K-12 Public Education Insights: Empowering Parents of Color — Trends, Tacticts, and Topics That Impact POC
Raising kids can be tough! I know because I’ve been a single mom who raised two kids on my own. And when they get in the K-12 public education system, learning the ins and outs of that system can get you all tangled up, especially when you’re a parent of color (POC). You need to be aware of the current trends, tactics, and topics, as well as the necessary resources to navigate within the system. That’s what the K-12 Public Education Insights: Empowering Parents of Color podcast is all about — providing you with tools, information, and practical actions to help you and your children succeed within the complexities of K-12 public education.
K-12 Public Education Insights: Empowering Parents of Color — Trends, Tacticts, and Topics That Impact POC
Episode 148: Another New Reading Program — Why?
Reading instruction remains one of the most foundational yet controversial aspects of education, with new methods constantly emerging. The latest trend capturing attention is multisensory reading instruction—where students trace letters in sand, use shaving cream on desks, or form letter shapes with their bodies. But does the evidence support these tactile approaches?
This eye-opening exploration cuts through the hype surrounding multisensory reading methods, examining what research actually tells us about their effectiveness. Despite legislative mandates requiring these techniques in several states and their prominence in the "science of reading" movement, the evidence remains surprisingly inconclusive. While traditional, explicit phonics instruction has decades of research supporting its effectiveness for all students, multisensory approaches present a more complex picture.
For parents of struggling readers or children with dyslexia, this discussion offers particularly valuable insights, as these are the populations where multisensory techniques show the most promise. However, the persistence of achievement gaps raises serious questions about whether widespread adoption of these methods truly serves educational equity.
As a parent navigating the complex world of reading instruction, you need practical guidance beyond the buzzwords. The most powerful action you can take remains remarkably simple: read with your child daily, ensure they receive systematic phonics instruction, and provide just 20 minutes of consistent practice time each day.
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Welcome to another episode of K-12 Public Education Insights Empowering Parents of Color podcast, the podcast that converges at the intersection of educational research and parental actions. It's about making the trends, topics and theories in public education understandable so that you can implement them into practical, actionable strategies that work for your children. My name is Dr Kim J Fields, former corporate manager turned education researcher and advocate, and I'm the host of this podcast. I got into this space after dealing with some frustrating interactions with school educators and administrators, as well as experiencing the microaggressions that I faced. As an African-American mom raising my two kids, who were in the public school system, I really wanted to understand how teachers were trained and what the research provided about the challenges of the public education system. Once I gained the information and the insights that I needed, I was then equipped to be able to successfully support my children in their educational progress. This battle-tested experience is what I provide as action steps for you to take. It's like enjoying a bowl of educational research with a sprinkling of mother wisdom on top If you're looking to find out more about the current information and issues in education that could affect you or your children, and the action steps you can take to give your children the advantages they need, then you're in the right place. Thanks for tuning in today. I know that staying informed about K-12 public education trends and topics is important to you, so keep listening. Give me 30 minutes or less and I'll shine a light on the latest trends, tactics and topics pertaining to the constantly evolving K-12 public education environment.
Speaker 1:Does your child know how to read? Would you consider him or her a good reader? With the ability to read comes knowledge, and knowledge is power. Literacy is an invaluable lifelong tool. There's such a thing now called multisensory reading instruction, where students learn how to map letters to the sounds by tracing A's and B's in sand, or doing the same thing using shaving cream on their desk. Students also trace letters in the air or stand up and form the shapes of letters with their bodies. But does this help the child learn to read? In this episode, I'll be discussing multisensory reading instruction, what works and what doesn't, as well as whether it will replace traditional foundational reading instruction. Let's gain some insights on this. Some insights on this.
Speaker 1:In several reading programs, students incorporate sight, hearing, touch and movement as they learn to read and spell, but research doesn't conclusively find that this helps students better process and retain information. Some states, including Alabama, california, florida, mississippi and North Dakota, recommend or require it by law for students with dyslexia. The fact is that legislative mandates requiring this type of instruction go beyond what the evidence suggests. The question is does it really help students learn more or learn to read better? The research on this method is inconclusive. This method is inconclusive, not surprisingly, as multisensory reading instruction has become a hallmark of the quote-unquote science of reading movement. Some teachers and advocates have started to question its necessity, raising questions about programs that feature the techniques, laws that prescribe it and training that includes it, among other early reading elements.
Speaker 1:Doing multisensory things is not necessarily harmful, but relying on those methods and expecting them to make a difference is where the problem lies. The idea is based on theory that adding tactile and movement-based activities would help students store information better in their memories. However, research suggests that adding in multisensory components doesn't provide a definitive age in reading ability or other forms of explicit systematic instruction, compared to foundational skills like phonics. Let's look at why some researchers felt that the senses of sight, hearing and touch should be emphasized in the reading and learning process. These researchers felt that blending the activities applied in learning environments with various senses would increase the student's recollection of a subject area to some degree. Therefore, learning environments should be prepared in a way that appeals to many senses. This theoretical approach presumes that it is essential for the senses to actively find a place in the educational environment and that the educational process should take into account the students' learning styles. It also presumes that using modern educational approaches in the teaching process for reading would be enhanced by using multisensory reading activities. Now, this sounds good on the surface, but does it apply to students when just using foundational reading instruction would suffice? It's true that multisensory learning is a teaching strategy used to find a place for more than one sense in the educational environments in order to carry out the educational processes of learners.
