Tønnessen / Uppstad Can We Read Letters?

Reflections on Fundamental Issues in Reading and Dyslexia Research
2015
ISBN: 978-94-6209-956-2
Verlag: Sense Publishers
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: 1 - PDF Watermark

E-Book, Englisch, 132 Seiten, eBook

“In their new book, Finn Egil Tønnessen and Per Henning Uppstad provide a set of theoretical and philosophical reflections on research in reading and dyslexia. It is a pleasure to welcome this book, which reflects the many contributions made by researchers at the National Centre for Reading Education and Research in Stavanger, Norway.” – Professor Usha Goswami, University of Cambridge.Careful reflection on the concepts and methods used is a prerequisite for further development in any field of research.The authors think cognitive psychology has become too dominant in reading and dyslexia research, arguing that it should be combined with behaviourism and connectionism – in part by focusing on the concept of ‘skill’. The key components of a skill are claimed to be automaticity, awareness and shifts between them. Reading is defined as an interpretative skill, which should be viewed from the perspective of hermeneutics.The authors use these fundamental analyses and definitions to shed new light on the ‘balanced approach to reading instruction’, ‘reading fluency’ and other key concepts. The book also deals with problems in the definition of ‘dyslexia’ and proposes a method to arrive at clear and fruitful definitions. It concludes with a chapter trying to answer the question of in what sense, or to what extent, it can be claimed that reading and dyslexia research has made progress.The book mainly builds on articles published over the past 25 years by Professor Finn Egil Tønnessen at the National Centre for Reading Education and Research, Stavanger, Norway.

Zielgruppe

Research

Autoren/Hrsg.

Tønnessen, Finn Egil

Uppstad, Per Henning

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Preface; Acknowledgements; Chapter 1: HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION – BEGINNING AND CONTINUATION OF DYSLEXIA RESEARCH; Introduction; Beginning; Continuation; Directions of research; Definitions and subdivisons; Phonology – language; Perception – motor skill – neurology – genetics; Evaluation – intervention; A Final Note on the History of Dyslexia; Chapter 2: CHALLENGES IN COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY; Introduction; Some Characteristics of Cognitive Psychology; Cogntive explanations?; Some Characterisitcs of Cognitive Treatment; Behaviouristic and Connectionistic Treatment; A Combination of Traditions; Options and Limitations; Chapter 3: DEFINING ‘DYSLEXIA’; Introduction; Diverse Needs and Purposes; Traditional Definitions; The symptom principle; The causality principle; Can We Define ‘Dyslexia’?; What Types of Definitions?; Definitions as Hypotheses; Definition and Subgrouping; How Can We Best Define ‘Dyslexia’?; Chapter 4: DEFINING ‘SKILL’; Introduction; Challenges; Background and goals; Problems; Behaviourism ad absurdum; Cognitivism ad absurdum; Solutions; A realistic psychology; What are skills?; How do we learn skills?; Potentiality and language; Chapter 5: READING SKILL; Introduction; Theories and Approaches in Reading Research; The visual approach; Behaviourism; Cognitivism; Connectionsim; Processes; Bottom-up approach; Top-down approach; Interactive approach; Reading Skill; Chapter 6: READING FLUENCY; Introduction; Different Views on Reading Fluency; How Does Reading Fluency Manifest Itself?; From Balanced Approach to Hermeneutics; Focusing on Reading Fluency in Education; Chapter 7: READING INSTRUCTION; Introduction; The Whole Language Tradition; The Phonics Tradition; Balanced Instruction; Chapter 8: CONCLUDING REFLECTIONS; Introduction; Has Progress Been Made in Reading and Dyslexia Research?; State of the art in 2000; State of the art in 1908; Is There Any Empirical Research Attesting to the Importance of Phonemic Awareness?; Has Cognitive Psychology Been Beneficial to Reading Research?; What Kind of a Phenomenon Is Reading?; What Foundation Should We Build on?; References; Subject Index; Name Index.