In this classroom, walls hold not just brick and stone, But galaxies painted on dreams yet untamed. Each desk, a launchpad, where hearts take their own, Uncharted journeys, destinies unclaimed. I stand at the helm, not captain, but guide, With maps of knowledge and compasses of care. I fan the embers of curiosity inside,
And stoke the fire that yearns knowledge to share. Some days, doubts cloud their eyes like storms at sea, But then I whisper of giants once young, Of mountains scaled, and mysteries set free, By hands like yours, with stories yet unsung.
I see the poet in doodles on a page, The sculptor in clay, the architect in lines. Each spark, a promise, on life’s vibrant stage, Where heroes rise, beyond imagined shrines.
So never settle for echoes of the past, Or dim your light to fit a borrowed mold. This world awaits your chorus, clear and vast,
A symphony of dreams, in you, to unfold. Forget the grades, the tests, the fleeting scores, They pale beside the fire in your soul. Believe in whispers that echo through the cores, Of destinies written, waiting to take hold.
For you, my student, are a universe untold, With stardust whispers and galaxies within. Go paint your stories on canvases bold, And let your greatness, with courage, begin.
Pragmatics and semantics are two branches of linguistics according to (Hassa, 2016),
“… that are related to the meaning of language, there is a major difference between the two. Knowing the difference between semantics and pragmatics can help clear the misunderstandings and miscommunication in language.” So, what is the difference between these two branches of linguistics, how is this important to human communication and how can teachers use this information in the classroom?
What is the Difference between Pragmatics and Semantics?
While semantics and pragmatics both deal with words and their meaning, pragmatics goes further into the intended meaning that the speaker is trying to convey while semantics is only concerned with what the words mean. According to Szabó (2005), “Semantics is the study of meaning, or more precisely, the study of the relation between linguistic expressions and their meaning.” This means semantics is the study of words and what they mean. Semantics is not concerned with how the writer or speaker is using the words. It is just interested in what the words or phrases mean. According to the article, What is Pragmatics? “Pragmatics studies how language is used by real people in real context, in spoken discourse and written contexts, and is highly influenced by cultural and social contexts.” Pragmatics is still interested in what the words mean as in semantics, but it goes deeper into the context the words are spoken. Pragmatics deals with context while semantics does not.
Why is Semantic and Pragmatic Interpretation so Important to Human Communication?
Why are these two areas of linguistics important to human communication? Language is essential in communication whether it be through sign language, brail or another means of communication. Understanding language is important to how we as humans communicate. “Meaning seems at once the most obvious feature of language and the most obscure aspect to study. It is obvious because it is what we use language for–to communicate with each other, to convey.” And therefore, pragmatics and semantics are so important to human communication because it is how we communicate. One needs to know what the words mean, their basic dictionary meaning to be able to speak, write and understand. One then must understand what the speaker is trying to say, the message they are trying to convey to be able communicate effectively. When someone is learning a new language, these two branches of linguistics are important to study. They need to first learn what the dictionary meaning of some words are so they have some vocabulary and then they can work on what the speaker means. Without semantics and pragmatics, we would not be able to communicate.
How Can Knowledge of Semantics and Pragmatics Inform Your Teaching?
Now let’s think about our students who have a challenging time with pragmatics. This can be difficult concept for young children, English Language Learners, people with a hearing impairment, and those with Autism. This comes into play in social media where it is difficult to understand the tone in someone’s typing and therefore it is difficult to understand what the person means. Understanding this helps us know that we need to choose our words wisely. Something you type might be innocent, but someone might interpret what you typed differently than what you meant to say. Sarcasm is difficult to detect in chats. It is far easier to understand sarcasm when you can hear what the person is saying and hear the tone in their voice.
Students who have a hearing impairment may miss the tone when someone speaks. They may rely on sign language, but then again just like typing in a chat or a message, they can miss the tone. Students with Autism and young children have a challenging time understanding social cues. They often do not understand sarcasm and often misinterpret situations.
How Can Teachers Use This Information to Facilitate Learning in Their Own Classrooms?
