boyreadnovel

AComprehensiveAlgorithmicApproachtoReadingInstructionEyalRav-NoyCo-FounderofCapitLearning,Inc.
CapitLearning,Inc.
SUMMARYPart1:ResearchthatDefinesReadingDecoding,Reading,andReadingDisability,PhilipB.
GoughandWilliamE.
Tunmer,1986TheSimpleViewofReading(SVR)positsthatbothDecodingandComprehensionplayanindispensableroleinReadingComprehension.
Weconcludethefollowing:Decoding—whichisseparatefromComprehension—isintegraltoReading.
AndbecauseDecodingisnotpartofthenaturallydevelopinglanguageinstinct—Decodingmustbetaught.
Aquestionremains:IsthereasuperiorapproachtoteachingDecodingPart2:ResearchthatExplainsHowDecodingShouldBeTaughtNationalReadingPanelReport(2000)AsthestructureoftheEnglishwritingsystemisalphabetic,decodingismostefficientlyandsuccessfullytaughtusingphonicsinstruction.
TheNRPhasthusputtheGreatDebatebehindus,withWhole-WordandWhole-Languageapproachesathingofthepast,andphonemicawareness(PA)andphonicsinstructionanintegralpartofmanyreadingcurricula.
ButtheNRP'sindecisionamongthevarioustypesofphonicsapproaches,togetherwiththeirinsistencethatphonics"isnotthecompletesolution"(NRP2-100)hasleftthedooropentoanewapproach,onewerefertoasa"MultipleStrategy"approach.
Manyofthesestrategiesarenotbasedonthelatestresearch.
Furthermore,thesheernumberofstrategiesusedtoteachchildrentoreadcanconfusethechildinchoosingwhichstrategytoimplement.
Weconcludethefollowing:Anewphonicsprogramshouldbedevised,onethatisbasedsolelyonthephonologicalunitthatmattersinEnglish:thephoneme.
Forthisnewphonicsprogramtobeeffectiveitshouldnotemploy"MultipleStrategies.
"Aquestionremains:Cananewresearch-basedphonicsprogrambecreatedAComprehensiveAlgorithmicApproachtoReadingInstruction|Page12017,CapitLearning,Inc.
CapitLearning310.
935.
3855www.
capitlearning.
comPart3:ANewEvidence-BasedApproachDianeMcGuinness,EarlyReadingInstruction:WhatScienceReallyTellsUsaboutHowtoTeachReading,MITPress(Cambridge,MA),2004DianeMcGuinness,LanguageDevelopmentandLearningtoRead:TheScientificStudyofHowLanguageDevelopmentAffectsReadingSkill,MITPress(Cambridge,MA),2005Share,OrthographicLearning,PhonologyandtheSelf-TeachingHypothesis,2008BothMcGuinnessandShareadvancethetheorythatReadingandWritingaretwosidesofthesame"algorithmicprocess"(ourterm).
Readersaretaughtthisalgorithmusingexplicitphonicsinstruction—theonlymethodcapableofteachingit—andreadersmustpossessaclearknowledgeofthisalgorithmforindependentlydecipheringandidentifyingwordsencounteredforthefirsttimeineverydayreading.
McGuinnessarguesthatforphonicsinstructiontobetrulyeffective,itmustbe(a)comprehensive,i.
e.
,encompassingtheentirealgorithm,and(b)itmustnotincludeelementsthatconfoundthealgorithm.
WeexplainhowCAPITReading's"SingularStrategy"approachtoreadinginstructionteachesthealgorithmunderlyingthe"EnglishAlphabetCode"initsentiretywithoutincludingelementsthatconfoundthealgorithm.
ConclusionWhyMinimalGuidanceDuringInstructionDoesNotWork:AnAnalysisoftheFailureofConstructivist,Discovery,Problem-Based,Experiential,andInquiry-BasedTeaching,PaulA.
Kirschner,JohnSweller,andRichardE,Clark.
EducationalPsychologist,2006.
Theauthorsofthisstudypresent"Evidenceforthesuperiorityofguidedinstruction.
"Weconcludethefollowing:Readinginstructionmustbetaughtdirectly,explicitly,andwithmaximumguidance.
IntroductionResearchersgenerallydon'tbuildproducts.
Conversely,entrepreneursandproductdevelopersdon'tnormallyimmersethemselvesinresearchlookingforinspirationonwhatproducttobuildorguidanceonhowtobuildit.
Moreofteninventorstinkerbasedonaheuristic.
Iftheirideaisvalidatedbycustomers,thenperhapsafuturestudywillexplainwhyitallworked.
Atbest,adevelopmentteamwillconsulttheresearchthroughoutalong-termdevelopmentprojectastheytinkerwiththeirproduct,andusetheinformationtoeitherchangecourse,orabandontheproject.
Thatishowwewoulddescribeourrelationshipwiththeresearch.
Wefirsthadanidea.
Wetestedit,anditworked.
Welaterfoundoutthatitwas"researchbased,"andthemorewedugintotheresearch,themorewelearnedhowcloselyourproductandtheresearchwerealigned.
Thenwehitawall,andonlywhenweuncoveredsomemoreresearchwereweabletocontinuebuildingourproduct.
CAPITReadingisresearchbased,andatthispoint,wearenolongersurewhichideasareourown,andwhichideaswederivedfromreadingaresearchpaperorbook.
Wesupposethat'showEdTechproductsshouldallbebuilt.
Whoknows.
AComprehensiveAlgorithmicApproachtoReadingInstruction|Page22017,CapitLearning,Inc.
Part1:ResearchthatDefinestheConceptofReadingDecoding,Reading,andReadingDisability,PhilipB.
GoughandWilliamE.
Tunmer,1986Pleasereadthefollowing:Weholdthesetruthstobeself-evident,thatallmenarecreatedequal,thattheyareendowedbytheirCreatorwithcertainunalienableRights,thatamongtheseareLife,LibertyandthepursuitofHappiness.
(DeclarationofIndependence)Howdolinesandcirclesonthepage(orscreen)transforminto"ideas"suchasLibertyandHappinessExpertreadersmarvel,havingforgottenhowtheylearnedtoreadsomanyyearsbefore.
Solet'sputtheDeclarationaside,andreadthefollowing:CATWhenchildrenreadtheword—andunderstandit—theyaredoingtwothings:1.
Theylookatthevisualsymbols(thelettersC-A-T)andconvert/Decodethemintospeech-sounds:/k//a//t/2.
Then,theyusetheirlanguageinstinct,linguisticcomprehension(vocabulary),andbackgroundknowledge,toComprehend—makesense—ofthesespeechsounds.
Theyrealizethatwhenthesoundsfolloweachotherquicklytheyblendtogethertocreateawordtheyrecognize:cat.
Theymightownacat,orperhapslearnedaboutcats.
Themorebackgroundknowledgetheyhaveabouttheword"cat,"themoremeaningfulthereadingofthewordwillbe.
Somewillimagineanalleycat,somewillimaginetheirowncat,otherswillthinkofallcats,stillothersmightimagineanundomesticatedcatsuchasacheetahoraBengalitiger.
Theworddoesnotchange,butthemeaningchangesbasedonthebackgroundknowledgeofthereader.
Ifallthissoundsbanaland"simple"…well,itis,andthatiswhyitisknownastheSimpleViewofReading(inshort:SVR),introducedbyPhilipB.
GoughandWilliamE.
Tunmer.
SVRreducesreadingtoasimpleequation:R=DxCRstandsforReading.
DstandsforDecoding.
CstandsforComprehension.
IfeitherDorCequalsZero,thenRwillalsoequalZero.
ForReadingtooccur,theremustbeDecodingaswellasComprehension(knowingwhattheword"cat"means).
IfDecodingismissing(D=0),thennoReadingwilloccur,evenifthechildisfamiliarwitheverybreedofcatonearth.
IfComprehensionismissing(C=0),thennoReadingwilloccur,evenifthechildisanexpertDecoder.
Accordingtothisframework,ComprehensionwithoutDecodingisDyslexia,andDecodingwithoutComprehensionisHyperlexia.
Inotherwords,thosewhocanComprehendbutcannotDecodeareDyslexic,andthosewhocanDecodebutcannotComprehendareHyperlexic.
TowhatdegreedoDecodingskillsandComprehension(orallanguage)figureintheircontributiontotheproductionofReadingcomprehensionAComprehensiveAlgorithmicApproachtoReadingInstruction|Page32017,CapitLearning,Inc.
Someresearchershavefoundthatfor1stand2ndgradersDecodingandComprehensioncontributeequallytoreadingcomprehension(Foorman,2015).
Inregardstoadultreaders,researchershavefoundthatthereadingcomprehensionofbetterreadersseemstobemoreconstrainedbylimitsontheirorallanguagecomprehensionthanondecodingskill,whereaslimitsondecodingfiguremoreprominentlyinlessskilledreaders(seeBraze,Katz,Magnuson,Mencl,Tabor,VanDyke,Gong,JohnsandShankweiler,2015).
