Language & Reading Study Group: A Recap | Fall 2021
The Language and Reading Study group continued discussions regarding pressing literacy-related topics in our province (Alberta, Canada).
We have found, through our discussions, that interprofessional collaboration is key when planning for literacy supports in our schools.
Researchers, SLPs, and Teachers working together for Alberta’s students seems to be a path forward, despite the many obstacles these collaborations often face, within our system.
Multisyllabic Word Reading & Morphological Awareness: What & Why?
In October, our topic was “Multisyllabic Word Reading & Morphological Awareness: What & Why?” We discussed the following paper: Reading Longer Words: Insights Into Multisyllabic Word Reading by Lindsay Heggie & Lesly Wade-Woolley (2017). Dr. Wade-Woolley continues to donate her time to our group and we were so grateful to have her attend to discuss this paper. Based on our discussion, the following were ideas we considered:
Morphological awareness, as an instructional tool, can begin right away. Can SLPs and Teachers work together to plan for this, as a universal support?
What is the level of knowledge within schools and beyond regarding morphological awareness? If administrators and leaders do not know about the research behind how children learn to read, are these approaches supported?
As the paper indicated, 90% of our words in English are multisyllabic, therefore there is a need to consider how we are teaching our children to read longer words.
We discussed the need for morphological awareness instruction as a strategy to help break down longer words and to teach meaning of the word.
Also brought forward was the Idea of “set for variability” or flexibility in using different vowel types to help decode. We discussed how this idea differs from traditional practice of memorizing how the word looks/based on “sight”.
The following practical resource, designed for teachers and SLPs: Teaching Morphology to Improve Literacy (Zeh, 2017), was shared with the group.
Lyndsay and I initially obtained a copy of this resource last spring, during a meeting with Dr. Lisa Archibald from the University of Western Ontario, whose work has also been influencing our discussions, especially when considering language abilities in our students.
Overall, we hope teachers are becoming more comfortable with the idea of teaching morphological awareness as a strategy for reading/”tackling” longer words and as a language-based intervention strategy.
Morphological Awareness Strategies to Promote Academic Success at Tier 1 Through Interprofessional Collaboration
In November, I was as nervous as could be to host Dr. Ginger Collins. Our reading assignment was the paper: “Morphological Awareness Strategies to Promote Academic Success at Tier 1 Through Interprofessional Collaboration” by Ginger Collins & Julie Wolter (2019). The following were some of the points brought forward:
Morphological awareness as a teaching strategy covers essentially both sides of the Reading Rope (Language comprehension and Decoding), so as an instructional strategy, it makes sense to invest time into exploring how this could be implemented. Dr. Collins has a number of papers discussing practical implementation ideas for teachers and SLPs looking to explore interprofessional collaboration through morphological awareness instruction.
According to the The World Health Organization (WHO), interprofessional collaboration is used as a means for solving a variety of problems. In our context, this can refer to SLPs, teachers, and researchers supporting students in achieving academic outcomes.
We also discussed the benefits and challenges of MTSS (Multitiered Systems of Support) and how this is often talked about within districts, but not really implemented as it was intended. At length, we discussed barriers to its implementation, within districts.
Explicit and Systematic Vocabulary Instruction
Finally, in December, we covered a topic that has been near and dear to our hearts. Since 2018, Lyndsay and I have been exploring and presenting on the topic of explicit and systematic Vocabulary Instruction.
Many may not know this, but we started presenting on this topic at a local school division, within Early Learning. It was a way for us to get “science of reading” and other research based practices, such as explicit and systematic instruction into the hands of Early Learning educators and our Teams.
We were unable to take the information further, into the hands of elementary or junior high educators, but hoped to at least start a discussion around current teaching practices, science of reading, and the importance of explicit instruction.
Since then, we have presented on Word Learning and Vocabulary Instruction, internationally, at the Apraxia Kids Conference (virtual, 2019) and provincially at various Alberta Teachers’ Conventions (Endless Skies and Calgary City, 2020).
Two influencing webinars for our deep dive into understanding word learning were Dr. Pamela Snow’s presentation: Vocabulary Development and Early Reading Success and Emina McClean’s presentation: How to Teach Vocabulary for Reading Comprehension.
Our discussion in December focused on word learning, teaching for depth of knowledge, and practical examples of Early Learning teams and Elementary Educators who have chosen to focus on explicitly teaching curriculum-based and academic/book level language.
We were so happy to have Dr. Trelani Chapman from the University of Alberta, Communication Sciences and Disorders join our discussion. She came to us with a wealth of knowledge regarding language development, particularly as it relates to Early Learning (prekindergarten and kindergarten). We hope to learn more about her studies and areas of interest, in the near future.
Lyndsay and I will continue to organize and host the group for the remainder of the school year and are very excited for what we have planned for Winter and Spring, 2022.
The mandate of the group continues to be:
- to provide a safe place for educators to ask questions and discuss literacy-related topics,
- to provide an opportunity for interprofessional collaboration between researchers, SLPs and Teachers,
- to offer a bridge from research to practice and implementation,
- and to think beyond current practice, as it relates to student supports.