According to the article, What is Semantics, “ELLs are learning both social and academic language of English. Social language, or playground and everyday speech can take only 1-2 years to develop.” Teachers can help these students by encouraging students to “explore words, looking at origins of words, connections and similarities of words between languages…” This will help them become better communicators.
Often, when teaching literature, I ask my students, “What is the author trying to tell us? What does this sentence mean? What is the speaker trying to convey?” I have some students who have Autism, and at times we talk about “reading the room”. Which means reading the atmosphere of the room before commenting on something. And by knowing the atmosphere, it will help them understand what the speaker is trying to say or what they mean to say. For example, when my daughter was little, I told her to “Hold her horses.” She left the room and came back holding her My Little Pony’s and said, “Okay mom I am holding my horses.” We all had a big laugh, but then I explained what it meant and why we say it. Years ago, when horses and stagecoaches were the way we traveled, when you wanted someone to slow down you told them to “hold their horses.” At that point they were actually holding real horses, today it is an idiom which means to slow down. When these situations occur, the teacher should explain the significance of the word or the phrase and explain what the speaker means by what they said.
Conclusion
Pragmatics and semantics are two branches of linguistics with semantics dealing only with the meaning of words and pragmatics dealing with word meaning and how these words are used. “Knowing the difference between semantics and pragmatics can help clear the misunderstandings and miscommunication in language” (Hassa, 2016).
This is the first time I am really speaking out about this.
Years ago, I lived in Bayonne, NJ and went to Lincoln Community School. Each year the principal would come into our classroom. He proceeded to call us to the front and read our report cards to the class before handing them to us.
I struggled when I was in elementary school. My mom was sick with Ovarian cancer and died when I was 11 years old. I was in 5th grade at the time but for four years before that she was sick at home. I struggled with getting my work done and especially had a difficult time with math.
I remember his words, “Oh Nancy seems like you’re failing math again. Mom and dad won’t be happy you need to work on that.”
It took everything in my soul not to flip out on him. So, I wanted to say to that principal who thought he knew everything and loved to embarrass children at their most vulnerable, “Hey ******* I am teaching math now! Now tell me about failing math!”
The moral of the story: If you are a teacher, principal or someone who interacts with children, never do this ever! Someone like me looked at it as a challenge, but I dealt with anxiety Adn self-doubt for my entire life. Others were not as lucky as I was.
For the purposes of this paper, Zoey is a pseudonym. The students real name, age, and grade level are not used in this assessment.
Abstract
Reading Fluency is an important factor in a student’s ability to learn. Students with low reading fluency have a difficult time keeping up with their peers, keeping up with the work, and this effects their overall learning. Zoey is an autistic 6th grade student who is falling behind on her academics and showing signs of growing frustrations. It has been reported by Zoey’s teachers that at times she refused to complete her work, turns in blank assignments and refuses to read out loud. Zoey struggles with reading fluency as she read slower than most of her peers and has a difficult time keeping up with the work. This study explores Zoey’s academics to figure out why her reading fluency is low and what approached can help her overcome this.
Introduction
The subject for my case study is an autistic 6th grade female student named Zoey Willougby. When Zoey started in Preschool, she was disabled and did not speak until she was almost 5 years old. Since then, her vocabulary and her verbal language skills have increased dramatically. She was placed into inclusion classes in kindergarten and then regular education classes in first grade. Zoey has reported difficulties in 6th grade, noting that the work is much harder than it was in elementary school. Some of her teachers have noted that Zoey is often distracted in class and does not complete all of her assignments. This was never the case with Zoey in the past.
In middle school, many students’ scores are often lower than they have been in elementary school since they are more concerned with making friends and their social life then their grades. While this might be the case with Zoey; she reports having difficulties keeping up with assignments and that she is afraid to read aloud in class. This educational hurdle not only affects her comprehension, but her participation grade as well.
Zoey reports that the work has gotten a lot harder for her this year. She also states that she does not like reading aloud and sometimes she tries to be quick so it will be over, but then she forgets what she read when the passage is too difficult or long. Her grades have also showed a decrease over the last trimester.
When looking over different ways to help Zoey, I wanted to focus on helping her with her reading fluency. Several strategies that have proven effective in this are Reader’ theatre, Authentic Literature and the use of Technology in the classroom.
