OHIO, USA — For much of her educational career, Margo Shipp's teachers relied on picture and letter cues to engage students and teach them how to read. The kids learned how to memorize words, but she said the concept of reading never stuck.
Decades later as a literacy specialist, she shifted her approach, turning to evidence-based practices known as the "science of reading."
According to the Ohio Department of Education, the "science of reading" is an interdisciplinary body of scientific evidence that:
- Informs how students learn to read and write proficiently
- Explains why some students have difficulty with reading and writing
- Indicates that all students benefit from explicit and systematic instruction in phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, comprehension, and writing to become effective readers
- Does not rely on any model of teaching students to read based on meaning, structure and syntax, and visual cues, including a three-cueing approach
"The students are actually understanding the sounds first, then they're connecting that to the letters that represent that those sounds represent and then they're able to decode words," Shipp said.
Ohio is making it easier for districts to implement the "science of reading" by paying for teacher training. The state's two-year budget includes $18 million for literacy coaches.
As a literacy specialist, Shipp works directly with teachers.
"I listen to the teachers, we analyze the student data, we look for patterns if a child is not making enough gains. Then what are we going to do to help that child," she said.
The state's budget will fund 100 literacy coaches for public schools.
The requirements to become a coach are a bachelor's degree in education, literacy or a related field, a certificate to teach, experience in the classroom, and in some cases a master's degree.