Asking a child to juggle seven balls all at once—a challenge for even the most talented circus performer—would end in disaster. And yet, every day in schools across the country, children are expected to learn reading, writing, math, science, social studies, the arts, and health education.
Consider the added complexities of learning how to work and play well with others, and it is easy to see how students are facing an enormous cognitive load. On top of it all, many of them are also moving fluidly between two (or more) languages.
This is a case of what the kids like to call “doing too much.” Too many subjects, too many expectations, and too many instructional routines—each one disjointed from the others.
The solution, however, is not decreasing the demands of the classroom. Doing so would only shortchange students on all that a great education can offer. Instead, students need a rhythm of consistent practices and shared routines that allow learning in one area to support learning in another. This coherence is what keeps the miraculous act of learning in motion and ultimately drives student growth.
Over the next year and beyond, coherence must become more than a buzzword. Research1 tells us that instructional coherence is “more likely to advance student achievement than multiple, unrelated efforts.” In theory, this means students experience learning as a continuous, connected process instead of a series of fragmented tasks. But what does this look like in practice?
Here is an idea: rather than treating language and literacy education as an isolated experience, we must recognize that students are learning how to read, write, and communicate every minute of the school day — whether negotiating a playground conflict, solving a math problem, interpreting a historical text, or testing a scientific hypothesis.
Coherence is essential for multilingual learners. Gone are the days when different language abilities are expected to be kept strictly separate. Now, students are translanguaging—or using their full linguistic backgrounds to express themselves, build knowledge, and make connections across disciplines—in addition to developing core academic skills. A coherent approach to teaching and learning ensures that translanguaging creates more clarity than confusion for students.
When instructional routines, knowledge building, and classroom practices are aligned and consistent across the learning experience, students do not have to start from scratch every time they enter a classroom. Coherence helps build momentum. It is the key to unlocking growth for every learner.
Achieving coherence will require a meaningful shift in how we think about instruction, curriculum, and education policy. Educators will need time and support to collaborate across grade levels and content areas. Curriculum designers will need to ensure instructional materials are not only evidence-based and research-backed, but also deeply connected to assessment, professional learning, and the realities of the classroom. Policymakers will need to recognize that new, novel initiatives layered atop each other will have less of a positive impact on learning outcomes than systems that are intentionally designed, aligned, and interconnected.
Coherence gives students (and teachers!) a rhythm they can rely on. It is the structure that transforms each subject, each lesson, and each routine into the cumulative, continuous experience of learning.
As we work to help every student reach their fullest potential, the challenge is clear: stop layering on disconnected initiatives and start building systems in which the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
Note
1. https://www.jstor.org/stable/3594132
Francie Alexander is SVP of Efficacy and Consulting Research, HMH. www.hmhco.com