Teachers’ Sense-Making of the Science of Reading Reforms: Benefits and Struggles in the Classrooms

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Saturday 9:50 am Four Seasons Ballroom 4
  In Roundtable Session: Teachers' Sense-Making and Adaptability (Table 9)

Abstract

While the science of reading reforms aim to change classroom practices of reading education for “all,” its current discourses have rarely engaged in how teachers’ perceptions of those reforms impact instructional practices as they work with students within the classrooms. Drawing on interviews with elementary teachers, special educators, and bilingual teachers who are working with culturally and linguistically diverse students in urban schools, this study explores how teachers have adopted the science of reading reforms through professional development programs, while actively bringing their initial professional backgrounds and teaching experiences into their adoption of reading education reforms. This study calls for more attention to classroom practices and diversifying professional development opportunities toward equitable reading education reforms.

Author

• Sun Young Lee, Wichita State University