Vicky Zygouris-Coe, Ph.D., Principal Investigator, Florida Online Reading Professional Development (FOR-PD: Associate Professor, College of Education, University of Central Florida (UCF) iNACOL/VSS 2009, November 15-17, 2009 Austin, Texas Recent Research on Online Teaching and Learning: Implications for Practice1: Panel Presentation

Teacher Quality Matters information environment While teachers may come to the classroom fully competent to teach, ongoing changes in this new information environment require ongoing, effective professional developmenta powerful cornerstone to reading achievement.

Teacher Quality Matters Because not all teachers are adequately prepared to teach reading and all teachers need effective ongoing PD if they are to remain current in their field… Although basic reading proficiency is key to success in all content areas, content area teachers often lack sufficient preparation and knowledge in how to support reading in the content areas. High-quality (ongoing) PD is crucial to the success of systemic and standards-based reform initiatives.

NAEP Results The most recent public school National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)results (USDOE, NCES, n.d.) for 2008, show slight improvement over the previous two years for 4 th grade reading (3.3%), but very little improvement for 8 th and 10 th grade reading.

Teacher Professional Development How can we develop and help to sustain the professional development needs of preK-12 educators? –Is online professional development a viable vehicle?

FOR-PD Background Floridas first large-scale online professional development project in reading. 6

FOR-PD Background Florida Online Reading Professional Development (FOR-PD) was developed originally as a vehicle for about 50,000 of Floridas teachers to meet Competency 2 of the add-on reading endorsement: Foundations of Research-Based Practices anning.asp#chart anning.asp#chart Teachers need FOR-PD or its equivalent to be considered highly qualified according to No Child Left Behind (NCLB).

FOR-PD is a 14-week (free) online course, that was designed to improve Florida K-12 students reading achievement. It functions as a primary delivery mechanism to translate, empower, and support Florida teachers in using scientifically-based reading research and implementing innovative, creative, and effective strategies; and Provides teachers with ongoing access to rich and relevant reading resources. FOR-PD Mission

Floridas Plan for Developing & Supporting Teacher Expertise in Reading Florida Add-on Reading Endorsement Competency 1: Foundations in Language and Cognition Competency 2: Foundations of Research-Based Practices Competency 3: Foundations of Assessment Competency 4: Foundations of Differentiation Competency 5: Application of Differentiated Instruction Competency 6: Demonstration of Accomplishment (Practicum)

Background University of Central Floridaand is The project, which is housed at the University of Central Florida, was launched in January, 2003; and is Just Read, Florida! Just Read, Florida! Initiative. Funded by the Florida DOE Just Read, Florida! Initiative.Just Read, Florida! FOR-PD was developed collaboratively with –literacy and technology experts, –school districts, –professional organizations, and –teacher educators across the state of Florida. The free online course is facilitated by reading specialists (who are selected through an application process and are trained to facilitate online via a 7-week online course) and other well-qualified educators.

The project is a highly-collaborative endeavor. Currently FOR-PD works with all sixty-seven Florida districts, seven universities, and recently the project has been extended through five Community College Educator Preparation Institutes (EPIs).Educator Preparation Institutes Background, contd

To date (6 yrs) FOR-PD has served over 42,000 participants statewide. Large Scale OTPD

U.S. Department of Education Secretarys No Child Left Behind Leadership Summit In a report presented at the U.S. Department of Education Secretarys No Child Left Behind Leadership Summit FOR- PD was named as an innovative e-Learning program for teacher training. ( Kleiman, 2004, p. 6) Kleiman, G. L. (2004, July). Meeting the need for high quality teachers: E-Learning solutions. White paper written for the U.S. Dept. of Education Secretarys No Child Left Behind Leadership Summit: Increasing Options through E Learning, Orlando, FL. Retrieved March 6, 2006 from Model OTPD

