The science of reading has become a hot topic in schools in recent years. Since 2019, more than 45 states have passed one or more bills aimed at reforming reading instruction. These bills were passed in response to a growing consensus among researchers that many classrooms had deviated from best practices for teaching reading.
However the The science of reading remains a hotly debated topic. In school districts and universities across the country, it is sometimes called “the reading war.” Furthermore, not everything called the “science of reading” actually follows the science of reading, experts say.
For an overview of what's happening, we turned to literacy expert Nell K. Duke, professor of education and psychology at the University of Michigan and executive director of the Center for Early Literacy Success.
What is the science of reading?
“The science of reading refers to a body of research on reading, and that includes research on the reading process, what happens in our minds as we read, but also the development of reading, how we learn to read and how that occurs in the future. children differently and at different rates, and so on,” Duke says. “The teaching of reading also belongs to the science of reading. For example, when we do research comparing one way of teaching reading to another way of teaching reading, we look at which ones are more successful for children.”
The final aspect of reading science is the study of the implementation and effectiveness of reading approaches at scale, whether in large cities or at the state level or elsewhere.
Duke adds that although the science of reading has recently become a buzzword, it is not new. It dates back to the 19th century and has been used for much of the 20th century.
What are some teaching strategies that don't adhere to the science of reading?
Duke emphasizes that most reading instruction practices employed by educators are at least somewhat effective in teaching reading, but they are not always the same. most Effective way to teach reading. “For example, something teachers often do is try to get kids to memorize certain high-frequency words,” Duke says. “That's actually No the most effective way to teach those words and make them stick with children.”
He adds: “Another example that is very common in schools and has been for decades is giving children a list of vocabulary words, and then their job is to look up the word in the dictionary and then write a sentence using that word. , but “That's less effective than any other technique I know for teaching vocabulary.”
What should teachers do instead?
When a child is learning a word like “was,” Duke understands that it can be tempting to try to get him to memorize it.
“That's not spelled like you might imagine, so you might think, 'I'm going to have the kids memorize the whole picture of the word,'” he says. “Actually, it's still better to say 'was' and listen to the three phonemes in which 'was' sounds.” Next, he advises that children map the sounds of each syllable to the corresponding letter, even if it produces a slightly unexpected sound. , as is the case of the “a” in “was”.
When it comes to vocabulary, teachers want to avoid the treasure hunt in the dictionary. “One thing that helps with vocabulary is helping children relate new words to familiar words,” Duke says. To do this, she suggests making a network or map of words that have similar meanings.
<h2 id="xa0-what-role-does-technology-play-in-all-this-xa0″> What role does technology play in all this?
Duke believes that technology, including artificial intelligence, has the potential to help students learn to read more efficiently. The trick is to make sure you use tools based on the latest research.
For example, Duke has worked with Amira Learningan ai-powered writing tool based on the science of reading, and says what's needed is this kind of collaboration between literacy researchers and educational technology developers.
“In my opinion, the right model for this field is one where there is a partnership or collaboration between people who have experience in technology and people who have experience in reading instruction,” he says.
Why did some schools move away from phonics?
Some science of reading advocates say there hasn't been enough emphasis on phonics in some districts and states. Duke says that, like everything else, teaching reading is subject to trends.
“Sometimes I think what happens is that because reading is so complex, there are so many different things involved, people pay attention to one of those important things for a while and let others fall by the wayside, and then they change.” . to another and then others fall by the wayside,” she says. “It's a little bit like if you really focus on having good sleep habits, you might pay a little less attention to exercise. When it comes to teaching, sometimes people have become caught up in some other focus, such as developing comprehension or motivation to read, and that has led to less attention being paid to phonics. Or, at other times, people who pay less attention to phonics, or less attention to comprehension, or less attention to motivation. . . but what we know about reading is that all “They all have to get our attention.”