HavingreviewedtheSimpleViewofReadingframework,let'sreturntotheDeclarationofIndependenceandrereadit:Weholdthesetruthstobeself-evident,thatallmenarecreatedequal,thattheyareendowedbytheirCreatorwithcertainunalienableRights,thatamongtheseareLife,LibertyandthepursuitofHappiness.
(DeclarationofIndependence)ClearlyadultstoomustDecodeandComprehendinordertoRead:1.
Theylookatthevisualsymbols(letters)andDecode(i.
e.
,convert)themintowords.
2.
Then,theyusetheirlanguageinstinct,linguisticcomprehension(vocabulary),andbackgroundknowledge,toComprehend—i.
e.
,givemeaning—tothesewords.
Eachperson'svocabularyandbackgroundknowledgewillshapehowtheyComprehendthesewords.
WordslikeCreator,Rights,andHappiness,aredeepwordsthathavelayersofmeaning,dependingonone'sbackgroundandknowledgeofhumanpsychology,history,andpolitics.
TheSimpleViewofReadingispredicatedonasimple(butsometimesoverlooked)fact:writingsystemswereinventedtoconveylanguage,notmeaning.
Lettersonapageareakindof"transducer"thatconvertsspeechsounds,suchasphonemes,intovisualsymbols,andviceversa(D=Decoding).
Themeaning(C=Comprehension)issuppliedentirelybythereader.
IfbothDecodingandComprehensionplaysuchacrucialroleinReading,surelytheyarebothdesirable.
ButisthereadifferenceinhowtheyareattainedLanguageisahumaninstinctthathasbeenaroundsincetheoriginofourspecies(Pinker,1994).
ReadingandWritingisatechnologythathumansinventedamere5,500yearsago.
Childrenlearntowalkandtalkontheirownbecauseitisintheirnature.
Itisnotinthenatureofchildrentoreadandwrite,certainlynottoreadandwriteEnglish,alanguagethatwasinventedoverthepast1000yearsandisanamalgamationof5languagesandspellingcodes(Anglo-Saxon,Danish,Norman-French,Latin,andGreek).
Humansarebornwithoutwordsbutbegintogatheraprolificvocabularywithoutanyformallanguageinstruction.
Ithasworkedwellfortensofthousandsofyears.
Thereareno"SpeakingWritingsystemswereinventedtoconveylanguage,notmeaning.
Lettersonapageareakindof"transducer"thatconvertsspeechsoundsintovisualsymbols,andviceversa.
Themeaningissuppliedentirelybythereader.
AComprehensiveAlgorithmicApproachtoReadingInstruction|Page42017,CapitLearning,Inc.
Classes"or"SpeakingSchools"becauseitisassumedthatchildrenwillpickupthelanguagefromtheirfamilyandpeers.
"Comprehension"happensbyitself,withoutformalinstruction.
Butnochild—nomatterhowintelligentorresourceful—ever"discovered"howtoreadandwriteEnglishontheirownwithoutsomedirectinstruction.
EventhemostprecociousofchildrencouldnotunravelthemysteriesoftheEnglishspellingcode,eveniftheyweresurroundedbybooksandimmersedinprintfrombirth.
Thewrittenwordisahumaninvention,andinventionsarebestlearnedthroughdirectinstruction.
Schoolswereinventedforthesolepurposeofteachingchildrentoreadandwrite.
DecodingandComprehensionarenotlearnedthesameway,andtheyshouldnotbetaughtthesameway.
Comprehensionislearnednaturallyandconstantly,whereasDecodingcanonlybelearnedthroughsometypeofformalinstruction.
(Tobesure,achild'svocabularycanbeincreasedthroughdirectvocabularyinstruction,seeDirectVocabularyInstructionInPreschool,AComparisonofExtendedInstruction,EmbeddedInstruction,andIncidentalExposure,SusanM.
Loftus-Rattan,AlisonM.
Mitchell,MichaelD.
Coyne(2016).
Butdirectvocabularyinstructionispainstakingandslowanddoesnotmatchchildren'sremarkableabilitytolearnnewwordswithoutinstruction.
SeePinker,1994.
)Weconcludethefollowing:Decoding—whichisseparatefromComprehension—isintegraltoReading.
AndbecauseDecodingisnotpartofthenaturallydevelopinglanguageinstinct—Decodingmustbetaught.
Aquestionremains:IsthereasuperiorapproachofteachingDecodingPart2:ResearchthatExplainsHowDecodingShouldBeTaughtNationalReadingPanelReport(2000)"In1997,CongressaskedtheNICHDDirector,inconsultationwiththeSecretaryofEducation,toconveneanationalpaneltoassesstheeffectivenessofdifferentapproachesusedtoteachchildrentoread.
ThePanelwasmadeupof14people,includingleadingscientistsinreadingresearch,representativesofcollegesofeducation,teachers,educationaladministrators,andparents.
"(www.
nichd.
nih.
gov/)TheNationalReadingPanelReport(NRP)islongbutwritteninaclearandaccessiblemanner.
TheNRPreportsthatPhonemicAwareness(PA)trainingiseffectiveinteachingchildrentoread.
TheNRPdefinesPAasfollows:Phonemicawarenessreferstotheabilitytofocusonandmanipulatephonemesinspokenwords.
Thefollowingtasksarecommonlyusedtoassesschildren'sPAortoimprovetheirPAthroughinstructionandpractice:1.
Phonemeisolation,whichrequiresrecognizingindividualsoundsinwords,forexample,"Tellmethefirstsoundinpaste.
"(/p/)2.
Phonemeidentity,whichrequiresrecognizingthecommonsoundindifferentwords.
Forexample,"Tellmethesoundthatisthesameinbike,boy,andbell.
"(/b/)3.
Phonemecategorization,whichrequiresrecognizingthewordwiththeoddsoundinasequenceofthreeorfourwords,forexample,"Whichworddoesnotbelongbus,bun,rug.
"(rug)4.
Phonemeblending,whichrequireslisteningtoaAComprehensiveAlgorithmicApproachtoReadingInstruction|Page52017,CapitLearning,Inc.
sequenceofseparatelyspokensoundsandcombiningthemtoformarecognizableword.
Forexample,"Whatwordis/s//k//u//l/"(school)5.
Phonemesegmentation,whichrequiresbreakingawordintoitssoundsbytappingoutorcountingthesoundsorbypronouncingandpositioningamarkerforeachsound.
Forexample,"Howmanyphonemesarethereinship"(three:///I//p/)6.
Phonemedeletion,whichrequiresrecognizingwhatwordremainswhenaspecifiedphonemeisremoved.
Forexample,"Whatissmilewithoutthe/s/"(mile).
"(NRP2-1,2-2)However,PAwasmoreeffectiveundercertaincircumstances.
Forexample:Instructionthattaughtphonememanipulationwithlettershelpednormallydevelopingreadersandat-riskreadersacquirePAbetterthanPAinstructionwithoutletters.
(NRP2-4)Later,theNRPspellsouttheimplicationforreadinginstruction:TeachingwithlettersisimportantbecausethishelpschildrenapplytheirPAskillstoreadingandwriting.
Teachingchildrentoblendphonemeswithlettershelpsthemdecode.
Teachingchildrenphonemicsegmentationwithlettershelpsthemspell.
.
.
Teachersshouldrecognizethatacquiringphonemicawarenessisameansratherthananend.
PAisnotacquiredforitsownsakebutratherforitsvalueinhelpinglearnersunderstandandusethealphabeticsystemtoreadandwrite.
ThisiswhyitisimportanttoincludeletterswhenteachingchildrentomanipulatephonemesandwhyitisimportanttoteachchildrenexplicitlyhowtoapplyPAskillsinreadingandwritingtasks.
(NRP2-6)TheNRPreporteditsfindingconcerningtheoptimalageforPAinstruction:AlthoughalllevelsofreadersacquiredPAsuccessfully,effectsizesweregreaterforchildrenwhowerebeginningreadersatriskforreadingfailureandnormallyprogressingreadersthanforolderdisabledreaders.
Studentsinthelowergrades,preschool,andkindergarten,showedlargereffectsizesinacquiringPAthanchildrenin1stgradeandabove.
(NRP2-4)Again,theNRPspellsouttheimplicationforreadinginstruction:EarlyPAinstructioncannotguaranteelaterliteracysuccess.
ThemostreasonableconclusionfromthefindingsoftheNRPanalysisisthataddingwell-designedPAinstructiontoabeginningreadingprogramoraremedialreadingprogramisverylikelytoyieldsignificantdividendsintheacquisitionofreadingandwritingskills.
Whetherthebenefitsarelastingwilllikelydependonthecomprehensivenessandeffectivenessoftheentireliteracyprogramthatistaught.
Additionalfactorsthatplayasignificantroleinchildren'sliteracyacquisitionaredetailedinothersectionsoftheNRPreport.
(NRP2-7)Inshort:(1)PAismoreeffectivewhenitistaughtusingletters,and(2)PAismosteffectivewhentaughtatanearlyage.
TheNRPalsoreportsthatphonicsinstructioniseffectiveinteachingchildrentoread.
TheNRPdefinesphonicsinstructionasfollows:AComprehensiveAlgorithmicApproachtoReadingInstruction|Page62017,CapitLearning,Inc.
