Professional Development in Scientifically Based Reading Instruction

2009 ◽  
Vol 42 (5) ◽  
pp. 403-417 ◽  
Author(s):  
Blanche Podhajski ◽  
Nancy Mather ◽  
Jane Nathan ◽  
Janice Sammons

This article reviews the literature and presents data from a study that examined the effects of professional development in scientifically based reading instruction on teacher knowledge and student reading outcomes. The experimental group consisted of four first- and second-grade teachers and their students ( n = 33). Three control teachers and their students ( n = 14), from a community of significantly higher socioeconomic demographics, were also followed. Experimental teachers participated in a 35-hour course on instruction of phonemic awareness, phonics, and fluency and were coached by professional mentors for a year. Although teacher knowledge in the experimental group was initially lower than that of the controls, their scores surpassed the controls on the posttest. First-grade experimental students’ growth exceeded the controls in letter name fluency, phonemic segmentation, nonsense word fluency, and oral reading. Second-grade experimental students exceeded controls in phonemic segmentation. Although the teacher sample was small, findings suggest that teachers can improve their knowledge concerning explicit reading instruction and that this new knowledge may contribute to student growth in reading.

2018 ◽  
Vol 21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia Crespo ◽  
Juan E. Jiménez ◽  
Cristina Rodríguez ◽  
Doris Baker ◽  
Yonghan Park

AbstractThe present study compares the patterns of growth of beginning reading skills (i.e., phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension) of Spanish speaking monolingual students who received a Tier 2 reading intervention with students who did not receive the intervention. All the students in grades K-2 were screened at the beginning of the year to confirm their risk status. A quasi-experimental longitudinal design was used: the treatment group received a supplemental program in small groups of 3 to 5 students, for 30 minutes daily from November to June. The control group did not receive it. All students were assessed three times during the academic year. A hierarchical linear growth modeling was conducted and differences on growth rate were found in vocabulary in kindergarten (p < .001; variance explained = 77.0%), phonemic awareness in kindergarten (p < .001; variance explained = 43.7%) and first grade (p < .01; variance explained = 15.2%), and finally we also find significant growth differences for second grade in oral reading fluency (p < .05; variance explained = 15.1%) and retell task (p < .05; variance explained = 14.5%). Children at risk for reading disabilities in Spanish can improve their skills when they receive explicit instruction in the context of Response to Intervention (RtI). Findings are discussed for each skill in the context of implementing a Tier 2 small group intervention within an RtI approach. Implications for practice in the Spanish educational context are also discussed for children who are struggling with reading.


2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 8
Author(s):  
Mohlanhledi P. Makumbila ◽  
Charline B. Rowland

<p>This professional development project, known as Literacy Leadership Project, enabled four Foundation Phase teachers in South Africa to implement the Guided Reading approach. Developed by American researchers Fountas and Pinnell (1996), Guided Reading helps elementary students strengthen their phonemic awareness, vocabulary, reading comprehension and fluency in small group activities. Over an 8-month period, lessons learnt came from data collected from this professional development included workshop activities, classroom observations, teachers’ group discussions and students’ artefacts. Results indicated improvement in students’ literacy engagement and motivation because of the use of levelled books, oral reading and group activities</p><p><strong>Keywords:</strong>  Guided Reading programme; foundation phase; childhood literacy; teacher professional development; literacy leadership; South Africa</p>


1975 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 269-281 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joyce Hood ◽  
Janet Ross Kendall

This study investigates differences between reflective (REF) and impulsive (IMP) second-graders in number and category of oral reading errors and their correction. Kagan's Matching Familiar Figures test (MFF) was employed in selecting extreme groups of 25 REF and 25 IMP Ss from all 166 second-graders in one midwestern city using the same second-grade basal reader for reading instruction. The Ss' oral reading and their answers to questions over two stories (of second- and third-grade readability levels) were audio-tape-recorded. Five scorers were trained to code the oral reading errors. The scores for each error category were based on the combined stories, and were means of the errors coded by the five scorers. Reliabilities of error scores ranged from .84 to .99. Results indicate: (a) more REF than IMP Ss with low error scores but insignificant differences in mean number of errors, (b) proportionately more graphically similar errors for REF than for IMP Ss but no significant differences in any other category, (c) more corrections by REF Ss overall and within the categories of graphically dissimilar errors and errors appropriate to the preceding but not the following context, (d) no significant differences between REF and IMP Ss in number of repetitions, rate of reading, nor in comprehension scores.


