8/6/2024

How the Cycle of Science Affects Professional Learning

“Get comfortable with change,” Dr. Julie Washington says during Season 3, Episode 1 of All for Literacy. “That's one of the things I would say to educators because as long as we're talking about [science], things are going to change.”

MIT Philosophy professor Thomas S. Kuhn published a book about the structure of the scientific cycle—emphasizing the cycles constant proclivity for change. And the science behind literacy is no different. As researchers continue to study the science of reading, discoveries will continue to be made that refine and/or shift our view of learning language.

In Emily Hanford’s “Sold a Story” podcast, Executive Director of Professional Learning for the Boston Public Schools Christine Cronin shared her experience on the matter. “People are coming into learning experiences curious in a deeper way. And I think part of what did it for people was that you included in the podcast the history, the evolution of these approaches to teaching reading,” she explains. When educators begin to understand the structure of the scientific cycle, they’re more likely to remain open to new information. 

Cronin continued, saying, “Now, it’s more like, ‘Wow, there was a flaw here all along that we weren't privy to at the time. I should learn more about this.’” 

Washington emphasizes that this structure of scientific revolutions not only colors the way educators should look at new information, it also drives an ongoing need for professional development in the educational space. 

The Structure of Scientific Revolutions by Thomas Kuhn

“It's this idea that the scientific enterprise occurs in a cycle and that cycle is ongoing,” Washington explains about Kuhn’s idea of scientific revolutions. Washington first learned about the idea during her doctoral program in speech and language pathology at the University of Michigan. 

She explains the concept further, stating most people in a field are engaged at the beginning of their careers in what is considered the “normal” science of the day. At some point in the future, a scientist will prove a new scientific idea that goes against the so-called “normal” science. “And then, we start to see drift in the model where others are starting to test what he's saying,” she says. And as more people begin to test and prove the same conclusion, a crisis in the field occurs. 

“That's part of the process in science that the people who are holding onto the old idea and the people who have the new idea do not agree, and it creates conflict,” Washington says. “And eventually the conflict is resolved and the paradigm shift happens.”

At this point, the new information is accepted as the new “normal” science for the field. And the cycle eventually repeats itself as more studies are completed and new information is discovered. 

This is a change in our theory, a change in our model, a change in our practice that happened as a result of science. And so that's that idea of the reading revolution that has been driven by science and is making its way into practice.

What the Cycle Means for Professional Learning

Washington and Brooke discuss how what’s happening now with the science of reading follows Kuhn’s pattern of scientific revolutions. Washington even prefers to avoid the term “reading wars,” and opts to use the “reading revolution” instead. The pair also breaks down exactly what this cycle means for professional development for educators. 

To start, understanding this cycle should help alleviate the personal blame educators often place on themselves when it comes to applying evidence-based practices in the classroom. “One of the things about the term, the science of reading, is that it has led people to believe that what happened before wasn't science. It was science. It was the science of the day,” Washington says. 

Brooke recounts her own experience, saying, “Using Kuhn's cycle of nature and evolution of science I think is so helpful because again, it takes away this personal [blame].” As a teacher, she was trained in whole language and balanced literacy, and was devastated when she learned her training wasn’t aligned with the science of reading. “When I went back to school to become a speech language pathologist…I learned about the science of reading and this idea that it's a revolution, it's a cycle of science. The evolution of science takes some of those feelings out of it,” Brooke says.

Once educators understand the continuous scientific cycle means they are not to blame for not knowing the most current evidence-based practices, the next step is to find professional development experiences that will bring them up to speed. These next steps lead into the idea that teachers need to get comfortable with change. 

The cycle highlights the importance of continuing to pursue professional learning throughout an entire career, and keeping in mind the idea that nothing is set in stone. “If you're going to be evidence-based, get comfortable with change, because science is always changing,” Washington says. All educators can benefit from learning the most up-to-date evidence. 

Resources for Staying Up to Date

Understanding the scientific cycle is the first step for educators in bringing the most current evidence-based practices into the classroom to best support students as they learn to read and write. 

While it can be a struggle to know where to look or what to look for when it comes to staying up to date, several resources can help educators along the way. The All For Literacy podcast brings in key industry voices to discuss industry news, Reading Rockets offers a library of evidence-based classroom strategies, and The Reading League has a collection of professional books and resources dedicated to the science of reading. 

Listen to Season 3, Episode 1 of All For Literacy with Dr. Julie Washington to better understand this cycle, and subscribe to the podcast to stay up-to-date with key industry findings.