Article Two:A Historical Perspective

A Historical Perspective on Reading Research and Practice

Patricia A. Alexander and Emily Fox provide a look back at the last fifty years of reading practice and research. They break each era into the conditions for change, the guiding view, the resulting principles and rival views of learner and learner processes. Alexander and Fox conclude by pointing out that when we look at theory and practices of the past, we can better understand current practices and also use our knowledge to help shape reading research and practices for the future.

The Era of Conditioned learning (1950-1965)
Conditions for change
*Reading became a recognized field of study with systematic programs of research investigating the processes of reading acquisition.
*Social, educational, political and economic factors instigate change
*High birth rate during and right after World War II brings record numbers of children into the public school system.
*Sputnik- brings to forefront need for American students to compete globally and need for understanding why some children had trouble with reading acquisition.
*Research community brought in to apply same principles of analysis that explained and controlled the behavior of animals in laboratories to how children learn language.
*With involvement of research community the processes and skills involved in reading will be clearly defined and broken down into parts that can be systematically taught and practiced.
Guiding View
*Skinnerian-strict behaviorist perspective that learning is a conditioned behavior, not a result of growth and development of the student.
*Strict behaviorist perspective was that repeated skill and drill brought on predictable response or learned behavior from students with no cognitive involvement in the part of the individual.
*Davie Hume-narrow concept of “training” students with desired behaviors and the environmental stimuli that brought on desired behaviors (students can be trained to read with no cognitive thought).
*The goal for reading research was to unlock the desired behaviors involved in reading so that learners could be “trained” in each of the identified skills necessary for successful reading.
*Finally, further analysis of struggling readers was needed to derive appropriate behaviors to be presented in smaller increments to students that have difficulty.
Resulting Principles
*Literature and reading material concentrates on the many sub skills required for reading.
*Cornell University Project Literacy program results in behaviorist emphasis on investigating observable behavior that focuses on reading as a perceptual activity.
*Perceptual activities identified through Project Literacy are identification of visual signals; translating visual signals to sounds; assembling sounds into words, phrases and sentences.
*Phonics instruction seen as important part of beginning reading acquisition.
*Interest in developing and validating diagnostic instruments and remedial techniques counters emphasis on skills acquisition.
Rival Views of Learner and Learning Process
*William James-reading is a mindful habit; human thought mattered in human action and introspection and self-questioning necessary tools for uncovering those thoughts (p. 36).
*Reading seen through the psychological eye instead of through the physiological eyes of measuring behaviors observed.
*Reasoning involved in reading, not just learned behavior.
*Gestalt theory of top down, wholes to part instruction; focus on the whole rather than on its parts for reading instruction.
*Chall identified top-down as “linguistic” proponents, and emphasized whole word recognition, context in comprehension and word identification important parts of reading.

The Era of Natural Learning (1966-1975)
The Conditions for Change
*Unrest in reading community with Skinnerian behaviorism theory and the “training” of students through skills and drills.
*Increased interest in the student and the process of learning brought on by neurology and artificial intelligence.
*Attention brought back to inside the human mind as opposed to the environment as a means of learning.
*U.S. federally funded nationwide cooperative research ventures and brought together different reading projects that compared various approaches to reading instruction for beginning learners (First Grade Studies).
*Linguists and psycholinguists influenced new setting for reading research.
*Linguists followed Chomsky’s views that language acquisition had less to do with the environment and more to do with individuals being “hard-wired” to acquire language.
*Psycholinguistic researchers felt that the behaviorists views of “training” students to read through environmental stimuli for reading acquisition destroyed the natural communicative power and the natural beauty of reading.
Guiding View
*Learning seen as a natural process. Language develops through meaningful use.
*Human beings biologically programmed to acquire language if given the correct conditions.
*Norm Chomsky-humans are born with preexisting templates that guides language use.
*Chomsky influenced by research in neuroscience and cognitive science.
*Psycholinguistics emerge in the reading community based on the shift of language as a natural process from a conditioned behavior.
*Psycholinguistics focus on semantics and how meaning is acquired and used during the reading process; focus beyond oral language into print or reading as well as writing.
*Labov and Shuy look at variations of everyday language use; the contrast of everyday language use of children of different social classes and the language demands within the classroom setting began to come to the forefront of educational research and practice.
Resulting Principles
*Shift from language as a learned behavior, to language as a natural human occurrence. *Language has a natural and rule governed structure.
*Language arts instruction to include not only reading, but writing as well.
*Learner seen as an active participant, not a “trainable” passive learner of the behaviorists train of thought.
*New goal was to figure out the unexpected responses of the reader when attempting to make sense or decide meaning from what is being read.
*Goodman and colleagues develop miscue analysis.
Rival Views of Learner and Learning Process
*Researchers invested in cognitive science and artificial intelligence also interested in the internal structures and processes of the human mind.
*Rival researchers focused more on how the processes and procedures could be best represented symbolically and transferred onto computer programs (intelligent machines) that could act like the human brain.
*Written language involves the manipulation of a symbolic system not needed in oral communication or in other problem solving domains like history and biology.
*Rival researchers found similarities in human language processes were probably linked to the acquiring or learned knowledge and processes together with innate mental capabilities.

