WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.940 Greetings, this is The Reading Instruction Show. 00:00:03.180 --> 00:00:05.980 As always, I am your host, Dr. Andy Johnson. 00:00:06.660 --> 00:00:09.779 The title of today's podcast is called Orton 00:00:09.779 --> 00:00:14.259 Gillingham, full colon, Behind the Pretty Words. 00:00:15.199 --> 00:00:17.679 So let's see if we can learn something today. 00:00:19.260 --> 00:00:22.359 Unpacking Orton Gillingham. Orton Gillingham 00:00:22.359 --> 00:00:26.100 is an approach to teaching reading that is, quote, 00:00:26.300 --> 00:00:30.059 multisensory, sequential, incremental, cumulative, 00:00:30.640 --> 00:00:33.320 individualized, phonics -based, and explicit, 00:00:33.560 --> 00:00:38.479 so said Ripple 2020. A recent article in the 00:00:38.479 --> 00:00:41.539 Reading League Journal said that, quote, many 00:00:41.539 --> 00:00:45.820 of the defining features of OG approach are supported 00:00:45.820 --> 00:00:50.740 by extensive scientific research, including direct 00:00:50.750 --> 00:00:55.030 and explicit instruction with scaffolding, structured 00:00:55.030 --> 00:00:59.289 and sequential instruction, and diagnostic and 00:00:59.289 --> 00:01:04.450 prescriptive instruction, Austrian et al 2024. 00:01:05.909 --> 00:01:10.109 Also, the Orton -Gillingham website described 00:01:10.109 --> 00:01:15.730 the approach as, quote, direct, explicit, multi 00:01:15.730 --> 00:01:19.090 -century, structured, sequential, diagnostic, 00:01:19.709 --> 00:01:25.829 and prescriptive. Now if the number of superlative 00:01:25.829 --> 00:01:29.390 adjectives used to describe a thing determine 00:01:29.390 --> 00:01:34.430 its effectiveness, then by all means Orton Gillingham 00:01:34.430 --> 00:01:40.109 would be very effective. But what exactly do 00:01:40.109 --> 00:01:44.469 all these pretty, pretty words mean? Let's do 00:01:44.469 --> 00:01:47.730 a little unpacker right in here. Direct instruction. 00:01:48.719 --> 00:01:53.340 Yes, direct and explicit instruction is supported 00:01:53.340 --> 00:01:58.060 by extensive scientific research. Absolutely. 00:01:59.000 --> 00:02:01.519 Everybody in the world knows that. They would 00:02:01.519 --> 00:02:05.560 agree that direct instruction is an important 00:02:05.560 --> 00:02:10.139 part of reading instruction. Old language teachers 00:02:10.139 --> 00:02:14.580 use direct instruction. Balanced literacy teachers 00:02:14.580 --> 00:02:18.680 use direct instruction. And I'm sure if penguins 00:02:18.680 --> 00:02:21.340 could be trained to teach reading, they too would 00:02:21.340 --> 00:02:26.199 use direct instruction. Direct instruction is 00:02:26.199 --> 00:02:29.900 a pedagogical strategy consisting of a, explicit 00:02:29.900 --> 00:02:33.800 input, b, modeling or demonstration, c, guided 00:02:33.800 --> 00:02:36.979 practice with a gradual release of responsibility 00:02:36.979 --> 00:02:41.979 called scaffolding, and d, independent practice. 00:02:43.120 --> 00:02:46.840 Direct instruction. is an effective teaching 00:02:46.840 --> 00:02:51.919 strategy for the initial learning of any kind, 00:02:52.280 --> 00:02:57.919 absolutely. But it's a strategy that every teacher 00:02:57.919 --> 00:03:02.840 should have in their teaching toolbox. It's basic 00:03:02.840 --> 00:03:09.659 teaching 101. It has never been a question of 00:03:09.659 --> 00:03:12.699 if direct instruction should be used in early 00:03:12.699 --> 00:03:16.039 reading instruction. It's always been a question 00:03:16.039 --> 00:03:20.479 of how or how much direct instruction should 00:03:20.479 --> 00:03:24.479 be used. For the science of reading people, it's 00:03:24.479 --> 00:03:28.900 always been much. For balanced literacy practitioners, 00:03:29.180 --> 00:03:35.039 it's always been as much as needed. Scaffolding. 