How do I become a Reading Recovery teacher?

Every Reading Recovery teacher completes a year of training, involving both theory and practice.

Acute observational and interactive teaching skills are developed, practiced and reflected upon in the light of current literacy understandings.

Reading Recovery is based on a theory of learning that makes explicit the complexities of students' literacy behaviours, thereby inviting teachers to challenge and reshape their existing literacy understandings.

As a teaching method, Reading Recovery supports teachers in learning how to make the moment-by-moment teaching decisions that promote accelerated progress, allowing a student to perform at the same level as his or her peers.

Teachers are eligible to train if they are a permanent member of the staff in a school where Reading Recovery is part of the literacy program. They also need to have had recent successful experience in teaching early literacy as K-2 classroom teachers for a minimum of two years.

The final choice of the teacher selected to train is made in consultation with the Reading Recovery tutor.

Teachers need to commit to the training program for a year and to implement the program for at least one year after initial training. This commitment signifies priority to their role as the school’s Reading Recovery teacher.

In the first year the Reading Recovery teacher will participate in half-day fortnightly training sessions and teach as required for their peers behind a one-way viewing screen.

In addition they will teach a minimum of four students individually in daily 30-minute lessons, five days a week.

During the follow up year Reading Recovery teachers will attend six training sessions and teach Reading Recovery to a minimum of two students daily.

Once trained, Reading Recovery teachers receive continuing professional development, including tutor and colleague visits, for as long as they are teaching students in Reading Recovery.

To be effective with the hardest to teach student, the training encourages teachers to:

• Develop their understandings of the reading and writing process
• Become highly skilled decision makers at every point in the lesson
• Critically evaluate their work and that of their peers

If you’re interested in implementing Reading Recovery in your school and training as a Reading Recovery teacher, please discuss your interest with your school principal.