Literacy and Numeracy Assessment Methods in The Early Years

Assessment is an integral part of all learning. Educators who are responsible for the facilitation of learning are also responsible for the valid assessment of this learning. Assessment is a tool that can be used to help children attain the goal of a curriculum/framework (Perry, 2000). The forms of assessment used and the ways in which they can be administered should reflect children’s abilities, meanwhile trying to develop them. According to Perry (2000), in the years prior to school, assessment is seen as a seamless part of learning, undertaken mainly informally through observation and conversation while the children undertake their normal, self-chosen task or activity.

Observing children in daily activities: http://www.learneverydayabout.com/assessment.cfm

Before any assessment task is given to a child or group of children, it is essential for the educator to be clear about the purpose, outcomes of interest, focus for interventions, validity of assessment data, progress, procedures, and value of the assessment, to provoke a successful outcome.  Perry (2000) suggests the educator think of a number of questions prior to beginning an assessment task:

1. Why are they assessing the numeracy and literacy knowledge or skills of their children
2. What knowledge or skills are they going to access
3. For whom are they assessing- i.e. children, state education authority, program developers, school, parents, etc.
4. How are they assessing the knowledge and skills
5. When will the assessment take place

Other assessment tools may be the use of work sheets which target specific learning areas. Wren and Watts (2002), have designed the Abecedarian Reading Assessment for educators to use to maximise their effectiveness by individualising their instruction to each student’s learning needs. The Abecedarian is divided into 6 major subtests in literacy/reading development. Most of these subtests are further broken into a variety of tasks. Research (Wren & Watts, 2002) has clearly shown the benefits of developing all of the knowledge domains tested by the Abecedarian early. The preponderance of research evidence suggests that children who have phoneme awareness by kindergarten are much more likely to be successful readers in third grade than children who lack phoneme awareness.

Using specific task to assess child's progress: http://www.childchart.com/news.html

The Abecedarian Reading Assessment document includes a series of tasks which can be marked off and assessed, with corresponding score sheets, covering the areas of letter knowledge, phonological awareness, phoneme awareness, alphabetic principle, vocabulary, and decoding. The document can be accessed and downloaded for free from: www.balancedreading.com  

References:

Perry, B. (2000). Early childhood numeracy. Canberra, ACT: Department of Education,

Training and Youth Affairs (DETYA) and Australian Association of Mathematics Teachers

(AAMT)

Wren, S., & Watts, J. (2002). The Abecedarian Reading Assessment. Retrieved from Abecedarian Reading Assessment http://www.balancedreading.com/assessment/abecedarian.pdf

Assessing Children’s Literacy and Numeracy

Assessment of children’s numeracy and literacy is essential to ensure each child is benefiting and developing to the best of their ability, from the numeracy and literacy they are being taught and exposed to, and also for the educators benefit to judge whether their teaching practices are effective or need some amendment. For the purpose of this blog, I have focussed my attention primarily on one reading which I feel covers both literacy and numeracy effectively:

1. Tomlinson, C.A. (2008). Learning to love assessment. Educational Leadership, 65(4), 8-13.

To begin with I think it is important to mention that assessments are not only undertaken by the educator or adult; children are also involved in collecting data of their progress through self-reflection and –assessment of their own work and learning. Assessments must facilitate individual and group learning, and empower the students to gauge their own progress. Tomlinson’s (2008) reading includes 10 understandings educators should be aware of around informative assessment.  Informative assessment is essential as it gives evidence of current progress, to be used to determine suitable adjustments, adaptations or supplements required into the learning experience. These understandings can apply to assessment of many areas of development, but most importantly they relate to literacy and numeracy assessment.

The first key understandings which was highlighted for me was the fact that informative assessment isn’t just about tests. Tomlinson (2008) mentions how tests are not effective for all students, and do not give an accurate result of progress for students who, although may demonstrate other evidence of learning, did poorly on tests. Tests do not show children what they know, they purely show them what they do not know, giving them little hope and confidence in themselves to be able to grow and learn further.

Another prominent understanding was around informative assessment not being separate from the curriculum. Tomlinson (2008) talks about for success, assessments must be absolutely aligned with the knowledge, understanding, and skill designated as essential learning outcomes. “Assessment needs to be part of-not apart from-curriculum design” (Tomlinson, 2008, p.11). This point is important for me as for myself, over the past two years studying education at University, I have become aware of the importance of teaching in response to the crucial learning outcomes/goals for the children, and not just teaching solely based in response to what the children liked.

The final understanding that truly stuck with me since reading the article, was “understanding 9: informative assessment isn’t just about finding weaknesses” (Tomlinson, 2008, p.12). Every educator, parent, child, etc. should be aware of this! Since practicing in a kindergarten, I feel it is so important to use assessment to accentuate children’s positives rather than negatives. We don’t need to be on the hunt for what children do not know, or cannot do, or do not understand; instead we should focus on children’s strengths, interests and learning preferences, and emphasis what does work for each individual child.  

