Moving the Needle on Adolescent Literacy

Don DeshlerDon DeshlerUniversity of KansasUniversity of Kansas

Center for Research on LearningCenter for Research on Learning

Alameda Unified School DistrictAlameda Unified School DistrictOctober 8, 2009October 8, 2009

A Highly Valued Partnership

#1About the KU Center for Research on Learning

KU-CRL KU-CRL missionmission is to is to markedly improve . . .markedly improve . . .

• The performance of struggling adolescent The performance of struggling adolescent learnerslearners

• How How teachersteachers instruct academically instruct academically diverse classesdiverse classes

• How secondary How secondary schoolsschools can be can be structured to improve outcomesstructured to improve outcomes

• How our validated practices How our validated practices reachreach tens of tens of thousands of practitioners in the fieldthousands of practitioners in the field

• How How public policypublic policy initiatives are crafted initiatives are crafted to support struggling learners to support struggling learners

CRL R & D Model

Practitioner Questions/insights,

Theory, Existing Literature,

Dissemination

Scale Studies

Effectiveness Studies

Design Studies

Product Refinement

Professional Development

Programmatic Evaluation

Emerging Knowledge

Initial Product Development

Cost

effectiv

eness

Cost effectiveness

KU-CRL ResearchKU-CRL Research

• $185+ million since 1978• Funding Sources

– Federal agencies (U. S. Departments of Education, Labor, and Defense, National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health)

– 14 State Departments of Education– Foundations (Carnegie Corporation of NY, Gates, Stupski, McDonalds)

• Portfolio– Research (40-50%)– Model Demonstration (25%)– Dissemination (15%)

– Leadership Preparation (10%)

KU-CRL ResearchKU-CRL Research

Improve Student LearningImprove Student Learning• Learning Strategies Curriculum

– Adopted by 3500 schools in North America

• Fusion Reading– Selected for national reading study for struggling adolescent learners– Newly funded Striving Readers project in Michigan

• Goal-setting Program– Used in Academic Support Program for KU Athletic Department

• Strategic Tutoring Program – One of most broadly used evidence based after school tutoring programs in

country

KU-CRL ResearchKU-CRL Research

Improve Quality of InstructionImprove Quality of Instruction

• Content Enhancement Routines– Tools to create “learner friendly” instruction in academically diverse

classes

• Blending Assessment with Instruction (BAIP)– Online program for aligning mathematics instruction with results on

Kansas state assessments -- adopted by 245 Kansas School Districts, state of Arkansas, Riverside will publish

KU-CRL ResearchKU-CRL Research

Improve Teacher PreparationImprove Teacher Preparation

• Instructional Coaching Research Initiative– KU-CRL coaching model adopted by 28 states and 1500 schools. Only

model supported by IES research funds

• Online Academy -- 54 modules based on evidence-based teaching practices adopted by 183

colleges and universities

KU-CRL ResearchKU-CRL Research

Restructure Secondary SchoolsRestructure Secondary Schools

• Content Literacy Continuum (CLC) Initiative – Whole school reform model incorporating multiple KU-CRL

interventions and programs. Adopted by 12 state departments of education

– Being considered by Gates Foundation to address “failure” of its educational investments in secondary schools

KU-CRL PracticeKU-CRL Practice

Curriculum Materials & SupportsCurriculum Materials & Supports• 1500 certified members of International

Professional Development Network– Trained over 800,000 teachers and administrators in nearly 4000 school

districts

• 15 web based resources to enhance classroom instruction (ALTEC)

– 7.3 million pages viewed per month– 515,000 registered teachers

– Of all 108,810,000 distinct web sites on the web, collectively, ALTEC’s web sites are in the top .004% of usage

• 186 curriculum products and implementation supports

KU-CRL PolicyKU-CRL Policy

Public Policy LeadershipPublic Policy Leadership

• Testimony before U. S. Congress & 17 state legislatures– To help shape legislation, serve as expert witnesses

• Named to key education policy boards– National Institute for Literacy– National Governor’s Association Board on Adolescent Literacy– U. S. State Department Advisory Board on Overseas Schools– Carnegie Corporation of NY Advisory Council on Advancement of Adolescent Literacy– Alliance for Excellent Education– National Center for Learning Disabilities

KU-CRL Leadership PreparationKU-CRL Leadership Preparation

Preparing Tomorrow’s LeadersPreparing Tomorrow’s Leaders

• Professional Development Plan– To match student learning goals with learning opportunities in KU-CRL

• Accomplishments of doctoral students affiliated with KU-CRL– 17 awarded “Outstanding Dissertation of the Year Award” by national professional organizations– 317 articles in top tier refereed journals– 91 book chapter– 53 books– 57 instructional materials– $49,989,311 external grant funds generate– 8 journal editorships, 37 journal review boards– 85 leadership roles in professional organizations

#2Some of the challenges

Percent of Population with HS Degree or Equivalent

Notes: 1) Excluding ISCED 3C short programmes; 2) Year of reference 2004; 3) Year of reference 2003. 4) Percent population recieviing a HS degree in each decade is approximated by the age cohort typically recieving diplomas at that time; e.g. 1960s is approximated by the proportion of 55-64 year olds with a high school diploma. Source: OECD 2008

