Category: Technology – Literacy

Student Developmental Processing Lag

Student language development was stunted during the pandemic. Students were put in “rooms” with computers. This led to a “student lag” in developing cognitive processing skills. Students are struggling to upload and process language, and analyze and synthesize the information with stored knowledge for future use. You can hear student brain strain as they scrabble to process the information, often struggling to locate old information and hold new information long enough to make the necessary connections to process spoken and written information. Students are now working overtime to build and perhaps struggling maintain brain connections. This lends to many tired and overwhelmed students who often become frustrated. Students will often checkout of the learning process with or without proper interaction and instructional scaffolding. Students who lack intrinsic motivation will likely fall further behind. Intrinsic motivation pushes them to power through the struggle to develop the necessary connections to process information.

Many students didn’t have “normal” interactions with extended relatives, neighbors, classmates, or community members during the pandemic. These nonplanned community interactions usually stimulate the development of oral language capabilities that assist in developing written literacy skills. These skills are interwoven. Students also didn’t receive the “normal” opportunity to build and strengthen brain connections that students usually need to function within a regular school day. Many of these connections are developed through natural social interactions. Students may also develop part of these brain connections through purposeful instructional lessons that allow for practice of taught skill.

The severity of the processing lag will differ depending on different possible factors. Some of those factors are noted below:

  • Student Age. Students are typically pruning unneeded brain connections during their preprimary years of education. Children typically have major cognitive changes around age 7 and 10-12 that correspond with physical developmental changes. Children between the ages of 2 and 6 spend a large amount of time mimicking their surroundings.
  • Reading on a digital device. This usually develops skimmers of the words/passages, which decreases their ability to read deeply for accurate comprehension. This also affects their short-term memory development and use.
  • Lack of interaction with individuals of higher cognitive processing skills
  • Lack of investigative activities that require interaction outside of their home, like travel or trips to the local museums
  • Lack of reading instruction and materials that may require the interaction of other individuals
  • Lack of exercise
  • Learning how to use technology
  • Adjusting to longer usage of technology…staring at a computer screen, television or video game
  • Less time writing manually. Manual writing assist in learning how to process and use information. This also assists in memory formation.

Students may need a few years to “catch-up” to their grade-level expectations. This may be shortened through explicit instruction. Students will be lacking necessary background information (foundational or prior knowledge) that may further impede the learning of new concepts. This may increase the need for differentiating and scaffolding of instruction and learning opportunities to ensure participation and ownership of new information taught. Patience may be one of the bigger pieces of the “catch-up” phase.

References

Piaget, J. & Inhelder, B. (2000/1966). The psychology of the child. New York, NY: Basic Books.

Wolf, M. (2018). Reader, Come Home: The Reading Brain in a Digital World. New York, NY: HarperCollins.

Why Differentiation of Instruction?

Most student didn’t receive the “full, normal load” of instruction during the 2020-21 school year. This means that students may not have ownership of the prior knowledge that is necessary to be successful at learning new tasks that teachers may present to them in the Fall of 2022. In college, students must have received and often prove that they have the prerequisite or prior knowledge necessary to be successful in their current class. With this in mind, teachers need to find a way to present new information without students having the necessary knowledge to be successful in the current lesson.

Differentiation is one tool that can be used to ease the absorption of the new knowledge without having the prior knowledge necessary to digest and own the new information. Differentiation sounds like a lot of work, but the tool is relatively easy to use. Most teachers already use this tool to successfully teach diverse groups of students. Each classroom of students usually includes students that function academically at different grade levels. Most classrooms have students a grade below or above, but some have students that function two or more grade levels below or above the standard for that grade level. This depends on the instructional policies of each state and district, and the current resources available to meet each student’s individual educational needs.

When differentiating student instruction, it is important to know student learning abilities and interest. Students will push through or work through the struggle of completing the assignment if the subject is of interest to them. Teachers can increase student interest through the introduction (attitude) of the lesson or subject. Teachers can also increase student interest in the lesson by the activities used within the lesson, such as allowing students to use their hands for exploration or take a walk to learn about components of the lesson or use a computer to research items of the lesson or allow them to work with a partner. These are all types of differentiation of instruction.

Differentiation of academic lessons may take more planning, as you should take into consideration: (a) the subject being taught, (b) student learning abilities, (c) student learning styles, and (d) the resources available to teach the lesson.  For example, if the lesson is about researching animal habitats. The lesson may be taught in a whole or small group setting. The lesson may also include hands on objects, videos, books, etc.  The gathering of information may include general note taking, drawing pictures, or answering progenerated questions. The lesson may include a trip to a natural habitat, which may be available on school grounds. The reporting of the information gathered might be an oral report, a tri-fold brochure, a written essay, or a PowerPoint presentation. The lesson may be about a particular interest of the students as a whole, or students may choose an animal of their interest to research.