2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 74
Author(s):  
Ashley J. Holder

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of repeated reading intervention for increasing the reading fluency of an elementary student reading below grade level. Measures compared the fluency of a first grade student reading below grade level after participating in a repeated training for six weeks. Assessments to determine fluency prior to and after training were conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the repeated reading intervention on the fluency scores of the student.Results of this study, based on pre and post-assessment data, indicated that repeated readings are an effective practice for increasing the reading fluency of struggling readers. The student showed significant improvement with her reading fluency. In addition, she showed gains on her running record and oral reading fluency scores.


1967 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 169-178 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sol Schwartz ◽  
Cynthia P. Deutsch ◽  
Ann Weissmann

Two groups of socially disadvantaged young children were studied for a 2-yr. period. The experimental children (those with 2 yr. of enrichment) and controls (no enriched schooling) were tested at the beginning of the first grade and retested at the beginning of the second grade with the ITPA. Results indicate: (1) a significant performance difference between experimental and control Ss over the 2 yr, (2) all significant subtest differences over the 2 yr. favor the experimental group, with the differences primarily a function of control group decrement; (3) both groups show similar patterns of psycholinguistic performance. These findings support the hypothesis that early enrichment helps to offset language disability related to the socially disadvantaged condition.


2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 2
Author(s):  
Ingvill Krogstad Svanes

Denne studien undersøker hva fire lærere på barnetrinnet gjør når elevene leser stille. Stillelesing er en vanlig aktivitet i norske klasserom, men kunnskapen om hva læreren gjør i denne tiden og hvordan hun veileder faglig, er begrenset. Studien ønsker å bidra til økt viten om dette. For å belyse lærerens rolle under stillelesing, kombinerer studien forskning på stillelesing fra amerikanske klasserom med forskning på læreres tilbakemeldinger når elevene leser. De fire lærerne arbeider på 3. trinn. De er observert i en uke hver, og materialet består av videoopptak fra stillelesingsstundene i den uka lærerne er observert. Videoopptakene analyseres i lys av de fem grunnpilarene for leseopplæring (National reading panel, 2000): fonologisk bevissthet, avkoding, ordforråd, flyt og leseforståelse. Studien viser at lærerne bruker tiden under stillelesing svært forskjellig. To av lærerne bruker det aller meste av tiden på å høre på elevene lese og veilede dem faglig. De to andre lærerne bruker den største delen av tiden på organisering eller annet forefallende arbeid der de ikke kommuniserer med elever, for eksempel å rydde i klasserommet. Gjennom næranalyser av lærernes faglige veiledning finner studien at lærerne veileder i alle de relevante grunnpilarene for leseopplæring, men i ulik grad. Lærerne varierer også i hva slags type tilbakemeldinger de gir, og de bruker både ‘endelige’ tilbakemeldinger og ‘støttende’ tilbakemeldinger. Lærerne varierer veiledningen i større grad enn tidligere klasseromsstudier tilsier. Det kan imidlertid se ut som at lærere ville tjene på en bevisstgjøring rundt stillelesing som undervisningstid, og om ulike typer tilbakemeldinger.Nøkkelord: stillelesing, muntlige tilbakemeldinger, leseopplæring, barnetrinnet, norskfagetAbstractThis study explores what four teachers in primary school do when the pupils read silently. Silent reading (independent reading) is a common activity in Norwegian classrooms, but the knowledge about what the teacher does during this time and how she provides instructional support, is limited. This study aims to increase knowledge about this. To illuminate the teacher’s role during silent reading, the study combines research on silent reading with research on teachers’ feedback during oral reading. The four teachers are observed one week each, and the material consists of video recordings from the silent reading periods. The recordings are analyzed in light of the five pillars of reading instruction (National reading panel 2000): phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and text comprehension. The study shows that the teachers spend the time during silent reading very differently. Two of them mostly spend the time on listening to the pupils read and on instructional support. The other two spend most time on organizing, or for instance tidying. Through close analyses of the teachers’ instructional support, the study finds that the teachers support the pupils in all the relevant pillars of reading instruction, but to a different degree. The teachers also vary in what kind of feedback they provide, using both ‘terminal’ and ‘sustaining’ feedback. The teachers vary their instructional support more than previous classroom studies have indicated. It looks, however, as if the teachers could profit on increased awareness about silent reading as teaching and about different kinds of feedback.Keywords: silent reading, oral feedback, reading instruction, primary school, Language arts


1994 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 40 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Ray Reutzel ◽  
Paul M. Hollingsworth ◽  
J. Lloyd Eldredge

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