Moving the Needle on Adolescent Literacy Secondary School Reading Network Meeting for Grant Recipients Marlborough, MA

The University of Kansas Center for 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)

Roadmap 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 Middle Head Start = $6.7B Title I (K-8) = $11.1B Title I (9-12) = $1.8B Pell Grants = $11.4B

Rapid Acceleration in Adolescent Literacy National Reading Panel Partnership for Reading Adolescent Literacy Workshop NIH Adolescent Literacy Network Carnegie Corporation of NY Adolescent Literacy Advisory Council Alliance for Excellent Education Striving Readers

Check these out!

Why? (Students)

The Performance Gap Years in School Demands Skills and The “Gap” th 9 th 1Yr 2Yrs 1 1/2Yrs 2 1/2Yrs

Do Extended Day Tutoring Programs Work? (Chicago Study ) Tutored 1.09 yrs. Eligible 1.03 yrs. 64% receive 40 hrs+

The price tag…… $22 million! $22 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 Mean Standard Scores ◊ ∆ ∆ ∆ ∆ ∆ ∆ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ∆ Proficient ◊ ASRS ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ∆ ∆ ∆ ∆ ∆ * Statistically Different

NAEP Reading Below the proficiency level –68% of 8th graders Below the basic level –26% of 8th graders

On Graduating Rates vary: 53% -- 89% About 70% graduate (50% students of color) Lowest 25% achievers in 9th grade times more likely to drop out

Why? (The context)

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

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 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…. “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 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

Solution Elements 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% 31% –3 Fs decreases likelihood to 31% “On-track Indicator”

The Big Four* #1 Are 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 Four #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 4 #3 The Big 4 #3 Do 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! 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 M ROWAN, ET AL., “...PROSPECTS...” TEACHERS COLLEGE RECORD( 2005).

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/read 2. Give directions 3. Listening 4. Ask question 5. Monitor 6. Model 7. Verbal rehearsal 8. Simple enhancer 9. Advance organizer 10. Role Play 11. Content Enhancement (complex) 12. Elaborated Feedback 13. Write on board 14. Describe skill/strategy

1. Lecture/read 2. Give directions 3. Listening 4. Ask question 5. Monitor 6. Model 7. Verbal rehearsal 8. Simple enhancer 9. Advance organizer 10. Role Play 11. Content Enhancement (complex) 12. Elaborated Feedback 13. Write on board 14. Describe skill/strategy Lecture/read 2. Give directions 3. Listening 4. Ask question 5. Monitor 6. Model 7. Verbal rehearsal 8. Simple enhancer 9. Advance organizer 10. Role Play 11. Content Enhancement (complex) 12. Elaborated Feedback 13. Write on board 14. Describe skill/strategy

The Big Four #4 Do 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 programs 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….. Word analysis skills Fluency Comprehension (Progress monitoring throughout year)

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

5 Questions 1. 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 Instruction Level 3. Intensive Strategy Instruction strategy classes strategic tutoring Level 4. Intensive Basic Skill Instruction KU-CRLCLC- Lenz, Ehren, &Deshler, 2005 Level 5. Therapeutic Intervention Foundational language competencies

Sample tools for teaching: Higher order thinking Subject matter

LANGUAGE SKILLS STRATEGIES SUBJECT MATTER Building Blocks for Content Literacy HIGHER ORDER

Reading Listening Learning thru …

Reading Listening Learning thru …

Text difficulty Building Prior Knowledge Without Texts Expanding Prior Knowledge With Reading Week Lee & Spratley, 2007

Teachers in “literacy rich” 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 …

SMARTER Planning around critical content is essential! S electing the critical questions. M apping content structures. A nalyzing learning difficulty based on : R eaching enhancement decisions by selecting powerful... T eaching strategically through explicit... E valuating enhancements R evaluate outcomes QuantityComplexity Interest Background RelevanceOrganization Abstractness Teaching Devices Teaching Routines SMARTER Planning

CONCEPT DIAGRAM Always PresentSometimes Present Never Present TIE DOWN A DEFINITION Key Words Å PRACTICE WITH NEW EXAMPLE CONVEY CONCEPT NOTE KEY WORDS OFFER OVERALL CONCEPT CLASSIFY CHARACTERISTICS Æ À Á Â Ã À Á Â Examples: Nonexamples: EXPLORE EXAMPLES Ä

CONCEPT DIAGRAM Always PresentSometimes Present Never Present TIE DOWN A DEFINITION Key Words Å PRACTICE WITH NEW EXAMPLE CONVEY CONCEPT NOTE KEY WORDS OFFER OVERALL CONCEPT CLASSIFY CHARACTERISTICS Æ À Á Â Ã À Á Â Examples: Nonexamples: EXPLORE EXAMPLES Ä 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 nation About distribution of power economic religious ethnic War between nations social political PRIOR KNOWLEDGE Hierarchical CATEGORIZATION ANALYSIS of characteristics DISCRIMINATING EVALUATION

Sample tools for teaching: Sample tools for teaching: Learning strategies Skills

LANGUAGE SKILLS STRATEGIES SUBJECT MATTER Building Blocks for Content Literacy HIGHER ORDER

Self-Questioning Strategy A ttend to clues as you read S ay some questions K eep predictions in mind I dentify the answer T alk about the answers

WORD IDENTIFICATION D iscover the Sounds and Context I solate the Beginning S eparate the Ending S ay the Stem E xamine the Stem C heck with someone T ry the Dictionary

ment de partal Isolate the Beginning Separate the Endings Say the Stem Or Examine it DISSECT

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) 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 DescribeDescribe –Commitment (student & teacher) –Goals –High expectations ModelModel Practice and quality feedbackPractice and quality feedback –Controlled and advanced Posttest & reflectPosttest & reflect Generalize, transfer, applyGeneralize, transfer, apply

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.….. 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 Years in School Grade Level Expectations Demands Skills

The Performance Gap Years in School Infrastructure Supports Existing Support INFRASTRUCTURESUPPORTS 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 Literacy InstructionContinuum of Literacy Instruction Motivation Strategies Engaging Instructional Materials & Activities Student-Informed Teaching

Element #4 Capacity Building and Coaching

Build Ownership & Capacity  Literacy Leadership Teams  Driver of literacy work in school  Distributed leadership  Work 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 & Capacity (cont.)  Work 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 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 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 Attack Abandon 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…. 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