A new UQAM research chair focuses on learning to read and write

This text is part of the Teachers’ Week special booklet

Knowledge about learning to read and write is at the heart of the mission of a new research chair at UQAM: the Read, Write, Discover Research Chair, whose co-holders are Catherine Turcotte and Nathalie Prévost, professors in the Department of Specialized Education and Training at UQAM.

Launched in January, the new chair has received financial support of $246,187 from the Center de services scolaire de Saint-Hyacinthe. She also received $25,000 from Buropro Citation, an independent bookstore and stationery store with a presence in 11 cities in Quebec that is very interested in children’s literature and its accessibility.

This chair has three axes: the first focuses on children from preschool, the second focuses on the school path from preschool to secondary school and the third focuses on teacher training and the mobilization of knowledge from the Chair. These three areas of work have a common denominator, namely learning to speak and write, hence the name of the research chair: Read, write, discover.

The two teachers are French didacticians and are interested, among other things, in students who experience academic difficulties. Although the Chair was officially launched a few weeks ago, their research work began several years ago, and research projects are already underway, particularly in collaboration with the Center de services scolaire de Saint-Hyacinthe.

Research projects

“This year, we evaluated 18 kindergarten classes for 4 and 5 year olds, on different knowledge and skills related to written and oral language, and in these same classes, we are developing a new approach with the teachers, which we are experimenting with some and which we hope to make available to others soon. To properly document the development and learning of these children, we met with them this fall and we will see them again at the end of the year to evaluate them using the same tests,” says Nathalie Prévost.

The approach currently being implemented takes into account the context of the pandemic and makes it possible to develop material that can be used both in class and at home, by families and for online teaching.

“For kindergarten students, it was not easy for teachers to find suitable materials to teach online. We have developed support material that focuses on different components of writing, to equip the parent and the teacher,” adds Ms.^me Prevost.

“This project promotes the appropriation of the first learning of oral and written with the little ones, adds Catherine Turcotte, but we have also developed tools for the pupils of the 2^and and the 3^and primary year, because it is a difficult passage in reading and writing. The texts become more complex, and the children encounter new difficulties, which did not exist in 1^D year. We have developed assessments so that teachers can follow up and highlight the strengths and difficulties of their students, so that they can intervene quickly in 2^and year and follow their progress up to 3^and year. »

Partnership

Taking 18 classes is no small feat. To carry out all these projects, the two researchers work closely with the teachers of the participating classes. They also count on the help of a postdoctoral researcher and a dozen research assistants.

“It’s really a chair that relies on partnership and exchanges, and many decisions are made with teachers, educational advisers and the director of educational resources. We all do the work together,” explains Catherine Turcotte.

These projects also make it possible to train teachers and make scientific knowledge accessible to the school world.

In 2022, the main obstacles to learning are still socio-economic inequalities, but on top of this is the shortage of qualified teachers.

“There are still great inequalities which mean that children, when they arrive at school and throughout their schooling, do not all have the same support in their families. The biggest challenge right now is that we’re short of teachers. It’s unfortunate, because this shortage means that people can seek out various qualifications to be allowed to teach, a trend that worries us. This shortage greatly impoverishes the quality of teaching and, in the long term, this concerns us for the quality of French. »

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