Hi Everyone,
Welcome to Part 2 of Two Questions for You with adult educator Ann Leonard! In Part 1, Ann described the website she developed that highlights evidence-based reading practices. Today in Part 2, Ann answers another important question:
Question 2: What is the biggest mistake adult educators make in teaching reading and how can we correct it?
"I have made a lot of changes to my classroom practice since engaging in this research. If I had to choose one change I have made that has given me the most 'bang for my buck', so to speak, it would be the practice of completing a detailed Reader Profile Questionnaire with each new student. (HERE on the website).
"I am sorry it took me so long to engage the students in this way because time spent interviewing each student, 1-on-1, has resulted in these benefits:
- Relationship-building
Students feel seen through the opportunity to tell their stories as struggling readers, and the practice offers you, the instructor, an immediate opportunity to address with students the messages they needed as adolescents and teens...that a system surely can fail struggling readers, that you understand reading and can individualize instruction to support self-identified challenges, and that these challenges are not tied to intelligence but simply to exposure! I have had students break down and cry at this idea, which appears to be news to them! - Qualitative data-gathering
After completing several profile questionnaires, you will perceive patterns in strengths and challenges related to the individual components of reading. For example, the simple question that I never thought to ask prior to my research is, 'How many elementary schools did you attend?' If the student’s response is 'several,' then you might assume gaps in phonemic awareness and decoding; skills often assumed by 4th grade and throughout middle school and often neglected due to an increased focus in those years on comprehension skills instruction and vocabulary development. (Importance of these print skills defined HERE in the website.)
"Completing a Student Reader Profile Questionnaire is the first step in a sound, evidence-based diagnostic assessment program, supported in the work of Snow & Strucker, 1999. Here they describe the risk factors children encounter that predict persistent reading challenges into adulthood.
"I will end with an anecdote to define the impact the use of the student profile questionnaire has had on my work.
"I had worked with Alicia (not her real name) for several terms. She was an aspiring RN. She self-reported having a high school diploma, but was struggling to get beyond GLE 8 on TABE pre- and post-tests. She studied a lot and she read. Why was she not progressing?
"This was prior to my website project, and her experience was the turning point for my practice.
"When I discovered the concept of a Reader Profile Questionnaire, I used it with Alicia. I discovered that she had not attended school regularly in Mexico until she was 11. After coming to the U.S., she was placed into 9th grade based on her age. Her attendance was intermittent throughout H.S., which she reported as being traumatic, as you can well imagine. She knew she struggled with English and reading and then received a diploma. I’ll never forget her repeating, 'What is wrong with me? I must have some issues with my brain if I can’t improve my reading!'
"Needless to say, this was a painful revelation for me; information I could have worked with all along but which had never surfaced because I hadn’t asked.
"And, because I care very deeply about being an informed, well-trained reading instructor, as we all do, I often consider the 'debate' from earlier conferences and in my teacher education program…'Is teaching an art or a science?'
"How I wish I had come down more firmly on the science side a lot earlier."
* “What is Evidence-based Reading Instruction and How Do You Know It When You See It?”
Thank you so much Ann for taking the time to share your thoughts! The community so appreciates all your hard work.
What questions or comments do you have for Ann?
Steve Schmidt, Moderator
LINCS Reading and Writing Community