Speaker 1:Multisensory learning emphasizes how students will receive information more easily, focusing on the memory system. Having sensory memory allows the reader to remember the beginning of the sentence when it comes to the end of that sentence, as well as enabling the reader to make sense of the entire sentence. Trying to improve a student's reading comprehension with the wrong educational approach and remember, the jury is still out on multisensory reading instruction may negatively affect the learning process. Reading instruction may negatively affect the learning process. Several researchers indicate that identifying a student's learning style helps to support multisensory reading instruction. And just so you know, learning style is still a controversial topic in the education research community. In one camp, researchers negate the idea of learning styles, while in the other camp, other researchers indicate students enter formal education will be possible using modern educational approaches and teaching processes, planning the learning process by considering learning styles of students and enriching the learning environments with multisensory reading activities.
Speaker 1:A study was conducted this year that critiques the use of alphabetic phonics, a program that relies on multisensory reading techniques, because the program contradicts the principles of the structured literacy framework and explicit reading instruction. The fact of the matter is that decades of research confirm that explicit, systematic instruction in phonics, fluency, vocabulary and reading comprehension is essential for developing proficient readers. These are the foundational skills that young learners need to build strong reading skills. Schools should reject market-driven programs like multi-sensory reading instruction, in particular, in this case, the Alphabetic Phonics Program, that lack scientific validation, and instead invest in practices proving to improve outcomes for all learners, especially those with significant reading difficulties. Let me make something clear Evidence-based interventions are specific instructional programs, curricula or treatment protocols that are designed to address particular skill deficits or learning needs.
Speaker 1:Strategies, on the other hand, are individual instructional techniques that can be incorporated within both interventions and practices. Techniques that can be incorporated within both interventions and practices. Instructional strategies are narrower in scope and are more effective when embedded within an overall instructional approach. So the hierarchy is that strategies operate within interventions which are delivered as part of broader instructional practices. Further, the research-based practice refers to an instructional or intervention method that's grounded in theory and potentially supported by studies, but has not necessarily undergone the type of rigorous testing required to demonstrate consistent, measurable outcomes in real-world settings. Evidence-based practices, on the other hand, are broad, well-established instructional approaches that have been validated through multiple high-quality studies across various settings, populations and research teams. These practices are grounded in a strong base of scientific evidence demonstrating consistent positive outcomes.
Speaker 1:Explicit instruction is necessary for effective reading interventions. Explicit instruction is a systematic, direct and structured approach that provides clear guidance in mastering essential skills like reading. Research consistently supports explicit instruction as one of the most effective methods for teaching reading, particularly for students with learning difficulties. Methods for teaching reading, particularly for students with learning difficulties. Explicit instruction ensures that students receive timely, constructive guidance which accelerates their progress in reading as well as other academic skills. The structured literacy framework utilizes explicit instruction, which provides clear modeling, guided practice and immediate feedback. Explicit instruction ensures that students receive direct guidance and the necessary support they need before moving to independent practice.
Speaker 1:Alphabetic Phonics, which is a multisensory reading instruction program, falls short in several areas, including a lack of timely corrective feedback, a lack of emphasis on direct, explicit instruction and insufficient attention to a focus on phonics. Another issue with the Alphabetics Program is that it assumes students will self-correct errors over time rather than receiving immediate corrective feedback. It emphasizes preserving students' self-esteem over instructional precision. This is not the best way for timely error correction, which is critical for struggling readers. The bottom line is this Ensuring that all students have access to effective reading instruction is a matter of educational equity. The continued use of programs lacking scientific support, like Alphabetic phonics, perpetuates achievement gaps and disproportionately affects students with disabilities, english language learners and those from historically marginalized communities. The multisensory reading instructional programs may appear student-centered in theory, but have failed to provide the structured support needed to close literacy gaps in practice. Our children don't need another reading program. They need teachers who are committed to teaching the foundational skill of reading phonics, not whole words or multi-sensory reading instruction. Without a sustained commitment to evidence-based instruction. The reading crisis that has been persistent over the last 20 years will continue to persist and this will leave far too many students without the tools they need for academic achievement, economic opportunity and full participation in society.
Speaker 1:Multisensory reading instruction does seem to offer benefits for struggling readers, especially those in the 5th and 6th grades. Students typically learn to read from kindergarten through 2nd grade and read to learn beginning in 3rd grade. When students experience reading difficulties, it can significantly impact their educational experiences in all subjects. As students grow older and continue to struggle, they can get stuck at a certain reading level. To overcome these struggles, students need consistent and engaging word work to build accuracy and fluency. Word work to build accuracy and fluency.
