Transcript Slide 1

Immediate Intensive Interventions
Organizing Schools and Classrooms to
Teach Every Child to Read: The Big Ideas
National Reading First Conference
New Orleans
July 2005
Stuart Greenberg, Deputy Director
Eastern Regional Reading First Technical Assistance Center
Florida State University and The Florida Center for Reading Research
www.fcrr.org
Reading First’s model for preventing
reading failure in grades K-3: Three big
ideas
1. Increase the quality and consistency of
instruction in every K-3 classroom. Provide initial
instruction that is appropriate to the needs of the
majority of students in the class
2. Conduct timely and valid assessments of reading
growth to identify struggling readers
3. Provide high quality, intensive interventions to
help struggling readers catch up with their peers
Goals Will Drive Plans
• At least 80% of Kindergarten
students achieve benchmark status
• At least 80% of First Grade students
achieve benchmark status
• At least a 50% movement in grades 2
& 3 of students who were strategic to
benchmark status
• At least a 50% movement of students
in grades 2 & 3 for those students
who were intensive to at least the
strategic status
Why don’t we have more effective interventions
in our schools right now?
1. We may not have a conviction that doing the extra work
interventions require will produce the effects we want
2. We need support to schedule more intensive interventions
during the school day
3. We need to reallocate the resources to hire the extra
personnel required to do the interventions
4. We need the personnel trained and skillful in the delivery of
effective interventions
5. We need to match the intervention(s) to the needs of
students based upon data
Three Organizing Principles for Reading
Success
1. Earlier rather than later - Prevention and early intervention
are supremely more effective and efficient than later
intervention and remediation for ensuring reading success.
2. Schools, not just programs - Prevention and early
intervention must be anchored to the school as the host
environment and the primary context for improving student
reading performance.
3. Evidence, not opinion - Prevention and early intervention
pedagogy, programs, and procedures should be based on
trustworthy scientific evidence.
Six Big Ideas about interventions for struggling
readers:
1. They should be offered as soon as it is clear the student is
lagging behind in development of skills or knowledge critical
to reading growth – the practice problem
2. To be effective, they must increase the intensity of instruction
and practice – they should be available in a range of
intensity
3. They must provide the opportunity for explicit (direct) and
systematic instruction and practice
Six Big Ideas about interventions for struggling
readers:
4. They must provide skillful instruction including good error
correction procedures
5. They must be guided by, and responsive to, data on student
performance.
6. They must be motivating, engaging, and supportive—
positive atmosphere
Two important Ideas about the value and
nature of effective interventions in Reading
First Schools
Getting to 100% requires going through the data
student by student
The student who is deficient will require a
very different kind of effort in both the
short and long run.
Components of Effective Intervention Instruction
Effective reading instruction for all students.
Early identification of students at risk for reading
problems.
Immediate intensive interventions for students at
risk of reading problems.
Efficient, effective use of school resources to sustain
interventions.
Why do we need interventions?
A central problem in reading instruction arises,
not from the absolute level of children’s
preparation for learning to read, but from the
diversity in their levels of preparation
(Olson, 1998)
“Current difficulties in
reading largely originate
from rising demands for
literacy, not from
declining absolute levels
of literacy”
Increasing demands for
higher levels of literacy in
the workforce require that
we do better than we have
ever done before in
teaching all children to
read well.
What are the areas most likely to require
intensive intervention for students in RF
schools?
Three main reasons children struggle in learning to
read (NRC report)
1. Lack of preparation, or lack of talent that interferes with
ability to understand the alphabetic principal (phonics)
and learn to read words accurately and fluently
2. Lack of preparation, or lack of talent in the general
verbal domain (i.e. vocabulary) that limits
comprehension of written material
3. Low motivation to lean or behavior problems that
interfere with learning in the classroom
Start With The End In Mind
Reading Is Thinking Guided By Print
In other words, student’s reading
comprehension depends on:
How well they read the words on the page
How much knowledge they have, and how
well they think
How motivated they are to do “the work” of
comprehension
The Many Strands that are Woven into Skilled
Reading
LANGUAGE COMPREHENSION
BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE
VOCABULARY KNOWLEDGE
LANGUAGE STRUCTURES
VERBAL REASONING
(Scarborough, 2001)
Skilled Readingfluent coordination
SKILLED
READING:
of word
reading
and
fluent execution and
comprehension
coordination of word
recognition and text
processes
comprehension.
