Curriculum and Instruction and the Cognitive Foundations Framework

Abstract

In this chapter we first discuss core instructional programs, focusing on the early elementary school grades where reading is largely taught. We contrast two main types of programs and describe what is known about instructional program effectiveness. We then turn to instructional components. We revisit the work of the National Reading Panel and its study of the evidence underlying certain instructional components, providing an update of its findings and recommendations based on two subsequent reviews that considered more recent research. We also provide maps of the instructional recommendations from each of the three reviews onto the Cognitive Foundations Framework, summarizing the recommendations made and how they address the cognitive components of reading. We then describe some of the specific ways the review panels gave for implementing their recommendations. We follow this with an example of a curriculum map, which takes a one-week instructional sequence from a kindergarten supplemental curriculum and maps it onto the Cognitive Foundations Framework. We close with a discussion of some select issues in curriculum and instruction, a chapter summary, and some questions for further thought.