lystn

Today we are live with Natalie Wexler, the author of The Knowledge Gap: The Hidden Cause of America’s Broken Education System–And How to Fix It (LISTENERS - IT’S AVAILABLE TODAY!). The book focuses on the lack of content in the elementary curriculum and its connection to what is commonly known as the achievement gap–the gap in test scores between affluent and low-income students. Natalie is also the co-author, with Judith C. Hochman, of The Writing Revolution: A Guide to Advancing Thinking Through Writing in All Subjects and Grades (Jossey-Bass 2017), and a senior contributor to the education channel at Forbes.com.

Natalie provides a snapshot of research on building knowledge, then tangibly deconstructs the why and how behind the research making explicit connections to education classrooms today. She shares three obstacles she believes are holding educators back from understanding and implementing the research on building knowledge: intellectual, habitual, and emotional obstacles. Natalie provides clear steps to take to ‘fix’ the knowledge gap: adopting a content-focused curriculum to build knowledge, and providing teachers and leaders with ongoing professional development and coaching grounded in the curriculum. 

We are thrilled that Natalie joined us today! Pick up her new book, The Knowledge Gap: The Hidden Cause of America’s Broken Education System–And How to Fix It, and join our book club this fall. In the meantime, find articles and say hi to Natalie at https://nataliewexler.com/ or on Twitter @natwexler.