>> So the elephant in the room, I believe,
is just the persisting gaps
in children's preparedness for success.
Perhaps there are two elephants in the room,
one also being
just the persisting racial-ethnic gaps in literacy
and what that means long-term for the success of this nation.
As an observer, as a researcher in this space,
what I have seen both anecdotally or what I have ...
The insights I've drawn anecdotally
and from research suggests
that the way in which we teach young people must change,
that we cannot continue to teach from a very teacher
or even systems-centered perspective.
It has to be student-centered.
I believe one of the explanatory factors
for these lower literacy rates is that we are not teaching
in a way that centers students' strengths, needs and interests
and leverages those strengths, leverages students' interests
in helping them to build those foundational skills
in reading, literacy and comprehension.
So, yeah, I think that when we think
about personalized or student-centered learning,
that conversation has to be at the forefront of this discussion
on why there are lagging or persisting literacy deficits
in this country.
What I'm suggesting is that we revisit
this notion of personalized or student-centered learning
and recognizing that it's not just about sitting a student
in front of a computer
and having them engage with technology
for the entire class period. That's not it.
Good student-centered learning that's supported by technology
is integrated very purposefully and instruction in ways
where students are not only engineering with the technology,
but they're engineering meaningfully
with their other classmates.
They're engaging meaningfully with their teacher
throughout that process.
I think one of the challenges is that teachers,
and research supports this, in a given classroom,
there's a wide range of proficiency
and a wide range of needs, and teachers have ...
We were talking about student-centered education
and instructions.
Teachers, if that is there, motivation and goal
to teach in a way that centers the child,
they have to do what across a classroom of 25, 30 children.
And so I believe what educators need more
and more are technological solutions
to help them not only differentiate their instruction
but also ensure that every child
has what they need to progress at their own pace,
to master content,
and so that's one thing, technological solutions.
I think another is professional development.
I think educators need continued
targeted professional development to help them ...
professional development that is aligned
with their goals and professional development
that also incorporates those technological solutions
that I mentioned.
I believe that if we're going to address this problem
on a large scale, all of these stakeholders,
parents or families, students, educators, school leaders,
policy leaders, researchers, you got to get in the same room
and start having conversations about the elephant in the room.
And there has to be an equal voice
in terms of what solutions are going to be the most appropriate
for which population of students.
And so I think one of the first steps that we can do
is to bring key stakeholders together
and ensure, empower each stakeholder's voice
in, one,
calling attention to calling out the elephant in the room
and then bringing forward some very practical solutions
and how we might be able to address
the elephant in the room. Companies like Learning
A-Z can continue to offer technological solutions
that help educators to support their students
in those foundational skills that they might be missing
and do it in a way that's fun, interactive, engaging
and that it doesn't segregate the student
from the learning that's taking place in the classroom,
but this very much is integrated
in the overall classroom instruction
and then supporting educators in that process,
making sure the educators
have the professional development resources necessary
to implement technological solutions like that,
that they have colleagues that they can call upon
to help them think
through certain implementation challenges
with their students.
I think it's going to take time, one,
to shift how we educate students,
particularly in the area of literacy,
and then it's going to take time to realize
any significant shifts in student outcomes,
but we have to start, right?
We have to have those conversations.
We have to make those instructional shifts.
We have to make those structural changes
to support what happens at the classroom level.
We have to have the technology available
that is student-centered and educator-friendly.
We have to have all these components in place.
We have to have families who are engaged,
whom have resources and tools at their fingertips
as well to support their students at home.
We have to have all of these parts at play
in order to eventually see what we're hoping to see
in terms of increased literacy,
not just overall but especially within student subgroups,
within Black and Latinx student subgroups in particular.
Overall, I'm extremely passionate
about ensuring that every child
has an equitable and inclusive learning experience.
I am passionate about ensuring that Black and Brown students
can excel academically as well as socially
and emotionally.