ERIC ED436749: Reading Recovery Teacher Training: Communities of Learners Engaged in Inquiry.

8 Pages·1998·0.2 MB·English

by  ERIC

DOCUMENT RESUME
CS 013 801
ED 436 749
Moore, Paula
AUTHOR
Reading Recovery Teacher Training: Communities of Learners
TITLE
Engaged in Inquiry.
Reading Recovery Council of North America, Columbus, OH.
INSTITUTION
PUB DATE
1998-00-00
NOTE
7p
Journal Articles (080)
Non-Classroom (055)
PUB TYPE
Guides
Network News; p1-5 Spr 1998
JOURNAL CIT
MF01/PC01 Plus Postage.
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Classroom Techniques; *Early Intervention; Instructional
DESCRIPTORS
Effectiveness; Primary Education; *Professional Training;
Program Descriptions; *Reading Difficulties; *Reading
Instruction; Student Needs; *Teacher Education; *Teacher
Role
*Reading Recovery Projects; Social Constructivism
IDENTIFIERS
ABSTRACT
This paper examines the original design of the Reading
Recovery teacher training program as it relates to sociocultural theory. It
also discusses how two constructs implicit in the sociocultural theory
(community of learners and the role of inquiry) relate to Reading Recovery
training. The paper notes that sociocultural theory predicts that human
knowledge is socially constructed through shared activities and
communication, and that Reading Recovery teacher training is organized to
provide both shared activities (teaching demonstrations) and opportunity for
communication (discussions). It concludes that although the constructs of
community-of-learners and inquiry are current North American frames for
understanding teaching and learning, they were inherent in the original
design of the Reading Recovery teacher training program.
(RS)
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Reading Recovery Teacher Training: Communities of
Learners Engaged in Inquiry.
by Paula Moore
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Points of view or opinions stated in this
document do not necessarily represent
1
official OERI position or policy.
Tetwork
Spring 1998
ews
READING
A Refereed Publication for Reading Recovery:IP
RECOVERY'
Teacher Leaders, Site Coordinators, and
COUNCIL
Trainers in Canada and the United States.
OF NORTH AMERICA
Reading Recovery Teacher Training:
In This Issue...
Communities of Learners Engaged in Inquiry
Communities of Learners Engaged
We prepared teachers for the Reading
PAULA MOORE
in Inquiry
1
Recovery program in a novel way, but a
LEADER TRAINER
5
Missouri Teacher Leaders
way which had many advantages. The
UNIVERSITY OF
key word in the development and
MAINE
5
Notes from the Editor
implementation of the inservice pro-
Followup Study for Reading Recovery
gram was again observation and learn-
n the Fall 1997
6
in Plainfield, IL
ing that was embedded in the situation.
Network News I
One teacher taught one child. On the
Network of Support For Successful
examined
10
Implementation
other side of a one-way screen the
teacher training in
teacher's peers watched intently the
relation to three
13
New Publications and Products
child's behavior and the teacher's deci-
models for teach-
4460,
Getting the Most From Your Reading
sions. When the child struggled the
ing and learning:
14
Recovery Program
observers anticipated the teacher's next
instructor-centered, student-centered, and
17
Membership Ideas
move.
community-centered (Rogoff, Matusov, &
White, 1996). Typically, the theories on
These observing teachers were them-
17
Dates to Remember
which these models are based have been used
selves being tutored, at the same time.
17
Copyright Notice
to predict how children learn and how they
Their tutor asked questions about the
18
should be taught. However, the theories and
Publications and Products
child's difficulties, and the teacher's
consequent models can also be applied to pre-
decisions. That tutor was herself in
19
Membership Application
dict teacher learning and education. I suggest
training and how she ran the session
20
Positions Available
that the original design of the Reading
was analyzed later with her tutor-trainer
Recovery training program (Clay & Watson,
who had been present. (p. 192)
1983) closely follows the principles of a com-
Nearly twenty years later this design is still
munity-centered model of teacher education.
effective in helping teachers learn to observe
By making explicit the implications of the
children's reading and writing behaviors and
theory that undergirds this model, Reading
Network News
in facilitating changes in teaching practice. It
Recovery teacher leaders and trainers can bet-
is a simple, but brilliant, design for teacher
a publica-
Network News,
The
ter understand, plan for, and evaluate Reading
tion of the Reading Recovery
education. An act as complex as teaching
Recovery training practices.
