Teacher Prep Survey Update and Guided Reading
Posted by Brainspring on 11th Dec 2014
Hi everyone,
It’s been just over a month since I posted the survey about how prepared teachers feel to teach struggling readers in their classrooms. Thanks so much to those of you who took the time to answer the survey! It’s great to know that you’re out there reading the blog and interested in ways to help reach struggling students.
I just want to share a few highlights from the results with everyone.
1) No one selected higher than 5 on the question, How well do you feel your college teaching program prepared you to instruct struggling readers? (Please judge on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being very well prepared and 1 being not at all prepared.)
2) Nearly 80% selected “No” in response to, Did you college teaching program include information on dyslexia?
Then, almost 90% selected “No” to answer the follow up, Have you received any professional development on dyslexia and effective teaching strategies for working with students with dyslexia?
3) And finally, most people responded “time” and “administrative support” to answer, What do you consider the biggest challenge confronting teachers when it comes to struggling readers?
These answers suggest to me that there is a lot of work that can be done to improve teacher preparation programs. And that it’s not just teachers who need access to training and information, administrators need to become aware of how to reach struggling readers and how to support their teachers in that task.
When Guided Reading Isn’t Enough
I also wanted to share with you a video I put together recently to help explain to teachers and administrators why they might need a tool, like Phonics First, in addition to Guided Reading that might be more appropriate for struggling readers. Please watch it and let me know what you think. If you think it applies to your classroom or school, share it with your administrators.