phonics instruction

In today's episode, I will run through a few shifts we might've made in our schools  and share some pointers for how you can get the best out of each of them. Let's start with the early years. There are two main things to consider here. That is phonics instruction and decodable text; of course, there are more elements of early years instruction. These are just two of them that usually come with pretty big purchases  and a lot of time invested. Let's begin with phonics.

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This edWeb podcast is sponsored by XanEdu, a Scholarus Learning Company.
The webinar recording can be accessed here.

Our students’ performance on the whole on national reading tests has not improved over the past two decades (NAEP, 2023). More troubling, the gap in scores between socioeconomic groups has remained stubbornly wide.

Recent reform efforts have focused on improving instruction in phonics and other foundational skills. That’s crucial, but the evidence indicates it’s not enough. We also need to change our approach to reading comprehension to take account of a key factor that has long been overlooked: knowledge.

Some students are better able to acquire knowledge of the world outside of school beginning at birth, enabling them to read more complex text. Others rely on school for that kind of knowledge. If they don’t start acquiring it early, the gap between “good” and “poor” readers only grows wider as grades go up.

Listen to this edWeb podcast to hear Natalie Wexler, education journalist and author of The Knowledge Gap: The Hidden Cause of America’s Broken Education System—and How to Fix It, share the research along with her insights and perspectives on how we can give all students access to the kind of knowledge that enables reading comprehension—and learning in general.

This edWeb podcast is of interest to K-12 teachers, librarians, and school and district leaders and is part of the Leading by Design: 6 Initiatives You Can’t Afford to Get Wrong district leadership series where you learn from leaders who are pulling together the elements of successful schooling.

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In this episode, Tudor speaks with Emily Hanford, senior education correspondent at American Public Media, about the challenges in teaching children to read. Hanford discusses the ineffective strategies being used in schools, the historical debate over phonics instruction, and the complexity of the English language. She emphasizes the importance of understanding the science of reading and the need for better teacher training. Hanford also touches on the Matthew effect, legislative actions to improve reading instruction, and the role of politics in education. The Tudor Dixon Podcast is part of the Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Podcast Network - new episodes debut every Monday, Wednesday, & Friday. For more information visit TudorDixonPodcast.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, Tudor speaks with Emily Hanford, senior education correspondent at American Public Media, about the challenges in teaching children to read. Hanford discusses the ineffective strategies being used in schools, the historical debate over phonics instruction, and the complexity of the English language. She emphasizes the importance of understanding the science of reading and the need for better teacher training. Hanford also touches on the Matthew effect, legislative actions to improve reading instruction, and the role of politics in education. The Tudor Dixon Podcast is part of the Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Podcast Network - new episodes debut every Monday, Wednesday, & Friday. For more information visit TudorDixonPodcast.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The pandemic challenged literacy development and outcomes for many students but that doesn’t mean America is currently in a literacy crisis. Harvard Professor Catherine Snow, a pioneer with decades of research in language and literacy development, says she’s puzzled by the public discourse about a literacy crisis.

“I am...struck by the degree to which people are willing to invoke a literacy crisis, when the data do not support anything like a literacy crisis,” Snow says. “NAEP scores, aside from the pandemic then—but NAEP scores, over the last 10, 15 years have grown-- slowly, but they have gotten better in literacy.”
 

There are many districts that weathered the storm of COVID. Snow cautions that it’s important to remember the negative impacts on children’s reading test scores is not evenly distributed, and in time we will have a better understanding of its impact on literacy development. In the meantime, Snow reminds educators to remain steadfast with balanced literacy instruction.

“What worries me about the post-pandemic instruction is that people are particularly under the influence of these worries about phonics are retreating to a stance of, ‘Oh my gosh. They've missed the phonics instruction. We've got to do that more and more and better and better,’” she says. “And the fact of the matter is that yes, they need phonics instruction. But they don't need an hour and a half a day of phonics instruction. Fifteen minutes a day, in the context of opportunities to read and practice and play with language, is probably more effective than overloading literacy instruction with phonics in order to repair the ravages of the pandemic.”

In this episode of the EdCast, Snow discusses the current state of American literacy, and how despite knowing what works, we continue to misinterpret modes of instruction and the science of reading.