"We can take words apart" How can I Enhance my Teaching of Phonological Awareness?

The aim of this research study was to enhance my practice in the area of phonological awareness instruction. Having worked as a Junior and Senior Infant teacher in a disadvantaged setting for the past number of years, I became increasingly concerned about the low level of early literacy development exhibited by several of my pupils. Upon investigation, I realised that my knowledge and understanding of phonological awareness, a crucial pre-curser to reading and writing, was limited and that this could be one explanation as to why some of my pupils were not achieving success. Following further reflection, I also realised that my teaching of early literacy had become overreliant on commercial educational programmes and I was not teaching in an overly engaging, child-led or differentiated way. I was experiencing myself as a 'living contradiction' (Whitehead, 1989). Although I claimed to value engagement and equality within my practice, I was not living towards those values. A change in my practice was needed. Working within a self-study action-research framework, my research followed an actionreflection cycle. A ten-week intervention was implemented which aimed to increase phonological awareness in my pupils, promote engagement and enjoyment and also equally include each pupil. Lessons were taught on a whole-class, small-group and individual basis and were largely games-based, incorporating movement, concrete materials and music. Data was collected through the use of semi-structured observations, a reflective journal, pre and post-intervention assessment and a post-intervention questionnaire. The study found that a multi-modal, multi-sensory approach to phonological awareness promoted pupil engagement and enjoyment. All pupils increased their scores in the post intervention assessment. The study also found that whole class teaching of phonological awareness was insufficient in meeting the diverse range of needs in my classroom. Given the success of early intervention in preventing and remediating reading difficulties, it is important that schools prioritise this important aspect of early literacy development. This could be done through the provision of extra in-class support teachers to facilitate a station teaching approach, and by providing training to early years educators in phonological awareness.

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

masters

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

National University of Ireland Maynooth

Year dc:date.issued

2019

Author dc:creator

• Finlay-Scott, Alice

Language dc:language

en