The Era of Information Processing (1976-1985)
The Conditions for Change
*Growing attention by the research community to the structure and processes of the human mind -strong cognitive roots.
*Increase in U.S. federal funding for basic reading research.
*Creation of research centers devoted to reading research.
*Center for the Study of Reading at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign involves psychology and reading-related researchers (English, literature, communications and writing) in studies.
*New reading research not interested in the naturalness of reading and the mixture of literacy fields
Guiding View
*Information-processing theory with unprecedented research on the construct of prior knowledge; an undercurrent of psycholinguistic still prevailed.
*Immanuel Kant-Kantian philosophy that “the mind is no passive recipient and product of sensations, but is an active agent” (pg 42).
*Processes or “laws” explaining human language as an interaction between symbol system and mind.
*Text-based learning about knowledge.
*Individuals input, interpretation, organization, retention, and out-put of information assisted with organization and storage on information presented from the environment inside the mind.
Resulting Principles
*The reader’s knowledge base influenced perspectives on what was read or heard.
*Readers now viewed as active participants with minds of their own; support of individuals interpretation of written text.
*Comprehension delved into; story grammar, text cohesion, text structure and text genres now viewed as important information to the reader.
*Schema theory introduced viewed as most potent legacies of time.
*Schema theory-Kant philosophy that gave readers knowledge power, pervasiveness, individuality and modifiability and are building blocks of cognition.
*Students minds can significantly be modified via direct intervention, training or explicit instruction.
*General text-processing strategies of , mapping, self-questioning and predicting now viewed as important information for the learner.summarization
Rival Views of Learner and Learning Process
*Naturalistic and holistic view of reading by psycholinguists prevailed.
*Shift away from neurological basis to teach, concentrated on naturalism of materials and procedures of instruction in reading.
*Louise Rosenblatt-The Reader, the Text and the Poem; nonaesthetic reading where the reader’s attention is directed outward to what should be retained from the text read, what ideas will be tested on and what actions will be required of the reader after the text has been read.
*Aesthetic view focused on the literary experience where the readers attention is centered directly on what they are living through during their relationship with that particular text.

Era of Sociocultural Learning (1986-1995)
The Conditions for Change
*Computer-like, mechanistic aspects of learning now being rethought.
*Studies of information-processing theory in cognitive training programs conclude that they did not pan out in the ways expected; student improvement minimal or nonexistent.
*”Laws” of text processing didn’t account for particular populations, different text formats and differences in classroom conditions.
*Social and cultural anthropologist like Vygotsky and Lave give new viewpoints for literacy research and a growing acceptance in literary community of the increase diversity in ethnographic cultures throughout student population.
*Outcome of learning now viewed as less important than the actual learning process.
Guiding View
*Views now focused on the masses rather than the individual; universal laws of learning unique to particular social, cultural and educational groups.
*Learning a socioculture, collaborative experience; learner a member of the learning community.
Resulting Principles
*A new look at schooled and unschooled knowledge to guide understanding and use of language.
*A learner’s knowledge not always a positive influence on learning, may get in the way of learning if misconceptions exist.
*Sociocultural nature of schools and classrooms where teachers played an important role as facilitator utilizing scaffolding to increase knowledge, interest and strategic abilities in any given area.
*Terms like learning communities, socially shared cognition, shared expertise, guided participation, situated action and anchored instruction exemplify current sociocultural views for learners.
Rival Views of Learner and Learning Process
*Rivals agree on the importance of considering social and contextual forces in literacy, differences were more in the importance given to social interactions.
*Knowledge not just shaped by social experiences and interactions; knowledge would happen when students are involved in discussions or collaborative-learning activities.

