Introduction
This was my first course in the PME literacy field so I will be focusing my reflection on how my understanding of the reading process and literacy instruction changed since the beginning of the course. My learning progressed naturally throughout the course and I feel this is due to the excellent nature of the course structure. While I appreciate learning new concepts, terminology and techniques I also really want to know why things are they way they are. I enjoy going back to the very beginning, back to the source of where things all began. I have a great interest in fields like Sociology and Anthropology and I feel that this course really brought us back to those roots. From there we experienced a timely journey back to our present day and when we arrived we had a suitcase full of knowledge and tools at our disposal.
History of Reading Research and Theory
Learning about the development of reading research throughout the course of human history was very important to me in developing my understanding of how and why we have the theories and practices of literacy that we do today. In reading the articles by Pearson, Alexander and Fox I was able to see evidence of all the different theories of literacy, and their associated research, that are still present in classrooms today. As each era of literacy research emerged it left its mark on education, even if it was later found to be lacking or misguided in its theory. Each one left us with a little piece of the puzzle, one more clue to unlocking the mystery of how to teach others to read in the most effective way. As each era progressed research also progress which allowed us to uncovered new understandings and work to establish proof and evidence for literacy theories. By taking the time to go back and experience this journey that reading research has taken throughout history I feel that I am now ‘caught up’ with the reading community. I was no longer an outsider who joined the party a little too late to fully understand the conversation and debates.
History of the English Language
I must admit that Language Arts was always something I struggled with. I am a natural at reading and oral language but when it comes to writing, I have always struggled. I write how I speak, and this often results in overcrowded sentences with incredibly poor spelling and grammar. When I decided to go into education I resolved myself to teaching subjects that I could avoid teaching spelling and grammar. It seemed I did not have an understanding of it and my university education did nothing more to prepare me. However I would soon end up teaching reading and writing, and to the most critical group, grade one! I was terrified that I would lead my students astray by my lack of literacy knowledge so I made a new resolution; I was going to have to find a way to understand. I accessed what I had at my disposal. Professional Development sessions, published ‘box programs’ and my colleagues were the main source of my learning. While I gained a lot of foundational knowledge from these sources I knew that it was all out of context and I was lacking a deeper understanding. Thus my journey in the Queen’s PME program began. Learning about the history of the English language through Dehaene’s video and articles really filled in the gaps that I was missing and started allowing me to connect the dots from concept to concept that I have been catching just snippets of over the years. It provided me the exact and detailed information I had been craving! I developed not only a better understanding of how the brain reads and writes but how reading and writing evolved throughout history. Understanding the Latin and Greek roots to our words, how the different phonemes developed and having all the ‘rules’ explained so plainly was a gift. It was a relief to finally have the information so readily at hand.
Through this process I also learned what questions to ask for when I am ready to learn more and where to look for these answers. It seems odd to me that more of this information, such as how the development of English has affected our spelling, is not more common knowledge! Yes, I know that color and colour are different because one is American and one is Canadian, but now I know why! To me that was nothing short of amazing.
Reading and Technology
Technology is part of our current instructional practices and yet there always seems to be such a ‘bust’ and ‘boom’ to how much money we have to spend on it. Sometimes we are inundated with technology dollars and encouraged to spend them fast before they disappear and yet others times when we are in need of technology the pot is empty. Yet how much of what we purchase or want to purchase is actually improving reading and writing with our students? There is nothing more disappointing than spending what few dollars you have to spend on an app only to discover that it does not function to the potential we thought it might.
I found that our App Review assignment so valuable for this reason. Not only did I gain access to a multitude of peer reviewed apps that I can take away with me but I also learned how to evaluate apps and technology in the future! I will no longer need to rely on customer rating scales, blogs and youtube reviews for information. I will have the skills necessary to scan technology for the attributes I know will positively impact my children and students.
After developing an understanding of the role of research, previous and current theories of literacy education, the history of the English language and how the brain works I felt I was now ready to tackle reading instruction again. I still had some very important questions that I needed answered, like what about all those ‘awarenesses’ and instructional practices (i.e. phonics, Daily 5, Balanced Literacy, Sustained Silent Reading) and comprehension? While the course thus far had given me an understanding of these I still did not feel proficient in discussing or applying them to my practice. I am thankful that the next step in our course led me to these answers.
I particularly enjoyed the Applying Reading Theories to Practice and the Literacy Leader assignments as they allowed me to dive into and answer some of my questions. In exploring Family Literacy, Emergent Literacy, Comprehension, Whole Language, Balanced Literacy, Phonics, Phonological, Print and Phonemic Awareness I gained the practical knowledge that I needed to know to begin to transform my classroom practices and improve instruction and understanding. I feel this knowledge will not only benefit my students, but their families as well.
