Natalie Wexler
Education writer; wrote The Knowledge Gap, arguing that American schools teach reading as a skill when it depends on knowledge.
Natalie Wexler did not write this page. ppll compiled it from their own words, each linked to the source. Is this you? · Report a mistake
What they believe
-
Writing is a powerful tool for enhancing thinking.
I initially wondered if I had been mistaken in arguing-not just in the book but in numerous articles and presentations-that writing was potentially our most powerful lever for enhancing thinking.
nataliewexler.substack.comSaid 4 Oct 2026This on korrents
-
Combining science and social studies with literacy instruction can enhance students' reading comprehension and content knowledge.
We now have a substantial amount of evidence that combining science and social studies with literacy instruction can enhance students' reading comprehension, along with their content knowledge.
nataliewexler.substack.comSaid 27 Sept 2026This on korrents
The bold line is korrents’ wording; the quote is theirs. These 2: what they wrote before what they said aloud, one per source, newest first.
Beliefs
Korrents What they believe 20 beliefs — each backed by an exact quote.
Each is a — compiled by korrents.com, not by them: the one-line wordings are korrents', the quotes are theirs.
Recent
Writing is a powerful tool for enhancing thinking.
I initially wondered if I had been mistaken in arguing-not just in the book but in numerous articles and presentations-that writing was potentially our most powerful lever for enhancing thinking.
Minding the Gap Said 4 Oct 2026
Learning and thinking are inextricably linked.
In fact, evidence from cognitive science establishes that learning and thinking are inextricably linked: the more we learn about a topic, the better able we are to think critically about it.
Minding the Gap Said 4 Oct 2026
Teaching students to write more clearly can enable them to think more clearly.
We realized that when we taught our students to write more clearly, they became able to think more clearly.
Minding the Gap Said 4 Oct 2026
Show 17 more
Combining science and social studies with literacy instruction can enhance students' reading comprehension and content knowledge.
We now have a substantial amount of evidence that combining science and social studies with literacy instruction can enhance students' reading comprehension, along with their content knowledge.
Minding the Gap Said 27 Sept 2026
Lack of familiarity with complex syntax is a significantly greater barrier to reading comprehension than lack of vocabulary, especially in higher grade levels.
As I discussed in a previous post, researchers have found that lack of familiarity with complex syntax is a significantly greater barrier to reading comprehension than lack of vocabulary, especially as the grade levels go up.
Minding the Gap Said 27 Sept 2026
To enable all students to become truly literate, schools need to adopt an all-hands-on-deck approach rather than leaving literacy instruction exclusively to ELA teachers.
ELA teachers will probably always take the lead on literacy instruction, but it's far too complex-and too important-an area to be considered their exclusive province. If schools want to enable all students to become truly literate, they need to take an all-hands-on-deck approach.
Minding the Gap Said 27 Sept 2026
If a college degree does not certify actual knowledge, it may lead to failure in the workplace and affect society.
But if that degree doesn't certify what people think it does, at some point that lack of knowledge is likely to catch up with the degree holder, leading to failure in the workplace-and possibly affecting society as a whole.
Minding the Gap Said 22 Sept 2026
The decline in student achievement is not solely attributable to the Covid pandemic.
Covid is only one explanation offered for declines in student achievement-and one that overlooks the fact that scores were declining, and gaps widening, before the pandemic hit.
Minding the Gap Said 22 Sept 2026
Lowering academic standards for disadvantaged students may deprive them of the opportunity to reach their full potential.
If we lower standards on the assumption that those kids will never be able to meet them, overlooking the evidence that-given science-informed curriculum and instruction-many of them can, we'll deprive them of the opportunity to reach their full potential, as we've done to so many in the past.
Minding the Gap Said 22 Sept 2026
Technology and AI can be helpful in the classroom when used wisely.
When used wisely, technology, including AI, can be helpful in the classroom.
Minding the Gap Said 13 Sept 2026
Some cognitive effort is essential to learning, and subcontracting that effort to a device will also subcontract out the learning.
It helps to understand, as I've argued before, that some cognitive effort is essential to learning-and that subcontracting out that effort to a device will also subcontract out the learning.
Minding the Gap Said 13 Sept 2026
Bans on technology or AI that fail to distinguish between helpful and harmful uses can hold students back.
But bans of tech or AI that fail to distinguish between helpful and harmful uses can end up holding students back.
Minding the Gap Said 13 Sept 2026
The long-term effects of students using AI to provide answers for homework assignments may be devastating.
That may lead to higher grades in the short term, but the evidence is mounting that the long-term effects are devastating.
Minding the Gap Said 2 Sept 2026
Teachers and students are not receiving adequate guidance on when AI is helpful versus when it interferes with learning.
But neither they nor their students are getting adequate guidance on when AI is helpful and when it actually interferes with teaching and learning.
Minding the Gap Said 2 Sept 2026
Teacher training programs rarely equip educators with the understanding of cognitive science needed to manage AI use.
So it's crucial that teachers acquire the understanding of cognitive science that will enable them to determine when AI is likely to interfere with learning. Unfortunately, teacher training programs rarely equip them with that understanding.
Minding the Gap Said 2 Sept 2026
Background knowledge and vocabulary inevitably affect reading comprehension, especially as grade levels increase and passages become more complex.
Background knowledge and vocabulary almost inevitably affect comprehension, especially as grade levels go up and reading passages become more complex.
Minding the Gap Said 23 Aug 2026
Without a minimum level of relevant background knowledge, no comprehension skill or strategy is likely to work.
In fact, without a minimum level of relevant background knowledge, no comprehension skill or strategy is likely to work.
Minding the Gap Said 23 Aug 2026
Improving education outcomes requires connecting reading and writing instruction to content areas like history and science.
If we want to improve education outcomes, we need to connect reading and writing instruction to the "content areas" like history and science-and bring instruction in all those areas in line with evidence from cognitive science.
Minding the Gap Said 23 Aug 2026
The shift away from reading started decades ago, with the advent of TV, but the internet, digital devices, and generative AI have accelerated it.
The shift away from reading started decades ago, with the advent of TV, but the internet, digital devices, and generative AI have put it on steroids.
Minding the Gap Said 16 Jul 2026
A decline in the cognitive abilities of the American electorate could threaten democracy.
If the cognitive abilities of the American electorate decline on a large scale, we all suffer, and it's not an exaggeration to say that the "end of reading" could mean the end of democracy as we know it.
Minding the Gap Said 16 Jul 2026
What is a korrent?
A korrent is a belief a person has stated in their own words: one sentence stating the claim, backed by a quote and a source, kept at korrents.com.
Under a name here, the quoted block is what they actually said. The korrent beneath it is the claim those words support, in korrents' wording — tap it to see the record, its source, and who else holds it.
Nobody here wrote their own korrents. They are compiled from public statements, and a person can change their mind, which is recorded too.
Where they publish
Blog nataliewexler.com Her site and blog on literacy and curriculum. Has a feed.
Link verified 20 Sept 2026.
About the English under a post
Some people here publish in a language other than English. Where they do, this site shows a machine translation beneath the post, in this typeface — the site's own, not theirs.
The post itself is never changed, moved or hidden: what is set in the serif above is exactly what the person published, and it is what to quote them on. A translation can be wrong in ways that matter, especially about tone.
Only the post's own words are translated. A quoted post, a linked article and a belief on korrents.com are left in their original language.