Literature Review
There are many techniques that help teachers facilitate learning for their students. For helping students reading comprehension, and fluency, Reader’s Theater, using authentic literature and using technology can greatly increases students’ performance.
Reader’s Theater
Reader’s Theater is a creative tool used help student feel more comfortable reading and gaining confidence in using their voice and developing a better understanding of the voice of their characters. “As many teachers know, Reader’s Theater is an interpretive reading activity in which readers use their voices to bring characters to life, (“‘I Never Thought I Could Be a Star’: A Readers Theater Ticket to …”, n.d.). This concept helps students gain confidence in their speaking voice as well as learning a character. “Reader’s theater methodology is a research-based and approved method of teaching reading fluency and comprehension, meeting over 50 common core standards for English Language art, literacy and most state language arts standards,” (“Reader’s Theater is Research Based – Playbooks® Publishing”, n.d.).
Reader’s Theater is a method of reading a story aloud, like a play, without memorization, props, or a stage. Students are assigned a character role and read their part with expression, meaning, and enthusiasm. It’s best done in small groups so students can practice their roles prior to reading in front of an audience.
Acting out story dialogue compels readers to work more closely with the text to interpret and project meaning into the experience. As a result, students show an improvement in vocabulary, comprehension, and retention. Repeated readings in multi-leveled small groups are the only proven method of building reading fluency.
Authentic Literature
Another tool educators often use is authentic literature. “Authentic literature refers to narrative and expository texts that are written in the original, natural language of the authors. These texts are not written with a controlled vocabulary or rewritten to achieve a particular score according to a readability formula (Routman, 1991),” (Authentic Literature, n.d.). These are texts students want to read and chose to read. Many times, students ask why we need to learn this or that. When you use authentic literature, the students have choice in what they are reading, and they can see why they are reading.
“Authentic literature is not just for children who can already read or for gifted students. It is for all students as they learn to read — including students experiencing various difficulties with learning, (Chomsky, 1978; Morrow, 1992; Pinnell, Fried, & Estice, 1990) and second language learners,” (Larrick, 1987; Rigg & Allen, 1989). “We don’t achieve literacy and then give children literature; we achieve literacy through literature (Huck, 1989, p. 258),” (Authentic Literature, n.d.).
There are many ways to use authentic literature in the classroom for all grade levels from Kindergarten through High School. Some of the ways to use authentic literature in the classroom are by using read aloud, guided reading groups, reading workshops, independent reading, etc.
When I teach high school, I often allow my students to read the newspaper. This is the great example of Authentic literature. Many times, students will read sprots articles or current events. I also ask students what books the enjoy reading and give them the reading interest survey. Since our school library is on the small side, my local library allows me to take books out for my students. So sometimes we go through their online system and pick books out.
Technology
Finally, in the 21st century, children are exposed early to technology. Technology is a valuable resource for all students, but especially struggling readers and English Language learners. In order to keep up with the inundation of technology, teachers are using technology more frequently in the classroom. There are many web-based resources and apps that help the students with various aspects of reading from comprehension and fluency to grammar. There are many ways to incorporate technology in the curriculum and also help struggling readers.
School districts have relied more on technology over the last few years due to Covid. Some students have been forced to become virtual students and teachers have had to teach both on-line and in the classroom.
During Covid, most people, not just students had to rely on technology to work and study. School districts had to provide their students with computers and change their lessons to adapt to using technology. Students at first has difficult time with technology and learning how to use it but now that they are more comfortable with it, they chose to use technology more and more.
“Technology is an integral part of almost every aspect of life today. While reading will always be an essential skill, a digital approach makes sense with today’s mix of in-class, at -home, and hybrid learning. Digital project work can help you connect with learners to the books they read, better evaluate their comprehension, and build literacy skills like vocabulary research and fluency, (Kolk, n.d.).
Technology must engage the learning, it can be especially helpful for English Language learners, and it helps teachers bridge in class and at home learning. Most teachers are now required to use technology in their lessons. Now, they are often evaluated on how they are using technology and if they are actively researching new methods.