PhonicsInstruction…entailsteachingstudentshowtousegrapheme-phoneme(i.
e.
spelling-sound)correspondencestodecodeorspellwords.
(NRP2-2)ThesesamepointsmaderegardingPAaremirroredbytheNRP'sreportinPartIIonPhonicsInstruction:Findingsprovidedsolidsupportfortheconclusionthatsystematicphonicsinstructionmakesabiggercontributiontochildren'sgrowthinreadingthanalternativeprogramsprovidingunsystematicornophonicsinstruction.
(NRP2-92)Studentstaughtphonicssystematicallyoutperformedstudentswhoweretaughtavarietyofnonsystematicornon-phonicsprograms,includingbasalprograms,wholelanguageapproaches,andwhole-wordprograms.
(NRP2-95)TheNRPoffersabasicdefinitionforthesenon-phonicsprograms:Beginningreadingprogramsthatdonotteachphonicsexplicitlyandsystematicallymaybeofseveraltypes.
Inwhole-languageprograms,theemphasisisuponmeaning-basedreadingandwritingactivities.
PhonicsInstructionisintegratedintotheseactivitiesbuttaughtincidentallyasteachersdecideitisneeded.
Basalprogramsconsistofateacher'smanualandacompletesetofbooksandmaterialsthatguidetheteachingofbeginningreading.
Somebasalprogramsfocusonwhole-wordormeaning-basedactivitieswithlimitedattentiontoletter-soundconstituentsofwordsandlittleornoinstructioninhowtoblendletterstopronouncewords.
Insightwordprograms,childrenbeginbybuildingareadingvocabularyof50to100words,andthenlatertheylearnaboutthealphabeticsystem.
Thesetypesofnon-phonicsprogramswereamongthosetaughttochildreninthecontrolgroupsofexperimentsexaminedbytheNRP.
Distinctionsamongthevarioustypesofnon-phonicsprogramsarenotabsolute.
However,theirdefiningcharacteristicisthattheydonotprovideexplicit,systematicphonicsinstruction.
(NRP2-90)TheNRPfoundthatteachingchildrentoreadusingphonicsinstructionwasthemosteffectiveapproachofteachingchildrentoread.
Andtheearlier,thebetter:PhonicsInstructiontaughtearlyprovedmuchmoreeffectivethanphonicsinstructionintroducedafterfirstgrade.
Meaneffectsizeswerekindergartend=0.
56;firstgraded=0.
54;2ndthrough6thgradesd=0.
27.
Theconclusiondrawnisthatphonicsinstructionproducesthebiggestimpactongrowthinreadingwhenitbeginsinkindergartenor1stgradebeforechildrenhavelearnedtoreadindependently.
Theseresultsindicateclearlythatsystematicphonicsinstructioninkindergartenand1stgradeishighlybeneficialandthatchildrenatthesedevelopmentallevelsarequitecapableoflearningphonemicandphonicsconcepts.
Tobeeffective,systematicphonicsinstructionintroducedinkindergartenmustbeappropriatelydesignedforAComprehensiveAlgorithmicApproachtoReadingInstruction|Page72017,CapitLearning,Inc.
learnersandmustbeginwithfoundationalknowledgeinvolvinglettersandphonemicawareness.
(NRP2-93)Overandover,theNRPstressesthesuperiorityofphonicsprogramsoverotherapproaches:Overtheyearseducatorshavedisagreedabouthowbeginningreadingshouldbetaught.
Somehaveadvocatedstartingwithasystematicphonicsapproachwhileothershavearguedforawholewordapproachorawholelanguageapproach.
Disagreementhascenteredonwhetherteachingshouldbeginwithsystematicexplicitinstructioninsymbol-soundcorrespondences,whetheritshouldbeginwithwholewords,orwhetherinitialinstructionshouldbemeaning-centeredwithcorrespondencestaughtincidentallyincontextasneeded.
Mostrecentlythependulumhasswungtowardprovidingchildrenwithmoreexplicitphonicsinstruction.
Educatorsadvocatingthisshifthaveclaimedthatthereissubstantialresearchshowingthatapproacheswithanemphasisonphonicsinstructionaremoreeffectivethanapproachesthatdonotemphasizetheteachingofphonics.
Thepurposeofthisreportwastoexaminetheresearchevidenceconcerningphonicsinstruction.
(NRP2-100)Inregardstocomprehension,theNRPreports:Theconclusiondrawnisthatgrowthinword-readingskillsisstronglyenhancedbysystematicphonicsinstructionwhencomparedtonon-phonicsinstructionforkindergartnersand1stgradersaswellasforolderstrugglingreaders.
Growthinreadingcomprehensionisalsoboostedbysystematicphonicsinstructionforyoungerstudentsandreadingdisabledstudents.
Thesefindingsshoulddispeltheany[sic]beliefthatteachingphonicssystematicallytoyoungchildreninterfereswiththeirabilitytoreadandcomprehendtext.
Quitetheoppositeisthecase.
Whethergrowthinreadingcomprehensionisproducedgenerallyinstudentsabove1stgradeislessclear.
(NRP2-94)Butnotallphonicsprogramsarealike.
TheNRPexplains:Inteachingphonicsexplicitlyandsystematically,severaldifferentinstructionalapproacheshavebeenused.
Theseincludesyntheticphonics,analyticphonics,embeddedphonics,analogyphonics,onset-rimephonics,andphonicsthroughspelling.
Althoughallexplicit,systematicphonicsapproachesuseaplanned,sequentialintroductionofasetofphonicelementsalongwithteachingandpracticeofthoseelements,theydifferacrossanumberofotherfeatures.
Forexample,thecontentcoveredrangesfromalimitedtoanelaboratesetofletter-soundcorrespondencesandphonicsgeneralizations.
Inaddition,theapplicationprocedurestaughttochildrenvary.
Syntheticphonicsprogramsteachchildrentoconvertlettersintosoundsorphonemesandthenblendthesoundstoformrecognizablewords.
Analyticphonicsavoidshavingchildrenpronouncesoundsinisolationtofigureoutwords.
Ratherchildrenaretaughttoanalyzeletter-soundrelationsoncethewordisidentified.
Phonicsthrough-spellingprogramsteachchildrentotransformsoundsintoletterstowritewords.
Phonicsincontextapproachesteachchildrentousesound-lettercorrespondencesalongwithcontextcuestoAComprehensiveAlgorithmicApproachtoReadingInstruction|Page82017,CapitLearning,Inc.
identifyunfamiliarwordstheyencounterintext.
Analogyphonicsprogramsteachchildrentousepartsofwrittenwordstheyalreadyknowtoidentifynewwords.
(NRP2-89)TheNRPraisesthefollowingquestion:AresometypesofphonicsinstructionmoreeffectivethanothersAresomespecificphonicsprogramsmoreeffectivethanothers(NRP2-93)TheNRP'sansweristhattheyfoundnorealdifference:Threetypesofphonicsprogramswerecomparedintheanalysis:(1)syntheticphonicsprogramswhichemphasizedteachingstudentstoconvertletters(graphemes)intosounds(phonemes)andthentoblendthesoundstoformrecognizablewords;(2)larger-unitphonicsprogramswhichemphasizedtheanalysisandblendingoflargersubpartsofwords(i.
e.
,onsets,rimes,phonograms,spellingpatterns)aswellasphonemes;(3)miscellaneousphonicsprogramsthattaughtphonicssystematicallybutdidthisinotherwaysnotcoveredbythesyntheticorlarger-unitcategoriesorwereunclearaboutthenatureoftheapproach.
Theanalysisshowedthateffectsizesforthethreecategoriesofprogramswereallsignificantlygreaterthanzeroanddidnotdifferstatisticallyfromeachother.
Theeffectsizeforsyntheticprogramswasd=0.
45,forlarger-unitprograms,d=0.
34,andformiscellaneousprograms,d=0.
27.
.
.
Theconclusiondrawnisthatspecificsystematicphonicsprogramsareallsignificantlymoreeffectivethannon-phonicsprograms;however,theydonotappeartodiffersignificantlyfromeachotherintheireffectivenessalthoughmoreevidenceisneededtoverifythereliabilityofeffectsizesforeachprogram.
(NRP2-93)Whyarephonicsprogramsmoreeffectivethannon-phonicsprogramssuchaswhole-languageprograms,basalprograms,andwhole-wordprograms"ThestructureoftheEnglishwritingsystemisalphabetic.
"(NRP2-2)Itfollowsthatphonicsinstructionwouldbeeffective:Thegoalinallphonicsprogramsistoenablelearnerstoacquiresufficientknowledgeanduseofthealphabeticcodesothattheycanmakenormalprogressinlearningtoreadandcomprehendwrittenlanguage.
(NRP2-89)Phonicsinstructionisthusaneffectivewayofteachingdecoding:Systematicphonicsinstructionwasmosteffectiveinimprovingchildren'sabilitytodecoderegularlyspelledwords(d=0.
67)andpseudowords(d=0.
60).
Thiswasexpectedbecausethecentralfocusofsystematicphonicsprogramsisuponteachingchildrentoapplythealphabeticsystemtoreadnovelwords.
