The conflict to which UVA cognitive scientist Daniel Willingham refers is the one over how to teach kids to read – specifically, the never-ending argument that pits phonics against whole language, erupting in new skirmishes every few years, including right now. Here is a new look at what we know about how to teach kids to read, this by Willingham, a psychology professor at UVA who focuses his research on the application of cognitive psychology to K-12 schools and higher education.