Methods/Procedures
Setting
Zoey Willoughby is a 6th grade student of this researcher. Zoey has been falling behind this year, which is unusual for her. Her grades, her participation in class, and her overall performance has been suffering. Zoey was tested on her reading comprehension, her reading speed, and vocabulary and her fluency by using the QRI. This test was performed so that this researcher could have a better understanding of where she was struggling and then come up with a plan to help her. In any situation, at times there is more going on with a student than just academics. Sometimes in middle school, students become more concerned with their social life than their academics.
Research Questions
The goal of this study is to investigate the impact of an approach on students who are falling behind the rest of their peers and showing frustration in their academic practices when no frustration was present in the past. The researchers sought to explore the following questions:
How can teachers determine the area a student is struggling in?
What role does the integration of technology applications have on the learning experience?
What impact does the use of authentic literature have in remediating adolescent readers?
Procedures
Most of the lessons were delivered to Zoey in the classroom and in person, however she was quarantined for some time and had covid. Some of her lessons were delivered via google classroom.
Zoey worked with me for two weeks working on reading comprehension and fluency. Zoey reports having difficulty reading out loud. The first test done with Zoey was the QRI test. This test was performed to determine where she was struggling and then from that create an action plan for her. I conducted this study because I saw one of my students struggling and I wanted to figure out where they were struggling and how I can help them.
First, I gave Zoey a choice of different reading comprehensions packets to pick from. She chooses ones that excited her. This is how we used Authentic Literature. For my high school students, we often use the newspaper. They will look through the sports section and sometimes current events.
Then Zoey and I found a quiet place to work. She often expressed get anxiety with reading out loud in front of her class. She states that she would mess up and studder at times and she did not want to be made fun of. In our quiet place, Zoey was more comfortable reading and working on her fluency. Though her reading speed is within the range of the rest of her class, when she reads at that speed she does not remember as well as when she reads at a comfortable speed for her. This creates problems when there is more reading required for her. As she goes on in her education, she will be required to read more and more. We need to help her get to a reading pace that she can keep up with her classmates and comprehend what she read. The more she practiced, the better and more confident she became. In school students are required to read aloud in class and if they refused to do so then they often lose point in participation and their overall grade.
In class, we use the Lexia system. Lexia Reading is a computerized reading program that provides phonics instruction and gives students independent practice in basic reading skills. Lexia Reading is designed to supplement regular classroom instruction and to support skill development in the five areas of reading instruction identified by the National Reading Panel. These five areas are phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.
While working on this program, each student has a set amount of time given each week to work on their 3 areas, word study, grammar and comprehension. When a student is having difficulty in a section, a lesson is generated for the teacher to work on with that student.
Data Collection
Zoey was assessed using the Qualitative Reading Inventory – 6th Edition. It was found that Zoey was in the independent range for word reading accuracy and in the instructional range for comprehension on the Fourth Grade Word list. She accurately read the Primer passage with 98% accuracy. Zoey correctly answered 4 out of 4 explicit comprehension questions correctly and 1 out of 2 implicit comprehension questions at this Fourth Grade Level. When she went back to the text, she answered everything correctly.
The Fifth level passage was found to be at the instructional level. Zoey did well with word fluency and only had 7 miscues but when it came time to remember what she read, that showed her difficulties. She scored 70 percent on the concept questions and within the instructional range on comprehension questions, scoring a 7 out of 8.
The sixth level for Word Recognition and Comprehension for Zoey was found to be at the frustration level. Zoey had more difficulty with this passage; however, her fluency was good, and she only had 14 miscues. She scored 58 percent on the concept questions and within the instructional range on comprehension questions, scoring a 4 out of 8 on the comprehension questions.
Zoey scored in the independent reading for reading accuracy at the Level 4 reading passage. She can read 132 words per minute and is within the independent range for both word identification, concept questions and comprehension questions.
Zoey scored in the instructional level at the Level 5 reading passage. She read 72 words correct per minute for her oral reading fluency and Instructional for comprehension based on the comprehension questions.
Zoey scored in the frustration level at the Level 6 reading passage. She read 121 words correct per minute for her oral reading fluency and frustration for comprehension based on the comprehension questions.
