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Dr. Hannah Responds to Questions From Conferences
By Dr. Jane Hannah, Currey Ingram Academy Lower School Division Head
(originally published in the October 16, 2013, issue of the Currey Ingram Academy Lower School newsletter)
(originally published in the October 16, 2013, issue of the Currey Ingram Academy Lower School newsletter)
By Dr. Jane Hannah, Currey Ingram Academy Lower School Division Head
(originally published in the October 16, 2013, issue of the Currey Ingram Academy Lower School newsletter)
(originally published in the October 16, 2013, issue of the Currey Ingram Academy Lower School newsletter)
Will my child ever be cured of his learning disability? While there is no cure or quick fix for a learning disability, evidence-based research indicates that students who receive explicit, systematic, remedial instruction can make significant improvements. Sometimes, this intervention takes years, and the prescription is not just about working harder or doing more work. Students with learning disabilities need a prescriptive approach to intervention. Functional MRI studies have supported the benefits of phonologic remedial intervention for the person with dyslexia. In these MRI studies where successful evidence-based phonologic remedial intervention has occurred, the dyslexia-specific brain-activation profile actually improves (Handler & Fierson 2011, pg. 823). As individuals with learning disabilities get older, they may also need compensatory strategies or tools and techniques that help them to work around their difficulties in reading, spelling, writing or math so that they can function closer to their cognitive abilities. Compensatory strategies may include assistive technology, such as books on audio tape or using text to print.
Why is it that one of my children is an excellent reader and the other one struggles so much? Most children learn to read despite the method used; however, approximately 20 percent of school-age children demonstrate significant struggle learning to read. As evidenced by the work of Sally Shaywitz, M.D., this struggle in reading is no longer viewed as a hidden disability. Dr. Shaywitz reports a difference in the activation of neural pathways when comparing skilled readers to those with dyslexia. She reports that skilled readers demonstrate strong activation in the back of the brain and less activity in the front. In contrast, dyslexic readers have a fault in this system and reveal increased activation in the frontal regions. As a result, these students struggle to analyze words and transform letters into sounds (Shaywitz, pg. 81).
How does a child become a fluent reader if he/she is among the 20 percent who struggle? In April 2000, the “Report of the National Reading Panel” reviewed evidence-based research and made recommendations for reading instruction. The panel’s recommendations included the need to identify children before third grade who were “at risk” for reading failure and to begin remediation strategies as early as possible. This panel stressed that a wait-and-see approach to intervention can have serious impact on a child’s academic gains, as well as on his/her self-esteem.
Recommendations from the National Reading Panel include the following (Shaywitz, pgs. 258 – 260):
Students need intensive, specialized instruction four to five days per week in a group no larger than four students.
Students should receive approximately 90 minutes of reading instruction on most school days for approximately three years. However, the longer the delay in receiving instruction, the longer it will take to remediate deficit areas.
Students should be provided high-quality instruction by highly qualified teachers. Louisa Moats, renowned educator, researcher and author writes that “teaching reading is rocket science.” Dr. Shaywitz goes on to say that “a teacher’s knowledge of how children learn to read, as well as her experience teaching a specific program, will ultimately determine the success of even the best reading program” (pg. 258).
Struggling readers must receive explicit, systematic instruction in reading. It must be an interactive process between teacher and student, and the primary focus should not be about completing workbook pages or working on a computer program.
A high-quality reading program should contain five instructional components: phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.
Why do Currey Ingram teachers put so much emphasis on teaching phonemic awareness in the lower grades? Results of numerous studies have shown that teaching phonemic awareness (ability to segment sounds in words) is clearly effective in teaching students to read, as well as spell. Results from the National Reading Panel determined that the effects were much stronger when letters were paired with the teaching of phonemic awareness. According to Chall (1996a, b), beginning readers (kindergarten and first-grade students) should develop knowledge in understanding concepts about print, phonological awareness, and letter names prior to formal reading instruction. (Note: Phonological awareness is a broader term of which phonemic awareness is one aspect.)
What should I do when my child reads a word incorrectly when reading to me at home? At home, I would suggest that if you are listening to your son or daughter read and he/she comes to a word that is unknown, ask your child to point to the word and then tell him/her the word. If he/she makes a reading error or pauses for about five seconds, pronounce the correct word and have your son or daughter repeat the word correctly and continue reading. There are other approaches, but this is the simplest way for a parent to correct an error. (Note: To avoid frustration or too many error-corrections, it is not necessary for the parent to correct minor errors, such as a, the or the dropping of suffixes.)
A teacher mentioned in a conference that she is providing instruction using a scaffolding approach. What does this mean? Scaffolding instruction is much like building a scaffold for a building (Archer & Hughes, pg. 10). The scaffolding supports the building in the beginning of construction, but the scaffolding is removed in stages once the building can stand alone. When scaffolding, teachers initially provide high levels of guidance, feedback and support while explicitly teaching specific skills. As the student demonstrates increased independence, the scaffolding is gradually removed. This scaffolding approach to instruction is provided to all students who struggle in any academic area, with the scaffolding being gradually removed as the student can work independently.
References:
Archer, A. L. & Hughes, C. A. (2011). Explicit Instruction: Effective and Efficient Teaching. The Guilford Press.
Chall, J. (1996a). Learning to read: The great debate. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Chall, J. (1996b). Stages of reading development (2nd ed.). Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt-Brace.
Handler, S. M. & Fierson, W. M. (2011). Pediatrics: Official Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, 818 - 856.
Shaywitz, S. (2006). Overcoming Dyslexia. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
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Currey Ingram Academy
Currey Ingram Academy is an exemplary JK-12 day and boarding school that empowers students with learning differences to achieve their fullest potential. Since 2002, the school has been located on an 83-acre campus in Brentwood, Tennessee, just miles from Nashville and Franklin. Families from 33 states and eight countries cite the school as their primary reason for moving to Middle Tennessee.
Currey Ingram Academy is accredited by the Southern Association of Independent Schools (SAIS) and AdvancEd/Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement (SACS CASI).
Currey Ingram Academy is accredited by the Southern Association of Independent Schools (SAIS) and AdvancEd/Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement (SACS CASI).
