moving the needle on adolescent literacy secondary school reading network meeting for grant...

Moving the Needle on Adolescent Moving the Needle on Adolescent LiteracyLiteracy

Secondary School ReadingSecondary School ReadingNetwork Meeting for Grant RecipientsNetwork Meeting for Grant Recipients

Marlborough, MAMarlborough, MA

The University of Kansas Center The University of Kansas Center for Research on Learningfor Research on Learning

• Founded in 1978 • Mission: Improve outcomes for

struggling adolescent learners

• $165 million R & D

• Curriculum materials

• Support classroom use and school change (1200 person PD network)

RoadmapRoadmap• A new priority• Why (students)• Why (context)• Possible Solutions

– Element #1 (Leverage points)

– Element #2 (School-wide literacy framework)

– Element #3 (Infrastructure Supports)

– Element #4 (Capacity building)

• Change at the secondary level

A New Priority

The Missing MiddleThe Missing Middle• Head Start = $6.7B

• Title I (K-8) = $11.1B

• Title I (9-12) = $1.8B

• Pell Grants = $11.4B

Rapid Acceleration in Rapid Acceleration in Adolescent Literacy Adolescent Literacy

• 2000 - National Reading Panel

• 2001 - Partnership for Reading

• 2002 - Adolescent Literacy Workshop

• 2002 - NIH Adolescent Literacy Network

• 2003 - Carnegie Corporation of NY Adolescent Literacy Advisory Council

• 2003 - Alliance for Excellent Education

• 2005 - Striving Readers

Check these out!Check these out!

• www.all4ed.org

• www.carnegie.org/literacy/initiative

Why?(Students)

The Performance Gap

Years in School

DemandsSkills and

The “Gap”

2013-2014

5 th

9 th

9 th1Yr

2Yrs

1 1/2Yrs

2 1/2Yrs

Do Extended Day Tutoring Do Extended Day Tutoring Programs Work?Programs Work?

(Chicago Study 2004-05)(Chicago Study 2004-05)

• Tutored 1.09 yrs.

• Eligible 1.03 yrs.

• 64% receive 40 hrs+

The price tag……The price tag……

$22 $22 million!million!

Reading Component Profile

ALPHABETICS FLUENCY VOCABULARY COMPREHENSION

Word ID-Word Att Rate-Accuracy-SWE-PDE PPVT-WLPB Rd-Vocab-List Comp Pass Comp-Rdg Comp

Scores from the WLPB-R, GORT, TOWRE, PPVT, Sub tests

115

110

105

100

95

90

85

80

75

70

Mean

Sta

nd

ard

S

core

s ◊

∆

∆ ∆

∆

∆ ∆

◊

◊◊

◊

∆ Proficient◊ ASRS

◊

◊◊ ◊ ◊

◊

∆

∆

∆

∆

∆

*Statistically Different

NAEP ReadingNAEP Reading

• Below the proficiency level

–68% of 8th graders

• Below the basic level

–26% of 8th graders

On GraduatingOn Graduating

• Rates vary: 53% -- 89%

• About 70% graduate (50% students of color)

• Lowest 25% achievers in 9th grade -- 20 times more likely to drop out

Why?(The context)

Did you know….Did you know….

• 25 % of population in China with highest IQs …..is greater than the total population of North

America

• China will soon become the #1 English speaking country …….in the world.in the world

Did you know….Did you know….

• We are currently preparing students for jobs that don’t exist….Using technologies that haven’t been invented

• Nintendo invests more than $140M in R&D annually….The U. S. Department of Education invests 1/2

that much in educational R&D

Shifts Causing ConcernShifts Causing Concern….….

• In 2007, the most capable high energy particle accelerator on Earth will, for the first time, reside outside the U. S.

• In 2005, only four U. S. companies ranked among the top 10 recipients of U.S. patents.

• Undergraduate degrees in natural sciences or engineering: South Korea-38%; France-47%; China-50%; Singapore-67%; U.S.-15%

Intel Corporation says….Intel Corporation says….

“We go where the smart people are. Now our business operations are 2/3 in the

U. S. and 1/3 overseas. But that ratio will flip over the next 10 years.”

The Next Job MarketThe Next Job Market

• The workers who will be most successful in an economy heavily influenced by computerization are those who can engage in

–Expert thinking–Complex communications

Levy & Murnane (2004)

•Low reading performance•Lots of students•$ alone doesn’t guarantee results•This must become everyone’s problem!!

