I thought we knew how to teach reading?

The Current Controversy About Teaching Reading: Comments for Those Left with Questions After Reading the New York times Article. This Op-Ed commentary by Daniel Willingham discusses the current knowledge base on effective reading instruction in the context of a recent New York Times article on the topic. For over twenty years, the core components of effective reading (phonics, phonemic awareness, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension) have been available to educators. Despite ample evidence, a large number of teacher preparation programs do not adequately train teachers on the best available evidence, many relying on an approach, “Balanced Literacy.” Balanced literacy was offered as a compromise to end the conflict between those advocating for phonics instruction and instructors promoting the immersion in relevant texts designed to motivate student’s learning. In practice, when Balanced Literacy is implemented, phonics instruction is frequently not included in the curriculum. Willingham concludes that decoding is the most thoroughly researched aspect of reading, decoding’s efficacy is well documented, and he suggests it is about time educators take advantage of this work.

Citation: Willingham, D. (2020). The Current Controversy About Teaching Reading: Comments for Those Left with Questions After Reading the New York times Article. University of Virginia: Daniel Willingham-Science & Education. http://www.danielwillingham.com/daniel-willingham-science-and-education-blog

Link: http://www.danielwillingham.com/daniel-willingham-science-and-education-blog

New York Times Article: An Old and Contested Solution. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/15/us/reading-phonics.html