Specifically it was helpful to learn how Print Awareness builds and leads into Phonological Awareness which in turn leads and builds into Phonemic Awareness, which encompasses Phonics based instruction. Understanding Print and Phonological awareness also better helped me understand how to create a rich learning environment and how instructional programs such as Balanced Literacy and Daily 5 attempt to address and develop these three ‘awarenesses’. I also learned how comprehension is apart of literacy development for life. It is not something we teach once and move away from, it must be incorporated intentionally in all that we do. I still feel I have a lot to learn about how to improve my reading comprehension instruction and I plan to pursue this more in future studies.
Summary
Overall, I now feel I can not only improve my practice but scientifically and professionally name and defend teaching practices I have been intuitively using. As our final article by Stanovich & Stanovich (2003) states we need tools to evaluate the credibility of these many and varied sources of information. Acquiring those tools means understanding scientific values and learning methods for making inferences from the research evidence that arises through the scientific process (p. 6). I certainly feel more equipped to do this after taking this course. Furthermore I am beginning to see how desperately all teachers need the information I gained in this course and I plan to advocate for our school to bring in more meaningful professional development to further our literacy education as professionals and improve our practice.
References
Alexander, P. A., & Fox, E. (2004). A historical perspective on reading research and practice. Theoretical models and processes of reading, 5, 33-68.
Block, C. C., & Duffy, G. G. (2008). Research on teaching comprehension: Where we’ve been and where we’re going. Comprehension instruction: Research-based best practices, 2, 19-37.
Dehaene, S. [Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies]. (2013, April 30). Lecture by Dr. Stanislas on Reading the Brain [Video File]. Retrieved July 20, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSy685vNqYk
Dehaene, S. (2009) How do we read? Reading in the brain: The science and evolution of a human invention (pp. 11-51). New York, NY: Viking.
Pearson, P. D. (2007, November). An historical analysis of the impact of educational research on policy and practice: Reading as an illustrative case. In 56th yearbook of the national reading conference (pp. 14-40).
Stanovich, P. J., & Stanovich, K. E. (2003). Using Research and Reason in Education: How Teachers Can Use Scientifically Based Research To Make Curricular & Instructional Decisions.
Wolf, M. (2007). How the brain adapted itself to read: The first writing systems. Proust and the squid: The story and science of the reading brain (pp. 24-50). New York, NY: Harper Collins.
This was my first course in the PME literacy field so I will be focusing my reflection on how my understanding of the reading process and literacy instruction changed since the beginning of the course. My learning progressed naturally throughout the course and I feel this is due to the excellent nature of the course structure. While I appreciate learning new concepts, terminology and techniques I also really want to know why things are they way they are. I enjoy going back to the very beginning, back to the source of where things all began. I have a great interest in fields like Sociology and Anthropology and I feel that this course really brought us back to those roots. From there we experienced a timely journey back to our present day and when we arrived we had a suitcase full of knowledge and tools at our disposal.
History of Reading Research and Theory
Learning about the development of reading research throughout the course of human history was very important to me in developing my understanding of how and why we have the theories and practices of literacy that we do today. In reading the articles by Pearson, Alexander and Fox I was able to see evidence of all the different theories of literacy, and their associated research, that are still present in classrooms today. As each era of literacy research emerged it left its mark on education, even if it was later found to be lacking or misguided in its theory. Each one left us with a little piece of the puzzle, one more clue to unlocking the mystery of how to teach others to read in the most effective way. As each era progressed research also progress which allowed us to uncovered new understandings and work to establish proof and evidence for literacy theories. By taking the time to go back and experience this journey that reading research has taken throughout history I feel that I am now ‘caught up’ with the reading community. I was no longer an outsider who joined the party a little too late to fully understand the conversation and debates.
History of the English Language
I must admit that Language Arts was always something I struggled with. I am a natural at reading and oral language but when it comes to writing, I have always struggled. I write how I speak, and this often results in overcrowded sentences with incredibly poor spelling and grammar. When I decided to go into education I resolved myself to teaching subjects that I could avoid teaching spelling and grammar. It seemed I did not have an understanding of it and my university education did nothing more to prepare me. However I would soon end up teaching reading and writing, and to the most critical group, grade one! I was terrified that I would lead my students astray by my lack of literacy knowledge so I made a new resolution; I was going to have to find a way to understand. I accessed what I had at my disposal. Professional Development sessions, published ‘box programs’ and my colleagues were the main source of my learning. While I gained a lot of foundational knowledge from these sources I knew that it was all out of context and I was lacking a deeper understanding. Thus my journey in the Queen’s PME program began. Learning about the history of the English language through Dehaene’s video and articles really filled in the gaps that I was missing and started allowing me to connect the dots from concept to concept that I have been catching just snippets of over the years. It provided me the exact and detailed information I had been craving! I developed not only a better understanding of how the brain reads and writes but how reading and writing evolved throughout history. Understanding the Latin and Greek roots to our words, how the different phonemes developed and having all the ‘rules’ explained so plainly was a gift. It was a relief to finally have the information so readily at hand.
