In defence of the Science of Learning

The reading this week is ‘in defence of the Science of Learning’. It’s a comment on criticisms of the approach and argues that the Science of Learning is a loose and evolving body of interdisciplinary research. The findings do converge on similar implications for managing cognitive load, using retrieval, worked examples, and explicit guided instruction.

Common criticisms and counterarguments

‘The science of learning is a dogma’

It is a tentative, empirical discipline. It does not prescribe one way to teach, but identifies which methods tend to work better under particular conditions. Direct instruction, for instance, has decades of converging evidence supporting its effectiveness, especially for novice learners and foundational knowledge acquisition. Teaching techniques will change as the evidence changes

‘This movement de-skills teachers and destroys autonomy’

Professionals in other high-stakes domains such as medicine, aviation, and engineering routinely follow evidence-based protocols, not because they are automatons, but because they are accountable to what works. They still exercise judgement, but that judgement is informed, not improvised

‘It’s all memorisation and ignores the body’

No one is arguing for parroted facts over deep thought. But one cannot think critically about what one does not know. The cognitive science literature is clear: knowledge in long-term memory is what makes higher-order thinking possible.

‘Science of learning is unfair to lower SES students’

The ultimate tragedy of positions that privilege ideological purity over empirical evidence is that they potentially perpetuate educational inequity. Students from disadvantaged backgrounds, who often lack the cultural capital to navigate discovery-based approaches, benefit most dramatically from explicit, systematic instruction. (See Mastery Schools Victoria)

Read the full article by Carl Hendrick, which was in response to this article from Dr Rachael Jefferson, a senior education lecturer and researcher at Charles Sturt University.

Happy coaching.

Kind regards
Mark

Upcoming events

• 13 August – Staff Development Collective Free Webinar: Leadership for Teacher Learning. If you haven’t already signed up for our Staff Development Collective, please do so here to receive the webinar link.
• 29 August – Wellington College NZ: Improving the Behaviour and Engagement of Boys
• 3-5 September – BGS Crowther Centre with Growth Coaching International: The Impact Cycle in Action
• 5 September – A Learner’s Toolkit: Anglican Church Grammar School QLD: A Matter of Translation
• 5-7 October – Instructional Coaching Group: Teaching Learning Coaching Conference (Arizona, USA)