My next blog will continue to be focused around assessment, but more so looking at the types of assessment and assessment tools available for educators, parents and children to use when assessing literacy and numeracy teaching and development.

References:

Tomlinson, C.A. (2008). Learning to love assessment. Educational Leadership, 65(4), 8-13.

Assistive Technology: Supporting Children with Disabilities to Develop Literacy and Numeracy

This post I am focussing on Assistive Technology (AT) and the role it plays in supporting children with disabilities or learning difficulties, to develop and progress literacy and numeracy skills. I had three key readings this week:

1. Parette, H. P. & Stoner, J. B. (2008). Benefits of assistive technology user groups for early childhood education professionals. Early Childhood Education Journal, 35, 313-319.

2. Parr, M. (2012). The future of text-to-speech technology: How long before it’s just one more thing we do when teaching reading? Social and Behaviour Sciences, 69, 1420-1429.

3. Räsänen, P., Salminen, J., Wilson, A. J., Aunio, P., & Dehaene, S. (2009). Computer-assisted intervention for children with low numeracy skills. Cognitive Development, 24, 450-472.

I also came across an article from earlier this year (2013) called “Seven Myths about Young Children and Technology” by L. Plowman and J. McPake. The article talks about seven common myths around children and technology, including the thought around technology hindering social interaction and technology dominating children’s lives, and then further on suggests what it means then for us as educators. I have created the title as a link, if you have time I recommend you check it out.

According to Parette and Stoner (2008), AT is a fairly broad term used to describe any item, piece of equipment, or product system that can be used in a manner for the purpose of maintaining or improving the functional abilities of a child with a disability. It is clear to me that AT is a crucial tool in meeting the educational and overall developmental needs of learners with difficulties throughout their education. AT devices can be electronic or non-electronic. Three main types of AT, ranging from “low” to “high” technology, can be used.

Low technology.

Low technology strategies do not involve any type of electronic or battery-operated device. These strategies typically include low-cost and easy-to-use equipment, such as dry-erase boards, clipboards, laminated photographs, photo albums, three-ring binders, PECS, etc. The strategies can be used to enhance expressive and receptive communication skills, especially for children with autism.

 

Images: http://www.pecsaustralia.com/index.php

Mid technology.

These strategies use battery-operated devices or basic electronic devices. Examples of mid technology are voice output devices, timers, and calculators. They are primarily used as a means to support expressive communication and enhance classroom participation, focus attention on various skill areas, and assist in the development of social skills.

Google Images: https://www.google.com.au/search?q=computer+assistive+technology   

High technology.

High technology strategies are complex technological support strategies. They typically involve high-cost equipment, such as computers and adaptive hardware (touch window, software, and trackballs), accessory equipment (digital cameras and scanners), video cameras, and complex voice output devices.

Google Images: https://www.google.com.au/search?q=computer+assistive+technology   

The idea of having technological machines facilitate learning or even carry out instruction is far from a new one.  According to Räsänen et al (2009), the first patents for technology based educational tools in mathematics were accepted already in the 1800s, but without doubt there have been many ancestral assistive technologies for learning and doing calculations using finger systems, pebbles, tallies and abacuses from the beginning of numerical human life!

According to Parette and Stoner (2008), one of the great benefits of introducing AT in early childhood settings is the immediate impact on children’s learning and development around literacy and numeracy. A key influencer is through the impact AT has on children’s attending behaviours. Attending is a prerequisite skill for most learning that occurs in early childhood education settings; not attending leads to children missing out on vital information and cues for developing literacy and numeracy skills. Parette and Stoner (2008) mention how teachers discovered immediately that use of large screen projection of activities resulted in an increase in attending behaviours. They stated that “once children’s attention was focused on the large screen, relevant content could be presented to teach or expand targeted literacy skills” (p.316).

Parette and Stoner (2008) also discusses about AT supporting young children with challenging behaviours, to encourage the development of literacy and numeracy skills, through a range of visual strategies. Such strategies include choice charts, first/then boards, routine activity sequences, cue cards, turn-taking charts, reminder charts, and feeling charts. Use of visual schedules have resulted in children adhering to classroom rules, following sequences in tasks, and demonstrating appropriate social behaviours across contexts, all of which play key roles in be a literate and numerate participant in society.

One of the readings I looked at this week was in regards to text-to-speech technology (Parr, 2012). Text-to-speech technology (TTST) is a form of assistive technology, where its primary purpose as a reading intervention is to support students who struggle to read or have an identified reading disorder. TTST transforms print texts of any format (book, magazine, newspaper, website) into text that is read aloud by a computer synthesized voice. TTST simply decodes, thus reducing the attentional demands required of readers to solve the sounds of individual letters, store this information, put it together into words, sentences, and then finally comprehend. TTST may assist or augment task performance in some reading tasks, whereas in others they are used to compensate for, circumvent, or bypass reading deficits (e.g., phonemic and phonic awareness). TTST continues to be viewed as an intervention for a select few, not as a comprehensive reading strategy to be offered to all.

