The Reading Instruction Show

Motivation is an internal state that causes us to direct attention or maintain behavior. Motivation can direct our attention and sustain our behavior toward a particular goal. All students enter kindergarten excited and motivated to learn. They see themselves as able learners, whole and complete. But something happens in the next two years as some of our students travel down the educational convey...

Affect in education usually refer to emotions and motivation. Since these do not show up on test scores, to the educational bureaucracy, they do not exist; however, they are, arguably, the most important components in teaching and learning, especially if you are a student with a special learning need. Motivation and emotion are perhaps the most important components when working with students with...

Teaching as transmission views teaching as merely transmitting knowledge from Point A (teacher’s head) to Point B (students’ heads). Teaching as transaction views teaching as a process of creating situations whereby students are able to interact with the material to be learned in order to construct knowledge. And teaching as transformation views teach as creating conditions that have the potential...

Within the academic, respectful academic discourse is expected when discussing and debating issues. Here people exchange ideas, they define and defend their positions, and they delineate points of agreement and disagreement with others. Sometimes there are very heated exchanges while discussing and debating issues. This is as it should be. Debate is an important part of the scholarly process withi...

Disagreements are good. Differing points of view are healthy for any organization or group. Conflicting ideas provide a broader view of the situation and more potential possibilities. You see more sides of the problem and generate more potential solutions. Questioning new ideas or proposals allows them to be fully vetted. This is how programs, policies, schools, institutions, and teacher preparati...

This podcast describes two starkly contrasting approaches to individualized educational programs (IEPS): A systems-centered approach and a person-centered approach.

This is the first in a serious of podcast using critical race theory to examine teacher preparation. In this podcast, seven basic ideas or common understands of critical race theory are examined.

Systemic racism has never been fully addressed in our society, our culture, and our curriculums. Simply including George Washing Carver in a social studies lesson just will not do it this time around. We need more than that. Systemic racism calls for a systemic response. This p0dcast addresses white guilt, white shame, and the history of the United States of America

I am not an expert in critical race theory or systemic racism. I am a middle age white guy trying to come to grips with systemic racism and contribute where I can. I am just an old literacy professor trying to do my part. I may not get it just right, but I am trying. In this podcast, I will try to explain some things in ways that help some people to better understand. I don’t have complete enlight...

Humanistic learning theory is based upon five supporting principles. 1. Students’ learning should be as self-directed as possible . In other words, students should be given choices about what they learn, how they learn, and how they demonstrate their learning, to the greatest degree possible. Choice here does not mean total choice all the time. Instead, it means as much choice as is appropriate fo...

Psychologists Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow are generally thought to be the founders of modern humanistic learning theory (DeCarvalho, 1991). Humanistic learning theory is not easily defined. There are many views; however, all views seem to share two overriding tenets: First, humans are by their very nature evolving, self-developing creatures. As such, we have a natural inclination to learn and d...

Good teaching starts with an operational definition of teaching. There are three common views of what constitutes teaching: teaching as transmission, teaching as transaction, and teaching as transformation (Miller, 1996). Teaching as Transmission From this perspective, teaching is the act of transmitting knowledge from Point A (teacher’s head) to Point B (students’ heads). This is a teacher­-cente...

Yes, moral outrage over systemic racism is a wonderful thing. It is good that people are outraged (again) at the abuse and the murders at the hands of a police system that was originally designed to protect us. It is good as well that there is moral outrage over the continued disparities, the implicit bias, and the educational, political, social, and economic restrictions that advantage those in p...

Academic writing involves saying something about something. You need information to convey, analyze, or use in some fashion. finding new information and taking careful notes is Step 1 of the academic writing process. You can’t get to Step 2 without doing Step 1. • Step 1. Research to gather data. Usually this means reading and taking careful notes. However, data can also be collected other ways.

Students of color are disproportionately represented in special education. This is most true of the three high incidence categories: learning disabilities, emotional behavioral disorders, and intellectual disorders. The short podcast describes some of the issues here.

The super-secret academic writing process involves six steps: 1. Research to gather data. Usually this means finding sources, reading and taking careful notes. However, data can also be collected other ways. 2. Pre-drafting. As the name implies, this is what is done before writing the first draft. This involves things such as planning, creating outlines, talking with others, generating ideas, or f...

This is the first in series of podcasts that will provide a foundation and framework to enhance your understanding of the various processes involved in academic writing. The purpose of these podcasts is to enable you to be an effective writer and thinker in all contexts including your personal and professional lives (outside a college environment). Thus, while I will use the term ’academic writing...

The basic elements of direction instruction are: (a) a purpose statement; (b) input with modeling, examples, and demonstrations, (c) guided practice with a gradual release of responsibility, (d) independent practice, and (e) review

It is not the 'what' of phonics instruction in which there are varying ideas; it is the 'how' and the 'how much' of phonics instruction. Also, all teachers, especially whole language teachers, believe in very direct and explicit instruction.

Segregated instruction for students with special learning needs is that which occurs outside a general education setting. Inclusive instruction is that which occurs within a general education setting with teachers who have the knowledge and skills to differentiate the curriculum. Research has found that inclusive classrooms result in learning outcomes as good or better than segregated classrooms.

Segregated instruction is that which occurs outside a general education classroom classroom. Inclusive instruction is that which occurs within a general education classroom. Effective inclusive classrooms have educational, social, and emotional outcomes that are as good or better than segregated classrooms.

Disability and race are both social construction designed to put human beings into categories. This podcast examines two models of disability: the medical model and the social model. The medical model views disability as something that is ‘wrong’ with a person’s body or mind. There is something wrong with the person that needs to be fixed. Sadly, this is the model that predominates special educati...

Children learn between 3,000 and 4,000 words a year. By the end of elementary school they know approximately 25,000 and by the end of high school approximately 50,000 to 80,000 words. The question is: How do they learn all these words? Do they learn them from vocabulary worksheets? Do they learn them by looking them up and writing down the definition? Do they learn them as a result of direct instr...

There is a bit of racism in the special education silo. I used to describe special education as a field – as in “the field of special education.” And indeed, it did used to be a field. You can see this field when reading articles from the major special education academic journals in the 1990s and early 2000s. It was a field. Not a farmer’s field but a field in the wild. This kind of field is a bea...

This is the first in a series of podcasts that will address racism as it pertains to special education and literacy instruction. In these podcasts I am addressing the special education system, which I refer to a silo. In this podcast, I define racism. A disclaimer: In these podcasts I am not referring to any particular school, school district, university, or teacher preparation program. I am addre...