Executive Director, @KnowledgeMatrs. Superfan of strong, evidence-based instruction. Constantly learning. Proud @BaltCitySchools parent. Posts are my own.
Baltimore, MD
Joined August 2009
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Kristen McQuillan retweeted
Adopting a knowledge-rich curriculum is only the beginning. What happens next?
Knowledge Matters Executive Director @mcglynn3 explores why thoughtful implementation is essential to building students’ knowledge and improving outcomes.
Read more: kristenmcquillan.substack.co…
Kristen McQuillan retweeted
Knowledge isn’t at the bottom of Bloom’s Taxonomy because it matters least. It’s the foundation for everything that follows.
@C_Hendrick reminds us that higher-order thinking depends on what we know.
#KnowledgeMatters💙
carlhendrick.substack.com/p/…
Kristen McQuillan retweeted
Vocabulary builds more than language. It builds knowledge!
Knowledge Matters Scientific Advisory Committee member Dr. @SoniaCabell shares how content-rich conversations strengthen vocabulary, knowledge, and comprehension.
edweek.org/teaching-learning…
Kristen McQuillan retweeted
High-expectations teaching -- with help for those with need it -- works. Differentiation is forever. Students who started behind stay behind.
tinyurl.com/mr2b3k7r
@mcglynn3 @ReadingShanahan @CommonLit @oliviajune82 @rpondiscio @Parents4RJ @natwexler @HKorbey @KevinMahnken
Come for the Sandlot meme, stay for the argument about why “differentiation” so often misses the mark.
Same bar. Better support. More chances to get there.
New from Quill and the Classroom: The Differentiation Trap
kristenmcquillan.substack.co…
Get excited about this one! I know I am!
Hypothetically, what if you had a new book coming out in Nov. & hadn’t really announced it yet, but B&N launched a *25% off* pre-order sale 9/9-11? Maybe you’d provide this link & ask everyone to act surprised down the line? 😅 Fair, right? barnesandnoble.com/w/team-up…
In pre-K, “Coat of Many Colors” helped my daughter cope with pals teasing her for being “extra”—and made her @DollyParton’s littlest, biggest fan. Dolly became my hero, too, especially through my work on TN’s Reading 360. We’ll miss her and remain so grateful for all she gave us.
We remember Dolly Parton: the Queen of TN, an original literacy warrior, and a woman who understood the life-changing power of books.📚
@mcglynn3 shared this reflection on Dolly’s life and literacy earlier this year. It feels especially meaningful today. kristenmcquillan.substack.co…
School leaders, my evidence-based, back-to-school proposal: Stop chasing spectacular. Chase consistency.
Less razzle-dazzle highlight reel. More John Stockton.
My August @Substack is an ode to principals doing the hard work that adds up to greatness.
kristenmcquillan.substack.co…
And as always, huge thanks to my colleagues at @KnowledgeMatrs who always help conceptualize and finalize these pieces!
Kristen McQuillan retweeted
Well said. Knowledge is both part of the process and the outcome of reading comprehension. It doesn't happen after one lesson but accumulates over time.
I may have accidentally conducted the least rigorous study in education research. N = 1. Peer review: baseball parents + coffee + GameChanger.
Conclusion: What looks like sudden improvement is often years of accumulated learning finally becoming visible.
open.substack.com/pub/kriste…
I may have accidentally conducted the least rigorous study in education research. N = 1. Peer review: baseball parents + coffee + GameChanger.
Conclusion: What looks like sudden improvement is often years of accumulated learning finally becoming visible.
open.substack.com/pub/kriste…
Evidence-based literacy instruction doesn't end once students can decode. My latest piece explores why adolescent literacy deserves its own conversation.
Huge thanks to @The74, my @KnowledgeMatrs colleagues, and the many educators, researchers, and leaders advancing this work.
40+ states now mandate evidence-based reading instruction in public schools, most of them based on the #ScienceofReading and focused on the early grades. But what about high school? A new @KnowledgeMatrs tool can help buff.ly/Q91iOH1
Kristen McQuillan retweeted
📢 New from Knowledge Matters!
The High School Review Tool is here—a new resource to identify content-rich, evidence-based English curriculum for grades 9–12.
Explore it: docs.google.com/document/d/1…
#KnowledgeMatters #CurriculumMatters
Loved watching this with my kids tonight and the cheers that came from my 12 year-old son yelling, "She's money!" Even better in the post-game interview giving credit to her teammate B. Stewart. I am excited that kids are growing up watching these strong, inspiring role models! – at Baltimore, MD
Instead of "Does PD work?" perhaps we should ask instead:
"What kind of expertise are we trying to build?"
My latest piece on teacher training, economics, and implementation. Strong materials matter—but so does teacher expertise. @KnowledgeMatrs
open.substack.com/pub/kriste…
Kristen McQuillan retweeted
Kristen McQuillan says teacher training has a big problem: it teaches either the "why" (research on how kids learn) OR the "how" (using specific classroom materials), but rarely both together. It's like a doctor knowing medicine but not your child, or vice versa. Good training, like Tennessee's Reading 360 program, connects theory to practice—so teachers understand the science AND know how to use it in tomorrow's lesson.
open.substack.com/pub/kriste…
Kristen McQuillan retweeted
Our colleagues at @deansforimpact just released The Science of Learning, 2nd ed!
#TheScienceOfLearning2 includes updated research, pitfalls to avoid, and more, grounded in our best scientific understanding of how students learn. deansforimpact.org/thescienc…
Kristen McQuillan retweeted
One of our favorite conversations about comprehension is back.
In this episode, Daniel Willingham and Barbara Davidson explain why knowledge is such an essential part of reading comprehension.
ow.ly/ALMQ50YtXN7
Kristen McQuillan retweeted
In an excellent post, @mcglynn3 spotlights something that also troubled me about the Fordham report:
This was a real mixed bag, and I get worried when supplements, core programs, interventions get commingled... to say nothing of the possibility that respondents were answering with assessments or frameworks.
Come for this conversation, stay for the “Just Fold in the Cheese” metaphor that is constantly apt in literacy circles.
