Shining a Light on the Science of Learning

The ‘Science of Learning’ is a term that is currently being used as a ‘new’ anchor for curriculum design. It is a bit of new branding on pedagogy that makes it seem more palatable than ‘pedagogy’. The Science of Learning is, in fact, a synthesis of pedagogical theory and (a bit like a hearty stew) it is always good to know what is actually in it so that we can appreciate the ingredients we are being served a bit more.

Here are some of the key ingredients I’ve spotted that are worthwhile to know about.

1. Constructivism

Key Idea: Learning is an active, constructive process where learners build knowledge by connecting new information to their existing understanding.

Unpacking: Aligns with Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory (social interactions build knowledge). Drives the emphasis on student-centred, inquiry-based learning and encourages discussing learning to form deeper connections with new knowledge. Key players are Bruner, Piaget and Vygotsky.

What it looks like: We shouldn’t tell students what to think or what to write down. Instead, we can engineer social interactions and activities where they figure things out and make notes for themselves. It could be summarised by the difference between taking notes and making notes.

2. Cognitive Load Theory

Key Idea: Human working memory has limited capacity, and learning is more effective when the way that learning is delivered reduces extraneous cognitive load.

Unpacking: It is important to use strategies like chunking and worked examples to break content down. This also supports Dual Coding by encouraging simplification of visual and verbal information and the importance of presenting one thing in several different ways. Cognitive Load Theory makes sense when we think about how we remember phone numbers or shopping lists in categories or chunks.

What it looks like: If you fill someone’s brain with a lot of new information then their ‘brain bucket’ is too full - and it even starts leaking. It is hard to process new information if the bucket is full - so information needs to be chunked and iterated so that it can be gradually filled and the knowledge is more likely to be retained. It might look like providing a hand out before the workshop, going over it briefly in the workshop and then extending thinking beyond the workshop rather than skipping to the ‘how to apply’ in the first workshop which might overload the brain.

Chunking - maybe because if you ate the whole block at once you would feel sick! Chunking learning is similar.

3. Distributed Practice

Key Idea: Spacing learning over time (rather than massing it in one session) improves retention and retrieval. Like a well-constructed brick wall, we build on previous layers by overlapping bricks and we can build big walls one layer at a time. Another easy way to imagine this is teaching like a spiral that loops back on itself to go forward a little and then loop back to reinforce prior learning. Bruner even calls this a spiral curriculum. (I wrote a blog expanding this to a crochet analogy).

Unpacking: Distributed Practice links to Cognitive Load Theory by avoiding overload through spaced intervals and incremental knowledge and skill acquisition and it encourages revisiting prior content by applying it to new contexts.

What it looks like: One workshop might cover ‘A’. The second workshop might cover ‘B’. A better solution is to build slowly so that ‘A’ is not forgotten. So workshop 1 covers ‘A’ and workshop 2 covers and workshop 3 covers ‘ABC’. So retention and iteration and cognitive load are all catered to.

4. Schema Theory

Key Idea: Knowledge is stored in mental frameworks that are individual and different for all of us based on prior experience (schemas). Learning involves organising new information into these structures or creating new structures into which we can insert new learning effectively.

Unpacking: Well-designed schemas can limit cognitive load. Ways of presenting new information matters and might be different for every learner depending on their prior knowledge and understanding or existing schemas.

What it looks like: This might look like finding a drawing or metaphor to anchor new learning to. Like a seahorse, they fare better when they can hook their tail into something known to keep them from floating away….

5. Dual Coding

Key Idea: Combining verbal and visual representations improves understanding and memory.

Unpacking: Some learners need diagrammatic summaries or visual versions of content in order to be able to process the information most effectively. Others need information verbally and aurally - presenting information in multiple ways means that more learners can access the ‘hook’. This supports the idea that 'lecturing’ is not effective unless it is partnered with additionally and differently coded content.

What it looks like: Have you ever played Pictionary? Words go with pictures like peas and carrots. Don’t deliver with just words and don’t deliver with just pictures. Consider both to increase your chances of a ‘true hook’.

