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Does a teacher need to understand the brain for reading instruction?

Marisa Montemurro

Longwood University

READ 650: Evaluation of Literacy Research

Dr. Blanchette

November 2, 2021
 The brain is not born to read, instead we as individuals train our brain to read through

exposure around us. This includes but not limited to environmental factors, language

comprehension, and visual processing. To read the letters and make sense of the words on this

page, you too, were taught to read through multiple exposures and cognitive processing. As

research has advanced some have concluded there is a brain glitch that appears in some brains

that causes the brain to process and understand differently. As teachers are educating and

implementing new strategies it is vital, they gain knowledge about the best approach when

teaching the brain to read. This will better equip educators with research-based evidence to apply

and be proactive when a brain-glitch may appear and how to best approach the specific brain-

needs to read words and comprehend.

Educators are responsible for students learning and development in the classroom.

Through research, and best practices educators then implement what is best for their students and

the variety of abilities. If their instruction is not reaching the student, the student may begin to

receive additional support from an interventionist. Teachers must be trained properly about the

brain and how it works to best reach students. This will allow for educators to adjust their

methods and approaches based off how the brain is responding. Although different reading

programs help phonics, educators must understand how to train the brain while teaching reading

strategies. Educators should be delivering instruction effectively to reach the brain for success

and growth. This proper training will give the educator additional information to reach the brain

and implement the necessary strategies in order for the child to gain the skills to read (Bolger &

Perfetti, 2004).

When a student begins to learn to read the brain is being activated through different

regions and neurons such as the frontal lobe, temporal lobe. Instead of each region working
alone, they are related because they are not activated in isolation. Each part is a piece of puzzle

that is needed for the child to read properly. Stanislas Dehaene, author of How the Brain Learns

to Read, states “when you read one word, you have the word unfolding from the back of the

brain to the front of the brain. It then loops several times” (Dehaene, 2010). Reading begins with

the visual representation by recognizing strands of letters. Then the recognition of written words

with what is called the letterbox. Finally, the brain creates meaning, pronunciation, and

articulation of the word. All three of these are needed to create meaning and read efficiently. At

times these three parts could malfunction which could create a ‘brain glitch.’ Some educators

may ask for an evaluation for a learning disability or dyslexia to be done. Instead with the

necessary training teachers would benefit from understanding how the brain functions to provide

the necessary interventions. This will allow for the material to be adapted that allows for

accommodations. For example, the left side of the brain is responsible for language, vocabulary

and semantics, and the right-side deals with recognition with letters and symbols. If a student is

not understanding, this could be causing the right side to be making up for the left side and

causing it to be slower which could make the student misunderstand and forget more easily

(Wolf, 2020).

Researchers continue to study the brain and present new findings to help understand how

the brain functions. After studying the brain and the functions they have noticed some functions

are stronger than others and may perform. Researchers believe a brain glitch appears when not

all three functions are working properly since the reading is being impacted. Educators noticed

this as well and thought to start from the beginning and reintroduce phonics and take the student

down a level to comprehend better. Policy makers then took a stance, and the Bush

administration promoted the Reading First programs and introduced Head Start legislation that
heavily focused on phonetic reading instruction. With this he claimed that “scientific” brain

research was done, and this was going to help students get back on track and ensure success for

educators and students. Although the scientific research may have been helpful, educators still

were not receiving the necessary training to understand how students’ brains were learning.

Instead, it was approached as a phonetic problem that should be resolved. Although each child is

different and presents different abilities, these resources were vital for teachers to grasp and

understand to ensure the language was taught appropriately (Willis, 2007).

As more research has been conducted, Sally Shaywitz, reading researcher explains how

children’s brains learn and shares that an effective reading program can produce brain repair, and

the brain can be rewired. It is no longer enough that teachers are teaching phonics and reading,

instead teachers need to learn how students are learning to read. With the improvement of brain

education, the brain activation can be changed towards new knowledge and competencies’ that

are linked to brain structure and functioning (Coles, 2004). Modern research shares the

importance of understanding how the brain learns to read. This information can change the way

educators develop and create lesson plans to better adapt when a brain glitch may appear. This

will invite educators to be more responsive to the students rather than the content. Judy Willis,

author of What Brain Research Suggests for Teaching Reading Strategies, states “the future of

brain research interpretation is likely to provide more strategies to help educators assess

students’ developmental readiness and neurological strengths and challenges” (Willis, 2009).

Outlining the importance of learning additional information about the brain can ensure educators

can adjust lessons when a possible brain glitch appears.

As research continues to evolve knowledge about the brain will be understood better. As

teachers are learning about ways to train the brain to read, they must be up to date with the latest
research and knowledge about how to accommodate for all. After proper training is received

what are the next steps to ensure the teacher completely understands how to implement within

the classroom? Should each county require a training day, course work, and/or professional

development to ensure educators receive the necessary training. A productive next step would be

to include the reading interventionist within the trainings to understand the different functions of

the brain. How much information should be shared with these trained individuals to ensure

reading success? This information is critical for teachers to know and implement to strive for

students’ success. Productive next steps will ensure educators are receiving answers and filling in

any possible gaps as they continue to be lifelong learners for their students who will be impacted

from their teaching for the rest of their lives.

 References:

Coles, G. (2004). Danger in the Classroom: “Brain Glitch” Research and Learning to Read. Phi

Delta Kappan, 85(5), 344–351. http://www.pdkintl.org/kappan/ktoc0401.htm

Dehaene, S. (2010). Reading in the brain: The new science of how we read. Penguin Books.

Perfetti, C. A., & Bolger, D. J. (2004). The brain might read that way. Scientific studies of

reading, 8(3), 293-304. http://www.leaonline.com.proxy.longwood.edu

The Reading Brain with MaryAnne Wolf. (2020, May 11). YouTube. Retrieved November 2,

2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1zaCyZ7dPw .

Willis, J. (2007). The Gully in the “Brain Glitch” Theory. Educational Leadership, 64(5), 68-73.

http://www.ascd.org.proxy.longwood.edu/portal/site/ascd/
menuitem.459dee008f99653fb85516f762108a0c/ 

Willis, J. (2009). What Brain Research Suggests for Teaching Reading Strategies. Educational

Forum, 73(4), 333-346. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131720903166861