Council of North America, is
cannot be learned through the transmission of
produced twice annually for
The purpose of this article is to examine
knowledge, that is, by being told how to
Reading Recovery educators in
the original design of the Reading Recovery
teach. Teachers are really only able to under-
Canada and the United States.
teacher training program as it relates to socio-
Editorial offices are located at
stand teaching by engaging in teaching them-
cultural theory. In addition, I discuss how two
the
selves, and through watching and discussing
constructs implicit in the sociocultural theory,
teaching. Skilled teacher decision-making is
a) community-of-learners and b) the role of
dependent on knowledge of how the variables
Texas Woman's University
inquiry, relate to Reading Recovery training.
(i.e., the student, the teacher, the books, the
Harris County Dept. of Ed.
c/o 3715 West Pine Brook Way
procedures) interact and influence each other.
Original Design of the Reading
Houston, Texas 77059
These are key elements of the original design
713-694-6300 ext.312
Recovery Teacher Training Program
that I noted:
Fax [phone]
As you read the description of the original
observation linked to the potential for
[email protected]
design of the Reading Recovery teacher train-
learning,
ing program in Chapter 23 of Observing Young
Editor: Dianne Frasier
observers anticipating teacher moves;
Readers (Clay and Watson, 1983), note the
and
key elements that are essential to the design.
continued on next page
3
Spring 1998
NETWORK NEWS
2
Reading Recovery Teacher Training:
continued from previous page
share experience and to collectively, jointly, make sense of it.
the tutor (teacher leader) tutoringasking questions
Language is a means for transforming experience into cultural
about the child and the teaching.
knowledge and understanding. It is mainly through the medi-
In the next section I examine the sociocultural theory
um of spoken and written language that successive generations
which I suggest explains why we train teachers as we do, and
of a society benefit from the experience of the past, and it is
why it works.
also language that each new generation uses to share, dispute,
and define its own experience.
Sociocultural Theory
Language is, therefore, not just a means by which individu-
In the history of psychology, topics like learning and prob-
als can formulate ideas and communicate them, it is also a
lem-solving have typically been defined as processes which go
means for people to think and learn together. In Reading
on inside the head of each individual person. They have usual-
Recovery teacher training, language plays a key role: the
ly been studied through clinical experiments in which isolated
Teacher Leader uses language to guide the teachers' construc-
individuals perform tasks set by the researcher (Mercer, 1995).
tion of knowledge, teachers use language to question and chal-
In this classic tradition of experimental psychology, each
lenge, and teachers gradually come to shift their thinking as
experimental subject is seen merely as an individual represen-
they learn to use new language to describe learning and teach-
tative of the human race, being studied objectively by scien-
ing.
tists.
So, although it is useful to describe language as having two
In the real world, however, human beings do not learn in a
functions, its cultural function (communicating) and its psy-
clinical void. From birth, and except in unusual circumstances
chological one (thinking), they are not really separate. At the
(e.g., "wild" children or ware-housed orphans), children are
simplest level, whenever you talk, you have to think what to
surrounded by other people who interact with and communi-
say, and think about what you hear. You may spend some time
cate with them. As they mature, they become part of other
thinking about what people have said, what you said yourself,
social networks (e.g., school, college, church, work, volunteer
and what you might say on future occasions. Reading Recovery
organizations) that continue to shape their thinking, learning,
training offers teachers the chance to involve other people in
and development through social interaction. When viewed
their thoughts and to use conversation to develop their own
from this reality, it is hard to imagine separating human learn-
thoughts.
ing and development from the social context. However,
Vygotsky emphasized that learning is not simply a matter of
Vygotsky (1962, 1978), one of the major influences in socio-
cultural reproduction. It also involves transformation. As the
cultural theory, proposed an alternative psychological theory
learner appropriates the knowledge and procedures encoun-
that treats knowledge as something which is socially construct-
tered in interaction with others, he or she transforms them,
ed.
