Running head: DIRECTED LEARNING EXPERIENCE

Directed Learning Experience

Role of the Reading and Literacy Specialist

By: Anja Fletcher

CIG 697

University of Nevada Las Vegas

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Abstract

This paper will detail my role as a literacy leader tasked with assisting a group of teachers in

learning an effective method of literacy instruction. The literary focus will be phonemic

awareness, phonological awareness, and phonics instruction as it relates to teacher instruction

and implementation. Specifically, key studies and individuals are addressed to include

proponents as well as critics of the phonics approach to teaching literacy instruction.

Additionally, staff development goals are outlined and a detailed means in which to achieve the

same are included. Knowledge on providing effective staff development is discussed as well as

the effects on teacher effectiveness. Lastly, three forms of staff development approaches are

included and the benefits for both teacher and student.

Keywords: phonemic awareness, phonological awareness, phonics

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Directed Learning Experience

Role of the Reading and Literacy Specialist

Reading is an essential skill, and children in the early grades who experience difficulties

in learning to read will often continue to struggle in school and in life. According to the National

Assessment of Adult Literacy, the 2014 U.S. Census Bureau found that 21%, almost 60,000

working age adults living within city limits lack a high school diploma. At the same time, 19%

of adults cannot read a newspaper, much less complete a job application. What is the importance

of literacy and how are the lives of those struggling learners affected by low literacy? Health.

Gender equality. Poverty. Every important social issue is impacted by low literacy. When

individuals learn how to read, write, do basic math, and use computers, they have the power to

lift themselves out of poverty, lower health care costs, find and keep sustainable employment,

and ultimately change their lives. As a literacy leader in my school, it is my job to facilitate

effective instruction at the elementary level so children that struggle with reading do not become

adults that struggle with reading.

Literacy Focus

The focus of the staff development will be phonemic awareness, phonological awareness,

and phonics instruction in order to increase student literacy. “Phonemic awareness is the

awareness that the speech stream consists of a sequence of sounds—specifically phonemes, the

smallest unit of sound that makes a difference in communication” (Yopp & Yopp, 2000, p. 130).

McGeown (2014) explained that phonemic awareness is a strong predictor of later reading

outcomes. Yopp further explains that phonological awareness refers to a sensitivity to any size

unit of sound. Thus, the ability to generate and recognize rhyming words, to count syllables, to

separate the beginning of a word from its ending (e.g., as in the st and op in the word stop), and
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to identify each of the phonemes in a word may each be an indication of phonological awareness.

Phonics instruction is teaching children the most common sound-spelling relationships so that

they are able to sound out or decode words. Phonics instruction helps children recognize and

associate the sounds of the letters and letter patterns in the words they read (Blevins, 2019).

Phonics and phonemic awareness are co-dependent skills. It is important throughout the process

of teaching phonics that teachers encourage students to use their developing phonemic awareness

(ability to hear and say sounds) to assist them to make connections between the sounds they hear

and the way they are represented in writing (phonics). As each student progresses through the

phonics learning sequence, they will draw on their phonemic awareness skills, knowledge and

understanding.

Some of the findings of the National Reading Panel (2000) may be summarized as

follows:

 Phonemic awareness can be taught and learned.

 Phonemic awareness instruction helps children learn to read.

 Phonemic awareness instruction helps children learn to spell.

 Phonemic awareness instruction is most effective when children are taught to manipulate

phonemes by using letters of the alphabet.

 Phonemic awareness instruction is most effective when it is focused on only one or two

types of phoneme manipulation, rather than on several types.

Concerning the value of teaching phonics, the National Reading Panel (2000) came to the

following conclusions:

 Systematic (planned) phonics instruction produces significant benefits for all students in

kindergarten through sixth grade, especially for children having a difficult time learning
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to read. First graders who were taught phonics were better able to decode and spell, and

had better ability to comprehend printed material. Older students who were taught

systematic phonics were better able to decode and spell, but their comprehension was not

greatly improved.

 Systematic phonics benefits students with learning disabilities and low-achieving

students who are not disabled.