Summary

SolutionElements

1. Leverage Points 2. School-wide Literacy Framework

3. Infrastructure Supports 4. Capacity Building and Coaching

Element #1 Leverage Points

–3.5 times as likely to graduate

– One F decreases likelihood of graduating from 83% to 60%

– 2 Fs decreases likelihood to 44%

– 3 Fs decreases likelihood to 31%31%

““On-track Indicator”On-track Indicator”

The Big Four*The Big Four* #1#1Are strategies in place to manage behavior

effectively?– Expectations clearly explained?– Ratio of interactions at least 3+ for each - ?– Acceptable time on task?

Jim Knight (2007). The Instructional Coach. Corwin Press

The Big FourThe Big Four #2#2 Do we understand the content?

– Know what is/is not standards for the course?– A year-long plan in place?– 10 essential questions & concepts identified?– Can we give a simple, correct, easy to understand

answer to each question and definition for each concept?

The Big 4The Big 4 #3#3Do we use effective teaching practices?

– Model thinking & text strategies?– Ask effective questions at different cognitive levels?– Give constructive feedback effectively?– Organize instruction well?– Scaffold instruction effectively?

MEMORIZE THIS!MEMORIZE THIS!PROPORTION OF VARIANCE IN STUDENT GAIN SCORES--

READING, MATH-- EXPLAINED BY LEVEL

CLASS

60% READING

52-72%

MATH

STUDENTS

28% R

19% M SCHOOLS

12% R

10-30 M

ROWAN, ET AL., “. . .PROSPECTS. . .” TEACHERS COLLEGE RECORD( 2005).

Prediction time!Prediction time!• In 9th grade core classes (science, history, etc.)

…– What percentage of time do teachers spend in active instruction?– How frequently are “high impact” strategies used that research has shown to work with

students who struggle in learning?

• In 9th grade “supplemental” classes…– What percentage of time do teachers spend in active instruction?– How frequently are “high impact” strategies used that research has shown to work with

students who struggle in learning?

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

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

The Big FourThe Big Four #4#4Do we use formative assessment?

– Understand the teaching targets?

– Developed formal and informal measures to see if students are hitting the targets?

– Know how well all students are performing?

Element #2

School-wide Literacy Framework

A review of adolescent literacy A review of adolescent literacy programs and curriculaprograms and curricula

• List is by no means exhaustive• Steps:

– Made list of programs with which we were familiar – Combed several databases– Did online searches– Consulted researchers and policy-makers – Wrote draft descriptive summaries– Sent summaries for review– Revised summaries– Created descriptive and evaluative grids

LANGUAGE

SKILLS

STRATEGIES

SUBJECT MATTER

Building Blocks for Content Literacy

HIGHER ORDER

Begin by….

Getting a profile of the literacy performance of students in your school

Screen for…..Screen for…..

• Word analysis skills

• Fluency

• Comprehension

• (Progress monitoring throughout year)

Then ask….Five questions about literacy supports currently in place.

5 Questions5 Questions1. What’s in place in core classes to ensure that students

will get the “critical” content in spite of their literacy skills?

2. Are procedures for teaching powerful learning strategies embedded in courses across the curriculum?

3. What happens for students who know how to decode but can’t comprehend well?

4. What happens for those students who are reading below the 4th grade level?

5. What happens for students who have language problems?

Content Literacy “Synergy”

Improved Literacy

CONTENT CLASSES

Level 1. Enhanced Content Instruction

CONTENT CLASSES

Level 2. Embedded Strategy

InstructionLevel 3. Intensive

Strategy Instruction

• strategy classes

• strategic tutoring

Level 4. Intensive Basic Skill Instruction

KU-CRL CLC- Lenz, Ehren, &Deshler, 2005

Level 5. Therapeutic Intervention

Foundational language competencies

Sample tools for teaching:

•Higher orderthinking

• Subject matter

LANGUAGE

SKILLS

STRATEGIES

SUBJECT MATTER

Building Blocks for Content Literacy

HIGHER ORDER

• Reading • Listening

Learning thru…Learning thru…

• Reading • Listening

Learning thru…Learning thru…

Text difficulty

Building Prior KnowledgeWithout Texts

Expanding Prior KnowledgeWith Reading

Week 1 2 3 4 5

Lee & Spratley, 2007

Teachers in Teachers in “literacy rich” “literacy rich” classes……..classes……..

