Benefits of Integrated Learning Support for Early Childhood Children When Learning Sight Words

Abstract

While working as a teaching assistant and on practicums, I noticed that students can significantly benefit from positive one-to-one adult support. I accordingly developed my teaching approaches to allow this, focusing on sight word development because the students that I was working with often had limited knowledge of sight words and were below school standard average PM Benchmark reading results. Initially I believed that integrated learning support could be a ‘double edged sword’, with a potential to benefit students but also to make them feel isolated from their peers, identifying them as different. Hence I planned to encompass all students in my class, so that I wasn’t isolating or leaving anyone out, and to address students’ needs in a way as to leave them feeling positive and confident. With the inclusion of all students I found them encouraging each other and discussing each other’s progress, and no student had a negative experience or seemed to feel isolated. I also noticed that the use of praise, encouragement and animation can make a significant difference in student engagement, and I also received a tremendous amount of support from parents for practising sight words and completing readers at home; parent support was paramount, and without it, student progress was much slower. After my 10-week learning support program I documented significant growth in the number of student identifying sight words and a positive change in student attitudes towards sight word and reading practice.