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The Knowledge Matters Podcast

Knowledge Matters Campaign
The Knowledge Matters Podcast
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  • Dylan Wiliam on How the Brain Learns | Literacy and the Science of Learning
    How can schools and teachers maximize student learning? To answer this question, we need to understand how the human mind works. What needs to be explicitly taught, how many new things can we remember at a time, and what is the role of background knowledge in easing students’ cognitive loads?Host Dylan Wiliam begins the six-part “Literacy and the Science of Learning” podcast with an accessible overview of cognitive and educational psychology, in conversation with experts Daisy Christodoulou, David Geary, and John Sweller.With Christodoulou, Wiliam talks about the role of schema–the background knowledge and framework that helps us organize and remember new information. They also discuss the importance of “deliberate practice” rather than repetition. For example, the best musicians practice scales, not just sonatas.Geary focuses on the different ways humans learn: while much of our development is instinctual, the sorts of knowledge and skills we learn in school must be explicitly taught. Babies can learn to read faces and speak, but students need to be taught how to decode, for example. Then, Sweller explains the limitations of working memory, which can hold up to seven items at a time for 18 seconds, maximum. How can we balance the need for explicit instruction with the limitations of working memory? By helping students build and access knowledge. This can free them from the “bottleneck” of working memory by transferring brain work to our long-term memory, which sets the stage for new information to be learned:“We can’t really increase the capacity or duration of short-term memory, increasing the capabilities of our students involves increasing the content of long-term memory. This is why knowledge matters. The way to make our students smarter is not to give them practice in thinking, but to give them more to think with.”This podcast is produced by the Knowledge Matters Campaign and StandardsWork. Follow the Knowledge Matters Campaign on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Search #knowledgematters to join the conversation.Production by Tressa Versteeg. Original music and sound engineering by Aidan Shea.
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  • Introducing Season 3: Literacy and the Science of Learning
    How is the Science of Reading connected to the Science of Learning? Join hosts Dylan Wiliam, Doug Lemov, and Natalie Wexler as they delve into the links between the two, both in theory and practice, in Season 3 of the Knowledge Matters Podcast. Across six 30-minute episodes, we’ll explore how long-term memory shapes reading comprehension, why reading whole books is better than excerpts on a screen, and how teaching students to write clearly can help them think more clearly, in conversation with researchers and teachers.“We want our students to remember. That’s the goal!”This podcast is produced by the Knowledge Matters Campaign and StandardsWork. Follow the Knowledge Matters Campaign on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Search #knowledgematters to join the conversation.Additional resources:Dylan Wiliam - Developing Curriculum for Deep Thinking: The Knowledge RevivalDoug Lemov - The Teach Like a Champion Guide to the Science of ReadingNatalie Wexler - Beyond the Science of ReadingProduction by Tressa Versteeg. Original music and sound engineering by Aidan Shea.
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  • Bonus Episode: Writing: An Unsung Hero of Reading Comprehension
    This bonus episode is an audio recording of our most popular webinar ever, Writing: An Unsung Hero of Reading Comprehension. It features familiar voices to listeners of Season 1 of the Knowledge Matters Podcast, best-selling author and host Natalie Wexler, as well as StandardsWork’s Chief Program Officer Kristen McQuillan, Doug Lemov (Teach Like a Champion), and Julia Cooper (SchoolKit).Their conversation focuses on why writing should be connected to content learning. How does the act of writing about one’s learning deepen retention of the content? How does it support emerging writers in focusing on their craft? Our guests share practical examples of connected writing instruction when it’s done well, and how to identify when a curriculum is weak in addressing this critical aspect of literacy.You can watch this webinar as a video recording as well as the rest of our webinars on our website. Resources mentioned in this webinar:Slide deck from the live recording: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1f6216Vc9auVNHTqQNKJC9hBF-Fof4uhh/view?usp=sharingKnowledge Matters Review Tool: A Guide for Evaluating K-8 Curriculum: https://knowledgematterscampaign.org/review-toolThe Writing Revolution: https://www.thewritingrevolution.org Reading Reconsidered: https://teachlikeachampion.org/reading-reconsideredSchoolKit Resources: https://schoolkitgroup.com Teach Like a Champion: https://teachlikeachampion.org/?books=teach-like-a-champion-3-0The Knowledge Gap: The Hidden Cause of America’s Broken Education System—and How to Fix It: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/547653/the-knowledge-gap-by-natalie-wexler/9780735213555/Natalie’s free Substack newsletter: Minding the GapStay in the loop! Sign up for our newsletter to find out about the next webinar.Original music and sound engineering by Aidan Shea.
