Literacy success depends on three sciences. Do you know all of them—and does your ELA instruction reflect them? In this three-part blog series based on their recent edWebinar, Dr. Paige Pullen and Linda Diamond invite literacy educators to look beyond the science of reading to explore the Three-Sciences Framework. While the science of reading is vital, on its own it cannot create the conditions for durable literacy success.
This is the first of three articles based on the Collaborative Classroom webinar introducing the Three-Sciences Framework and the Canon of Literacy.
In this first article, Dr. Pullen and Linda Diamond introduce the Three-Sciences Framework and the Canon of Literacy, and answer the question, What developmental pathways and instructional components lead to proficient reading, writing, and language use?
What Is the Three-Sciences Framework?
The Three-Sciences Framework elevates and expands the science of reading, strengthening it by connecting it to two other important sciences: learning science and instructional science. Far from disparaging the science of reading, the intent is to elevate it and make it more robust by connecting it to these two other important sciences.
This three-part harmony is necessary to build more effective instruction and ensure learning retention, as well as move from research to practice.
The Canon of Literacy
The Canon of Literacy represents a call to integrate the three interconnected bodies of scientific knowledge just mentioned into a coherent, evidence-based approach to teaching children to read.
It includes:
- Literacy science
- Learning science
- Instructional science
The Canon intentionally shifts the familiar language from “the science of reading,” “the science of learning,” and “the science of instruction” to “literacy science,” “learning science,” and “instructional science.” The change is deliberate and meaningful.
A Complete Science
Semantically, “the science of” implies a settled, bounded body of knowledge. Although some knowledge is settled and confirmed, science is always evolving. The more we learn, the more we ask, with better questions leading to better answers. By naming each field a living science rather than a fixed body of findings, the Canon of Literacy signals that educators must remain open to new and compelling evidence and be willing to change practices accordingly. Literacy science, learning science, and instructional science together constitute a complete literacy science—one that grows as each part grows.
We don’t adopt science; we apply it, test it, and refine it.
What Is Literacy Science (aka the Science of Reading)?
- It’s a research-informed practice.
- It’s a comprehensive approach, including more than phonics.
- It’s based on decades of research.
- It includes reading development, not just some of the ways we instruct.
Literacy science comprises a vast body of research and draws from several interdisciplinary fields that help us understand how individuals learn to read, write, and use language effectively. Educators need to continue to shape the field through an iterative, ongoing process. The shift from the science of reading to literacy science is intentional in order to capture oral language and writing.
Why Does Literacy Science Matter?
Literacy science describes the instructional components of proficient reading, writing, and language. It identifies specific evidence-based practices in all areas of literacy and broadens the lens beyond reading to encompass the full range of literacy development, including proficient language use, writing, spelling, and the reciprocal relationships among them. The expansion matters because reading, writing, and language use are not separate skills; they draw on shared knowledge and reinforce each other. Literacy science tells us what developmental pathways and instructional components lead to proficient reading, writing, and language use.
What Is Learning Science?
Learning science can be defined as the connection between insights from cognitive science and educational psychology and the teaching practices supported (and not supported) by those insights.
Why Is Learning Science Important?
Learning science is interested in how to make learning stick. It clarifies the components of efficient teaching and tells us how the brain selects, processes, stores, and retrieves information. It tells us how instruction should align to make sure that students are able to store what they’re learning in long-term memory so that they can retrieve it.
Learning science tells us how students learn. For example, it answers questions like, How does memory work? What conditions promote durable learning? Learning science (others refer to the “science of learning”) is an applied, interdisciplinary field focused on how learning happens, directly applying cognitive science, neuroscience, and psychology to improve education. While cognitive science broadly studies mental processes (thinking, memory), learning science specifically bridges lab-based findings with classroom strategies to maximize educational outcomes.
It explains why students can remember something one day, but the next they can’t. Learning science helps us understand why concepts and ideas once learned do not always endure.
There are many factors and principles within learning science. Learning science draws on cognitive, developmental, and educational psychology to explain how people acquire new knowledge and skills. It encompasses principles such as retrieval practice, spaced practice, interleaving (cumulative practice), and cognitive load management. Critically, the Canon of Literacy argues that learning science extends beyond cognitive science alone to include active engagement and techniques learned from application about how we learn.
What Is Instructional Science?
Instructional science concentrates on evidence-based principles for how best to teach. Instructional practices that are based on research can be considered evidence-based.
Why Does Instructional Science Matter?
Instructional science translates knowledge from learning science into effective teaching practices. Teaching practices designed to their full effectiveness promote efficient durable learning, i.e., proficient reading, writing, and language use. Instructional science provides instruction on how to teach: how to organize, sequence, and deliver content in ways that align with how students learn. It is the critical bridge between scientific knowledge and classroom practice. Without utilizing robust instructional science practices, research findings remain abstractions. Instructional science therefore provides the actionable principles that guide curriculum design, lesson planning, and responsive teaching.
Building Capacity Across All Three Sciences
The Canon of Literacy invites educators to move beyond debates that pit one science against another. Rather than asking whether phonics or comprehension matters more, or whether explicit instruction or implicit learning is better, the Three-Sciences Framework asks us to consider how these bodies of knowledge work together.
For curriculum developers, this means designing materials that reflect not only the content of reading research but also the principles of how students learn and the practices of effective instruction. For teachers, it means developing an understanding of all three sciences including: Understanding the reading system, understanding learners, and understanding the craft of teaching.
Investing in Professional Learning
This also means rejecting any shame well-meaning teachers may feel from having used methods such as the three-cueing model in balanced literacy curricula. Instead, this is a call for investing in professional learning that builds capacity across all three sciences, reduces stigma for struggling readers, and equips educators with the integrated knowledge they need.
Our next installment in this series focuses on principles about learning science, including novices vs. experts, working memory, and retention.
Dr. Paige Pullen is an author and a cofounder as well as the Chief Learning Officer at Mindset CoPilot. A leading voice in literacy education, Dr. Pullen is committed to translating research into real-world impact. Through collaboration with educators, policymakers, and partners worldwide, she designs evidence-based solutions rooted in the science of reading—helping systems work better and ensuring every learner has the chance to succeed. An advisor to state literacy efforts, Dr. Pullen is leading the work on the Canon of Literacy for the Evidence Advocacy Center.
Linda Diamond is an author and the Executive Director of the Evidence Advocacy Center. Linda cofounded and became president of the Consortium on Reaching Excellence in Education (CORE Learning), an organization committed to improving literacy and math outcomes for all children. After serving as CORE’s president for 26 years, Linda stepped down from that role and continues to serve on CORE’s Advisory Board and The Reading League California Advisory Board, and advises publishers, state agencies, legislators, and other organizations as they work to improve literacy instruction.
Watch the Webinar
Learn how these three sciences intersect by accessing the on-demand webinar with Dr. Paige Pullen and Linda Diamond.
Sources:
https://www.cis.org.au/publication/what-is-the-science-of-learning/
Related:
On-Demand Webinar: The Science of Reading Is Necessary but Insufficient: Enter the Three-Sciences Framework
Blog: Why Sufficient, Deliberate Practice Is a Critical Element of Literacy Learning and Retention