Latest / Learn Literacy Podcast / Intro to Podcast
Transcript
- Cheryl Urbanczyk: Hello everyone and welcome to the Learn Literacy podcast, where we support the cause of language for life by teaching literacy through language and structure. Today's topic is an introduction to the podcast and about myself and some of the goals I hope to achieve through this time together and this project. So terms of myself, I've been in education for about 30 years. I started as a high school science teacher. And I noticed at that time students couldn't really read their textbook to learn new information, but really the focus was teaching science and I didn't have any skill set to help students read their textbook anyway. So ⁓ that just kind of something that stuck in the back of my head. After some I made a switch to elementary and started teaching grade and two. And of course, that was a long time ago where the main way of teaching students literacy was through leveled readers, ⁓ literacy approach. And didn't really know too much at all about ⁓ structured or anything like that. I read books like the Fountas and Pennell books and some others that were considered, the it. books at the time in literacy and made my program based on that. So I think probably the students I had at the time learned to read maybe in spite of me because I'm not quite sure looking back how ⁓ strong of a I had, but I emphasize a lot of sight words and luckily the kids could learn to read through sight word memorization and we kind of went way. So, after that I taught a bunch of different elementary grades and then ended up in middle school where I really focused on grades seven and eight. I taught ⁓ language arts, science, social studies, religious studies, things like that. And so the program I taught in grades seven and eight at that time was really like the reading, writing workshop approach. I was teaching ⁓ a private school. And the students were very capable and very similar level. So it was an ideal teaching experience. ⁓ And I a class library. ⁓ Kids read books, responses. We did literature circles. There was a heavy on teaching of writing. And kids had ⁓ to write a lot. somewhat dismayed at the lack of writing in middle school. but that could be a podcast episode that's coming up. so felt the kids were really well prepared for high school. Around that time is when I started notice concerns about my daughter and her development as a reader. ⁓ So that I'm going park a minute and just continue to talk about my education journey and my professional journey and kind of how My daughter's experience kind of lined up with this. ⁓ was teaching middle school. My daughter was ⁓ learning to read. She was in ⁓ five at the time and was very much a non-reader. ⁓ So then learned I need figure out what to do to help her. I was a panicky situation, to be honest with you. How can I help her? I had no skill set. Even though I was a teacher, I didn't know what to do. So I learned Orton Gillingham to help her ⁓ into this world ⁓ learning about Orton Gillingham, structured literacy, structured word inquiry, ⁓ all kinds of that were at that time really outside of the mainstream. Because this was at least 10 years ago, mind you. If not, know, more maybe 15 years ago. ⁓ And so... much of the science of reading conversation and these things that we are starting to take as common knowledge now really weren't back then. You really had to find this information and look for it. So I continued my Orton-Gillingham study. I became a fellow of the academy. I started tutoring other students in addition to working with my daughter and got to understand the dyslexic profile. I got my series certification as structured literacy dyslexia specialist. I actually got my Ontario College of Teachers reading specialist certification, although I didn't feel that was very helpful because when I took those courses, they were based on the reading workshop balance literacy approach. So ⁓ after some teaching, got into administration. and I was a principal in private schools for some time, started schools, grew schools, and now I'm a public school elementary K-8 administrator. So I have within education a bit of an eclectic background from working in Canada and the United States as a teacher, administrator, wearing a bunch of different hats. I was even a homeschooler for a bit with my daughter. I homeschooled her. And so I have that perspective in a bunch of different communities doing a bunch of different things. when I think about how family needs service for a family kind of drive what we do, this is a real good example. ⁓ So when I learning about how to help my daughter, ⁓ I... learned about my father and his learning challenges and he was probably dyslexic. these family connections are there. To be honest, many people who get into Orton-Gillingham are study of dyslexia and trying to help kids from that perspective, ⁓ either have a connection or are dyslexic themselves. So there's a real motivator or a connection help loved ones ⁓ and people around you. So, fast forward a little bit. ⁓ I the Learn Literacy platform and through that I've done a bunch of things. I've done tutoring. I've done training for Orton Gillingham ⁓ and that's such a joy. So, ⁓ I get to train from like the all over. So many provinces in Canada, ⁓ many people in the States. had people from Saudi Arabia, Thailand. France, Germany, England, Mexico, and I'm excited to add many more countries to that list. ⁓ So the neat about the online perspective that really COVID opened this up and allowed this online platform for OG learning is connecting to people and seeing how are similar and different in the struggles that we have in supporting people with dyslexia. And it really helps me have a wide perspective from an education point of view and a personal point of view. And it allows me to, help and reach out to people ⁓ and share I know in many places. And that's really wonderful. ⁓ So I Orton Gillingham trainings. I'm going to start offering structured literacy trainings that can lead people towards series certification or the Center for Effective Reading Instruction that's aligned with the International Dyslexia Association. I've done consulting and collaboration with different school boards in Canada and the States, different literacy ⁓ And all of different things that I do really support ⁓ literacy for life or people ⁓ be literate, to engage ⁓ the society that we have around us. So ⁓ I think about, ⁓ ⁓ ⁓ goal and vision for Learn Literacy in the podcast, engage with people and share what I know ⁓ to help. this goal. ⁓ this concept or this tagline of language for life really gets at the heart ⁓ of, the economy ⁓ and how we need as, ⁓ as a human right skill. I mean, we can't engage the knowledge around us. Even, through listening, reading, writing, if we don't have the language skills. the oral communication skills, the reading skills, the writing skills. So language for