Cognitive science-informed teaching, with Natalie Wexler
Meet Our Guest(s):
Natalie Wexler
Natalie Wexler is the author of Beyond the Science of Reading: Connecting Literacy Instruction to the Science of Learning, coming from ASCD on Jan. 21, 2025. She is also the author of The Knowledge Gap: The Hidden Cause of America’s Broken Education System—and How to Fix It and the co-author, with Judith C. Hochman, Ed.D., of The Writing Revolution: A Guide to Advancing Thinking Through Writing in All Subjects and Grades. She has a free Substack newsletter called Minding the Gap, and she was the host of the Reading Comprehension Revisited podcast, Season One. More information is available on her website, www.nataliewexler.com.
Meet our host, Susan Lambert
Susan Lambert is the Chief Academic Officer of Elementary Humanities at Amplify, and the host of Science of Reading: The Podcast. Throughout her career, she has focused on creating high-quality learning environments using evidence-based practices. Lambert is a mom of four, a grandma of four, a world traveler, and a collector of stories.
As the host of Science of Reading: The Podcast, Lambert explores the increasing body of scientific research around how reading is best taught. As a former classroom teacher, administrator, and curriculum developer, Lambert is dedicated to turning theory into best practices that educators can put right to use in the classroom, and to showcasing national models of reading instruction excellence.
Transcripts and additional resources:
Quotes
“We’re overlooking the ways in which the typical approach to teaching reading comprehension and writing actually conflict with what cognitive science tells us about how people learn to do those things.”
“We spend much more time trying to teach them to read, but we kind of expect them to just pick up writing. You know, for most kids, it does not happen.”
“No matter how good you are at making inferences, if you don't have the requisite background knowledge, you're not gonna be able to do it.”
“It doesn't work to just ask inexperienced writers to just write down stuff. That is not going to provide the cognitive benefits.”
“Language is connected to thinking. If you can talk and write in a more sophisticated way that reflects that you are thinking in a more sophisticated way.”