Research Supports Zoo-phonics

Research Supports Zoo-phonics

The Research that Supports the “Essences” of Zoo-phonics

By Charlene A. Wrighton, Ed. D. Daily, research from both neuroscience and education is presented to the public based on data from small and large samples on the educational needs of children. Reflective analysis from these studies support all of the premises (our Essences) of Zoo-phonics. Here are some excellent examples: On multisensory curriculum: • “The brain cuts its developmental teeth in an overwhelmingly multisensory environment…its learning abilities are increasingly optimized the more multisensory the environment becomes” (Medina, 2010). • “If you want to do something good for a child…give him an environment where he can touch things as much as he wants” (Buckminster Fuller, 2009). • “Since it is the brain that is doing the learning,” states James (2007), “teaching strategies must be based on what we know about brain function.” If the child attends, the child learns. Furthermore, if the child has fun during the learning experience, the amygdala, memory’s gatekeeper, swings wide open, feeling safe (Willis, 2010). • Students learning through their senses have more accurate recall, which lasts longer, even 20 years later. In one study, problem solving skills improved by 50%. In another study, a 75% improvement rate was seen (Medina, 2010). • Jensen (2006) says, “For younger students, learning has simply got to be hands on, experien- tial, and relevant for patterns to develop.” On mnemonics as an effective memory device: • Rohwer (1996) investigated various kinds of associative mnemonics in young children and found that the best connectives for remembering pairs of pictures or words were meaningful “actor-action-object” relations. • “The associations between letters and sounds are totally arbitrary as there is nothing inherent in the visual symbol that suggests its name or sound” (Ehri, et al, 1984). • “The superiority of the integrated picture group over the disassociated picture group indicates that only one type of picture words, namely, one that links the shape of the letter with the way it sounds.” (Ehri, et al, 1984). On the importance of mastering the alphabet and phonics: • The fact that lowercase letters are easier to read (due to the unique shapes formed by ascenders and descenders) than uppercase letters holds true not only in body copy but for headlines as well. Headlines set in all caps are more difficult to read, perhaps 15% slower. The reader is forced to read all uppercase headlines letter by letter, rather than in saccadic jumps as with

the lowercase characters, where we recognize entire words (Clair, et al, 1999). • Gaining mastery of fundamental skills for decoding simple, one-syllable words provides students with a strong foundation for accurate decoding of longer and more complex words at later stages of reading development…. In ad- dition to explicit instruction and teacher-monitored practice in these areas, students need frequent practice applying these skills to achieve mastery. Activities that reinforce instruction in these areas play a key role in pro- moting students’ ability to recognize words automatically (Wolf, 2014).

• As Stahl (2001) notes, “Early and systematic instruction in phonics seems to lead to better achievement in reading than later and less systematic instruction.” • Adams (2001) points out that to learn to read, “all students must know the letters of the alphabet, understand their linguistic significance (phonemic awareness), and learn the logic and conventions governing their use (phonics); and… ensuring students’ grasp of these basics must be a serious goal of any responsible program of beginning reading instruction.” On physical movement for memory and learning: • “An astonishing high 64 percent of K-12 American students do not participate in a daily physical education program…physical exercise is still one of the bet ways to stimulate the brain and learn- ing” (Brink, 1995). • Spiegelman and his colleagues suspected that FNDC5…was responsible for exercise-induced benefits to the brain—in particular, increased levels of a crucial protein called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which is essential for maintaining healthy neurons and creating new ones… and the link between exercise and BDNF is widely accepted. “The phenomenon has been established over the course of, easily, the last decade,” says neuroscientist Barbara Hempstead of Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City (2013, Servick, K. “How Exercise Beefs Up the Brain,” http://news.sciencemag.org/biology/2013/10/how-exercise- beefs-brain. • Ratey (2010) calls movement induced BDNF , “Miracle-Gro for the brain.” • Research shows that making time for physical education and movement actually helped children’s per- formance in language, reading, and performance tests (Yancy, 2007). • Fernando Gomez-Pinilla (et al) at UCLA found that “voluntary exercise increased the level of Brain De- rived Neuro Trophic Factor (BDNF) in the hippocampus, a brain area involved with learning and memo- ry…this protein improves academic performance” (Jensen, 2006). • Gesell says, “Mind manifests itself in everything the body does.” References Adams, M.J. (1990) Beginning to Read: Thinking and Learning About Print: A Summary. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Asher, J. (1982) Brain Switching, Learning on the Right Side of the Brain (2nd edition). Ehri, L., Deffner, N., Wilce, L. (1984) “ Pictorial Mnemonics for Phonics ” Journal of Educational Psychology, 1984, Vol. 76, No. 5, 880-893. Fuller, B., (2009). Fuller’s Earth: A Day with Children. Gesell, A. (1961) “Growth and Development Theory,” Gesell Institute, retrieved May 17 th , 2017, https://schoolwork- helper.net/growth-and-development-theory-arnold-gesell-1880-%E2%80%93-1961/. Jensen, E.(2006) Enriching the Brain, How to Maximize Every Learner’s Potential, Corwin Press, Oakland, CA Medina, J. (2010) Brain Rules (2 nd ed.) Seattle, WA: Pear Press. (2 nd ed.) Seattle, WA: Pear Press. Norfleet, J. & A. (2007) Teaching the Male Brain, How Boys Think, Feel, and Learn in School Stahl, J. (2001), “On Research on the Teaching of Phonics,” retrieved May 2017, http://www.wou.edu/~brownbr/ Reading-Math_Resources/Reading_Phonics/Research_Tchg_Phonics.pdf. Ratey, J. (2010) Spark! (2 nd Ed.) New York, NY. Little, Brown, & Co. Sousa, D. (2005) How the Brain Learns . Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. Wolf, G. (2014), “Differences in Mean Number of Consonant-Vowel-Consonant Words Decoded be- tween Letter-Sound Readers and Non Letter-Sound Readers.” Oregon Health & Science University.