Linguistically-driven text format aims to make
reading easier for all and empower learners everywhere
MINNEAPOLIS, Aug. 22,
2023 /PRNewswire/ -- For centuries, the printed word
has been presented as a left-justified wall of text, filling up the
page (just as you are reading now). This practice originated in the
Middle Ages, when paper was a rare commodity and white space
couldn't be spared. In today's world, text is increasingly
presented on digital devices. Cascade Reading asks, "Why not update
text formatting for the digital age, in a way that makes reading
easier?"
Every day, many people struggle to read and learn English.
According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, more
than 2/3 of the population reads at less than proficient levels, a
disheartening reality even before the added challenges posed by
COVID. As a society we have been struggling to teach our population
how to read for decades. Much progress has been made in knowing how
to successfully teach word reading, but teaching how to comprehend
sentences and longer texts is a more challenging endeavor. Cascade
Reading offers a new technology-driven approach to visualize
grammatical relationships within a sentence so that students can
more easily decode meaning.
"Our goal is to improve reading by making the text itself
do more of the work," said Julie A. Van
Dyke, Ph.D., Chief Scientist at Cascade Reading. "This is an
exciting time in the history of reading because technology allows
us to manipulate texts in ways that weren't possible before.
Phonics revolutionized the way we teach word reading by revealing
the linguistic structure inside words. Cascade reveals the
linguistic structure inside sentences, by creating a visual map of
the "who did what to whom" relationships that define each sentence.
This is highly innovative because now the underlying syntactic
structures can be seen directly."
Dr. Van Dyke served as a Senior
Scientist at Haskins Laboratories– now the Haskins Group at
Yale University Child Study Center– for
over 20 years. Haskins has been at the forefront of reading
research and educational neuroscience for over 50 years and is
where the concept of "phonological awareness" was developed in the
1970s. Van Dyke's research into the
memory and language mechanisms that support comprehension has
clarified the importance of syntax when readers process information
as they read.
How it works: Cascade's patented technology analyzes the
grammatical structure of each sentence, creating a structured
format– called Cascade– that visually assists the reader.
Linguistic units are grouped into separate lines and related
phrases are positioned relative to one another using
indentation.
"Cascade Reading is reimagining reading for the digital age.
Natural language processing supports our patented approach to make
even complicated sentences much easier to read," said Michael Gorman, co-founder of Cascade Reading.
"We now have the ability to assist the reader's understanding by
providing a visual map to every sentence - like a pair of glasses
helps improve vision, Cascade helps improve comprehension with a
new view of the written word. Our cloud-based system allows
this format to be applied to text of any length, so it can be used
anywhere digital text is presented."
With the alarming decline in reading scores and comprehension
levels in the United States -
exacerbated by the recent pandemic - the need for transformative
technologies and change is more evident than ever before. Those
struggling to learn English for the first time can also benefit
from this breakthrough.
Research Results: Cascade Reading is supported by
rigorous research across multiple studies.
In a 13-week study with 4th and 5th grade students, we
observed:
- Students reading in Cascade format earned better scores over
time on comprehension measures than the control group reading
traditionally formatted text.
- 44% of students preferred Cascaded text over traditional
format, 59% reported that Cascade format teaches them to read more
carefully and 41% said it taught them to focus attention on pieces
of a sentence.
- Students reading in Cascade were significantly more likely to
report that the format helps them "hear how the sentence should
sound", a key measure of fluency.
- Students in the lowest reading level reported Cascade gave them
a higher confidence in answering questions about the texts they
read.
In an English reading study with adult college students who grew
up speaking a variety of languages, we observed:
- Students who grew up speaking English improved scores on
reading comprehension assessments as compared with similar students
reading in traditional format after only 2 hours of exposure to
Cascade.
- Improved scores on reading comprehension were found to an even
higher degree for students who grew up speaking Mandarin.
- Similar studies are in process with students who grew up
speaking Spanish and Korean, with early indicators that benefits
will extend to speakers of these languages as well.
These studies indicate that Cascade enhances reading
comprehension for both young and adult native English speakers, as
well as those learning English for the first time.
"We have become accustomed to seeing technology revolutionize
how we produce and consume information," added Mark Lacek, co-founder of Cascade Reading. "Our
team focuses that spirit of innovation on helping people better
understand what they read. We provide a new technology to support
young learners, teachers, administrators, English language learners
and readers everywhere who can benefit from the Cascade Format.
People deserve access to alternative methods of reading, learning,
and comprehending, and Cascade Reading offers a bold new
approach."
To start utilizing this revolutionary reading enhancement,
visit https://cascadereading.com/ and register for an account.
As Cascade Reading is currently in beta, the program is available
for free, with the added convenience of a Chrome Plugin that
enables one to cascade almost any text content on the internet
within your Chrome browser.
About Cascade Reading:
Cascade Reading provides a text
format which improves comprehension by providing visual cues which
reveal sentence structure. Guided by reading experts and rigorous
research, Cascade utilizes advanced technologies to improve
comprehension and unlock the potential of readers everywhere.
Reading changes lives. Cascade changes reading. Learn
more at cascadereading.com.
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SOURCE Cascade Reading