 Systematic phonics instruction was significantly more effective in improving low

economic status, children’s alphabetic knowledge, and word-reading skills than

instructional methods that were less focused on phonemic awareness.

 The early reading success of children in the kindergarten and first grades indicate that

phonics instruction should be implemented at these grades and age levels.

Key Studies / Individuals

Blaise Pascal is the key to creating the English spoken Alphabet; he developed and

created the idea of ‘Phonics’ being able to sound out various different letters in order to create a

word. Without this development communication within the western world would be extremely

basic. In 1655 Blaise Pascal invented synthetic phonics (Rodgers, 2001, p. 279-280), basically it

was a way to interpret phonemes (sounds) and associate them with a graphemes (letters) and

when put together would create words (synthesized). Blaise Pascal in the seventieth century

‘amended a way for beginners to spell the syllables, inventing an alphabet which demonstrated

consonant sounds more clearly’ (Rodgers, 2001, p. 279-280).

Phonics was first proposed as a teaching method by John Hart in 1670. He is best known

for suggesting a reformed spelling system for English, which has been described as “the first

truly phonological scheme” in the history of early English spelling (Suarez, 1996, p. 128).
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Horace Mann, secretary of the Massachusetts Board of Education, in the middle of the

1800’s effectively ended almost two hundred years of phonics-based reading programs. He was

so impressed by the order and universality of Prussian education, that he publicly denounced

phonics and advocated the whole-word method of teaching reading. Horace Mann has

sometimes been referred to as the “Father of Modern Education” and was so persuasive that his

system of whole-word teaching eventually spread to other states and eventually became known

as The McGuffey Eclectic Reader and was first published in 1857. This book stressed learning-

appropriate sight words according to grade levels and an organized plan that controlled sentence

length and vocabulary to match the developmental level of the child (Strickland, 1998).

Comprehension became the key to reading, and phonics instruction was relegated to a limited

role or neglected altogether. Over a period of seventy years, the whole-word method and

controlled-vocabulary readers gradually became the dominant types of reading instruction.

In 1967, Jeanne Chall, a psychologist working in the Faculty of Education at Harvard

Education, evaluated the methods of teaching reading over the course of three years. She

examined studies spanning fifty-five years, visited classrooms, and interviewed teachers, and

textbook publishers. After two years of compiling and summarizing her data, she published her

findings. Chall concluded that reading is a developmental process, and that “phonics is a more

effective teaching method” (Beck & Beck, 2013). She found that children taught using whole-

word methods excelled in early years, but then fell behind due to difficulty when sounding out

words independently in upper grades.

John Shanahan, educated in Boston at a private Catholic school, moved to California and

became a musician, writing film score and commercial jingles. As an entrepreneur, John began

producing educational cassettes known as “Smart Tapes”. As a father, John first became
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interested in the subject of reading when his son became so anxious about reading at school, he

asked to stay home (HOP, LLC., 2019). John then attempted to implement phonics at home

wherein they would sound the words out, but his son was completely unaware of the alphabetic

relationships. John responded by creating (and taping) catchy jingles to accompany the drills he

made up that he based upon the phonics drills he had done as a child. Seeing Sean's quick

turnaround, neighbors began requesting copies of his tapes. In 1986, John started Gateway

Educational Products, Ltd. and began marketing his how-to-learn-to-read system that he called

“Hooked on Phonics” (Hop, LLC., 2019).

The founders of the Orton-Gillingham Method are Samuel T. Orton (1879-1948) and

Anna Gillingham (1878-1963). Orton was a neuropsychologist who specialized in language

processing difficulties now commonly associated with dyslexia. Gillingham was an educator

and a psychologist with a special interest in the structure of the English language. Both doctors

worked at Columbia University in New York City. “Using research developed by Dr. Orton,

Anna Gillingham published the first training manual for Orton-Gillingham in 1935” (Leeming,

2015, p. 106-107).

Phonics was the prevailing method of teaching reading in the United States from colonial

times until the early 1920’s. Hornbooks, primers that displayed the alphabet, were used to teach

the alphabet, and spellers, which taught phonetic methods along with syllabication, were used to

teach reading (Leeming, 2015, p. 103).

