Cassandra Potier Watkins
French Institute of Health and Medical Reseach
Building Readers Through Science: Evidence from Kalulu’s Open-Source Literacy Program
How can cognitive science research be transformed into classroom practices that truly help children learn to read? This question lies at the heart of Kalulu, the open-source, evidence-based literacy program developed by Excello Lab in collaboration with the Collège de France.
This presentation will share results from a series of randomized controlled field experiments conducted in France, Brazil, Colombia as well as current AB testing in Argentina, the Dominican Republic, and El Salvador. Across these contexts, the Kalulu approach, grounded in the science of reading and designed for open access, provides structured, phonics-based instruction and digital learning tools that teachers can freely download and adapt to their classrooms.
We compare outcomes across linguistic and educational environments to examine how evidence-based reading instruction can improve decoding, fluency, and comprehension, while remaining sensitive to local pedagogical cultures. In France, Kalulu serves as a testbed for linking cognitive neuroscience with national curricula, whereas in Latin America, it offers scalable, low-cost solutions for improving literacy equity.
By connecting field evidence, neuroscientific theory, and open educational resources, this work illustrates how research can drive practical change — transforming not only how we understand reading acquisition, but how we support every child in becoming a reader.