• Understand the literacy demands of their texts• Use a broad range of reading materials• Provide guidance to students before, during, after

reading• Provide multiple teacher models of how to process

discipline specific text• Build and activate prior knowledge• Focus classroom talk on how to make sense of text

• Reading • Listening

Learning thru…Learning thru…

SMARTER Planning around critical content is essential!

Selecting the critical questions.

Mapping content structures.

Analyzing learning difficulty based on:

Reaching enhancement decisions by selecting powerful...

Teaching strategically through explicit...

Evaluating enhancementsRevaluate outcomes

Quantity ComplexityInterest BackgroundRelevance OrganizationAbstractness

Teaching Devices

Teaching Routines

SMARTER Planning

CONCEPT DIAGRAM

Always Present Sometimes Present Never Present

TIE DOWN A DEFINITION

Key Words

PRACTICE WITH NEW EXAMPLE

CONVEY CONCEPT

NOTE KEY WORDS

OFFER OVERALL CONCEPT

CLASSIFYCHARACTERISTICS

Examples: Nonexamples:EXPLORE EXAMPLES

CONCEPT DIAGRAM

Always Present Sometimes Present Never Present

TIE DOWN A DEFINITION

Key Words

PRACTICE WITH NEW EXAMPLE

CONVEY CONCEPT

NOTE KEY WORDS

OFFER OVERALL CONCEPT

CLASSIFYCHARACTERISTICS

Examples: Nonexamples:EXPLORE EXAMPLES

Civil War

armed conflict

United States war between the States

Northern Ireland

1990’s crisis in the Balkans

American Revolutionary War

World War I

World War II

“Desert Storm” in Kuwait

A civil war is a type of armed conflict among groups of citizens of a single nation that is caused by concerns about the distribution of power.

U.S. Civil War

Northern Ireland

citizens

one nation

ethnic

many nations

social rights

Desert Storm in Kuwait

• Groups of citizens•Within a single nationAbout distribution of power

economic

religious

ethnic

War between nations

social

political

PRIORKNOWLEDGE

Hierarchical

CATEGORIZATION ANALYSIS

of characteristicsDISCRIMINATING

EVALUATION

Sample tools for Sample tools for teaching: teaching:

• Learning strategies• Skills

LANGUAGE

SKILLS

STRATEGIES

SUBJECT MATTER

Building Blocks for Content Literacy

HIGHER ORDER

Self-Questioning StrategySelf-Questioning Strategy

• Attend to clues as you read

• Say some questions

• Keep predictions in mind

• Identify the answer

• Talk about the answers

WORD IDENTIFICATIONWORD IDENTIFICATION

Discover the Sounds and Context

Isolate the Beginning Separate the Ending

Say the Stem

Examine the Stem

Check with someone

Try the Dictionary

mentde

part al

Isolate the

Beginning

Separate the

Endings

Say the StemOr

Examine it

DDIISSSSEECTCT

Finally…. Use a “content

literacy” framework to determine an action

plan

SUBJECT MATTER

STRATEGIES

SKILLS

LANGUAGE

A Continuum of Literacy Instruction (Content Literacy Continuum -- CLC)

HIGHER ORDER

Level 1: Enhance content instruction (mastery of critical content for all regardless of literacy levels)

Level 2: Embedded strategy instruction (routinely weave strategies within and across classes using large group instructional methods)

Level 3: Intensive strategy instruction (mastery of specific strategies using intensive-explicit instructional sequences)

Level 4: Intensive basic skill instruction (mastery of entry level literacy skills at the 4th grade level)

Level 5: Therapeutic intervention (mastery of language underpinnings of curriculum content and learning strategies)

Intense-Explicit Instruction (RTI)Intense-Explicit Instruction (RTI)

LEVEL 1

• Cue

• Do

• Review

LEVEL 2• “I do it!” (Learn by watching)• “We do it!” (Learn by sharing)• “Ya’ll do it!” (Learn by

sharing)• “You do it! (Learn by

practicing)

LEVEL 3/4/5• PretestPretest• Describe Describe

– Commitment (student & Commitment (student & teacher)teacher)

– GoalsGoals– High expectationsHigh expectations

• ModelModel• Practice and quality Practice and quality

feedbackfeedback– Controlled and advancedControlled and advanced

• Posttest & reflectPosttest & reflect• Generalize, transfer, applyGeneralize, transfer, apply

The CLC says…The CLC says…• There are unique (but very important) roles for each member

of a secondary staff relative to literacy instruction– While every content teacher is not a reading teacher, every teacher

needs to teach students in how to read content.

