ISSUE BRIEF:
“What Research has Revealed About Readers’ Struggles with Comprehension in the Digital Age:”
Reading Research Quarterly, 55(S1) pp. S89-S97
Copyright 2020 International Literacy Association
To expand the conversations on the “science of reading,” Alexander notes that the language used to debate reading instruction is often restrictive, describing a view of reading that is constrained, or focused on only small parts of reading that do not fully explain the full reading process. To counter this, Alexander redefines reading with a more complete idea, describes some of the issues related to reading in the digital age, and provides a path forward for educators, researchers, and teacher educators alike.

Redefining Reading
Alexander points out that reading is far more than phonics or whole-word instruction. Citing Pearson and Cervetti (2013), she defines reading as “any interaction between a person - be it a child, adolescent, or adult - and written language” (p. S90). She also includes three other key points to her definition. First, reading can be done for a variety of purposes. Second, reading is a skill developed over an entire lifetime. And third, reading is a social and cultural event. With this more complete definition in mind, Alexander describes the science of reading as actually “contributing to a vast interdisciplinary store of critical information about reading-related skills, processes, antecedents, and outcomes, representing linguistic, cognitive, social, cultural, neurological, and psychological dimensions” (pp. S90-S91). In other words, she contends that the science of reading is more than merely phonics and argues that describing it as such is a “misrepresentation and even weaponization of that term” (p. S91).

Reading Challenges in the Digital Age
In her survey of the current field, and the challenges that K-20 teachers face, Alexander describes three main challenges with reading and reading instruction in the digital age:

  • Information saturation: When a reader is saturated with information from diverse sources, especially in short forms and on digital media, resulting in short attention spans, lack of perceptiveness and inability to engage in quality discussions.

  • Information seeking: When a reader is presented with a problem because online material could mislead and misrepresent information, which challenges the reader’s ability to find reliable information.

  • Information communication and justification: When a reader is faced with a problem of trying to communicate complex ideas in justifiable ways using online platforms, which could be met with repercussions. In this regard, the nuances of communication are lost and there is “no room for any grays, the nuanced or non-extreme iterations that invariably lie between opposing positions” (p.S92). As such, readers can also struggle to develop cohesive arguments, can fail to select appropriate content when developing arguments, and are unable to examine issues from different points of view. 

A Path Forward
Understanding that reading is far more than breaking the linguistic code requires a re-examination of the direction reading instruction should take. Alexander proposes a three-pronged approach:

  • Draw on students’ personal interests and experiences as the foundation for instruction. Teachers should work with students to understand the connection of the text to their lives by focusing on “elements of a poem, story, or subject matter that are potentially relevant to students, reflect their interests, or mirror experiences in their own lives” (p. S93).

  • Guide students to use smart technologies in smart ways. Technology should be considered a tool and not “the mindless, unregulated, and passive use of such technological tools both in and out of school.” (p. S94). Similarly, teachers should not assume students to be “digital natives” who know everything about using technology and instead should “help to recognize biased, inaccurate, and prejudicial sources written to mislead them” (p. S94).

  • Foster student interactions and collaborations around meaningful problems using diverse text mediums and genres. Students’ motivation can increase when they are exposed to relevant, appropriate, and diverse texts, moving beyond the standard texts. This could also lead to “more personal value placed on reading and more emotional investment in the knowledge and abilities gained from reading” (p. S94).

“[R]eading is an expansive activity that occurs whenever a person and written language interact” (p. S94). Alexander proposes a collaborative effort involving researchers, teachers, and parents to move beyond old concepts of reading and forward to the world of tomorrow. She argues that “if we teach today’s students as we taught yesterday’s, we rob them of tomorrow” (Dewey, 1944, p. S95).