Aus: 'New teachers will have to learn phonics before entering classrooms'

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Debbie_Hepplewhite
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Aus: 'New teachers will have to learn phonics before entering classrooms'

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Events and hotting up in Australia regarding the profile and importance of 'phonics'. Read this in 'The Daily Telegraph' about closer scrutiny of the degree courses for teachers:
New teachers will have to learn phonics before entering the classroom

February 26, 2016 12:00am
EXCLUSIVE Bruce McDougallThe Daily Telegraph

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/n ... 1378fa5c1b

The action comes as analysis of international results shows Australia falling behind other countries in key subjects including literacy, and Naplan scores flatlining.

NEW teachers will have to learn phonics before they are allowed in classrooms, and teacher degree courses that fail to include it face the axe.

The tough new requirements follow revelations many new teachers have little or no training in phonics, the learning system based on letter-sound relationships and a vital tool in learning to read.

Universities will be required to submit their teaching programs to the Board of Studies for approval by an expert panel and amend them if they are not up to scratch.
A phonics teaching guide has been produced to ensure all teachers include it in learn-to-read programs, and more professional training has been ordered for teachers.
The action comes as analysis of international results shows Australia falling behind other countries in key subjects including literacy, and Naplan scores flatlining.

A Board of Studies spokesman said it now accredited only primary teaching degrees that taught phonics.

“Degrees now need to provide explicit and systematic teaching of reading including content specific to phonemic awareness and systematic phonics instruction,” he said.

Teacher education courses that fail to provide “comprehensive instruction in phonics” risk losing accreditation.

The Daily Telegraph has learned several universities have been required to provide additional evidence they are covering phonics properly, with some forced to make “significant revision” to courses.

A review examined 68 accredited primary education masters or undergraduate courses from 14 teacher-training providers across the state.

It found programs placed more emphasis on knowledge and understanding of literacy development than teaching strategies and skills for literacy.

Associate professor of literacy education at Australian Catholic University Robyn Cox said teachers and parents could help children learn to read by using a rich mix of methods, including phonics.

“A fundamental part of an early reader’s skillset is to know about the relationships between letter and sounds (phonics),” Dr Cox said.

“It follows that the explicit teaching of this must be done by teachers who know and understand these relationships and know how to teach phonic knowledge in an interesting and fun way.”

School principals have been aghast to find many student-teachers favour methods of teaching literacy such as whole language or drama — despite phonics being embedded in the curriculum.

Education Minister Adrian Piccoli said: “Research tells us teaching students the relationship between sounds and spelling patterns is crucial to the teaching of reading.”
“The government wants all teachers to use phonics as an essential part of early literacy programs.”
Here are some related threads to this topic:

Professor Kevin Wheldall's open letter to Adrian Piccoli re Reading Recovery:

http://www.iferi.org/iferi_forum/viewto ... ?f=3&t=533

Professor James Chapman's radio interview about the efficacy for Reading Recovery:

http://www.iferi.org/iferi_forum/viewto ... ?f=3&t=537

It is very difficult to give systematic phonics provision the profile and importance it deserves when reading instruction methodology remains institutionally focused on the multi-cueing reading strategies at the heart of intervention programmes such as Reading Recovery and mainstream 'whole language' or 'balanced literacy' approaches.
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