Thread by @Inner_Drive

Our next speaker is none other than our very own Edward Watson, here to talk about the research behind Rosenshine's Principles of Instruction.
#TandLSummit

As you might know, Edward is our founder and one of the authors of our book "The Science of Learning".
And lots of the studies in this book overlap with Rosenshine's Principles of Instruction, which made us very interested in these connections...

Let's start with working memory: a small, easily overloaded vessel, which information has to go through first for us to actually learn anything.

Research says it can hold roughly 7 items (+/-2) at any one time before overflowing. And if this gets blocked, nothing (or very little) gets into our long-term memory.

How do we stop this from happening and accelerate the transfer?

One answer is retrieval practice. This means testing your memory often to practise retrieving information - NOT re-reading. That can take the shape of flashcards, practice papers, and many more.

Another is spacing: little and often rather than a lot at once.

Interleaving is a great one too: mixing up topics to study within one subject to help create stronger connections between knowledge.

And it's understandable why students don't prefer these strategies: cramming and blocking give you knowledge fast - but your memory of it also deteriorates fast.

Spacing and interleaving, on the other hand, means knowledge takes time to aquire, but sticks for much longer.

Other strategies to avoid overloading include modelling or scaffolding, so students can focus on new information without having to worry about the steps they need to take too much.

Next up: let's talk about resilience. Research found that personal motivation has very little impact on success at school - environment does.

So, what does a resilient environment look like? A good balance of challenge (C) and support (S).

Low C&S? Students will stagnate.
High C, low S? They will burn out.
Low C, high S? They will get complacent.
The sweet spot for resilience is both high challenge and high support.

How do we support it by creating independent learners? The key is metacognition, often described as "thinking about thinking", but also as the ability to identify and choose your thought processes.

This leaves us with growth mindset, which is the belief that one's skills and abilities can improve.
But how can we actually help student improve their skills and abilities?

Strategies include:
- Feedback
- Appreciating failure
- Being encouraged to take risks
And more...

The use of all these, and of the science of learning as a foundation for your practice, quite naturally leads to Rosenshine's Principles...