Curiosity Weekly – “A is for Apple… Or is it AI?”

Host: Dr. Samantha Yammine
Guest: Emily Wood, Speech Language Pathologist and Researcher
Episode Date: August 20, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode, Dr. Samantha Yammine explores the evolving landscape of literacy, examining the challenges we face in reading proficiency, the impact of technology on learning, and how innovative assessment methods can better serve diverse, multilingual communities. The show features expert insights from Emily Wood, a speech language pathologist and PhD candidate, who is developing equitable approaches to reading assessment. The episode closes with a reflection on a new MIT study showing how AI use in education can affect cognitive engagement.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Literacy in Decline: Stats and Stakes (01:26–06:57)

• Low Literacy Rising: Studies by the National Center for Education Statistics show a notable increase in American adults at the lowest literacy levels over the past decade.
• Importance of Literacy: Literacy is described as more than just reading — it underpins opportunity, physical and mental well-being, socioeconomic mobility, and overall quality of life.
• UNESCO Stats: Over 50% of children worldwide face literacy challenges.
• Quote:
  “Reading is what? Fundamental. But actually, countless studies have documented how the ability to read is crucial for physical and mental well being, socioeconomic mobility, and overall quality of Life.”
  —Dr. Samantha Yammine [06:57]

2. Handwriting vs. Typing: What Boosts Early Literacy? (01:26–04:36)

• Spanish Study Breakdown:
  • 50 kindergarteners split into four groups: handwriting (copying and tracing), typing with uniform fonts, and typing with diverse fonts.
  • Children who practiced handwriting — both tracing and freehand — showed better retention and recall of letters and words.
  • Typing, especially with uniform fonts, led to poorer outcomes in letter recognition and memory.
• Finding:
  “The movements of handwriting are a big part of learning letters and words in early reading... activates more extensive brain networks than simply pressing a few keys.”
  —Dr. Samantha Yammine [03:39]

3. The Complexity of Literacy Assessment (06:57–13:25)

• Traditional Methods:
  • Assessments are multifaceted, testing everything from oral language skills to phonological awareness and comprehension.
  • Most current literacy tests are designed for monolingual, English-speaking children, which disadvantages bilingual or multilingual students.
• The Monolingual Bias:
  “A lot of the tests that we have ... are developed exclusively for kids who speak English. Those English tests can be tricky for kids who speak other languages at home... You might not know the word, or you just might have less familiarity with the word...”
  —Emily Wood [10:32–12:04]

4. Dynamic vs. Static Assessments: Emily Wood’s Research (13:25–19:38)

• Static Assessment: Measures what a child already knows, which is limited for pre-readers, especially in diverse classrooms.
• Dynamic Assessment: Focuses on learning potential by integrating prompts, feedback, and real-time teaching into the evaluation process.
  • Helps identify which kids will benefit from additional support and what teaching strategies help them most.
• Language-Neutral Testing:
  • Emily’s team designed assessments using non-words made up of universally common phonemes to avoid cultural/language bias.
  • In tests, traditional English-based screens marked 75% as “at risk,” while the new dynamic, quasi-universal test flagged only 25%, allowing more precise allocation of support.
• Quote:
  “Dynamic assessment is a little bit more like what teaching in the classroom looks like, and it tells us a little bit about how the child is going to respond... The benefits are kind of multiple, I guess I would say, in a dynamic assessment approach.”
  —Emily Wood [13:47–16:33]

5. Challenges for Multilingual Students (11:58–20:15)

• Phonemes in Testing: Linguistic diversity can skew test results, especially when languages differ in sound systems (e.g., the “th” sound missing in Arabic and most languages).
• Early Childhood Window:
  • Children can distinguish all phonemes in early years, but this ability narrows to native-language sounds over time.
  • Real-life spelling challenges arise when names or words don’t exist in all languages.
• Quote:
  “My name doesn’t really exist in Arabic, because they don’t have that phoneme with the th.”
  —Dr. Samantha Yammine [20:10]

6. The Broad Impact of Literacy — and Gaps Remain (21:17–22:56)

• Practical Value: Literacy is essential in school, work, and civic life, and it even impacts physical and mental health.
• Surveys & Gaps: Though Canada fares better than many countries, stats show as many as a quarter (or one in eight) children still have difficulties.
• Quote:
  “Because literacy is so important, I do think we should strive for less than a quarter or less than one in eight children struggling to learn to read or having reading difficulties, because it is just so important.”
  —Emily Wood [21:25]

7. Artificial Intelligence and Learning: Brains on Autopilot? (25:20–28:47)

• MIT Media Lab Study:
  • 54 adults wrote three essays with either (a) no tech, (b) Google search, or (c) ChatGPT.
  • Brain-only group: highest cognitive engagement, creativity, and memory.
  • Google group: moderate engagement.
  • ChatGPT group: lowest engagement, less original work, and poor recall of their own writing.
• Key Risks:
  Relying on AI, especially for schoolwork, can lead to superficial engagement, lost creativity, and lower pride in output.
• Quote: "The team found some pretty clear differences in brain activity depending on which group the participants were in. According to the EEG, folks using ChatGPT had the lowest level of brain engagement. They were least mentally involved and did less while writing."
  —Dr. Samantha Yammine [26:29]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Reading is what? Fundamental. But actually, countless studies have documented how the ability to read is crucial for physical and mental well being, socioeconomic mobility, and overall quality of Life.”
  —Dr. Samantha Yammine [06:57]

• “We try to make the items as language independent as possible...we make sure that those non words are made up of sounds or phonemes that are common to most languages.”
  —Emily Wood [17:19]

• “If 75% of your classroom needs help, who am I going to actually help here? I can't help 3/4 of the class with that kind of intensive support that they might need.”
  —Emily Wood [19:11]

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [01:26] Literacy decline stats & challenges
• [01:26–04:36] Handwriting vs. typing effect on reading acquisition
• [06:57] The importance of literacy for life outcomes
• [07:52–13:25] Emily Wood on literacy assessments and biases
• [13:25–19:38] Dynamic vs. static assessments, multilingual focus
• [20:10] Bilingual struggles with names and phonemes
• [21:25] Broader impacts and stats on literacy
• [25:20–28:47] MIT study: AI, essay writing, and brain engagement

Tone & Style

Dr. Samantha Yammine maintains a light, approachable, and energetic tone, interspersed with curiosity, humor, and personal anecdotes. Emily Wood provides clear, enthusiastic explanations, advocating for equity and inclusion in education. The overall discussion is lively, thoughtful, and accessible, targeting a broad audience without assuming technical background.

Summary Takeaways

• Literacy rates are stagnating or declining, and traditional assessments may leave multilingual and marginalized students behind.
• Handwriting still trumps typing for young learners in developing reading skills.
• Dynamic, language-neutral assessments hold promise for more equitable literacy support.
• AI tools like ChatGPT, while convenient, may reduce deep thinking, memory, and learning retention when overused for educational tasks.
• Rethinking both how we teach and assess literacy is vital — especially as classrooms become more diverse and technology-rich.

For more details, listen to “A is for Apple… Or is it AI?” from Curiosity Weekly.