Historical and contemporary developments in reading and writing instruction.
“We cannot know where we’re going if we don’t know where we’ve come from” (Roy C. Owens, 1899-1979).
Teaching children to read and write is a long-standing tradition with a history that has been built upon for generations. Fads have come and gone, concepts and ideas have been researched, theories have been proven and dis-proven. As society develops and changes, instruction must change to reflect the contemporary culture. Each new idea is shaped from experience and research of current practices, and many aspects of past practices are still used today. Educators who have an understanding of this history have knowledge of past research-based strategies and their successes or shortcomings. They can make educated decisions about their own instruction based on this knowledge.
The first artifact I have chosen is the first chapter in Richard Allington's book, What Really Matters for Struggling Readers: Designing Research-Based Programs (3rd ed.) (2012). This chapter discusses the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), the reports for assessments of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), trends in the achievement gap, problems with past and present research, problems with packaged programs, the rise of Response to Intervention (RTI), and how each of these has effected reading instruction along the way. The second artifact is the second chapter from Block & Parris' book, Comprehension Instruction: Research-Based Practices (2008). This chapter notes the beginning of comprehension studies in the 1970's, discusses books and studies done since then, and details which strategies are now considered essential core strategies and best practices for teaching them. The third artifact is a table from Block & Parris' book, Comprehension Instruction: Research-Based Practices (2008). The table exemplifies research on comprehension instruction that began in the 1970's. It compares earlier proposed strategies to those that have been researched and deemed effective for contemporary instruction. Many of the proposed strategies are included. These artifacts illustrate in the history of literacy education and how it continues to effect contemporary research and practices.
“We cannot know where we’re going if we don’t know where we’ve come from” (Roy C. Owens, 1899-1979).
Teaching children to read and write is a long-standing tradition with a history that has been built upon for generations. Fads have come and gone, concepts and ideas have been researched, theories have been proven and dis-proven. As society develops and changes, instruction must change to reflect the contemporary culture. Each new idea is shaped from experience and research of current practices, and many aspects of past practices are still used today. Educators who have an understanding of this history have knowledge of past research-based strategies and their successes or shortcomings. They can make educated decisions about their own instruction based on this knowledge.
The first artifact I have chosen is the first chapter in Richard Allington's book, What Really Matters for Struggling Readers: Designing Research-Based Programs (3rd ed.) (2012). This chapter discusses the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), the reports for assessments of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), trends in the achievement gap, problems with past and present research, problems with packaged programs, the rise of Response to Intervention (RTI), and how each of these has effected reading instruction along the way. The second artifact is the second chapter from Block & Parris' book, Comprehension Instruction: Research-Based Practices (2008). This chapter notes the beginning of comprehension studies in the 1970's, discusses books and studies done since then, and details which strategies are now considered essential core strategies and best practices for teaching them. The third artifact is a table from Block & Parris' book, Comprehension Instruction: Research-Based Practices (2008). The table exemplifies research on comprehension instruction that began in the 1970's. It compares earlier proposed strategies to those that have been researched and deemed effective for contemporary instruction. Many of the proposed strategies are included. These artifacts illustrate in the history of literacy education and how it continues to effect contemporary research and practices.