Access to the Science of Reading for Adult learners

    In the Fall 2021, I taught a 16-week Word Analysis course at Madison College. In this course, adult learners were provided access to literacy content and activities grounded in evidence-based practices also known as the Science of Reading. 

The emphasis of the course was reading instruction utilizing a simultaneous, structured, multi-sensory approach to teach word meaning. The primary objectives of the course were to improve word recognition and decoding, vocabulary, and morphological awareness. Such a course is urgently needed as “130 million adults in America lack proficiency in reading. Additionally, 54% of adults between the ages of 16 and 74 years old lack proficiency in literacy, essentially reading below the equivalent of a sixth-grade level” (Barbara Bush Foundation for Family, 2022). During the summer of 2021, I dove deeply into What Teachers Need to Know about Spelling (Westwood, 2008) and Speech to Print: Language Essentials for Teachers (Moats, 2020) to create three-week modules delivered throughout the semester and focusing on the first five chapters of Moats’ book. Basically, my efforts were centered around taking this content, which is usually framed for teacher preparation programs, and making it accessible for adolescents and adult learners through structured activities. For example, when it came to word knowledge, the students learned how we assigned five different phonemic units to spell the sound /ar/ as in: 

•       /ar/ as in Art

•       /ear/ as in heart

•       /or/ as in tomorrow

•       /er/ as in sergeant 

•       /uar/ as in guard  

These types of activities allowed students to become: (1) familiar with the sound and spelling of common words following syllable patterns and vowel sound rules, (2) independent in mastering the entire sound structure of the American English language, and (3) start appreciating the structure of English orthography. Given that these are adult learners, instructional practices gave them opportunities to analyze the structure of words. To create this course, I drew upon the work of researchers and practitioners who are equipped with extensive knowledge of the cognitive processes of reading and various theoretical models. I became more adept at translating early reading instruction models into approaches that addressed the learning needs of adult learners. These adult students have achieved some measure of success in reading, but various gaps persisted in word knowledge and decoding skills. I was able to draw on the components of early literacy instruction, adapted for adult learners, to fill in any missing components related to decoding, encoding, and orthography. 

The fundamental knowledge that frames the Science of Reading is usually reserved for certain professional and educational groups who receive high level training, often as professional development, or in-service training. From my experience in the Community College adult classroom, having access to this type of curriculum and training can be transformational and lead to self-liberation. As an adult educator, when approaching my students from this more advanced perspective, I do not limit them to learning only through lower-level, remedial content, but can help them crack the code by translating the body of knowledge provided to young children into an adult-worthy framework. Creating an appropriate curriculum required me to be deliberate in designing a course that provided students with advanced concepts about language by exposing them to explicit, sequential, and systematic instruction. 

The chart below provides direction for future courses; however, it should be noted that the largest gains were in Word Recognition, Decoding, and Vocabulary, which were the focus. Morphology was covered; however, it was towards the end of the semester. The chart indicates gains in most areas, though the greatest gains were in word recognition, decoding, and vocabulary which were the areas given the greatest amount of time and attention during the course.  The last three subtests, Sentence Processing, Reading Efficiency, and Reading Comprehension, are not cover in the Word Analysis course because students take a College Reading strategy course covering these topics. 

A more detailed report will be forthcoming. However, after this course, students knew the worth of literacy education through personal experience and reported feeling as if they had finally received a valuable reading education. I am very proud of what these students accomplished. The results are promising, and I am excited about the future of this course at Madison College. This course and teaching experience rejuvenated me. Overall, the course allowed me to feel both accomplished and inspired, and the students can take their new and improved reading skills into the next phase of their lives.  

Sincerely, 

Shawn Anthony Robinson PhD

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Unpacking Systematic Barriers for Black Boys with a Learning Disability in Special Education

Image
Special Education classrooms are a melting pot of students who are creative, innovative, and waiting for an opportunity to shine. These are the generalized qualities the students come with as their hard-wired gifts. Students all still need to learn how to read through direct, explicit and systematic instruction, and that will only happen through effective  literacy instruction that is culturally responsive  and teacher training. Literacy should be the great equalizer for students to become academically independent. Not every student will get exposed to quality literacy instruction which pushes them to reach their full potential or positions them to achieve their freedom. However, it should be at the top of the list for educators, policymakers and administrators to train teachers to excel in literacy instruction.  Although the demographics of classrooms are changing to reflect increasingly diverse students, what remains unknown in Special Education is why there is a persi...
Read more

Learning to Read – The Key That Opened The Door

Image
As a young kid, I had always struggled with reading and avoided it at all cost. Reading should be an activity that one does for pleasure and opens their mind to endless dreams. However, reading was not an activity I enjoyed. I was engaged in behaviors that were destructive in order to avoid it. I had to attend an alternative program for two years of high school because I could not control my temper. I was angry for many reasons, but the main one was that I was not able to read.   I was not diagnosed until the age of 18 and graduated from high school reading at an elementary level. My options were very limited. Yet, my life changed in 1996 when my mentor, an angel, Dr. Robert T. Nash literally saved my life and gave me HOPE as a student who was in Special Education. He and his colleague Dr. Kitz told me I was one of the most illiterate students they had meet, but that it was not my fault. They both said the system failed me. Dr Nash saw talent in me, told me I had a gift, b...
Read more

Balancing Resources for Literacy: How Policy Impacts Literacy Quality and Modern Illiteracy Rates

Image
The Science of Reading (SoR) has become a central focus in education, emphasizing evidence-based practices for teaching literacy skills. However, alongside these instructional methods, the role of policy in shaping literacy outcomes is often overlooked.  Understanding how resources—both public and private—are allocated can shed light on why certain literacy disparities persist, even with advances in the SoR.  This piece explores the balance of resources and inequities through the lens of the equation  LQ = R {Pub + Priv (M)} - I , which highlights how policy decisions impact literacy quality and modern-day illiteracy rates. Figure 1 : A black and white vector illustration depicting the balance of resources for literacy, showing books and coins on a balanced scale, symbolizing the relationship between educational resources and funding. Created by an AI illustration tool. While instructional approaches are critical for improving reading skills, how resources are distributed...
Read more