constructing his or her own personal version. But in the
How exactly did Vygotsky and those who interpret his theo-
process, he or she is also transformed: by taking over the cul-
ry (e.g., Bedrova & Leong, 1996; Berk & Wins ler, 1995;
ture's artifacts and practices, and their organizing cognitive
Rogoff, 1990; Tharp &. Gallimore, 1988; Wertsch, 1985) think
structure, the learner modifies his or her own cognitive struc-
that knowledge is constructed in a social context? They suggest
tures through which he or she perceives, interprets and orga-
that it is through conversation and shared activityparents
nizes the world. Therefore, Rogoff, Matusov, and White (1996)
cooing to newborns, children building a sand castle together,
learning.
use the term transformation of participation to describe
students studying about linguistics in a college course, teachers
The notion of transformation of participation is especially use-
watching a teaching session and discussing it. Paradoxically,
ful in predicting how the understandings of teachers in
even the study of individual development in clinical settings
Reading Recovery training are transformed through participa-
involves talk and joint activity as the researcher explains what
tion in observing and discussing teaching sessions. I returned to
the subject is to do, and maybe even demonstrates some por-
Chapter 23 in Observing Young Readers to find a description of
tion of the task, and the subject asks questions and provides
transformation of participation.
responses, which the researcher calls data. Furthermore, the
We wished to minimize the feelings of insecurity that
researcher analyzes and interprets the data according to her
teachers might initially feel about changing their teach-
current theories and reports the interpretation to other partici-
ing patterns and thinking differently about reading
pants in her research community. So, even in the clinical set-
instruction. Teachers were invited to teach. They were
ting of studying an individual, communication and language
reminded that they were experienced teachers and were
sharing is going on within a social context of shared conven-
urged to draw on their own experience when working
tions and expectations.
with the children. It was considered economical to move
In addition, for Vygotsky, language was central to learning
both children and teachers gradually from their existing
and development. Vygotsky described language as a psychologi-
competencies rather than to demand at the outset new
cal tool, something each of us uses to make sense of experi-
behaviors which might cause confusion and disrupt
ence. Language is also our essential cultural tool. We use it to
continued on next page
NETWORK NEWS
3
Spring 1998
Reading Recovery Teacher Training:
continued from previous page
imagine a different model, based on communities of
established and efficient responses.
action and inquiry. Here, knowledge and expertise are a
New concepts and activities were demonstrated and dis-
shared achievement, arising from joint engagement in
cussed, and these became part of the teachers' proce-
challenging activities that are personally significant to
dures. As the course continued, it became obvious from
the participants. (p. 8)
the teachers' discussions that their view of the child's
In terms of teacher education, in a community of learners,
task and of their own roles were changing. Our teachers,
teacherS become inquirers into their own practice in collabora-
at first, had their own theories about the task and the
tion with other members of the community of their peers and
characteristics of their pupils. By the end of the year and
colleagues. Following are some basic principles of a communi-
after the in-service course, they had acquired new theo-
ty-of-learners model suggested by Rogoff, Matusov, and White
ries about how they and their pupils performed and how
(1996) and Wells (1994):
they should perform. They were now able to question,
challenge, discuss, work out courses of action, and
Principles of a Community-of-Learners Model
explain their decisions in ways they could all understand
because these new theories were shared and explicit. (p.
All participants are active, not just the instructor or not
194)
just the learner.
The class organization involves dynamic group relations
In Reading Recovery, we have tended to describe this trans-
among class members who learn to take responsibility for
formation as a "shift." And we have particular transformations
their contribution to their own learning and to the
from
or shifts that we are looking for. Here is another excerpt
group's functioning.