LITERACY KNOWLEDGE
WORD RECOGNITION
PHON. AWARENESS
DECODING (and SPELLING)
SIGHT RECOGNITION
Reading is a multifaceted skill, gradually acquired over years of instruction and practice.
Three potential stumbling blocks to
becoming a good reader (NRC Report, 1998)
1. Difficulty learning to read words accurately and
fluently
2. Insufficient vocabulary, general knowledge, and reasoning
skills to support comprehension of written language
3. Absence or loss of initial motivation to read, or failure
to develop a mature appreciation of the rewards of
reading.
The nature of the underlying difficulty for most
children who have difficulty in learning to read
Weaknesses in the phonological area of language
ability
inherent, or intrinsic, disability
Expressed primarily by delays in the development
of phonemic awareness and phonics skills
Extreme difficulties mastering the use of
“phonics” skills as an aid to early, independent
reading
• difficulties with the skills of blending and analyzing
the sounds in words (phonemic awareness).
• difficulties learning letter-sound correspondences
Slow development of “sight vocabulary”
arising from:
•limited exposure to text
•lack of strategies to reliably identify words in text
Important fact about talent in the phonological
language domain:
It is like most other talents in that it is
distributed normally in the population
“Phonological talent” is normally distributed in the
population
Children can be strong in this
talent
Percentile Ranks
50th
16th
84th
2nd
70
98th
85
100
Standard Scores
115
130
“Phonological ability” is normally distributed in the
population
Children can be moderately
weak in this talent
Percentile Ranks
50th
16th
84th
2nd
70
98th
85
100
Standard Scores
115
130
Each of these kinds of weakness is normally
distributed in the population
Serious difficulties-probably require
special interventions and a lot of
extra support
Percentile Ranks
50th
16th
84th
2nd
70
98th
85
100
Standard Scores
115
130
Special work to develop phonemic awareness
Learning letter-sound relationships
Motivational
From a recent multi-disciplinary scientific
review of the research:
“From all these different perspectives, two
inescapable conclusions emerge. The first is that
mastering the alphabetic principle is essential to
becoming proficient in the skill of reading….”
and the second is that instructional techniques
(namely phonics) that teach this principle directly
are more effective than those that do not.”
Raynor, K., Foorman, B.R., Perfetti, C.A., Pesetsky, D., & Seidenberg, M.S. 2001.
How psychological science informs the teaching of reading. Psychological Science
in the Public Interest, 2: 31-73.
Three potential stumbling blocks to
becoming a good reader (NRC Report, 1998)
1. Difficulty learning to read words accurately and
fluently
2. Insufficient vocabulary, general knowledge,
and reasoning skills to support
comprehension of written language
3. Absence or loss of initial motivation to read, or
failure to develop a mature appreciation of the
rewards of reading.
Language
Hart and Risley (1995) conducted a longitudinal
study of children and families from three groups:
• Professional families
• Working-class families
• Families on welfare
Meaningful Differences
By the time the children were 3 years old, parents in less
economically favored circumstances had said fewer
different words in their cumulative monthly vocabularies
than the children in the most economically advantaged
families in the same period of time (Hart & Risley, 1995).
Cumulative Vocabulary
Children from professional families
1100 words
Children from working class families
700 words
Children from welfare families
500 words
Instructional reach:
• Children enter school with a listening vocabulary
ranging between 2500 to 5000.
