Pre-teaching in reading education

Together with three educational professionals from three different Zonova schools, the Language Lab is working on the development of a pre-teaching approach in reading education. Pre-teaching makes it possible to support students who, despite having a sufficient level of technical reading skills, do not keep up well in regular reading (comprehension) lessons. In the spring of 2024, the first teachers were trained and a pilot project was launched.

In this project, we develop a pre-teaching approach to help students who struggle to keep up in comprehension lessons due to a lack of vocabulary and world knowledge. Within this project, we investigate the feasibility and effectiveness of this approach. Pre-teaching is simple, not tied to any specific method, and can be implemented by teaching assistants or teachers after a short training. With this accessible approach, we aim to provide effective additional support to as many students as possible.

In a co-creation team of Taallab researchers and Marga Jongsma (Klaverblad), Lieke Roos (De Brink) and Sheila van den Berg (De Tamboerijn), we work on the development and refinement of a pre-teaching approach in reading education. We meet monthly. The approach has now been detailed in a manual, and a training program has been developed to teach the approach to other teachers. In the spring of 2024, a pilot project was launched within Zonova schools. Based on the research results, the approach will be further optimized.

Schools interested in pre-teaching in reading education can contact our co-creation manager Derk Bransen (d.bransen@maastrichtuniversity.nl) for more information. It is not necessary for the school to be located in Amsterdam Southeast. Schools from across the country are welcome.

More information about the Ontwikkelkracht program, the possibilities for participation, and applying for subsidies can be found on the website.