When designing a lesson based on the academic background knowledge of students, you may need to add depth to the lesson or provide information to students before they can accomplish the lesson. For example: I was teaching a group of students that functioned academically between the of Grades 5 and 12, in the same classroom. The assignment was to analyze sentences and determine if the sentence is a fact or an opinion. Most students didn’t know the difference, nor understood how to analyze a sentence. I began the lesson by discussing the differences of the two different types of sentences, and then modeled to students how to analyze a sentence to determine fact or opinion—instead of handing the worksheet to students. The lesson was followed-up with additional practice and discussions.  Another example: I was teaching a group of Grade 2 students of wide-ranging abilities. The lesson was to research animal habitats. Students were given the opportunity to choose the type of animal habitat to research that could be located on a particular school computer application. The application had the text-to-speech ability for students who were struggling to read at grade-level. Students were also given the opportunity to read library books about their chosen animal’s habitat. I chose some student’s library books to feature and use for discussion about how to research and find information, this gave struggling students the opportunity to hear their book read aloud. Students used a brochure template to develop their report. The report was completed in student’s own handwriting using a pencil or colored pencils. This allowed students to write more or less sentences based on their academic writing ability. Students who struggled in writing could use more pictures to described the habitat. Students were also allowed to use the teacher or other students to help them research and formulate written sentences.

The teacher’s ability to differentiate curriculum and instruction may be one of keys to recovering from the academic pause of the 2020-21 school year.

Differentiation of instruction is taking the student ability and learning style of groups of students into consideration, when designing an instructional lesson (Tomlinson, 2010).

 

 

Proven Instructional Models and Technology That Increases Student Intrinsic Motivation

As our nation moves to a more independent or on-line form of instruction students that are more intrinsically motivated will likely be more successful.  Students are born with natural or intrinsic motivation—curiosity, ambition, and emotions (Wilson & Wilson, 1921).  Student inner, intrinsic motivation usually moves them towards participation in an activity that they enjoy.  Student inner motivation may also give them the desire to participate in activities that they may not enjoy, but will move them forward in the completion of a task or goal.  Student environment usually creates a desire learn how to read, comprehend, and write.  There are also proven instructional methods that usually increase student intrinsic motivation to learn.  The following methods may increase student engagement, involvement during on-line instruction.

The first three instructional methods rely on technology.  Research has proven that technology in general usually increases student intrinsic motivation to become engaged in the process of learning.  Technology is a good tool, but educators need to be mindful of the purpose and the amount of time that students are spending in front of an electronic screen.  As the type and amount of screen time may be hindering student reading ability.  In Dr. Wolf’s (2018) book Reader Come Home, she states that electronic devices may limit student ability to develop deep-reading processes.   Deep-reading involves many connections or parts of the brain to fully comprehend the written words.   Deep-reading also requires more energy than skimming.  To maintain and increase the brain connections necessary to comprehend written words students need to regularly exercise deep-reading skills as they mature (Healy, 1990; Wolf, 2018).   The skills of deep-reading can be taught in a viral environment.

  • The U-Learning Method uses mobile computers that can adapt to different learning environments, allowing students to learn on location (Hsiao, Line, Fang, & Li, 2010). This type of instruction allows students to have access to resources in the field.  U-Learning also allows students to record research notes, video, and pictures.  U-Learning can be used for independent or small group learning.
  • Student web pages usually increases intrinsic motivation (Dredger, Woods, Beach, & Sagstetter, 2010; Reed-Swale, 2009). Students develop and maintain web pages that are overseen by the teacher.  Students have the opportunity to write about topics of their interest.  Students usually enjoy the opportunity to express their thoughts, while working at their academic level.
  • Digital applications usually create ambition or intrinsic motivation (Saine, Lerkkanen, Ahonen, Tolvanen, & Lyytinen, 2010; Servilio, 2009; Yang, 2010). Digital application instruction gives teachers a platform to teach students how to problem solve in a non-threatening environment (Yang, 2012).  Some digital applications allow for differentiated instruction (Saine et al., 2010; Servilio, 2009).  Digital instructional games allow students to visually connect letters and sounds (Saine et al. 2010).  Computer applications, digital games can be a positive resource to use within the classroom.
  • The Project-based Learning (PBL) model usually increases student intrinsic motivation and reading achievement, in particular comprehension (Chu, Tse, Lou, & Chow, 2011). The PBL approach gives students the opportunity to explore, collect information, analyze data, and present findings.  The PBL model also gives students the opportunity to select a topic for a research project based on the teacher’s guidelines for that lesson.
  • Interdisciplinary Units usually increase student motivation to participate in instructional lessons (Opitz, 2011; Chu, Tse, Loh, & Chow, 2011). Research suggests combining two different subjects into one assignment to spark student interest in the instructional lesson.  Students may enjoy one of the subjects and despise the other subject; however, the subject they enjoy will usually motivate them to complete the assignment.  When literacy instruction is integrated with other subjects or projects of interest student intrinsic motivation and literacy achievement usually improves.  Student motivation also increases when they are allowed to choose the topic of study under the direction of the teacher.
  • The Flow-Learning Model was developed for the study of nature (Cornell, 1998). Flow-learning includes four stages that provide instructors with a framework to present instructional lessons—provides for a natural beginning, middle and end to the instructional lesson.   The stages are: (a) awaken student enthusiasm or curiosity, (b) narrow student attention towards the topic of instruction, (c) practice or direct experience of the lesson, and (d) student reflection of their interaction or practice of the lesson (Cornell, 1998).  The flow-learning model can give students the opportunity to see, watch, touch, and experience the lesson (Hsiao, Lin, Fang, & Lee, 2010).  The flow-learning model allows for all instructional groups and can be adapted for use in the outdoor or indoor instructional setting.

