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)
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