The Science of Reading: Applying What We Know and Navigating What We Don’t

“The Science of Reading” is a phrase that is used frequently, but what it means is sometimes unclear. In this presentation, Dr. Nathan Clemens reviews what research says, and does not say, about how children learn to read and the instructional practices that are most effective. An emphasis is placed on guiding principles that have been established across the past four decades of reading research. Dr. Clemens also discusses how to navigate situations in which evidence is unclear.

Dr. Nathan Clemens is an associate professor in the Department of Special Education at The University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Clemens studies reading difficulties in children and youth, particularly word-level difficulties for students in early grades and reading comprehension difficulties for students in later grades. His work is aimed at improving reading instruction and interventions, helping teachers make better use of assessment data to guide their instruction, and aligning evidence-based interventions with students' unique learning needs. He has over 50 publications and is leading several federal research grants that are studying the effects of interventions for struggling readers. He received his Ph.D. in school psychology from Lehigh University in 2009.