For the oral reading portion of the QRI-6 assessment, there are passages varying from the pre-primer level through high school. Total accuracy scores are calculated from the number of miscues the student makes while reading aloud. The comprehension question score is calculated based on the child’s ability to answer explicitly directly from the text and implicit questions that require the student to go beyond the text and make an inference based on what they read.
When working with Zoey, I created a fluency chart to map out how she improves over time, and we used an Oral Reading Fluency chart to see what percentile Zoey scored. Zoey first started in the 25th percentile scoring 122 words per minute. She increased to 150 words per minute putting her in the 50th percentile and finally ended at 204 words per minute, putting her in the 90th percentile. Zoey states the more she read with me, the more comfortable she became. She was able to comprehend the passages when she read slow and as time went on and her speed picked up, she was still able to comprehend. She stated that in class she sometimes tries to read fast to be done with it, or when the class is taking turns reading, she will count the paragraphs to it is her turn and practice the one she had to read. By doing this, Zoey misses what the rest of her peers have read as she has been focused on practicing her section. This is all to avoid mistakes and avoid being made fun of for stuttering or not knowing or saying words wrong.
Zoey reports that the work has gotten a lot harder for her this year, than it had been before. She also states that she does not like reading aloud and sometimes she tries to be quick so it will be over, but then she forgets what she read when the passage is too difficult or long. Her grades have also shown and decreased over the last trimester. Could this be because she is having a difficult time keeping up or other influences. Zoey also reports on her Reading Interest Survey, that she used to enjoy reading but not she wants to play with her friends more. She says she still enjoys reading but she likes reading comics online, she likes supernatural stories, and some mysteries but only online. Her mother had gotten her a kindle in hopes of encouraging her to read more; however, Zoey states she prefers to read on the computer.
My interactions with Zoey are limited. In middle school students change classes each period unlike in Elementary school where the teacher has the same students all day long. So, one of the difficulties in this report is finding time to work with Zoey and keeping Zoey caught up with the rest of the class.
Findings
Using the results of the QRI, found this student to have a weakness in comprehension and fluency. During the student interview, it was reported that this student found the work harder this year and reports that it was hard to keep up with her classmates. For this reason, the teacher chose to work on reading fluency.
Data revealed that this student was having difficulties keeping up with reading. Her reading fluency and words per minute were below that of her classmates. Lessons focuses over fluency such as expression, phrasing, smoothness and pace. The student chose various comprehension packets to read. She chose ones that interested her. This student actively worked one on one with the teacher reading each section out loud.
Using authentic literature, I allowed Zoey to pick topics she was interested. Some of the topics were from 6.1 (sixth grade first month) the later ones were 6.7 or 6.8. I found with those she struggled more. She needs more practice than these little lessons. I mean I will keep doing them as they are helping her. Her response is more focused on being afraid to mess up reading aloud in class and not being made fun of. Zoey is autistic and has anxiety so knowing that her response makes sense.
Zoey started working one on one with her teacher. She chose Authentic Literature that interested her and read them aloud with her teacher. Zoey reports that when asked to read aloud in class she became nervous and often studders over her words. There is more work in 6th grade than there was in 5th grade and more reading. Zoey was having a difficult time keeping up with the reading and therefore falling behind in class. This is another reason why we focused on her fluency and overall comprehension.
The chart below shows how many words Zoey read per minute during her one-on-one sections. You can see a gradual increase from where she started.
Below is the fluency rubric to evaluated Zoey’s progress
1
2
3
4
Expression and Volume
Reads in a quiet voice as if to get words out. The reading does not sound natural like talking to a friend.
Reads in a quiet voice. The Reading sounds natural in part of the text, but the reader doesn’t always sound like they are talking to a friend.
Reads with volume and expression. However, sometimes the reader slips into expressionless reading and does not sound like they are talking to a friend.
Reads with varied volume and expression. The reader sounds like they are talking to a friend with their voice matching the interpretation of the passage.
phrasing
Reads word-by-word in a monotone voice.
Reads in two- or three-word phrases, not adhering to punctuation stress of intonation.
Reads with a mixture of run-ons, mid-sentence pauses for breath, and some choppiness. There is reasonable stress and intonation.
Reads with good phrasing, adhering to punctuation, stress and intonation.
