1 Review of Teaching and Assessment Practices of Ontario English, Ontario French, and Quebec French teachers on PIRLS and SAIP Principal Researchers: Renée Forgette-Giroux, PhD Marielle Simon, PhD Research Assistants: Catherine Turcotte, PhD student Tracy Ferne, MA student Hyeran Choi, statistical analyst CESC–SSHRC Symposium 2006

2 Research Questions 1.According to the PIRLS 2001 and SAIP 2002 responses to the teacher questionnaire, what is the nature and frequency of use of the classroom teaching and assessment practices used by Ontario English, Ontario French, and Quebec French teachers? 2.Are there significant differences in teaching and assessment practices among these three groups of teachers? 3.What classroom teaching and assessment practices have a significant link with student achievement in reading and writing among the three populations?

3 Methodology: Data Sources Ontario English Sample size Ontario French Sample size Quebec French Sample size student2774student1530student2229 teacher 114teacher 79teacher 99 PIRLS (Progress in International Reading Literacy Study) teacher questionnaire administered in 2001

4 Methodology: Data Sources Ontario English Sample size 13 yr 16 yr Ontario French Sample size 13 yr 16 yr Quebec French Sample size 13 yr 16 yr student student student teacher school teacher school teacher school SAIP (School Achievement Indicators Program) teacher questionnaire administered in 2002

5 Methodology: Statistical Analysis  Descriptive analyses (focus of this presentation)  Exploratory factor analyses  Measure of association using Cramer’s V  Multiple correspondence analyses  Hierarchical linear modelling

6 Research Question 2 (focus of this presentation) Are there significant differences in teaching and assessment practices among the three groups? Measure of Association using Cramer’s V  Teaching practices: 20/42 items significant (PIRLS)  Assessment practices: 9/14 items significant (PIRLS)  Teaching and assessment practices and beliefs: 22/62 items significant (SAIP) Cramer’s V of are considered weak; those between.20 and.40 moderate (Rea and Parker, 1992).

7 Teaching practices (PIRLS reading) (Cramer’s V =.391) Q13c

8 Teaching practices (PIRLS reading) (Cramer’s V =.372) Q14

9 Assessment practices (PIRLS reading) (Cramer’s V =.32) Q27c

10 Assesment practices (PIRLS reading) (Cramer’s V =.31) Q26a

11 PIRLS teaching items differing among three populations Items related to types of textsOnt En Ont Fr Qc Fr Cramer’s V 12a. How often do you use textbooks or a reading series (daily) 29%44%65%.24 12f. How often do you use a variety of children’s books – novels, non-fiction (daily) 56%24%22%.27 13b How often do you have students read other stories – fiction (daily-weekly) 79%13%33%.36 13e How often do you have students read plays (rarely)45%65%91%.29 13f How often do you have students read descriptions or explanations (monthly) 34%56%53%.25 13h How often do you have students read charts, diagrams, graphs (monthly) 36%62%61%.38

12 PIRLS teaching items differing among three populations Items related to ability levelsOnt En Ont Fr Qc Fr Cramer’s V 11a. How often do you teach reading as a whole-class activity (almost always) 21 %45%35%.21 11b. How often do you create same ability groups (never) 10%20%36% Use of different materials with students at different reading levels (see diagram above) 45% 8% 4%.37 Items related to time on readingOnt En Ont Fr Qc Fr Cramer’s V 7a How much time do you spend on language instruction (7 hrs or more a week) 81%58%89%.32 9a Whether planned or not, how much time do you spend on reading instruction (3 hrs or more a week) 90%65%90%.33

13 General conclusions from PIRLS reading Teaching Practices Ontario English teachers tend to use a variety of texts in the classroom, whereas both Ontario French and Quebec French teachers tend to use manuals or sequential texts. Ontario English teachers tend to differentiate their teaching according to the ability levels of students more than do Ontario and Quebec French teachers. Ontario French teachers tend to spend less time on the teaching of reading and reading-related activities.

14 General conclusions from PIRLS reading Assessment Practices Ontario and Quebec French teachers tend to emphasize external and classroom assessments to evaluate students’ reading progress more than Ontario English teachers. Ontario and Quebec French teachers tend to favour listening to students read aloud to assess students’ performance in reading more often than Ontario English teachers. Ontario English teacher tend to rely on oral questioning, teacher conference, and portfolios more often than Ontario and Quebec French teachers to evaluate students’ progress in reading.

15 Teaching and assessment practices ― SAIP Writing (Cramer’s V =.39) Q14w

16 Teaching and assessment practices ― SAIP Writing (Cramer’s V =.37) Q14v

17 SAIP items where French teachers and English teachers differ ItemsOnt En Ont Fr Qc Fr Cramer’s V 14k. How often do students write descriptively (monthly) 58 %77%.30 14e. How often do you hold writing conferences with individuals or small groups (rarely) 25%60%68%.29 18h. How often do you ask questions for general discussion (daily) 44%23%27%.28 14i. How often do students write on demand (monthly) 45%35%36%.25 14s. How often do you work with individual students (monthly) 26%44%40%.23 14f.How often do students work on aspects of grammar and syntax (weekly) 39%49%.20

18 SAIP items where all three populations significantly differ Items Ont En Ont Fr Qc Fr Cramer’s V 14w. How often do students have a choice of forms (rarely) 31%65%88%.39 14v. How often do students have a choice of topics (monthly) 53%64%44%.37 14m. How often do students edit each other’s writing (monthly) 55%43%33%.35 14r. How often do students use workbooks or worksheets (daily) 16%31%47%.28 23c. How often do you assign work on long-term writing projects (monthly) 68%72%54%.28

19 SAIP items where all three populations significantly differ (cont’d) Items Ont En Ont Fr Qc Fr Cramer’s V 13c. Students need to know the basic rules of grammar and syntax (strongly agree) 39%62%73%.24 23d. How often do you assign work in groups on long-term writing projects (rarely) 45%54%74%.21 14a. How often do students write essays (monthly) 57%66%84%.21 14l. How often do students edit their own writing (monthly) 37%54%67%.21 18k. How often do students ask questions requiring responses by other students (daily) 52%41%28%.20

20 General Conclusions from SAIP Writing Ontario and Quebec French teachers tend to emphasize teaching of basic rules of grammar and syntax and to ask students to write short texts on demand with little choice of form and topics. Compared to Ontario and Quebec French, Ontario English teachers tend to more often encourage students to write descriptively, to hold writing conferences, and to work with students individually. The three populations differ significantly in their use of essay questions, long-term projects, oral questioning, and peer assessment practices to assess writing.