di: Fwd: Response to Digest, Vol 69, Issue 1

Tue Feb 13 13:23:23 PST 2018

Response to Joe Kuhn. 

Joe, thanks for the comments. Really good question.  “I'm wondering if there's research that shows
sounding it out, out-loud, is more effective than sounding it out 'in your
head'”.  What’s really happening when we read silently and why is it important to practice out loud?  How do we know that it works better to do it out loud?   

As I understand it, in my recent readings, in retirement, the going theory on how words are identified, quickly and easily, is referred to as phonological vs. visual.  I’ve written a little on this and posted my feeble attempt on my website:  arthurreadingworkshop.com <http://arthurreadingworkshop.com/>.  and conduct an occasional seminar on the topic of The Science of Reading Words. (all of which, in my view, confirms DI teaching.)

How this works when reading is silent is a bit mysterious.   Seems like I remember the DI answer to the importance of doing a lot of out-loud reading and responding during instruction was that this is the way a teacher can know what the student is learning.  It gives the teacher feedback.  (a reasonable and practical point, but one that dodges the question somewhat)

Yet, even from the DI point of view, there seems to be more to it than that.  Practically everything taught in DI programs involves oral responding.  It seems clear that it not only gives the teacher feedback but also helps learning and memory.  It’s a kind of oral rehearsal.  

My readings on the phonological theories of reading words indicate a reinforcement of this with tons of research, (see my website) but also goes even further than that. The argument goes: because reading is phonologically based (in speech), it is most effectively learned orally.  A nice quote from Mark Seidenberg. “We read with our eyes, but the starting point for reading is speech.”(Language at the Speed of Sound. Chapter two, first sentence.)  The idea is that we can read because we can speak. All a nice reinforcement for RM K. and beyond. 

To me, this is a fascinating subject which gives DI reading added support and confirmation.  One of the two or three most fascinating aspects of RM K is how the overt act of sounding out is gradually transferred to the internal covert act, without switching to out-right memorization.   Remember, the red box in lesson 65 for “thinking” the sounds before saying the words?  We like to teach “thinking the sounds” rather than “figuring it out” in the script, a miner but effective modification.  This process eventually progresses up to lesson 108 with no more sounding out.  Then of course is your question:  what kind of phonological process is the reader using once the sounding out is dropped?  Where does al that learned decoding go?  The phonological theory covers this as well.  Look it up.  (Isabelle Liberman, Charles Perfetti,  Linnea Ehri,  Kieth Stanovich, Mark Seidenberg, Sally Shaywitz, among others)

In my readings, I’m impressed with the neurological argument that this process actually strengthens the part of the brain that handles speech and reading, especially for those with some weakness that shows up in fMRIs.   That part of the brain actually becomes more active during these activities, even if only thinking about them, shows up in fMRI studies.  

In teaching this way in kindergarten, we believe that we are preventing the neurological condition of dyslexia. After teaching hundreds of kids from kindergarten on up, over 15 years, in six small schools, we’ve had very few that have persistent decoding problems. So it is a dysteachia thing in the final analysis, in spite of its neurological base. 

But, Joe, it would be neat to have a little more research on this vital point.  Just like more research on “say the sounds without stopping” would be nice.  It may dispel the going research on saying the sounds with pauses, my personal pet peeve.  

Charles Arthur
Early Child Literacy Consultant
carthur at teleport.com
The most effective reading programs  carefully structure instruction around mastery of small learning increments that leads to student proficiency of advanced applications and higher student self-esteem.
971-544-7341

 <https://www.facebook.com/Arthur-Reading-Workshop-311701916000900/>
 <https://www.facebook.com/Arthur-Reading-Workshop-311701916000900/>
> Begin forwarded message:
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> From: di-request at lists.uoregon.edu
> Subject: di Digest, Vol 69, Issue 1
> Date: February 3, 2018 at 12:59:05 PM PST
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>   1. Re:  Charles Arthur also responds to the Most Comprehensive
>      Meta-Analysis article. (Joe Kuhn)
> 
> 
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Message: 1
> Date: Sat, 20 Jan 2018 06:54:44 -0600
> From: Joe Kuhn <joemkuhn at gmail.com>
> To: Charles Arthur <carthur at teleport.com>
> Cc: DI LIST U of O <di at lists.uoregon.edu>
> Subject: Re: di: Charles Arthur also responds to the Most
> 	Comprehensive Meta-Analysis article.
> Message-ID:
> 	<CAL+L3Kki_YBd-UGAJ0zJSCd1Xvke8hq0oEVSvqxyDiKvmy+roA at mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
> 
> Charles, along your lines, I'm wondering if there's research that shows
> sounding it out, out-loud, is more effective than sounding it out 'in your
> head'.  Of course we know the answer to the question, but is there research
> on this?
> 
> BTW, love the detail on your web site.  Wow!
> 
> Joe
> 
> On Thu, Jan 11, 2018 at 7:03 PM, Charles Arthur <carthur at teleport.com>
> wrote:
> 
>> I?m also very anxious to see the full article on the meta-analysis of DI
>> curricula.  and PRESTO.  here it is.  Thanks Jerry
>> 
>> I?m particularly interested seeing if it touches on a vital concern of
>> mine in teaching phonemic awareness and decoding in Reading Mastery K.  As
>> most readers on this listserve know, teaching these two kinds of skills
>> hinges on one technique:  Say the sound without stopping, with and without
>> letters.  I?ve just posted a short review on this on my website:
>> arthurreadingworkshop.com. (on the Seminar page) It?s entitled, WHERE
>> RESEARCH HAS FAILED IN THE STUDY OF TEACHING BEGINNING PHONEMIC AWARENESS
>> AND DECODING.   http://arthurreadingworkshop.com/seminar/
>> 
>> The vast amount of research on this topic has affirmed the importance of
>> phonemic awareness in teaching beginning reading, something Zig anticipated
>> before the wave of research studies started.  The failure has been in
>> researching how phonemic awareness, followed up with decoding, can be most
>> effectively and efficiently taught, with Zig?s technique of Say the sounds
>> without Stopping.  I can only find two published research studies on this.
>> (Weisberg 1989, 1993, copies available on request)
>> 
>> All the rest of the studies on this topic support saying the sounds and
>> decoding *with pauses*.  One could almost claim that the DI,  RM K method
>> is not research based.    In all of this Meta-Analysis, why has research on
>> this vital piece of teaching beginning reading been omitted?  Or has Jean
>> and Tim found some other studies? Under these circumstances, how can it be
>> considered research based?
>> 
>> Please read what I?ve posted, and let me know what you think.
>> Charles Arthur
>> Early Child Literacy Consultant
>> carthur at teleport.com
>> The most effective reading programs  carefully structure instruction
>> around mastery of small learning increments that leads to
>> student proficiency of advanced applications and higher student self-esteem.
>> 971-544-7341 <(971)%20544-7341>
>> 
>> 
>> <https://www.facebook.com/Arthur-Reading-Workshop-311701916000900/>
>> <https://www.facebook.com/Arthur-Reading-Workshop-311701916000900/>
>> 
>> _______________________________________________
>> di mailing list
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