Teachers’ knowledge and experiences of teaching reading and writing

Author(s):

Tarja Alatalo(presenting / submitting)

Conference:

ECER 2011

Network:

27. Didactics - Learning and Teaching

Format:

Paper

Session Information

27 SES 10 B, Issues on Language Education

Paper Session

Time:

2011-09-15

15:00-16:30

Room:

KL 24/222,1 FL., 64

Chair:

Joana da Silveira Duarte

Contribution

Reading is an unnatural process and most children need instruction in reading and writing (Blachman, 2000). There is considerable evidence that competent teaching will alleviate or reduce the severity and consequences of reading failure (Blachman et al., 2004; Foorman et al., 2006). Investigators have begun to pay increasing attention to the role of the teachers’ domain-specific knowledge in the area of reading (Cunningham, Perry, Stanovich, & Stanovich, 2004; Moats, 1996, 2009; Moats & Foorman, 2003).

The aim of this study is to perform an analysis of teachers’ experiences and knowledge in teaching students with reading and writing difficulties. The research questions are defined as follows:

· How do teachers state that they identify students that have reading and writing difficulties?

· How are teachers reasoning about their experiences, knowledge and conditions in other respects, with relevance for the opportunity to give these students support?

· Which concrete support do teachers consider that they give students that have reading and writing difficulties?

· Which knowledge do teachers have in basic reading and writing instruction?

· Which criterions do schools have for students that have reading and writing difficulties in order to give them special education.

Method

As an introduction an interview study was conducted with teachers in grades 1-2. Further, a questionnaire study with 300 Swedish teachers in the grades 1-3 has been completed. The questionnaire contents partly the teachers’ implementations, attitudes and conditions in their practical teaching. Partly it is a survey of teachers’ knowledge about and attitudes towards reading instruction and students’ further development in reading and writing. There is also a test on teachers’ knowledge about linguistic awareness, general orthographic rules and spelling conventions as well as on teachers’ knowledge about practical reading instruction and abilities to identify students’ writing difficulties.

Expected Outcomes

The interview study pointed out that the identification of students that have reading and writing difficulties differ among schools. Among other things, it depends on the gathered knowledge about reading and writing that the teachers at the school posses. The questionnaire study shows that teachers have difficulties to support the students that have reading difficulties because of lack of education and knowledge, resources and materials. Large classes and students that have different kinds of concentration problems also take lot of the teachers’ time. As in research done in USA, even this study shows that teachers achieve relatively low results on parts in the test. While the research has been going on, one comprehensive question has made a starting point, but also been clear in both the interview and questionnaire studies: Who should teach students that have reading and writing difficulties? Is it the class teacher or the special educator or both of them? It is significant that students that have some kind of difficulties in reading and writing are identified early and given opportunities to get support to develop and to get improved. Consequently in this dissertation, it is important to investigate and problematize the teachers’ opportunities and conditions to meet that kind of demands.

References

Blachman, B. (1984). Relationship of rapid naming ability and language analysis skills to kindergarten and first-grade reading achievement. Journal of Educational Psychology, 76, s. 610-622. Blachman, B. (2000). Phonological awareness. I R. Barr, M. L. Kamil, P. Mosenthal, & P. D. Pearson (Eds. ), Handbook of Reading Research, Vol. 3, s. 483-502. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum. Cunningham, A. E., Perry, K. E., Stanovich, K. E. & Stanovich, P. J. (2004). Disciplinary knowledge of K–3 teachers and their knowledge calibration in the domain of early literacy. Annals of Dyslexia, 54, s. 139–172. Moats, L. C. (1994). The missing foundation in teacher education. Knowledge of the structure of the spoken and written language. Annals of Dyslexia, 44 s. 81-104. Moats, L. C. (2009). Knowledge foundations for teaching reading and spelling. An interdisciplinary Journal, 22 (4) s. 379-399. Moats, L.C., & Foorman, B. (2003). Measuring teachers content knowledge of language and reading. Annals of Dyslexia, 53, p. 23-45.

Author Information

Tarja Alatalo (presenting / submitting)

University of Gothenburg

Faculty of Education

Gagnef

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