Amplify Education
25 February 2026
In this episode of Science of Reading: The Podcast, Susan Lambert is joined by Kristen McMaster, Ph.D., Guy Bond Chair in Reading and professor of special education in the Department of Educational Psychology at University of Minnesota. Together, they explore how reading comprehension isn't just about what's on the page—it's also about what's not there—and share practical insights on how to support students in developing inference skills. Susan and Kristen also discuss the dual processes of activation and integration when making inferences; the distinction between teaching students to process text actively versus teaching students to apply comprehension strategies; and different types of inferences, including causal, bridging, and elaborative. Show notes: Submit your questions to our listener mailbagAccess free, high-quality resources—including our recent Science of Reading: The Podcast Essentials "Comprehension" episode—at our companion professional learning page Download our Comprehension 101 bundle: Access free comprehension resources, including e-books, and on-demand professional learningConnect with Kristen McMasterLearn more about Kristen McMasterListen to Season 2 of Amplify's Beyond My Years podcastJoin our community Facebook groupConnect with Susan LambertQuotes: "Inferencing is really central to comprehension. We wouldn't comprehend if we didn't make inferences." —Kristen McMaster "I would encourage teachers not to underestimate the importance of supporting even the inferences that might seem obvious to us." —Kristen McMaster "Good comprehenders are often making very automatic inferences that they don't even realize." —Kristen McMaster "It helps to explicitly teach what an inference is in language that students will understand." —Kristen McMaster Timestamps*: 00:00 Introduction: Filling in the gaps with inferences, with Kristen McMaster, Ph.D. 05:00 Comprehension is how we make sense of the world around us 09:00 The types of inferences: Causal, bridging, elaborative, and theory of mind 17:00 How teachers can help students develop inference skills 22:00 Creating an effective questioning strategy 27:00 How teachers can preview a text and think about the inferences that might need to be made 31:00 Supporting students who process texts in different ways 37:00 The timing of comprehension questions 40:00 The connection between oral language comprehension and text comprehension 45:00 Final thought: Teacher's shouldn't underestimate the importance of inferences that might seem obvious. *Timestamps are approximate, rounded to nearest minute
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