Literacy Improvement Strategies

We are excited to announce the release of our "Guide to Integrating Generative AI for Deeper Literacy Learning" - a collaboration between AI for Education and Student Achievement Partners. We co-developed the guide with SAP, experts in high quality instruction, with an understanding that both the technology and its educational applications are at it's earliest stages. We also know that many teachers, leaders, and students are concerned about the impact the tools will have on learning. We want this guide to act as a jumping off point for educators that are trying to determine if GenAI can positively intersect with high quality instruction in the literacy classroom. The Key Principles of the Guide: •  GenAI tools should support, not circumvent, productive struggle for students •  AI literacy should come before the Integration of GenAI tools •  GenAI should augment educators’ pedagogical expertise, content knowledge, and knowledge of students •  Integration when appropriate should enhance, not replace, proven instructional practices •  Usage should align with students’ developmental readiness and literacy goals Highlights: • A framework for distinguishing productive vs. counterproductive struggle in literacy classrooms • Practical strategies for using AI to enhance student engagement without replacing critical thinking for students •  Best practices for enhancing cognitive lift and what strategies to avoid that offload cognitive lift • Detailed GenAI use cases across foundational skills, knowledge building, and writing instruction • Elementary-specific guidance emphasizing teacher-led AI implementation and modeling • Comprehensive worked examples with Chatbot transcripts that illustrate these practices This is just the beginning, which is why we're actively gathering educator feedback to refine and expand these resources through a survey in the guide. Thank you so much to Carey Swanson and Jasmine Costello, PMP from SAP for being such wonderful partners in this work! You can access the full guide or watch the accompanying webinar in the link in the comments! #ailiteracy #literacy #GenAI #K12

📚 Read to Be Free: Brazil’s Revolutionary Prison Literacy Program In Brazil, inmates can reduce their prison sentences by reading books and writing thoughtful reviews. This initiative, known as “Remission Through Reading” (Remição pela Leitura), was introduced in 2012 by the Ministry of Justice. It allows prisoners to cut 4 days off their sentence for each approved book review, with a maximum of 12 books per year, totaling up to 48 days annually . How It Works: 📖 Inmates select from a curated list of books in literature, science, philosophy, or classics. 🕒 They have 21 to 30 days to read the book. 📝 Within 10 days, they must submit a review demonstrating comprehension and critical thinking. ✅ Reviews are evaluated by a panel of educators and civil society members for originality, grammar, and depth. ♿️ The program includes accommodations like audiobooks and peer support for inmates with disabilities or low literacy levels. The Impact: This program aims to: 🌱 Foster a love for reading and learning. 🧠 Enhance critical thinking and empathy. 🔄 Reduce recidivism by equipping inmates with better tools for reintegration into society. An educator involved in the program noted, “A lot of prisoners start just to get the time off, but eventually, something shifts. They start to like the reading. They want to discuss it. They want to learn” . Real Rehabilitation: This initiative exemplifies how education can be a powerful tool for rehabilitation, offering inmates a path to personal growth and a brighter future. #brazil #prisonreform #reading #rehabilitation #education #literacy #secondchances #remissionthroughreading #knowledgeispower #lifelessons

Prof. Krishna Kumar’s incisive article “A Multilingual Classroom” is more than a commentary on CBSE’s recent circular. It is a clarion call to reimagine the very foundations of how we structure knowledge, power, and belonging in Indian classrooms. For far too long, English has functioned not simply as a medium of instruction but as a marker of cultural capital. It has shaped hierarchies of aspiration, legitimacy, and success. Kumar traces this back to our intellectual inheritance, where figures like Tagore, Gandhi, Vivekananda, and J.P. Naik emphasized the primacy of the child’s mother tongue in education. They understood that learning is not merely linguistic but deeply embodied, rooted in the child’s lived experience and cultural imagination. CBSE’s recent move to foreground the mother tongue in early primary education has the potential to be a turning point. This is not a minor administrative directive but a philosophical shift. If carried through with conviction, it could begin to undo the alienation that many children feel when schooled in a language that neither reflects their reality nor affirms their identity. What is needed now is a radical rethinking of the future. A truly multilingual classroom must be rooted in equity, empathy, and epistemic justice. It must allow children to think, dream, and express themselves in the languages that hold meaning for them. This means: - Curriculum must move beyond textbook translation and begin producing knowledge systems grounded in regional thought and expression. - Teacher training must empower educators to handle multilingual classrooms with pedagogical creativity, not see them as problems to be managed. - Assessment frameworks must respect linguistic diversity and stop punishing students for not conforming to monolingual norms. - Parental engagement must involve reframing aspirations around linguistic richness instead of monolithic English dominance. CBSE’s decision, Prof. Krishna Kumar argues, if implemented with care, sensitivity, and structural support, could move us closer to an education system that he calls systemic equity—not through uniformity but through honoring differences. #MultilingualEducation #CBSEReform #LanguagePolicy #IndianEducation #MotherTongueMatters #DecolonizeCurriculum #PedagogicalJustice #KrishnaKumar #EducationPolicy