• First graders from higher SES groups know twice
as many words as lower SES children (Graves &
Slater, 1987)
• Vocabulary differences at grade 2 may last
throughout elementary school (Biemiller & Slonim,
in press)
• College entrants need about 11 to 14,000 root
words (meter in thermometer or centimeter)
The Effects of Weaknesses in Oral Language on Reading
Growth
(Hirsch, 1996)
16
15
High Oral
Language in
14
Kindergarten
13
Reading Age
Level
5.2 years difference
12
11
Low Oral Language
10
in Kindergarten
9
8
7
6
5
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
Chronological Age
14
15
16
Four Critical Elements for More Robust
Vocabulary Instruction
Select the right words to teach – Tier 2 words
absurd
fortunate
ridiculous
Develop child-friendly definitions for these words
Engage children in interesting, challenging, playful
activities in which they learn to access the meanings of
words in multiple contexts
Find a way to devote more time during the day to
vocabulary instruction
Three potential stumbling blocks to
becoming a good reader (NRC Report, 1998)
1. Difficulty learning to read words accurately and
fluently
2. Insufficient vocabulary, general knowledge, and
reasoning skills to support comprehension of
written language
3. Absence or loss of initial motivation to read, or
failure to develop a mature appreciation of the
rewards of reading.
The circular relationship between skill and
motivation in reading
If we want children to learn to read well, we must
find a way to induce them to read lots.
If we want to induce children to
read lots, we must teach them to
read well.
Marilyn Jager Adams
The consensus view of most important
instructional features for interventions
Interventions are more effective when they:
Provide systematic and explicit instruction on
whatever component skills are deficient: phonemic
awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, reading
comprehension strategies
Features of Scientifically Based
Reading Interventions
How does
intervention
differ from
core
reading
Instruction?
Intervention is MORE:
-Explicit and Systematic
-Intensive
-Supportive
Start With The End In Mind
Reading Is Thinking Guided By Print
Explicit
• Nothing is left to chance; all skills are taught
directly.
• This is particularly helpful to students with weak
phonological skills
• Provides examples to lead to generalization.
Systematic
• Instructional is purposeful and sequential.
• Programmatic Scaffolding
• The program of instruction is carefully sequenced
so that students are explicitly taught the skills and
knowledge they need for each new task they are
asked to perform
Programmatic Scaffolding
Oral blending skills before blending printed words
Awareness of phonemes before learning how they
are represented in print
Grapheme-phoneme knowledge before decoding
Vocabulary instruction before reading for meaning
Strategies for oral language comprehension that
support reading comprehension
Intensive
• At-risk/struggling readers must improve their
reading skills at a faster pace than typically
achieving peers to make up for gaps.
• Intensity can be accomplished in two ways
– decreasing group size
– Increasing the amount of time in instruction
The most direct way to increase learning rate is by
increasing the number of positive, or successful,
instructional interactions (pii) per school day.
Supportive
• At-risk/struggling readers benefit from a
supportive environment, both emotionally and
cognitively.
• Students need encouragement, feedback and
positive reinforcement.
• Responsive Scaffolding
After an error, or inadequate response, the teacher provides
responsive support to assist the child in making a more adequate, or
correct response
Through appropriate questioning or provision of information, the
teacher supports the child in doing a task they cannot immediately do
on their own
Progress Monitoring - The Teacher’s Map
Whoops! Time to make a change!
Phoneme Segmentation Fluency
60
50
40
Aimline
30
20
10
Dec.
Scores
Jan.
Scores
Feb.
Scores
March
Scores
April
Scores
May
Scores
June
Scores
Progress Monitoring: The Teacher’s Map
A change in intervention
60
50
40
Aimline
30
20
10
Dec.
Scores
Jan.
Scores
Feb.
Scores
March
Scores
April
Scores
May
Scores
June
Scores
Progress Monitoring Assessment
• Purpose: Frequent, timely measures to determine whether
students are learning enough of critical skills.
• When: At minimum 3 times per year at critical decision
making points.
• Who: All students
• Relation to Instruction: Indicates students who require
additional assessment and intervention.
Discuss how you are using the data from progress monitoring
as it relates to students who are being taught through
immediate intensive interventions.