– Literacy coaches may be necessary but aren’t sufficient

• Some students require more intensive, systematic, explicit instruction of content, strategies, and skills

Additionally, the CLC .…..Additionally, the CLC .…..• Is a framework for guiding

– Staff dialogue around literacy– Professional development– Resource allocation– Decision making

• Integrates instructional programs– From silos to synergy

Element #3

Infrastructure Supports

The Performance Gap

12

11

10

9

8

7

6

5

4

3Years in School

Grade Level • Expectations

• Demands• Skills

The Performance Gap

Years in School

Infrastructure Supports

ExistingSupport

INFRASTRUCTURE

SUPPORTSSUPPORTS

•Flexible Scheduling

•Time for Teacher Learning and Planning

•Behavioral Supports

Grade Level • Expectations

• Demands• Skills

The Performance Gap

/

Grade Level • Expectations

• Demands• Skills

System Learning Supports

Infrastructure Supports

Current Supports

• Progress Monitoring

• Collaborative Problem-Solving

• Instructional Coaching

SYSTEM LEARNING SUPPORTS

Years in School

The Performance Gap

/

Grade Level • Expectations

• Demands• Skills

Instructional Core

System Learning Supports

Infrastructure Supports

Current Supports

Years in School

INSTRUCTION

• Standards-Informed Curriculum Planning

• Coherence

• Continuum of Continuum of Literacy Literacy InstructionInstruction

• Motivation Strategies

• Engaging Instructional Materials & Activities

• Student-Informed Teaching

Element #4

Capacity Building and Coaching

Build Ownership & CapacityBuild Ownership & Capacity

Literacy Leadership TeamsLiteracy Leadership Teams Driver of literacy work in school Distributed leadership

Work on Leadership PracticeWork on Leadership Practice Organize/supervise work around key instructional

activities Observe, describe, analyze instructional practice Create internal accountability mechanisms Build common language and expectations

Build Ownership & CapacityBuild Ownership & Capacity (cont.) (cont.)

Work on instructional practiceWork on instructional practice Observe models of practice Develop protocols for observing practice Rotation of observations in teams Focus on observing, describing, analyzing

instructional practice Build common language and expectations

Necessary ConditionsNecessary Conditions

• Sustained investments in professional development programs.

• Engaged administrators who set expectations for adoption and proper implementation

• District level support to hire teachers who embrace CLC principles and possess the skills

Necessary ConditionsNecessary Conditions

• A willingness to redefine roles

• Staff given sufficient time to “make sense of” and accommodate CLC into their instructional framework, and have their questions and concerns addressed

• The degree to which decisions regarding the adoption of CLC is perceived as being one in which their voice has been heard

Is Making Changes a Big

Deal?

Attempt, Attack, Abandon Cycle

AttackAbandon

Attempt

• “as the number of changes multiplies, and as the time demands increase, people

approach a dysfunction threshold, a point where they lose the capacity to implement changes”

--Darryl Conner, Managing at the speed of change

IMPROVEMENT PROCESSES

Growth

Time

“The single most common…

source of leadership failure we’ve been able to identify… is that people, especially those in positions of authority,

treat adaptive challenges like technical problems”

R. Heifetz, Leadership on the line

Allow time for….Allow time for….

• Human “sense-making”Human “sense-making”» Spilane, Reiser, & Reimer (2002)

• Reformulation and reintegrationReformulation and reintegration» Marris (1975)

““Sharpen the Saw”Sharpen the Saw” (Covey)

• Physically• Mentally• Socially• Spiritually

So…. It is a big deal to get people to change!

But…. ….it becomes doable if we do it with them rather than to them!

Don Deshler

University of Kansas

Center for Research on Learning

ddeshler@ku.edu