This podcast from American Public Media Reports looks into how an idea about reading instruction spread in classrooms even though it was proven wrong by scientists years ago
There’s an idea about how children learn to read that’s held sway in schools for more than a generation—even though it was proven wrong by cognitive scientists decades ago.
Teaching methods based on this idea can make it harder for children to learn how to read. In this podcast, host Emily Hanford investigates the influential authors who promote this idea and the company that sells their work. It’s an exposé of how educators came to believe in something that isn’t true and are now reckoning with the consequences—children harmed, money wasted, and an education system upended.