Dr. Carolyn Brown is the co-founder and chief academic officer of Foundations in Learning, creator of WordFlight™. Dr. Brown has devoted her career to developing tools and testing solutions that optimize language and literacy development for all students. We recently had a chance to chat with her about what her company is doing to help educators and leaders create more equitable and inclusive learning environments in schools across the country. Thank you for taking the time to share with us, Dr. Brown!
What drove you to do the work you’re doing today?
I’ve dedicated my professional life to improving language and literacy development so all children have opportunities to become successful learners and readers. The most recent iteration of this work was driven by a recurring classroom observation: Despite the implementation of evidence-based instruction in foundational reading, many students–especially those most at risk and historically marginalized–were not able to read with proficiency. These students struggled with developing basic skills or were unable to use those skills to successfully reach reading fluency and comprehension.
Along with my colleague and husband, Jerry Zimmermann, we began exploring how to increase equitable access for students to develop and use these essential experiences and skills. We looked at “what” needed to be learned as well as “how” students best learned. This ultimately led to the creation of WordFlight, which leverages cognitive and learning science to improve memory and learning for students.
How does Foundations in Learning define equity?
The mission of Foundations in Learning is to unlock educational opportunities by providing teachers and students with best-in-class literacy tools that leverage the science of learning. Our definition of equity is foundational to this mission and can be viewed from several perspectives.
We believe all students are learners and can reach equally high outcomes, given the right experiences, support, and agency. To provide the right experiences for each student, we must meet them where they are, tailor the learning experiences to meet their needs, and value them as a person who feels respected and included. Importantly, leveraging the science of learning allows us to recognize and nurture each student as a learner.
Building learning principles into instruction and practice, Foundations in Learning has designed, tested, developed, and implemented individualized solutions that bring equity to learning and life—for every student, every day.
Why is it important for companies serving the K-12 industry to be focused on equity and not just equality?
The K-12 education industry is known as the bedrock of our democracy, providing all students equal access to educational experiences and the opportunity to succeed in school, work, and life as productive and engaged citizens. However, “equal opportunity” for all students is only realized if we provide equitable educational experiences that honor and enable the potential of each student.
Companies that are committed to equity intentionally align their mission, culture, purpose, and structure of instructional development and implementation. And, building environments and solutions that focus on individual learners is key to this work. Without this explicit commitment to the needs of the individual learner, the K-12 educational promise of “equal opportunity for all” is not possible.
What is Foundations in Learning currently working on?
To support reading fluency nationwide and to provide even more teachers and students with access to WordFlight, we launched the Fluency Innovators Grants Program earlier this year. As part of the program, selected grantees receive a free subscription to the program for a semester, which has shown to help students make measurable gains.
For example, after receiving a grant in the spring, a dual immersion teacher in California saw the number of students scoring as proficient in phonics and fluency double on the FastBridge assessment after only four months of using the program. A majority of students in the class also improved their proficiency in automatic word recognition and decoding, as measured by our Diagnostic.
We’ll be opening up the next round of grant applications this December.
What impact is WordFlight already having on students?
We’ve seen countless examples of WordFlight helping elementary and middle school students improve their reading fluency and become confident readers, which is the ultimate testament to the work we do day in and day out.
Perhaps most notably, we’ve seen more than 80% of struggling middle school students become proficient in foundational reading skills within one school year when using WordFlight with fidelity. This includes a Title 1 middle school here in our home state of Iowa where students using our program scored 38 percentage points higher in automatic word recognition and 35 percentage points higher in decoding at the end of the year compared to a control group of students who did not use the program.
Beyond just increasing scores, students are improving their fluency, making sense of the way words work, transferring their skills to connected text, and feeling an overall sense of pride and success.
Why is early reading development so important to you?
Each student deserves a learning environment in which they can succeed–one that supports belonging and one that they feel valued in as a learner. Unfortunately, many at-risk and vulnerable students have self-doubt and anxiety about learning, and are afraid to engage with peers and teachers. They see their differences rather than their similarities with classmates.
It is imperative that we all see and engage these children through a kind, generous, and equitable lens, while assuming they bring great potential, curiosity, and desire to learn. We must have a model of learning, agency, and development, along with tools to identify each student’s needs, to nurture their success so they love learning.
Equitable access to early reading development is one of the most impactful experiences in predicting success and happiness in education, work, and life.
Looking to identify your students’ reading needs and create a learning environment that supports immediate and ongoing success for all learners? Learn more about WordFlight and access its free screener at https://www.wordflight.com/free-screener.
The American Consortium for Equity in Education, publisher of the "Equity & Access" journal, celebrates and connects the educators, associations, community partners and industry leaders who are working to solve problems and create a more equitable environment for historically underserved pre K-12 students throughout the United States.
- American Consortium for Equity in Educationhttps://ace-ed.org/author/admin/
- American Consortium for Equity in Educationhttps://ace-ed.org/author/admin/
- American Consortium for Equity in Educationhttps://ace-ed.org/author/admin/
- American Consortium for Equity in Educationhttps://ace-ed.org/author/admin/