Smoothness
Frequently hesitates while reading, sounds out words, and repeats words of phrases. The reader makes multiple attempts to read the same passage.
Reads with extended pauses of hesitations. The reader has many “rough spots.”
Reads with occasional breaks in rhythm. The reader has difficulty with specific words and/or sentence structures.
Reads smoothly with some breaks, but self corrects with difficult words or sentence structures.
Pace
Reads slowly and laboriously.
Reads moderately slowly.
Reads fast and slow throughout the reading
Reads at a conversational pace through the reading.
The chart below shows how she scored on the fluency rubric over our lessons.
Zoey’s scores were overall were the same. Toward the end her scores overall improved.
Discussion/Recommendations
The result of this study is to demonstrate the value of various reading fluency activities for students. Reading Fluency is related to comprehension. When students are in elementary school grades, they are learning how to read but as they get older, they are reading to learn. This can be difficult for students who struggle with sounding out words, and for those who read at a slower pace their classmates. “Receiving feedback from an attentive instructor is key to helping students improve their reading skills,” (Reading Fluency Activities for Older Students, n.d.).
In Zoey’s case, she struggled with keeping up with her classmates. She words read per minute was slower than most of her classmates. She measured in the beginning of this study at the 25TH percentile. She stated the work in 6th grade is harder than it was in 5th grade and there is more reading, and she cannot keep up with it.
Zoey was assessed using the Qualitative Reading Inventory – 6th Edition. It was found that Zoey was in the independent range for word reading accuracy and in the instructional range for comprehension on the Fourth Grade Word list. She accurately read the Primer passage with 98% accuracy. Zoey correctly answered 4 out of 4 explicit comprehension questions correctly and 1 out of 2 implicit comprehension questions at this Fourth Grade Level. When she went back to the text, she answered everything correctly.
The Fifth level passage was found to be at the instructional level. Zoey did well with word fluency and only had 7 miscues but when it came time to remember what she read, that showed her difficulties. She scored 70 percent on the concept questions and within the instructional range on comprehension questions, scoring a 7 out of 8.
The sixth level for Word Recognition and Comprehension for Zoey was found to be at the frustration level. Zoey had more difficulty with this passage; however, her fluency was good, and she only had 14 miscues. She scored 58 percent on the concept questions and within the instructional range on comprehension questions, scoring a 4 out of 8 on the comprehension questions.
Zoey scored in the independent reading for reading accuracy at the Level 4 reading passage. She can read 132 words per minute and is within the independent range for both word identification, concept questions and comprehension questions.
Zoey scored in the instructional level at the Level 5 reading passage. She read 72 words correct per minute for her oral reading fluency and Instructional for comprehension based on the comprehension questions.
Zoey scored in the frustration level at the Level 6 reading passage. She read 121 words correct per minute for her oral reading fluency and frustration for comprehension based on the comprehension questions.
Based on this assessment, we created reading comprehension packets for Zoey to work on. Because Zoey has often stated that she has great anxiety reading aloud in class, she worked one on one with the teacher. As time went on she became more comfortable reading, and her words per minute increased as did her comprehension.
In conclusion, the more the student reads aloud the better and more comfortably they will become. Students reading below grade level will benefit from the Readers’ Workshop Model, different apps to assist then with reading as well as practicing to read aloud. The more practice the students has in a positive environment will enhance their overall experience.
Scaffolding in teaching refers to teachers molding, or demonstrating, how to complete a certain task. After completion of the demonstration, they let their students try to complete the task themselves and only give support as needed. The teacher gradually sheds layers of assistance as the students’ progress. This is the same way Literacy Coaches work with teachers. Scaffolding can be utilized in the classroom with students and by Literacy Coaches when observing and coaching teachers.
Scaffolding is important in differentiating the education of our students. Some students do not need as much support as others. We give support to those students who need them so they can be at the same level as the other students. In my case study, I am working with a student who experienced difficulty with reading aloud. This student is performing under grade level, where in the past she had been at grade level. She reports that the work has gotten harder. She also reports that she does not do like reading aloud and that she tries to be quick in her reading so it will be over. However, she forgets what she read when she perceives the reading passage is too difficult or long. This particular school system is set up in three trimesters. This student’s grades have decreased from the first trimester to now. She just received grades from the second trimester and is starting the third.
