Abstract:
Helping children learn to read and write by reading books and writing stories is based on a quite different theory than teaching children by other schemes, such as learning isolated letters and words. We will examine some fundamental assumptions of Clay’s theory of reading and writing continuous text, such as levels of language, processing behaviors, and a gradient of text difficulty. When literacy learning is based on continuous text rather than systematic and sequential learning of prescribed sets of items different teaching-learning interactions are required. The complexity of these teaching interactions mirror the complex acts of real reading and writing. For example, as a child encounters continuous text, the teacher notices the multiple levels of language that the child is using. Thus, the teacher's next move incorporates information about this child's immediate response to this text. We will discuss the complex relationships that undergird teacher-child interactions by exploring ideas such as instructional conversations, reading and writing as problem solving, the importance of independence and flexibility from the beginning, and the unique nature of individual paths of progress. In a problem-solving model that is based on teaching children, professional development focuses on the expansion of teaching capacity through the development of expertise. Expertise is defined as the ability to solve problems in novel ways rather than developing expertise in the use of routine practices or procedures. Professional development is child-driven in its implementation and evaluation. Critical factors for a solid framework of professional development are the melding of theory and practice, robust initial training followed by continuing support, collegiality and guidance, and accountability for children's progress.