The science of reading

"In the schools there's lot of myth and mythology that's passed down year after year, but then you realized there's no scientific research behind it," she said. "Now they're looking at things a little differently. If it's not research, you're going to have to defend it in some way."

At South Elementary, Hurst is using her education from SUU to help teachers get on track with the science of reading. Most of the teachers coming into the work force straight from Utah colleges buy into the science of reading, but many still need help implementing the research into everyday teaching, she said.

The biggest obstacle, however, is getting longtime teachers to open up to the idea of a structured approach to reading, she said.

"A lot of teachers just don't have time to keep up with the research on their own," Hurst said. "That makes my job more critical to get that information out to them."

Sylvia Read, assistant professor in elementary education at Utah State University, said professors at USU are also turning toward the "science of reading," making sure teachers in training are equipped with the latest data before they get into a classroom.

In particular, the curriculum is focused on the two most recent and most often forgotten components of reading science — fluency and phonemic awareness.

Phonemic awareness is the precursor to phonics, emphasizing how sounds work together instead of individual sounds and letters. Fluency has also been a relative newcomer to reading instruction with a focus on rate plus accuracy and expression.

Fluency was only taught in about 7 percent of the surveyed institutions, while more traditional methods like phonics were taught in 16 percent.

"Reading is not a natural act. It does have to be taught explicitly," Read said. "Teachers need to teach kids to understand their own fluency level. If every word's a struggle, then you hate reading, so you avoid it."

Although all colleges may not be stressing the science of reading, Read said Utah schoolchildren are fortunate that the state stresses continued education while in the classroom. Reading endorsements offered by school districts and training workshops can help teachers stay up to date.

Barbara Gallagher, a reading specialist at Mountain View Elementary School, said she was taught all five components at the University of Nebraska Omaha, but with a little less emphasis on fluency.

Her school district sent her to fluency training to gain more background.

"For me personally, my background is well founded — I feel really comfortable and confident in all of those areas plus I feel like I have a pretty good diagnostic testing background," Gallagher said. "(The course work) is not fluff — it's really hard work."

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