6. Visible Learning

Key Idea: Focuses on high-impact, evidence-based practices that maximise student learning, such as feedback, metacognition (thinking about thinking), and direct instruction. Visible learning is like ‘chemistry in the classroom’ where you are watching for changes in states and supports evidence-based interventions with regular data gathering. Teachers do things because they have measurable effect on learner achivement.

Here is a great infographic from the Visible Learning website.

Unpacking: Teaching strategies need to be explicit and reflective. Learners should be able to talk about what they are learning and how they are learning it so that learning methodology and outcomes are all visible. The key player to find out more about Visible Learning from is John Hattie.

What it looks like: Success and the steps needed to reach success are clearly outlined so that students or participants can see what they are doing and know where they are at on a clear scale, rubric or success descriptor framework.

7. High-Impact Teaching Strategies (HITS)

Key Idea: Deliberate and reflective practices (e.g., questioning, feedback, explicit teaching) have been shown to be highly effective in improving student outcomes.

Unpacking: Draws from Cognitive Load Theory (e.g., worked examples) and Distributed Practice. Encourages Constructivist engagement via collaborative and inquiry-based methods.

What it looks like: Designing activities to be data-driven. Similar to visible learning, HITS are measurable and the impact is data-informed. HITS is all about measuring the impact in ways that are proven to be effective.

8. Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

Key Idea: Designing flexible learning environments to accommodate diverse learner needs from the outset means that no student is left behind. Learning is designed to cater to all rather than the normal few.

Unpacking: Applies principles of Dual Coding in ways students access, process and show their understanding of learning.

What is looks like: Predicting needs and learning interventions before they happen - providing clear text, enlarged text, alt text, dual coding, iconographic summaries in more with the needs to diverse learners in mind. Remember, not accommodating known learning needs is akin to hosting a workshop on the third floor and not providing a ramp or elevator to wheelchair users. Once you know better - you do better, right?

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It seems like a lot, doesn’t it? Yes, great learning has a lot of lenses applied to it for sure!

Of course there are more - but 8 quick-fire theories seemed like a digestible chunk for now.

What should we do with the science of learning?

Well, like a good stew - a balance of ingredients will make it rich and tasty. The science of learning calls for a mix of explicit instruction and constructivist methodology to enrich teaching and learning experiences. It is never one theory - and it always needs to be a special blend crafted for the people in front of you.

And, of couse, if you need support - I can help you with all of the above and more!

Lastly, just in case you fancy some more reading - here’s a small recommended list:

Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning by Brown, Roediger, & McDaniel

Powerful Teaching: Unleash the Science of Learning by Agarwal & Bain

The Case for Constructivist Classrooms by Brooks & Brooks

Visible Learning: The Sequel: A Synthesis of Over 2,100 Meta-Analyses Relating to Achievement, Hattie.

How People Learn by Bransford, Brown, & Cocking.

Working Memory and Learning by Gathercole & Alloway

Cognitive Load Theory in Action by Ayres, Kalyuga, & Sweller.

Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel Pink.

Principles of Instruction by Barak Rosenshine.

CAST Framework for UDL.

What is 'make the pie' learning?

Have you ever been to a workshop or presentation and been given a handout while they present a slide show but you’ve spent the time daydreaming about all the things you’d rather be doing? Or have you ever been asked to write something down that was dictated to you only to promptly forget what you had written?

This kind of learning is like being served a pie. The analogy of a ‘pie’ is helpful because pies come in all shapes, sizes, and flavors—sweet and savory—and we can all imagine being handed a pie. In this learning approach, the pie is served to a passive recipient. The recipient of the pie has no active role in making or even cutting the pie. They might eat it, but they don’t gain any understanding of how it was made. Even if it’s delicious, it’s entirely forgettable—it’s not their pie.

Let’s think about what ‘make the pie’ learning might feel like. Traditional learning experiences are more about serving the pie – and handing out the answers – rather than letting learners dig in and make the pie themselves.

In a well-designed learning environment, no two ‘pies’ should be the same and everyone should have their own pie that they have proudly designed and made for themselves.

My ‘make the pie’ philosophy, is encouraging a hands-on and interactive approach to learning. My ‘make the pie’ philosophy is all about getting people to mix, blend and bake the ingredients themselves. In a well-designed learning experience, people should feel like they have been elbow-deep in the recipe of acquiring new skills, feel confident to combine their own ‘ingredients’ of ideas and leave with an experiential understanding of how things come together.