According to Parr (2012), given the range of instructional reading supports already in place in our classrooms, and the rapid pace of technological advancement and the availability of TTST on cell phones, iPads, computers, built into free e-readers, it is now, more than ever, critical to investigate the possibilities offered by new technologies such as TTST. The use of TTST in the classroom is no different than reading aloud or reading collaboratively, both of which are offered as levels of support in a comprehensive reading approach. With TTST, students must follow along, listen carefully, and bring all of their reading strategies to the experience in order to read the text with appropriate expression and intonation, ultimately allowing them to make meaning. While not doing the reading work for students, TTST can facilitate and extend reading strategies and processes in the classroom; for example, word solving, expression, fluency, response, etc.

It is essential that there is careful training implemented for us educators and our students on the use of AT, in order to ensure that it is used correctly. I also believe AT should be incorporated into every aspect of daily living in order to improve the functional capabilities of children with difficulties or disabilities. Thus, it is important to consider that all AT devices, from “low” technology to “high” technology, always be individualized to meet the unique needs of any child. Most important, the optimal goal of AT strategies is to increase the child’s independent functioning skills by decreasing the amount of direct support needed from another person.

This may not be relevant to my posts topic of technology, however, I wanted to share this list of principles around reading intervention, which Parr (2012, p.1422) collaborated from a variety of sources.

Successful reading interventions recognize that:

- The success of intervention is dependent on an effective classroom program;

- Literacy learners need to understand the purposes of literacy;

- Reading for meaning should be at the heart of reading instruction;

- Intervention should be frequent, regular, and of significant duration to make a difference;

- Intervention should not be delivered from a one-size-fits-all perspective, but should instead be individualized;

- The student-teacher ratio should be kept small – student groupings are flexible and responsive to student need;

- Flexibility and fluency in reading are major goals;

- Independent and strategic problem-solving using a range of cueing systems is a major goal;

- Scaffolding during book introductions sets students up for success in independent reading;

- Texts must be matched to student level and interest;

- Word learning activities (making and breaking words; phonemic awareness, phonics) help readers to become familiar with how print functions.

- Writing words is a natural extension of reading words and aids in the word identification process;

- Learners need frequent opportunities to read and write in meaningful and authentic contexts;

- Learners need to build confidence and come to see themselves as readers and writers;

- Assessment is meaningful, practical, efficient, ongoing, and connected to instructional goals;

- Cooperation and collaboration between home and school enhances success and reduces failure;

- Teachers are aware of a range of instructional activities and can select and sequence activities appropriately;

- Teacher training is meaningful, practical, and ongoing;

- Teachers believe in the ability of each learner to read successfully.

      Reference:

      Parette, H. P. & Stoner, J. B. (2008). Benefits of assistive technology user groups for early childhood education professionals. Early Childhood Education Journal, 35, 313-319.

      Parr, M. (2012). The future of text-to-speech technology: How long before it’s just one more thing we do when teaching reading? Social and Behaviour Sciences, 69, 1420-1429.

      Räsänen, P., Salminen, J., Wilson, A. J., Aunio, P., & Dehaene, S. (2009). Computer-assisted intervention for children with low numeracy skills. Cognitive Development, 24, 450-472.

A Technology-Enhanced Learning Environment

Throughout my next couple posts I will be focusing around the role technology plays in the development of literacy and numeracy in children from birth to four-years old. Technology includes: computer, internet, iPads, music, graphic illustrations, ebooks, etc; with features such as animation, music, surprise elements, and especially consistent interaction, gaining and maintaining childrens’ interest.  According to Sarama (2004), when implementing technology into literacy and numeracy development, it is important to not only rely on technology alone, but integrate multiple types of media: including, computers, manipulatives (and everyday objects), and print.

The two key readings for this post include:

1. Dreyer, C., & Nel, C. (2003). Teaching reading strategies and reading comprehension within a technology-enhanced learning environment. System, 31, 349–365.
2. Sarama, J. (2004). Technology in early childhood mathematics: Building Blocks^TM as an innovative technology-based curriculum. In D. H. Clements, J. Sarama & A. M. DiBiase (Eds.), Engaging young children in mathematics: Standards for early childhood mathematics education (pp. 361-375). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

A technology-enhanced environment accommodates the learning style preferences of all students, providing a visual learning style (Dreyer & Nel, 2003). Dreyer and Nel (2003) mention several studies conducted with first-year students, which indicate that the at-risk students tend to have visual learning styles which are rarely accommodated in education settings. The flexibility of multiple technologies allows the creation of a vision not limited by traditional materials and pedagogical approached. According to Dreyer and Nel (2003), computer-based communication can allow representations and actions not possible with other media; for example, blocks can be actually glued together, trucks can leave paths in the sand, and these paths can be changed, moved, saved and used later with other vehicles. However, it is critical for multimedia and other computer capabilities to be used when they serve educational purposes; technology can aid learning if designed to be consistent with and supporting the pedagogical goals. 

