2022 PISA - Amir Faizal Abdul Manan is feeling concerned. 20.12.2023

                                                       

The following is from a Facebook post by Amir Faizal whose English is a pleasure to read.

Our latest 2022 PISA scores (released in December 2023) are actually quite depressing.

Discussion in a Dyslexic Support Group

 

                                     Click on the image above for a clearer view

I copied the chart above from a Dyslexia support group. This is the only dyslexia group that I have not been kicked out from for saying what I understand about ‘dyslexic’ kids’ vs ‘disengaged kids’.

This 7- year- old, grade 2 kid depicted in the image above does not have a problem with word understanding, understands what is heard and following the flow of conversation, but has a word reading problem as well as not being accurate with decoding words and reading accurately.

This appears to be similar with ALL the students I have taught.

Handling Reading Wars by Sam Bommarito and my comments

                                                                

Here are extracts from a post by Dr. Sam Bommarito on Dec 16, 2023.

Dr. Sam

I will also continue interviewing folks from all sides of the literacy issue. All this is my way of working for the day when we can finally follow P.D. Pearson's advice about handling the so-called "Reading Wars." That advice is to take positions, not sides.

My comment:

I don’t take sides as I use the best from all sides. I use all the tools available to teach kids to read. Read my book Teach Your Child to Read and you will understand what I mean.

A sample of my book Teach Your Child to Read

 

The following is a sample of my book on Amazon. LINK

Click on the image and read the notes and preface. Scan the QR Code on page 17 and listen to lesson 1. This can be done only on a laptop or a desktop. This is not possible on a hand phone. 

However, the QR code on the book can be scanned on a hand phone.

Listen to exactly how the letters are pronounced without any extraneous sounds.

This book is available in Malaysia at RM25 if collected from my house.

For delivery in Sabah add Rm 8. (Total RM33 including postage).

For delivery to other parts of Malaysia add RM13. (Total RM 38 including postage)

It is available on the Notion Press website at RM65 including postage. LINK

For those in India it is Rupees 420 excluding postage. Available on the Notion Press website.

Those in the US may get it from Amazon at USD14 excluding postage. LINK

Note: For Malaysians who want the book to be posted please bank in the purchase price into my bank account.

Luqman Michel account no: 200590014607 and send me your postal address together with your telephone number.

 

Hypothesis - Why Singapore consistently does better in PISA (Part 3)

                                                          

                       "There are none so blind as those who will not see".

Here is some corroborative evidence for you to ponder.

Ms. Nancy Hennessy who was the President of International Dyslexia Association from 2013 to 2015 said:

“……even if we settle on a middle number, let us say 10%; that still leaves a lot of children who are not dyslexic, whose brains are not wired any different way, who have reading difficulty.”

Hypothesis - Why Singapore consistently does better in PISA (Part 2)

                                                           

                                                     PISA reading Singapore vs Malaysia

A Twitter friend said the following:

Singapore's success in the PISA reading test can be attributed to several factors and effective teaching strategies. Here are some key aspects that contribute to Singapore's strong performance in reading:

Emphasis on Early Literacy: Singapore places a strong emphasis on early literacy development. Teachers focus on building a solid foundation in reading skills from the early years...

The other points he mentioned are general and common to most countries around the world.

Hypothesis - Why Singapore consistently does better in PISA (Part 1)

                                                             

Back in 2010 after teaching so-called dyslexic kids for 6 years I was convinced that all my approximately 20 students whom I taught during the 6 years were shut-down kids who had disengaged from learning to read due to confusion.

At that time the existing theory that had existed for more than 35 years was that kids could not read due to phonological awareness deficit.

I disagreed with that theory and wrote over 100 articles/comments that disagreed with it until it was debunked in 2017. You may read some of my articles/comments in 2010 here. LINK

Why Questions become a threat?

                                                           

Here is a post on LinkedIn that I have copied verbatim. This comes exactly at a time I have asked an important question -  Why is Singapore number 1 in reading for years. Compared with Malaysia which is number 60 out of 81. 

Dr.Shalini RatanDr.Shalini Ratan  • 1st • 1st Founder & Chief Knowledge Facilitator, NIRVAN Life Sciences.Founder & Chief Knowledge Facilitator, NIRVAN Life Sciences. 1d • 

Dr. Anuar Ahmad and PISA results

                                                          

                                                                     Dr. Anuar Ahmad

Recently I saw a Facebook post by one Dr. Anuar Ahmad who has a following of 64K members. He writes many articles on education in Malay on Facebook. His motto on his Facebook profile is: "The great aim of education is not knowledge but action.” – Herbert Spencer

I have copied below his article dated 7.12.23 translated into English by Google and my comments. I hope to be able to pick his brains on this matter. 

