The Early Reading Centre™ and Coffee Bar in Hope Island,
on the
Gold Coast QLD 4212 Australia
- Tel The Child Listener™
- Emma Hartnell-Baker
- for more info
07 5514 0015 -
or email info@the-child-listener.com
The Child Listener™ now offers
services
in her new office and training
centre in
Santa Barbara,
Hope Island
The AU Inquiry into the teaching of literacy present findings
and offers
recommendation
relating to the effective teaching
of reading ; the following is of particular
interest to us,
and why we start children from 12 months of age.
The AU National Inquiry
into the Teaching of Literacy
published findings in 2005
http://www.dest.gov.au
/nitl/report.htm
Findings from the Teaching Reading report
The following extracts are taken from the ‘Executive Summary’ of the
Teaching Reading report from National Inquiry into the Teaching of Literacy:
The evidence is clear ... that direct systematic instruction in phonics during the early years of schooling is an essential foundation for teaching children to read. (p. 11)
The attention of the Inquiry Committee was drawn to a dichotomy between phonics and whole-language approaches to the teaching of reading. This dichotomy is false. (p. 11)
Members of the Committee found it a moment of awe to observe an effective teacher, with a full range of skills to teach reading, working with a whole class and having each child productively develop their literacy skills. Such teaching is highly skilled and professional. (p. 11)
The Inquiry found strong evidence that a whole-language approach to the teaching of reading on its own is not in the best interests of children, particularly those experiencing reading difficulties. (p. 12)
Whereas the ‘starting’ levels of children from less advantaged backgrounds is lower than those from more advantaged backgrounds, findings from a large body of evidence-based research consistently indicate that quality teaching has significant positive effects on students’ achievement progress regardless of their backgrounds. (p. 12)
The quality of teaching provided is fundamental to children’s success in reading ... this report places a major emphasis on teacher quality, and on building capacity in teachers towards quality, evidence-based teaching practices that are demonstrably effective in meeting the developmental and learning needs of all students. (p. 12)
20 key recommendations from the National Inquiry into the Teaching of Literacy
The National Inquiry into the Teaching of Literacy Teaching Reading report lists 20 key recommendations to improve the reading skills of children in Australia.
- That teachers be equipped with teaching strategies based on findings from rigorous, evidence-based research that are shown to be effective in enhancing the literacy development of all children.
- That teachers provide systematic, direct and explicit phonics instruction so that children master the essential alphabetic code-breaking skills required for foundational reading proficiency. Equally, that teachers provide an integrated approach to reading that supports the development of oral language, vocabulary, grammar, reading fluency, comprehension and the literacies of new technologies.
- That literacy teaching continue throughout schooling (K-12) in all areas of the curriculum ... meeting the specific skill and knowledge needs of individual children from diverse backgrounds and locations.
- That programs, guides and workshops be provided for parents and carers to support their children’s literacy development. These should acknowledge and build on the language and literacy that children learn in their homes and communities.
- That all education authorities and school leaders examine their approaches to the teaching of literacy and put in place an explicit, whole-school literacy planning, monitoring and reviewing process in collaboration with school communities and parents.
- That all schools identify a highly-trained specialist literacy teacher with specialised skills in teaching reading.
- That specialist postgraduate studies in literacy (especially in teaching reading) be provided by higher education providers.
- That Teaching Australia – Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership, in consultation with [key stakeholders], develop and implement national standards for literacy teaching, initial teacher registration, and for accomplished teaching, consistent with evidence-based guides for practice. It is further recommended that these standards form a basis for the accreditation of teacher preparation courses.
- That the teaching of literacy throughout schooling be informed by comprehensive, diagnostic and developmentally appropriate assessments of every child, mapped on common scales. Further, it is recommended that:
- nationally consistent assessments on entry to school be undertaken for every child;
- education authorities and schools be responsible for the measurement of individual progress in literacy by regularly monitoring the development of each child and reporting progress twice each year for the first three years of schooling; and
- the Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 national literacy testing program be refocused to make available diagnostic information on individual student performance, to assist teachers to plan the most effective teaching strategies.
- That a confidential mechanism such as a unique student identifier be established ... to monitor a child’s progress throughout schooling [regardless of location].
- That the key objective of primary teacher education courses be to prepare student teachers to teach reading, and that the content of coursework in primary literacy education focus on contemporary understandings of:
- evidence-based findings and an integrated approach to the teaching of reading, including instruction on how to teach phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary knowledge and text comprehension;
- child and adolescent development; and
- inclusive approaches to literacy teaching.
- That literacy teaching within subject areas be included in the coursework of secondary teachers so that they are well prepared to continue the literacy development of their students throughout secondary schooling in all areas of the curriculum.
- That significant national ‘lighthouse’ projects in teacher preparation and education be established to link theory and practice that effectively prepare pre-service teachers to teach literacy, and especially reading, to diverse groups of children.
- That the conditions for teacher registration of graduates from all primary and secondary teacher education programs include a demonstrated command of personal literacy skills necessary for effective teaching, and a demonstrated ability to teach literacy within the framework of their employment/teaching program.
- That schools and employing authorities ... provide all teachers with appropriate induction and mentoring throughout their careers, and with ongoing opportunities for evidence-based professional learning about effective literacy teaching.
- That a national program of literacy action be established to:
- design a series of evidence-based teacher professional learning programs focused on effective classroom teaching, and later interventions for those children experiencing reading difficulties;
- produce a series of evidence-based guides for effective teaching practice, the first of which should be on reading;
- evaluate the effectiveness of approaches to early literacy teaching (especially for early reading) and professional learning programs for practising teachers;
- investigate ways of integrating the literacies of information and communication technologies with traditional literacies in the classroom;
- establish networks of literacy/reading specialist practitioners to facilitate the application of research to practice; and
- promote research into the most effective teaching practices to be used when preparing pre-service teachers to teach reading.
- That Australian and State and Territory governments’ approaches to literacy improvement be aligned to achieve improved outcomes for all Australian children.
- That the Australian Government, together with State and Territory government and non-government education authorities, jointly support the proposed national program for literacy action.
- The Australian Government Minister for Education, Science and Training raise these recommendations as issues for attention and action by MCEETYA [Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs], and other bodies, agencies and authorities, that will have responsibility to take account of, and implement the recommendations.
- Progress in implementing these recommendations, and on the state of literacy in Australia, be reviewed and reported every two years.
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