addressing the needs of at-risk learners through effective policy & programming
DESCRIPTION
Addressing the Needs of At-Risk Learners Through Effective Policy & Programming. Nonie K. Lesaux, PhD Striving Readers Comprehensive Public Meeting United States Department of Education November 19, 2010. Language Diversity & Literacy Development Research Group. HGSE. Framework. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
ADDRESSING THE NEEDS OF AT-RISK LEARNERS THROUGH EFFECTIVE POLICY & PROGRAMMING
Nonie K. Lesaux, PhD
Striving Readers Comprehensive Public MeetingUnited States Department of Education
November 19, 2010
HGSE
FRAMEWORK
1. Context: The 21st Century America
2. Pressing Issues: What Can We Learn From Recent Research?
3. Designing Policies & Practices: How Can We Link What We Know To What We Do?
HGSE
CONTEXT: THE 21ST CENTURY AMERICA
• 1 in 5 children is the child of an immigrant• Over 400 different native languages are represented• The immigrant population’s growth rate is 3 times as
fast as that for the overall population• Largest and fastest growing group of immigrants are
U.S. born children of Latino immigrants – 80% of immigrant population
(Fry & Gonzales, 2008; NCES, 2006; US Census Bureau)HGSE
SUMMARY: THE 21ST CENTURY AMERICA
Cultural, linguistic, and economic diversity is a reality for the nation as a whole
HGSE
For all settings and all programs serving children
FRAMEWORK
1. Context: The 21st Century America
2. Pressing Issues: What Can We Learn From Recent Research?
3. Designing Policies & Practices: How Can We Link What We Know To What We Do?
HGSE
TRENDS IN READING DEVELOPMENT
• Three developmental studies to inform instruction: – Preschool to Early Adolescence (ELLs)– 5-year study, 4th - 8th grade (ELLs)– Comparative study of ELLs and native
English speakers (strugglers, 6th grade)
HGSE
Lett
er-W
ord
ID W
LPB-
R W
Sco
res
Age 4.5 Age 5 Age 6 Age 7 Age 8 Age 11 (fall preK) (spring preK) (kinder) (1st grade) (2nd grade) (5thgrade)
National Monolingual Norms
ES: 0.5 0.1 -0.2 -0.2 0.1 0.04
Absolute Rate of Growth National: 135 W-score PointsAbsolute Rate of Growth Sample: 145 W-score Points
Mancilla-Martinez &Lesaux, in press
Prod
uctiv
e Vo
cabu
lary
WLP
B-R
W S
core
s
Age 4.5 Age 5 Age 6 Age 7 Age 8 Age 11 (fall preK) (spring preK) (kinder) (1st grade) (2nd grade) (5th grade)
National Monolingual Norms
ES: 1.8 1.8 1.6 1.3 0.9 1.0
Absolute Rate of Growth National: 45 W-score PointsAbsolute Rate of Growth Sample: 60 W-score Points
Mancilla-Martinez &Lesaux, in press
1 SD below ½ SD below average ½ SD above 1 SD above
Lat
ent
Rea
din
g C
om
pre
hen
sio
n S
core
Average Fitted Score1.
64 SD
5th Grade National Norms
58
Mancilla-Martinez & Lesaux, in press
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90Pe
rcen
tile
Rank
Grade 4
Grade 5
Grade 6
Grade 7
Grade 8
Word Reading Fluency Oral Language Reading Comprehension
THE GAP BETWEEN READING WORDS & COMPREHENDING TEXT
Crosson&Lesaux, 2009; Lesaux, Crosson, Kieffer& Pierce, in press
STRUGGLING COMPREHENDERSIN MIDDLE SCHOOL
Lesaux &Kieffer, 2010HGSE
FOLLOW-UP WORK: BEHIND THESE SCORES
• Think-aloud protocol with a subsample from preK to early adolescence study
• The Dilemma:– they appear to be “active” comprehenders,
i.e., report strategy use and have clearly reasoned processes for finding information
– they don’t bring the word and world knowledge required for comprehension.
