Science of Reading: The Podcast S1-02. Background knowledge and education reform: Robert Pondiscio
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Oct 30, 2019 AI Snips
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From Subway Ad To South Bronx Classroom
- Robert Pondiscio describes how a subway ad (NYC Teaching Fellows) inspired him to switch careers into teaching in the South Bronx.
- He signed up on a lark, taught for five years, and could not ignore the needs he saw in disadvantaged students.
Decoders Who Couldn't Comprehend
- Pondiscio recounts teaching fifth graders with only 16% proficiency and finding common PD strategies ineffective in the South Bronx school.
- He discovered E.D. Hirsch's work which explained students could decode but not comprehend due to lacking background knowledge.
Comprehension Is Domain-Specific
- Reading comprehension is domain-specific and depends on background knowledge, not a transferable skill like decoding.
- Language requires constant inference tied to knowledge, so lacking shared knowledge breaks comprehension.