Anna Stokke's podcast with Matthew Burns - Final Part

                                                     

Here is the fourth and final part of Anna Stokke's podcast with Matther Burns.

Anna Stokke:

About some of the education thought leaders, sometimes you could even call them education celebrities, I think. And we see this in both reading and math. Do you think maybe they get caught up in the positive attention that they're receiving and that this may be why they don't step back on the claims they've made, even when it comes to light that there are problems with some of the ideas they promote?

Matthew Burns:

And I think because of that, people telling you that your stuff is so great and people tell you what you say is true, that you sort of start to believe it.

And you get to the point where you can say, “Well, I think it's true. Therefore, it must be.” So I think we researchers need to be more self-critical and self-reflective. We need to recognize “What I'm thinking based on evidence, or is it something I think is true because I think it's true?” So I really challenge other researchers to engage in that level of self-reflection because you can get caught up in it really easily.

My comment:

Wow! Matthew has put it very well. Do read his excellent response above, again.

Anna Stokke's podcast with Matthew Burns - Part 3

                                               

                                                                     Matthew Burns

This part is quite interesting and I hope that I am not misinterpreting what Anna is saying.

Anna Stokke:

If we immerse kids in books and we make reading fun and we start with meaning and understanding, the reading will just come.

And I hear this sort of thing in math. all the time. So it's sort of like a top-down approach to teaching instead of a bottom-up approach. So in other words, the idea is to start children with problem-solving. They'll get excited about the problem and the foundational skills will just come after that. But as a matter of fact, you can't solve a problem, right, if you don't have the skills to solve the problem if you don't have the foundational skills to do it or the techniques to do it. Does that resonate with you in terms of what happened with reading?

Anna Stokke's podcast with Matthew Burns - Part 2

                                                 

This is a continuation of the podcast by Anna Stokke. (LINK)

Anna Stokke:

Do you see similarities between what happened with reading instruction and what's going on with math instruction?

Matthew Burns:

I do. It's quite analogous, although it's not a complete one-to-one. It's almost like there's a shift in thinking around what constitutes evidence and what constitutes research-based practices. And I think that's cutting across all aspects of teaching and learning…

Trivia & my book - Teach Your Child to Read.

                                                          
 

Perhaps many of you already know this but I just learned it a few days ago. We don't need an ISBN number for printing and selling our books directly. We need it if we are marketing them through a third party - shops etc.

The above image is the amended book cover for the printing in Kota Kinabalu.

 

The original ISBN number has been deleted and the name of the original publisher removed.

I have checked and see that postage for a copy to Sarawak and West Malaysia will be Rm8. Including packaging and transport, Rm10 is a reasonable price.

So, for those in West Malaysia and Sarawak and other parts of Sabah, the cost per book will be Rm30 which is still so much cheaper than the price on the Internet of RM65.

 

Contact me if you are in Malaysia and would like to buy a copy. It is not available in book shops.

Here is the book on the Internet. LINK

 

Please share this info with your contacts.

Anna Stokke's podcast with Matthew Burns - Part 1

                                                            

Here is a transcript of the podcast by Anna Stokke.

She asks many relevant questions and since she is not an ‘expert’ in reading and not selling a reading programme I believe she will read my comments with an open mind.

This podcast is with Dr. Matthew Burns whom she claims is a renowned researcher in the science of reading world.

Here are some extracts and my comments/ questions:

Disinformation by Dr. Miah and Tiffany Peltier

                                                                    

This morning I read a Tweet by Dr. Miah who does not know how kids learn to read. She supports her friend, another Ph.D. who blocked me probably for asking questions she could not answer.

These are the people who will say anything to promote their products.

Here is the Tweet by Dr. Miah @dst6n01

(This woman has 17K followers. Imagine the harm she is causing by this disinformation)

Check out this blog on sight words—and why we should be moving away from them :)—from my colleague @tiffany_peltier @NWEA

Tiffany Peltier, Ph.D.🌸 @tiffany_peltier profile says she is a Mama to 2. Designer of Literacy PL @NWEA. Research in reading, dyslexia, conceptual change.

Here is the Link attached by Dr. Miah

What if your child struggles with a concept?

                                                       

On 30.11.23 I read a tweet by The reading mum, Ph.D. @readingmumngr

If your child struggles with a concept, they have yet to understand it. Sometimes, they are not developmentally ready. Other times, you need to show them another way they can better learn that concept.

What has been your experience?

I replied as follows:

What if that kid is struggling with a concept that has been taught wrongly?

How can a child scaffold when the first scaffold is damaged?

I am only talking about decoding/reading.

I am from the audit field and started teaching to find out why kids were able to read in Malay but not in English. There is a Chinese saying - A journey of 1000 miles starts with the first step.

My question is - what if a kid's first step is to the East when he actually wants to go West?