An Evaluation of the Teaching of Reading in Primary Schools

this report will examine how reading practices progress pupils attainments regarding the core subject of literacy in primary schools. the project will be based on the investigation of the involvement teachers undertake for enhancing the technique of interpreting words for year 5 students to prepare them for their end of year sats exams. digital material is accessible and portable i wanted to observe how pupils of would aid better served by automated education simply because it is easier and how this changes classroom dynamics.

i worked in a local primary school as a teaching assistant in a year 5 class. my duties were assigned by my mentor who gave me varying tasks to complete such as making sure the pupils stay on task marking any tests they have completed listening them read helping children who need the extra push and arranging materials that match each childs progress. my familiarity of english aided me to place emphasis on their transition in the ways that they are trained to study in concepts that suit them individually regarding social and behavioural effects.

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schoolchildren who found literacy difficult regularly need extra support the teacher would assign their assistant to help them with their lesson to push them to be equal to their classmates. they would be accessed to a mix books and tablets/laptops to progress their english grades. tutors accept the fondness for technology leans into improved marks. the aim of my study was to understand how technology is utilised for reading to learners who do not speak english as fluently.

should it be the case that teachers use traditional means of analysis a physical book or utilising modern technology following this i inspected the tactics educators practice to pupils whose english is not as advanced as their fellow classmates. i wanted to observe the varieties that educators use in the form of technology to help education in todays time. i wanted to acknowledge the ways which technology changes the prospect of literacy. qualitative methodology is the key method in my study which include interviews observation and a focus group. observations were appropriate for collecting data on natural behaviours of year 5s in their usual contexts. in-depth interviews were ideal for collecting data from the mentor on their perspectives on using technology or print. teacher focus group interviews was useful for me to produce data based on their initial responses to ask why or how. purposive sampling is how i collected results from the teacher which was representative since it simplified my study in which at the end of my study i drew a table examining to organise my data collection method for it to succeed its validity appendix a i divided my study in three segments; the first were individual interviews with a year 5 tutor and learning assistant. the next consisted of observations in which i acted as a non-participant observer. the final was a focus group interview with the tutors and assistants based on whether their strategies of using online education compared to a physical book had made any difference in their progress. main question how do tutors teach pupils whose english is weak with the support of technology by observations and interviews i realised the techniques my mentor was applying by using ipads/laptops. by a qualitative method i recognised the style they use for the childrens ability. based on this view i led face to face interviews whereas group interviews involved of three teachers and two assistants where i asked open questions about the school policies in relation to the national curriculum for those who find english challenging. concentrating on classroom practice i found there is a growing usage of computers; however academics use a different method to read in the form of a physical book. i have seen whilst interviewing a slightly older aged learning assistant who works with my mentor said she was not sure if using computers internet was operative because it is not meant to substitute the teacher. whereas the young aged tutor who was the head of the schools literacy curriculum mentioned technology can open doors to new innovative ways of supporting pupils speaking and writing. pupils who need support for their studies it would make sense for tutors to use any sort of practice whether it be traditional or modern for their study to remain in the same level as their fellow classmates. to answer my question led me to arrange sub-questions which directed me to focus on a solid method. sub question 1 what modes do teachers apply this provided a holistic interpretation of their training based on the school measures in learning. a group of novices will have different progress levels thus flexibility in their style was shown. i saw varying methods and technology computers ipads smart board particularly for children who are under the sen special educational needs list as well as using a physical book to support their capabilities. focus group interviews gave me the opportunity to comprehend their thoughts on electronic means. i observed how academics taught lexical phrases from a text by repeating every phoneme for their pronunciation to be clear away from a set of learners whose english was not to level. sub question 2 why do teachers prefer modern technological devices over traditional means when progressing their understanding educators are departing from utilising a physical book and moving towards a digital means in studying. as the internet advances so does the pupils drive to transfer into this automated age of education to perfect their literacy. sub question 3 what do teachers understand by the ideology of reading this was central to gain awareness on what considerations trainers undertake in recitals of semantics. by individual and focus group interviews i collected a variety of data on how they viewed the notion of perusal with those whose find pronouncing english words difficult. this was beneficial when conducting my inspection due to it being adjustable to constant changes in a school setting. i gathered data by my chosen method giving me the chance to have an in-depth valid account of my findings. throughout i managed a healthy relationship with my mentors and the staff and attained consent to accomplish my analysis and obeyed to ethical values. i enforced triangulation to generate fidelity of my data by carrying out observations and interviews. the aim of classroom observations was to identify comparisons in studying how to infer phrases. i examined how the activities and the exchanges of the educator and class and pupils with their peers. it was to determine how electronic material boosts erudition using