The future of learning to read

In this episode of Stanford Engineering's "The Future of Everything," host Russ Altman interviews Jason Yeatman, a professor at Stanford University, about the neuroscience of learning to read. They discuss how reading skills vary across the population, the nature of dyslexia as a point on a continuum rather than a discrete disorder, and the multiple factors, including phonological awareness and visual processing, that influence reading ability. Yeatman introduces ROAR (Rapid Online Assessment of Reading), an app developed by his lab to diagnose reading issues and enable targeted interventions. He emphasizes a research practice partnership model, involving teachers, administrators, families, and students in shaping research questions and technology development, and discusses the importance of addressing reading challenges in diverse linguistic backgrounds. The episode concludes with a Q&A segment featuring a question from a listener about AI in micro-robotics, answered by Professor Renee Zhao.