Services / Science of Learning and Scaffolding

Science of Learning and Scaffolding

Understand how students learn, then design lessons that match.

Overview

Great explanations, great practice, great support.

Research on memory and attention offers clear guidance for teaching. Students can only hold so much new information at once, they learn best when ideas are explained clearly and practiced with feedback, and support should fade as skill grows.

This training translates that research into everyday lesson design. Teachers practice planning, explaining, questioning, and scaffolding in ways they can use in any subject or grade.

Michael Abraham presenting student growth data at a school professional development session
What we cover

Core strands of the training.

How memory and attention work

Working memory, long-term memory, and what cognitive load means for the pace and structure of a lesson.

Explicit, well-sequenced instruction

Small steps, worked examples, guided practice, and frequent checks for understanding before students work on their own.

Scaffolding that fades

Supports such as models, sentence starters, and checklists that help students succeed today and are removed as they grow.

Questioning and feedback

Ask questions that reveal thinking, respond in the moment, and give feedback students can actually use.

Practice and retrieval

Spaced review and low-stakes retrieval that help learning last beyond the unit test.

Reading and motivation

Common pitfalls in early reading instruction, and the classroom conditions that help students stay engaged.

Who it is for

Built for the people doing the work.

  • Classroom teachers in any grade or subject
  • Instructional coaches and department leads
  • Principals building a shared language for good teaching
  • Curriculum and intervention teams
Formats

Choose the pace that fits.

  • Half-day or full-day workshop
  • Multi-session series with lesson-planning labs
  • Co-planning and observation cycles
  • Leadership briefings on what to look for in classrooms
What schools can expect. Clearer lessons, more students participating successfully, and a shared instructional vocabulary that makes coaching and collaboration easier. Results depend on implementation and follow-through, so outcomes are expected, not guaranteed.
Let’s talk

Book a 15-minute call.

Tell Michael about your school and what you are working toward. He will tell you plainly whether he can help, and where he would start.

Book your call

No cost to talk, no obligation. Prefer email? [email protected]