Vision/Philosophy Statement

Cynthia M. McLain

Department of Education & Counseling, Longwood University

READ 650 Evaluation of Literacy Research

Dr. Angelica D. Blanchette

Mar 26, 2023

 Vision/Philosophy Statement

Children can develop the components of literacy. Reading, writing, speaking, and

listening are valuable and necessary skills. Literacy allows us to advance in education and job

security but also adds to our ability to communicate and connect with others. Introducing and

exposing our students to all kinds of literacy can enrich their lives. Laminack, (2009) states, “let

me remind you that literature in all its many forms has such potential to expand the horizons of

every child— regardless of background or baggage, privilege or poverty.” Literacy skills vary

immensely from student to student. As educators, it is vital that we determine where our students

are in their learning process when it comes to writing, reading, listening, and communicating

orally. Our task is to move these students from where they are to where they need to be through

our instruction. This can be accomplished by providing scaffolds or supports that assist students

in expanding their current understanding of reading and writing and building on that by adding

more complex concepts. As students learn more material, the supports are slowly removed. (Iris

Center, 2005). Not all students will respond to our initial instruction or our first attempts at

scaffolding. They may need more intense interventions.

Reading is something, as adults and skilled readers, we do all day without effort or

thinking. Children that struggle with reading ideally need early intervention, but even older

students will respond favorably to our efforts. If our current instructional approaches are not

working, we should look at the current research that provides plenty of evidence of what works

and make it an integral part of children’s literacy learning. (Kilpatrick, 2015).

 References

Kilpatrick, David (2015). Essentials of assessing, preventing, and overcoming reading

difficulties. Wiley.

Laminack, Lester (2009). Unwrapping the read aloud: making every read aloud experience

intentional and instructional. NY: Scholastic, (pp.93-95).

The IRIS Center. (2005). Providing instructional supports: Facilitating mastery of new skills.

Retrieved from https://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/module/sca/.