Enhancing Phonological Awareness and Orthographic Knowledge of Preservice Teachers - An Intervention through Online Coursework

Oct 15, 2026

Reading instruction is a core priority across the education sector, prompting coursework changes to strengthen phonological awareness and orthographic knowledge in first-year preservice teacher education students. Students completed written surveys at the start and end of their first semester. The program also required two online modules and an online quiz worth 10% of grades. Performance improved significantly overall, though many did not reach phoneme-level mastery. Implications and future directions for higher education practice are presented.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages15

Reading Time38 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Policy emphasis on reading quality

Components of reading

Skills targeted: phonological awareness and orthographic knowledge

Brief Review of the Literature

The Teaching of Reading

Australian Journal of Teacher Education | Volume 42 | Issue 12 | Article 6 | | --- | --- | | 2017
Enhancing Phonological Awareness and
Orthographic Knowledge of Preservice Teachers: An Intervention through Online Coursework
Marleen F. Westerveld
Griffith University, m.westerveld@griffith.edu.au
Georgina M. Barton
University of Southern Queensland, [georgina.barton@usq.edu.au](georgina.barton@usq.edu.au) | | Recommended Citation Westerveld, M. F., & Barton, G. M. (2017). Enhancing Phonological Awareness and Orthographic Knowledge of Preservice Teachers: An Intervention through Online Coursework. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 42 (12). Retrieved from [http://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte/vol42/iss12/6](http://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte/vol42/iss12/6) This Journal Article is posted at Research Online. [http://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte/vol42/iss12/6](http://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte/vol42/iss12/6) Australian Journal of Teacher Education Enhancing Phonological Awareness and Orthographic Knowledge of Preservice Teachers: An Intervention through Online Coursework Marleen F. Westerveld Griffith University Georgina Barton University of Southern Queensland Abstract: The teaching of reading is a core priority across the education sector. In an attempt to better prepare our next generation of professional teachers of reading, academic staff at an Australian university implemented coursework changes that were designed to enhance the phonological awareness and orthographic knowledge of first-year preservice teacher education students. All students were asked to complete written surveys measuring phonological awareness and orthographic knowledge during class-time at the start and end of their first semester of study. During the semester, students were expected to complete two online modules on phonological awareness and orthographic conventions and pass an online quiz (worth 10% of their grade) as part of their course on the Teaching of Reading and Writing. Education students’performance in phonological awareness and orthographic knowledge improved significantly over the course of the semester. However, a significant percentage of students failed to achieve mastery level in phoneme-level awareness. Implications and future directions for current higher education practices arepresented. Keywords Teacher education; speech pathology; reading instruction; phonological awareness; orthographic knowledge Introduction The emphasis in education policy on the quality teaching of reading in Australian classrooms (Australian Government, 2005; 2015) has recently escalated in response to the alarmingly low literacy performance of our Australian primary school students compared to international benchmarks (Mullis, Martin, Foy, & Drucker, 2012) . Teaching reading is complex, however there is general consensus that the process of reading involves five key components: phoneme awareness, phonics, word study and spelling, reading fluency, vocabulary, and text comprehension (National Reading Panel, 2000) . Recent debates have focused on including a sixth key element of oral language (Konza, 2014) . The importance of the broader social and cultural aspects influencing the process of learning to read has also been noted (Adoniou, 2017; Barton & McKay, 2016) . We advocate an approach to the teaching of reading that takes into account a range of perspectives found in the research literature, including from psychological and cognitive views as well as socio-cultural or anthropological standpoints. Vol 42, 12, December 2017 98 Australian Journal of Teacher Education Even though a holistic approach to the teaching of reading is advocated by many educators as important for young children, we acknowledge the importance of teaching the skills that are considered key ingredients for early reading success: phonological awareness and orthographic knowledge (Cunningham, Perry, Stanovich, & Share, 2002; Gillon, 2004; Moats

FAQs

What intervention was implemented to enhance preservice teachers’ reading-related knowledge?

An Australian university introduced coursework changes including two online modules focused on phonological awareness and orthographic conventions, plus an online quiz as part of a Teaching of Reading and Writing course.

How were students’ progress in phonological awareness and orthographic knowledge measured?

Students completed written surveys measuring phonological awareness and orthographic knowledge at the start and end of their first semester, supported by coursework requirements during the semester.

Did all students reach mastery, and what were the implications?

Student performance improved significantly, but a significant percentage failed to achieve mastery at the phoneme level. The paper presents implications and future directions for current higher education practices.

Oct 15, 2026

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