life is very important. Margaret Rosson, an OG Orton Gillingham figure, had this phrase of linguistic competence or linguistic power. And I really like both of those phrases a lot. They both speak to what people need. in order to bring their full potential to the world. It's not just enough to have functional literacy, like reading a menu or a bus schedule filling out an application. But our knowledge economy, we need people with linguistic power. We need people who have linguistic competence that can understand and use gifts them. they aren't hampered by literacy skills. They can read and write commensurate with their ⁓ grade, career, what have you. And so when we think about, know, especially in our current context, ⁓ you may seeing headlines like, ⁓ this generation of children is some of the first that's cognitively less than previous generations, is measured by international tests and things like that. is a big factor in that, in reading, learning vocabulary, all of that kind of stuff. And so that linguistic competence is so key that you can, you are not held back by skill, by these skills. And in fact, you can use literacy, reading, writing, or a language to get where you want to go. And that linguistic power, if we think ⁓ of ⁓ being in a situation, for example, maybe you're talking to someone and they use words you don't know, you can't understand their message, you don't understand longer sentence structures, you you can't engage in the society around you. And now more than ever, we need a literate citizenry to engage ⁓ ensure we all live together on this globe peacefully. So When we think of linguistic competence and linguistic power, that's encapsulated in that phrase language for life. Okay. Our other big concept is teaching literacy through language and structure. ⁓ this is a goal in the podcast as well as ⁓ Learn Literacy platform that we teach ⁓ through language and structure. What does that mean? ⁓ Well, is our oral language, our reading and writing. Language the language itself, that we teach the aspects of the language. Yes, there's phonics for reading, ⁓ spelling strategies for encoding, there's ⁓ things written expression, there's comprehension strategies, there's, understanding meaningful word parts like morphemes, prefixes, suffixes, grammar. So teaching the language is really all of these things. It's not enough just to teach simple phonics and then job done by grade two or three. We hope kids are good. Or I'm kids a few spelling rules and then ⁓ again, hopefully get it and that's that. But ⁓ the ⁓ ⁓ rich and and interesting. So we want kids to have the tools across the facets of language. to have that linguistic competence. Sound structure of the language, written structure of the language, meaning structure of the language, all of these things together. ⁓ when viewed that way, teaching literacy ⁓ really dependent on the teacher developing knowledge ⁓ of language itself and how can use it and how we can teach it. And then we support students. Right? We can't give what we don't have. So teacher knowledge of that language is key. So teaching literacy through language and structure. So structure refers to a bunch of things like our instructional practices, that they're very structured and supportive for students, that students know we are doing in this part of the lesson or the other part of the lesson. ⁓ It's stability that allows us then to switch content in and out. and kids do well with structure and that type of thing. the direct explicit practices, the ⁓ ways review, all the science of learning instructional practices that we know about, for example, fall into structure. Also in ⁓ the structure piece teaching literacy through language and structure is the structure of the language itself. Right? We can teach the language and the parts I talked about without a structure attached to them. They could be like haphazardly presented maybe ⁓ taught opportunistically. And was actually kind of done in that balanced literacy model where, if you see students don't know something, teach it as opposed to a very structured, let's say scope and sequence. And you start from simple to complex and you kind of move kids along ⁓ what they to know. as opposed to opportunistically teaching things. So, ⁓ the is so important for learning in terms of instructional practices, the structure of the language itself, and how we put all of these things together. So, the goal of Learn Literacy is language for life, the linguistic competence, and teaching through language and structure gives us that overview of the outlook on how we're going to achieve this language for life. what I'm hoping with the podcast is to share different thinking about this. I would like to have ⁓ practitioner where I invite different practitioners on of ⁓ various of literacy, ⁓ maybe Gillingham, structured literacy, structured word inquiry. ⁓ and really see what people are doing on the ground. We know what research is saying, but hearing from people on the ground and their stories and what they're doing and their impact is really key and something we can all learn a lot from. So those stories are so important. I also have an idea to do ⁓ a history dyslexia series where I have some different readings I'd like to profile. from Hinchelwood and ⁓ and share a little bit about some of the historical facets and background of dyslexia and where it came from and how we got here. Now, mean, it's not going to a, let's say comprehensive minute by minute history, but some ⁓ things that found interesting and fascinating ⁓ to create parallels to what we see today and help us understand the history of again, how we got to where we are today. So, I hope to bring to the conversation my unique voice and experience. I have a wealth of experience kind of all together as a parent of a child with dyslexia. I have experience from the education sector as a teacher and as an administrator in different contexts and places. I'm an Orton-Gillingham Fellow. the Structured Literacy Dyslexia Specialist, I've studied structured word inquiry. So, I kind of have all these things rolling around in my brain and a very eclectic ⁓ and want offer ⁓ what I know share out some of what I know to benefit and inspire people out there because ⁓ the goal of for Life ⁓ is key to children's success. and to helping adults who are still learning literacy. through I hope to create some forward momentum and motion ⁓ to people and help them become better teachers, practitioners, thinkers about literacy and learning and ⁓ connecting all of you. So thank you very ⁓ Tune in for some profiles and some history of dyslexia episodes coming up soon. If you are interested in learning more about LearnLiteracy, you can go to learnliteracy.com. I have information posted there about myself, trainings, different things coming up, so forth and so on. I can be found on social media at LearnLiteracy1. And I forward to connecting with you soon. Thank you.