READING, PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND LETRS

Erin Eighmy

IU5 Literacy TaC

Certified LETRS trainer

erin_eighmy@iu5.org

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National PriorityField Concerns

Reading ProgramsTeacher Quality StudiesPre-service Licensing

ProgramsProfessional

DevelopmentKeystones to Literacy

Grant connection

National PriorityField Concerns

Reading ProgramsTeacher Quality StudiesPre-service Licensing

ProgramsProfessional

DevelopmentKeystones to Literacy

Grant connection

Objectives

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The Teaching of Reading

“No other skill taught in school and learned by school children is more important than reading. It is the gateway to all other knowledge.”

American Federation of Teachers

Why Reading Instruction Is a National PriorityWarm-Up Questions Approximately how many students in your school,

district, or state are viewed as poor readers at the end of grade 3?

By what criteria are those students identified (e.g., state end-of-grade test, benchmarks on screening measures, NAEP scores)?

Are your local school statistics better than, the same as, or worse than state averages?

Are you satisfied with your class’s achievement in reading, spelling, writing, and/or language?

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HTTP://NCES.ED.GOV/NATIONSREPORTCARD/

2009 NATIONAL ASSESSMENT OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS: MATH AGE 9

2009 same as 2007 scores2009 same as 2007 scores

2009 NATIONAL ASSESSMENT OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS: READING AGE 9

2009 same as 2007 scores2009 same as 2007 scores

2009 NATIONAL ASSESSMENT OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS: READING AGE 13

2009 same as 2007 scores2009 same as 2007 scores

2009 NATIONAL ASSESSMENT OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS: READING AGE 17

2009 same as 2007 scores2009 same as 2007 scores

2009 PA NAEP Data

2010-2011 PA Academic Achievement Report

2011 Districts Made AYP: 4632010: 4722009: 422

2011 Districts Made AYP: 4632010: 4722009: 422

2011 Reading target:

72%2012 Reading target:

81%

IU5 District Reading Results2011-2012 Data

2011 20120%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

Made AYP

Made AYP

Target 72%

Target 81%

PROJECTED

* Special Provisions not included

PA Compared to Other States

-Only 6 states performed better than PA

How does the PSSA stack up to the NAEP?

http://www.time.com/time/interactive/0,31813,1625123,00.html

Reading Problems Are Common

NICHD¹ characterized reading difficulty as a major public health concern.

Too many children have inadequate reading skills: In 2005, approximately 38 percent of 4th graders

were identified as poor readers².Up to 70 percent of children in high-poverty

schools are “below basic,” especially African American, Hispanic, and Native American children.

The social implications are many!¹ National Institute of Child Health and Human Development

² National Center for Education Statistics, 2005

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“I just bought a reading program – isn’t that enough?”

“Why does PD take so much time and money?”

Didn’t teachers learn to teach reading in their licensing program?”

Questions Often Asked by Administrators

DIBELS Summit 2010

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“I just bought a reading program – isn’t that

enough?”

We just adopted a good core program. Isn’t that enough to get

results?

It’s necessary, but not sufficient

Questions Often Asked by Administrators

DIBELS Summit 2010

Some Influences Driving Program DevelopmentNational Reading Panel (2000)Florida Center for Reading Research

www.fcrr.orgReading First funding criteriaCalifornia reading program adoption (2009)University of Oregon Center on Teaching and

Learning Vaughn Gross Center for Reading and Language

Arts

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Many Excellent Programs Exist

DIBELS Summit 2010

Four programs with all components were used 5-year, longitudinal study in high-poverty, failing

schools Teacher and school effects overrode program

effects Each program had good and poor

implementers

NICHD Early Interventions Project (Moats and Foorman, 2008)

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Implementation is the Key

DIBELS Summit 2010

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oEffective teachers o adapted to student needs and abilities.

o In 2nd and 3rd grade, better teachers identified children who were behind grade level and modified the emphasis of their instruction.

(Foorman et al., 2006)

Implementation is the Key

DIBELS Summit 2010

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“So, why does PD take so much time and money?”

Teachers may have little or no preparation in SBRR and research-

validated practices, and

The content is challenging!

Questions Often Asked by Administrators

DIBELS Summit 2010

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Theories Matter and Support Good Practice…

DIBELS Summit 2010

Theories are not personal speculations; they are representations of truth emanating from a body of scientific work…

For example…

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Context Processor

Orthographic Processor

Phonological Processor

Meaning Processor

writing outputlanguage output reading input

speechsound system letter memory

language input

Phonics

Language Comprehension

Fluency

Vocabulary

Phonemic Awareness

The Four-Part Processing Model for Word Recognition

● Background Knowledge● Vocabulary Knowledge● Language Structures● Verbal Reasoning● Literacy Knowledge

● Phonological Awareness● Decoding (and Spelling)● Sight Recognition

SKILLED READING: fluent execution and coordination of word recognition and text comprehension.

LANGUAGE COMPREHENSION

WORD RECOGNITION

increasingly

automatic

increasingly

strategic

Reading is a multifaceted skill, gradually acquired over years of instruction and practice.

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The Many Strands That Are Woven Into Skilled Reading

What happens when these scientifically validated theories and principles

are not understood?

25DIBELS Summit 2010

Words are not recognized by shape.

Words are Taught as Wholes to Memorize

26DIBELS Summit 2010

However SBRR tells usPhoneme-Grapheme Correspondence is the Key to Developing Accurate, Fast Word Reading!

