The Rise and Fall of Balanced Literacy with Pamela Snow
Oct 9, 2023
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Renowned speech-language pathologist and psychologist, Pamela Snow, discusses the rise and fall of balanced literacy and the importance of teaching essential reading skills. She emphasizes education as a public health intervention and the need for data-driven changes in teaching practices. The podcast also highlights the importance of bipartisan support and professional development in education, while emphasizing the value of unfamiliar concepts and treating teachers as professionals.
Reading instruction should be viewed as a public health issue, emphasizing the need for bipartisan support, data-driven decision-making, and specialized teacher training.
The popularity of certain reading instruction approaches, such as balanced literacy and whole language, stemmed from pleasing fantasies rather than prioritizing effective instruction, necessitating a critical evaluation and shift towards evidence-based practices.
Deep dives
The Importance of Effective Reading Instruction
In this podcast episode, Peter interviews Dr. Pam Snow, a professor of cognitive psychology, about the importance of reading and literacy. Dr. Snow emphasizes that reading is a vital skill that needs to be explicitly taught, and simply adding adjectives to the word 'literacy' is not a substitute for instruction. She challenges the notion that children naturally learn to read and highlights the impact of quality instruction on their learning outcomes. Dr. Snow argues that reading instruction should be viewed as a public health issue, as education is a crucial intervention in children's lives. She calls for bipartisan support, data-driven decision-making, and specialized teacher training to ensure all children become proficient readers, writers, and spellers.
The Rise of Balanced Literacy and Whole Language
Dr. Snow explores the reasons why certain approaches to reading instruction, such as balanced literacy and whole language, have enjoyed popularity for decades. She suggests that these methods presented a pleasing fantasy to stakeholders, allowing adults to engage in activities they enjoyed, like reading children's books, without necessarily prioritizing effective instruction. Dr. Snow points out that the lack of checks and balances in implementing these methods and the influence of developmental psychologists and whole language theorists contributed to their acceptance. She calls for a critical evaluation of these constructs and a focus on evidence-based practices that promote explicit teaching of reading, writing, and spelling.
The Need for Urgency and Professionalization
Dr. Snow emphasizes the urgency of rethinking reading instruction and valuing children's time in the classroom. She highlights the lifelong impact of wasted instructional time and advocates for a shifted approach that aligns with evidence-based practices. Dr. Snow draws attention to the professional standing of teaching, comparing it to other respected professions that have narrow parameters and standardized processes based on high-quality evidence. She calls for teachers to be provided with specialized knowledge about the science of reading and learning, fostering a culture of data-driven decision-making and continuous professional learning.
Moving Forward with Effective Reading Instruction
Dr. Snow suggests several steps to move forward with effective reading instruction. She urges policymakers to prioritize education as a public health intervention and create bipartisan support for evidence-based approaches. She highlights the need to value children's time and invest in their futures by implementing high-quality instruction sequentially and incrementally. Dr. Snow emphasizes the importance of treating teaching as a highly specialized profession and providing teachers with specialized knowledge about the science of learning and reading. She calls for a shift from personalized approaches to following evidence-based practices and standardized processes that have proven positive impacts on student learning.
On this episode, Pamela Snow, renowned speech-language pathologist and psychologist, gives an incisive analysis of how good people all over the world came to eschew the science of what works for reading instruction. She makes a compelling case for viewing school as a public health intervention, making it of the utmost importance that we get our teaching practices right. The bottom line is that while how we feel as educators matters, efficacy matters even more—and the two don’t have to be in competition. If you are looking for points to persuade educators to abandon low-value practices and to champion the right to literacy for all, you will find it in Pamela’s knowledge and wisdom.