FOR-PD Model: A Snapshot Online facilitation skills Research Practice Support Models Follow-up Cycle of ongoing improvement Formative & summative Evaluation Blended research design Relevance Research Practice Support Follow-up Platform ID Skills & knowledge Support Databases LMS/Blackboard/Technology Infrastructure Content/Participants/Resources/Produc ts Facilitators Recruiting/Training/PD/Mentoring Evaluation & Research

Content Description –Lesson 1 - Introduction to the FOR-PD Course –Lesson 2 - Reading and Learning to Read –Lesson 3 - Exemplary Reading Instruction –Lesson 4 - Language and Print-Rich Environments –Lesson 5 - Phonemic Awareness and Phonics –Lesson 6 - Bringing Students and Texts Together –Lesson 7 - Vocabulary Development and Instruction –Lesson 8 - Fluency, Comprehension Development and Instruction –Lesson 9 - Integrating Reading and Writing Across the Curriculum –Lesson 10 - Teaching for Understanding in Content Areas –Lesson 11 - Literacy Instruction and Non-native Speakers of English –Lesson 12 - Instruction for Striving Readers –Lesson 13 - Assessment –Lesson 14 - Becoming an Effective Literacy Leader 15

What are Participants Learning? Reading research and effective instruction. How to analyze and assess their classroom environment with emphasis on the exposure they provide to language and print. How to reflect on their own K-12 literacy instruction and share experiences on how their teaching will change. How to question their own teaching practices and select specific elements of exemplary teaching that they want to incorporate into their classroom instruction from what they learn in the course. How to incorporate effective reading strategies in order to develop and support students vocabulary and comprehension of the content area that they teach. 16

Facilitators Literacy experts Application process Facilitator training –7-week online training course

Facilitator support Professional development discussions Asynchronous & synchronous discussions Facilitator specialist Reading specialist Facilitator Mentors/leaders Quality assurance Help desk Facilitator monthly newsletter Online chats Resource database Literacy resources (e.g., reading strategy of the month, literacy newsletter, instructional materials)

Participant support Relevant, comprehensive content Effective instructional strategies Model posts, literacy logs, examples for elementary and secondary grades Asynchronous & synchronous discussions Facilitator Reading specialist Quality assurance Help desk Literacy monthly newsletter Weekly lesson reminders Online chats (content, technology) Resource database Literacy resources (e.g., reading strategy of the month, literacy newsletter, instructional materials)

Documenting Change Research Questions: What impact can online professional development have on teachers knowledge of scientifically based reading research; and What (if any) changes result in their teaching practice?

FOR-PD Evaluation Tools TREKA Pre- and post-test of reading knowledge (TREKA) Discussion Boards –Facilitator –Participant School-level student achievement Analyze participant work samples Data-base analysis Quality Assurance Monitoring

Facilitator End-of-course survey Training course survey Participant Non-completer survey Implementation survey End-of-course survey Help desk QAC Facilitator Survey Evaluation Tools, contd Web-based Surveys

Evaluation Tools, contd Focus Group and Telephone Interviews Facilitator and participant focus groups and large group discussions conducted at annual meetings District contact interviews Content-area teacher interviews Facilitator interviews

24 Note. Data were obtained from Phase VI Summer End-of-Course Survey (n = 307 response rate of 73%) The Course Increased My Knowledge of SBRR

25 Note. Data were obtained from Phase VI Classroom Implementation Survey 3 months after the course concluded. 36% of summer 2008 math, science, language arts/reading middle and high school teacher participants responded. Improved since end-of course survey … Classroom Implementation Survey Results: To what extent are you using the reading strategies learned at FOR- PD?

