What if we designed classrooms around how the brain learns best; not just standards, pacing guides, or coverage goals? As schools shift toward inclusive education, teachers need approaches that reach a wide range of learners without lowering expectations. One practical way to do that is to combine brain-based learning principles with a Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) and microlearning. Together, they strengthen Tier 1 instruction, reduce cognitive overload, and build the self-regulation students need to become successful, independent learners.
Susan Fitzell’s School House Model provides a visual framework for aligning instruction with student needs. This model reminds us that academic instruction, represented by the “Functions” or nuts and bolts (the curriculum), must be supported by two critical structures. The foundation is based on building a strong community, connection, and cooperation. Above this foundation is the “Framework,” which must be based on current brain and educational research and an understanding of how students learn. MTSS and microlearning work together to support this comprehensive, whole-house approach—from foundation to function.
Brain-Based Meets Tier-Based
MTSS is a multi-tiered system that incorporates Response to Intervention (RTI), with a core goal of failure prevention. The foundational element, Tier One, demands the use of best practice, research-based teaching methods, including differentiated instruction, for all students (80–90% of the population),,. Implementing brain-friendly strategies in Tier 1 benefits all learners, ensuring instruction aligns with how the brain naturally processes and retains information.
A traditional reading lesson might involve extended reading and a standard writing prompt. However, a brain-friendly approach leverages microlearning techniques to maintain engagement and retention:
• Color-coding vocabulary to support memory encoding: Color is a powerful memory tool, helping students retain information better than black and white text. Using color to categorize or highlight text makes the information unique, aiding visual recall,. Color-coding the parts of speech, for example, assigns nouns a unique color (like red, relating to a stop sign) and verbs a movement color (like green, relating to ‘go’).
• Paired think-alouds to encourage interpersonal interaction and verbal rehearsal: Verbalizing concepts is crucial for learning, as students often discover gaps in their understanding when they attempt to explain information to others. Strategies like Think-Pair-Share or Thinking Aloud Paired Problem Solving (TAPPS) engage students in active rehearsal.
• Chunked instruction, where students process one paragraph at a time using graphic organizers: The brain’s capacity for holding new information in short-term memory is limited to roughly three to four chunks at a time. Breaking down content into smaller, manageable pieces prevents cognitive overload. Using graphic organizers, flowcharts, or mind maps during this process visually categorizes material and helps students see patterns and relationships, supporting deeper understanding.
• Doodling key ideas as a form of nonlinguistic representation: Nonlinguistic representation, such as drawing or visualizing concepts, is a research-supported strategy that requires students to process content in new ways. This “production effect”—speaking or drawing during recall—further strengthens the encoding and memory consolidation process.
All these methods employ differentiation (Differentiated Instruction or DI) that is “good for all” students and “critical for different learners”, making instruction effective for everyone in the general classroom environment.
Self-Regulation: The Secret Weapon
The goal of instruction is to move students from being struggling learners to being successful learners by fostering self-regulation. Self-regulated learning is the most important characteristic of expert learners. These learners implement a plan that includes setting clear performance and process goals, employing clear strategies (including time management), controlling their motivation, and monitoring their own progress.
Microlearning supports these metacognitive habits. For instance, perceptive students often procrastinate, seeking information until the last minute. Teachers can mitigate this by breaking assignments down into small chunks with specific due dates, teaching students organizational strategies and self-monitoring skills. When students practice strategies frequently for short amounts of time, it is more effective than overwhelming the brain with too much at once, accelerating the learning process.
Beyond Remediation
Too often, struggling students are pulled out, slowed down, or given “easier” material, creating lower expectations that diminish their chance to achieve their greatest potential. But what if the problem isn’t the student—it’s the size of the instructional bite?
Instead of relying solely on remediation after failure, MTSS encourages adapting Tier 1 instruction to prevent failure from the outset. By intentionally structuring lessons using small, brain-aligned chunks—such as the Chunking Lesson Plans™ approach,—teachers ensure that instruction matches the capacity of the brain to learn and process new concepts effectively. This way, students who might otherwise be labeled “at risk” or “learning disabled” can remain in the rigorous general classroom environment, benefiting from high expectations and specialized instructional support embedded seamlessly into the daily lesson.
FAQ
1. How does microlearning support MTSS, especially Tier 1?
Microlearning fits Tier 1 because it makes strong, research-based instruction easier for all learners to process and retain. Instead of long, overloaded lessons, teachers deliver content in smaller chunks with frequent practice, which aligns with working memory limits and reduces cognitive overload. This improves engagement and retention for the 80–90% served in Tier 1, and it helps prevent failure before students need more intensive tiers.
2. What brain-based strategies in the article are most useful for differentiated instruction in a general classroom?
The article highlights four practical strategies that scale well in Tier 1 while still meeting diverse needs: color-coding vocabulary or parts of speech to strengthen encoding and recall; paired think-alouds like Think-Pair-Share or TAPPS to build rehearsal and reveal misunderstandings; chunked instruction using graphic organizers to manage working memory limits; and doodling or drawing key ideas as nonlinguistic representation to deepen processing and improve recall.
Why does “chunking” matter from a brain-based learning perspective?
Because working memory can hold only a small number of new “chunks” at once, long passages or multi-step directions can overload students, especially those who struggle. Chunking instruction into smaller parts, like one paragraph at a time, helps students process information without the system collapsing under cognitive load. Pairing chunking with visual tools like graphic organizers helps students see patterns and relationships, which supports deeper understanding.
How do think-aloud strategies improve learning and assessment at the same time?
When students verbalize their thinking, they rehearse the content, which strengthens learning. At the same time, explaining ideas out loud often exposes gaps in understanding that silent work can hide. Structures like Think-Pair-Share or TAPPS create a routine for interpersonal interaction, immediate feedback, and active processing, which supports both comprehension and retention.
How does this approach shift MTSS away from remediation and toward prevention?
Instead of pulling students out, lowering expectations, or giving “easier” work after failure, the article argues for improving Tier 1 instruction so more students succeed in the rigorous general classroom. By designing lessons around small, brain-aligned instructional “bites,” and embedding supportive strategies as part of everyday teaching, students who might otherwise be labeled “at risk” can keep up with higher expectations while receiving targeted support inside the core environment.
Bibliography
Burnett, S. (n.d.). The A-Z of Differentiated Instruction.
Cowan, N. (2010). The Magical Mystery Four: How is Working Memory Capacity Limited, and Why? Current Directions in Psychological Science a Journal of the American Psychological Society, 19(1), 51–57. http://doi.org/10.1177/0963721409359277
Fitzell, S. G. (n.d.). 360 Inservice, slide 3.
Fitzell, S. G. (n.d.). 360 Inservice, slide 165.
Fitzell, S. G. (2011). RTI Strategies for Secondary Teachers. London: Sage Publications.
Fitzell, S. G. (2017). Special Needs in the General Classroom: 500+ Teaching Strategies for Differentiating Instruction (3rd ed.). Manchester: Cogent Catalyst Publications.
Marzano Debra J. Pollock, Jane E., R. J. P., Marzano, R. J., Pickering, D. J., & Pollock, J. E. (2001). Classroom Instruction That Works: research-based strategies for increasing student achievement. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.Wong, B. (2010). Points of view: Color coding. Nature Methods, 7(8), 573–573. http://doi.org/10.1038/nmeth0810-573.
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