This paper draws on the concept of retrovation— a specific form of innovation that utilizes largely forgotten past practices and products to address current problems and market opportunities—to frame a systematic review of the literacy education field. Through an analysis of shifting paradigms in literacy instruction, we trace the evolution from early phonics-based and skills-oriented models to whole-language and sociocultural approaches, and more recently toward evidence-based, scientifically supported frameworks such as the "science of reading". Our review highlights how these paradigmatic transitions have been shaped by changing epistemologies, policy priorities, and professional identities within education. At the same time, we identify persistent resistance points that have slowed the diffusion of empirically supported best practices, including ideological divides, institutional inertia, and tensions between teacher autonomy and policy-driven reform. Importantly, we argue that recent developments in literacy research and practice illustrate a form of retrovation: a deliberate return to, and refinement of, foundational methods—such as explicit phonemic instruction and systematic decoding—that had been partially displaced by later movements. By situating these re-emergent practices within a retrovative framework, we demonstrate how literacy education can move forward not by discarding the past but by re-integrating its enduring strengths. This perspective provides both a conceptual and practical bridge between historical traditions and contemporary scientific insight, offering educators and policymakers a nuanced understanding of how innovation in literacy teaching can emerge through the rediscovery and reinvention of earlier pedagogical wisdom.

Authors:
Nathan Greidanus, University of Manitoba, Canada
Heather Greidanus, Pembina Trails School Division, Canada

About the Presenter(s)
Nathan S. Greidanus is Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship; Innovation (retrovation) in Approaches to Literacy education.

Heather Greidanus is a literacy educator with a Master’s degree in Language and Literacy and credentials as a Reading Clinician. She currently serves as an English as an Additional Language (EAL) Specialist with the Pembina Trails School Division, where she supports multilingual learners and educators through evidence-based literacy instruction.

See this presentation on the full schedule – Sunday Schedule

Bookmark