Finlay-Scott, Alice (2019) "We can take words apart" How can I Enhance my Teaching of Phonological Awareness? Masters thesis, National University of Ireland Maynooth.
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Abstract
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.
Item Type: | Thesis (Masters) |
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Keywords: | take words apart; Enhance; Teaching; Phonological Awareness; Froebel; Department of Primary and Early Childhood Education; |
Academic Unit: | Faculty of Social Sciences > Froebel Department of Primary and Early Childhood Education |
Item ID: | 13715 |
Depositing User: | IR eTheses |
Date Deposited: | 01 Dec 2020 10:05 |
URI: | https://mural.maynoothuniversity.ie/id/eprint/13715 |
Use Licence: | This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here |
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