References

Chu, S.K.W., Tse, S.K., Loh, E.K.Y., & Chow, K. (2011).  Collaborative inquiry project-based learning: Effects on reading ability and interests. Library & Information Science  Research, 33(3), 236-243.  doi: 10.1016/j.list.2010.09.008

Cornell, J. (1998).  Flow learning.  Retrieved from http://www.csun.edu/~vcrec004/rtm351/Flow%20Learning%20Summary.pdf

Dredger, K., Woods, D., Beach, C., & Sagstetter, V. (2010).  Engage me: using new literacies to create third space classrooms that engage student writers. The National Association for Media Literacy Education’s Journal of Media Literacy Education, 2(2), 85-101.

Healy, J. M. (1990).  Endangered Minds.  New York, NY: Simon & Schuster Paperbooks.

Hsiao, H.-S., Lin, C.-C., Fang, R.-T., & Li, K.-J. (2010). Location based services for outdoor ecological learning system: Design and implementation. Educational Technology & Society, 13(4), 98-111.

Opitz, M.F. (2011) Transcending the curricular barrier between fitness and reading with fitlit. The Reading Teacher, 64(7), 535-540.  doi: 10.1598/RT.64.7.8

Reed-Swale, T.W (2009). Engaging digital natives in a digital world teaching more than web design. Synergy Learning, 22(128), 22-25.

Saine, N.L., Lerkkanen, M.-K., Ahonen, T., Tolvanen, A., & Lyytinen, H. (2010). Predicting word-level reading fluency outcomes in three contrastive groups: Remedial and computer assisted remedial reading intervention, and mainstream instruction. Learning and Individual Differences, 20(5), 402-414. doi:  10.1016/j.lindif.2010.06.004

Servilio, K. (2009).  You get to choose! Motivating students to read through differentiated instruction.  Teaching Exceptional Children Plus, 5(5), Article 5.  Retrieved November 7, 2012 from http://escholarship.bc.edu/education/tecplus/vol5/iss5/art5

Wilson, H.B., & Wilson, G.M. (1921). The motivation of school work. Cambridge, MA: The Riverside Press.

Wolf, Maryanne (2018).  Reader, come home.  The reading brain in a digital world. New York, NY:  HarperCollins.

Yang, C. Y. (2012). Building virtual cities, inspiring intelligent citizens: digital games for developing students’ problem solving and learning motivation. Computer & Education, 59(2), 365-377.  doi: 10.1016/j.compedu.2012.01.012.

 

Why are we losing ground in the reading acquisition?

The 2019 National Assessment of Educational (NAEP) reading results show that the national reading scores fell 2% percent in Grade 4 and 4% in Grade 8. This does not sound like much until you put the number of students that one percentage point represents, approximately 1,500 students. One state, Mississippi, continued its positive climb. While 17 states scored 3%-4% points lower than the previous year. And the remaining states remained unchanged from the previous year. This means that the number of students reading at Basic or Below Basic grew from 63% to 65%. It is important to note that this is a sample of students from each state.