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WORDS ARE TREATED AS “OUTLAWS”

about again beautiful because black

caught car don’t every found

gym have how it’s junk

knew little more nice one

our phone quit right use

when

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From Hanna, Hanna, Hodges, and Rudorf (1966):

50% of words are predictable by rule 36% of words are predictable by rule

With one error, usually a vowel

10% of words will be predictableWith morphology and word origin taken into

account

Fewer than 4% are true oddities

But English is Predictable!

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What is Taught to Teachers?

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Personal Philosophy

or Best Practices Supported by

Research?

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Teacher Quality Studies

Teacher Quality Studies

Agenda

Moats & Foorman, 2003 Spear-Swerling & Brucker,

2004, 05 Bos et al., 2001 McCutchen et al., 1999, 2001,

2002 A. Cunningham, 2004 J. Cornier, 2004 Teacher Quality Institute

(Walsh), 2006 Kroese, Mather, and

Sammons, 2006

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“Didn’t teachers learn to teach reading in

their licensing program?”

Questions Often Asked by Administrators

DIBELS Summit 2010

Arne Duncan, Oct. 2009

Many if most of the nation’s 1450 schools, colleges, are doing a mediocre job of preparing teachers for the realities of the 21st century classroom

Nearly 30 percent of our students drop out of high school –that is 1.2 million kids a year

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Analysis of 252 reading

course syllabi

from 72 institutions

DIBELS Summit 2010

National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ), May 2006

Sampled 72 elementary education programs across the US Sampled 223 required reading courses

15% of courses taught all scientific components (NRP’s ‘Big Five’)

4 of the 227 textbooks were“acceptable” Nearly a third of the 72 institutions

studied failed to teach any of the five components of reading instruction

–(Walsh, Glaser, & Wilcox, 2006)

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5/5 4/5 3/5 2/5 1/5 none

DIBELS Summit 2010

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5/5 4/5 3/5 2/5 1/5 none

DIBELS Summit 2010

… “Only a handful of states has revised their teaching standards to insist that institutions train teachers in the science of reading instruction.”

Some states with revised standards for higher education:

Florida, Maryland, Colorado, Virginia, Idaho, Michigan

On State Level Requirements…

39DIBELS Summit 2010

Even well-prepared, effective teachers have lingering confusion about:Phonemes and phonologyGraphemes and spelling patternsMorphemes and word structureThe purposes of various assessmentsHow to connect the essential components

Especially decoding with comprehension

40DIBELS Summit 2010

Findings from the TRE Utilization and LETRS CD-Rom Studies (Sopris West, 2008)

43DIBELS Summit 2010

Louise Spear-Swerling & Pam Brucker, Southern Connecticut State College

Fewer than 10% of licensed, practicing teachers could correctly answer questions about the role of phoneme awareness, fluency, and context use in proficient reading, prior to coursework

Most could not calibrate their existing knowledge with their performance on objective tests – they typically overestimated their knowledge

Teachers Perception of Knowledge Cunningham, Perry, Stanovich, Stanovich 2004

Teachers are more aware of their knowledge of children’s literature

Teachers are less aware of their knowledge of phonological awareness and phonics

Teachers who are not well calibrated will be less open to new learning

Teachers need to know what they do not know

Annals of Dyslexia, 2004

Reason for Optimism

National Reading Panel set the stage for the outlining the science of reading

Research-based State Initiatives Common Core State Standards

adopted IDA Knowledge and Practice Standards

International Dyslexia Association’s Knowledge and Practice Standards

for the Teachers of Reading

Content knowledge necessary to teach reading and writing to students with dyslexia or related disorders

Practices of effective instruction Ethical conduct

“Programs do not teach, teachers do.”

–Louisa Moats

Knowledge and Practice Standards for Teachers of ReadingIf teachers are better prepared,

the impact of reading difficulties will be lessened

Students will receive the instruction and support that they require to reach their potential.

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Teaching Matters

“Teaching matters and good teaching can change the brain in a way that has potential to benefit struggling readers.” Shaywitz, 2003

Teaching reading IS rocket science.

Louisa Moats

Instruction Matters

All but 2 to 5 percent of children can learn basic reading skills in first grade.

The earlier students attain proficient reading skills, the better.

Older poor readers can improve; it is never too late!

Use of research-based, best practices for literacy is crucial.

Programs don’t teach children, teachers do!

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LETRS video

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HERE’S WHAT TEACHERS ARE SAYING…Comments from Module 1 Evaluations54

Evaluation Question:Which topics did you find the most helpful?

Teachers would like you to know...

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KEYSTONES TO LITERACY GRANT NEEDS TO BE TIED TO THE COMPREHENSIVE LITERACY PLAN

Guiding Principle 5Pg 22.

Educators must be prepared to teach effectively in the schools of the 21st century and be provided with continuing professional development support that enables them to be lifelong learners.

“Quality teaching has been identified as the most significant variable associated with student learning”

“job-embedded professional development must be an integral part of every school’s comprehensive planning”

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COMPREHENSIVE LITERACY PLANSTATE SPONSORED INITIATIVE

State sponsored initiatives for increasing effectiveness of literacy instruction, e.g., LETRS Pg 124

Beyond the LETRS Modules

In-district LETRS trainings Embedded staff

development can be tailored to fit district

need Shorter sessions Strategies for implementation

between sessionsCoaching Lesson demonstrationData analysis

WHAT? NO TEXTBOOK REQUIRED?

Antonio A. Fierro – Nuñez, Ed.D.

Adjunct Professor – UT El Paso

National LETRS Trainer

aafierro_20@yahoo.com

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DIBELS Summit 2010

SOME OF THE CONTENT IN THIS PRESENTATION TAKEN FROM 2010 DIBELS SUMMIT …