00:03:35.659 --> 00:03:39.620 Educational scaffolding is any kind of support 00:03:39.620 --> 00:03:45.219 used with initial learning. This initial support 00:03:45.219 --> 00:03:50.639 is followed by a gradual release of teacher responsibility 00:03:50.639 --> 00:03:55.520 as students become more adept with what's being 00:03:55.520 --> 00:04:00.159 learned. Scaffolding is a part of guided practice 00:04:00.159 --> 00:04:03.759 used in direct instruction. However, it's also 00:04:03.759 --> 00:04:07.939 used to provide support with any type of learning. 00:04:08.980 --> 00:04:12.900 Everybody believes that scaffolding is an important 00:04:12.900 --> 00:04:18.060 thing. This is not something new or unique. This 00:04:18.060 --> 00:04:21.459 is not something that needs extensive scientific 00:04:21.459 --> 00:04:25.399 research to determine its effectiveness. Again, 00:04:26.120 --> 00:04:31.339 basic teaching 101. What about structured and 00:04:31.339 --> 00:04:35.819 sequential instruction? Well, according to the 00:04:35.819 --> 00:04:40.480 International Dyslexia Association, structured 00:04:40.480 --> 00:04:45.220 instruction for reading includes these six elements, 00:04:45.980 --> 00:04:49.879 phonology, sound symbol association, syllable 00:04:49.879 --> 00:04:54.779 instruction, morphology, syntax, and semantics. 00:04:55.800 --> 00:04:58.639 Again, you'd get little argument from anyone 00:04:58.639 --> 00:05:01.680 in the field of literacy that these elements 00:05:01.680 --> 00:05:05.339 should not be part of initial reading instruction. 00:05:06.579 --> 00:05:10.680 But what's interesting here is that each of the 00:05:10.680 --> 00:05:16.060 three queuing systems are used here. Hmm. Hmm. 00:05:16.819 --> 00:05:20.759 Does the International Dyslexia Association support 00:05:20.759 --> 00:05:24.720 the three queuing systems? Hmm. Perhaps there's 00:05:24.720 --> 00:05:29.639 hope for this organization. And why am I dragging 00:05:29.639 --> 00:05:33.120 the International Dyslexia Association into the 00:05:33.120 --> 00:05:37.720 mix here? It's because of their strong link to 00:05:37.720 --> 00:05:41.920 Orton Gillingham. This organization was originally 00:05:41.920 --> 00:05:46.500 called the Orton Society. In 1982, it changed 00:05:46.500 --> 00:05:50.360 its name to the Orton Dyslexia Society. And in 00:05:50.360 --> 00:05:54.879 1997, it changed its name to the International 00:05:54.879 --> 00:06:01.579 Dyslexia Association. IDA. But more importantly, 00:06:02.480 --> 00:06:07.199 in 2014, they were the ones who came up with 00:06:07.199 --> 00:06:12.439 the term structured literacy, from which structured 00:06:12.439 --> 00:06:17.399 instruction is derived. And the quiet part was 00:06:17.399 --> 00:06:21.319 said out loud when they stated the purpose of 00:06:21.319 --> 00:06:25.259 the term was to, quote, unify and sell what we 00:06:25.259 --> 00:06:29.779 do, unquote. It's all about marketing, you see. 00:06:31.180 --> 00:06:34.600 Now, according to the IDA, structured instruction 00:06:34.600 --> 00:06:39.699 is, quote, systematic and cumulative. Now let's 00:06:39.699 --> 00:06:44.000 pause a minute to look at the accumulation of 00:06:44.000 --> 00:06:48.819 all the important sounding words used so far. 00:06:49.279 --> 00:06:53.720 Structured, systematic, scientific, diagnostic, 00:06:54.339 --> 00:06:58.899 prescriptive, direct. explicit, extensive, sequential, 00:06:59.279 --> 00:07:05.540 cumulative, logical order. How could anybody 00:07:05.540 --> 00:07:10.800 be against these things? But what exactly do 00:07:10.800 --> 00:07:14.920 they mean? Now if you want to have a good time, 00:07:15.360 --> 00:07:19.579 ask your Science of Reading friends or your IDA 00:07:19.579 --> 00:07:22.829 and Orton Gillingham friends. to define these 00:07:22.829 --> 00:07:27.670 11 terms and then record their responses. You'll 00:07:27.670 --> 00:07:30.089 notice quite a bit of variation in the responses 00:07:30.089 --> 00:07:36.509 as well as a lot of squirming. The IDA says, 00:07:36.790 --> 00:07:39.009 quote, systematic means that the organization 00:07:39.009 --> 00:07:42.949 of material follows the logical order of the 00:07:42.949 --> 00:07:49.649 language. More words thrown about. What is the 00:07:49.649 --> 00:07:54.439 logical order of language. Is there an illogical 00:07:54.439 --> 00:07:59.720 order? According to the IDA, the logical order, 00:07:59.720 --> 00:08:03.339 quote, must begin with the easiest and most basic 00:08:03.339 --> 00:08:06.980 concepts and progress methodically to more difficult 00:08:06.980 --> 00:08:11.160 concepts and elements, unquote. To which I say, 00:08:11.500 --> 00:08:15.740 brilliant! But again, this is Basic Teaching 00:08:15.740 --> 00:08:20.850 101. Good teachers, always start with easy or 00:08:20.850 --> 00:08:24.370 simple things and progress to more difficult 00:08:24.370 --> 00:08:29.649 or complex things as students are ready. However, 00:08:30.370 --> 00:08:34.690 what's easiest and most basic in reading is based 00:08:34.690 --> 00:08:38.909 on one's experience with language. Reading things 00:08:38.909 --> 00:08:42.470 that make sense and using words and concepts 00:08:42.470 --> 00:08:46.960 from children's experience is much easier. than 00:08:46.960 --> 00:08:50.340 decoding lists of words and nonsense words in 00:08:50.340 --> 00:08:55.340 isolation, and reading decodable books with artificial 00:08:55.340 --> 00:09:02.659 sentences like nan and pap sat on a pan. Cumulative 00:09:02.659 --> 00:09:06.120 means that each new thing builds on the last 00:09:06.120 --> 00:09:12.019 thing, and again, basic teaching 101. Good teachers 00:09:12.019 --> 00:09:16.519 always make connections to or build upon previous 00:09:16.519 --> 00:09:21.799 learning. This is basic constructivist learning 00:09:21.799 --> 00:09:26.799 theory. This also reflects Bruner's learning 00:09:26.799 --> 00:09:30.159 theory that calls for skills and concepts to 00:09:30.159 --> 00:09:34.480 be taught in their simplest form first to become 00:09:34.480 --> 00:09:38.500 a platform for more complex skills and concepts 00:09:38.500 --> 00:09:44.240 later on. But what about sequential instruction? 00:09:44.809 --> 00:09:49.669 What's the sequence? And who decided that the 00:09:49.669 --> 00:09:55.730 sequence was to be a sequence? Hence, you get 00:09:55.730 --> 00:10:01.730 things like a scope and sequence chart. Now these 00:10:01.730 --> 00:10:06.110 can be useful in providing a general sense of 00:10:06.110 --> 00:10:08.990 the kinds of things you might teach early on, 00:10:09.289 --> 00:10:12.289 as well as the types of letter patterns you might 00:10:12.289 --> 00:10:16.940 ask students to notice, However, scope and sequence 00:10:16.940 --> 00:10:21.360 charts are not reliable enough to be used in 00:10:21.360 --> 00:10:25.700 a prescriptive fashion. They should never become 00:10:25.700 --> 00:10:32.059 the roadmap to instruction. However, the giant 00:10:32.059 --> 00:10:36.370 I -thinkism behind structured instruction is 00:10:36.370 --> 