In this episode of Science of Reading: The Podcast, Susan Lambert welcomes back researcher and author Daniel Willingham, Ph.D., to discuss reading comprehension. With only so much instruction time in the day and research supporting both comprehension strategies and knowledge building, it can be tough to know what to prioritize in the classroom. Daniel holds nothing back in outlining exactly where educators should focus their time. Together, he and Susan explore the limitations of comprehension strategies, the place for critical thinking skills in relationship to knowledge, and recognizing when messaging around knowledge has gone too far.

Show notes:

• Access free, high-quality resources at our brand new companion professional learning page: http://amplify.com/science-of-reading/professional-learning
• Resources:
  • Read: Developing Curriculum for Deep Thinking: The Knowledge Revival, multiple authors
  • Read: Raising Kids Who Read, Daniel Willingham
  • Read: The Reading Mind, Daniel Willingham
  • Listen: The basic science in reading instruction, with Daniel Willingham
  • Listen: Background knowledge, with Susan Neuman
  • Listen: ​​Research, comprehension, and content-rich literacy instruction: Sonia Cabell
• Join our community Facebook group
• Connect with Susan Lambert

Quotes:

“Your brain is really good at only bringing out the information from long-term memory that is relevant for the context. All of that's happening outside of awareness.” —Daniel Willingham, Ph.D.

“When reading is really humming, when it's really working well, it's like visual perception. You're just enjoying the view and you're oblivious to all of the cognitive machinery in the background that's letting you see.” —Daniel Willingham, Ph.D.

“Expecting that knowledge-rich curriculum is going to solve all problems… that's [not] what a reading program is. No, a reading program is multifaceted and needs to have lots of components.” —Daniel Willingham, Ph.D.

“Knowledge accrues slowly and it's going to take a while. You need to be patient.” —Daniel Willingham, Ph.D.

Episode timestamps*
2:00 Introduction: Who is Daniel Willingham?
05:00 Knowledge and reading comprehension
08:00 What it takes to be comfortable reading
10:00 Academic or disciplinary knowledge
11:00 Comprehension strategies
20:00 Applications of knowledge that can be difficult to appreciate
25:00 Inferences can be automatic
26:00 Taking the “knowledge is important” message too far
31:00 Critical thinking and knowledge building
32:00 How to decide what knowledge is important to teach
36:00 Book: Developing Curriculum for Deep Thinking
39:00 Final thoughts and advice
*Timestamps are approximate, rounded to nearest minute

In this episode of Science of Reading: The Podcast, Susan Lambert is joined by Nathaniel Swain, Ph.D. He’s a teacher, instructional coach, and author of the recent book Harnessing the Science of Learning: Success Stories to Help Kickstart Your School Improvement. Emphasizing the science of learning as an ever-growing resource for updating instruction practices, he provides a comprehensive look at how knowledge powers learning, how to identify knowledge-rich curricula, how cognitive load affects learning, and how to understand several common learning misconceptions.

Show notes:

• Access free, high-quality resources at our brand-new companion professional learning page: http://amplify.com/science-of-reading/professional-learning
• Connect with Nathaniel Swain, Ph.D.:
  • Website: nathanielswain.com
• Resources:
  • Book: Harnessing the Science of Learning
  • Think Forward Educators
  • Deans for Impact
  • Listen: Chalk Dust
• Join our community Facebook group: www.facebook.com/groups/scienceofreading
• Connect with Susan Lambert: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susan-lambert-edd-b1512761/

Quotes:

“The greatest thing about the science of learning is that it's never really gonna be finished. Much like the science of reading, it's constantly being updated and it's something that we should be constantly turning to.” –Nathaniel Swain, Ph.D.

“When we have knowledge at our fingertips—or in this case, in our synapses—ready to be used, we can overcome all these limitations that cognitive load theory talks about.” –Nathaniel Swain, Ph.D.

“We're kidding ourselves a little bit if we think that we can replace that rich content knowledge with generic skills and generic competencies.” –Nathaniel Swain, Ph.D.

Episode timestamps*
02:00 Introduction: Who is Nathaniel Swain?
03:00 Science of learning book
11:00 Knowledge powers all learning
15:00 Addressing common learning myths
18:00 Knowledge retrieval
21:00 Misconception: Productive struggle
22:00 Misconception: “Preparing students for the 21st century”
26:00 Enriching schema
29:00 Background knowledge and confirmation bias
30:00 Knowledge rich curriculum
32:00 Knowledge that is manageable and achievable
37:00 Skills AND knowledge
44:00 Chalk Dust podcast
45:00 Final thoughts and advice
*Timestamps are approximate, rounded to nearest minute

In this special Science of Reading Essentials episode, Susan Lambert pulls from past episodes of the podcast to give you everything you need to know about science-based writing instruction. Experts include Steve Graham, Ed.D.; Young-Suk Grace Kim, Ed.D.; Natalie Wexler; and Judith Hochman, Ed.D. Listeners will walk away from this episode with a solid foundation for creating a classroom of confident and capable writers, and gain a better understanding of the connection between reading and writing, the role of handwriting and spelling, the power of sentences, and the importance of applying cognitive load theory to writing.

Show notes:

• Resources
  • Access the listening guide—and other free, high-quality resources—at our brand new professional learning page: http://amplify.com/science-of-reading/professional-learning
• Join our community Facebook group: www.facebook.com/groups/scienceofreading

Quotes:

“This is not learned by osmosis. And it's not learned by vague feedback, like, ‘make it better’ or ‘add more details.’ You've got to be very granular.” —Judith Hochman, Ed.D.

"What we see with exceptional teachers is they have their kids write." —Steve Graham, Ed.D.

“The Science of Reading encapsulates decades of research about both reading and writing—because if writing was never invented, we would not have to teach kids how to read.” —Susan Lambert