Spotlight #4 Can We Do Better? Expanding Foundational Skills, Comprehension Processes, and Science of Reading with Maryanne Wolf, Ed.D.

Can We Do Better? Expanding Foundational Skills, Comprehension Processes, and Science of Reading

In this presentation, research on the reading brain and dyslexia will be used to argue for a broader understanding of foundational skills and comprehension that, in turn, involves an invitation to mend reading method tensions of the past. 

Maryanne Wolf, Ed.D., is a scholar, teacher, and global advocate for children and literacy. She directs the Center for Dyslexia, Diverse Learners, and Social Justice at UCLA and the former John DiBiaggio Professor of Citizenship and Public Service at Tufts University. She has authored over 170 scientific publications; Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain; Tales of Literacy for the 21 st Century; and Reader, Come Home: The Reading Brain in a Digital Culture. She is co-author with Martha Denckla of the RAN/RAS naming speed tests, and developed the RAVE-O Intervention Program for all struggling readers. Her awards include the IDA and the Einstein Award from the Dyslexia Foundation; and the Walter Ong Award and the Alfred Korzybski Award for her work on the effects of different mediums on the intellectual development of the species. She was elected a permanent member of the Pontifical Academy of Science.