Sloppy education research, a state training that works, weak curriculum getting overlooked, Nordic countries bin devices. Is this the spiciest edition yet?
Thank you for taking the time to gather this research. I try to read at least some parts each week. A couple thoughts/questions:
I watched the video of a teacher using FASE reading (I had to look up what it was) and I wonder, how is that different from round robin reading? I understand that the focus is on reading with prosody, but she is still randomly calling on students. Did they practice and hear the sections before, or is this a cold read?
I went through LETRS training and I think the missing link is that teachers don't apply what they learn. If a school/district/state made both coaching and time to adjust and create lessons using what they've learned an integral part, I think results would be way different. Most schools in my area have the teachers watch the training videos, but there is no follow-up on whether you are using it or not. You can correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that's the magic bullet in Tennessee's teacher training--immediate and relevant development of materials and ongoing support with modeling/coaching.
IME, round robin is mostly feedback-free (errors are uncorrected) whereas with FASE, teachers correct errors and offer feedback right away. Round-robin is mostly student-led, whereas FASE as teacher-led, with the ample teacher-modeling.
I'm not sure how to articulate this right, but I think when it's done effectively and consistently, FASE reading can transform class culture and center it around reading and discussing books TOGETHER as a community. It becomes the THING you do in ELA/English. I've never seen round robin have that impact. I think that's largely because when I used round robin as a teacher (I know :/) and definitely as a student, the focus was always on getting through the text and reading so we could get to the discussion or the writing AND NOT on using the read aloud as an opportunity to get inside the text and get kids up close and personal with the tone. FASE reading accomplishes that; it also integrates reading and analyzing and thinking better than other instructional routines IMHO.
Heated agreement that Tennessee training has figured out how to connect the research-practice divide. What training videos are you being asked to watch?
I'm going to tag Doug Lemov into the question about FASE reading...
I'm in Iowa, which has been offering free LETRS training. Our school did K-4 over 2 1/2 years. I know a lot of people paid minimum attention during the webinars, looked up the answer to the quizzes online, and did not/have not implemented anything they've learned. We were not given time to create lessons or see how LETRS could work to make our curriculum better. (We use Into Reading, but every grade uses novel units as well.) Administration has not done anything to see if LETRS training is being used or offered coaching.
I have an endorsement in dyslexia, which included structured literacy. I was trained in O-G and Reading Simplified, but I also do a lot of research on my own, including learning Structured Word Inquiry and The Writing Revolution.
I found the FASE especially interesting because I hypothesize that the most inferencing a reader does is deciding on tone of voice for dialogue. For novels, I have my students choral read the dialogue. It was eye opening to hear their mistakes. I was able to address several misconceptions that way.
Just want to say big thanks for this newsletter. I’m an advocate and it’s this is a key way I keep informed! Admire how you share adding commentary in the footnotes too.
Thank you for taking the time to gather this research. I try to read at least some parts each week. A couple thoughts/questions:
I watched the video of a teacher using FASE reading (I had to look up what it was) and I wonder, how is that different from round robin reading? I understand that the focus is on reading with prosody, but she is still randomly calling on students. Did they practice and hear the sections before, or is this a cold read?
I went through LETRS training and I think the missing link is that teachers don't apply what they learn. If a school/district/state made both coaching and time to adjust and create lessons using what they've learned an integral part, I think results would be way different. Most schools in my area have the teachers watch the training videos, but there is no follow-up on whether you are using it or not. You can correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that's the magic bullet in Tennessee's teacher training--immediate and relevant development of materials and ongoing support with modeling/coaching.
Reading Interventionist Faith Howard writes about FASE reading here: https://scienceofreadingclassroom.substack.com/p/a-period-in-the-life-of-a-hs-interventionist
IME, round robin is mostly feedback-free (errors are uncorrected) whereas with FASE, teachers correct errors and offer feedback right away. Round-robin is mostly student-led, whereas FASE as teacher-led, with the ample teacher-modeling.
I'm not sure how to articulate this right, but I think when it's done effectively and consistently, FASE reading can transform class culture and center it around reading and discussing books TOGETHER as a community. It becomes the THING you do in ELA/English. I've never seen round robin have that impact. I think that's largely because when I used round robin as a teacher (I know :/) and definitely as a student, the focus was always on getting through the text and reading so we could get to the discussion or the writing AND NOT on using the read aloud as an opportunity to get inside the text and get kids up close and personal with the tone. FASE reading accomplishes that; it also integrates reading and analyzing and thinking better than other instructional routines IMHO.
Thank you! I'm always looking for fun and effective ways to engage and increase fluency.
Heated agreement that Tennessee training has figured out how to connect the research-practice divide. What training videos are you being asked to watch?
I'm going to tag Doug Lemov into the question about FASE reading...
I'm in Iowa, which has been offering free LETRS training. Our school did K-4 over 2 1/2 years. I know a lot of people paid minimum attention during the webinars, looked up the answer to the quizzes online, and did not/have not implemented anything they've learned. We were not given time to create lessons or see how LETRS could work to make our curriculum better. (We use Into Reading, but every grade uses novel units as well.) Administration has not done anything to see if LETRS training is being used or offered coaching.
I have an endorsement in dyslexia, which included structured literacy. I was trained in O-G and Reading Simplified, but I also do a lot of research on my own, including learning Structured Word Inquiry and The Writing Revolution.
I found the FASE especially interesting because I hypothesize that the most inferencing a reader does is deciding on tone of voice for dialogue. For novels, I have my students choral read the dialogue. It was eye opening to hear their mistakes. I was able to address several misconceptions that way.
I hear these observations about LETRS frequently. They really drive home the juxtaposition with the hands-on approach in Tennessee.
FASE reading has so many superfans. I know the Science of Reading Classroom initiative has many pieces which warrant a look…
Loving the newsletter!
Just want to say big thanks for this newsletter. I’m an advocate and it’s this is a key way I keep informed! Admire how you share adding commentary in the footnotes too.
Thank you for the kind words! I'm glad it's helpful.