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NSW, Aus: One in three schools agree to phonics reading check as critics sound alarm

Posted: Fri Jul 31, 2020 11:28 pm
by Debbie_Hepplewhite
It's great to hear that teachers are volunteering to use a phonics screening check in New South Wales. Thank goodness. Hopefully this development will grow - described in The Sydney Morning Herald:

One in three schools agree to phonics reading check as critics sound alarm

By Jordan Baker
https://www.smh.com.au/education/one-in ... 55heb.html
One in three NSW public primary schools have signed up to an August trial of the controversial year 1 phonics screening check, in a sign of educators' growing support for a phonics-heavy approach to teaching reading after decades of bitter debate.

Some 518 of the state's 1600-odd government schools and 49 Catholic schools will do the check between mid and late August. Teachers will spend five to seven minutes with each student to listen to how they blend sounds to read 40 words.

Re: NSW, Aus: One in three schools agree to phonics reading check

Posted: Fri Jul 31, 2020 11:34 pm
by Debbie_Hepplewhite
As David Hornsby's comment is quoted in the news article above, here is a link describing worries regarding his 'understanding' of reading instruction:

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1051&hilit=David+Hornsby

Re: NSW, Aus: One in three schools agree to phonics reading check

Posted: Fri Jul 31, 2020 11:36 pm
by Debbie_Hepplewhite
As Robyn Ewing was mentioned in the article, here is a link to her 'understanding' of reading instruction (via the 'search' facility):

search.php?keywords=Robyn+Ewing&terms=a ... mit=Search

Re: NSW, Aus: One in three schools agree to phonics reading check as critics sound alarm

Posted: Mon Aug 03, 2020 11:55 am
by Debbie_Hepplewhite
Teacher-blogger, Greg Ashman, responds to Jordan Baker's news piece via his popular Filling the Pail blog:
Phonics and the Voynich manuscript
https://gregashman.wordpress.com/2020/0 ... anuscript/
When education academic Robyn Ewing dismisses the idea because reading, “…boils down to meaning – understanding that it’s about meaning-making first.” they are offering us a false choice. Attempts at understanding the meaning of a text are only enhanced by an understanding of the relationships between letters and the sounds they represent.
Fortunately, teachers are starting to see through the false choices and are taking over the conversation for themselves. This is right and proper as teaching emerges, blinking, into the light of a being a profession with a professional body of knowledge. Despite the warnings of academics such as Ewing, David Hornsby – “Absolute bloody silliness” – and Pasi Sahlberg, a third of public primary schools in New South Wales have opted in to the new phonics check. Why? Because the teachers working in those schools see the value of it.
Do read the whole of Greg's post - it's not long.

Re: NSW, Aus: One in three schools agree to phonics reading check as critics sound alarm

Posted: Tue Aug 04, 2020 12:03 pm
by Debbie_Hepplewhite
Here is further news about the phonics check in Australia described in The Educator:
Teachers get new tool to boost phonics education
https://www.theeducatoronline.com/k12/n ... ion/272626

Not surprising, now mention is made of another phonics detractor in Australia - Dr Misty Adoniou:
Dr Misty Adoniou, associate professor in language, literacy and TESL at the University of Canberra, said the phonics check will provide “neither a diagnosis nor a cure” for the reading and writing declines in national and international testing in Australia.
This academic has already featured on a number of threads via the IFERI forum, see here if this is of interest:

search.php?keywords=misty&terms=all&aut ... mit=Search

Re: NSW, Aus: One in three schools agree to phonics reading check as critics sound alarm

Posted: Tue Aug 04, 2020 12:10 pm
by Debbie_Hepplewhite
I'm cross-referencing this thread with comments made by Dr Paul Gardner regarding the uptake of systematic synthetic phonics in Australia - where he notes the influence of developments in England - and which features my personal response to Gardner's article:
Myths and deception: ‘synphonpreneurs’ are pushing synthetic phonics in schools

by Dr Paul Gardner
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1367&p=2813#p2813

Re: NSW, Aus: One in three schools agree to phonics reading check as critics sound alarm

Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2020 12:46 pm
by Debbie_Hepplewhite
Teachers in Australia, here is access to the Australian phonics check:

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1369