Podcast 415, Gene Mehigan on Literacy & Disadvantage (9-4-21)

Presented and produced by Seán Delaney. On this week's episode I interview my long-time colleague and fellow vice-president of Marino Institute of Education on the topics of literacy and disadvantage and more. Among the topics we discuss during the podcast are the following: What constitutes a struggling reader Identifying a struggling reader in a class setting Why it is important to move on from focusing on individual sounds and words to help students become fluent readers. The article referred to in the programme can be downloaded here: Effects of Fluency Oriented Instruction on Motivation for Reading of Struggling Readers Fluency oriented instruction and the work of Stephen Stahl, Kathleen Heubach and Bonnie Cramond. The value of repeatedly reading the same text Why fluency oriented instruction is particularly important around first class The value of teachers and parents reading to children, modelling the reading process Why choral reading is helpful in developing fluency – communicatively choral reading Echo reading, antiphonal reading, Why motivation may be the most important factor in learning to read Louise Rosenblatt and the efferent/aesthetic continuum. Story of “Jason” a non-reader who loved Buddy Holly songs How teachers believe that fluency comes after mastery of more cognitive skills of reading and that motivation is important for beginning readers Conducting research in schools serving disadvantaged areas in Dublin Looking at motivation for reading: Self-efficacy for reading Orientation towards reading Perceived difficulty of reading The value for teachers of knowing the science of reading. Read Daniel Willingham’s The Reading Mind Our brains are not wired for reading (alphabet principle; decoding) How parents can promote motivation among children – reading to children and reading with children What it means for a child to be alliterate The role of education in a disadvantaged setting The “network gap” that children in disadvantaged settings experience The extent to which education can ameliorate disadvantage The value of teachers collaborating, especially in a disadvantaged setting (and in planting allotments and solving crossword puzzles and in teacher education too) Role of a principal in a disadvantaged school Derek Sivers’s book notes Ken Robinson Science of reading podcast and blogs (http://textproject.org/teacher-educators/science-of-reading/, https://understandingreading.home.blog/) Timothy Shanahan blog. Autobiographies: John Major, Arnold Schwarzenegger & André Agassi Derek Sivers's book notes and podcast interview