How does Breakthrough relate to scientific research?
First, the Breakthrough program itself emerged from scientific, case-study research by Carolyn Brown at the University of Iowa Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology. Through inductive methods of systematic observation, hypothesis generation, and hypothesis testing, she developed a model of reading acquisition that, for more than 20 years, has been tested in authentic school settings around the country. The initial support for the model that Dr. Brown found by observing Garrett, her first single subject, was generalized to thousands of children from varied racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds. Second, Breakthrough provides instruction on the skills that other scientific researchers have found to be critical for learning how to read. The perceptual/behavioral predictors in the Breakthrough model parallel those that researchers have identified as foundational for early literacy success. These predictors include vocabulary/oral language development, phonemic awareness and p
