Digital Literacies: Engaging Readers Who Struggle Dr. Hiller A. Spires, Shea Kerkhoff, Marie Himes, & Chang Yuan North Carolina State University March 13, 2016

Getting to Know You Introduce yourself Share a specific challenge you have with a reader who struggles

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Reading for Understanding (Rand Report, 2002)

Who Are the Readers Who Struggle? What Does it Mean to Struggle with Reading?

NAEP 8th Grade Mean Reading Scores Year National Average State Average African American LatinoWhite Year National Average State Average Eligible for Free/Reduced Lunch Not EligibleGap

NAEP 4th Grade Mean Reading Scores Year National Average State Average African American LatinoWhite Year National Average State Average Eligible for Free/Reduce d Lunch Not Eligible Gap

In order for struggling readers to become more proficient, they must READ! Studies show 1 to 30 minutes of reading per day for struggling readers. Instead of reading, struggling readers are waiting for a round robin turn, or doing worksheets, doing test prep or doing decoding drills. Successful interventions have struggling readers engaged in reading 2/3 of intervention period.

Readers Who Struggle “There is now considerable evidence, from recent intervention studies, that reading difficulties in most beginning readers may not be caused by biologically based cognitive deficits intrinsic to the child, but may in fact be related to the opportunities provided for children learning to read.” p. 378 Accessing Students’ Funds of Knowledge Vellutino, F. R., & Fletcher, J. M. (2005). Developmental dyslexia. In M. S. C. Hulme (Ed.), The science of reading: A handbook (pp ). Malden, MA: Blackwell.

Readers Who Struggle Need Books (Print or Digital) to Read! “Unfortunately, putting good books in front of our students has not been the focus in many of our nation’s schools.” Kelly Gallagher (2009). Readicide: How schools are killing reading and what you can do about it. Stenhouse Publishers.

Richard Allington: What Really Matters Matching Reader and Text Level Building Background Knowledge Dramatically Expanding Reading Activity Using Very Small Groups or Tutoring Coordinating Intervention with Core Classroom Delivering Intervention by Expert Teacher Focusing Instruction on Metacognition & Meaning Using Texts That Are Interesting to Students Bridging Home and School Allington, R. (2009). What Really Matters in Response to Intervention. Allyn Bacon.

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Digital Literacies Locating and Consuming Digital-Content Creating Digital Content Communicating Digital Content Critical Evaluation

The Myth of the Digital Native

4 Digital Divides Access Class Time Teacher Knowledge Achievement Gap

1. Access Digital Divide in NC

2. Classroom Time Less time on computers with students from low incomes 3. Teacher Knowledge High-stakes test scores correlation with income Low scores may mean more time in PD on testing (Leu et al. 2015)

4. Achievement Gap Separate achievement gap by income beyond traditional reading achievement gap Separate component to online research and comprehension (a.k.a. online inquiry reading) Not in State Standards and therefore not in high- stakes tests Supporting students acquisition of online research and comprehension skills is matter of equal opportunity (Leu et al. 2015)

What Can We Do? Work in Pairs Teach Last First Bridge Home and School Literacies Tap into Motivation Research

Teach Last First I do We do You do

Bridging Home and School Literacy Inquiry Reading Multimodal Composition

Motivation to Read Growth Mindset –Mastery not Performance is motivating –Belief that one can succeed Utilitarian –Learn a procedure –Meet goal of one’s job or future job –Improve vocabulary Curiosity Social –Parents or peers value reading –Allows one to talk with peers (Schiefele et al., 2012)

Why use inquiry-based learning models with students labeled as struggling readers?

Inquiry-based Learning and Struggling Readers -Motivation and Engagement Choice Purposeful/Authentic Learning -Building Background Knowledge and Skills -Collaboration Literacy as Social Practice -Teacher Scaffolds/Guidance -Differentiation -Iterative Design -Knowledge Creation

What is Project-Based Inquiry?

Building Background Knowledge and Skills Example from CCMMS and BRS Spring 2015 Four Short Stories ●"Thank You M’am" (Langston Hughes) ●"The White Umbrella" (Gish Jen) ●"Everyday Use" (Alice Walker) ●“Kong Yi Ji” (Lu Xun) Student Interactions with Texts ●Discussed prior knowledge of American and Chinese cultures through ●Conducted close readings of American short stories with reflection and discussion taking place on ●Posted character analyses of Kong Yi Ji on and discussed via What do students need to know and be able to do before engaging in PBI? How will you teach this?

Step 1: Ask a Compelling a Question Step 2: Gather and Analyze Sources Step 3: Creatively Synthesize Claims and Evidence Step 4: Critically Evaluate and Revise Step 5: Share, Publish, and Act The PBI Process

References Allington, R. (2009). What Really Matters in Response to Intervention. Allyn Bacon. Anderson, L. W., & Krathwohl, D. R. (Eds.). (2001). A taxonomy for learning, teaching and assessing: A revision of Bloom's Taxonomy of educational objectives. Complete edition, New York : Longman. Gallagher, K. (2009). Readicide: How schools are killing reading and what you can do about it. Stenhouse Publishers. Fang, Z. (1995). Chinese short stories of the twentieth century: An anthology in English. New York, NY: Garland Publishing, Inc. Leu, D. J., Forzani, E., Rhoads, C., Maykel, C., Kennedy, C., & Timbrell, N. (2015). The new literacies of online research and comprehension: Rethinking the reading achievement gap. Reading Research Quarterly, 50(1), Schiefele, U., Schaffner, E., Möller, J., & Wigfield, A. (2012). Dimensions of reading motivation and their relation to reading behavior and competence. Reading Research Quarterly, 47(4), Spires, H., Hervey, L., Morris, G., & Stelpflug, C. (2012). Energizing project-based inquiry: Middle grade students read, write, and create videos. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 55(6), Spires, H., Kerkhoff, S., Graham, A., & Lee, J. (2014). Model for Inquiry-Based Disciplinary Literacy. Disciplinary Literacy for Deeper Learning MOOC-Ed. Friday Institute for Educational Innovation. Raleigh, NC: NC State. Spires, H., Wiebe, E., Young, C., Hollebrands, K., & Lee, J. (2009). Toward a new learning ecology: Teaching and learning in 1:1 learning environments. Friday Institute White Paper Series. Raleigh, NC: NC State. Vellutino, F. R., & Fletcher, J. M. (2005). Developmental dyslexia. In M. S. C. Hulme (Ed.), The science of reading: A handbook (pp ). Malden, MA: Blackwell.