The Cult of Pedagogy Podcast 263: Five Skills that Get Students to Take Ownership of Their Learning
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Nov 9, 2025 Zaretta Hammond, an education consultant and author of 'Rebuilding Students' Learning Power,' shares insights on fostering student independence. She discusses five essential 'learn-to-learn' skills that promote cognitive growth. These include breaking down tasks, activating prior knowledge, and encouraging productive struggle through grappling with content. Zaretta also emphasizes the importance of deliberate practice and consolidation techniques to make learning stick. Teachers are guided on how to implement these strategies effectively for enhanced student engagement.
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Only The Learner Really Learns
- Only the learner truly learns, so teaching must build students' capacity to learn independently.
- Underdeveloped cognitive routines create an invisible 'cognitive red line' that fuels institutional inequity.
Start With Task Analysis
- Teach students to "Size It Up and Break It Down" by doing explicit task analysis before starting work.
- Coach them to identify required steps, strategies, and resources rather than immediately beginning the task.
Connect New Ideas To Prior Knowledge
- Use a "Scan the Hard Drive" routine to connect new content to students' prior knowledge before instruction.
- Have students ask protocol questions like where they've seen this before to prime learning.