In Japan, Finland, and Korea, children learn in the language of their homes—and consistently lead global education rankings. In contrast, millions of Nigerian children are taught in English, a language many don’t speak at home. The result? Lower comprehension, fragile confidence, and underperformance in key learning years. Visionaries like Prof. Babs Fafunwa, Prof. Chinyere Ohiri-Aniche, and Prof. E. Nolue Emenanjo have long championed the power of indigenous languages in education. Their work shows what research confirms: children learn best when they understand the language of instruction. Teaching in our local languages, especially in the early years, isn’t regression—it’s a proven path to learning equity, cultural resilience, and national development. It’s time to rethink our foundations.

Literacy is a critical skill, and encouraging reading at a young age better equips children to succeed in school and in life. That is what makes the work of Library Dads so important. Started by Georgia resident Khari Arnold, Library Dads creates space for parents to be active in their children’s early learning. Through reading, play and conversation, the program helps build stronger relationships and encourages a lifelong love of books. These sessions, hosted at local libraries in Atlanta, GA, are rooted in community and designed for impact – and that impact matters more than ever. In 2024, average reading scores for 4th and 8th graders dropped two points compared to 2022, according to The Nation’s Report Card. This continues a downward trend that began before 2020. As reading achievement declines, programs that actively involve families in early education play a critical role in giving students the support they need to thrive. When we invest in literacy and support family engagement, we help create the conditions for long-term success, one story at a time.

Digital empowerment goes beyond just access to technology. It’s about creating equity in critical sectors like education, healthcare, finance, and employment, especially for marginalized communities, rural populations, and persons with disabilities (PwDs). To address these needs, tailored digital solutions are crucial, and public-private partnerships (PPP) will play a key role in shaping this transformation. 1️⃣ 𝐓𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐃𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐋𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐲 & 𝐒𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 Programs focused on digital literacy are the bedrock of empowering rural populations. The PMGDISHA (Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan), initiated by the Indian government, aims to enhance digital literacy in rural areas. As of 2024, over 5 crore people have been trained, highlighting the immense demand for digital literacy and skilling. Similiary, the Digital Empowerment Foundation (DEF) has been at the forefront, with initiatives like eMitra centers in Rajasthan, where digitizing government services has not only simplified access but also saved community members time and travel costs. In Ziro Valley, Arunachal Pradesh, DEF’s program to train rural women in e-commerce skills has increased financial independence and profitability, enabling them to access broader markets. 2️⃣ 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲-𝐃𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐃𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬: 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐋𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐍𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐬 A critical component of digital empowerment is ensuring that technology serves local needs and is not merely consumer-driven. India’s vast rural terrain demands tailored solutions. Low-bandwidth apps and voice-enabled technology are making access to services more inclusive, especially in remote areas. Private companies like Jio have partnered with the government to extend internet connectivity, but more work is needed to bridge this connectivity gap. 3️⃣ 𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧-𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐑𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 & 𝐄𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 Digital empowerment is also about giving marginalized communities the autonomy to make informed decisions. Persons with disabilities (PwDs) in cities like Jaipur are using voice-enabled apps to access telehealth services and government welfare schemes, thereby gaining greater control over their healthcare and livelihood. Microsoft’s AI for Accessibility initiative has also been instrumental in creating digital tools that cater to PwDs, enabling them to interact more seamlessly with technology. Empowering these communities to have decision-making rights and consent in digital platforms ensures that technology is not just an instrument of access but also an enabler of autonomy and inclusion. 4️⃣ 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬 & 𝐆𝐚𝐩𝐬 Despite the progress, there are significant challenges such as lack of Modern infrastructure, affordable devices, and quality internet access in rural areas persist. The Indian government’s Digital India initiative aims to address these gaps by establishing more research labs and digital villages.