Staff Development Goals

Staff development goals will be to provide resources, strategies, and techniques to help

teachers gain deeper insights into the teaching of phonics. The staff development will offer

advice on why and how to teach phonics and provide a range of teaching and learning strategies
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to develop students’ phonics knowledge and skills. Phonics and phonemic awareness are closely

related. Learning about one aspect reinforces the other. Both are concerned with sounds, with

phonemic awareness involving spoken language and phonics involving written language. For

example, you are asking your students to show their phonemic awareness when you say mat and

ask them to say the three separate sounds they hear in the word.

Further, it is important to expose the myths that surround phonics and phonics

instruction. Since the inception of phonics instruction, the teaching and learning of phonics has

been the subject of debate. It seems everyone has an opinion, so much so that a host of myths

about phonics teaching and learning have almost become accepted as truths. Through staff

development, exposing some of these commonly held myths is intended to prompt teachers to

examine and reflect on their classroom practices in light of the provided information about

phonics teaching. Staff Development will include (New South Wales Department of Education

and Training, 2019, p. 8-9):

Evidence-based research that the systematic, explicit teaching of phonics is a necessary

condition but not a sufficient condition for the teaching of reading. Since reading essentially

involves two basic and complementary processes: learning how to decipher print and

understanding what the print means, an integrated approach to reading instruction is mandatory.

A sequence for phonics teaching that facilitates the use of the synthetic phonics. This

method encourages teachers to introduce particular groups of letter-sound correspondences that

will allow Kindergarten students to begin blending and segmenting words as soon as possible.

Training on the difference between phonics, phonemic awareness, and phonological

awareness and their close relationship to each other.

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Teachers will understand that the success of explicitly taught phonics and teacher effectiveness

are the keys to positive learning outcomes. Through this staff development, teachers will be

provided with effective strategies pertaining to early identification, proper intervention, and the

use of multi-sensory approaches and resources to ensure that students with disabilities are able to

access the curriculum. Brady and Moats (1997) argue that strengthening teachers’ knowledge

about phonemic awareness and phonics is critical for improving their students’ reading ability.

In addition, teachers will be provided with specific advice in relation to teaching phonics to

students experiencing significant difficulties in learning to read. As well, there may be particular

students or groups of students from diverse backgrounds who require additional support when

learning about the letter-sound relationships. Further, both staff and teachers will be provided

with specific advice when teaching phonics to students learning English as a second language

and students from low socio-economic backgrounds.

To meet the diverse learning needs of all students in relation to phonics, the staff

development will additionally focus on the following in order to produce highly effective

teachers:

 establish what students already know about phonics

 provide opportunities for students to demonstrate their phonics knowledge in different

ways

 plan for and differentiate phonics instruction to meet students’ different learning needs

 group students responsively to accommodate the diverse range of phonics learning needs

in the classroom, understanding that groupings will be flexible and change as students’

needs change
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 draw upon the rich and varied experiences and understandings that each student brings to

the classroom

 make connections between students’ experiences and the learning of new phonics

knowledge

 provide challenge for all students

 ensure that students are engaged, motivated and encouraged to meet learning challenges

 provide appropriate and timely support and feedback to students.

Planning Staff Development

In order to provide the most effective staff development for the teachers involved, it is

important to know your teachers professional/personal experience, prior staff development taken,

and classroom needs. To provide an effective and cohesive staff development plan, what

experience does each of these teachers possess and what are they lacking? Finding out if

teachers are trained in phonics and phonemic awareness is the first step in planning a highly

effective learning environment for both teachers and students. With the debate that surrounds

phonics, it is possible that many of these teachers have a knowledge based that is founded in a

whole language method of teaching reading and providing a “base level” introduction to phonics

and phonemic awareness may be needed.

Further, what previous professional development courses have these teachers attended?

“Assessing teachers’ knowledge about the content and procedures involved in teaching phonics

effectively has been the focus of several studies. These studies have shown that teachers without

special training have very limited knowledge about the structure of phonemes in spoken words

and their correspondence to graphemes in the writing system” (Ehri & Flugman, 2017, p. 428).

