How Does the Brain Really Learn? The Four Cognitive Stages of Learning That Every Educator Should Know

Dr. Sydney Schaef November 30, 2025 No Comments

In this post, I introduce the four cognitive stages of learning that help us go from “just taught” to “deeply learned”—the journey from initial exposure to durable understanding and meaningful…

One page document, titled Brain Leaders - An executive functions+ framework.

Executive Functions+ Framework Overview

Dr. Sydney Schaef October 27, 2025 No Comments

The research couldn’t be clearer: strong executive functions and metacognition set the stage for a better life. These skills don’t just help in school—they shape everything. People with well-developed executive…

USGCRP’s Climate Literacy Guide (2024) for Understanding and Addressing Climate

Dr. Sydney Schaef February 14, 2025 No Comments

If you’re looking for that amazing climate literacy guide released by the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) in September of 2024, we’ve got it right here for you. Created…

Performance Assessment Program | CBL Partners Media. Image shows four teenage students sitting at a round table

The Measuring PCBL Toolkit: How to Measure Personalized, Competency-based Learning

Dr. Sydney Schaef November 1, 2024 No Comments

We can’t measure what we haven’t clearly defined. That was the challenge we faced early on in our multi-year pilot to support personalized, competency-based learning (PCBL) in South Carolina. The…

Decorative image of a graduate from a competency-based school who is tossing a cap in the air and smiling with one arm up in the sky, and a blurred background with a government building behind her.

4 things every educator should know about competency-based learning

Dr. Sydney Schaef August 25, 2024 No Comments

Whether you’re new to competency-based learning or standing back as a skeptic, here are four things to know about competency-based education (CBE)–a growing movement in our field. In this article,…

Group of teachers learning how to calibrate when rating student work, sitting around a table with open laptops, notebooks, and coffee mugs.

5 Effective Ways to Calibrate When Rating Student Work

Dr. Sydney Schaef July 21, 2024 No Comments

Five practical and effective ways to help your team calibrate when rating student work using rubrics or success criteria. Are you an instructional leader, department chair, or lead teacher trying…

3 important ways to make your profile of a graduate actionable

Dr. Sydney Schaef June 4, 2024 1 Comment

Creating a collective vision or “profile of a graduate” that reflects the hopes and values of your community is a vital step in leading district transformation. But what happens next?…

The CBL Method for transforming education brings deep and meaningful learning to a group of students, shown in a photograph smiling for a group photo.

Schaef: It’s Time to Redesign K-12 Academic Standards.

Dr. Sydney Schaef June 24, 2021 No Comments

This opinion article, which presents the case for redesigning K-12 academic standards, was written by Dr. Sydney Schaef and was originally published by The 74 Million on June 24, 2021.…

Five Big Ideas for Learner-Centered Competency Framework Design

Dr. Sydney Schaef May 5, 2021 No Comments

A wonderful serenity has taken possession of my entire soul, like these sweet mornings of spring which I enjoy with my whole heart. I am alone, and feel the charm…

Image of the number 5, representing five key lessons in competency-based education or mastery learning startups

Five Key Lessons for Mastery Learning Startup

Dr. Sydney Schaef June 6, 2016 No Comments

As I see it, the biggest challenge we face in American public schools today is this: we’ve got an antiquated factory-based school model, and a workforce that has proven particularly…

Author: Dr. Sydney Schaef

How Does the Brain Really Learn? The Four Cognitive Stages of Learning That Every Educator Should Know

Executive Functions+ Framework Overview

USGCRP’s Climate Literacy Guide (2024) for Understanding and Addressing Climate

The Measuring PCBL Toolkit: How to Measure Personalized, Competency-based Learning

4 things every educator should know about competency-based learning

5 Effective Ways to Calibrate When Rating Student Work

3 important ways to make your profile of a graduate actionable

Schaef: It’s Time to Redesign K-12 Academic Standards.

Five Big Ideas for Learner-Centered Competency Framework Design

Five Key Lessons for Mastery Learning Startup

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Author: Dr. Sydney Schaef

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