   

Image: Google images- https://www.google.com.au/search?q=literacy+technology

The reading from Sarama (2004), is based on a program called Building Blocks. Building Blocks is a new Pre-K to Grade 2, software-enhanced, mathematics program designed to comprehensively address the principles and standards for mathematics. It is designed to enable all young children to build solid content knowledge and develop higher-order or critical thinking. The demographics of the early end of the age range imply that materials should be designed for home, day care, and classroom environments, and for children from a variety of backgrounds, interests, and ability levels. Building Blocks is structured on empirically based learning trajectories through the big ideas and skill areas of mathematics. It involves a nine-step design process model: drafting curriculum goals, building explicit model of children’s knowledge and learning in the goal domain, creating an initial design, investigating components of the software design, assessing prototypes and curriculum, conducting pilot tests, conducting field tests in numerous classrooms, and publishing materials.

The idea of Building Blocks is for educators to find mathematics in, and developing mathematics from, children’s activity (Sarama, 2004). The materials are designed to help children extend and mathematise their everyday activities, from building blocks, to art, songs, stories, puzzles, etc. The activities are based on childrens experiences and interests, with emphasis on supporting the development of mathematical activity. Building Blocks materials not only ensure that the actions and objects mirror concepts and procedures, but also that they are embedded in tasks and developmentally appropriate settings (Sarama, 2004).

Although the basic question of whether computers are developmentally appropriate for young children at all is still debated as research is clear that, when used wisely, computer use can be meaningful, motivating, and beneficial for children 3 years of age and above (Sarama, 2004). Not all uses of computers are valuable and educators must work hard to integrate technology effectively. According to Sarama (2004), hundreds of products are now available for young children that include mathematics, however, most of these products fall into one of three categories: 1. drill programs, which can be effective at their intended purpose, providing practice, but they do not develop conceptual knowledge; 2. “edutainment”, which often limit mathematics content and pedagogy; and 3. exploratory environments, which provide potential for mathematical investigations, but unfortunately young children usually explore them only on the surface level. For both the second and third categories, there is little learning by children or educators, but with the programs which have focused goals and coherent pedagogy; young children can develop both concepts and skills.

Image: Building Blocks- http://gse.buffalo.edu/org/buildingblocks/index_2.htm 

I, myself, perceive technology as an effective learning tool, however, some early childhood educators may argue that young children benefit much more from tactile experience of interacting with concrete manipulates. I believe computers encourage students to make their knowledge explicit, which helps them build integrated-concrete knowledge. Sarama (2004) mentions the specific theoretically and empirically grounded advantages of using computer manipulatives; including, “providing a manageable, clean manipulative offering flexibility; changing arrangement or representation; storing and later retrieving configurations; recording and replaying students’ actions; linking the concrete and the symbolic to the general; encouraging problem posing and conjecturing; scaffolding problem solving; focusing attention and increasing motivation; and encouraging and facilitation complete, precise explanations” (p. 365).

Like most education tools we implement, guidance by the educator is essential for effective integration of technology. As educators we must introduce, monitor, and mediate children’s interactions with computer programs. The Building Blocks (Sarama, 2004) program integrates technology activities with off-computer activities, and helps the educator provide such mediation by providing pedagogical guidance for both off- and on-computer activities in the educators’ materials. It is easy to overlook the power of technological strategies. Research-based computer tools stand at the base, providing computer analogy to critical mathematical ideas and processes. Technology can be more motivating for children, but also comprehensive in that it includes exploratory environments that include specific tasks and guidance, building concepts and well-managed practice building skills, a full set of critical curriculum components, and a full range of mathematical activities.

On a final thought, I strongly believe that as educators we must actively seek and share any practices that will help our children identify the obstacles that restrict their possibilities in their development and equip all of the unique learners who fill our education settings with the knowledge and strategies to take action toward transforming that which limits them.

References:

Dreyer, C., & Nel, C. (2003). Teaching reading strategies and reading comprehension within a technology-enhanced learning environment. System, 31, 349–365.

Sarama, J. (2004). Technology in early childhood mathematics: Building Blocks^TM as an innovative technology-based curriculum. In D. H. Clements, J. Sarama & A. M. DiBiase (Eds.), Engaging young children in mathematics: Standards for early childhood mathematics education (pp. 361-375). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Literacy and Numeracy: Students with Learning Difficulties

This post focuses on the development of literacy and numeracy in children with learning difficulties. The two key readings I have used are:

1. Klein, M. D., Cook, R. E., & Richardson-Gibbs, A. M. (2001). Strategies for Including Children with Special Needs in Early Childhood Settings: Adapting Daily Activities in Inclusive Early Childhood Settings. Delmar: Albany, NY.