As an effective literacy leader, providing opportunities for teachers to strengthen their subject-
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matter knowledge while learning new research-based, student-centered instructional strategies

will benefit both the teacher and students. The best staff development combines content

knowledge and instructional methods. Certain experiences will help teachers change their

beliefs about whether students can learn advanced materials. If teachers do not have experiences

or professional development that have allowed them to see how improving upon curriculum can

have positive effects on student learning outcomes, they may not understand the need to change

and may not realize that they can teach more students to higher standards. Teams of trained

teachers should be allowed to try new strategies, refine their skills and share their knowledge

with other teachers. Have teachers provide the areas of specialty of previous courses taken and

their pedagogical beliefs. Having this type of information will provide a base for which to build

professional development surrounding a highly effective literacy program focused on phonemic

awareness and phonics instruction.

Lastly, what do the classrooms of these teachers look like and what are their needs? In

order to provide these teachers with resources that will benefit their students, what do they

already have and what do they still need? The only way to know what teachers require is to see

it first-hand. Being a present, hands-on effective literacy leader means observing these teachers

in their natural environment and noting what strategies they already possess, what techniques

they are implementing and what materials they are utilizing. Once this observation is made and

noted, it will be clear as to the needs that need to be met through said professional development.

Three Forms of Staff Development

The most effective Teacher Professional Development programs treat teachers as lifelong

learners who want to integrate new curricular methods, content, and strategies into their

classrooms. Effective staff development is:

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 Content focused

 Collaborative

 Sustained

 Coaching based

 Ongoing

(A Pass Education, 2019)

The staff development will be organized into three modules. There will be whole staff

development, grade-level, and individualized instruction so as to meet the needs of all teachers.

Whole staff development will involve all teachers involved in this training so as to

produce a cohesive working unit focused on teaching and learning outcomes. The focus of this

module will be as follows:

 Activate prior knowledge about reading instruction and intervention

 Discuss a conceptual framework for shared understanding of reading instruction and

intervention

 Reading Words and Text

 Understanding Words and Text

 Differentiation: Assessment, Grouping, Text, Intervention

 Identifying school literacy needs

Training will also focus on a grade-level approach. In order to provide each student with

sound, research-based instruction, it is important that grade-levels be able to work with each

other as well as identify professional needs of the group in order to institute high-quality reading

instruction to all students based upon individualized needs.

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Lastly, staff development will be aligned to meet individual needs. In order for this to be

a successful training session, this module will be dedicated to identifying individual needs and

providing one-on-one training as needed.

As an ongoing form of teacher and staff support the following will be implemented:

 Conducting informal and formal observations in a timely and systematic manner based on

individual teacher needs.

 Ensuring continuous improvement of professional practice of teachers.

 Providing meaningful feedback on an ongoing basis.

 Facilitating individual, small group, and staff professional development based on

identified needs.

 Identifying and facilitating support to teachers based on identified needs.

 Possessing the courage to address instructional concerns.

Conclusion

It would be difficult to overestimate the importance of being able to read in today’s 21st

century world. The benefits of a literate society include a safer community, an increase in

educational success, and improving the standard of living. Literacy is much more than the

ability to read a book. Alberta Education defines literacy as: “The ability, confidence and

willingness to engage with language to acquire, construct and communicate meaning in all

aspects of daily living” (Government of Alberta, 2019). Literacy begins with recognizing that

words are made up of a variety of sound units and progresses into the ability to use this skill to

navigate a wide variety of text forms. Implementing a research-based literacy program in an

elementary school and providing staff development goals and staff training can greatly increase

the chances of student literacy achievement. When teachers work together to implement sound,
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individualized literacy instruction to their students, they are really opening up a world of

opportunities for their students

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References

A Pass Education. (2019). Best practices in planning professional development for educators.

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Blevins, W. (2019). Understanding phonics. Scholastic. Retrieved from

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Brady, S., & Moats, L. (1997). Informed instruction for reading success: Foundations for teacher

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