mainly an interactive smart board. i noticed that the targeted learners were seated with an experienced reader to help as well as enjoy the lesson set with the support of their peers. the usage of books was of a minimal and an interactive whiteboard was widely used for the interests of all level readers. therefore i based myself as a non-participant overt observer in which i was able to receive a rich body of work regarding their familiarity to the work provided to them. i recorded everything that i found was applicable to my question. the time i spent in the lesson for observing was 1 hour every lesson in which the time the class spent learning was 45 minutes the last 5 minutes was spent writing about what they read. for those who found the activity hard were given the same task and i found they used the support of the book and their friends. when they have an intervention session in the morning for 30 minutes away from their subject exercise they use computers and tablets for their study to improve their memorisation which would come handy when answering questions in class. i decided to use field notes to see how academics use visuals forms of online interactive study consisting of pictures to recognise new information appendix b this project was commenced by a pilot study where i had the chance to conduct a face to face semi structured interview with the main teacher of the class and a learning assistant who leads the intervention class set by the educator for 30 minutes. to make my inquiry accurate so by observing the class i made notes of the questions i wanted to ask about their views for those who found the lesson challenging and how cardinal texts help them. i wrote out a list of questions i wanted to ask the instructors about my topic and practiced my interviewing appendix c by questioning a sequence of prearranged open ended questions meant that i had control over the subject of the interview and is flexible than it would be if i led an unstructured interview. my aim was to understand their point of view than make generalisations of academic work. as i had built a rapport with my teachers it felt more like a colloquial conversation just so that i can get answers that are high in validity much more in depth and detail. i knew the restrictions of getting information would be difficult to generalise findings however since my study was planned to determine their views it was easier to generalise the answers. i noted down their answers. these interviews were conducted during lunchtime break to evade the disruption of schooling guaranteeing sound data. i listened to their answers and if i realised that they had not produced a proper answer and was going off topic i would repeat the question differently which would provoke them to reveal more in detail. at the end of my interview i found that the advantage of interviewing them individually produced data that was rich; had produced similar views whereas the downsides were due to it being subjective and biased on my side it somehow led them to go off topic. the main aim of focus group interviews was to find a rounded conclusion to what academics thought about this subject. every educator has their own way of schooling i wanted to know how they utilise digital and common methods. the staff preferred their attendants to learn electronically to hasten their progress whereas the rest of them reiterated that the classic style of a book and being visual with the children was the way to go. i led a focus group interview with five tutors which included two leaning assistants who supported pupils using classic and computing means to advance their attainment. according to cohen and morrison 2017 by starting an interview with a general question would leading on to a sub category question would be ideal to avoid an overload of information. following this i aimed to question three of my sub questions and views on literacy for targeted sets; this was high in validity as i observed their body language to see if they were comfortable or agree/disagree and permit me to witness communication between their co-workers. i attained material on how they use out-dated and modern means to progress targeted adherents whose level was not on par. the discussion lasted one hour in which i had written a list of questions appendix d i made notes of their answers which were flexible and casual; an advantage as it meant more relevant data. i repeated questions from my interview when unsatisfactory answers were gained and to verify answers from my interview to be high in reliability. this led to practical evidence to why an educators automated means were the best way to enhance literacy levels for targeted novices. answers were either positive digital material excites their enthusiasm to read and negative classic books are the way forward computerised resources are temporary. this was efficient because i got to examine both sides of the argument specifically the assistants who were older than the three main academics who were young aged. this implemented relevant data extending my responsiveness on the issues of studying online to advance their study using either books or computers. during my time at the school i was able to support the children and observed an insight in the ways educators employ to promote their delivery in the interests of each member in the class with varying personalities. i found that whilst working with the children i had to differentiate my techniques to suit their learning style just so that they can grasp their work. from this placement and my investigation i learnt that basics such as reading in todays world of education has dramatically changed. children are around electronic materials all the time and schools are accepting this notion if it can progress their school grades. if it means using online devices over traditional books then it will be used as a sense of making learning more fun virtually by a video clip or using a laptop or an interactive whiteboard; books were used but only as a formality. to conclude i used qualitative means of method because it examined the preference of the staffs responses of the progression using different means of material for those whose find it a struggle to read english. different methods were decided based on the appropriateness of my project. in consideration of ethical issues the issues raised also make an impact of the results of the study but the valid data strengthens my examination leading to reliable representations. teachers should discover more approaches to support pupils on expression of words for pupils who are not fluent in their rendition of a balanced mix of conventional and digital uses. this will aim for them to advance their learning practice in order to become effective in english.