This is a strong first post — not because it simplifies cognitive science, but because it clarifies why teachers actually need it.
What I appreciated most is your insistence that learning is natural but not intuitive. That single idea explains so much classroom frustration: why students feel confident but can’t retrieve later, why rereading feels productive but isn’t, why effortful practice is resisted even by motivated learners. You make the case that cognitive science isn’t about adding techniques; it’s about revealing the blind spots that mislead both learners and teachers.
Your framing of learning as phased is particularly useful. It gives teachers a way to diagnose what kind of help is needed now, rather than defaulting to whatever strategy feels familiar or fashionable. That alone reduces noise, cognitive load, and decision fatigue — for teachers as much as for students.
This is a strong first post — not because it simplifies cognitive science, but because it clarifies why teachers actually need it.
What I appreciated most is your insistence that learning is natural but not intuitive. That single idea explains so much classroom frustration: why students feel confident but can’t retrieve later, why rereading feels productive but isn’t, why effortful practice is resisted even by motivated learners. You make the case that cognitive science isn’t about adding techniques; it’s about revealing the blind spots that mislead both learners and teachers.
Your framing of learning as phased is particularly useful. It gives teachers a way to diagnose what kind of help is needed now, rather than defaulting to whatever strategy feels familiar or fashionable. That alone reduces noise, cognitive load, and decision fatigue — for teachers as much as for students.
Thank you so much. I wish I could like this more than once! You got it exactly right, and I couldn’t have summarized it better myself.
This is one of the greatest articles of all time: “Kirschner, P., Sweller, J., & Clark, R. E. (2006).”
This is your first post?! Woah! This is such a great article and I am going to reference it! Keep at it.
Thank you! It's the first one here on Substack :) I have some others on my website