Observing Reading Behaviors: A Learned Skill

A study was conducted to develop an improved program of teacher education in diagnosis of reading difficulties in a graduate reading practicum. Fifteen teachers in the pilot study worked with one or two students daily for 6 weeks. The pilot study offered some indication that teachers' preservic...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors Carr, Kathryn, Williams, Wayne
Format Report
LanguageEnglish
Published 1988
Subjects
Decision Making
Descriptive Research
Educational Research
Graduate Study
Higher Education
Instructional Effectiveness
Instructional Improvement
Observation
Problem Solving
Reading Diagnosis
Reading Instruction
Teacher Education
Teaching Experience
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Summary:A study was conducted to develop an improved program of teacher education in diagnosis of reading difficulties in a graduate reading practicum. Fifteen teachers in the pilot study worked with one or two students daily for 6 weeks. The pilot study offered some indication that teachers' preservice and inservice experiences may have emphasized mechanical procedures and failed to prepare them adequately for the roles of problem solver and educational decision maker. The program objectives remained the same for the second year, but efforts increased to prepare the new cohort of eight teacher-participants for ethnographic data collection. Results of the second year study indicated the following results: (1) teachers needed and requested guidance in observing, recording, and interpreting children's reading behaviors; (2) prior teaching and learning experiences had greater transfer and impact on teacher's observations than textbooks or lectures; (3) affective components of reading dominated teachers' observations; (4) concept of problem solving by trial teaching was unfamiliar to the subjects; (5) video taped lessons may be more useful to teachers when the instructor first demonstrates observation and problem-solving techniques in a non-threatening situation; (6) courses for preservice teachers should provide specific instruction and carefully sequenced opportunities for practical experience in observation skills and collaborative problem solving; and (7) teachers must be given opportunities for problem solving and decision making, not only in undergraduate and graduate education, but in their daily work in the schools. (Two tables of data are included.) (MG)