{"id":4562,"date":"2024-02-14T18:28:00","date_gmt":"2024-02-14T18:28:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/?p=4562"},"modified":"2025-01-23T15:09:20","modified_gmt":"2025-01-23T20:09:20","slug":"purdue-university-begins-work-to-advance-science-of-reading-thanks-to-1-5-million-grant-from-lilly-endowment-inc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/2024\/Q1\/purdue-university-begins-work-to-advance-science-of-reading-thanks-to-1-5-million-grant-from-lilly-endowment-inc","title":{"rendered":"Purdue University begins work to advance science of reading thanks to $1.5 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc."},"content":{"rendered":"

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. —<\/p> \n

Purdue University<\/a> has begun work to improve the reading abilities of K-12 students in Indiana by strengthening teacher preparation using science-based methods. The work is funded in part by a $1.5 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc.<\/a> awarded to Purdue in August as part of Lilly Endowment\u2019s Advancing the Science of Reading in Indiana initiative, which launched in 2022.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The science of reading refers to a vast body of research that explores how children learn to read and includes explicit, systematic and cumulative instruction methods focused on phonics, phonemic awareness, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, and writing and oral language. Purdue is one of 28 Indiana colleges and universities that received grants from Lilly Endowment to support efforts that integrate science of reading-aligned principles into teacher preparation programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From working with external consultants to diving deeper into the research on the science of reading to surveying former students about science of reading concepts, faculty across three campuses in the Purdue system \u2014 West Lafayette, Northwest<\/a> and Fort Wayne<\/a> \u2014 as well as two colleges, the College of Education<\/a> and the College of Health and Human Sciences<\/a> (HHS), are collaborating to bring together their diverse perspectives and elevate literacy teacher preparation at the university.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Six months in, the Purdue faculty have already made strides in their initial planning for revamping the curriculum. In early fall, the faculty gathered to review the results of a survey that would allow them to assess how prepared alumni and preservice teachers felt about literacy. Beyond the survey, the team met with external consultants and partnered with\u00a0The Reading League Indiana<\/a>\u00a0to develop a common understanding of the science of reading and evaluate how this information would take shape in curriculum adjustments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Mary Ann Cahill, Holly Hullinger-Sirken, Chenell Loudermill<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Purdue\u2019s interdisciplinary approach is overseen by Jenna Rickus<\/a>, vice provost for teaching and learning, and the grant is co-led by Christy Wessel Powell<\/a>, associate professor of literacy education and the director of the Center for Literacy and Language Education and Research<\/a>, and Catherine (Cammie) McBride<\/a>, professor of human development and family science and HHS associate dean for research. Mary Ann Cahill<\/a>, associate dean of professional programs and director of the School of Education and Counseling at Purdue Northwest, serves as the campus lead for Purdue Northwest, and Holly Hullinger-Sirken<\/a>, clinical associate professor of elementary education, serves as the campus lead for Purdue Fort Wayne.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are grateful to Lilly Endowment and the state of Indiana for their proactive support for literacy education,\u201d Wessel Powell said. \u201cIt\u2019s vital to have these resources that we can put toward improving the ways that teachers are able to work with students and to know there is a long-term commitment toward these goals.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The funds are being used toward faculty\u2019s collaboration efforts to enrich their curriculum through science-based literacy methods in elementary education, special education and early childhood education. Their work spans five main goals:<\/p>\n\n\n\n