(NRP2-94)ButtheauthorsoftheReportunderstoodthatsystematicphonicsinstruction……includesnotonlythemajorcorrespondencesbetweenconsonantlettersandsoundsbutalsoshortandlongvowellettersandsounds,andvowelandAComprehensiveAlgorithmicApproachtoReadingInstruction|Page92017,CapitLearning,Inc.
consonantdigraphs(e.
g.
,oi,ea,ou,sh,ch,th).
Also,itmayincludeblendsofletter-soundsthatrecurassubunitsinmanywords,suchasinitialblends(e.
g.
,st,sm,bl,pr),andfinalstems(e.
g.
,-ack,-end,-ill,-op).
(NRP2-99)Insummary,PhonicsinstructionworksbecauseEnglishisanalphabeticcodeand:Learningaboutletter-soundassociationshelpsbeginnersbreakthecodeinlearningtoread.
(NRP2-100)ButtheNRPstressesthatthereismoretoreadingthanphonics:However,theEnglishwritingsystemhasotherhigherlevel,word-basedregularitiesaswell,so,althoughphonicsinstructioncontributes,itisnotthecompletesolutiontowordidentificationthatitisinotherwrittenlanguagesthataremorefullyphonemic(e.
g.
,Spanish).
(NRP2-100)Theindispensableroledecodingplaysinthereadingprocessismadeclearinresearchdoneongroupsofstudents,someofwhichweretaughttoreadusingphonics,andsomeofwhichweretaughttoreadusingaWhole-Wordapproach.
AlthoughthestudentsthatweretaughttoreadusingtheWhole-Wordapproachalsolearnedtoread,theresearchersfoundthattheyalsolearnedtodecode.
Infact,itbecamedifficulttoknowwhichchildrenweretaughtbywhichapproach.
Still,thechildrenwhoweretaughtusingphonicswerebetterreadersthanthosewhoweretaughtusingWhole-Wordapproaches(Barr,1970;Biemiller,1971).
Inotherwords:allreadingisaccomplishedthroughdecoding,andthemosteffectiveapproachtoteaching"decoding"isphonics.
ChildrenwhoaretaughttoreadusingWhole-Wordapproachesareforcedtoteachthemselveshowto"decode"(IamindebtedtotoTimothyShanahanforthisinsight.
)TheNRPmakesthecasethatitisbettertoteachchildrenhowtodecodedirectly,andnotaskthemtofigureitoutontheirown,ataskthattakestime,andthatsomemightneveraccomplish.
Whiledecodinglettersintosoundsispivotalingettingthereadingprocessofftheground—itisalsoindispensabletokeepingthereadingprocessairborne.
Evenskilledreadersdecodewordsastheyreadthem—afactmostskilledreaderstakeforgranted.
Toaskilledreadertheactofreadingfeelslikeastateof"flow,"asif"wholewords"tohopoffthepageandintotheirminds.
Butthisisanillusion.
Skilledreadersdon'trecognize"wholewords.
"Instead,theyreadbybreakingwordsdownintophonemes.
Thisiswhyreadingacommonbutambiguouslyspelledword(e.
g.
foot)takeslongerthanasimilarbutunambiguouslyspelledword(e.
g.
week).
Thereisonlyone"legal"waytodecode"ee"(italwaysmakesthe/ee/sound),whereasthespelling"oo"canbedecodedinmultipleways(e.
g.
book,moon,flood).
Thisambiguityforcesthemindintoadeliberationwhichslowsdowntheprocess.
Theroledecodingplayseveninskilledreadingisalsodemonstratedbythefactthatreadingtonguetwisterstakeslongerevenifthewordsarewellknowntothereader.
Forexample,reading"WhichwristwatchistheSwisswristwatch"requiresmoretime(andthought)thanreading"Whichlunchboxistheblacklunchbox"Itisthedecodingprocessthatslowsdownthereadingoftonguetwisters.
Finally,proofreadershaveaneasiertimespottingmisspelledwordsifthemistakechangesthepronunciationoftheword(e.
g.
from"meet"to"melt"),thenwhenthemisspelledword"sounds"correct(e.
g.
from"meet"to"meat").
Decodingletterstosoundsisindispensabletoreadingateverystage.
(IamindebtedtoprofessorDanielWillinghamforthisinsight.
SeeTheReadingMind,p.
58.
)AComprehensiveAlgorithmicApproachtoReadingInstruction|Page102017,CapitLearning,Inc.
TheNRPisatreasuretroveforteachersaswellascurriculumdevelopers.
Theirdiscussionregardingmnemonicsshouldbeofgreatinteresttoallteachers:Thevalueofmnemonicsforteachingletter-soundrelationstokindergartnersissupportedbyevidence.
InastudybyEhri,Deffner,andWilce(1984),childrenwereshownlettersdrawntoassumetheshapeofafamiliarobject,forexample,sdrawnasasnake,hdrawnasahouse(withachimney).
Memoryfortheletter-soundrelationswasmediatedbythenameoftheobject.
Childrenweretaughttolookattheletter,beremindedoftheobject,sayitsname,andisolatethefirstsoundofthenametoidentifythesound(i.
e.
,ssnake-/s/).
Withpracticetheywereabletolookatthelettersandpromptlysaytheirsounds.
Childrenwhoweretaughtlettersinthiswaylearnedthembetterthanchildrenwhoweretaughtlettersbyrehearsingtherelationswithpicturesunrelatedtothelettershapes(e.
g.
,housedrawnwithaflatroofandnochimney)andalsobetterthanchildrenwhosimplyrehearsedtheassociationswithoutanypictures.
ApplicationofthisprinciplecanbefoundinLetterland(Wendon,1992),aprogramthatteacheskindergartnersletter-soundassociations.
Inthisprogram,allthelettersareanimatecharactersthatassumetheshapeofthelettersandhavenamespromptingtherelevantsound,forexample,SammySnake,HairyHatMan,FiremanFred,AnnieApple.
Thetaskoflearningtheshapesandsoundsofallthealphabetlettersisdifficultandtime-consuming,particularlyforchildrenwhocometoschoolknowingnone.
Therelationsarearbitraryandmeaningless.
Techniquestospeedupthelearningprocessarevaluableinhelpingkindergartnersprepareforformalreadinginstruction.
Themotivationalvalueofassociatingletterswithinterestingcharactersorhandmotionsandincorporatingthisintoactivitiesandgamesthatarefunisimportantforpromotingyoungchildren'slearning.
Ifthetaskofteachinglettersisstrippedbaretooneofmemorizinglettershapesandsounds,childrenwillbecomeboredandeasilydistractedandwilltakemuchlongertolearntheassociations.
(NRP2-125)TheNRPhasdoneagreatserviceinlayingtorestthegreatdebateregardingPhonicsvs.
otherapproachestoteachingchildrentoread(Whole-Language,Whole-Word,etc.
).
ThankstotheNRP,Phonicsisnowpartofmostchildren'sreadingcurriculum,andtheBig5ismorethanasportinggoodstore,butamnemonicfor1.
PhonemicAwareness;2.
Phonics;3.
Vocabulary;4.
Fluency;and5.
Comprehension.
(TheNRP'sassessmentofFluencyandComprehensionareoutsidethescopeofthispaper.
)Twothingsmustbepointedout:1.
TheNRPdidnotfavoranyspecifictypeofphonicsinstruction.
ThePanelstudiedthreetypes:"Threetypesofphonicsprogramswerecomparedintheanalysis:(1)syntheticphonicsprogramswhichemphasizedteachingstudentstoconvertletters(graphemes)intosounds(phonemes)andthentoblendthesoundstoformrecognizablewords;(2)larger-unitphonicsprogramswhichemphasizedtheanalysisandblendingoflargersubpartsofwords(i.
e.
,onsets,rimes,phonograms,spellingpatterns)aswellasphonemes;AComprehensiveAlgorithmicApproachtoReadingInstruction|Page112017,CapitLearning,Inc.
(3)miscellaneousphonicsprogramsthattaughtphonicssystematicallybutdidthisinotherwaysnotcoveredbythesyntheticorlarger-unitcategoriesorwereunclearaboutthenatureoftheapproach.
"(NRP2-93)TheNRPtooknosides.
2.
TheNRPstressesthatphonicsonitsowndoesnotwork,because"theEnglishwritingsystemhasotherhigherlevel,word-basedregularitiesaswell,so,althoughphonicsinstructioncontributes,itisnotthecompletesolutiontowordidentificationthatitisinotherwrittenlanguagesthataremorefullyphonemic(e.
g.
,Spanish).
(NRP2-100)Acloseinspectionofcurrentreadingprograms—especiallythoseclaimingtobe"evidence-based"andinkeepingwiththerecommendationsoftheNRP—revealscommonthreads.
Indeed,theyallincludesomeorallofthefollowingstrategies:1.
Studentsaretaughttonamethelettersofthealphabet,usuallybysingingtheAlphabetSong;2.
Studentsaretaughttolistentoandproducerhymes;3.
Studentsaretaughttoorallymanipulatepartsofspeechsuchassyllables;4.
