Season 3: Literacy and the Science of Learning
What is the Science of Learning, and how does it connect with the Science of Reading? In Season 3 of the Knowledge Matters Podcast, hosts Dylan Wiliam, Doug Lemov, and Natalie Wexler explore what happens in the brain when we read and write–and what that means for teaching and learning.
Across six 30-minute episodes, “Literacy and the Science of Learning” unpacks cognitive science and its links to literacy curriculum and instruction, with insights from researchers and educators using science-informed approaches in their schools. Wiliam goes deep on cognitive load and how to boost long-term memory, Lemov discusses fluency and the value in reading whole books, and Wexler dives into the power of writing to support comprehension, knowledge retention, and critical thinking.
Understanding how students learn, remember, and access what they’ve learned has broad implications–both for K–12 education and individual teachers’ daily decision-making. These curriculum and literacy experts bring cognitive science to the fore in concrete conversations with actionable insights for policymakers, education leaders, and classroom teachers.
Trailer, Introducing Season 3: Literacy and the Science of Learning
June 17, 2025 - 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.
June 17, 2025 - 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.
Ep. 1, Dylan Wiliam on How the Brain Learns | Literacy and the Science of Learning
June 24, 2025 - How does the human mind work, and how can schools and teachers maximize student learning? Host Dylan Wiliam begins Season 3 by exploring the critical roles of knowledge and long-term memory with cognitive and educational psychologists Daisy Christodoulou, David Geary, and John Sweller. When students have knowledge, they can apply schemas and more working memory to lighten the cognitive load and more readily master the learning tasks at hand. “The way to make our students smarter is not to give them practice in thinking, but to give them more to think with.”
June 24, 2025 - How does the human mind work, and how can schools and teachers maximize student learning? Host Dylan Wiliam begins Season 3 by exploring the critical roles of knowledge and long-term memory with cognitive and educational psychologists Daisy Christodoulou, David Geary, and John Sweller. When students have knowledge, they can apply schemas and more working memory to lighten the cognitive load and more readily master the learning tasks at hand. “The way to make our students smarter is not to give them practice in thinking, but to give them more to think with.”
Ep. 2, Dylan Wiliam on Building Student Knowledge | Literacy and the Science of Learning
July 1, 2025 - Memories grow stronger when we have to retrieve them–that’s why flash cards and pop quizzes can be effective educational tools. Host Dylan Wiliam talks with educators-turned-authors Patrice Bain and Zach Groshell about the instructional techniques that help students store and access knowledge. That includes note-taking (metacognition), exploring varied aspects of related content (interleaving), and returning to topics over time (distributive practice, or spacing). “Too often as teachers we concentrate on putting information into our heads. What if instead we concentrated on pulling information out?”
July 1, 2025 - Memories grow stronger when we have to retrieve them–that’s why flash cards and pop quizzes can be effective educational tools. Host Dylan Wiliam talks with educators-turned-authors Patrice Bain and Zach Groshell about the instructional techniques that help students store and access knowledge. That includes note-taking (metacognition), exploring varied aspects of related content (interleaving), and returning to topics over time (distributive practice, or spacing). “Too often as teachers we concentrate on putting information into our heads. What if instead we concentrated on pulling information out?”
Ep. 3, Doug Lemov on Fluency’s Impact on Comprehension | Literacy and the Science of Learning
July 8, 2025 - Host Doug Lemov dives deeply into the science of how we read and what educators can do to support fluency, which allows students to read with accuracy, automaticity (or pace), and prosody (expression). Guest David Paige discusses how fluency minimizes interruptions from unfamiliar words and frees up working memory to make meaning of a text. Educators can curate an environment where reading is a shared, social activity and build students’ ability to focus and remain engaged, including through oral literacy such as read-alouds. “We can change students’ reading habits from the outside in.”
July 8, 2025 - Host Doug Lemov dives deeply into the science of how we read and what educators can do to support fluency, which allows students to read with accuracy, automaticity (or pace), and prosody (expression). Guest David Paige discusses how fluency minimizes interruptions from unfamiliar words and frees up working memory to make meaning of a text. Educators can curate an environment where reading is a shared, social activity and build students’ ability to focus and remain engaged, including through oral literacy such as read-alouds. “We can change students’ reading habits from the outside in.”
Ep. 4, Doug Lemov on the Power of Whole Books | Literacy and the Science of Learning
July 15, 2025 - Reading is hard, and reading whole books is even harder—but “to read a challenging text, and to persist with it, is one of the greatest gifts an education can give students,” host Doug Lemov explains. With guests Stephen Sawchuk and Daniel Willingham, and in a visit to a Texas classroom, Lemov explores the unique power of books to relay memorable information through story, build a common base of shared knowledge, and allow students to build stamina as readers and wrestle with complex ideas together. “When what you read is meaningful, you are more likely to read again. But if what you read is an exercise in main-idea-ing, you are likely to choose your phone.”
July 15, 2025 - Reading is hard, and reading whole books is even harder—but “to read a challenging text, and to persist with it, is one of the greatest gifts an education can give students,” host Doug Lemov explains. With guests Stephen Sawchuk and Daniel Willingham, and in a visit to a Texas classroom, Lemov explores the unique power of books to relay memorable information through story, build a common base of shared knowledge, and allow students to build stamina as readers and wrestle with complex ideas together. “When what you read is meaningful, you are more likely to read again. But if what you read is an exercise in main-idea-ing, you are likely to choose your phone.”
Ep. 5, Natalie Wexler on Memory and the Writing Effect | Literacy and the Science of Learning
July 22, 2025 - “Writing isn’t just a product–it’s part of the process of learning,” begins host Natalie Wexler, as she details the inter-related cognitive processes that are strengthened when students write. With guests John Sweller and Jeffrey Karpicke, Wexler explores how students who write about what they have read retain more information. To lighten the cognitive demands of the act of writing, educators can use activities that build skills through “deliberate practice” and draw on students’ content knowledge.
July 22, 2025 - “Writing isn’t just a product–it’s part of the process of learning,” begins host Natalie Wexler, as she details the inter-related cognitive processes that are strengthened when students write. With guests John Sweller and Jeffrey Karpicke, Wexler explores how students who write about what they have read retain more information. To lighten the cognitive demands of the act of writing, educators can use activities that build skills through “deliberate practice” and draw on students’ content knowledge.
Ep. 6, Natalie Wexler on How Writing Promotes Clear Thinking | Literacy and the Science of Learning
July 29, 2025 - In the series finale, host Natalie Wexler takes listeners inside a high-poverty Louisiana school district where educators combine a content-rich curriculum with explicit writing instruction grounded in cognitive science. Guests Serena White, Justin Overacker, and Tamla South of Monroe City Schools share how students have become skillful, confident writers across grades and subjects. Academic expectations have risen, as teachers have seen how fluent writing supports all learning: “We realized that teaching students to write clearly was actually teaching them to think clearly.”
July 29, 2025 - In the series finale, host Natalie Wexler takes listeners inside a high-poverty Louisiana school district where educators combine a content-rich curriculum with explicit writing instruction grounded in cognitive science. Guests Serena White, Justin Overacker, and Tamla South of Monroe City Schools share how students have become skillful, confident writers across grades and subjects. Academic expectations have risen, as teachers have seen how fluent writing supports all learning: “We realized that teaching students to write clearly was actually teaching them to think clearly.”