• Strategies are a mechanism for leveraging background knowledge; Without the former, the latter is insufficient
HGSE
Substantial Variability in Teachers’ Input
TEACHER TALK FINDINGS• Language Minority learners benefited from teachers’ use
of sophisticated vocabulary– Native English speakers showed increases in vocabulary
as a function of teachers’ use of complex sentences– Teachers’ use of sophisticated vocabulary significantly
impacted students’ reading comprehension• Benefitted LM and EO learners equally
• In the absence of intervention the magnitude of this relationship is the same as many intervention
results
Gamez & Lesaux, under review HGSE
FRAMEWORK: EFFECTIVE STATE-LEVEL PLANS
1. Context: The 21st Century America
2. Pressing Issues: What Can We Learn From Recent Research?
3. Designing Policies & Practices: How Can We Link What We Know To What We Do?
HGSE
Guidelines for Effective State-Level Literacy Plans, Birth to 12th Grade Guidelines for Effective State-Level Literacy Plans, Birth to 12th Grade
KnowledgeBuilding
reading writing
speaking listening
Birth to 5, Family Literacy Programs: •Revisit supported programs to determine effectiveness for literacy learning
•Focus on impact before focusing on reach•Reallocation of resources for depth
PK-12 Literacy Model:•Supplemental supports for strugglers at all grade levels•closer match to daily instructional content•closer match between reader needs & intervention (assessment-driven)
•Includes a plan to buffer summer learning loss•Closer connections to after-school programs
Guidelines for Effective State-Level Literacy Plans, Birth to 12th
Knowledge-Based
Literacy Instruction
KnowledgeBuilding
reading writing
speaking listening
Large problem spaces Small problem spaces
letters
phonemes
spelling rules
vocabulary
sightvocabulary
phonologicalrepresentations
meaning
syntacticstructure
Genre features
language structuresAdapted from Snow (2007)
know
ledg
ePROBLEM SPACES
HGSE
HOW DO WE ACTUALLY DO THIS?
With an integrated, knowledge-based approach, rather than one that simply promises to “balance” skills instruction
need to further problematize the notion of balanced instruction
SHIFTING THE PARADIGMReading Instruction in the Service of…
Reading Skills Content Learning
Shifting the Paradigm in all Learning Settings (con’t)
• An increase in opportunities for academic productive talk, beyond providing responses
• A focus on academic language over conversational language-especially for ELLs-For newcomer ELLs, move quickly from basic/survival English to academic language
• BUT...educators and children need big ideas to talk about• across all settings and program• Talk needs to connect to content learning
HGSE
A Big Idea or Question A Big Idea or Question
Read Aloud (narrative & expository)
Read Aloud (narrative & expository)
Novel Study and/or Early Readers
Novel Study and/or Early Readers Extended WritingExtended Writing
Study of Words that Represent Abstract
Concepts
Study of Words that Represent Abstract
Concepts
Collaborative Research Project
Collaborative Research Project Debate in TeamsDebate in Teams
KNOWLEDGE-BUILDING LITERACY INSTRUCTION
What makes a community?
ALIGNMENT WITH COMMON CORE STANDARDS
• Anchor Standards from the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts:– Integration of Knowledge and Ideas– Research to Build and Present Knowledge– Comprehension and Collaboration– Knowledge of Language– Vocabulary Acquisition and Use
HGSE
Guidelines for Effective State-Level Literacy Plans, Birth to 12th
Knowledge-Based
Literacy Instruction
KnowledgeBuilding
reading writing
speaking listening
Re-defined adult roles & capacity-building models
•No longer feasible to rely on specialist/specialization models •historically inefficient and ineffective, anyway•universal design for learning (setting-level)
•Expand professional education•Birth to 5 settings•After-School & Family Literacy •Middle & High School Teachers
• Fostering site-level instructional leadership•clear roles for administrators
Guidelines for Effective State-Level Literacy Plans, Birth to 12th
Knowledge-Based
Literacy Instruction
KnowledgeBuilding
reading writing
speaking listening
Re-defined adult roles & capacity-building models
•In many cases, first state-wide indicator of children’s comprehension is 3rdgrade•early literacy assessments are mostly code-based
•Even starting in preK is late!•Partnerships with community & medical providers
•Assessment often focuses exclusively on children and students
-significant reasons to need to assess quality of settings•Ideally within a statewide database
•track development, including language and reading•promote program evaluation
SUMMARY: KEY POINTS• Increased intensity of many support services &
standard practice– including summer & after-school
• Knowledge-Based Literacy instruction– content goals– knowledge gaps rather than skills gaps– professional development plans
• Assessments of language development should begin long before school starts
• PK-12th grade assessment systems – include a significant focus on oral language
HGSE
SUMMARY: SERVING AT-RISK POPULATIONS
• Increase opportunities to build oral language skills, from an early age
-assessment-supports link -community-school partnerships
• Favor academic language over conversational English/basic communication
-assessment & instruction -extended discourse through high school
• Formal plan for continued support for reclassified ELLs
-universal design for learningHGSE