There was a significant difference between the pre (M = 26.15, s = 4.32) and posttest (M = 31.66, s = 5.37) scores. A large effect size was obtained and almost 50% of the variance in scores can be attributed to the change between the initial and end of course assessment. There is a statistically significant difference between the mean score of pre and post test among different content areas (F2,224 = 7.98, p <.05) in the areas of Mathematics (M=27.9), Science (M=27.6), and Language Arts/Reading (M=29.9) scores. Content area accounts for less than 2% of variance in TReKA scores. Basically, mean scores in the language arts group were significantly higher than those of the other groups. Reading Knowledge Assessment: Results of TReKA Pre to Post, Summer 2008, MS/HS Teachers Grouped by Content Area

Reading Knowledge Assessment: Pre/Post, Su 2008 by Content Area

Reading Knowledge Assessment: TReKA, Su 2008 by Content Area

FOR-PD Teachers Results from End of Course Surveys

30 Vocabulary is fundamental to reading comprehension, and to be successful in comprehending the students must learn the meaning of the words. Word box used as a graphic organizer aids in learning vocabulary. Many of the words used in mathematics use the same prefixes as other everyday words. Understanding the meaning of the prefixes can help the students understand the terminology better. As a pre activity, I get the students started on several pairs of words with different prefixes, but the same root word, which I use to access prior knowledge. Bi-meaning 2, bicycle (a 2 wheeled vehicle), bipartisan (involving members of 2 political parties)… This activity helps promote students engagement and interest, which is critical for comprehension to occur. Results from Literacy Log Posting Analysis What a Mathematics Teacher Learned and Plans to Implement Vocabulary (Knowledge)

31 In my classroom I like to use the vocabulary word boxes as a pre-reading strategy. Science has a lot of new words in each new chapter that the students get into. If the students have a better understanding of the words that they will be using in the unit, they will be able to understand the content more thoroughly. Results from Literacy Log Posting Analysis What a Science Teacher Learned Vocabulary (Knowledge)

Problem-Solution Cycle Need/DefinitionData CollectionGoal Setting Action Plan Development with Pilot Monitoring/Evaluation

Results Analysis of data from ongoing, rigorous, and well-embedded evaluation show that almost all FOR-PD participants use scientifically-based reading strategies for reading instruction taught in FOR-PD; and believed the course helped them to help their students learn. The FOR-PD course is having an impact on content area teachers knowledge about the role of reading in the content areas, how to teach reading effectively to support academic vocabulary, comprehension, and literacy.

Next Steps Complete interviews that are underway with content area teachers and administrators. Classroom observations. Identify more succinctly what teachers are and are not implementing and why. Continue dialogue with content area teachers. Involve more content-area teachers on the advisory board. Continue to monitor and analyze qualitative and quantitative data and continue to adjust the course in ways that better meet the needs of Floridas teachers.

For OPD to Move Forward: I While we need to build teachers capacity for improvement, we also need to be sure that time, effort, and scarce resources are expended only on quality programs that teach with and about best practices. (Dede, Ketelhut, Whitehouse, Breit, & McCloskey, 2006 p. 2)

For OPD to Move Forward: II Develop usable knowledge (i.e., insights from research that can be applied to inform practice and bring about change). –Develop a community of practice among OPD providers/developers, researchers?

References References Dede, C., D. Jass-Ketelhut, P. Whitehouse, L. Breit, and E. McCloskey. (2006). Research agenda for online teacher professional development. Harvard Graduate School of Education. Cambridge, MA. Kleiman, G. L. (2004, July). Meeting the need for high quality teachers: E-Learning solutions. White paper written for the U.S. Dept. of Education Secretarys No Child Left Behind Leadership Summit: Increasing Options through E-Learning, Orlando, FL. Retrieved March 6, 2006 from cuments/Kleiman-MeetingtheNeed.pdf cuments/Kleiman-MeetingtheNeed.pdf Swan, B., Huh, J., & Ramos, R. (August, 2006). Florida Online Reading Professional Development (FOR-PD) Phase IV Evaluation Results of Surveys. Orlando FL: University of Central Florida.

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Contact Information Vicky Zygouris-Coe, Ph.D