I’ve written before about how faith organizations serve communities in many different ways. Their work to promote literacy in rural North Carolina is one more example of their broad impact on community health.   I’m really proud that Healthy Blue (Blue Cross NC's Medicaid managed care plan) has supported the expansion of The Summer Literacy Initiative, which brings together trained educators, congregational and community volunteers, and parents to provide data-driven reading instruction. When members of the community work together to provide access to literacy resources throughout the year, students are less likely to experience the “summer slide.”   The results of that work are especially visible this time of year, as students are getting started on the new school year. Literacy and academic success are gateways to a lifetime of well-being. The Summer Literacy Initiative ensures that more North Carolina children stay on track toward a healthy adulthood. https://lnkd.in/eV7ajvcA

In celebration of International Women’s Day (#IWD), I have been posting about women neuroscientists whose work inspires the next generation. Today I’d like to introduce Barbara Sahakian, Professor of Clinical Neuropsychology at the Univ. of Cambridge and Fellow of the British Academy, among her many other awards. Barbara’s research focuses on understanding and treating cognitive impairments in psychiatric and neurological disorders, including depression, schizophrenia, and Alzheimer's disease. She is well-known for her research on cognitive enhancers, namely drugs that improve cognitive function. And she is a strong advocate for the ethical use of these drugs and the importance of mental health. So I was fascinated to see that she recently published a paper looking at the long-lasting effects of #reading for pleasure in children! She and her colleagues used the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) cohort. This includes more than 10,000 children being studied over the course of their development in the US. They found that even after factoring out confounds such as socio-economic status, children who began reading for pleasure at an early age showed better cognitive performance and fewer mental health problems as adolescents, including: 📖 Larger vocabularies and better reading comprehension but also better achievement in school 📖 Higher levels of attention 📖 Fewer attentional problems and fewer conduct problems in school 📖 Lower likelihood of developing ADHD and less prevalence of depression In addition, children who read for pleasure from an earlier age showed greater development of key #brain regions involved in reading, including the superior temporal cortices in both hemispheres. As an avid reader for my whole life, I love the idea that reading for pleasure is a cognitive enhancer. The evidence suggests it not only boosts cognition (e.g. vocabulary, comprehension, and attention) but also decreases anxiety, stress, and conduct problems in teenagers. For us older teens, reading helps to develop cognitive reserve – that is, the brain's ability to improvise and find alternative ways of completing tasks when faced with challenges such as #aging or brain damage. This helps to promote healthy aging and reduce the risk of developing dementia. I’m biased because I just love reading, but I think Barbara’s research is so valuable because it provides very strong evidence that reading offers life-long benefits. To my mind, that’s a fabulous, ethical cognitive enhancer!

Odisha shows the country what happens when learning moves beyond the classroom and textbooks—into real life.   Guess what? In a pilot program across 80 government-run schools, over 11,000 tribal students were introduced to project-based learning—yes, learning by doing. From recording the daily routines of local weavers to huddling over handmade charts of village haats—stalls, prices, and timings sketched in rich detail—it was learning rooted in real life.  — and the results were powerful: 📚 53% improvement in Odia literacy 📚 +70% improvement in social sciences between two summative assessments  📚 87% of teachers reported a positive shift in student engagement and learning  This wasn't just an “intervention.” It was an invitation — for learners to lead, apply, explore, and engage with the world around them. As someone, who is deeply engaged in experiential youth oriented education experience, this reinforces what many grassroot educators and changemakers already know When learning is local, participatory, and purpose-driven, it transforms lives. India’s learning future lies not in more rote learning, but in more relevance, agency & hands on learning. Have you seen a school, community, or classroom reimagine learning in ways that worked? What would it look like if every learner had access to project-based, community-rooted learning? PS: The Times Of India For those curious about the data, I’ve shared the article I referenced in the comments below. #LearningFutures #EducationInnovation #ProjectBasedLearning #TribalEducation #India #SystemsThinking #YouthEmpowerment #InclusiveLearning