2. Gersten, R., Jordan, N. C., & Flojo, J. R. (2005). Early Identification and Interventions for Students with Mathematics Difficulties. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 38(4), p. 293-304.

As children grow and develop in such literate and numerate societies, developing adequate reading skills is vital to their contribution and success within their community, and lifelong achievement. Some of the statistics around reading are rather dramatic. Hoff (2009, pg. 354) explains how children are more likely to drop out of school due to their lack of reading ability, with “only 4 percent of children with serious reading difficulties finish school.” Mathematics learning grows naturally from experience, strengthening children’s curiosity and enthusiasm; however, for children with learning difficulties, entering into the initial experience is not all that straight forward. According to Gersten, Jordan, and Flojo (2005) children who exhibit mathematics difficulties include those performing in the low and well below average range (at or below the 35^th percentile).

According to Chall’s stages of reading development as mentioned in Klein, Cook and Richardson-Gibbs (2001), typical developing children from birth to age 6 are at the pre-reading stage, stage 0. Throughout this stage the learner “pretends” to read, following adult role-models. They tend to rely heavily on pictures for understanding the story context. They can retell a story with some accuracy after listening to it being read. They can name most letters of the alphabet, along with some words/signs from environmental print. Being able to identify then write their name are typical first steps. Meanwhile, children are also developing knowledge around equity, numbers, patterns, problem solving, measurement, etc, through mathematical principles, and building effective numeracy skills.

Some children face specific challenges in the development of literacy, however, it is highly important for us as Early Childhood Educators that we do not simply assume that if a child cannot talk, they cannot learn to read. According to Klein, Cook and Richardson-Gibbs (2001), development of early literacy skills can provide important advantages for children with special needs, such as, providing support for communication. As educators there are many strategies and adaptations we can implement to ensure each child is given the best opportunity to develop. In promoting literacy and numeracy development in children with learning difficulties, many highly motivating strategies can be used throughout each activity of the day (Klein, Cook & Richardson-Gibbs, 2001). Pictures and print can benefit literacy development, supporting expressive language in children who are nonverbal, strengthening children’s language comprehension and memory,  and reducing behaviour problems through building children’s understanding of daily events; all of which impact of a child’s numeracy development also.  Gersten, Jordan and Flojo (2005) mention using strategies based around whole-class activities to encourage development in students with mathematics difficulties; such as practice in counting on, practice in listening to coins being dropped in a box and counting, practise in counting backwards, practice in linking adding and subtracting to the manipulation of objects, etc. These activities could also be done in small groups of children, and could help us as educators in building a sense of the number of students who need further progress in this area.

A final point, that I believe is essential to remember, from McQuiston, O’Shea and McCollin (2008), states that “students who have failed to read well are capable of learning to read when teachers offer them sufficient time and intensity for interventions, and appropriate instructional practices.” This is an important message for myself and any educator as it is our role to give children the best opportunity to become literate and numerate, even if they lack the skills or are delayed in their development. Early identification and intervention are critical when it comes to ensuring students are given the best opportunities to become independent and successful readers. One of my own key goals of instruction and intervention in early childhood is to minimise the number of children who develop later reading problems by maximising the number who enter kindy and school with sufficient phonological skills to benefit from formal reading instruction.

Finally, we need to be aware that all children sit at numerous points along the continuum, with different abilities, at different stages of development- we need to teach them according to where they sit, to suit their abilities, and to encourage them to progress to the next stage of development.

References:

Gersten, R., Jordan, N. C., & Flojo, J. R. (2005). Early Identification and Interventions for Students with Mathematics Difficulties. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 38(4), p. 293-304.

Hoff, E. (2009). Language Development. Wadsworth, USA: Cengage Learning.

Klein, M. D., Cook, R. E., & Richardson-Gibbs, A. M. (2001). Strategies for Including Children with Special Needs in Early Childhood Settings: Adapting Daily Activities in Inclusive Early Childhood Settings. Delmar: Albany, NY.

McQuiston, K., O’Shea, D., & McCollin, M. (2008). Improving phonological awareness and decoding skills of high school students from diverse backgrounds. Preventing School Failure, 52(2), 67-70.

Making meaning of ourselves and the world we live in…

This week I have been interested in gaining further insight into how, through the use of literacy and numeracy, we begin to comprehend ourselves and the world we live in. The two key texts used for this blog are:

1.    Isbell, R., Sobol, J., Lindauer, L., & Lowrance, A. (2004). The Effects of Storytelling and Story Reading on the Oral Language Complexity and Story Comprehension of Young Children. Early Childhood Education Journal, 32(3), 157-163.