The Era of Engaged Learning (1996-Present)
The Conditions for Change
*Linear as well as nonlinear text available for leaner’s.
*Growing number of hypermedia and hypertext now available.
*Student motivation increased by database management systems that guides or prompts readers to other informational sites and sources.
*Motivation research views learners’ interests, goals, self-efficacy beliefs, self-regulation and active participation in reading as well as text-based learning; rethinking learner as a motivated and engaged reader.
*Reading now viewed as a domain that relates to all readers, not just young or struggling readers; new view extends past initial stages of reading acquisition to a range of reading-related, goal-directed activities throughout a lifetime.
*The old “learning to read” and “reading to learn” stages are a thing of the past; now a shift has been seen that encompasses a more integrated and developmental perspective of lifetime learning to read.
Guiding View
*Reading not just text-based anymore, but encompasses nonlinear, interactive, dynamic and visually complex material through audiovisual media.
*Still have a great deal to learn about nonlinear media and its beneficial use in classroom instruction.
*Now need to look into pedagogical techniques and learning environment adaptations to help not only readers that have difficulty with print, but also readers who have difficulty with hypertext.
*John Dewey -reader is a motivated knowledge seeker; learning involves integration of cognitive and motivational forces.
*Trend back to the individual learner and personally meaningful, socially valuable body of knowledge important.
*Students no longer viewed as “readers” after acquiring basic linguistic skills or fluency, but keep growing as readers while their linguistic and subject-matter knowledge, as well as their strategic capabilities and motivation mature into adulthood.
*Learning to read well a lifelong developmental process.
Resulting Principles
*Reading now viewed as a cognitive, aesthetic, or sociocultural activity that is interactively involved in reading development.
*Students should be exposed to the range of textual materials, both traditional and nontraditional, inside their classroom environments.
*The phenomenal amounts of information and text types now produced places new demands on learners.
*Genuine developmental theory of reading needs to be developed that not only encompasses early literacy acquisition, but also spans into proficient adult reading.
Rival Views of Learner and Learning Process
*Reconditioning view invested in the identification, teaching and remediation of subskills underlying reading acquisition driven by high-stakes testing and the drive for national standards.
*Support for this reconditioning basic skills and components of reading gaining support from researchers in special education and others that support struggling readers.
*Neuroimaging techniques allowing these researchers the ability to examine the neurological structures and processes of struggling and special needs readers.
*Attempts to pinpoint the specific neurobiological and physiological patterns related to specific reading outcomes continue to being looked into by rival researchers.

Reflection
As I think over what was read about the past 50 years of research and practices, several thoughts come to mind. One thought that was present as I wrote down important information was how each progressive era has built on each other in some way. As the article mentions, each researcher has investigated a wider range of phenomena and often at a greater level of complexity. As each era investigated a particular perspective of reading and the learner, progress has been established in increments.

Each era and research group had particular interests that was made clear through their work. The behaviorists investigated the behaviors needed to read and felt that students could be manipulated by skills and drills. They viewed students as passive pieces of clay that could be molded by the environment. Linguist and psycholinguistics helped shape the era of natural learning. Focus was now moved back into the individual learners mind and how they were "hard wired" to acquire language. Cognitive researchers viewed learning as a step by step process that could be taught not through skill and drill practice, but instead “laws” of human language were sought and prior knowledge was important. Federal funding for basic reading research had a lot of influence on this era. The sociocultural era looked not at the individual, but at the individual as part of a larger group. Particular social, cultural and educational groups were investigated, thus forming the trend of this era. Finally, I couldn’t help but wonder how this current era will play out with the introduction of hypermedia and hypertext. We have yet to master traditional text and the best approach to instruct learners, now we have the additional nonlinear format and vast amount of information to add to the “reading” pot.

As a special educator, I am part of the final group mentioned in the article. I can’t help but feel compelled to find the “secret” to teaching reading acquisition and found this article interesting from that point of view. The political and special interest undertones of each era led me to wonder if a “secret’ will ever be found. I do agree that the old learning to read and reading to learn mentality has to be revised not only by the researchers, politicians and educational society, but by society as a whole. With the introduction of hypermedia and hypertext, we have to rethink our classrooms, instruction, and personal views that we bring into our teaching.

Educators are not too unlike the researchers of each era. We each bring a particular perspective into our classrooms and must, to the best of our knowledge, provide the students in our charge with the finest instructional practices we have. It has become clear to me while reading this article that the more I know, the more I don’t know. Fortunately, we are learning and trudging through this together. Sharing our ideas and beliefs with each other will provide different perspectives that may assist us while teaching our diverse student population. Although research continues, and it always will, we can plow through this next era of teaching with the information we glean from our classes and from each other to provide the best possible learning environments for our students.

Having said that, we are also like the researchers in that we have district policies, state funding issues and political influences that far exceed any power we may have . In Massachusetts, as in other states, our high-stakes testing influences greatly the type of instructional materials, implementation and focus of our teaching. Many of us lack materials and resources to provide our students with the basics. It is even more difficult to provide students with what they need to succeed when you don’t have the resources to provide them with desks and chairs to sit on. As districts are “held accountable” for high-stakes testing and funding is increasingly diminished based on poor test results, it becomes an almost unfathomable challenge to teach students at all. It is through our knowledge that we, as educators, can make a difference. We need to continue to share the information and research articles with our administrators and work to implement small changes that are within our reach. Hopefully, with each of us igniting a small spark in our districts, a bigger flame will be eventually seen and education will be fueled by the enthusiasm and caring that we “little people” provide our students. Maybe, just maybe, the “big wigs” will ask those of us in the trenches what we think and what we feel would be most effective with our students. Hey, I have to dream don’t I?

Thank you for your contribution to this blog. I welcome your comments and additional important information. I am not a researcher, as is not doubt clear from my summary, but I gave it a good shot. Debbie B. is going to give the next two articles a whirl. Comments can be added to any post at any time. Feel free to jot down you thoughts at any time.

Have a super weekend,

Debbie Shanks : )