Studentsaretaughttoorallymanipulatepartsofspeechsuchasonsetsandrimes;5.
Studentsaretaughttoorallymanipulatepartsofspeechsuchasphonemes;6.
Studentsaretaughtthesoundsoftheletters;7.
Studentsaretaughttodifferentiatebetweenvowelsandconsonants,andthatsomeareshortandsomearelong;8.
Studentsaretaughttomemorizehigh-frequencywords(i.
e.
sight-words)(e.
g.
,I,you,we,are,does)9.
Studentsaretaughttowordfamiliessuchas:take,bake;bike,like,etc.
10.
AstheNRPpointsout,somephonicsprograms"mayincludeblendsofletter-soundsthatrecurassubunitsinmanywords,suchasinitialblends(e.
g.
,st,sm,bl,pr),andfinalstems(e.
g.
,-ack,-end,-ill,-op).
"(NRP2-99).
These"consonantclusters"and"rimes"aretaughtasanewunit,andstudentsmemorizethemassuch.
11.
Studentsaretaughtspellingrules,andtheirmanyexceptions.
Itshouldnotsurprisethatreadingprogramstrytocoverallthebasisbydoingalittlebitofeverything.
Studentsarethereforetaughttoreadbyimplementing"multiplestrategies.
"TheygetsomePhonemicAwareness,someSyntheticPhonics,someAnalyticPhonics,evensomeSight-Words.
Manyofthese"strategies"madetheirwayintotheCommonCoreStateStandards,ReadingStandardsforFoundationalSkills(RF).
InKindergarten,childrenareexpectedtodemonstratecompetenceinthefollowingareas:1.
Recognizeandnameallupper-andlowercaselettersofthealphabet.
(RF.
K.
1.
4)2.
Recognizeandproducerhymingwords.
(RF.
K.
2.
1)3.
Count,pronounce,blend,andsegmentsyllablesinspokenwords.
(RF.
K.
2.
2)4.
Blendandsegmentonsetsandrimesofsingle-syllablespokenwords.
(RF.
K.
2.
3)AComprehensiveAlgorithmicApproachtoReadingInstruction|Page122017,CapitLearning,Inc.
5.
Isolateandpronouncetheinitial,medialvowel,andfinalsounds(phonemes)inthree-phoneme(consonant-vowel-consonant,orCVC)words.
Addorsubstituteindividualsounds(phonemes)insimple,one-syllablewordstomakenewwords.
(RF.
K.
2.
4&RF.
K.
2.
5)6.
Demonstratebasicknowledgeofone-to-oneletter-soundcorrespondencesbyproducingtheprimarysoundormanyofthemostfrequentsoundsforeachconsonant.
(RF.
K.
3.
1)7.
Associatethelongandshortsoundswithcommonspellings(graphemes)forthefivemajorvowels.
(RF.
K.
3.
2)8.
Readcommonhigh-frequencywordsbysight(e.
g.
,the,of,to,you,she,my,is,are,do,does).
(RF.
K.
3.
3)JustasWhole-LanguageandWhole-WordapproacheswereabouttosurrendertoPhonics,anewapproachswoopedin:A"MultipleStrategy"approachtoreadinginstruction.
ButhowdochildrenimplementMultipleStrategieswhenencounteringtextHowdotheydecidewhichstrategytoimplementShouldtheytrytoreadthewordsbysight,orshouldtheydecodethemShouldtheyuseword-analogy,orinsteadbreakthewordsdownintosyllablestolookforshort-vowelsandlong-vowelsOrperhapstheyshouldanalyzeeachwordusingaspellingrule,andthenbeonthelookoutforexceptionstothosesamerulesStudents'lowreadingachievement—inour(counterintuitive)estimation—isnotasymptomof"under-instruction,"butratheraresultof"over-instruction.
"Itistheclassroomversionof"toomanycooksspoilthestew.
"TheconfusioncausedbyMultipleStrategiesmightbeworthwhileifthestrategieswouldallbeusefulandbackedbyresearch.
ButaretheyAmeta-analysishasshownthatPhonemicAwareness—i.
e.
,knowledgeofindividualphonemes,asopposedto"rimeawareness"—showsthestrongestcorrelationwithindividualdifferencesinchildren'swordreadingskills(Phonologicalskillsandtheirroleinlearningtoread:ameta-analyticreview,Melby-LervgM,LysterSA,HulmeC.
,2012.
).
Arecentstudyof"syllableawareness"showedthatnotonlydidphonologicalawarenessonthelevelofthesyllablenotaidthestudents'readingability,itmadeitharderforthemtoacquirephonologicalawarenessonthelevelofthe"phoneme"(Theeffectsofsyllableinstructiononphonemicawarenessinpreschoolers,TeresaA.
Ukrainetz,JanaeJ.
Nuspl,KimberlyWilkerson,SarahRoseBeddes,2015).
Allthismakessense.
Phonemesarethesmallestphonologicalunitsofspeech,onsetsandrimesarelarger,andsyllablesarethelargest.
Wordsaresometimesphonemes(a,I,oh),sometimesonsets(ate,it),sometimesasinglesyllable(ate,it),andsometimesmore(vindicate,composite).
Students'lowreadingachievementisnotasymptomof"under-instruction,"butratheraresultof"over-instruction.
"Itistheclassroomversionof"toomanycooksspoilthestew.
"AComprehensiveAlgorithmicApproachtoReadingInstruction|Page132017,CapitLearning,Inc.
Acomprehensivelistofphonologicalunitsofspeechbiggerthanthephonemeincludethefollowing:1.
Onset(thebeginningconsonantsofaword:tr-ap)2.
Rime(thevowelandfollowingconsonantsofaword:tr-ap)1.
Syllable(thelargestphonologicalunitsofspeechwithinaword:rab-bit)2.
Word(anentirewordasawhole:the,you,we)EnglishisanAlphabetwhichencodesphonemesbywritingdownletters.
Itshouldnotsurprisethatteachingstudentstolistentoanythingbutthephonemewoulddistractstudents'attentionawayfromthephoneme.
Readingwordsbydecodinglargeunitswithinthewordisatypeofphonicsinstructionknownas"analogy.
"Studentsbreakthewordintoonsetsandrimes,decodethem,andreadtheword.
Onsetsarethebeginningconsonants,andrimesarethevowelandfollowingconsonants(e.
g.
,cl-amp,str-eet).
Studentsaretaughttouseonsetsandrimesinknownkeywordstoreadunknownwords(i.
e.
,usetheknownword"drink"toread"dream,"or"bake"toread"make").
Theprocessofreadingwordsbyanalogyhasbeenstudiedextensively.
However,researchhasshownthatbeginningreadersarebetteroffwithphonicsinstructionthatbeginswiththe"smallerunit,"i.
e.
,thephoneme,thanthelargeronset-rimeunit.
Forexample,EhriandRobbins(1992)showedthatbeginningreadersneededtomasterthesound-to-spellingassociationsbeforetheyshowedanyabilitytotransfertheirknowledgeofknownwordstoreadnewwordssharingrimes.
BruckandTreiman(1992)foundthatbeginningreadersweremoresuccessfulanalogizingknowntonewwordswhentheyreliedonsound-to-spellingassociationsratherthanononsetsandrimes.
SeealsoNationandHulme(1997).
Somuchforcomparingprogramsthatemployeitherthesound-to-spellingunit(phoneme)ortheonsetandrimeunit.
Butwhathappenswhenresearcherscompareprogramsthatemploytheonsetandrimeunitwithanotherprogramthatemploystheonsetandrimeunitplusthesound-to-spellingunitA4yearstudyinvestigatedtheeffectoftwotypesofreadingprograms(LinneaC.
Ehri,EricSatlow&IreneGaskins,2009).
Inthefirst,readingistaughtbyteachingstudentstodecodelargeunitswithinwords(onsetsandrimes),asexplainedabove.
Studentsarethentaughttouseonsetsandrimesinknownkeywordstoreadunknownwords(i.
e.
,usetheknownword"drink"toread"dream,"or"bake"toread"make").
Inthesecond,readinginstructionincludedadditionaltraininginsound-to-spellinganalysis,i.
e.
,studentswerealsotaughttodecodesound-to-spellingpatternssmallerthantheonsetandrimeunit,i.
e.
,onthelevelofthephoneme.
Thisstudywasintendedtodeterminewhethertheadditionofasound-to-spellingfoundationwouldimprovetheeffectivenessoftheonsetandrimeapproach.
Thestudentswhoweretaughttoanalyzesound-to-spellingrelationsinkeywordsdiddevelopsignificantlybetterworddecodingandspellingskillsthanstudentswhoweretaughttoanalyzeonsetandrimeunitsinkeywords.
Theevidencethusindicatesthatbeginningreadersshouldmastersound-to-spellingassociationsonthelevelofthephonemebeforetheylearnonsetsandrimes.
AComprehensiveAlgorithmicApproachtoReadingInstruction|Page142017,CapitLearning,Inc.
Thesuperiorityofsyntheticphonicsoveranalyticphonicswasreportedinasevenyearlongitudinalstudy(TheEffectsofSyntheticPhonicsTeachingonReadingandSpellingAttainment,Asevenyearlongitudinalstudy,RhonaJohnstonandJoyceWatson,2005).
