April 21, 2025

By Louis Huler 

In the world of structured literacy, there are few names that are as recognizable as Barbara Wilson. A renowned literacy expert, Barbara Wilson co-founded Wilson Language Training®, an evidence-backed, multi-tiered reading system widely used by reading specialists and teachers.

In April, the School of Education hosted Wilson for an online seminar titled, “Unlocking Reading Success: Barbara Wilson on the Power of Structured Literacy.” The event drew hundreds of educators and others from across the country and even abroad with people logging on from Mexico and Germany.

Wilson’s presentation provided a detailed overview of the modern application of structured literacy in the classroom, particularly its use for children with learning disabilities such as dyslexia. Structured literacy teaches students specific language skills- not just expecting them to infer it from reading or speaking. By breaking down reading and speaking systematically, it becomes much more accessible to students who may run into difficulties with comprehension.

Structured literacy is based on decades of research that suggests that children best become literate if taught in ways that are comprehensive, integrated, and most importantly, grounded in science. As Wilson explained to educators throughout the seminar, being deliberate and specific when teaching is much more effective than the assumption that the rules of language will be gradually understood by children on their own.

One example Wilson shared was about teaching prefixes. It’s a structured process- start out introducing prefixes being added to an already known word. “Distrust,” for example, is “dis” and “trust”. This develops an initial understanding of the prefix, which can then be applied to broader words- disrupt, dismay, etc. Establishing this understanding step by step is a proven tool for dyslexic children, and an important part of Wilson’s program.

Wilson also answered important questions submitted by teachers on a number of topics including how to organize instruction in 90-minute blocks during the school day, how to engage learners who are receiving instruction virtually, and how to work with teachers on implementing Fundations®, another critical component of the Wilson system.

The webinar served as a follow up to the School of Education’s Science of Reading Day held last fall. At that event, the school presented Wilson with the “Friend of Education” award to recognize her for her more than three decades of impact on literacy. At Science of Reading Day, Harvey Hubbell, an award-winning documentary director, held a screening of his film, “Hopeville: How to Win the Reading Wars,” on campus at the Mitchell Auditorium. The event also featured an information fair and a dyslexia simulation led by Woodlynde School.

The science of reading is a core focus area for the School of Education. Structured literacy is woven into the curriculum of several academic programs including the bachelor’s degrees in elementary and teacher education, MS in Teaching, Learning and Curriculum, the post-bachelor's Reading Specialist certification program and the post-bachelor's Dyslexia Specialist certificate program. Drexel’s literacy programs also recently received accreditation plus designation by the International Dyslexia Association for meeting their rigorous standards for knowledge and practice for teachers of reading.