Transcript ACTION RESEARCH PROJECT - Patricia and Phillip Frost

Examining the Effectiveness of Specific Skill Instruction
and Professional Development on the Acquisition of
Reading Fluency and Comprehension
in an Urban Middle School
Superintendent's
Urban Principal Initiative
2005-2006
North Miami Middle School
Arnold R. Montgomery, Principal
Dr. Alyssa Rosenblatt, Assistant Principal
Reginald E. Lee, Teacher Leader
Abstract of the Study
• Situation: A large segment of the student population
at North Miami Middle School demonstrates poor reading
fluency and comprehension
• Intervention: A three-phase program was developed
to help foster student achievement:
– Hands-on educator workshops to accelerate professional
development
– Introduction of research-based teaching strategies, which
educators used in the classroom
– Skill-specific tutoring for students
• Overall Findings: Student scores significantly
increased when their educators attended professional
development programming and the students
simultaneously participated in the skill-specific tutoring
Introduction
• For a majority of students at North Miami Middle School,
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English is their second language. As a result of this
language barrier and the fact that limited Englishlanguage reading materials are not available at home,
they lack the fundamental skills needed for reading
acquisition and development.
Using FCAT test results and diagnostic testing to
introduce multiple skill-targeted reading strategies that
increased overall reading fluency and comprehension.
Teachers were offered professional development in these
and other areas to enhance their teaching capabilities
and foster student reading achievement.
Student were given the opportunity to participate in skillspecific tutoring to enhance reading fluency and
comprehension.
Background
• North Miami Middle School (NMMS) has a diverse
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student population with vast differences in learning
styles and stages. This school is unique when compared
to others in the overall demographics and mobility index
rate.
NMMS Overview:
– Services students in grades 6-8
– 79 classroom teachers with an average of seven years teaching
experience
– 85% of the students are Black/non-Hispanic
– 98% of the Black/non-Hispanic students are Haitian Creole
– 15% are Hispanic, White/non-Hispanic, and Asian/Indian
Multiracial
– 9% are ESE, 10% are LEP, and 3% are Gifted
– 88.8 % of our students receive free or reduced lunch
Research Questions
• Will instruction in researched based teaching
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and learning strategies increase student reading
fluency and comprehension?
Will professional development programming for
educators in specific reading strategies
contribute to overall student achievement?
Will consistent participation by students in skillspecific tutoring groups increase reading fluency
and comprehension?
Literature Review
• According to Joyce and Showers (2002), professional development
that includes theory, demonstration, practice and peer coaching,
results in a more successful transfer into classroom instruction.
• According to Wren (2003), good readers read quickly, effortlessly,
and with automaticity.
• According to Chalmers (2003), “Reading fluency can significantly
improve through implementation of various instructional strategies
and methods of reading (Mastropieri et al., 1999; Richards, 2000),
and by careful application and appropriate interventions, coupled
with formative evaluations to measure effectiveness (CIERA, 1998;
Stahl, 2000; Mastropieri et al., 1999).”
• According to Williams (2003), Pressley, El-Dinary, Gaskins, Schuder,
Bergman, Almasi, and Brown (1992) stated that the teacher is a
potent ingredient in any instructional program and has
demonstrated the feasibility of training teachers in strategy
instruction. This type of training has been shown to lead not only to
better teaching skills but also superior student reading achievement.
Methodology/Intervention
• Determining Student Needs: FCAT results & diagnostic tests were used to:
– Gauge school-wide reading strengths and weaknesses
– Determine which skill sets specific students were lacking
– Identify students appropriate for specific tutoring groups
• Creation of BITES (Bits of Information for Teacher Enhancement) program:
– A professional development model to enhance instructional delivery
– Completely voluntary and occurred during the school day on planning periods
– Comprised of 4’s W’s:
• Why? (theory)
• Watch (demonstration-participant views the strategy being implemented in a model
classroom)
• Work (implementation-participant implements technique in their classroom and is
observed by a facilitator or designee)
• Words (debrief and peer coaching by the facilitator or designee).
• Benchmark and Florida Oral Reading Fluency testing occurred to measure
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progress on comprehension benchmarks and oral fluency rates
Students were placed in skill-specific tutoring groups. As skills increased,
students were transferred to other groups to address additional skill sets.
Teacher surveys measured the effectiveness of the various school-wide
reading strategies implemented at NMMS this school year.
Data Collection
• Data was collected and evaluated by the Testing,
Intervention, Evaluation, and Review (TIER) committee,
using the Edusoft grading technology, PMRN, Survey
Gold, and comprehensive logs.
• Student Data:
– Students took Bridges to Literature pre- and post tests to
compare comprehension scores
– In-house benchmark tests were given bi-weekly for 18 weeks
– Students took Florida Oral Reading Fluency tests quarterly to
measure increases in reading fluency
– Attendance and effort logs gauged student compliance and
participation in tutoring groups
• Educator Data:
– Professional development attendance logs were collected to
monitor teacher attendance at BITEs
– Teacher Surveys measured perception of effectiveness and value
of various strategies and instructional programs
Bridges to Literature Comprehension Measurement
Point Variance on Pre to Post Testing Results by
Race
20
15
10
5
0
-5
Black/Non-Hispanic
Hispanic
White/Non-Hispanic
Multiracial
Black/Non-Hispanic
White/Non-Hispanic
-0.43
19
19.3
19
Hispanic
Multiracial
Percentage of Teachers who Ranked Teaching
Techniques as Moderately or Highly Effective
0
50
100
Schoolwide Read Alouds
Quickreads
Technology w/ Audio
Reciprocal Teaching
Readers Theater
Graphic Organizers
FCAT Workbooks
School-wide FCAT Countdown
Before, During, After-School Tutoring
Findings/Results
• The Bridges to Literature pre/post assessments
indicated scores increased by an average of 0.06 points.
– 6th & 7th graders showed gains, while 8th graders decreased
– Overall, female scores decreased while male scores increased
• On the quarterly FORF data, when comparing scores
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from the 1st to the 3rd assessment, scores increased
moderately. Students showed a minimal regression from
the 3rd to the 4th test administration; however, remarks
from the TIER debriefing sessions noted student apathy
toward testing overall.
In-house benchmark testing identified a school-wide
trend: decreased scores on a particular bi-weekly test
reflected lower scores across the grade level.
Finding/Results
(cont.)
• Every teacher attended at least one BITE,
and a minimum of one teacher from each
department attended every BITE.
• 65% of the students targeted, attended
their tutoring sessions regularly.
• 87% of the students who attended the
tutoring sessions, actively participated.
Conclusions
• The professional development program implemented at
North Miami Middle had a positive effect on student
reading fluency and comprehension.
– Positive student gains were most notable when their teachers
attended at least four workshops.
• Although increases were found in student scores as a
result of strategic-skills instruction, greater increases
resulted from instructors who used strategies and
techniques learned in the professional development
program.
• Student participation and attendance in tutoring sessions
were significantly hindered by student truancy and
suspensions. However, students who actively attended
and participated, showed the greatest gains in reading
comprehension and fluency.
• Reading strategies and programs found most effective
will be continued into the next school year.