“She really makes us think for ourselves. I am getting more confident at problem-solving and I like how she doesn’t tell us the answers.”

What’s in the Batter?

I’m not making up this whole pie thing. It’s just my way of explaining pedagogy (teaching-science geekery) to people who don’t love jargon as much as me. The ‘make the pie’ philosophy is a way to re-imagine a workshop session as a pie-making extravaganza. Instead of handing everyone a finished pie (complete with crust and all), participants might get a basket of ingredients – flour, butter, fruit, maybe a pinch of sugar. Then it’s their job to mix, knead, and taste-test as they go. This is active learning that fosters trial and error, fast-failing and iteration, collaboration and communication and a lot more too… And the making of the pie is backed up with a solid lineup of learning theories:

• Constructionist Theory: Inspired by Seymour Papert, this approach invites learners to build their own understanding. Just as they’d experiment with different amounts of sugar or spices, they’re encouraged to “construct” knowledge by trying things out and learning from what doesn’t go as planned just as they also learn from what does go as planned. Applying this theory also builds resilience and critical thinking skills.

• Constructivist Theory: Constructivism embraces the idea that learning is a social recipe – we all bring different ingredients, and when we mix with others and talk about what we are doing and why we are doing it, we can create something unique. This means collaboration, discussion, and the freedom to add a little ‘seasoning’ of one’s own ideas on the table is encouraged. This also fosters creativity, community, agency and a sense of ownership of the learning AND encourages people to bring prior knowledge and experience as a valued foundation to any new learning. Key players in constructivist theory are Bruner and Vygotsky.

• Experiential Learning: If you can imagine each step of designing a recipe as a hands-on experience then this is experiential learning. In my ‘make the pie’ learning experiences, learners are constantly doing, making, and problem-solving with me as an expert guide on the side. This isn’t about a teacher telling students what to think or do but about them figuring it out and arriving at a new understanding with expert guidance.

Why Mixing Matters More Than Memorising

In a lot of learning experiences, we’re too focused on presenting the perfect pie – giving answers and ticking boxes – that we skip the mixing stage altogether. But here’s the secret: it’s in the mixing, kneading, and experimenting where the real learning magic happens. Research shows that active learning is what makes concepts stick. When people have a chance to build their understanding, they’re far more likely to remember it. When they make the pie, they’ll talk about what they made AND want to make more pies too.

Letting learners “make the pie” empowers them to feel like they own the final product because, in a very real way, they do. They’ve rolled up their sleeves and tried out the skills in a controlled, playful setting, so they’re prepared to replicate it in real life.

What Does a ‘Make the Pie’ Workshop Look Like?

When you come to one of my sessions, you’re not sitting and waiting for the ‘perfect recipe’ to appear on a slide. You’re gathering ingredients, mixing things up, and working with a team to see how it all comes together. You might start with a challenge and work out how to fix it – just like you would in a real world situation. You’ll leave not only with new knowledge but with the know-how to apply it.

1. Choose Your Ingredients: Participants can select the skills or concepts they want to explore with different options that are differentiated and designed to meet different skill levels.

2. Mix It Up: Everyone has the chance to try new approaches, exchange ideas, and learn by doing in their own time and way – like everyone adding sprinkles and tweaks to a given recipe.

3. Bake Together: There will also be opportunities for collective problem-solving and sparking and capturing ideas.

4. Eat and Reflect Together: While the catering is usually up to you, great learning experiences require some critical reflection. We’ll talk about what was most valuable, most effective, most engaging and most impactful so that we can champion these ingredients again in the next workshop.

Making the Pie means that learning is a process of experimenting, ‘tasting’, mixing up solutions and seeing what works. The ‘Make the Pie’ philosophy promotes a ‘can-do’ mindset – because participants were not handed the answers. The answers were made by them.

Ready to Start Mixing?

So next time you’re looking at a workshop or training session and you see a slide deck and a handout with readymade answers, rethink it and try a ‘make the pie’ recipe for success that’s interactive, memorable, and customised.

Because the best learning isn’t served – it’s stirred, seasoned, and baked with everyone’s minds doing the mixing. Like the sound of this kind of pie? You know where to find me.