Speaker 1:Phonics instruction that is most effective with struggling readers is instruction that is explicit, multisensory and systematic. Systematic phonics interventions that use visuals and symbolic cues to simplify letter-sound correspondence are less taxing on memory and try to help struggling readers make more efficient reading gains. Reading success can spur motivation, and engagement in phonics activity can foster an enjoyment of reading. The use of word cards and tactile manipulation, as well as word building games and memory games, seem effective for the struggling reading student in this study that I just discussed reading student. In this study that I just discussed, multisensory reading and phonics instruction also seem to benefit students with dyslexia.
Speaker 1:The Ordon-Gillingham approach to reading instruction is a direct, explicit, multisensory, structured, sequential, diagnostic and prescriptive approach to reading for students with dyslexia. The findings from another research study suggested that the Orton-Gillingham reading intervention did not statistically significantly improve foundational skill outcomes, in other words, phonic awareness, phonics fluency and spelling. Neither were there significant differences for vocabulary and comprehension outcomes. It seems that more research is needed when looking at the outcomes of multisensory phonics instruction for students with dyslexia. Approximately 85% of public school students in this country identified with a specific learning disability have a primary disability, like dyslexia, in the area of reading. The National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP, reading data demonstrate that students with disabilities persistently perform far below their non-disabled peers in reading, with only 32 percent performing at a basic level and 30% performing above a basic level. The majority of students reading below grade level after second grade require remediation in phonics and reading fluency.
Speaker 1:The Ordon-Gillingham multisensory reading intervention involves the use of sight, hearing, touch and movement to help students connect and learn the concepts of reading, and it identifies these as the most effective strategy for children with difficulties in learning to read. It employs the use of flashcards, lists, visual cues and pictures, as well as rhymes, songs, finger tracing, writing letters in sand and finger tapping. What makes the Orton-Gillingham reading intervention different is that it simultaneously utilizes visual, auditory and kinesthetic experiences. The efficacy, however, of the Ordon-Gillingham instruction remains unclear, based on results of earlier studies. Despite the continued widespread acceptance, use and support for Ordon-Gillingham instruction, there is little evidence to date that these interventions significantly improve reading outcomes for students with dyslexia. Current research does not suggest a high level of confidence that this approach is the only approach to remediating word reading difficulties for dyslexic students.
Speaker 1:So what can you do with the information I just shared? Here are the action steps you can take regarding multisensory reading instruction. Recently, practitioners, parents and policymakers have adopted the term open quote science of reading, close quote to describe a national movement that advocates for reading instruction that aligns with extensive scientific research that's been conducted over several decades and disciplines. As a parent, it's important that you know that there is little consensus in education practice and research around multisensory reading instruction. The fact of the matter is that there is no universal definition of this type of instruction beyond the simultaneous use of visual, auditory and tactile learning experiences during reading and spelling instruction. The main idea for you to keep in mind is that the integration of phonics and spelling instruction improves student reading.
Speaker 1:Effective literacy instruction in general involves all of the reader's senses anyway auditory experiences of seeing and reading words aloud, and the tactile experiences of writing letters and words. What you can do is to keep reading to your child every day and, when they are old enough to read by themselves, provide the resources and the designated space for them to practice their reading skills daily. And because reading requires a lot of coordination, mentally and physically, the optimal allotted time to practice reading is only 20 minutes per day, every day. This episode was mostly about making you aware of a new reading program, the Multisensory Reading Instruction Program. You can check at your child's school as to whether your child's teacher is implementing this, but I want you to keep this main fact in mind Learning to read is based on phonics.
Speaker 1:Simply put, here are this episode's takeaways. The reading process is both the sensory process that depends on certain visual skills such as the identification of symbols, and the perceptual process that involves interpretation of what is sensed. Reading instruction that has overwhelmingly proven effective uses the teaching of finals. This method is effective for all students. However, students who struggle to read may need the intervention of multisensory reading instruction. Multisensory reading instruction is a way of teaching reading that requires students to activate all of their senses Seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, moving, touching, thinking in the process of learning to read. Research has documented some benefits of multisensory reading instruction for struggling students, especially those in the fifth and sixth grades, and for students with dyslexia. Although some parent advocate groups have led the charge for state legislators to require multisensory reading instruction in all schools, the research doesn't supply ample evidence that multisensory reading instruction is appropriate for every student. What has worked and what will continue to work is phonics instruction.
Speaker 1:For a deeper dive on my discussion about the importance of phonics in learning to read, check out episode 60, reading and Early Childhood Literacy, and episode 112, why Teaching Kids how to Read is Still being Debated. What are your thoughts on using multisensory reading instruction to teach kids how to read? Let me know what you're thinking about this by leaving me a text comment on my podcast website, k12educationinsightsbuzzsproutcom. Here's how you can leave a text comment Go to the episode description page and click on the send me a text message link. Again, it's k12educationinsightsbuzzsproutcom. If you enjoyed this episode. Why not listen to another episode from my library? It could take as little as 15 minutes of your day and remember. New episodes come out every Tuesday and, before I forget, would you do me a favor? Go online right now and share this episode with one friend who you think will love it. Thanks for listening today. Love it. Thanks for listening today. Be sure to come back for more insights on K-12 educational topics that impact you and your children. Until next time, aim to learn something new every day.
