In the spirit of one of Rosenshine’s Principles, more on that below, let’s start off with a quick review! Last time, we looked at the difference between intended and enacted curriculum. The delta between what we think we’re teaching and what gets taught is a theme we’ll return to repeatedly as we try to shrink that gap. If you missed my last post, you can check it out here. One last note: I mentioned how we would explore cognitive load theory in more detail the next time you heard from me. That’s still on the docket, but I wanted to share what I’ve been reading before diving headlong into Cognitive Load Theory (CLT). The other thing I realized when I started writing about CLT is that this topic is too broad for just an email or two, so I’ll look at CLT over a series of posts in the coming months. So make sure you hit that subscribe button below so you don’t miss a post. I’d love it if you could share this email with friends, family, and colleagues, too.

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I’ve been reading a bunch for school, all books on cognitive science, the science of learning, and more. The more I read by Willingham, Wexler, and Swain, the more I want to dive into these topics in more detail than I can right now. As a parent, I know how busy we can get with life, so I’ve distilled these books down to a few main points I can share with you. If you only have time for one book, check out “Outsmart Your Brain” since its format is conducive to picking it up, reading a section, and then flipping around for more ideas. Instead of picking up my phone, I read this book in 5-15 minute chunks. I highly recommend you do the same, after you finish reading this article, of course.

All the authors I’m talking about today are people I hope to interview for the upcoming podcast I’m launching for Curriculum Unpacked. Stay tuned for details on when you’ll be able to listen to that new show.

Here’s the list, in roughly chronological order of the books I read over the summer:

• Outsmart Your Brain by Daniel T. Willingham

• Beyond the Science of Reading by Natalie Wexler

• Harnessing the Science of Learning by Nathaniel Swain

• Make It Stick by Peter Brown, Henry Roediger, and Mark McDaniel

• Rosenshine’s Principles in Action by Tom Sherrington

Outsmart Your Brain by Daniel T. Willingham

It’s easy to tell someone to “study smarter, not harder,” but what does that actually look like in practice? I enjoyed Willingham’s book because it is a succinct overview of what works for learners: spaced practice, retrieval (with low or no-stakes quizzes), and interleaving. Strategies like rereading, highlighting everything, or cramming for a test don’t result in long-term success. Willingham gives adults the tools we need to be successful learners and to help our kids develop the tools and habits to make learning stick.

Beyond the Science of Reading by Natalie Wexler.

If you’re a parent or teacher, chances are you’ve probably heard of “the reading wars.” There’s a lot to unpack on the science of reading, and this book, plus a podcast which I’ll share at the end of this post, do a lot to bring clarity to an often emotionally charged topic. She shows that phonics and background knowledge are crucial to raising successful learners. Without a strong foundation in art, history, literature, music, and science, kids may be able to decode a word, but they won’t necessarily understand what they’re reading. Reading isn’t about sounds; it’s about meaning. Students who lack a contextual knowledge base may do fine in elementary school, but they will struggle as topics become more complex in junior high and high school. Wexler’s book is an essential contribution to bringing awareness to a topic which is at the forefront (or should be) of just about every school board meeting.

Harnessing the Science of Learning by Nathaniel Swain.

I hadn’t heard about Dr. Swain until this summer, and I was lucky to run into him a few times at the Core Knowledge Conference in Orlando this past June.

Dr. Swain gives practical examples of how schools have implemented knowledge-rich curricula based on cognitive load theory. Swain shows how this approach helps with student outcomes, behavioral issues, and teacher career satisfaction. Before teaching, he worked with at-risk youth, directly observing how schools fail the most vulnerable members of society in Australia. Helping teachers understand how learning works is crucial, since many colleges of education teach new teachers pedagogical methods that aren’t backed by cognitive science.

Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning by Henry L. Roediger III, Mark A. McDaniel, and Peter C. Brown

This book is a tour de force examining how most people, students, parents, and educators misunderstand learning. It covers some evidence-based methods that can help students learn more, such as retrieval practice and finding the sweet spot for difficulty. The authors also explore less successful methods for student learning, like rereading content and cramming. These are things that all students (myself included) do, but these methods don’t help students move what they’ve learned into long-term memory.

One thing that stood out to me in this book was when the authors mentioned a political science term, “the big lie,” and how it relates to cognitive science. People fall for propaganda because many of us lack the meta-cognitive skills to think about how we think about a topic.

I could write an entire post about this book, but I don’t have the time or bandwidth to do this; instead, I’ll leave you with one more idea from the book that will ruffle some feathers. The authors discuss how “learning styles” are a myth and give concrete examples of why this is the case. For example, you wouldn’t teach a student about geography only using audio learning techniques. Seeing a map or a globe is a crucial part of learning this subject, so teachers must incorporate different instructional styles to match the topic they’re teaching.

Rosenshine’s Principles in Action by Tom Sherrington

I wrapped up the summer by reading this book by Tom Sherrington about instructional principles. I can’t get too detailed here, but I’ve wanted to learn more about how to become a more effective trainer in my professional career. Sherrington outlines the ten principles laid out by Barak Rosenshine, then adds examples from his classroom experience. While many examples don’t apply to me in a corporate setting, it’s helped me understand what teachers go through in their classrooms. Also included in this book is the original “Principles of Instruction” by Barak Rosenshine. One of the principles I want to incorporate in work and this newsletter is a brief review at the beginning of every email. Was the short review section at the top of this newsletter helpful? Hit reply and let me know, I’d love to hear your input.

Here’s a bonus sixth book recommendation: it’s what I’m reading right now, Why Don’t Students Like School? by Daniel T. Willingham. I’m only three chapters in, but it’s already fascinating. Willingham is a cognitive scientist and a Professor of Psychology at the University of Virginia. Each chapter starts with a brief question and answer, supporting examples and evidence in the chapter, followed by a summary, and ending with discussion questions. I’ve found that asking myself the discussion questions at the end of each chapter is helping me retain this new knowledge.

Before we wrap up, here’s a quote from the book that struck me, and a few questions it could raise.

“Data from the last 40 years lead to a conclusion that is not scientifically challengeable: thinking well requires knowing facts, and that’s true not simply because you need something to think about. The very processes that teachers care about most- critical thinking processes such as reasoning and problem solving- are intimately intertwined with factual knowledge that is stored in long-term memory (not just found in the environment).” Why Don’t Students Like School? by Daniel T. Willingham

Here are some questions to ask yourself or a friend. If you're willing to answer any of these, I’d love to hear your answers. If you come up with a question, I’d love to hear it from you, too!

1. Can we really think critically about something we don’t understand well?

2. What good is “critical thinking” if students don’t have the knowledge to back it up?

3. Would you expect someone to debate a topic well if they didn’t know much about it? Why should we expect kids to?

Let’s start with the obvious question: What do you think of when you hear the word curriculum? This isn’t a values argument, just a primer on what curriculum is and why it matters.

I’m willing to bet that some people may have answered that an example of a curriculum is “Common Core.” There’s no wrong answer here, so don’t feel bad if you or someone you know thought this. For better or worse, Common Core is a set of academic standards, not a curriculum. We’ll chat more about Common Core in the future, but for now, I just wanted to mention it here so we can set the stage for the coming conversations we’ll be having.

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This brings us back to one definition of curriculum, which is at the core of what I want to explore with Curriculum Unpacked. Dr. Nathaniel Swain’s definition in his book “Harnessing The Science of Learning” is a great way to start thinking about this topic.

Dr. Swain notes: “The curriculum of a school is the sum of the learning experiences that are planned for students in an educational setting. Curriculum includes both what students are learning about and how teachers will structure their teaching to build student understanding.”

The gap between what schools plan to teach and what gets taught shapes everything from reading outcomes to school culture.

