Carol McDonald Connor, FSU Florida Center for Reading Research International Dyslexia Association Conference, Orlando FL November 2009

Overview A bit of history Finding Child characteristic X instruction interactions What does this mean for Assessment Instruction Classroom organization and planning Does Individualizing Student Instruction (as informed by CXI interactions) lead to stronger student outcomes?

Beyond the Reading Wars Tension between advocates of: Meaning focused instruction (Whole Language) Constructivist Sociocultural Reading acquired much the way language is acquired Code focused instruction Focus on explicit instruction in phonological awareness and phonic – the alphabetic principle Learning to read is not a natural process

Who was right? Evidence for both methods Dahl & Freppon, 1995 Foorman et al., 1998 Both and neither The effect of early literacy instruction depends on children’s language and literacy skills Connor, Morrison, & Katch 2004 Thus different reading activities are effective for some children but ineffective for others…

Multiple Dimensions of Instruction Even in the most whole language schools, some teachers closed the door and taught phonics Chall, 1967 Connor, Morrison & Katch, 2004

Multiple Dimensions of Instruction Teacher/Child ManagedChild Managed Explicit Decoding or Code Focused Alphabet activities Letter Sight-Sound Phonological Awareness Onset-rime, blending and segmenting Word Segmentation Spelling phonics worksheets, handwriting activities decoding activities Implicit Decoding or Meaning Focused Vocabulary Teacher Read Aloud Student Read Aloud, Choral Group Writing, Writing Instruction, Model Writing Listening Comprehension Discussion Student Buddy Reading Sustained Silent Reading Reading Comprehension worksheets Student Individual Writing Pair writing

Sources of Influence on Student Achievement Teacher Qualifications Teachers’ Education Teachers’ Experience Teacher Credential Dimensions of Classroom Environment Teach-Child Interactions Peer Interactions/tutoring Gender Assumptions Warmth/Sensitivity Control/Discipline Instructional practices Children’s Ongoing Achievement Dimensions of Parenting and home environment Family learning environment Warmth/Sensitivity Control/Discipline Sociocultural Factors Socioeconomic disadvantage Parent education Income Race/Ethnicity Child characteristics & development Language Literacy Self-Regulation Preschool and Childcare Amount Quality Before Children Get to School Once Children Start School Morrison, Bachman, & Connor 2004

Beyond the Reading Wars 108 Children followed from 1 st through 3 rd grade 44% girls 62% were European American; 38% were African American IQ (Stanford-Binet) Mean = 101 (15.0) 44 Teachers Schools located in mid-sized city Whole Language Connor, C. M., Morrison, F. J., & Katch, E. L. (2004). Beyond the Reading Wars: The effect of classroom instruction by child interactions on early reading. Scientific Studies of Reading, 8(4),

HLM Results: Child-Instruction Interactions – Fall Decoding by Teacher/child-managed code-focused (TCM-CF) amount Percentiles from Norm Tables Grade Equivalent 1.9 = Raw Score 34.5

Child-Instruction Interactions – Fall Vocabulary by Child-managed meaning focused (CMMF) amount and slope

Case Study 1 st grader with lower fall vocabulary and decoding skills

Second Grade Substantial amounts of TCM-CF at appropriate levels of difficulty From basic to more advanced skills Segmenting & blending Elision Multisyllabic words Morphological Awareness Substantial amounts of meaning-focused instruction (CM and TCM) Connor, Morrison & Underwood, 2007

Case Study from 1 st through 2 nd grade

Third Grade Increasing focus on strategic use of comprehension strategies Especially for children with weak comprehension skills Increased use of expository text Connor, Morrison, & Petrella 2004

3 rd Grade Fall RC by Teacher/child-managed reading comprehension (TCM-RC) Interaction 75 th percentile 25 th percentile

Following Child A through 3 rd grade

Designing Individualized Student Instruction Dedicated Literacy Block minutes of which at least 60 minutes are center or station time Flexible learning groups based on reading skills Taylor & Pearson, 2002; Wharton-McDonald et al., 1998 “Stations” or “Centers” with a “Teacher Table” Professional Development and Support Literacy Coach model School-wide decisions Providing “recommended” amounts and types of instruction for all children

What does this look like in the classroom? Videotape

What does this mean for assessment? Assessment Valid, reliable, and formative Formative vs. summative assessment Frequent Monthly Quarterly Move beyond simple code-based assessment Focused on outcomes we want students to attain

What does this mean for instruction? Attending to Amount and type of instruction Duration and intensity Child skill level Important outcomes Organizing how instruction is delivered Small homogenous but flexible small groups Teacher table

General Instruction Guidelines Children with stronger skills generally make greater progress when provided opportunities to work independently or with peers (CM) Reading selected books Writer’s workshop Peer assisted learning Buddy reading Teacher table reserved for developing new skills Children with weaker skills generally make greater progress when provided with more TCM time Explicit focus on skills that need improvement Limited CM time until skills improve Gradually increasing CM time over the school year

Small Groups & Transitions Organize by key skills Change groups as children’s skills and instructional needs change Use everyday Keep to the routine Be organized Organizational Chart Transitions -- Salient cues

Content of Activities High quality evidence based Core curriculum FCRR activities Library corner Computers Buddy activities Content area as well as basic reading Science, social studies, etc. Preschool & Kindergarten ISI – emergent literacy

Schools and RTI Role of Literacy Coach School-wide decisions Response to Intervention How does ISI fit in?

ISI across the grades Kindergarten (presentation on Friday) First and Second Grade Third Grade

Results of 3 Randomized Control Trials

HLM: Intent to treat results Study 1 ( ) Study 2 ( )

Study 3 First Grade ( )

Distance from Recommendations Observed – A2i recommended amounts Simple Differences Absolute Values * ES (d) =.42 for TCM-CF and.41 for CM-MF *

Distance from Recommendations (SS)

Results G2 Reading Comprehension Assuming G2 fidelity and student fall scores at sample means, TG1G2 vs CG1G2 d =.48

Effect of Fidelity in G G2 Fidelity Control G1T G1C

Results G3 Gates MacGinitie ESS

Thank you