So, what is going on? What has created the backward descend in reading acquisition? One plausible reason maybe the time that students are spending in front of an electronic device. Students often spend one to three hours using a digital device at school and then another two to four hours looking at an electronic device at home. During this time students may be reading short messages or posts often written in uncomplete sentences. Students may be spending time scanning headlines or a few sentences of an article. Students might be interacting with the latest electronic game that may offer some occasions to read, usually incomplete sentences. In addition, I am observing that more and more teachers are using mostly “on-line” curriculum or lessons that require students to spend large amounts of time in front of the computer. This may be hindering student reading ability, as time spent in front of an electronic screen may limit student ability to develop deep-reading processes (Wolf, 2018). Deep-reading requires students to read the words at a slower rate, so that the words can move through the circuits of brain to pick up prior knowledge or come alive with meaning. Deep-reading is an interactive activity that uses more energy. Skimming or light reading requires less energy. In addition, current research is suggesting that students struggle with comprehending information in an on-line format (Cavalli, et al., 2019; Kanniainen, Kiili, Tolvanen, Aro, & Leppänen, 2019).

Furthermore, technology/computers change the way students process written language. The brain is an organ that will adapt to function within its environment. If the environment is rich with positive conversations and interactions of individuals of higher cognition then an individual’s brain will build circuits to function in that environment. Research suggests that students who have interactions with individuals of higher cognition usually learn, retain, and reuse information at a higher rate (Vygotsky, 1929). If the environment is rich with limited interactions of individuals and or limited exposure to conversations of higher cognition then the brain will build circuits to function in that environment. The brain needs regular mental and physical exercise of cognition as it matures to develop and maintain connections necessary to deeply process and comprehend verbal and written words (Healy, 1990; Wolf, 2018).


References
Healy, J. M. (1990). Endangered Minds. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster Paperbooks.
Wolf, Maryanne (2018). Reader, come home. The reading brain in a digital world. New York, NY: HarperCollins.
Vygotsky, L. (1929). The problem of the cultural development of a child II. Journal of Genetic Psychology, 36, 415-434. Vygotsky Reader, Blackwell. Retrieved from htts://www.marxists.org/archive/Vygotsky/works/1929
/cultural_development.htm.

Teaching Sound-Symbol Correspondences

         For me, a joy of teaching is watching a student realize that they have the power (the tools) to analyze and decode words into the correct sounds. This skill can be easy for some students to master, most will need instruction. The type and intensity of instruction will differ for each student. I suggest that all instruction should include practice in naming the letter and its sound(s). This practice should happen each day. Using cards that include picture(s) of an item that begins with the sound of the letter will increase the retention of the sound-symbol correspondences. There are other instructional strategies that can be used in addition to flashcards. Some of these instructional strategies are discussed in the following paragraph.

         The following strategies include three of more of the five senses—hearing, touching, seeing, tasting, and smelling. The first strategy is to match cards of letters with cards that feature pictures of items that begin with the same sound as the letter. There should be pictures that represent all of the sounds that a letter can make, for example G…. /g/ /j/ or E…. /e/ /E/.  Students says the letter and the beginning sound of the featured item when they the matched cards. The second strategy is using a white board and marker. Students write the letter, then say the sound. Or the teacher says the sound the student writes the letter. The third strategy is using sand. Colored maybe a better choice as this usually gives a better contrast and students tend to like color. Pour just enough sand to give about a fourth of an inch layer on a plate, on a table or on deep cookie sheet type container. Students write a letter in the sand and say the sound(s) of the letter. Or the teacher says the sound of the letter the student writes the letter. The fourth strategy is using pudding. This can be used in the same manner as the sand. This is a different texture. The fifth strategy is using play dough. Students use the play dough to form a letter(s). Students point to the formed letter and say its sound(s). The teacher can ask students to form letters by uttering its corresponding sound. Students can use pictures of the letter to help them form the letter. The sixth strategy is using music. Using video that includes sound that students can sing-a-long with or mimic increases the number of senses that students use. Using video that includes motions, along with music and pictures can increase the retention of letter and sound correspondences. The last strategy that I will included in this blog is using a grate (usually plastic). The grate is usually about the size of a piece of paper. The texture should be defined enough that when you place a piece of paper over it you can run a crayon over it to create a picture of the grate. The grate can be used in a few ways. Students trace the letter with their index finger, while saying its sound. Students place a piece of paper on the grate and write a letter using a crayon. Students then say the letters’ corresponding sound(s).

              Sound-symbol correspondences or the relationship(s) between phoneme(s) and grapheme(s) are Pillar 2 of Structure Literacy Instruction. This may be referred to as phonics instruction that teaches predictable or the constant rules of sound-symbol correspondences to produce written language. At this stage students learn one-on-one correspondence, for example the written letter B represents this phoneme or sound. It is important to note that some letters are represented by more than one sound, depending on the origin and spelling of the word. Students begin decoding and encoding words as they begin to learn the sound-symbol correspondences. Student knowledge of the phoneme(s) and grapheme(s) relationships usually increases student ability to read, comprehend, and spell written language.

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