2.   Clements, D. H., & Sarama, J. (2011). Early Childhood Mathematics Intervention. Science, 333, 968-970.

Isbell, Sobol, Lindauer and Lowarance (2004) produced a study in order to determine how storytelling influences the language development and story comprehension of young children from 3 to 5 years of age. Storytelling has a huge influence on young children’s literacy development as a key component to meaning-making. Meaning-making is about creating ways which “we can express our growing awareness of ourselves and the world in which we live” (Wright, 2012, p.2).

Source: Google Images https://www.google.com.au/search?gs_rn=26&gs_ri=psy-ab&tok=jlW6pbJQzRtx_SwHj9IBMw&cp=21&gs_id=2a&xhr=t&q=children+storytelling&bav=on.2,or.r_cp.r_qf.&bvm=bv.52164340,d.dGI&biw=1280&bih=656&dpr=1&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=SoM3Us2AMsy7kQXlmoGoCw 

The early childhood setting is the perfect place to enrich children’s literacy comprehension. The meaningful experiences expressed during the early years throughout education settings, can provide literacy opportunities to enhance and sustain language growth. According to  (Isbell, Sobol, Lindauer, and Lowarance (2004), as early childhood educators we are able to provide opportunities for children to play with language, while gaining appreciation and making meaning of the sounds and words. Reading books aloud is a simple activity; however, it has much impact on children’s listening and speaking abilities. Listening and speaking are essential for children to be able to effectively take in, comprehend and respond to the words and information spoken to them. Picture books are effective also as they require participation, which generally involves discussing the book illustrations, enhancing children’s imaginations as well as encouraging them to create mental picture (Isbell, Sobol, Lindauer, and Lowarance (2004).

Typically, young children have the capacity to learn substantial mathematics, however sadly they simply lack the opportunities to do so. According to Clement and Sarama (2011), too many children not only start behind their more advanced peers, but also begin a negative trajectory in mathematics, which is a big letdown as there is so much to gain, and little to lose, through engaging in mathematical experiences. Through mathematics, children become aware and make meaning of themselves and the world around them. Clement and Sarama (2011, p.968) states, “children’s knowledge of mathematics predicts their later success.” Through the many skills of mathematics, such as quantitative, spatial, and logical reasoning, children can form a cognitive foundation for thinking, learning and comprehending across a broad range of topics.

Source: Google Images https://www.google.com.au/search?gs_rn=26&gs_ri=psy-ab&tok=jlW6pbJQzRtx_SwHj9IBMw&cp=21&gs_id=2a&xhr=t&q=children+storytelling&bav=on.2,or.r_cp.r_qf.&bvm=bv.52164340,d.dGI&biw=1280&bih=656&dpr=1&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=SoM3Us2AMsy7kQXlmoGoCw#hl=en&q=children+drawing&tbm=isch&um=1

Early childhood teachers often believe they are “teaching mathematics” when they provide puzzles, blocks, and songs, but in reality these activities lack explicit attention to the core mathematical skills and limits children’s inventiveness to explore and experiment. We need to broaden our horizons and encourage children to extend and mathematise their everyday activities; from building blocks to art, stories to puzzles and games, to the daily activities, such as brushing teeth and making our beds. Evidence (Clement and Sarama, 2011) demonstrates and supports the effectiveness and importance of activities that provide mathematical experiences in areas which promote children’s understanding of their world, including number, space, geometry, measurement, and the process of mathematical comprehension.

Reference:

Clements, D. H., & Sarama, J. (2011). Early Childhood Mathematics Intervention. Science, 333, 968-970.

Isbell, R., Sobol, J., Lindauer, L., & Lowrance, A. (2004). The Effects of Storytelling and Story Reading on the Oral Language Complexity and Story Comprehension of Young Children. Early Childhood Education Journal, 32(3), 157-163.

Wright, S. (2012). Children, Meaning-Making and the Arts. (2^nd ed.).Pearson Australia. 

Teaching and Developing Literacy & Numeracy: What, How and Why ??

In conclusion to my previous post I posted a short clip from National Numeracy and Literacy Week 2013, including students and teachers sharing what they love about literacy and numeracy. Many different perspectives were told throughout the clip, including students loving the contributions they can give to everyday life activities, problem solving, and also reading books and stories that transport them to a whole other world. Teachers expressed their passion for numeracy and literacy through the love of great ideas, engagement, discovery, imagination, problem solving, and enjoyment they see within children as they are learning and developing in the areas of literacy and numeracy. I shared this clip as I thought it demonstrated well not only the different views around numeracy and literacy, but also just how much children love to feel connected, and the ability to participate in and contribute to their world. This is why it is essential for us as educators to be able to influence their literacy and numeracy in a way of progression and further expansion, through knowing what, how and why to teach them beneficial skills, ensuring each child has the opportunity to explore and contribute meaningfully to their world.

