Celebrating 150 Years
1862 - 2012
Bishop Grosseteste
University College Lincoln
Ways forward for practice and pedagogy in initial
teacher training.
Learning from research into preparing effective
teachers of Literacy and early reading.
Helen Hendry
Bishop Grosseteste University College Lincoln
www.facebook.com/BGLincoln
www.bishopg.ac.uk
www.bishopg.ac.uk
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Becoming effective teachers of reading
• How do trainee teachers construct their identity
as teachers of early reading and what influence
does this have on their practice?
• Which aspects of teaching early reading cause
trainee teachers concern or difficulty and why?
• How do trainee teachers combine pedagogical
content knowledge with interaction to respond
flexibly to the needs of their pupils?
• What changes happen to teaching in practice and
perceptions about the effective teaching of early
reading as trainees become NQTs?
Context is everything
• Current context in ITT and Primary education inevitably
influences the teachers, students and teacher
educators.
• At policy level the Systematic Synthetic Phonic agenda
has replaced a deeper knowledge and understanding of
the nature of learning to read
• And the nature of effective teaching and learning
• Experiences in America suggest that focusing on one
model for reading without looking at teaching more
holistically may do nothing to raise standards (Moss et al.
2008, Dillon et al. 2011)
• The focus on accountability in ITT may mean a shift
back to a list of what needs to be covered rather than
considering the complex nature of teaching
What do we know about effective teachers of
Literacy?
• Include explicit phonics teaching in a broad and rich language
curriculum with clear opportunities for practise/purposeful and
motivating application
• Use varied resources and a Literate learning environment
• Give direct instruction and modelling/ ensure clarity of learning
objectives and success criteria
• Build positive relationships
• Use AFL and differentiate creatively and rigorously
• Used engaging and targeted teaching approaches and resources
• Spontaneously intervene and feedback/adapt teaching
• Enable children to self-correct and take responsibility/motivate as
learners
• Have solid foundations of PCK
• Maintain appropriate pace
(Hattie 2009, Mohan et.al.2008, Pressley 2006, Louden et al. 2005, Hay Mcber 2000,
Wray et al 2000, Riley 1996)
Personalised
learning
Teacher
characteristics
Differentiation
knowledge of
different
learning styles
flexible
Organisation
Planning
Persistent
Trainee
views of
effective
teachers
Knowledge
Engaging
Subject
knowledge
Relationships
Progression
Behaviour
management
rapport
Articulation
Subject
knowledge
and model
Variety of
approaches
What is
needed to be
an effective
teacher of
early reading?
Pace
Other
strategies for
children who
cant use
phonics
What do we know about what trainees
find difficult?
• Enough opportunities for children to practise/make links
across the English curriculum (Phonics agenda likely to
make this worse)
• Flexibility to respond to misconceptions or encourage
children to apply the skills they had.
• Insufficient modelling or opportunities for children to
interact
• Confidence with SK-terms and skills e.g demonstrating
segmenting and blending.
• Maintaining focus on learning objective and success criteria
• Building in assessment-and acting on this quickly-see above
• Planning for extension and differentiated questioning
• Balancing pace and engagement with questioning and
involvement!
exceptions
to rules
applying
knowledge
pace
children
with a
different
strategies
children
who
struggle to
blend
outside of
phonics
Difficulties
regional
accents
using
Phonics to
spell
explaining
split
digraphs
The role of pedagogical content
knowledge (Shulman 1986, 1987)
•
•
•
•
Excellent teachers of literacy provide skills and strategies instruction
Model decoding and comprehension
Intervene and scaffold to support
Link reading skills to purposeful and engaging contexts (Riley 1996,
Wray et al 2000, Fisher 2001, Pressley 2006, Mohan 2008).
Parallels with areas of Maths knowledge identified by Rowland et
al.(2009):
• Foundation- own knowledge of maths
• Transformation- ability to communicate it to others
• Connection- making links between areas of maths/concepts
• Contingency- ability to respond flexibly
When interviewed, early years teachers highlighted
that their teaching decisions about reading took
several factors into account simultaneously: the
organisational needs of the class, the social needs of
individuals, as well as the next steps needed to
advance their cognitive development for early reading
(Fisher 2001).
In order to become effective teachers of reading
trainee teachers need to combine, pedagogical
content knowledge and the ability to reflect upon and
adapt practice to meet the needs of pupils during and
after teaching.
(Moon, 2005, Hagger and McIntyre 2006, Loughran 2006, Rowland et al.
2009).
How do I focus
points for guided
reading what sort
of questions should
I use?
What should I do
about the child
who rarely
contributes during
guided reading
discussion
How do you ensure
learning is fully
embedded and not
just rote
memorised?
Questions
Should a child have
completed AF 1,2,3
etc before you can
award a secure
level?
How can I revisit
independent tasks
in guided reading
when time is so
short?
How do you
differntiate in such
a short session?
Dont children get
left behind?
The school culture and ‘tethered learning’
• ‘future teachers do learn what they are taught’
(Noe 1994 in Dillon et al. 2011 )
• Although trainees want a supportive comfortable
mentoring relationship where they receive feedback,
mentees expect that mentor teachers will provide
opportunities for learning and that they themselves will
make use of these opportunities (Ambrosetti 2010)
• Trainees need opportunities to feel ‘legitimate’ and move
beyond mentor’s practice ( Rajuuan et al. 2010 ,Cuenca
2011)
• Mixed profiles of mentor and trainee might be most
useful for learning (Rajuuan et al. 2010 )
• Trainee dispositions change little during
training and influence their journey
enormously (Mutton et. al. 2010, Ripski et. al 2011)
• Learning by experience very different
depending on individual students
• Knowing oneself is key (Loughran 2006)
Early
reading
Effective
literacy
teaching
Effective
teaching
Individual barriers
Individual
Partnership
Course
Next steps
• Video observe and discuss reading lessons
with trainees
• Track changes in trainee beliefs about
effective teaching
• Track trainee difficulties and how these
change in different schools
• Consider PCK and how it is manifested
through planned and spontaneous AFL and
questioning
References
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