Advocating for evidence-based instruction for every Berkeley student
We are a community of parents, educators, and allies dedicated to ensuring that every child in the Berkeley Unified School District (BUSD) receives high-quality, evidence-based reading and math instruction.
We believe that reading and math skills are civil rights. We advocate for instruction grounded in the Science of Learning. This means moving away from "balanced" or "inquiry" methods for foundational learning that rely on guessing games and toward explicit, systematic instruction that aligns with cognitive science.
Once we know how learning really works, we become morally obligated to design instruction properly. Once we understand human nature, we're responsible for creating systems that honor rather than violate it.
Background:
In 2020, Berkeley Unified School District settled a federal class-action lawsuit that claimed the school did not teach students to read, and if they struggled, did not support them.
Since then, we have let go of many "balanced literacy" practices and moved toward data-informed practices with the 2025 adoption of Fishtank ELA. Through the literacy work, many teachers are starting to understand how brains learn, that foundational skills are essential to fluency and comprehension later on, and that teaching concepts explicitly, then allowing practice helps reach all learners. These tenets apply to math, science, history, and more. We can build on this movement to improve outcomes for students.
Our goal is to ensure equitable education for all students, with open pathways to college, career, and critical thinking.
What is cognitive science?
Cognitive science principles underpin the Science of Learning, which is a field of research that points to effective instructional design that optimizes how our brains learn and remember things.
Direct instruction, worked examples, and retrieval practice all have decades of various studies that support effectiveness of building long-term memory, especially for gaining foundational skills. The field points to and equips teachers with research-informed strategies, leaving space for adaptation and responsiveness to those in the classroom. This theory of instruction pays attention to learner's cognitive architecture rather than "vibes" and illusions.
A few of the approaches central to the "Science of Learning:"
- limit the amount of material students receive at a time (cognitive load)
- using retrieval practice to enhance memory
- providing worked examples to reduce unnecessary problem-solving strain
- spacing learning over time
- ensuring that novices receive explicit, guided instruction before being asked to solve problems independently
Further reading:
- The Learning Dispatch by Carl Hendrick (especially 10 Rules for Designing Effective Learning and The Lethal Mutation of Retrieval Practice)
- American Federation of Teachers American Educator Magazine (especially Principles of Instruction, Why Don't Students Like School, and Minding the Knowledge Gap)
- Stay tuned for season 2 of "Sold a Story," which will focus on the Science of Learning.
Coalition partners:
