MALI Mr. Boubacar Bocoum PHARE/USAID All Children Reading by 2015: From Assessment to Action Washington, DC April 12-14, 2010

MALI A systemic approach to developing and implementing a model of effective literacy instruction in grades 1 to 6 Standards Research Intervention

The genesis of Mali’s systemic reform of reading/writing instruction…  Results of international assessments rank Mali elementary students as 7th out of 8 francophone African countries in language abilities  Request from Ministry of Education that USAID fund a 5-year results-based initiative (2008 to 2013) to improve reading instruction in ALL elementary schools across the country (PHARE program)

Key questions for results-based initiative …  What are the critical reading/writing skills children need to develop in order to become effective readers/writers and by what ages should they have developed these competencies (in local language and/or in French)?  What instructional strategies and materials will best ensure that students develop these skills/competencies? How can we adapt evidence-based teaching strategies and materials to the Malian context?  What supports do teachers and teacher educators need in order to implement these strategies and materials effectively in the classroom?

STEP 1: Articulation of a results-based vision of effective literacy learning COMPETENCIESGrade 2Grade 4Grade 6 NATIONAL READING STANDARDS Language mechanisms (phonemic awareness, phonetics) Concepts of print Lexical awareness (Vocabulary) Comprehension Fluidity NATIONAL WRITING STANDARDS Original production Style Coherency and Clarity Conventions of written texts (grammar, spelling…)

STEP 2: Articulation of a results-based vision of effective literacy instruction Development (over a six month period) and validation by Ministry of an inventory of 24 effective reading/writing practices, linked to student standards, as well as:  Teacher effective reading/writing practices self- evaluation checklist, based on inventory  Teacher supervisor classroom practices observation tool, based on the inventory (SCOPE reading/writing)

STEP 3: Baseline research - EGRA

STEP 3: Baseline Research –Teachers’ and teacher’s college instructors’ attitudes, beliefs and practices  Teachers: Important disconnect between teachers’  perceptions of age-appropriate expectations for children and the new national standards  assumptions about how children learn to read and the new effective instructional practices inventory (Ex: Teachers provide students with multiple opportunities to develop some aspects of phonemic awareness, but few opportunities to develop other competencies)  Teacher’s college instructors: Less than half trained in reading methodology and of those, most have only been trained in the classic « syllabic » method that emphasizes a narrow range of decoding skills.

STEP 4: Identifying and implementing appropriate interventions Intervention program that would:  Challenge educators’ current assumptions about reading/writing  Present them with images of new, research-based literacy instructional models, adapted to Malian context  Result in children:  developing skills in all NINE competencies :  having multiple opportunities : to be read to, to read, to read for pleasure and to read texts of interest to them to write authentic words, sentences and texts, beginning with their entry into first grade

STEP 4: Introduction of a « balanced » literacy approach Alphabet Letter-sound relationships Key words Definitions, usages, meaning Grammar, syntax Invented spelling Guided writing Independant writing Free writing Collective writing Balanced literacy Guided reading Independant readng Paired reading Reading together Reading out loud

Balanced literacy progression Gr1-6

Supporting implementation of « balanced » literacy ADDRESSING ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT READING/WRITING DEVELOPMENT/ Distribution and examination of national reading/writing standards Examination of assumptions, and impact of those assumptions, during teacher, teacher supervisor and teachers college instructor face-to-face trainings PROVIDING NEW MENTAL MODELS OF EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTIONAL PRACTICES Interactive radio programs that model new practices Teachers’ balanced literacy guides, with detailed lessons for first 6 weeks, as well as compendium of learning activities for each of the 9 competencies Multi-media, interactive self directed learning modules for teachers’ college instructors with video footage of new practices SCOPE reading/writing classroom observation tool and accompanying qualitative descriptors, for each practice, of 4 stages of teacher development

Supporting implementation of « balanced » literacy PROVIDING « EVIDENCE » THAT CHILDREN CAN DEVELOP SKILLS, &AT EARLIER AGE I nteractive radio programs Video footage in teacher’s college instructors modules SUPPORTING IMPLEMENTATION OF NEW MENTAL MODELS AT CLASSROOM LEVEL Teacher reading kits (guide, posters, flash cards, audio cassettes, story books) Classroom observations by literacy mentors using reading/writing classroom observation instrument Institution of school-based self-directed lliteracy learning communities (for schools that apply to MOE for additional support) ENGAGING COMMUNITY SUPPORT FOR LITERACY INITIATIVES (SELF SELECTION) Development of PTA literacy-improvement support plans Organisation of literacy progress report review meetings

What lessons can we learn from Mali’s experience to date?  The return-on-investment of developing solid, research-based conceptual frameworks to guide the reform process (standards, benchmarks, effective instructional practices inventories)  The return-on-investment of an ongoing Ministry-driven research agenda to guide and inform the reform process  The disconnect between research-based frameworks about effective reading instructional practices, and teachers’ /supervisors’ tacitly-held beliefs, may, if not addressed, constitute a serious impediment to adoption of new practices  Changing literacy practices – and instituting a culture of text- based literacy – is a complex and multi-faceted process

What are the major challenges facing Mali as it continues its systemic reform of literacy practices?  Shifting assumptions and beliefs about reading and writing  Building shared mental models of what reading/writing teaching can and should look like (among teachers, among teacher supervisors & teacher’s college instructors)  Motivating teachers to invest the professional and personal energy required to shift their practices/learning environments  Maintaining continuity of purpose: Respecting and building on the frameworks put in place – over the medium and long term  Attempting systemic reform in the absence of complementary public and community-based initiatives (literacy awareness campaigns, etc) to support and extend classroom-based initiatives  Reaching all teachers, classrooms and students, equally and at the same time (scale and resources)

Thank you