Scientific studies have their place, as far as finding what is measurable is concerned, but there is much in education that is beyond the realm of what is easily measurable. That's when we have to rely on intuition and experience. Don't we all recognize that as adult readers, we can read much more easily when the subjects are familiar to us? Yet how often we ignore this as we teach children.
I agree. Natalie hits that on the head when she quotes Daniel Willingham: "That’s why you need to look at different techniques—logical, experimental, non-experimental.”
Comprehension gains move much more slowly and less discretely than movement in skills areas such as phonics. You can't parse out comprehension components as minutely as you can in phonics instruction so a long-term-gains view makes sense. As a literacy educator, I'm extremely interested in improving the reading picture. I'm just wondering why the discussion about knowledge building is limited to reading. Isn't a major part of our work as teachers to create educated citizens? Knowledge building as a means to creating knowledgeable people would be at the top of my list. Great insights from this piece Natalie!
Interestingly, I have been listening to the recently added episodes of the podcast Sold A Story. They discuss the success of a school in Steubenville Ohio and a reading program called Success For All that they have used for decades. With my limited knowledge of this program it sounds like it uses knowledge building. Do you have any insight into this program?
That is a great question! Here's what ChatGPT says about the program. There are a lot of moving parts, so I'm guessing it would be difficult to tease out which of these components attributed to Steubenville's success--assuming all the teachers implemented all of them.
"A core feature of SFA is cooperative learning, where students work in small, mixed-ability groups to discuss texts, ask and answer questions, and clarify misunderstandings.
Strategies like Reciprocal Teaching (predicting, questioning, clarifying, summarizing) are commonly used to deepen comprehension.
Teachers explicitly teach comprehension strategies, such as making inferences, identifying main ideas, summarizing, and monitoring understanding. These strategies are reinforced through guided practice and gradually released to students for independent use.
SFA incorporates both fiction and non-fiction texts that align with students’ reading levels, ensuring that comprehension instruction is meaningful and developmentally appropriate.
Frequent assessments guide instruction, ensuring students receive targeted support if they struggle with comprehension. Teachers use data to provide additional interventions, such as small-group instruction for struggling readers.
Writing about reading is a key component of comprehension instruction, reinforcing understanding through summaries, responses, and analytical writing."
Scientific studies have their place, as far as finding what is measurable is concerned, but there is much in education that is beyond the realm of what is easily measurable. That's when we have to rely on intuition and experience. Don't we all recognize that as adult readers, we can read much more easily when the subjects are familiar to us? Yet how often we ignore this as we teach children.
I agree. Natalie hits that on the head when she quotes Daniel Willingham: "That’s why you need to look at different techniques—logical, experimental, non-experimental.”
Another great set of articles thanks Natalie.
Comprehension gains move much more slowly and less discretely than movement in skills areas such as phonics. You can't parse out comprehension components as minutely as you can in phonics instruction so a long-term-gains view makes sense. As a literacy educator, I'm extremely interested in improving the reading picture. I'm just wondering why the discussion about knowledge building is limited to reading. Isn't a major part of our work as teachers to create educated citizens? Knowledge building as a means to creating knowledgeable people would be at the top of my list. Great insights from this piece Natalie!
I highly recommend this nuanced discussion between researchers Trina Spencer and Douglas Peterson--Comprehending Comprehension: Is Knowledge Enough?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l14WDV7GSjc
Interestingly, I have been listening to the recently added episodes of the podcast Sold A Story. They discuss the success of a school in Steubenville Ohio and a reading program called Success For All that they have used for decades. With my limited knowledge of this program it sounds like it uses knowledge building. Do you have any insight into this program?
That is a great question! Here's what ChatGPT says about the program. There are a lot of moving parts, so I'm guessing it would be difficult to tease out which of these components attributed to Steubenville's success--assuming all the teachers implemented all of them.
"A core feature of SFA is cooperative learning, where students work in small, mixed-ability groups to discuss texts, ask and answer questions, and clarify misunderstandings.
Strategies like Reciprocal Teaching (predicting, questioning, clarifying, summarizing) are commonly used to deepen comprehension.
Teachers explicitly teach comprehension strategies, such as making inferences, identifying main ideas, summarizing, and monitoring understanding. These strategies are reinforced through guided practice and gradually released to students for independent use.
SFA incorporates both fiction and non-fiction texts that align with students’ reading levels, ensuring that comprehension instruction is meaningful and developmentally appropriate.
Frequent assessments guide instruction, ensuring students receive targeted support if they struggle with comprehension. Teachers use data to provide additional interventions, such as small-group instruction for struggling readers.
Writing about reading is a key component of comprehension instruction, reinforcing understanding through summaries, responses, and analytical writing."