Canadian Citations relating to Reading Together®

University of Victoria - Case Study

Mark Colgate, the associate dean of the Peter B. Gustavson School of Business at the University of Victoria, Canada, has written a book titled 8 Moments of Power in Coaching: How to Design and Deliver High-Performance Feedback to all Employees. The book contains a case study on the Reading Together® programme. Extracts from the book follow:

Case Study: Reading Together® program in New Zealand
... Reading is an area of learning that all parents recognize as being important, and many well-intentioned parents endeavor to help their children with reading at home. However, parental 'help' can often be unsound, unhelpful and even harmful: the impact on children's reading development can inadvertently be negative rather than positive. Reading Together® is a research-based workshop program which addresses this issue. The program, which has been successfully implemented by teachers in New Zealand since 1982, complements and supports school language and literacy programs.
The primary purpose of the Reading Together® program is to help all children become keen, competent readers. When implemented as intended, Reading Together® enables parents to provide informed and effective support for their children's reading. As a result, experiences with reading at home become positive and mutually enjoyable, rather than stressful and frustrating for both children and adults. ...
Reading Together® is a practical, user-friendly and manageable program for teachers, librarians and diverse parents and children. The program is grounded in the realities of participants' lives, and is carefully designed to empower teachers, parents and librarians to work together in informed, collaborative and mutually respectful ways. Reading Together® recognizes and values the experiences and expertise that each participant brings, and it enables successful coaching and reciprocal learning to occur within contexts which are meaningful, enjoyable and non-threatening for all participants.