Thesyntheticphonicsgroupoutperformedtheanalyticphonicsgroupinreadingandspelling.
Furthermore,theanalyticphonicsgroupreceivedadditionalphonologicalawarenesstrainingand"weretaughthowtosegmentandblendspokenwordsatthelevelofbothrhymesandphonemes,withouttheaidofprintorletters.
"Andyetthesyntheticphonicsgroup"showedasignificantadvantageinabilitytoidentifyingphonemesinspokenwords,performingevenbetterthanthegroupthathadexperienceddirecttraininginthisskill…"The"longvowel"and"shortvowel"markerswhichareubiquitousinAmericanclassroomsarelongoverdueforarebranding.
Linguists(andsoundengineers)agreethatlongvowelsarenotnecessarilylong,andshortvowelsarenotnecessarilyshort(TheAmericanWayofSpelling:TheStructureandOriginsofAmericanEnglishOrthography,RichardL.
Venezky,1999,p.
62-63).
TheresearchindicatesthatPAinstructionismoreeffectivewhentaughtwiththeuseofletters(NRP2-4).
Strategiesthatteachstudentstomanipulatephonemes(andotherpartsofspeech)orallyarenotaseffective,yetarestillcommonpracticeandevenincludedintheCCSS.
Thereasonbehindthispracticeseemslogicalifitisassumedthatphonemicawarenessisthecauseandphonemicawarenessistheeffect.
Butthisisfarfromcertain,asitisquitepossiblethatreadinginstructionisthecauseandphonemicawarenessistheeffect(DoesawarenessofspeechasasequenceofphonesarisespontaneouslyMorais,J.
,Luz,G.
,Algeria,J.
,&Bertels,P.
,1979).
Itisnowcommonpracticetoteachyoungstudentstomemorizeanumberofimportanthigh-frequencywords,orsight-words.
Ashortlistincludes:I,a,you,are,we,were,of,was,that,etc.
Theterm"high-frequency"requiresnoexplanation,buttheterm"sight-words"does.
Sight-Wordsarethoughttobewordsthatcannotbedecodedandthereforemustbememorizedby"sight,"hencetheterm"Sight-Words.
"Itisthesamelogicunderlyingthe"LookandSay"andWhole-Wordapproaches.
Butresearchershaveshownhowdifficultitistomemorizeastringofnon-alphabeticsymbols(Ehri&Wilce,1987;Jorm,1981).
Divorcedfromtheirphonemicpronunciations,lettersarenotmuchmorethanarandomarrangementofsymbols.
HavingstudentsmemorizeSight-Wordsinwhichnoassociationbetweenphonemesandspellingisestablishedoffersnoopportunityforthestudenttolinksoundstospellingpatterns—becausewordssuchas"you,are,is,the"arepresentedasrandomcollectionsofisolatedsymbolsthatmustbememorizedwithoutrhymeorreason.
TheseSight-Wordsareeitherforgottenorbecomealoadonthechild'smemory.
(Theissueofirregularlyspelledwordsandhowweteachthemwillbedealtwithbelow.
)AsthestructureoftheEnglishwritingsystemisalphabetic,decodingismostefficientlyandsuccessfullytaughtusingphonicsinstruction.
TheNRPhasthusputtheGreatDebatebehindus,withWhole-WordandWhole-Languageapproachesathingofthepast,andphonemicawareness(PA)andphonicsinstructionanintegralpartofmanyreadingcurricula.
ButtheNRP'sindecisionamongthevarioustypesofphonicsapproaches,togetherwiththeirinsistencethatphonics"isnotthecompletesolution"(NRP2-100)hasleftthedooropentoanewapproach,onewerefertoasa"MultipleStrategy"approach.
ManyofthesestrategiesarenotbasedonAComprehensiveAlgorithmicApproachtoReadingInstruction|Page152017,CapitLearning,Inc.
thelatestresearch.
Furthermore,thesheernumberofstrategiesusedtoteachchildrentoreadcanconfusethechildinchoosingwhichstrategytoimplement.
Weconcludethefollowing:Anewphonicsprogramshouldbedevised,onethatisbasedsolelyonthephonologicalunitthatmattersinEnglish:thephoneme.
Forthisnewphonicsprogramtobeeffectiveitshouldnotemploy"MultipleStrategies.
"Aquestionremains:Cananewresearch-basedphonicsprogrambecreatedPart3:ANewEvidence-BasedApproachDianeMcGuinness,EarlyReadingInstruction:WhatScienceReallyTellsUsaboutHowtoTeachReading,MITPress(Cambridge,MA),2004DianeMcGuinness,LanguageDevelopmentandLearningtoRead:TheScientificStudyofHowLanguageDevelopmentAffectsReadingSkill,MITPress(Cambridge,MA),2005Share,OrthographicLearning,PhonologyandtheSelf-TeachingHypothesis,2008DianeMcGuinnessanalyzedthereadingresearchandcontendedthattheprocessof"Decoding"canbeeasilyexplainedbyaskingasimplequestion:HowdidthewordsgetonthepageinthefirstplaceThewrittenwordisnotanartifact,likearock,oratree.
Itisaman-madeinvention.
Ifweunderstandhowwordsmadetheirwayfromourmindstothepage(aprocesscalledEncoding),thenwecaneasilyexplainhowwordsmaketheirwayoffthepageandintoourminds(aprocesscalledDecoding).
McGuinnessreferstothissystemasaReversibleCode,butwepreferthetermalgorithm.
Analgorithmisasetofpreconfiguredassociationsorrules(ifthisthenthat)foreithersolvingacomplexproblemorachievingacomplexgoalinafinitenumberofsteps.
Whilethefinalproductmightseemcomplex,eachsmallstepwithinthealgorithmissimpleandrequireslittlethought(e.
g.
,cheesecakerecipe,Rubik'sCube).
AnalgorithmforreadingisasetofpreconfiguredassociationsbetweenSoundsandSpellingPatterns.
Thesesmallsteps—whenfollowedwithfidelity—achieveacomplexgoal:Decoding.
(WhenComprehensionisapplied,thenetresultis:Reading.
)Whilethefinalproductmightseemcomplex,eachsmallstepwithinthealgorithmissimpleandrequireslittlethought.
McGuinnessisnotalone.
ThisideaisechoedbyShare:Becauseallwordsarenovelatsomepointinreadingdevelopment,thereadermustpossesssomealgorithm,albeitimperfect,yetnonethelessfunctionalforindependentlyidentifyingwordsencounteredforthefirsttimeineverydayreading…Aneffectiveorthographymustfirstprovidethereaderwithameansfordecipheringnewwordsindependently.
Thisappliestoboththeyoungchildnewtotheworldofprint,andtotheskilledreaderencounteringaneworunfamiliarword.
Furthermore—andthisiscrucialtoskilllearninginalldomains—thisalgorithmicprocessmustlaythefoundationsfortherapiddirect-retrievalmechanism.
Thisdo-it-yourself"or"self-teaching"functionofdecodingisprobablythechiefvirtueofalphabeticscripts—supplyingnotonlyaneconomicalmeansforidentifyingnewwords(viaprint-to-soundtranslation),butcritically,establishingthedetailedorthographicAComprehensiveAlgorithmicApproachtoReadingInstruction|Page162017,CapitLearning,Inc.
representationsonwhichrapidfullyunitizedskilledwordrecognitionisfounded.
(Share,2008,OrthographicLearning,PhonologyandtheSelf-TeachingHypothesis.
p.
38-39)AccordingtoSharethisalgorithmas"imperfect"asthereaderisconstantlyundergoingdevelopmentalchangesastheydecipherandlearnnewwords,aconceptSharereferstoasLexicalization(Share,2008,OrthographicLearning,PhonologyandtheSelf-TeachingHypothesis.
p.
41).
Ifwordsarelocks,andanalgorithmisakeythatsmoothlyslidesin,twistsandopenseachlock.
then"Lexicalization"isthe"jiggle"youneedtogivethekeywhenthelockgetsoldandsomerustsetsin.
Thekeystillworks,youjustgottoplaywithitabit.
McGuinnessboldlyclaimedthatallpreviousEnglishcurriculawereflawed.
Whole-Languagecurriculafailedbecausetheydidnotteachhowtodecode.
ButPhonicscurriculafailedbecausetheydidnotteachtheentirecode.
Atruephonicsprogrammustteachtheentirealgorithm,meaning:everysound-to-spellingassociationthatexistsinthatwritingsystem.
IfDecodingisaskillthatisaccomplishedbylearninghowtoimplementanalgorithmthenaComprehensiveAlgorithmislikeacompletesetoftools.
McGuinnessstressedthatallreadinginstructionmustbebasedonthenatureofthelanguagebeingtaught.
SinceEnglishisanalphabeticlanguagewhichisbasedonthephoneme,itfollowsthatonlythephonemeshouldbetaught.
Shededucesthatteachingstudentstoreadbyhavingthemlistentosyllableswillonlydistractthemfromlisteningtotheonlyunitofspeechtheyneedtobe"aware"of:thephoneme.