Through this process I also learned what questions to ask for when I am ready to learn more and where to look for these answers. It seems odd to me that more of this information, such as how the development of English has affected our spelling, is not more common knowledge! Yes, I know that color and colour are different because one is American and one is Canadian, but now I know why! To me that was nothing short of amazing.
Reading and Technology
Technology is part of our current instructional practices and yet there always seems to be such a ‘bust’ and ‘boom’ to how much money we have to spend on it. Sometimes we are inundated with technology dollars and encouraged to spend them fast before they disappear and yet others times when we are in need of technology the pot is empty. Yet how much of what we purchase or want to purchase is actually improving reading and writing with our students? There is nothing more disappointing than spending what few dollars you have to spend on an app only to discover that it does not function to the potential we thought it might.
I found that our App Review assignment so valuable for this reason. Not only did I gain access to a multitude of peer reviewed apps that I can take away with me but I also learned how to evaluate apps and technology in the future! I will no longer need to rely on customer rating scales, blogs and youtube reviews for information. I will have the skills necessary to scan technology for the attributes I know will positively impact my children and students.
After developing an understanding of the role of research, previous and current theories of literacy education, the history of the English language and how the brain works I felt I was now ready to tackle reading instruction again. I still had some very important questions that I needed answered, like what about all those ‘awarenesses’ and instructional practices (i.e. phonics, Daily 5, Balanced Literacy, Sustained Silent Reading) and comprehension? While the course thus far had given me an understanding of these I still did not feel proficient in discussing or applying them to my practice. I am thankful that the next step in our course led me to these answers.
I particularly enjoyed the Applying Reading Theories to Practice and the Literacy Leader assignments as they allowed me to dive into and answer some of my questions. In exploring Family Literacy, Emergent Literacy, Comprehension, Whole Language, Balanced Literacy, Phonics, Phonological, Print and Phonemic Awareness I gained the practical knowledge that I needed to know to begin to transform my classroom practices and improve instruction and understanding. I feel this knowledge will not only benefit my students, but their families as well.
Specifically it was helpful to learn how Print Awareness builds and leads into Phonological Awareness which in turn leads and builds into Phonemic Awareness, which encompasses Phonics based instruction. Understanding Print and Phonological awareness also better helped me understand how to create a rich learning environment and how instructional programs such as Balanced Literacy and Daily 5 attempt to address and develop these three ‘awarenesses’. I also learned how comprehension is apart of literacy development for life. It is not something we teach once and move away from, it must be incorporated intentionally in all that we do. I still feel I have a lot to learn about how to improve my reading comprehension instruction and I plan to pursue this more in future studies.
Summary
Overall, I now feel I can not only improve my practice but scientifically and professionally name and defend teaching practices I have been intuitively using. As our final article by Stanovich & Stanovich (2003) states we need tools to evaluate the credibility of these many and varied sources of information. Acquiring those tools means understanding scientific values and learning methods for making inferences from the research evidence that arises through the scientific process (p. 6). I certainly feel more equipped to do this after taking this course. Furthermore I am beginning to see how desperately all teachers need the information I gained in this course and I plan to advocate for our school to bring in more meaningful professional development to further our literacy education as professionals and improve our practice.
References
Alexander, P. A., & Fox, E. (2004). A historical perspective on reading research and practice. Theoretical models and processes of reading, 5, 33-68.
Block, C. C., & Duffy, G. G. (2008). Research on teaching comprehension: Where we’ve been and where we’re going. Comprehension instruction: Research-based best practices, 2, 19-37.
Dehaene, S. [Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies]. (2013, April 30). Lecture by Dr. Stanislas on Reading the Brain [Video File]. Retrieved July 20, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSy685vNqYk
Dehaene, S. (2009) How do we read? Reading in the brain: The science and evolution of a human invention (pp. 11-51). New York, NY: Viking.
Pearson, P. D. (2007, November). An historical analysis of the impact of educational research on policy and practice: Reading as an illustrative case. In 56th yearbook of the national reading conference (pp. 14-40).
Stanovich, P. J., & Stanovich, K. E. (2003). Using Research and Reason in Education: How Teachers Can Use Scientifically Based Research To Make Curricular & Instructional Decisions.
Wolf, M. (2007). How the brain adapted itself to read: The first writing systems. Proust and the squid: The story and science of the reading brain (pp. 24-50). New York, NY: Harper Collins.