Early literacy program receives third year of funding
PLATTEVILLE - The UW System has awarded a grant to the University of Wisconsin-Platteville to continue the third year of the Improving Early Literacy project. The project, directed by Gwendolyn Coe, professor of teacher education, is designed to improve teacher quality through additional training in advancing early literacy in pre-k, kindergarten and grades one and two.
Sixty teachers from 20 school districts in Southwest Wisconsin will receive training and college credit under the program during 2006-07. Some of the teaching strategies they will learn are scaffolded writing, strategies to improve memory and attention, and early literacy assessments that focus on phonological awareness, print awareness, concept of word, and fluency. Coe said the workshops have been well received and feedback from early learning teachers has been quite positive. Cindy Terrill is a Title 1 and Reading Specialist for the Pecatonia School District who has been attending the training sessions and found the scaffolded writing particularly effective. "The Early Literacy Workshop provided me with a myriad of ideas ranging from cues to use during transition times, visual cues and verbal phrases (external mediators) to prompt reading and listening activities, and most especially "scaffolding writing" procedures to use to enhance emergent writers ... We've been so impressed with what the students have been able to communicate on paper, from their initial drawings to full sentences," Terrill said.
Another workshops participant, Jamie Hartwig, is a pre-k teacher for the Platteville School District. Hartwig said she believes the workshops are making her more aware of the value of "external mediators." "Professionally, I am more aware of and use external mediators, or tools that we discussed in the workshop. They are an easy way to help me help the children who are struggling without singling them out because everyone in class can benefit from them," Hartwig explained. Anyone interested in learning more about the workshops may contact Coe at (608) 342-1294.
Contact: Gwendolyn Coe, assistant professor, School of Education, (608) 342-1294,coe@uwplatt.edu
Prepared by: Evelyn Martens, Public Relations, (608) 342-1194, martense@uwplatt.edu
<< Home