There is a bit of racism in the special education silo. I used to describe special education as a field – as in “the field of special education.” And indeed, it did used to be a field. You can see this field when reading articles from the major special education academic journals in the 1990s and early 2000s. It was a field. Not a farmer’s field but a field in the wild. This kind of field is a beautiful place. It is an ecosystem, with birds, other animals, and a wide variety of plant life. And a field in the wild is not contained. It changes over time as new seeds, plant life, and animals interact with it. The edges of the field evolve and change over time.

Education is a field. Literacy education is a field. But special education is not a field anymore; rather, it has become a silo.

This is the first in a series of podcasts that will address racism as it pertains to special education and literacy instruction. In these podcasts I am addressing the special education system, which I refer to a silo. In this podcast, I define racism.

A disclaimer: In these podcasts I am not referring to any particular school, school district, university, or teacher preparation program. I am addressing systemic racism in the larger special education silo.

The steps of the action research process are described below. Note that it is a recursive process that does not always proceed in a linear fashion (Johnson, 2012; Patterson & Shannon, 1993). Thus, some of these steps may need to be repeated several times, or they may have to be done in a different order.

1. Ask a question, identify a problem, or select a research topic.

2. Set the problem or research topic in a theoretical context.

3. Make a plan for data collection

4. Begin to collect and analyze data.

5. If necessary, allow the question or problem to change as data are collected.

6. Analyze and organize the data.

7. Make conclusions and recommendations.

8. Create a plan of action.

9. Report your findings.

The following seven descriptors provide insight as to the nature of action research.

1. Action research is systematic

2. You do not start with an answer.

3. Action research projects vary in length.

4. The study must be adequately planned before beginning to collect data

5. Observations should be regular, but they do not necessarily have to be long.

6. Action research is grounded in theory.

7. Action research is not an experimental study.

Teachers are the most significant variable in determining the quality of education students receive and the amount of learning that occurs. Yet, when it comes to discussions about how to enhance learning or improve the quality of education, this most significant variable is often ignored. To make this variable even more significant, there must be continued investment in teacher professional development.

It is naïve to think that a finished teaching product can be created in four semesters of any teacher preparation program. These programs instead provide the knowledge and skills for pre-service teachers to begin their journey toward being and becoming skillful professionals and eventually, expert teachers. Toward this end, there are two necessary elements: developing knowledge and engaging in reflective analyses. This podcast will examine both of these.

A method in education usually refers to a defined process or specific set of techniques that are used exclusively in a prescribed fashion for instruction in a particular subject area. In contrast, a pedagogical strategy is a specific teaching technique that is used selectively in a variety of subject areas for a specific purpose. Direct instruction is one such pedagogical strategy. It should not be considered a method. There are instances when direct instruction is the most effective strategy to use. There are other instances when it is the least efficient strategy to use. Like any pedagogical strategy, its effectiveness is dependent on how it is used and for what purpose.

This podcast describes strategies for attending to sight words in a meaning-based approach to reading. It ends with an examination of scope and sequence charts.

There are eight terms related to reading instruction that are commonly misunderstood: (1) reading, (2) word recognition, (3) word identification, (4) decoding, (5) a strategy, (6) a skill, (7) systematic phonics instruction, and (8) a balanced approach. This podcast is to bring clarity to these commonly misunderstood terms.

Phonics is the ability to associate sounds with letters or letter patterns. Phonics is one of four ways used to identify individual words as we read. The other three are: (a) analogy [word families], (b) morphemic awareness [prefix, suffix, affix, root], and (c) context clues [semantics]. Phonics instruction is very important, but it should never be taught as the sole component in a reading program. If reading instruction consists only of phonics, the other word identification skills will not develop. Reading instruction that is effective simultaneously develops all four word identification skills.

In viewing online discussion groups and reading various articles related to reading instruction and struggling readers, it is clear that many believe that ‘whole language’ is a bad thing. All well and good, but one should understand exactly what whole language is before rejecting it.