As Maryland education leaders overhaul literacy teaching with the science of reading, some advocates are hoping they tackle technology’s role in the classroom too.
Schools across the state are starting to implement the phonics-based reading strategy this fall as part of a resolution passed by the education department in January. But leaders are still drafting a policy to guide the work.
Maryland READS Director Trish Brennan-Gac says there’s room in the fourth draft for a section on digital impacts. And with the science of reading overhaul, now is the perfect time to address the intersection.
“If we're hearing about how digital addictive technologies are rewiring kids' brains, and the science of reading is about understanding that we are wiring kids' brains to become readers, is it possible that the rewiring of brains is unwiring?” she said in an exclusive interview with WYPR. “And how do we change the way we use technology in our classrooms, with our children, so that it serves our priorities?”
The literacy nonprofit invited expert Maryanne Wolf to speak with state education leaders last week to spark conversation on those very questions.
“The human brain never was meant to read — rather, it’s an invention,” Wolf told WYPR. “And one of the things about that new kind of circuitry is it’s plastic, and it will change according to the requirements placed on it.”
Reading on a screen, for example, causes people to skim — and therefore miss key comprehension processes like empathy and critical thinking.
“But when we're reading print and books, we are more likely to be able to bring the fullness of the reading brain to work on the page,” Wolf said. “We must be very, very careful and mindful with our young, that the last thing we want to create are skimmers. We want to create deep-reading children.”
That’s why she advocates for a biliteracy approach to reading and technology. For students under ten, teachers should only use print materials, Wolf says. Then, they can transition to putting those deep comprehension skills to use on a screen.
“I want to never make digital the enemy or the forbidden fruit,” Wolf said. “But I’m really talking about raising our children on deep reading, with print. And so we really have a chance to put literacy and technology together.”
Mary Cathryn Ricker researches literacy policies like the one Maryland leaders are drafting for the Albert Shanker Institute.
“And one of the things we've learned is that while technology has gotten mentioned in some of that legislation, the technology was often around use of communication or as an accommodation for a student,” she said. “We did not see the reading legislation connect to a lot of the emerging research around screen time, around social media, around cell phones.”
School leaders across Maryland are taking steps to limit cell phone use in the classroom to improve student engagement and outcomes. Sixteen schools in Baltimore County, for example, are piloting a program to put student phones into clear pouches as they enter the room.
“I think this conversation about banning cell phones should be part of a larger conversation about how we use technology,” said READS Director Brennan-Gac. “And that we should connect to reading and say, ‘If we're going to do that, is it in service of our educational priorities?’”
Tenette Smith, executive director of literacy programs for the state education department, said leaders will “continue to have conversations with the community and with anyone who brings research” while drafting the final science of reading policy.
“Research guides everything that we do,” she said.
In the meantime, the group said, parents and teachers can model mindful technology habits for the children in their lives – and seek alternatives to screen time from community experts around them.
Brennan-Gac said recentering libraries is also an important step.
“At back to school nights, incorporate the libraries. Have families come in with their children and find a library book,” she said. “Parents can get a library card for their kids. Look at the little libraries in your neighborhood. Donate to them, build one, take your kids and pick out a book.”
