UW-Madison Professor Provides Insight on Children’s Reading Comprehension

March 5, 2018

“The way kids are taught to read in school is disconnected from the latest research, namely how language and speech actually develop in a child’s brain.”

In an NPR interview with Mark Seidenberg, cognitive scientist and professor at UW-Madison, he offers insight on what it will take to improve reading instruction with the nation’s children.

Seidenberg is not the only one to come to the surprising conclusion that “only a third of the nation’s schoolchidren read at grade level.” He claims that in order to be a successful reader, it depends on linking the text to speech; successful reading is dependent on the child’s language, grammar and vocabulary. Where the big connection lies is through teaching kids the “correspondence between the letters on a page and the sounds of words.”

Only a third of the nation’s schoolchildren read at grade level, according to UW-Madison professor Mark Seidenberg. CC Image Credit to Pexels.

Seidenberg also notes that teachers are often told this connection is not relevant to their teaching styles and that these scientific discoveries has no connection with what they decide to teach in the classroom. In his book, “Language at the Speed of Sight,” he explains that in order to understand the scientific research, teachers need a basic level of scientific literacy in order to fully understand it. In his eyes, they can either dismiss what he is saying in his discoveries, or they can share the findings and create change.

He was motivated to write his book based on frustration that has built up. Scientific discoveries about reading have barely had an impact on educational practices and he feels that it has “put kids at risk for failure.”

“‘Reading scientists have been talking about this for a long time and tried to communicate with educators and failed,'” Seidenberg explained. “‘We have not been able to get the science past the schoolhouse door.'”

An interesting recommendation Seidenberg offers is that college graduates who sign up for Teach for America be hired for reading tutors instead of classroom teachers for supplemental reading instruction. This would put more people in the classroom or after-school programs instead of putting the entire responsibility on one teacher in the classroom.

Seidenberg also recommends that schools of education ensure that teachers have a basic understanding of linguistics and child development in order to properly teach reading. For him, it is an entire community effort, and if done correctly, it will make a monumental difference in improved youth reading levels.

Gillian Keebler
Student Assistant, Go Big Read Office