The Science of Reading: Best Literacy Practices for Struggling Readers

This session from our 2024 family and research conference covers the latest research on how children learn to read, including the roles of phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. Our speakers, who have worked with our community and published several relevant research studies, share evidence-based strategies and best practices for teaching reading, with a focus on interventions that support struggling readers.
By watching this video, you will gain a deeper understanding of how the brain processes written language and the critical elements necessary for fostering strong reading skills.
Dr. Joanna A. Christodoulou is Associate Professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, and Director of the Brain, Education, and Mind (BEAM) Lab in the Center for Health and Rehabilitation Research. Her lab conducts research on the brain-behavior links underlying reading development and difficulties, and their link to academic skills including math and attention.
She has been trained as a clinician, developmental cognitive neuroscientist, and educator, and she holds additional appointments at MIT as Research Affiliate and at the Harvard Graduate School of Education as Adjunct Lecturer. She earned a doctorate from Harvard in Human Development and Psychology, as well as masters degrees in Mind, Brain, and Education from Harvard and in Child Development from Tufts.
Dr. Christodoulou was awarded the Transforming Education Through Neuroscience Award by the Learning & the Brain Foundation and the International Mind, Brain, and Education Society (2014). She joined a select group of researchers at Obama's White House (2015) to discuss education neuroscience topics and implications for practice. She also received Faculty Grants from the MGH Institute to investigate the impact of summer experiences on reading for students with language-based learning disabilities and the impact of COVID-19 on reading and socio-emotional correlates. She partners with schools, districts, policymakers, organizations, families, students, and other stakeholders to understand and improve reading opportunities for all students.
Dr. Christodoulou sits on the Pediatric Epilepsy Surgery Alliance's Scientific Advisory Board. In collaboration with the Alliance, she has published several research papers to help us understand literacy after hemispheric surgery. See for example: Christodoulou JA, Halverson K, Meegoda O, Beckius H, Moser S, Imhof A, Maguire A. Literacy-related skills among children after left or right hemispherectomy. Epilepsy Behav. 2021 Aug;121(Pt A):107995. doi: 10.1016/j.yebeh.2021.107995. Epub 2021 May 15. PMID: 34004523.
Anya Maloney, M.S., CCC-SLP is a speech-language pathologist and literacy specialist with training in the development and disorders of spoken and written language. Her clinical experience spans working in various settings, including schools, outpatient hospital clinics, and private practice, with school-age children ranging in age from pre-school through college.
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Info + Resources: Our website contains information, downloadable guides, videos, and evidence-based knowledge to help you navigate your child's epilepsy surgery journey.
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