For this student, I have given more supports than some others. We give her extra allotted time during the day to read with a teacher or support staff. By doing this, we can help her slow down and think about what she is reading. Often, we pause her at a natural stopping point and ask her questions while she is reading. When she reads a longer and larger text, we have been working on teaching her how to take notes, and outline chapters as she reads so she can review them later. This will be help and aid in her education later, as in upper grade levels more reading is required.
We can see how this works in the classroom with students, but how can we use scaffolding to help teachers? “What became clear to me was the role of active construction on one’s learning and how critical this is on our leading school visit. Scaffolding the teacher through genuine conversation and questioning will provide to be most productive and generative,” (Rodgers & Rodgers, 2007).
Scaffolding is the support system given to those who need them. This can apply to student as well as teachers. A new teacher might need more support than a veteran teacher. This does not mean that a veteran teacher does not need support, they might been help learning a new technique, or adopting a new teaching philosophy. “We suggest ways in which literacy coaches can think about kind of help they provide teachers, the amount of support they provide, and when to offer help in order to scaffold teacher learning and reach depths of understanding,” (Rodgers & Rodgers, 2007).
There are things to consider when a literary coach is scaffolding a teacher. However, “The only requirement if a thoughtful coach who creates settings that require active participation and then observes the participation close in order to provide the think of help that is on the teacher’s cutting edge of learning,” (Rodgers & Rodgers, 2007). Coaching is not an opportunity when we just tell someone what they are doing wrong. This is the same way a teacher would give support to their students. We must be mindful of where and how we give support. We should also create a learning environment that is inviting and supportive.
Scaffolding is a useful tool that can be used in many situations when one person is facilitating the success of another. This can be helping a child learn a chore at home or helping a student work on reading. The key is to remember to create a supportive learning environment.
References
Rodgers, A., & Rodgers, E. M. (2007). The Effective Literacy Coach: Using Inquiry to Support Teaching and Learning. Teachers College, Columbia University.
What can be done?
When the motivation is gone,
When the drive is lost,
When you give up,
When you have lost all hope,
What can be done?
How do you motivate someone?
How can I get you to care?
Why do I care more about your future than you do?
What can be done?
When the motivation is gone,
When the drive is lost,
When you give up,
When you have lost all hope,
What can be done?
What can be done?
When you have lost all hope?
“Coaching seems to be the right term to use for this supportive work with teachers, especially if we think about the definition of a coach as an individual who provides guidance and feedback that enables someone else to become more proficient,” Bean and Goatley (2021). Reading Specialists are often asked to coach teachers and other professionals. There are two schools of thought in the realm of Literacy Coaching as presented by Bean and Goatley (2021) and Rodgers & Rodgers, (2007). Bean and Goatley (2021), identifies Interactive Framework for Instruction Coaching whereas Rodgers & Rodgers, (2007) discuss Guiding Inquiry. How do these two approaches compare to each other? In this paper, I will discuss if these two approaches affect my own Teacher Leadership Project.
Bean and Goatley (2021) identify Interactive Framework for Instruction Coaching. This consists of three important components: The coaching model, the context, and the coach. This process relies on many different aspects of each component. How much experience does the coach have, what coaching model is the school using, and in what context is the coaching occurring?
Rodgers & Rodgers (2007), discuss guiding inquiry as a coaching approach. The coaching is based on asking questions or investigation. In this approach, teachers learn how to change and evolve their teaching practices though asking questions and exploring their own skills. According to Rodgers & Rodgers (2007), change cannot be mandated. There are times when certain things are mandated, such as government policies and reforms, but changing how someone teaches needs to come from within.
“In Fullan’s reasoning, simple changes such as using new, updated forms or revising the dates for ongoing monitoring of student progress probably can be mandated without too much trouble, but changes to how and what we teach are much more complex and likely to fall if simply mandated,” Rodgers & Rodgers, (2007). Changes such as these, need to come from within. It is difficult to get seasoned teachers to accept change. This is one of the reasons why Guiding inquiry is used in these cases. When the teachers lead the change and are invested in it, their ideas will have a better chance of being accepted.
