A multi-university study led by Texas A&M University sheds new light on the most critical factors in developing literacy, according to a K-12 Dive article.
Researchers analyzed nearly 50,000 correlations across 137 coordinated cognitive and achievement tests and found that visual processing played a minimal role in reading ability. General intelligence also played less of a role than previous research suggested.
Auditory processing, vocabulary and general knowledge were the most critical factors, researchers found. Reasoning, memory and mental processing speed played secondary roles.
“Reading develops step by step, with each skill building on the one before it,” says Daniel Hajovsky, an associate professor in Texas A&M’s Department of Educational Psychology who led the study with researchers from four other universities. “Children make the most progress when adults understand and support the whole chain.”
Hajovsky suggested a few strategies based on the research to ensure students are gaining reading comprehension:
· Closely monitor their comprehension.
· Use graphic and semantic organizers.
· Generate questions about what students read, which they can answer with some elaboration.
For students who experience reading difficulties, it’s important to pinpoint any underlying cognitive impairments, Hajovsky says.
“Not all reading issues are dyslexia,” he says. “If they have strong phonological processing and weak comprehension skills, phonics-based instruction is not necessarily going to help. It might require developing vocabulary and background knowledge. And late readers, who eventually catch up, many have ADHD. Our article shows a relationship between working memory and reading. With ADHD, working memory can be impaired in many cases.”
The idea that reading develops in a sequential, hierarchical way is not novel; still it is important that both educators and students understand when the process breaks down, Hajovsky says. “It’s also important for parents to know that working on foundational skills at home can have big impacts on comprehension down the road.”
Strong reading doesn’t come from one or two skills, but from a combination of progress in areas like sounding out words, developing vocabulary, practicing fluency and gaining understanding of what is being read, Hajovsky says.
“When a child struggles, the goal isn’t to guess or worry,” he says. “It’s to figure out which part of the process needs support and focus on it early. If you focus on the right skills, children become far more confident readers.”
Since the skills are interconnected, practicing one boosts confidence and mastery of others.
“Steady, consistent practice is more important than intensity,” Hajovsky says. “Struggles are not a sign of low ability, but they often reflect skills that need strengthening, in a system [of skills] that works together.”
K-12 Dive
