ABCs of Reading: How to Teach Children to Read

Executive Summary

MANY students encounter difficulties in learning to read, posing a significant challenge for educators in the Philippines. The World Bank has declared a state of learning poverty, revealing that 9 out of 10 Grade 5 students in the Philippines are unable to comprehend simple, age-appropriate texts (World Bank, July 2022). The PISA 2022 results have further highlighted the Philippines' struggles, placing the country at the bottom for Reading.

To address this situation, Reading Specialists, in partnership with the RC Manila Foundation, Kabisig ng Kalahi Foundation and the Department of Education - Pasay, organized a targeted training workshop: "ABCs of Reading: How to Teach Children to Read". This report highlights how this initiative provided valuable tools and knowledge to 42 public school teachers, who teach from Kindergarten to Grade Six.

Participants received instructional materials, such as letter boards and sound cards, to support their teaching. These resources were designed to complement the training, enabling teachers to effectively guide young students in developing essential reading skills.

Teachers’ Satisfaction and Confidence

To ensure workshop quality, the organizers gathered information on teacher satisfaction and confidence through pre- and post-training surveys. As shown in Chart 1, the post-training survey results indicate a high level of satisfaction, with 100% of participants agreeing that: a) the training content was relevant and engaging, and b) they felt confident in their ability to use the various strategies to effectively teach reading to young learners.

The top 3 highly rated items were:

1. 92.5% of teachers strongly agreed that the training content was relevant to their needs.

2. 90% of teachers strongly agreed that the trainers presented the information in an engaging and effective way.

3. 87.5% of teachers strongly agreed that they were confident in using phonics activities in teaching reading and spelling in their classroom.

While slightly more teachers at 17.5% agreed that they are confident in using the reading fluency activities in their classroom, this indicates that there is room for future training topics to focus on deepening understanding of and strategies in reading fluency (reading accurately, smoothly, and at a good pace).

Significant Gains in Teacher Knowledge

To measure how much the teachers learned from the training, they were asked to rate their knowledge of different reading topics before and after the workshop. The results, shown in Chart 2, indicate that on average, the teachers gained knowledge across all the topics covered.

The training was particularly successful in teaching teachers about fundamental ideas that support the Science of Reading, such as: Ehri's Stages of Reading Development; Scarborough's Reading Rope.

The data also suggests that several topics were new to many of the teachers who attended the training, including: Frayer Model for Vocabulary and Creating Student-Friendly Definitions - both are examples of strategies that develop understanding of new vocabulary words by using simple language and connections to what students already know.

Teachers’ Positive Feedback on Training Impact

Participants also shared positive feedback about the training in writing. Here are some examples:

"The session was full of new learnings. The handouts/materials were helpful especially for future use."

"The training was very informative and the speakers expertly discussed, and demonstrated strategies in teaching reading."

"The training for today really gives us strategies on how to teach the learners who are having a hard time learning how to read."

"The topics discussed were useful, especially addressing the needs of the learner when it comes to reading."

Their feedback indicates that the training not only imparted valuable knowledge and skills but also boosted teacher confidence in their ability to teach reading effectively.

Building on the positive outcomes of this workshop, Reading Specialists is committed to providing ongoing support to participating teachers. Future initiatives may include follow-up training sessions focused on specific areas, such as vocabulary development and reading comprehension strategies for diverse learners. The organization is open to exploring opportunities to further support teachers in implementing the learned strategies with their students.

Acknowledgement of Sponsors

This initiative would not have been possible without the support and collaboration of the RC Manila Foundation, Kabisig ng Kalahi Foundation, Jose Rizal Elementary School, the Department of Education - Division of Pasay, and Anvil Publishing for their partnership and dedication to improving the quality of reading instruction for young Filipino children.

Note: A total of 42 participants took part in the training event, however only 40 survey responses were recorded for the post-training survey.