In my experience as an English Teacher, the only person who was involved in the coaching aspect was our curriculum specialist. She would observe us teaching 3 times a year. Then then we would meet with her to discuss the areas we performed well and areas we needed to improve on. These 3 observations are required by the State of New Jersey, but an individual teacher could request more observations if they wanted. I did this my first few years of teaching. I knew I needed more help and that I could become a better, more effective, teacher. Sometimes it’s difficult to hear the negative, but we need to be able to put that aside so we can grow as a teacher and reach our students.
The Interactive Framework for Instruction Coaching breaks down how coaching is done. Whereas guided inquiry is a coaching model. There are many other coaching models that schools can choose from. My school uses the guided inquiry method.
Recently at my school we implemented Professional Learning Communities. All teachers are in PLC and each group gets to decide what they want to present. This follows the Guided Inquiry model as the teachers are deciding, asking questions, and researching. The issue I see in this is that some things that need to be addressed are not being addressed because the teachers decide what gets explored. Instead of the teachers coming up with a list of things to discuss, this should be open to everyone who works with students such as classroom aides, personal aides, therapist and Reading Specialist.
References
Bean, R. M., Goatley, V.J. (2021). The Literacy Specialist. Leadership and coaching for the classroom, school, and community. 4th ed (374 pgs) Guildford Press.
Rodgers, A., & Rodgers, E. M. (2007). The Effective Literacy Coach: Using Inquiry to Support Teaching and Learning. Teachers College, Columbia University.
Bean and Goatley (2021), present three areas, or roles of expertise required for Reading Specialists. These roles are instruction, assessment, and leadership. “This role requires the specialist to have expertise with reading assessment, instruction, and to possess the leadership skills that enable them to work with other adults, such as classroom teachers, other professionals, and the community,” (Bean & Goatley, 2021). This has led me to think about how each of these areas affect my role as a reading specialist. What are my strengths and where do I need to gain more knowledge and experience?
The first area I would like to explore is the instructor role. This role seems to be the one most people are familiar with. I had always assumed a Reading Specialist’s main focus was on helping individual students learn how to read and just pulled students out to work with them one on one. During my personal education journey, I didn’t see any Reading Specialists or have any knowledge that they even existed. However, I did graduate high school in 1996 and as was discussed in the class, the role of the Reading Specialist has changed over time due to many different legislations and policies according to Bean and Goatley (2021).
The second area is that of assessment. I do need to gain more knowledge in this area as Reading Specialist need to keep up with all current and constantly changing assessments. Assessments are critical in instruction decision-making. I work for a school that hosts all the grades through high school and all students are special needs. I teach 6th grade through 12th grade English. We assess all our students in reading and math at the beginning of each school year using KTA. These assessments help teachers understand what types of modifications they need for each individual student. We do not employ a Reading Specialist, however, as the English teacher, I have been working with other teachers to come up with ideas to help their students in their content areas.
Finally, the last area I am interested in gaining more knowledge is leadership. Reading Specialists have always had a leadership role in school. “What has not changed is that Literacy Specialist have always had to serve in a dual role the required them to teach students and support teachers” (Bean & Goatley, 2021). This could be a difficult role for a newly hired Reading Specialist. You need to build a repertoire with both the teachers and the students, and this is done over time. These are many skills someone needs to be a good and effective leader.
I acknowledge that I need to work on learning new assessments, how to administer them and score them. I also need to learn how to take this knowledge and transfer it into new modifications and accommodations. This newfound knowledge will enable me to create stronger and more interesting lessons plans that will strengthen my English teacher skills.
When I started teaching 6 years ago, I didn’t see myself as a leader at first. I was still learning how to be a teacher and how to relate to my coworkers and students. I was unaware of the amount of learning and personal education that went into becoming a Reading Specialist. These roles of instruction, assessment, and leadership take an exceptional person. It is my desire to be able to take on all of those roles to become the Reading Specialist that I know I can be.
References
Bean, R. M., Goatley, V.J. (2021). The Literacy Specialist. Leadership and coaching for the classroom, school, and community. 4th ed (374 pgs) Guildford Press.