As Others Rise to the Challenge, U.S. Advantage Drops

1313

11 2727

11

1960’s1960’s

1970’s1970’s

1980’s1980’s

1990’s1990’s

#3Important

developments

20+ Reports on Adolescent 20+ Reports on Adolescent Literacy Literacy

IES Recommendations• Explicit vocabulary instruction

• Direct, explicit comprehension strategy instruction

• Discussion of text meaning & interpretation

• Increase student motivation & engagement in literacy learning

• Qualified specialists for intensive, individualized interventions

COI Recommendations • Explicit instruction and practice to use

comprehension strategies • Increase the amount and quality of open,

sustained discussion of content• Set high standards for text, conversation,

questions, and vocabulary • Increase students’ motivation and engagement

with reading and knowledge engagement• Teach essential content knowledge and critical

concepts

The key role of fidelity

Positive student outcomes are dependent upon

• Fidelity of implementation of process (at the school level)

• Degree to which interventions are empirically supported

• Fidelity of intervention implementation (at teacher level)

(Pierangelo & Giulia, 2008)

Fidelity Model5 Elements of Fidelity

Dane & Schneider, 1998; Greshem et., al., 1993; O’Donnell, 2008

Adherence• How well do you “stick to the plan”

• How well do you provide interventions as intended?– Example:

• Core: Following the progress monitoring procedure

• Supplemental and Intensive: Making sure all pieces of the intervention have been implemented as intended

Duration/Exposure

• How often a student receives an intervention

• How long an intervention lasts– Example (in elementary schools):

• Core: Providing 90 minutes of reading instruction five days a week

• Supplemental: Progress monitoring every two weeks for academics. Exposure

Quality of Delivery

• How well was the intervention or instruction delivered?

• Good teaching practice– Examples:

• National Board for Professional Teaching Standards

• Teacher enthusiasm

• Time for student questions and feedback

• Effective management of student groups and transitions

Program Differentiation• How well do you differentiate one

intervention from another?

• Not inserting

• Staying true to the intervention and not drifting away from the core elements.

Student Responsiveness• How engaged are the

students in this intervention or activity?

• Student engagement and involvement in the intervention or instructional activities– Examples:

• Amount of time students spend on task• Levels of enthusiasm for activity• Extent students feel they learned what

was expected

#4What leadership behaviors and

mechanisms promote literacy

improvement?

Questions to Consider…• Do we have a culture of encouragement?• Is there a shared sense of purpose?• Is there a deep commitment to each of us

improving our craft? • How transparent is our instruction?• Is there a culture of individual and group

accountability?• What characterizes our interactions with

each other?

This is what we want in terms of instruction!

1. Lecture/read2. Give directions3. Listening4. Ask questions5. Monitor6. Model7. Verbal rehearsal8. Simple enhancer9. Advance organizer10. Role Play11. Content Enhancement (complex)12. Elaborated Feedback13. Write on board14. Describe skill/strategy

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

Observation of Teacher Practice Study

1. Lecture/read2. Give directions3. Listening4. Ask question5. Monitor6. Model7. Verbal rehearsal8. Simple enhancer9. Advance organizer10. Role Play11. Content Enhancement (complex)12. Elaborated Feedback13. Write on board14. Describe skill/strategy

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

1. Lecture/read2. Give directions3. Listening4. Ask question5. Monitor6. Model7. Verbal rehearsal8. Simple enhancer9. Advance organizer10. Role Play11. Content Enhancement (complex)12. Elaborated Feedback13. Write on board14. Describe skill/strategy

Active

Literacy Leadership

Teams

Fluid Movement Across Services

Improved Literacy

Outcomes

CONTENT CLASSES

Level 1. Enhanced Content Instruction

CONTENT CLASSES

Level 2. Embedded Strategy

InstructionLevel 3. Intensive

Strategy Instruction

• strategy classes

• SES (strategic tutoring)

Level 4. Intensive Basic Skill Instruction

Level 5. Therapeutic Intervention

Foundational language competencies

KU-CRL M. Hock, 2004

DisciplinaryLiteracy

IntermediateLiteracy

BasicLiteracy

Shanahan & Shanahan (2008)

Basic Literacy

Basic decoding skills, understanding various print and literacy conventions (print versus illustrations), recognition of high frequency words, some basic fluency routines – Mastered in primary grades.

Intermediate Literacy

More sophisticated routines and responses…. Read multisyllabic words quickly and easily, respond with low frequency words with some automaticity. Generic comprehension strategies, cognitive endurance, monitor comprehension, mostly by end of middle school.

Disciplinary Literacy

More specialized reading routines and strategies --powerful for specific situations but not necessarily generalizable.

Disciplinary Literacy

“The disciplinary experts approached reading in a very different ways. We are convinced that the nature of the disciplines is something that must be communicated to adolescents, along with the ways in which experts approach the reading of text. Students’ text comprehension benefits when students learn to approach different texts with different lenses.”

Shanahan & Shanahan (2008)