Chapter 23 to demonstrate the specific shifts:
The organization involves a community working together
Topics raised by the teachers in these discussions suggest-
with all serving as resources to the others, with varying
ed that their attention to the reading process was shifting
roles according to their understanding of the activity at
from teaching for items of knowledge (letters known,
hand and differing and shifting responsibilities.
words remembered), and from getting the child to habit-
The discourse is often conversation, in the sense that peo-
uate a skill or memorize a new element, to developing in
ple build on each other's ideas on a common topic, guided
the child the confidence and willingness to use a variety
of strategies. Another feature of the shift in teaching was
by the instructor.
movement away from having the poor reader dependent
It is consistent within the community-of-learners model
on the teacher and towards teaching in such a way that
for the leader, under some circumstances, to provide
the children had many opportunities to teach them-
extensive explanations to assist the group.
selves. (pp. 198-199)
In a community-of-learners, competition is replaced with
collaboration and cooperation.
A construct that some educators have found useful when
In a community-of-learners, there is an atmosphere of
translating the sociocultural theory into practice is community
trust that allows colleagues to challenge and tussle with
of learners (Rogoff, Matusov, & White, 1996; Wells, 1994). If
knowledge is socially constructed, then one needs a community
ideas.
Note how the description of the original design of the
in which to construct it. This concept has particular relevance
Reading Recovery training program incorporates all the ele-
to the Reading Recovery training in that teachers come
together for a year-long training program and must learn to
ments described above.
learn from each other, guided by the teacher leader, through
During early training sessions, a tutor demonstrated test-
ing or teaching and another modeled the discussion pro-
discussion.
cedures for the new teachers. Demonstrations by the
Community of Learners
tutor were kept to a minimum and the first demonstra-
tions by the teachers themselves began after six weeks.
Rogoff, Matusov, and White (1996) describe the community
Children were brought to the in-service center, and a
of learners construct in this way: a community of learners
typical lesson was conducted for the teacher's peers. This
involves both active learners and a more skilled partner, who
provided several opportunities: the teacher's techniques
provides leadership and guidance, in a collaborative endeavor.
were evaluated, gently, by her peers; the watching teach-
Gordon Wells (1994) also describes a community of learners in
ers had a chance to observe, from the outside, the tutori-
his book, Changing Schools from Within: Creating Communities of
al situation which they usually worked inside, either as a
Inquiry:
teacher being tutored, or as a teacher tutoring a child;
Instead of the traditional model, in which knowledge
and the situation induced an objectivity among teachers
and expertise are treated as vested in those with power
in evaluating their own work.
and authority, whose responsibility it is to transmit them
began to
to those on lower levels in the hierarchy, I
continued on next page
Spring 1998
4
NETWORK NEWS
Reading Recovery Teacher Training:
continued from previous page
None enjoyed giving a demonstration lesson but almost
the child; then, we test and often change our hypotheses as we
all commented on its value. They described their ordeal
watch the lesson. The value in having eight to twelve people
as a 'very nerve-wracking experience', which they dread-
watching the same lesson is that we get to discuss our
ed, but a profitable one because 'one was reinforced for
hypotheses with others; we learn that someone else interprets
some things and was shown ways of improving'. They
behavior in a different way and can explain why. We defend
felt the sessions made them more aware, as teachers, of
our hypotheses and come to clarify even more our thinking
their own choices and assumptions, and more self-criti-
about teaching and learning. Gordon Wells (1994) noted:
cal. The discussion among the observers as the child and
It is not simply that, when faced with a problem, two
teacher worked was described by the teachers as 'invalu-
heads are better than one, but that, by struggling to
able'. (Clay & Watson, 1983, p. 197)
make explicit to the other group members one's percep-
tion of the problem and one's tentative ideas for its solu-
Often, teachers who have been isolated in a school culture
tion, one clarifies and extends one's understanding of
that evaluates, rather than supports, find it difficult to operate
the problem as a wholefor oneself as well as for the
in a community of learners. They misinterpret the discussion
others. (p. 247)
around teaching as a personal affront, rather than as a tool for
the group's learning. Therefore, teacher leaders may need to
spend time talking with training groups about the community-
Conclusion
of-learners model and about both the teacher leader's and the
The sociocultural theory predicts that human knowledge is
teachers' roles. Specifically, teacher leaders may need to sup-
socially constructed through shared activities and communica-
port teachers' efforts as they move from defensive to open dis-
tion. Reading Recovery teacher training is organized to pro-
cussion. With this support, most teachers, towards the end of
vide both shared activities (teaching demonstrations) and
the training year, are able to view challenges to teaching as a
opportunity for communication (discussions). Teacher leaders
learning tool, rather than personal criticism.
