A Conversation with Peggy McCardle and Vinita Chhabra, editors of "The Voice of Evidence in Reading Research"

Q: What was the purpose you had in mind when compiling this book?

A: We wanted to make research information on reading more accessible to educators – not just the research findings, although these are crucially important because teachers are being asked to implement them, but also how research is done, and why different methods are used to address different kinds of research questions.


Q: How has Dr. G. Reid Lyon played a role in the publication of this book? Why have you dedicated the book to him?

A: The only role he has played is a historical one. He developed the NICHD reading research program, and has pushed for rigorous, high quality studies whose findings could inform how children can best be taught to read. His only direct role in this particular book is that he inspired us to do it. It came as a surprise to him, but he encouraged us to undertake it when we proposed it. When we told him we wanted to dedicate it to him because of all of his efforts in reading, he felt it would be more appropriate to dedicate the book to the children for whom we are all working. That is why the book is dedicated to both Reid and the children everywhere who are learning or need to learn to read.


Q: What is “scientifically based research”? What are the criteria for scientifically based research?

A: Scientifically based reading research (SBRR) is defined as research that applies systematic and objective procedures to obtain valid knowledge relevant to reading development, reading instruction, and reading difficulties. Fundamentally, SBRR means using reliable evidence to make decisions about how to best deliver reading instruction. According to the U.S. Department of Education, the criteria for SBRR is that the research must (1) use rigorous, systematic, and empirical methods, (2) involve rigorous data analyses that are adequate to test the stated hypotheses and justify drawn conclusions, (3) rely on measurements or observational methods that provide valid data across evaluators and observers and across multiple measurements and observations and, (4) is accepted by a peer-reviewed journal or approved by a panel of independent experts through a comparable rigorous, objective, and scientific review. Essentially, SBRR uses scientific research methods to determine how children can best be taught to read, and for the teachers to use this information in their classrooms. It all comes back to the kids and teaching them using the most scientifically based research available.


Q: Is evidence-based research just shorthand for phonics?

A: No. We need evidence about how best to teach anything, be it phonics, vocabulary, comprehension, or even math. Our children are too important not to base their educational and vocational futures on instructional methods that we have evidence on that really work. Phonics is only one of the crucial aspects of reading – phonemic awareness, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension are all very important parts of successful reading.


Q: Can you define phonemic awareness? Phonics?

A: Phonemic awareness is the ability to notice, think about, and work with the individual sounds in spoken words. Phonemes are the smallest units comprising spoken language that can change meaning, so instruction in phonemic awareness involves teaching children to focus on and manipulate phonemes in spoken syllables and words. Phonemic awareness is often confused with phonics instruction, which involves teaching students how to use letter-sound relations to read or spell. Helping readers understand how letters are linked to sounds (phonemes) to form letter-sound correspondences and helping them learning how to apply this knowledge in their reading is what phonics instruction is all about. Phonemic awareness and phonics instruction are necessary components in learning to read, but are certainly not sufficient. Students also need instruction in reading fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.


Q: Don’t our school systems already use research and haven’t teachers been trained in the best practices?

A: Some do and some don’t. One of our goals for this book is for it to be used in teacher preparation programs so that more teachers enter the classroom better equipped to teach all kids to read.


Q: Is this book suggesting that teachers are doing a poor job teaching reading?

A: No, there are many teachers out there doing a great job. And we truly believe that all teachers want to do a great job. However, there are too many teachers out there who want to teach children to read successfully but have not been given the tools and training they need to do that. That is why we wrote the book.


Q: Is the book suggesting that teachers have a hard time reading the National Reading Panel report?

A: The “NRP: Report of the Subgroups” does contain a lot of statistics and research terms that could be difficult to read, but also that volume is really long. Few teachers have time to read something like that. We thought that having that information summarized (and more recent – there is new data in these chapters), and having it written in a clearer fashion than researchers usually write, would be helpful not only for educators but also for graduate students, new researchers and others. And we wanted to pair it with some information about how and why the research is done, and about how research can inform policy. We thought they’d be interested in that.


Q: You identify various types of research: neuroimaging, intervention studies, and longitudinal research – is it really necessary or important for a first grade teacher to understand these research concepts?

A: The intervention and longitudinal research is absolutely relevant for them, and probably very interesting, too. They are being asked to implement what we have learned using many of these methods, and they probably wonder sometimes what the difference among these kinds of studies is. Now the neuroimaging studies – that is something that we thought they might really enjoy, and would want to know about. After all, it shows that they do have an effect – they can successfully affect what happens in a young reader’s brain. And that’s pretty exciting.


Q: Do the authors in "Voice of Evidence" really understand what today’s teachers must go through? Have they ever had any experience themselves teaching in an elementary school setting?

A: Oh yes, they really do understand! Many of the authors taught school earlier in their careers, before they got into research. In fact, for a lot of them it is the reason they got into research. But it’s also very important to realize that much of this research is done in classrooms. These researchers really do their work in schools with real teachers and real kids.


Q: How does this information apply to high school students who are struggling? How about functionally illiterate adults?

A: Well, NICHD, the National Institute for Literacy, and US Department of Education offices just jointly funded networks on both adult and adolescent literacy, and that research is now being done. But meanwhile, there are some things we do know. We know that all readers need to have mastered those five main areas – phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. We also know that systematic, explicit instruction is important, especially for lower achieving readers – and clearly if you’ve gotten to be a teenager or an adult without learning to read, you probably fall into that category. Reading is important in every stage of life, and teachers of adolescents and adults need this information about the research, and about what we do know so far, just as much as elementary school teachers do.


Q: What does the book suggest is the role of the parent? How can they help teachers in this process?

A: Parents need to understand what teachers are doing with their children, and why, so that they can reinforce this at home. Parents also need to have a knowledge base of what it takes for their children to learn to read, so that when necessary they can advocate for their children. This information should not be a secret – we’d like everyone to know how research is done and what it takes to teach children to read.


Q: What is one message you would like to be taken away from this book? What would you like your audience to understand better after reading "Voice of Evidence"?

A: That research really does have practical significance, that it is done for all of us, but mainly for the kids, who are our future generation of teachers and researchers!

We want them to understand how research is done and how important it is. And that it’s important to base policies on a body of evidence, not just what a few people think is the right thing. Because we can all have different ideas and opinions, and that’s what makes life fun, but something as serious as how we teach our children to read ought to have a scientific basis.