Swain continues: “It is useful to separate curriculum into two broad categories: The intended curriculum is that which is documented within a school or system; the teaching and learning we plan to undertake; and the enacted curriculum is what actually occurs in the classroom. Ideally, the enacted curriculum should be closely related to the intended curriculum, notwithstanding adaptations to curricula in response to formative assessment.”

It is easy to politicize the divide between intended and enacted curriculum. Do a Google search for school curriculum, and the news results will almost certainly have stories about fights over what is taught, what shouldn’t be taught, or that AI will completely redefine school experiences for learners. These fights often leave students stuck in the middle, missing foundational knowledge that shapes long-term success later in life.

As a parent, I want to have productive conversations about improving the outcomes for our intended and enacted curricula. A prominent example of intended vs enacted curricula is highlighted in the excellent “Sold A Story” podcast, where Emily Hanford investigates how reading is taught in schools. This podcast is essential listening to anyone wanting a real-life example of how missteps ripple through districts across the United States. Missing out on these early developmental years led to devastating results for students.

Curriculum Unpacked is here to help us explore these topics together. Our daughter still has a few years before kindergarten, but there’s no time to waste when it comes to figuring out what’s going on in schools and how we can make the most beneficial impact for our kid and as many others as possible.

When I first explored the idea for this newsletter as part of a summer independent study at Wichita State, I initially thought I was going to dive right into writing about a topic that I understood at the surface level. The more I read and learned about cognitive science, how we build knowledge, form understanding, and develop schemas, the more I realized this approach was not exactly the most fruitful avenue.

I’ve been immersed in researching educational topics, from cognitive science to the science of reading, and I’m just getting started. I want to cut through the search engine noise and get you information about what actually matters for families with young learners.

I’m particularly excited to dive into Cognitive Load Theory, the topic I’ll introduce next time, since it is a concept at the heart of successful learning. I hope that what I share here will be easily digestible and give you the basics if you are busy and don’t have time to read as much as I am fortunate to do.

What topics would you like to see covered in the newsletter? Part of what I’m doing for Curriculum Unpacked is answering questions submitted by readers, so send me what you’ve got. Drop a comment here or email me john@thespaceshot.com (Curriculum Unpacked email coming soon).

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My daughter is still a few years away from kindergarten, but my wife and I are talking about this now, and the idea of starting this newsletter is part of what’s come out of our conversations.

Curriculum isn’t flashy, but it’s the foundation of what kids learn, or don’t learn, for roughly 180 days a year. (This is the average length of the school year according to the Pew Research Center) Parents may be more aware of standards for their particular district. But standards aren’t curriculum. Standards set the big picture goals; curriculum deals with what’s taught every school day.

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When school districts get a curriculum wrong, the impact isn’t abstract. It shows up in reading struggles, confusion in math, and more. A lack of a coherent curriculum leads to too many kids ending up with a shaky academic foundation that can set them on a difficult path for years. Not all of us can afford a private school, but every kid deserves a solid education, no matter their zip code. A solid education starts with a coherent curriculum.

I’m diving into the definition of curriculum because I want to understand why we got here and how we can help schools get back on track. I know other families, teachers, and concerned citizens also want to understand. We can do better, not just for my daughter, but for every kid walking into a classroom.

Whether we’re trying to fix struggling schools or strengthen a great one, we need to understand what drives learning. So next time, we’ll ask the question that few seem to define: What is curriculum?

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Curriculum Unpacked is a new newsletter and podcast exploring what kids are really learning in school and why it matters. From curriculum choices to cultural debates, we’ll break down how education shapes the next generation of citizens.

We dig into topics like how reading is taught, what cognitive science says about learning, and why curriculum design is more than just politics, it’s the blueprint for a functioning society.

No jargon. No outrage. No social media. Just thoughtful content, delivered to your inbox.

The first issue drops soon, so subscribe now to get it when it launches.

John