Daniel Willingham, Ph.D., a psychology professor at the University of Virginia and author of 'The Reading Mind,' discusses the crucial role of knowledge in reading comprehension. He dives into the limitations of comprehension strategies and emphasizes the importance of background knowledge for better text engagement. Willingham highlights the delicate balance between phonics and knowledge-rich curricula and explores how both are vital for critical thinking. Lastly, he offers insightful strategies to enhance literacy outcomes through well-rounded educational approaches.
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insights INSIGHT
Knowledge Enables Inferences
Knowledge is crucial to understanding implied connections in text.
Readers automatically fill gaps using background knowledge without awareness.
insights INSIGHT
Reading Feels Like Seeing
Reading with sufficient background knowledge feels effortless, like visual perception.
The brain handles complex comprehension processes silently in the background.
insights INSIGHT
Limits of Comprehension Strategy Practice
Comprehension strategies show quick gains but no added benefit with extended practice.
They mainly teach what it means to understand a text, not deeply improve comprehension processes.
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A Cognitive Approach to Understanding How the Mind Reads
Daniel T. Willingham
In 'The Reading Mind', Daniel T. Willingham delves into the complex cognitive processes involved in reading. He explains how the brain registers letters, words, and sentences, and how reading comprehension is influenced by background knowledge and motivation. The book discusses the two fundamental processes of reading: by sight and by sound, and addresses the connection between reading and writing. Willingham also examines the role of technology in learning to read and its effects on reading habits. The book is designed to be accessible and valuable for teachers, reading specialists, literacy coaches, and school administrators[1][3][4].
In this episode of Science of Reading: The Podcast, Susan Lambert welcomes back researcher and author Daniel Willingham, Ph.D., to discuss reading comprehension. With only so much instruction time in the day and research supporting both comprehension strategies and knowledge building, it can be tough to know what to prioritize in the classroom. Daniel holds nothing back in outlining exactly where educators should focus their time. Together, he and Susan explore the limitations of comprehension strategies, the place for critical thinking skills in relationship to knowledge, and recognizing when messaging around knowledge has gone too far.
“Your brain is really good at only bringing out the information from long-term memory that is relevant for the context. All of that's happening outside of awareness.” —Daniel Willingham, Ph.D.
“When reading is really humming, when it's really working well, it's like visual perception. You're just enjoying the view and you're oblivious to all of the cognitive machinery in the background that's letting you see.” —Daniel Willingham, Ph.D.
“Expecting that knowledge-rich curriculum is going to solve all problems… that's [not] what a reading program is. No, a reading program is multifaceted and needs to have lots of components.” —Daniel Willingham, Ph.D.
“Knowledge accrues slowly and it's going to take a while. You need to be patient.” —Daniel Willingham, Ph.D.
Episode timestamps* 2:00 Introduction: Who is Daniel Willingham? 05:00 Knowledge and reading comprehension 08:00 What it takes to be comfortable reading 10:00 Academic or disciplinary knowledge 11:00 Comprehension strategies 20:00 Applications of knowledge that can be difficult to appreciate 25:00 Inferences can be automatic 26:00 Taking the “knowledge is important” message too far 31:00 Critical thinking and knowledge building 32:00 How to decide what knowledge is important to teach 36:00 Book: Developing Curriculum for Deep Thinking 39:00 Final thoughts and advice *Timestamps are approximate, rounded to nearest minute
Science of Reading: The Podcast 