So, as I mentioned, this post will elaborate further on from the message sent through the clip, investigating into ‘what’ we as educators teach in the areas of literacy and numeracy, ‘how’ is literacy and numeracy taught and developed, and ‘why’ is it so important we teach and develop literacy and numeracy?

I will be referring to a few different sources throughout this post, however, the two key texts I will be focussing on include:

1.     1. Goldstein, H. (2011). Knowing What to Teach Provides a Roadmap for Early Literacy Intervention, Journal of Early Intervention, (33)4, 268-280

2.     2. Melhuish, E. C., Phan, M. B., Sylva, K., Sammons, P., Siraj-Blatchford, I., & Taggart, B. (2008). Effects of the Home Learning Environment and Preschool Centre Experience upon Literacy and Numeracy Development in Early Primary School, Journal of Social Issues, (64)1, 95--114

These two texts really highlighted for me the importance and effects around teaching and developing literacy and numeracy in the early years. Although the second reading is based around early primary school children, the study actually investigates the influence of aspects of home and preschool (3-4yo) environments upon this later numeracy and literacy development.

What to teach in the areas of literacy and numeracy in Early Childhood?

Goldstein (2011) highlights the fundamental literacy skills for educators to teach children as phonological awareness, phonics, vocabulary, comprehension, fluency, and oral communication; all skills we use on a day-to-day basis to communicate and participate in our world.  Goldstein (2011) referred to these skills in two groups; code-based skills and meaning-focused skills. Code-based skills are important for later development of just simply reading, while meaning-focused skills included vocabulary and grammar, and knowledge of the world, helping them to become fluent readers and actually comprehending what it is they read.

Like literacy, we use numeracy in everyday activities. Some numeracy concepts include (Fleer & Raban, 2007):

·         Measurement: comparisons - high and low, big and little, full and empty. Later children will learn to use cm, kg, degrees etc, to make comparisons.

Picture: Google Images- http://www.f1online.pro/en/image-details/2343140.html/

·         Mass: how dense something is, heavy and light, big and small – later children will learn that not always the biggest thing is the heaviest or the smallest thing is not always the lightest.

·         Division: sharing – “one for you and one for me”

·         Fractions: splitting into equal amounts “half here, half over there” – children hear words like ‘half’ and ‘quarter’ everyday.

·         Numbers: how much, how long, how many.

 

Picture: Google Images- http://www.flickr.com/photos/nancyney/2340980260/ 

·         Patterns: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 – pattern in the way we say numbers helps children to remember their order and can remember what comes next.

·         Position and Direction: upside down – where something is and where they go.

·         Area: top, edge, bottom – helps later for when children will measure these surfaces and make comparisons.

·         Shape: straight, curved, bent – everyday words to describe shape such as ‘raindrop’, ‘egg shape’ help children understand shapes in their environment. Important for learning geometry later.

·         Classifying: sorting things – into the same colour and size, helping put the shopping away.

Picture: Google Images- http://reggiokids.blogspot.com.au/2010/10/leaves-leaves-and-more-leaves.html 

·         Differences: grouping things together – noticing if something is the same or different – help children later on with describing how something may be different, rather than just how it looks.

How do we teach and develop literacy and numeracy in Early Childhood?

According to Geist (2009, p. 3) “process is more important than product.” Similar to emergent literacy which in standard is the concept of teaching children effectively to read and write, emergent mathematics refers to how children construct mathematics from birth, continuing throughout their life, through a combination of cognitive development and interaction with their environment. Geist (2009) suggests young children, for both emergent mathematics and emergent literacy to ensue, need to be immersed in mathematics and literacy from the day they are born, through the interaction of those around them, especially in their home environment. Melhuish, Phan, Sylva, Sammons, Siraj-Blatchford, & Taggart, (2008) also believe and through their study have proven the impact the home learning environment has on children from a young age, impacting children’s literacy and numeracy development as they reach primary school.

For educators, to build and encourage interactions between themselves and children, and thus further impact the development of literacy and numeracy, they need to plan and critically think about how to teach. Below I have adapted a diagram I came across in a book about teaching ‘literacy for children in an information age’ (Cohen & Cowen, 2007, p.575).

1. It is vital for educators to keep in mind - especially in the current age with diversity rapidly increasing in Australia - the needs and interests of all individuals involved in the learning. It is so important to ensure we provide an inclusive education to all our students, even if this means having to make modifications or adaptations for those, for example, who may be at a lower learning level, those with various cultural beliefs, or those who speak English only as a second-language, to be able to participate in the learning also.

2.With the high demand of versatility, providing a broad array of tasks for children is important to keep their interests and curiosity at its peak, and to further encourage them to try new things through engaging in a range of activities.  Fortunately for educators these days, we can seek further ideas and resources from a much more superior choice of sources, a big one being the internet (technology), while others include books, fellow educators, etc.