Researchhasbackedupthisassertion.
(Theeffectsofsyllableinstructiononphonemicawarenessinpreschoolers,TeresaA.
Ukrainetz,JanaeJ.
Nuspl,KimberlyWilkerson,SarahRoseBeddes,2015).
Sheappliedthesamelogictotheteachingofonsetsandrimes.
Recentresearchhasconfirmedthisiswell(Phonologicalskillsandtheirroleinlearningtoread:ameta-analyticreview,Melby-LervgM,LysterSA,HulmeC.
,2012.
).
McGuinnessobservedthatbecausethephonemeisparamountthanteachingchildrenthenamesofthelettersduringreadinginstructionisnotapriority,andmaybeadistraction.
Lastly,McGuinnesswarnedthathavingstudentsmemorizesight-wordsencouragesthemtonotrelyonadecodingstrategy—thelogicalfoundationofphonics.
Thisistheoppositeofwhatwewanttoencourage.
McGuinnesssetouttowriteher"algorithm.
"ShelistedthephonemesintheEnglishlanguage(thereareabout40)andthenlistedtheSpellingAlternativesforeachphoneme.
Somesoundshaveonlyonespelling,andsomeasmanyasten.
Itisagrandproject,andbecausepronunciationsconstantlychange,itisaneverendingproject.
AsMcGuinnesssawit,everywordinEnglish—from"rat"to"aristocrat"—isdecodable.
TherearenoSight-WordsinEnglish,andnowordsareread"bysight.
"Thismeansthatnowordsare"storedwhole"inourmemory.
Instead,ourbraindecodeseverywordweseeusingthe"algorithm.
"Ourbrainissoefficientatdecodingthatwearenolongerawareitishappening.
AgainMcGuinnessisnotalone.
Otherresearchershavearguedthatallwordsbeginas"unfamiliar"andtransitionto"familiar,"andthatallreadersbeginas"novices"andtransitiontoAComprehensiveAlgorithmicApproachtoReadingInstruction|Page172017,CapitLearning,Inc.
"experts"(Share,2008,OrthographicLearning,PhonologyandtheSelf-TeachingHypothesis.
p.
38-39).
TheNRPlamentsthatphonicsisnotacompletesolutionbecauseEnglishisnotlikeotherlanguagessuchasSpanish.
Spanishisatransparentcode,andEnglishisanopaquecode.
ButMcGuinness's"algorithm,"withitsone-to-onecorrespondencebetweeneverysoundandeveryspellingpatterninEnglishmakesreadingEnglishnodifferentthanreadingSpanish:bothlanguagesaredecodable.
(The"opaqueness"oftheEnglishwritingsystemlimitsone'scertaintyofaword'spronunciation,butnotits"decodability.
")Iftoday'scurriculause"MultipleStrategies,"thenCAPITReadingisthefirstandonlySingularStrategyapproachtoreadinginstruction.
InCAPITReadingstudentsaretaughtthephonemesassociatedwitheachletterofthealphabet,bothlowercase,anduppercase.
Onlythephonemesaretaughtduringreadinginstruction—notthenamesoftheletters—becauseonlyPhonemicAwarenessisnecessaryfordecodinganalphabet.
(Letternamesarenottaughtasitisassumedstudentsalreadylearnedthemorwilllearnthemfromtheteacher.
)PhonemesaretaughtusingaSingleStrategy:Studentshearasoundandlearntospellthesound.
CAPITReadingneverteachesstudentstomanipulatephonemesorally.
CAPITReadingalwaysutilizesletterstoteachphonemicawareness.
Thisisbasedontheresearchthatphonemicawarenessexercisesthatutilizelettersaremoreeffectivethanthosethatdonot.
InthewordsoftheNationalReadingPanelReport:"Instructionthattaughtphonememanipulationwithlettershelpednormallydevelopingreadersandat-riskreadersacquirePAbetterthanPAinstructionwithoutletters.
"(NRP,2000,2-4.
Seealso2-6.
)TohelpEstablishsound-to-spellingassociationsCAPITReadingprovidesa"visualmnemonic"foreveryletteroftheEnglishalphabet,bothlowercase,anduppercase(eebelowfortwoofourmnemonics).
AComprehensiveAlgorithmicApproachtoReadingInstruction|Page182017,CapitLearning,Inc.
Thesevisualmnemonicshelpestablishanobjectiveassociationinthestudent'smindbetweentheSoundandSpelling,unburdeningthestudent'smemory,andeasingthelearningprocess.
AVisualMnemonicislike"cognitivesuperglue,"magicallyandquicklypairingtogether"Sounds"and"Spellings"tooneanotherwithalastingbond.
TheNRP(2-125)extolsthevirtueofvisualmnemonicswhichitbelieveshelpschildrenwiththedifficulttaskofmemorizing"arbitraryandmeaningless"relationsbetween"shapesandsounds.
"(ForafullerdiscussiononhowwechoseourmnemonicsCLICKHERE.
)Oncestudentslearnthephonemesassociatedwiththelowercaseanduppercaseletters,theyaretaughttoblendthemintoVC(VowelConsonant)andCVCwords.
Studentsimmediatelybeginreadingbookstheycanreadbasedonthe(simple)wordsandsentencestheycandecode.
WhenstudentsmasterCVCwordstheyprogresstoConsonantClustersofalltypes(e.
g.
,ant,milk,clock,stamp).
Studentsthenbegindecodingmulti-syllablewords(e.
g.
,rabbit,picnic).
Allthisisdoneusingthesamestrategy:studentsdecodewordsbyapplyingthealgorithmtodecodenewwordsonespellingandonesoundatatime.
Studentsarethenintroducedtoadditionalsoundandspellingpatterns.
Aseachnewdigraphordiphthongisintroducedstudentsaretaughttodecodenewwordsandsentences.
Again,thestrategyisthesame:studentsdecodewordsbyapplyingthealgorithmtodecodenewwordsonespellingandonesoundatatime.
CAPITReadinghelpsstudentsunderstandthealgorithmbycategorizing"SpellingPatterns"clearly.
Weprovideanexamplebelow:theSound/r/canbespelledinfourdifferentways:"r"asinrake,"R"asinRun,"wr"asinwrench,and"rh"asinrhino:rakeSpelling2RunwrenchrhinoSpelling1Spelling3Spelling4CAPITReadingLevel2,Lesson36CAPITReadingLevel2,Lesson13CAPITReadingLevel3,Lesson11CAPITReadingLevel4,Lesson112017,CapitLearning,Inc.
Somesoundshaveasinglespellingpattern,suchas/th/asinbathand/ar/asincar.
Butsomehaveasmanyasten(thesound/ee/).
Fewlanguageshavemany"SpellingPatterns"fortheirsoundsofspeech,andnolanguagehasasmanyspellingpatternsasEnglish.
Thisisaproductofuniquehistoricaldevelopmentswhichledtoanamalgamationoffiveseparatelanguagesandspellingcodes.
ThisalsoexplainswhyEnglishisthemostdifficultwritingsystemtomaster,andwhysomanythinkitis"undecodable.
"AComprehensiveAlgorithmicApproachtoReadingInstruction|Page192017,CapitLearning,Inc.
Acomprehensiveandcompletephonicsprogramwould,bynecessity,teacheverySoundinEnglish,andthenteachhowtheseSoundsarespelledwithoutomittingasinglespelling.
Inourestimation,thereare46SoundsintheEnglishlanguage(weinclude/air/and/ul/asuniquephonemesbecauseoftheiruniquespellingpatterns).
These46Soundscanbespelledinabout181SpellingPatterns.
CAPITReadingteachesstudentseachandeverySoundandSpellingonelessonatatime.
TheCAPITReadingcurriculumisaComprehensiveAlgorithmicApproachtoreadinginstructionbecauseouralgorithmteachestheEnglishalphabetcodeinitsentirety.
Eachportionofthealgorithmisintroducedoneperlesson,sostudentsneverhavetolearnmorethanonenewconceptatatime.
Ineachlesson,studentsaretaskedwithreadingandspellingnovelwordsthatcontainthenewspelling.
Sufficientexposuretonovelwordsisimportantforskilledreading.
Accordingtothe"self-teaching"hypothesisproposedbyJormandShare(Jorm&Share,1983;Share,1995),"phonologicalrecoding(print-to-soundtranslation)performsaself-teachingfunctionenablingthelearnertoacquirethedetailedorthographicrepresentationsnecessaryforfast,efficientvisualwordrecognition"(Share,1999).
Shareelaborates:Theself-teachinghypothesis(Firth,1972;Jorm,1979;Jorm&Share,1983;Share,1995)proposesthattheabilitytotranslateunfamiliarprintedwordsintotheirspokenequivalents("phonologicalrecording"orsimply"decoding")isthecentralmeansbywhichorthographicrepresentationsareacquired.
Eachsuccessfuldecodingofanewwordisassumedtoprovideanopportunitytoacquiretheword-specificorthographicinformationthatisthefoundationofskilledvisualwordrecognition.
