Note: Unconstrained Kids unpacks, translates, and integrates academic research and data about skill type and the principles of skill building to support the improvement of PK-12 reading, writing, and mathematics. This post is part of a series that describes 7 key principles of skill building I identified from Dynamic Skill Theory and the Science of Learning and Development. Like everything on this Substack, this post is a work-in-progress. I will make updates as needed. Citations are included at the end. Questions, comments, and suggestions are welcome.
First posted: June 4, 2025
Last updated: July 24, 2026
I’m obsessed with skills. What they are. How they develop. I’m particularly interested in understanding the factors that support or inhibit the growth of unconstrained skills that quietly drive PK-12 math and reading achievement.
Check out this post for a basic primer on skills:
What are skills?
Note: Unconstrained Kids unpacks, translates, and integrates academic research and data about constrained and unconstrained skills for people that run, fund, and assist organizations that teach and serve kids. This post is a basic primer about skills. Like everything on this Substack,
The brain has a fundamental biological need to develop proficient skills to help it efficiently manage the body’s finite energy resources. Proficient skills are virtually automatic; their use requires little attention or conscious awareness (Mascolo, 2020). Hence, the development and refinement of skills to support goal-oriented action is an essential part of human life.
I’ve read dozens of academic articles, reports, and books about skills since spring 2024. Although “skill” is one of the most common words in the English language,1 it is not a well understood concept. Parents, educators, policymakers, and employers want to ensure that children and youth develop the skills they need to succeed in school and in life. The general public assumes skills are a natural result of growth and aging (Erard, 2013).
In PK-12 education, “skill” is not always consistently defined. Among educators “skills” and “strategies” are often used interchangeably (Afflerbach et al., 2008). It is no wonder education commentators sometimes argue that reading comprehension isn’t a skill or that it’s a myth that we need to focus on skills at all. I believe these arguments stem from a misunderstanding of what skills are and how they develop.
Developmental psychologist Kurt Fischer and his research colleagues spent decades developing detailed descriptions of how simple actions evolve into complex skills. Built upon the pioneering work of renowned child psychologist Jean Piaget, this framework is known as Dynamic Skill Theory and is a core pillar of what’s known as the Science of Learning and Development.2
I think about skills the way Fischer and his colleagues describe them: the ability to think and act in an organized way in a specific context (Immordino-Yang and Fischer, 2010). Dynamic Skill Theory is a powerful framework to understand how we build complex skills, and why our ability to use them naturally ebbs and flows depending on our environment. This series translates these important insights into seven core principles of skill building.3
Seven Principles of Skill Building
I’ve written a post with key insights for each principle. These principles apply to development of any type of skill, including those that are the focus of this Substack: PK-12 reading, writing, math, and durable skills. Although each principle stands on its own, the seven principles are highly interconnected. My read of the research suggests that experiences, instruction, interventions, and programs informed by these principles are better positioned to support successful skill building.
But wait, there’s more
Works Cited
Afflerbach, P., Pearson, P. D., & Paris, S. G. (2008). Clarifying differences between reading skills and reading strategies. The Reading Teacher, 61(5), 364–373.
Cantor, P., Osher, D., Berg, J., Steyer, L., & Rose, T. (2019). Malleability, plasticity, and individuality: How children learn and develop in context. Applied Developmental Science, 23(4), 307–337.
Erard, M. (2013). Weaving skill ropes: Using metaphor to enhance understanding of what skills are and how they develop. FrameWorks Institute.
Fischer, K. W., & Immordino-Yang, M. H. (2002). Cognitive development and education: From dynamic general structure to specific learning and teaching. In E. Lagemann (Ed.), Traditions of scholarship in education. Spencer Foundation.
Immordino-Yang, M. H., & Fischer, K. W. (2010). Neuroscience bases of learning. In V. G. Aukrust (Ed.), International encyclopedia of education (3rd Edition, pp. 310–316). Elsevier.
Mascolo, M. F. (2020). Dynamic skill theory: An integrative model of psychological development. In M. F. Mascolo & T. R. Bidell (Eds.), Handbook of integrative developmental science (pp. 91–135). Routledge.
Osher, D., Cantor, P., Berg, J., Steyer, L., & Rose, T. (2020). Drivers of human development: How relationships and context shape learning and development. Applied Developmental Science, 6–36.
The word “skill” is in Ben Guttman’s list of the 1,000 most common words in English. These words make up 75% of the language that is actually used. See https://www.benguttmann.com/thousand.
See Mascolo (2020) for a good overview of Dynamic Skill Theory and Cantor et al. (2019) and Osher et al. (2020) for a good survey of the Science of Learning and Development.
This originally was a series of 14 principles when I first published this list in June 2025. During the process of writing a book chapter on these principles, I condensed them down to seven principles. I updated this list in July 2025 to align with this updated framework.