Biographical Data
My name is Janice Standring. I am married with three children and four grandchildren. My love of teaching and learning, especially through reading, is my passion, second only to my family. More than twenty years ago I began my career as a special educator in a substantially separate classroom setting within a century old urban school. I remained in that position for fourteen years. Since then I have held a variety of positions in an assortment of diverse programs. For the past seven years, I have held the positions of a special educator in an inclusive classroom setting, a regular educator in an inclusive classroom setting, and a Reading First reading specialist. My present position is a Title I reading specialist. I have also participated in number of different programs after school and during the summer in both teaching and administrative capacities, with children ranging in ages from kindergarten to high school . My deepest desire is and always has been to share my love of learning and reading with every child and adult within my personal and professional reach. It is my stanch conviction that no one is ever too young or too old to learn something new. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
Pinker’s (2000) contention that the goal of reading is the understanding of text rather than the pronunciation of words has been a conviction of mine since I started teaching. Reading involves far more than word calling or pulling print off the page. When a child no longer has to read words by sounding out individual phonemes and can recognize most morphemes and words by sight, short term memory is freed to comprehend. Decoding fluently, that is, with accuracy, speed, and prosody (Pressley, 2006), is definitely a precursor to comprehension, but unfortunately comprehension does not always result from fluent reading. Effective literacy instruction provides support through research based strategies, assisting students to unlocking text meaning with questioning, collaboration and critical thinking. Educators in these classroom settings create an environment where students are actively engaged with the text and their peers, literacy is wrapped in oral and written language which is rich in vocabulary, student grouping is flexibly defined by task or ability, instruction is based on scientifically proven strategies fostering collaboration as well as independence, both students and teacher feel comfortable to communicate and share, where children think about and discuss author and text critically, and learning and reading are exciting for all.
Literacy Professional's Beliefs
The role of the learner in the instructional setting is to focus on independence and self regulation. Attending to lessons, applying learned strategies, and remaining engaged and on task are key factors to success (Pressley, Wharton-McDonald, & Hampston, 2006). With the teacher as facilitator, the learner is responsible for assuming a dynamic role in building his or her own knowledge. The most effective learners employ higher level thinking skills to interpret and make real life connections in both oral and written language about what has been read (Au, 2000). Accomplished learners are active theory builders and hypotheses testers, constantly reassessing and reconstructing their interpretations and understandings through social interactions, mainly with peers but with the teacher as well within the instructional setting (Ruddell & Unrau, 2004). Those learners who are actively engaged and interactive in classroom activities are usually the most motivated and have the best chance of attaining a high level of competence in language and literacy skills (Wilkinson & Sillman, 2000).
The role of the teacher in a balanced literacy instructional setting is, first and foremost, to be extremely conscious of one’s own personal instructional practices, and the purposes driving those practices. The instruction and assistance that the teacher offers to the student should be carefully scaffolded, fostering independence and self-regulation. Explicit instruction should be followed by situational activities or assignments in which the student is able to apply the learned strategies. The implementation of a balanced curriculum and differentiated instruction that is matched to the student’s zone of proximal development can be enhanced by optimal time on learning, frequent monitoring of student engagement, and good classroom management skills (Pressley, Wharton-McDonald, & Hampston, 2006).
Curriculum in the balanced literacy instructional setting should incorporate all facets of oral and written expression with state standards as the driving force behind its effective execution. Providing professional development in curriculum requirements to teachers assists them in effectively applying the most up-to-date research based practices. Strategies rooted in the components of literacy: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension can be implemented through a combination of whole and small group instruction. Curriculum topics can be generally presented to the whole group employing contextualized skills, explicit instruction, and the motivation of rich literature and differentiated within the small group instruction setting. Employing these practices creates a balanced program providing students with optimal experience for developing proficiency and motivation.
Instruction and assessment are too often seen as separate entities in an instructional setting. Assessment is multidimensional; it can be formal or informal, with an individual or group focus. In reality, the ultimate goals of an assessment are both to enhance a student’s learning, making it personally informative and insightful as well as to examine and improve one’s own teaching practices within the setting. Used in this way, assessment is the vehicle that drives instruction. Students need to develop a self-awareness of how assessment can help their learning as they attempt higher-order thinking tasks, focus on the process of the task at hand, and evaluate or self-assess their work. Teachers need to employ dynamic assessment strategies, finding the student’s zone of proximal development and mediating as they assess by providing scaffolding and actively targeting potential teachable moments (Shepard, 2004). Instead of teaching to assess, we must develop the mindset of assessing to teach.
Florida Center for Reading Research
International Reading Association