00:10:39.990 that if children just put all the teeny tiny 00:10:39.990 --> 00:10:42.870 parts of a scope and sequence chart together 00:10:42.870 --> 00:10:47.129 in a logical order, they'll be able to read. 00:10:47.529 --> 00:10:51.769 And that's just playing cookie talk. Alright, 00:10:51.889 --> 00:10:56.029 diagnostic and prescriptive instruction. An effective 00:10:56.029 --> 00:11:00.730 diagnosis of any kind first determines if there 00:11:00.730 --> 00:11:04.649 is a problem and then identifies the cause of 00:11:04.649 --> 00:11:09.309 the problem. According to the IDA, International 00:11:09.309 --> 00:11:13.889 Dyslexia Association, diagnostic and prescriptive 00:11:13.889 --> 00:11:17.909 instruction uses, quote, careful and continuous 00:11:17.909 --> 00:11:20.690 assessment that is both formal and informal, 00:11:21.330 --> 00:11:27.309 unquote. Everybody agrees that careful and continuous 00:11:27.309 --> 00:11:31.710 assessment is important. Nobody wants careless 00:11:31.710 --> 00:11:36.799 and discontinuous assessment. However, a proper 00:11:36.799 --> 00:11:40.700 diagnosis of reading occurs apart from instruction 00:11:40.700 --> 00:11:45.759 and focuses on three deficit areas, word recognition, 00:11:46.559 --> 00:11:50.460 fluency, and comprehension. And I have yet to 00:11:50.460 --> 00:11:54.539 find a more effective diagnostic instrument than 00:11:54.539 --> 00:11:57.879 a diagnostic reading assessment sometimes called 00:11:57.879 --> 00:12:03.000 an informal reading inventory. But diagnostic 00:12:03.000 --> 00:12:07.990 instruction uses assessments within the context 00:12:07.990 --> 00:12:14.009 of instruction. The proper term for this is progress 00:12:14.009 --> 00:12:17.990 monitoring. Effective reading instruction of 00:12:17.990 --> 00:12:22.929 any kind has always included pragmatic measures 00:12:22.929 --> 00:12:27.610 to use for progress monitoring. Prescriptive 00:12:27.610 --> 00:12:32.509 instruction is an instructional plan based on 00:12:32.509 --> 00:12:36.820 the diagnosis. Now struggling readers are not 00:12:36.820 --> 00:12:41.279 all the same. Each has different strength and 00:12:41.279 --> 00:12:46.320 deficit areas. Since each deficit area is addressed 00:12:46.320 --> 00:12:50.620 differently, the instruction prescribed for each 00:12:50.620 --> 00:12:55.840 student should be different. This points to the 00:12:55.840 --> 00:13:00.100 importance of a valid diagnostic measure specifically 00:13:00.100 --> 00:13:03.960 addressing the three deficit areas, word recognition, 00:13:04.139 --> 00:13:08.480 fluency, and or comprehension. Now this is much 00:13:08.480 --> 00:13:11.519 different from the one -size -fits -all instruction 00:13:11.519 --> 00:13:15.639 used in Orton -Gillingham and other reading products. 00:13:16.820 --> 00:13:20.340 Here the same reading subskills are prescribed 00:13:20.340 --> 00:13:24.929 in the same order in the same way. High -ability 00:13:24.929 --> 00:13:28.009 readers go a little faster and are a little ahead. 00:13:28.529 --> 00:13:31.190 Struggling readers go a little slower and are 00:13:31.190 --> 00:13:35.850 a little behind. But the same prescription is 00:13:35.850 --> 00:13:40.750 used with everybody. This instruction could hardly 00:13:40.750 --> 00:13:47.289 be said to be prescriptive. And multi -sensory. 00:13:47.690 --> 00:13:52.840 Ah! Multisensory instruction is said to be the 00:13:52.840 --> 00:13:58.139 magic ingredient in Orton -Gillingham. Multisensory! 