3. Model of instruction refers to the approach in which the educator decides to take in order to best effectively teach their students. Some examples of models of instructions in literacy include the scaffolded reading approach, the direct instruction model, and constructivist or inquiry approach. Depending on the children, and the teacher, will depend on what model of instruction may be used for a particular task or activity.

4. Creating units of study requires educators to refer to the suited curriculum/framework, and the units and lessons suggested according to. From this, they create a suitable literacy/numeracy unit plan, sampling it prior to introducing it to their students.

5. Designing lessons within a particular unit requires breaking it down into elements; for example, designing a lesson for teaching literacy, consider the objective, learning outcomes, vocabulary, materials needs, procedure, evaluation, follow-up, accommodations for diverse learners, etc. and again, it is necessary to sample literacy lesson plan prior to lesson.

6.Similar to designing lessons, instructional design also involve breaking down elements; What is instructional design? Higher order thinking? What are the principles of good instruction? What are the learning outcomes? What accommodations are required for working with diverse learners? How will students learning be assessed? What are the objectives of this particular task?  

In conclusion to my inquiry about ‘how we teach and learn literacy and numeracy’, it is largely apparent that interactions within particular environments in which we are immersed in from a young age play huge impacts on the growth of our literacy and numeracy skills. These include kindergarten, school, with close friends and family, and in the immediate home environment; however, according to Melhuish et al. (2008), parenting and how parenting may influence educational achievement are not simple matters; poverty, parental education, culture, ethnicity, parental age, health, and other factors can all impact a child’s development. Other social interactions through sport, hobbies, public transport, local shops, etc, impact on our literacy and numeracy development as we grow also. Our development is furthermore highly predicted by our cultural beliefs and larger family background. But, the major influence to the progression and expansion of our development around literacy and numeracy is through the power of deliberate planning of meaningful teaching experiences conducted by educators.  And, as educators, to continue to encourage the progression of literacy and numeracy skills in our students, it is essential we are flexible to look at, think about, reflect on, improve, and expand from what we currently do to keep up with society’s rapid growth, development and increase in diversity.

Why do we teach and develop literacy and numeracy in Early Childhood?

Hmm….So, why is it that we take so much time, and put so much effort into planning adequate strategies, to ensure we teach children and promote the development of literacy and numeracy in Early Childhood? Some may wonder...

Every young person needs to be literate and numerate as we use the basic skills of literacy and numeracy in almost every part of our lives, as I realised after noting some of my own daily activities within a 24hour period which required me to use various numeracy and literacy skills (see, LO 4.3). When we communicate with others, either in traditional written forms or through the internet or technology, when we follow signs and instructions, when we are at our work or enjoying leisure time, when we try to make sense of the mass of information and data available through the media, or even when we are simply just managing our lives.

Without the skills of literacy and numeracy, we would be cut off from full participation in many aspects of our life. We would not be able to perform basic tasks, such as reading or sending an e-mail, advertisements and notices would be meaningless, we wouldn’t be able to just simply jot down a shopping list or understand a utility bill, and we would most likely (sadly) be excluded from contributing towards much of the society in which we live. While literacy and numeracy play a key role in communication, also being able to comprehend and interpret the world is an important ability we develop through becoming literate and numerate. Socialising and interacting with our friends and family, and even to people we may never have met before, is essential for participating and feeling validated within the wider community.

Better literacy and numeracy for individuals contributes to a more just and equitable society. Missing out on the skills of literacy and numeracy or failing to develop these skills to the best of each person’s capability is not just a loss for the individual, but also a huge loss for the society, as mastering the skills of literacy and numeracy brings with it many social, economic and health benefits for the individual and society as a whole. Developing good literacy and numeracy skills among all young people is fundamental to the life chances of each individual and essential to the quality and equity of Australian society.

Reference:

Cohen, V.L., & Cowen, J.W. (2007). Developing effective units of study in literacy. In Literacy for children in an onformation age. teaching reading, writing, and thinking (2nd ed., pp.578-622). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning. 

Fleer, M., & Raban, B. (2007). Early childhood literacy and numeracy: Building good practice. Australian Government: Department of Education, Employment, and Workplace Relations. 

Geist, E. (2009). Children and Mathematics: A Natural Combination. In Children Are Born Mathematicians: supporting Mathematical Development, Birth to Age 8 (pp. 1-33). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education Inc.

Goldstein, H. (2011). Knowing What to Teach Provides a Roadmap for Early Literacy Intervention, Journal of Early Intervention, (33)4, 268-280

Melhuish, E. C., Phan, M. B., Sylva, K., Sammons, P., Siraj-Blatchford, I., & Taggart, B. (2008). Effects of the Home Learning Environment and Preschool Centre Experience upon Literacy and Numeracy Development in Early Primary School, Journal of Social Issues, (64)1, 95--114