and trainers can better understand, plan for, and evaluate
Furthermore, when teachers in a training group begin to
Reading Recovery training by following the principles of a
understand that each inservice session is an inquiry into what
community-of-learners model and by fostering inquiry in each
the particular children know how to do and what they need to
inservice session. Although the constructs of community-of-
learn how to do next, then they are better able to understand
learners and inquiry are current North American frames for
that the challenges to teaching are an inquiry into how best to
understanding teaching and learning, they were inherent in
match teaching to individual children. And then, teachers are
the original design of the Reading Recovery teacher training
able to look at their own teaching as an inquiry, rather than
program. The principles of the community-of-learners model
"how to get it right" to please the teacher leader or to look
and inquiry provide useful guidelines for fostering teacher
good in front of the group. Therefore, another construct that
transformations in thinking and teaching.
is useful to consider in interpreting sociocultural theory in
Reading Recovery training is inquiry.
References
Bedrova, E., & Leong, D. J. (1996). Tools of the mind: the
The Role of Inquiry
Vygotskian approach to early childhood education.
Closely linked with the notion of a community-of-learners
Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc.
concept is the notion of inquiry. A community of learners
Berk, L. E., & Winsler, A. (1995). Scaffolding children's learn-
comes together in order to inquire into questions of relevance
ing: Vygotsky and early childhood education. Washington,
to the topic under study, and hopefully, to the learners them-
DC: National Association for the Education of Young
selves. I suggest that inquiry is a key thread throughout the
Children.
description of the original design of the training program and
Clay, M., & Watson, B. (1982). An inservice program for
it rnritinirtc to k
unifying
RP,rvPry
tl-n-Prl in
rl-,F
Reading Recovery teachers. In M. Clay, Observing young
training. Each teaching session is an inquiry into how the
readers: Selected papers (pp. 192-201). Portsmouth, NH:
child is learning and an exploration of what teaching moves
Heinemann.
might be made in order to foster the child's further learning.
Mercer, N. (1995). The guided construction of knowledge: Talk
As teacher leaders, it is important to keep this principle of
amongst teachers and learners. Philadelphia, PA:
inquiry always in the forefront when training teachers, because
Multilingual Matters LTD.
we really do not know what is going on in either the child's
Rogoff, B. (1990). Apprenticeship in thinking: Cognitive devel-
head or the teachers' heads. We can only infer, and therefore,
opment in social context. New York, NY: Oxford
we must be tentative. All suggestions are really hypotheses yet
University Press.
to be tested. We begin to make hypotheses about both the
child's processing and the teacher's teaching at the beginning
of a teaching session when we hear some information about
continued on next page
5
NETWORK NEWS
Spring 1998
Reading Recovery Teacher Training:
continued from previous page
Vygotsky, L. S. (1962). Thought and language. (E. Hanfmann
Rogoff, B, Matusov, E, & White, C. (1996). Models of teaching
& G. Vakar, Eds. & Trans.). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
and learning: Participation in a community of learners. In
(Original work published 1934)
D. R. Olson & N. Torrance (Eds.), The handbook of educa-
Wells, G. (1994). Changing schools from within: Creating com-
tion and human development (pp. 388-414). Oxford, UK:
munities of inquiry. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Blackwell.
Wertsch, J. V. (Ed.). (1985). Culture, communication, and cog-
Tharp, R. G., & Gallimore, R. (1988). Rousing minds to life:
nition: Vygotskian perspectives. New York, NY: Cambridge
Teaching, learning, and schooling in social context. New
University Press.
York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of
higher psychological processes. (M. Cole, V. John-Steiner,
S. Scribner, & E. Souberman, Eds.). Cambridge, MA:
Harvard University Press.
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