Key takeaways
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Many state legislatures are mandating Science of Reading professional development for educators and the use of approved curricula in schools for teaching students to read.
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Science of Reading professional development typically centers around four widely recognized frameworks to help educators understand how the brain learns to read and learn best instructional practices for the classroom.
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Science of Reading professional development has a variety of benefits for both teachers and students, including increased teacher competence in literacy instruction and higher academic gains for students.
As reading scores on standardized tests have remained stagnant, or in many cases, even plummeted in recent years, several states have moved toward passing legislation to mandate the use of evidence-based literacy practices for teaching children how to read. This is great news for students but can be very difficult for educators. Why? Because most educators have not been adequately prepared to teach reading in this way and will require extensive professional development to get up to speed. Fortunately, Science of Reading professional development and literacy curricula have become widely available in recent years.
What is the Science of Reading Professional Development?
Science of Reading professional development is training for educators on how the brain learns to read and best practices for the classroom. It is not a fad that has suddenly gained traction in education; it is based on decades of cognitive science and literacy research. Despite this fact, the Science of Reading research has been overlooked by many in the education world before finally becoming more widely recognized in recent years.
Over the past several decades, the literacy debate pendulum has swung back and forth between phonics-based literacy practices and whole-language practices being the superior method for teaching children to read. Thus, many educators currently working in schools were taught whole-language practices in their teacher preparation courses or have adopted a balanced literacy approach that combines whole-language instruction with some phonics instruction because of the curricula used and supported in their schools.
Unfortunately, study after study has shown that the whole-language and balanced literacy approaches do not align with what researchers have discovered about how the brain learns to read. Thus, despite many universities, teacher preparation courses, and literacy curricula being based on these approaches, they are not, in fact, best practice for effectively teaching children to read in a skilled manner.
Because of this, and because the Science of Reading research has become widely recognized as the answer to declining literacy rates and test scores, Science of Reading professional development has become a hot commodity for educators. Some states, including North Carolina, Ohio, and Indiana, are even requiring teachers to complete certification programs in the Science of Reading to renew their teaching license.
This Science of Reading professional development typically centers around four core frameworks that help to translate research into best practices for teachers. These frameworks include:
- The Five Pillars of Literacy — These five critical components of literacy, identified by the National Reading Panel in 2000, make up the foundation of strong reading and language skills and drive classroom reading instruction. They include phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and reading comprehension.
- The Simple View of Reading — A formula developed to show that reading comprehension is the product of two key abilities, decoding and language comprehension. If one of these abilities is missing, skilled reading comprehension cannot be attained.
- Scarborough’s Reading Rope — A framework that explains how reading develops through word recognition and language comprehension. It helps educators understand how individual skills, such as background knowledge, verbal reasoning, and sight word recognition, develop and work together to support skilled reading.
- Structured Literacy — An instructional approach that relies on the explicit, systematic teaching of foundational reading and writing skills to meet the needs of all learners, using evidence-based elements.
These four frameworks come together in many Science of Reading professional development courses to help educators better understand that, unlike oral communication, learning to read is NOT a natural process. Teaching children to read includes far more skills than just phonics and requires differentiation for all students to be successful.
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What are the benefits of Science of Reading Professional Development?
Educators who participate in Science of Reading professional development enjoy a host of benefits, many of which are passed on to students in the classroom.
Increased Teacher Competence
Because most educators did not receive training on the cognitive science behind learning to read at the university level, Science of Reading professional development replaces the outdated literacy professional development that many educators receive over the course of their careers and helps them deepen their understanding of how the brain processes print and speech. This knowledge helps them dive deeper into the Five Pillars of Literacy and provides explicit instructional methods and classroom teaching strategies.
Increased Teacher Confidence
Additionally, increased understanding of the Science of Reading enables educators to build confidence in their ability to teach students how to read, provide differentiated support to students in the classroom, and identify learning issues earlier. This can result in increased job satisfaction and higher teacher retention.
Enhanced Student Outcomes
Because cognitive research highlights the specific foundational literacy skills that can be measured early in a child’s schooling to predict and prevent reading failure, early screening for dyslexia is a key component of many Science of Reading professional development programs. In fact, almost every state in the U.S. has passed laws around dyslexia and mandated screening of students. These early screening measures, along with the many other benefits of Science of Reading professional development, can result in higher academic gains for students.
Differentiated Instruction to Meet the Needs of All Learners
For many students, those higher academic gains result from differentiated instruction that meets their individual needs. Early screeners play a key role in identifying areas for teachers to target and providing guidance on how to best support students on their journey to becoming a skilled reader, whether they are struggling or in need of more advanced material.
Alignment to Education Legislation
Science of Reading professional development eases the pressure many teachers feel from state mandates that require evidence-based literacy practices and provides teachers with the skills necessary to adhere to their state’s specific laws.
How is Science of Reading Professional Development different from other professional development courses?
Science of Reading professional development does not align to, or teach, one specific program, method, or curriculum. Instead, it is rooted in decades of cognitive research and translated into practical classroom application for educators through the four frameworks discussed above. It focuses heavily on systematic implementation and direct, explicit instruction and is now considered the “gold standard” of teaching children to read.
Unlike many traditional professional development courses, Science of Reading professional development is often offered as credentialed programs, many of which are entirely online and self-paced. Credentialed programs are usually short, professional learning certification programs, offered by colleges and universities, with the goal of enhancing a teacher’s knowledge in one specific area of education. These programs are far less involved than a traditional degree and are often offered online, making them an attractive option for busy educators.
When seeking out Science of Reading professional development, be sure it includes foundational knowledge rooted in cognitive science and based on the four frameworks discussed in this article. Additionally, it should provide many opportunities for practical application, as well as tools that can be immediately put to use in the classroom. The professional development should also provide an overview of early screener tools, assist teachers in interpreting diagnostic assessment data, and guide them in using this data to plan differentiated instruction for students at all reading levels in the classroom. A variety of professional development resources for the Science of Reading, as well as many other topics, can be found here.
Prior to beginning any Science of Reading professional development, be sure to check your state’s individual laws and licensure requirements, particularly since many states are offering specific professional development workshops to educators and schools that align with their mandates.
Discovery Education offers a variety of professional development solutions that improve educator knowledge, confidence, and impact on student learning. Their professional learning options include in-person, virtual, and hybrid sessions that are tailored to district needs and goals and the Everyday Teaching Essentials online library of short, actionable online resources that fit into educators’ busy schedules.
