Cawis, Cherry B.

October 10, 2015

MALED 1

Module 7: THE READING SPECIALIST

I. Reading Specialist: The Evolution Role

A. Reading Teacher
 Remedial
 Corrective
 Developmental
B. Reading Consultant
 Works with the teachers and administrators
 Develop and implement a school reading program
C. Reading Coordinator
 Provides leadership
 Interprets the program to administrators
 Make recommendations
D. Reading Clinician
 Diagnose reading difficulties
 Provides remedial instruction
E. College Instructor
 Prepares students for careers as professionals engaged in reading

II. Issues Regarding the Specialization of Roles of Reading Professionals

1. Lack of the categorization of roles
2. Lack of interaction between teachers and clinicians and those who are in the supervisory position
3. Lack of credibility of reading specialists
4. Lack of training of classroom teachers in team teaching
5. Teachers hesitation to have another adult enter their domain
6. The term reading specialist is used in generic way.

III. The Present Delineation of Roles of the Reading Specialist

A. Classroom Teachers
a.1. Role 1 (Early Childhood/Elementary Teacher)
 teaches in regular classroom
 reading readiness instruction
 identification and prevention of reading problems
a.2. Role 2 (Secondary Teacher)
 teaches in regular classroom
 reading instruction in the content areas
B. Reading Specialists
b.1. Role 3 (Diagnostic-Remedial Specialist)
 Assesses, remediates & plans instructional intervention
 Provides services to students
 Coordinates reading services
b.2. Role 4 (Developmental Reading/Study Skills Specialist)
 Developmental /corrective reading (secondary, college)
 Teacher developmental (corporations, agencies)
b.3. Role 5 (Reading Consultant/ Reading Resource Teacher)
 Organizes & administers school site reading program
 Evaluates school-wide reading program
 Applies current research/ theory to practice
 Balances reading-language-thinking program
 Provides staff development
 Coordinates work of reading specialists and special services personnel
 Adviser on the school reading/language arts program

b.4. Role 6 (Reading Coordinator/Supervisor)

 Supervises district –wide
 Improves curriculum, methodology etc. of district-wide programs
  Applies current research/theory in refinement or reading instruction
 Coordinates and implements collaborative reading research
 Attains resources
 Develops community support
 Supervises the above mentioned role holders
 Provision of workshops, conferences and conventions
b.5. Role 7 9 (Reading Professor)
 Teaches reading education courses at college level
 Provides pre-service education
 Conducts research and evaluates principles &practices
 Disseminates state-of-the art information goals and objectives
C. Allied Professions
c.1. Role 8 (Special Education Teachers)
 Direct instructional responsibilities in a special education classroom
 Works with students with specific disabilities
c.2. Role 9 (Administrator)
 Leadership and supervision
 Ultimately responsible for the school reading program
c.3. Role 10 (Support Service Provider)
 Psychologist
 Guidance counsellor
 Speech therapist
 Social worker
 Educational agency

Module 8: PROGRAMS AND APPROACHES

I. Traditional Views on Beginning Reading

A. Traits associated with Reading Readiness
a.1. Mental maturity
a.2. Linguistic maturity
 a.3.Interest in books and Story Telling
a.4.Experiential Background
a.5. Social and Emotional Adjustment
a.6. Sensory acuity
a.7. Manual competence
B. Principles of Readiness
b.1. children become ready for specific learning tasks at different stages
b.2. the child develops skills most readily if these are built upon the natural foundation of maturation development
b.3. children should not be forces into readiness training before maturational development is adequate
b.4. the more mature child is, the less training is needed to develop a given proficiency
b.5. the teacher can promote the child’s readiness by providing for the gaps in his experience
C. Good Readiness program is directed towards proficiency in the following areas:
1. training in concept formation
2. training in visual discrimination
3. training in auditory discrimination
4. training is left-to-right progression and in reading on a line
5. knowledge of the alphabet
6. skill and knowledge of handling a book
7. acquisition of a sight vocabulary
8. ability to associate meaning with printed symbols
9. independence in working the pronunciation of words

II. Three Components

A. Visual Discrimination
a.1. visual memory
B. Auditory Perception
b.1. auditory discrimination
C. Sensory-Motor Integration

III. The Patterns of Reading Development