform for the NCTE’s shameful 2022 policy statement arguing in favor of “decentering the book” as well as long form essay writing… and presumably anything else that might be effortful for students.

I’ve written about it here and in my recent book where Erica Woolway, Colleen Driggs. They’ve had four years to retract it & haven’t, so I can only assume they still believe this to be true.

If it bothers you, good. It should.

A 🧵then about doing the opposite and "re-centering" the text instead of "de-centering" it.

[Natalie Wexler @natwexler]

This podcast does a great job of summarizing what teachers should know about cognitive science.

Honored to have been included!

[Knowledge Matters @KnowledgeMatrs]

Get the free Review Tool → https://t.co/glt1ZyIEZL #HistoryMatters #ScienceOfReading

[Knowledge Matters @KnowledgeMatrs]

Kids who know more, read better.

"Students understand texts better when they have knowledge about the world." — Matthew Levey on why history instruction is a literacy strategy.

Read the full interview → https://t.co/p6O8Ryt05P

#HistoryMatters #KnowledgeMatters

[Fordham Institute @educationgadfly]

Two-fifths of secondary students—and about half of disadvantaged students—aren’t assigned enough full-length books.

Misguided curriculum is part of the problem. But it’s not the whole story.

Read Meredith Coffey:
https://t.co/HJMnuuZmGc

[Zach Groshell @MrZachG]

"Customers find the book highly informative, noting it provides an excellent introduction to the science of learning. The book receives positive feedback for its concise instructions and how it clearly explains what explicit instruction entails."
https://t.co/xrm3xiWEM9

[The Writing Revolution @TheWritingRevol]

We love how Ms. Suri-Kumra (Woodbury Elementary School in MN) is scaffolding TWR strategies for her first graders!

In her words: "After reading Stellaluna, we completed the TWR topic sentence and details activity. We completed this activity whole group using the pocket chart (pic attached). We talked about where each detail belonged and why. My class has the multilingual learners, so we did lots of oral rehearsal and partner share. The next day we went back to the pocket chart and filled in the details again. After completing the chart we worked together and rehearsed how to turn the fragments into complete sentence. We did this for the topic sentence how Stelllaluna is similar to birds. After this about half of the class worked to turn their topic sentence and supporting details into a paragraph. The remaining students stayed on the carpet, and we looked at how we could turn the fragments into complete sentences for how Stellaluna is different. These students have stronger writing skills so I rehearsed with them how to use but to write a compound sentence. They then worked on turning their topic sentence and details into a paragraph."

[SoL in the Wild @SoLInTheWild]

Another post related to refining curriculum coherence. More issues with curriculum providers.

From my understanding, one of the key characteristics of a true knowledge-rich curriculum, not just in the buzzword sense, is how knowledge intentionally builds and connects throughout units, lessons, and chapters. Today’s lesson is not isolated. It is building on knowledge previously learned while also preparing students to learn future knowledge.

Based on my experience with curriculum providers, including the one I currently use, these characteristics are frequently missing. There are often no intentional or explicit connections made between prior knowledge or or lessons, recurring concepts, and understandings embedded throughout the curriculum.

Because of this, one of my current refinement focuses is putting together a reference page for each unit for both myself and my PLC that helps us intentionally make those connections more explicit.

[margaret mckeown @margaretmckeow2]

"The data from this research sheds light on the importance and impact of language in the classroom. Educators can positively impact students’ decoding ability by being word-conscious and elevating and expanding the vocabulary they use every day."
https://t.co/AzdYk5SNzT

[SoL in the Wild @SoLInTheWild]

As I begin refining how I sequence our curriculum around the idea of, “We are learning this today because of what we learned yesterday and because it prepares us for what we will learn tomorrow,” it has become increasingly apparent that one of the most significant problems with how curriculum is packaged and presented to teachers is that it is often not informed by evidence related to the limitations of working memory and memory consolidation.

For example, one chapter I’m reviewing on the regions and cultures of Nigeria recommends that students spend 30 minutes reading a 13-page chapter covering three different regions, including differences in culture, economy, history, and ways of life. Strong readers may be able to complete the reading in that amount of time, but their working memory will likely be overloaded as they attempt to juggle so much unfamiliar information while rapidly moving from region to region and only briefly pausing to take a couple notes.

As a result, very little of the content is likely to be strongly encoded into long-term memory or connected to prior knowledge in a meaningful way. I also know of teachers who regularly attempt to cover an entire chapter like this in a single class period, which only compounds the problem by prioritizing coverage over learning.

Instead, I would modify the sequence by devoting a full class period to each of the three regions so students have the time to build and consolidate knowledge about one region at a time. Then, I would dedicate a fourth lesson to comparing the regions, allowing students to retrieve and connect prior learning rather than encounter all of the information simultaneously. This approach is far more aligned with what we know about working memory, schema development, and meaningful learning.

At the end of the day, this creates a significant challenge for teachers, assuming they are knowledgeable enough about cognitive science and evidence-informed practice to recognize that these changes need to be made and have the expertise to implement them effectively.

[History Matters @HistoryMatrs]

The new @educationweek piece highlights our #HistoryMatters Review Tool and how it helps schools evaluate whether history curriculum actually builds coherent knowledge across grades instead of disconnected activities and worksheets.

https://t.co/Mju2mgzIs3

[Knowledge Matters @KnowledgeMatrs]

@natwexler latest edition of Minding the Gap is all about clarity for educators!

Learn about the new AI Evidence Checker and the second edition of @deansforimpact Science of Learning Report!

https://t.co/9Ik0uE9ZDs

[Natalie Wexler @natwexler]

Two new resources can help educators navigate the confusing world of education research. @deansforimpact @nsachdeva2019

That's important. But to make real progress, we also need to take a systemic, curriculum-focused approach.

More in my new post:

https://t.co/MdypQskQxE

[Natalie Wexler @natwexler]

Two new resources can help educators navigate the confusing world of education research. @deansforimpact @nsachdeva2019

That's important. But to make real progress, we also need to take a systemic, curriculum-focused approach.

More in my new post:

https://t.co/MdypQskQxE

[Knowledge Matters @KnowledgeMatrs]

“For learners w/ lower prior knowledge, explicit instruction should precede inquiry to support schema acquisition, whereas for more knowledgeable learners, inquiry can activate existing schemas…”

This was discussed in S3 of the #knowledgematters podcast!
https://t.co/Q0gzETJHif

[Carl Hendrick @C_Hendrick]

Inquiry works best when students have enough knowledge to inquire with. https://t.co/y5G0RGmsis

[SoL in the Wild @SoLInTheWild]

After my first full school year committed to explicit instruction, cognitive science, and knowledge-building curriculum, my summer work looks very different.

I’m not spending the summer overhauling my instructional approach. That work has been done. This summer is all about refining:

1️⃣Automating Knowledge for Future Use and Learning
2️⃣Sequencing Curriculum for Cognitive Coherence
3️⃣ Routines as Cognitive Supports

All of this work will be through the lens of the Modal Model of Memory.

New blog: “What I’m Refining After a Year of Explicit Instruction”👇