Education students from The University of Notre Dame Australia’s Fremantle Campus are teaching the valuable lesson of reading to children in care through a unique and rewarding program developed to improve literacy outcomes.
The ‘Whale of a Tale’ Recreational Reading Program was established through a partnership between the university and the Western Australian Department for Children Protection and Family Support’s Fremantle district (DCPFS). Its goal is to improve the lives and literacy of children in care through the building of relationships and the love of reading.
Dr Glenda Cain, Senior Lecturer and Literacy Coordinator in Notre Dame’s School of Education, Fremantle, says the program enables a pre-service teacher to spend one hour each week with a child in care, enjoying books and stories through their own special time together. In 2016, 18 of Notre Dame’s pre-service teachers will take part in the program.
“The program gives pre-service teachers from their first year of study an opportunity to connect with children and classrooms very early in their university studies. Reading aloud to children is well recognised as an important way of building many early literacy and language concepts that will set a child up for future success,” Dr Cain said.
“Pre-service teachers take on the role of a ‘real teacher’ very early in their studies and experience the joy of building a relationship with a child as they read together. The child is able to learn early literacy and language concepts in a meaningful and engaging context. In essence, the reciprocity of the experience through the fun and enjoyment of sharing a story is highlighted.”
Final year Bachelor of Education (Primary) student, Katelyn Robinson, continues to use reading as a tool for education and inspire the children under her guidance. On the back of her commitment to ‘Whale of a Tale’, Katelyn received employment as a part-time reading tutor to children in care with other programs delivered through the DCPFS.
Katelyn says that, despite the challenges many children she had worked with faced in their lives, reading had vastly improved each student’s attitude to learning and enabled him or her to realise greater self-belief.
“I would go as far to describe my relationship with these students as a ‘big sister’. It has been such a privilege to work closely with them in a one-on-one environment where their needs and achievements are acknowledged and rewarded,” Katelyn said.
“Being part of the ‘Whale of a Tale’ program has been a beneficial experience. Having an opportunity from my first year at university to impact on the education of future generations is something I will take with me into my teaching career.”
Western Australian Minister for Child Protection, the Hon Andrea Mitchell MLA, says this important partnership with Notre Dame gives pre-service teachers a first-hand insight and understanding into how trauma affects learning.
“For many children coming into care, their previous home environments may have not exposed them to adequate reading and writing resources, and understanding the challenges they face and encouraging them to read is the key to developing their literacy skills,” the Minister said.
Professor Michael O’Neill, Dean of the University’s School of Education, Fremantle, says the ‘Whale of a Tale’ Recreational Reading Program is a natural fit for Notre Dame’s teaching students through its emphasis on service-learning.
“In addition to reading engagement, this initiative could further develop relationships; not just between institutional partners, but also between Notre Dame’s pre-service teachers and young people,” Professor O’Neill said.
“This connection could allow these young people to realise their potential and explore places that only the world of literature can offer. Literature is a prayer of the imagination and a space of wonder and comfort.
“Above all, this program acts as a pathway to a growth in confidence for all individuals – the confidence to extend help, the confidence to receive help and the confidence to even ask for help.”
From page 20 and 21 from Issue 3: ‘Education: Teaching, Learning and Technology in 2016’ of The Record Magazine