Exhaustivephonologicalrecordingisassumedtobecriticalfortheformationofwell-specifiedorthographicrepresentationsbecauseitdrawsthereader'sattentiontothegraphemicdetail—theorderandidentityofthelettersandhowtheymapontothephonologicalrepresentation—thespokenform(seeEhri,1992,2005lPerfetti,1992).
Inthisway,phonologicalrecordingfunctionsasaself-teachingorbuilt-inteacherenablingachildtoindependentlydeveloptheword-specificorthographicknowledgenecessaryforskilledreading.
Theself-teachingideaisalittleunconventionalinthattheprocessoforthographiclearningisassumedtotakeplaceunintentionally,asabyproductoftheprocessofdecoding—readersdonotusuallyaimtoanalyzeandrememberspellings,itjusthappensandprobablywithoutourbeingawareoftheprocess.
Itisimportanttonotetoothattheself-teachingidearejectstheintuitivelyappealingnotionthatidentitiesofmostnewprintedwordscanbedirectlytaught(byteachers,parents,orpeers)orcanbeguessedonthebasisofcontextualinformation(seeShare,1995fordetaileddiscussion).
Onlydecodingseemstoofferasufficientlyreliablemeansforidentifyingnovelletterstrings(owingtothefundamentallyalphabeticnatureofthewrittencode)therebyprovidingtheopportunitiesfor(incidental)learningofthevisualform(spelling)oftheseitems).
(Share,2008,OrthographicLearning,PhonologyandtheSelf-TeachingHypothesis.
p.
35-36)AComprehensiveAlgorithmicApproachtoReadingInstruction|Page202017,CapitLearning,Inc.
InCAPITReadingstudentsareexposedtotheentirealphabetcodeandthroughit,theyaretaughttodecodecountlesswordsenablingstudentstodevelopthe"word-specificorthographicknowledgenecessaryforskilledreading.
"BecausetheCAPITReadingalgorithmteachestheentirealphabetcode—all46Soundsand181SpellingPatterns—nootherstrategiesarenecessarytoproducesuccessfulreaders.
OurSingleStrategyapproachtoreadinginstructionenablesstudentstodecodewithoutconfusion.
Insteadofteachingstudentstomemorizehigh-frequencywordsbysight,CAPITReadingteachesstudentshowtodecodethem.
Eachhigh-frequencywordistaughtonlyafterthestudenthaslearnedthepartofthecodenecessarytomasterthatword.
Forexample,theword"the"willbetaughtonlyafterthestudenthaslearnedthedigraph/th/;theword"are"willbetaughtonlyafterthestudenthaslearnedthediphthong/ar/;thewords"to,do,andyou"utilizeanalternativespellingforthesound/oo/,thatistaughtafterstudentslearnthenormativespelling"oo"(e.
g.
,moon,soon).
CAPITReadingencouragesstudentstoapproacheverywordinEnglishasawordtodecode.
AstudentofCAPITReadingisawarethat"learningtoread"and"learningtospell"arenotdistincttasks,buttwosidesofthesamecoin.
EverylessonintroducesanewSoundandSpellingPatternwhichenablesthestudenttodecodenewwords.
Thestudentisthentaskedwithmemorizingandspellingthesewords.
Thestudentthustreatsspellingandreadingasasingulartask.
Although"reading"leadstoorthographiclearning,"spelling"isamorepowerfullearningtoolthatleadstomoreconsistentorthographiclearning(Spellingasaself-teachingmechanisminorthographiclearning,DaphnaShahar-YamesandDavidL.
Share,2008).
WhydoesspellingofwordsleadtomoreconsistentorthographiclearningoutcomesthanreadingAccordingtoSharespellingmakes"additionalprocessingdemands"onthestudents,and"obligesthewritertoprocesseachandeveryletterinawordoneveryoccasionwhereasdecodingencounters,althoughlikelytobequiteexhaustiveinitially,areprobablylessexhaustiveonsubsequentoccurrences—particularlyinconnectedtext"(Share,2008,OrthographicLearning,PhonologyandtheSelf-TeachingHypothesis.
p.
71).
InstructionintheCAPITReadingprogramis"Guided"(seeConclusion)inthefullsenseoftheword.
Studentsneverhavetoguesswhattodonext,andneverhavetoguessananswer.
Studentsarenevershowninformationtheyhavenotlearned.
Ineveryinterface,theinformationispresenteddirectlyandclearly.
Ineverylesson,thestudentisexpectedtolearnonlyonenewskilloronenewconcept.
ConclusionWhyMinimalGuidanceDuringInstructionDoesNotWork:AnAnalysisoftheFailureofConstructivist,Discovery,Problem-Based,Experiential,andInquiry-BasedTeaching,PaulA.
Kirschner,JohnSweller,andRichardE,Clark.
EducationalPsychologist,2006.
Intheirarticle"WhyMinimalGuidanceDuringInstructionDoesNotWork:AnAnalysisoftheFailureofConstructivist,Discovery,Problem-Based,Experiential,andInquiry-BasedTeaching,"theauthorsPaulA.
Kirschner,JohnSweller&RichardE.
Clark,presenttheevidencethatGuidedInstructionismoreeffectiveandmoreefficientthanUnguidedInstruction,MinimalGuidedInstruction,ConstructivistLearning,DiscoveryLearning,Problem-BasedLearning,AComprehensiveAlgorithmicApproachtoReadingInstruction|Page212017,CapitLearning,Inc.
ExperientialLearning,andInquiry-BasedTeaching.
Theauthorspresent"Evidenceforthesuperiorityofguidedinstruction…inthecontextofourknowledgeofhumancognitivearchitecture,expert–novicedifferences,andcognitiveload"aswellas"evidencefromempiricalstudiesoverthepasthalf-centurythatconsistentlyindicatethatminimallyguidedinstructionislesseffectiveandlessefficientthaninstructionalapproachesthatplaceastrongemphasisonguidanceofthestudentlearningprocess.
"Mostimportantlyforourdiscussion,theauthorsarguethatMinimalGuidedInstruction(inallitsflavors)"ignores…thestructuresthatconstitutehumancognitivearchitecture.
"Twoaspectsofhumancognitivearchitectureare(1)long-termmemoryand(2)workingmemory.
Thegoalofallinstructionistocreatepositivechangeinthestudent'slong-termmemory.
Ifnothinghaschanged,thennothinghasbeenlearned.
Ifwecanstoreinformationinlong-termmemorywewillbeabletoremembermanynames,address,phonenumbersandcountlessskills.
Butforinformationtogetstoredinlong-termmemory,itmustfirstgetprocessedinthecognitivestructurewhereconsciousprocessingoccurs—workingmemory—whichhastwoknownlimitations:1.
Workingmemoryforgetsnewinformationwithin30secondsunlesstheinformationisrehearsed;2.
Workingmemoryhasasmallcapacity.
Sevenrandomdigitsornumbersstrainmostindividual'sworkingmemory.
Theselimitationsapplyonlytonewinformation.
Informationstoredinlong-termmemorycanbeextensiveandberecalledoverprolongedperiodsoftime.
AllformsofMinimalGuidanceInstructions,includingDiscoveryLearning,Problem-BasedLearning,ExperientialLearning,ConstructivistLearningandInquiry-BasedLearning,putacognitiveloadonworkingmemory.
Workingmemoryhastwobuilt-inlimitationswhendealingwithnewinformation.
MinimalGuidanceInstructionaddstothecognitiveloadofworkingmemorybyforcingthestudenttoexpendfurtherenergy"constructing"and"inquiring.
"GuidedInstructionpresentsthematerialtothestudentsclearlyandwithminimalcognitiveload,allowingtheirworkingmemorytoquicklygrasptheconceptandstoreitinlong-termmemory—aprocessknownaslearning.
Whiletheauthorsoftheabovestudydonotaddressreadingdirectly—butratherlearningingeneral—theirpaperisquiterelevanttoteachingchildrentoreadEnglish.
Wehavealonghistoryof"MinimalGuidedReadingInstruction.
"Somehavearguedthatchildrencanlearntoreadthesamewaytheylearntospeak,andthatreadingisa"LinguisticGuessingGame"(Whole-Language).
Otherstooka"balanced"approach(alittlephonics,someSight-Words,alittleWhole-Language).
Manyparentsandteachersstillswearthatsomekids"justlearntoreadontheirown.
"TheevidenceshowsthatMinimalGuidedInstructionhasfailedstudentsineveryfieldtheyhavebeentried.
Studentslearnbestwhenexpertscreategoodcurriculaandfindthebestwayofpresentingtheinformationtothestudent.
Itworksformusic,chess,andgymnastics,anditworksformathandscience.
Itcansurelyworkforreading.
AComprehensiveAlgorithmicApproachtoReadingInstruction|Page222017,CapitLearning,Inc.
5-year-oldchildrendonotneedtodotheworkofthelinguistandfigureouttheEnglishsound-to-spellingassociationsontheirown.
Adultscandotheheavyliftingforthem.
Thisiswhatwesetouttodo.
Wehopetheyenjoyourprogram.
AComprehensiveAlgorithmicApproachtoReadingInstruction|Page232017,CapitLearning,Inc.