What does it take to effectively manage
interventions?
Regular meetings in which student progress is
discussed-grade level team meetings
Regular observations to be sure that instruction is
being delivered in an effective manner – coach and
principal
Well trained teachers or paraprofessionals who
receive regular inservice support
How can immediate, intensive interventions be
scheduled and delivered?
1. Delivered by regular classroom teacher during the
“uninterrupted reading period”
2. Delivered by additional resource personnel during the
“uninterrupted reading period”, or at other times during day
3. Delivered delivered by classroom and resource personnel
during after school or before school programs
4. Delivered by well-trained and supervised paraprofessionals
during the “uninterrupted reading period” or other times
5. Delivered by computers throughout the day
How can we insure that interventions are
delivered consistently with high quality?
Professional development to provide knowledge of
instructional strategies, content (scope and sequence
and selection of materials), and appropriate
practice/skill building activities -- use of assessment
data to identify who should receive interventions and
what their focus should be
Identification of high quality intervention
programs/materials and professional development in
their use and individualization.
How to choose evidence based programs to
guide instruction
Why choose a well-developed intervention “program”
to guide instruction?
It acts as a scaffold for good teaching behaviors
It insures a well-organized scope and sequence
It insures coordinated and aligned practice
materials and activities
It should help with proper pacing and movement
of instruction
How can we insure that interventions are
delivered consistently with high quality?
Professional development to provide knowledge of
instructional strategies, content (scope and sequence
and selection of materials), and appropriate
practice/skill building activities -- use of assessment
data to identify who should receive interventions and
what their focus should be
Identification of high quality intervention
programs/materials and professional development in
their use and individualization.
The Logic of Instructional Intensity
Many children are already behind in vocabulary and
print knowledge when they enter school.
To achieve grade level standards by third grade, poor
children must learn vocabulary words at a faster rate
than their middle class peers in grades K-3
The most direct way to increase learning rate is by
increasing the number of positive, or successful,
instructional interactions (pii) per school day.
There are a variety of ways to increase the number
of positive instructional interactions per school day
Teaching Reading is Both Essential and Urgent
• Getting to 100% requires going through the
bottom 20%.
• Children who are at reading risk face the “tyranny
of time” (Kame’enui, 1998).
• Assuming students will ‘catch up’ with practice as
usual is not wise. Catching up is a low probability
occurrence.
• The bottom 20% will require a very different kind
of effort in both the short and long run.
Instructional Adjustments
Instructional Adjustments Made in Response to
Student Progress and Instructional Need
• Instructional programs, grouping, and time are
adjusted and intensified according to learner
performance and needs.
• Making instruction more responsive to
student learning
Modifying Instruction: Time
Adequate, Prioritized, and Protected Time for
Reading Instruction and Practice
• Schoolwide plan established to allocate sufficient
reading time and coordinate resources
• Additional time allocated for students not making
adequate progress (supplemental & intervention
programs)
• Reading time prioritized and protected
from interruption
Modifying Instruction: Grouping
Instruction, Grouping, and Scheduling That
Optimizes Learning
• Differentiated instruction aligned with student
needs
– Students the furthest behind need smaller
grouping arrangements
• Creative and flexible grouping used to maximize
performance
– Cross classroom and grade grouping
Creative and Flexible Grouping Used to
Maximize Performance
Grouping Options
Students:
Within class, across class, across grade
Size:
Whole class, small group, three-on-one (less if needed)
Organization:
Teacher led, staff supported, cooperative learning
Location:
In classroom, outside of classroom
A final concluding thought….
There is no question but that “leaving no child
behind in reading” is going to be a significant
challenge…
It will involve professional development for
teachers, school reorganization, careful
assessments, and a relentless focus on the
individual needs of every child…
Many things can wait; the child
cannot.
Now is the time his bones are being
formed and his mind is being
developed.
To him, we cannot say tomorrow;
his name is today!
Gabriel Mistral
Questions
Thank you!