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  • Bonus Episode: Knowledge: An Unsung Hero of Reading Comprehension
    Today’s episode is a special bonus—an audio recording of our recent webinar, Knowledge: Why It Matters. We found the conversation so valuable that we wanted to make it accessible in as many ways as possible.In this episode, StandardsWork’s Chief Program Officer Kristen McQuillan and Baltimore City Public Schools teacher Kyair Butts join Dr. Susan Neuman (New York University) and Dr. Margaret “Moddy” McKeown (University of Pittsburgh) to explore how content knowledge plays a critical role in reading comprehension. They also discuss the limitations of approaches that emphasize reading strategies without a strong foundation in knowledge.You can watch this webinar as a video recording as well as the rest of our webinars on our website. Resources mentioned in this webinar:Knowledge Matters Review Tool: A Guide for Evaluating K-8 CurriculumBooks by Dr. McKeownThe Handbook of Early Literacy Research (Neuman, 2003)All About Words (Neuman, 2013)Educating the Other America (Neuman, 2008)Giving Our Children a Fighting Chance (Neuman, 2012)Growing Knowledge Matters. A Lot. (Student Achievement Partners, 2021)The Usefulness of Brief Instruction in Reading Comprehension Strategies (Daniel Willingham, 2014)Developing Curriculum for Deep Thinking (The Knowledge Revival, 2025)10 Ways Educators Can Bring Knowledge-Building Into Their Classrooms (ASCD, Knowledge Matters Campaign)Stay in the loop! Sign up for our newsletter to find out about the next webinar.Original music and sound engineering by Aidan Shea.
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  • “It was like fireworks, right?!” | Know Better, Do Better
    Explorers boldly venture into unfamiliar worlds, where confidence, curiosity, knowledge, and persistence are rewarded. When students approach texts like explorers, they bring these same qualities to the task—a mindset cognitive scientists call the “standard of coherence.” Such reading is purposeful, engaging, and expands the reader’s horizons. Reading anywhere, anytime is not just doable. It’s joyful.In this episode, hosts David and Meredith Liben discuss the key ingredients that power persistent reading and support students to apply the “standard of coherence” mindset when they read, including how the standard of coherence and related practices helped students accelerate their literacy development at the Libens’ NYC school.The notion of “coherence” sets a high bar for a reader’s expectations of their abilities and the text. They expect that it will make sense, and if it doesn’t, they will know what to do. With this mindset, students immediately apply practiced strategies to comprehend a text: closely read and reread, account for and explain what they know and don’t know, and use evidence from the text to back up those assertions and ideas. Expert Margaret McKeown talks about the key role comprehension monitoring plays in the process.The Libens then talk with three teachers who have experienced new curriculum and helped students develop the standard of coherence in their classrooms:Fifth-grade teacher Sean Morrisey, who discusses strategies to preview texts and build fluency (spoiler alert: spend time with books, not screens)Patty Collins, a teaching veteran, compares her work as a watercolor painter to how she creatively engages students within the EL Education reading curriculum (which she calls “my medium”)Third-grade teacher Staci McDougall, who discusses how she and her students have grown, by changing classroom practice and building stamina and comprehensionDavid and Meredith also talk about the importance of building stamina to engage with texts. By giving students time to read closely and persist through comprehension strategies, like providing textual evidence, they can become strong and steady readers who can keep focused on complexities over time.For more information about this episode, visit the Knowledge Matters Podcast website. The research, studies and artifacts mentioned are posted on the Knowledge Matters Campaign curriculum review tool.This podcast is produced by the Knowledge Matters Campaign and StandardsWork. Follow the Knowledge Matters Campaign on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Search #knowledgematters and join this important conversation. If you'd like to get in touch with David and Meredith, you can contact them through their website, readingdoneright.org.Production by Tressa Versteeg. Original music and sound engineering by Aidan Shea. Narration recorded at Bamboo Recording Studios.
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About The Knowledge Matters Podcast

The "Knowledge Matters Podcast", produced by the Knowledge Matters Campaign, is a thought-provoking and engaging exploration of the vital role of knowledge-building in education. Each season delves into the pressing issues, innovative ideas, and transformative solutions shaping the future of education, and is a must-listen for educators, administrators, parents, and anyone with an interest in the evolving landscape of learning.
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