7/5/2023

Finding Common Ground Among the Many Sides of the Reading Wars With Dr. Claude Goldenberg

“The sounds of the language need to be connected to the written representations of those sounds … And then that connection [needs] to be bound to the meaning of the word. And that’s what [brain circuitry must] be created in order to enable literacy.”

—Dr. Claude Goldenberg, Nomellini & Olivier Professor of Education, Emeritus at Stanford University

All for Literacy, Season 1, Episode 6

52 minutes

"We need to stop these ridiculous reading wars because they’re really not helping anyone,” Stanford professor of education Dr. Claude Goldenberg says in Episode 6 of our All For Literacy podcast, where we explore the science of reading with industry leaders.

Goldenberg began his career by teaching eighth grade remedial reading classes in San Antonio, Texas, before going on to earn a Ph.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles, in early childhood education studies. Goldenberg’s current research focuses on improving achievement for language minority students, particularly those from Latino backgrounds.

Join our podcast host Dr. Liz Brooke as she carries out an in-depth, detailed discussion with Goldenberg about finding common ground among the many sides of the reading wars, the polarizing aspect of the science of reading, and how bilingual education fits into the literacy landscape.

Brooke and Goldenberg cover several critical literacy topics educators and administrators need to understand, including:

Real classroom results from implementing science of reading best practices
How to design and implement a schoolwide improvement plan
How to accomplish student-centric educational goals
Whether multilingual learners and Emergent Bilinguals benefit from science of reading implementation

Episode Breakdown

(00:28) – Goldenberg’s professional journey

(06:18) – Running studies in classrooms

(12:03) – Planning and implementing schoolwide change

(16:56) – Setting clear student-centered outcomes

(19:32) – Leveraging the talent and capacity of educators and administrators to create change

(22:29) – The intersection of leadership, support, and accountability to drive outcomes

(29:05) – Finding common ground among the many sides of the reading wars

(36:22) – Bilingual and multilingual literacy education

(43:05) – The brain circuitry behind the science of reading

(48:08) – Does the science of reading help bilingual and multilingual learners?

(1:00:01) – How classroom teachers can start improving student success today

About the Guest

Claude Goldenberg is the Nomellini & Olivier Professor of Education, emeritus, in the Graduate School of Education at Stanford University. Goldenberg is the author of “Successful School Change: Creating Settings to Improve Teaching and Learning,” and his research focuses on improving achievement for language minority students, particularly those from Latino backgrounds.