00:13:59.279 --> 00:14:02.460 This simply means visual, auditory, and kinesthetic 00:14:02.460 --> 00:14:08.919 modalities are used when teaching. In other words, 00:14:09.120 --> 00:14:13.279 as children are learning, they see things, they 00:14:13.279 --> 00:14:18.269 hear things, and they do things. This is nothing 00:14:18.269 --> 00:14:22.750 new or magical. It's not unique to Orton -Gillingham. 00:14:23.149 --> 00:14:27.210 It's called multimodal instruction, and elementary 00:14:27.210 --> 00:14:31.049 teachers have been using various forms of it 00:14:31.049 --> 00:14:36.929 for decades. So the research, what about the 00:14:36.929 --> 00:14:40.409 research that, quote, proves, unquote, the effectiveness 00:14:40.409 --> 00:14:45.600 of Orton -Gillingham? Well, despite the claims 00:14:45.600 --> 00:14:49.059 of being heavily research -based, it's simply 00:14:49.059 --> 00:14:53.840 not. The research used to support the use of 00:14:53.840 --> 00:14:57.320 Orton Gillingham often measures students' progress 00:14:57.320 --> 00:15:00.879 using pseudo -reading or non -reading tasks. 00:15:01.840 --> 00:15:06.019 It uses measures of questionable validity. It 00:15:06.019 --> 00:15:09.620 does not use comparison groups. It's derived 00:15:09.620 --> 00:15:12.940 from unpublished master's or doctoral theses. 00:15:13.019 --> 00:15:17.700 Is a study put out by organizations that have 00:15:17.700 --> 00:15:21.519 a vested interest in certain outcomes or makes 00:15:21.519 --> 00:15:25.460 claims of superiority without controlling for 00:15:25.460 --> 00:15:29.399 covariates such as gender, socioeconomic status, 00:15:29.720 --> 00:15:33.299 ethnicity, verbal IQ, or initial reading skills? 00:15:35.399 --> 00:15:38.639 The problem with Orton Gillingham and similar 00:15:38.639 --> 00:15:43.580 for -profit products, Lindemude, Whilson, Language 00:15:43.580 --> 00:15:48.639 Training, Barton Systems, etc., is that they 00:15:48.639 --> 00:15:54.840 try to reduce teaching to an algorithm. An algorithm 00:15:54.840 --> 00:15:58.620 is a formula for solving problems in which you 00:15:58.620 --> 00:16:02.639 follow a step -by -step set of procedures with 00:16:02.639 --> 00:16:08.509 fidelity, to achieve a specific outcome. In other 00:16:08.509 --> 00:16:12.230 words, by correctly following a prescribed set 00:16:12.230 --> 00:16:16.149 of steps in a specific order, you will be led 00:16:16.149 --> 00:16:21.730 to a predetermined solution. Algorithms are useful 00:16:21.730 --> 00:16:25.190 in mathematics and computer science for calculation, 00:16:25.629 --> 00:16:28.970 data processing, and automatic reasoning. But 00:16:28.970 --> 00:16:34.419 for teaching, not so much. However, Orton Gillingham 00:16:34.419 --> 00:16:38.519 would have you believe that if the teaching algorithm 00:16:38.519 --> 00:16:42.720 is followed explicitly, the teacher can be assured 00:16:42.720 --> 00:16:46.600 that students will learn to read. And if the 00:16:46.600 --> 00:16:49.440 algorithm doesn't work, you run them through 00:16:49.440 --> 00:16:54.019 the algorithm again and again and again. What 00:16:54.019 --> 00:16:58.899 these algorithmic programs offer is a false sense 00:16:58.899 --> 00:17:07.839 of certainty. Despite Despite all the important 00:17:07.839 --> 00:17:12.880 sounding words thrown about about the long -term 00:17:12.880 --> 00:17:16.119 effectiveness of these direct, explicit, multi 00:17:16.119 --> 00:17:18.519 -sensory, structured, sequential, diagnostic, 00:17:18.839 --> 00:17:24.000 and prescriptive instructional products, their 00:17:24.000 --> 00:17:28.720 effectiveness is simply not evident. This has 00:17:28.720 --> 00:17:31.480 been The Reading Instruction Show. I'm your host, 00:17:31.549 --> 00:17:32.670 Dr. Andy Johnson.