A review of: "Learning from Text" by Dave L. Edyburn
- A. Ferguson
- May 11, 2017
- 3 min read
Reading is a complex process that many take for granted; however, this life skill does not come as easy to some, which can stir up feelings of embarrassment and low self confidence on a regular basis. When one cannon proficiently read, especially while in school, they are unable to learn from text. It was not until we did a little task reading analysis in our Assistive Technology class that I realized how many steps and processes are involved in reading that skilled readers take for granted. This notion is supported by Edyburn when he said, "As fluent readers, typically little cognitive energy is required to recognize and understandthe meaning of a given text. It is difficult to imagine the frustration, embarrassment, and difficulty associated with every encounter with text" (2003, p. 16). For these reasons, it is imperative that students with reading disabilities receive the proper instruction and assistive technology supports in the classroom.
To access this article, visit this site:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/197hr30ytn8dzqr/AACD5JSPYM2FzwzOO19bD3Dya/UDL%20AT%20Articles/Edyburnrem%20vs%20comp.pdf
Edyburn points out that students, up until grade 3, focus on learning how to read, then beyond grade 3 they are focusing on learning from the text (2003). He also shares many roadblocks in tailoring lessons and curriculum for students with reading difficulties, such and time and money. And when children are not learning from the text, they received a failing grade, then move on (2003). This is not fair for the students, and as an educator and parent of young children just getting their start in school, it is aggravating to always hear the 'time and money' excuse for not being able to accomplish what is necessary for achievement...although I understand it...
When a certain amount of time is allotted to learn a concept and only one type of instructional practice is used in the class, it is obvious that not all students will master the intended outcome during the time period. Time and topic are not likely to change, so how do we ensure every students' success? Edyburn suggests that, "proactive efforts must provide a compensatory technology enhanced performance system that produces functional outcomes indistinguishable from those of his peers" (2003, p. 17).
When deciding which route to take to support students, it is necessary to ask if more remediation is needed to keep learning how to read, or, if those efforts have been exhausted, do we turn towards compensation, which can help them to learn from the text? I agree with Edyburn that the question of remediation versus compensation needs to be asked. If it is not, we risk increasing drop out rates because they are unable to read for success. An a-ha moment in this article for me was that many teachers resort to remediation, even at the higher grades as a way to get students to read. This is common practice and what many are familiar with. But as Edyburn points out so clearly, "if remedial approaches always worked, we would never see high school students that couldn’t read independently beyond thesecond grade level" (2003, p. 19). So what do we do?
Compensation approaches target the use of assistive technology to aid students in doing, in this case, reading tasks that they cannot do on their own. Assistive technology (A.T.) can decrease the amount of time a student needs to learn from text, as less time is spent trying to read. This will lead to feelings of success and increased self-confidence. When choosing the appropriate A.T., there are many factors to consider, such as learning environment(s), tasks to be completed, roles of each stakeholder, etc. (Edyburn, 2003). Edyburn also suggests various types of compensatory strategies that could be used in the class, such as bypass reading, decreased reading, support reading, organize and graphic organizer reading, and guided reading. Some of these are familiar to me by title, whereas others were not so until I read their descriptions. In my experience, the use of graphic organizers and decreased reading are used most often. Since this article was written in 2003, I imagine there is a plethora of reading compensation tools that could be added to this list. I look forward to learning more about them during this course. A major take-away for me from Edyburn is that if a student has been unsuccessful over and over again in their quest to learn how to read, then we need to stop enabling them to repeatedly fail and we must provide them with compensatory assistive technology to be successful in the classroom and beyond!
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