Welcome:

Welcome to the second issue of Intervention News. In this issue you will find: information regarding the amount of professional development (PD) needed for quality implementation of programs, guidelines for using ongoing progress monitoring (OPM), one school’s professional development plan, and a classroom management tip to start the new year. We hope you find this information helpful as you return from your holiday break and transition into 2007.

Research Corner: The Importance of Professional Development

Professional development is a critical component to successful interventions. Over the past twenty years, many research studies have been published discussing the critical components to effective reading interventions. These elements include the use of explicit instruction in critical early reading skills, along with lots of opportunities for practice of skills while reading text. The most effective instruction is offered early and allows for the proper amount of scaffolding, intensity and duration (Foorman, Breier, & Fletcher, 2003). Although the major recent reviews of reading research have focused on these critical instructional elements, the importance of professional development for teachers has also been discussed. For example, one important review stated, “Professional development of teachers, teachers’ aides, and professional or volunteer tutors were integral to each program - there is an important relationship between the skill of the teacher and the response of the children to early intervention. Effective intervention programs pay close attention to the preparation and supervision of the teachers or tutors” (Snow, Burns & Griffin, 1998, p. 273).

A question that is often asked is, “How much professional development is needed to obtain quality implementation of an intervention program?” There is not one single answer. For this newsletter, we examined three recent intervention studies that found dramatically improved reading abilities in the children participating in the study. Rather than focus on the instructional methods of the programs used in these studies, we will highlight the amount of professional development that was required to achieve the desired results. In our last Research Corner we discussed the importance of the intensity of instruction, now we want to focus on the professional development required in providing intense interventions.

Mathes et al. (2005) compared three groups of children: one received only enhanced classroom instruction, the second group received enhanced classroom instruction and proactive reading instruction, and the third group received enhanced classroom instruction and responsive reading instruction. The intervention was provided in groups of three children, five times a week for 40 minutes a day during first grade. The intervention programs were delivered by six intervention teachers who went through extensive training for this study. Each teacher received 42 hours of training in their specific program prior to the start of the study, and also participated in monthly, half-day trainings where they viewed videos of themselves teaching and discussed instruction and any concerns around implementation.

Torgesen et al (1999) investigated the effectiveness of three different instructional approaches with children who received interventions beginning in kindergarten and extending through second grade. The authors used 9 tutors with varying amounts of teaching experience to deliver the interventions. Initially, the tutors received 18 hours of training in the specific program they were assigned to use. Once the study began, the tutors met for a 3 hour in-service every other week. The tutors were videotaped prior to these meetings and the tapes were used by the trainers to provide feedback to the tutors on instructional techniques.

Vaughn et al. (2003) studied the effects of three methods for grouping second grade children for intervention. The type, duration and intensity of the intervention were kept constant across all three groups. One set of children were taught in groups of ten, another set in groups of three and the final set was seen for intervention in a 1:1 setting. Results indicated that the 1:1 and the 1:3 groups were more effective than the 1:10 groups. The intervention was provided by five teachers who each had at least one year experience teaching struggling readers and at least a bachelor’s degree. Before the study began, the teachers received 22 hours of training. During this training, instructional elements, lesson plans, activities, progress monitoring and model lessons were given to the teachers. They were asked to demonstrate the elements of each lesson in a model lesson before the intervention began. Teachers also received feedback from observations for fidelity and consistency of instruction (nine times throughout the year long study) and support in weekly meetings during the intervention.

As seen in the studies above, a great deal of training was required to achieve the impressive results obtained in these studies. The initial trainings ranged from 18 to 42 hours before the tutors even began using the program and all three studies had follow up meetings throughout the study where feedback from observations were shared with the teachers and questions could be answered. It is important that we do not expect our teachers to achieve the same results as those mentioned above with a single day workshop or even just a two hour workshop on how to implement the program. Schools need to assess their available professional development days and how they can best be utilized to meet the important needs of teacher training. Common meeting times should also be utilized to follow up any training with opportunities for feedback or answering any questions the teachers or interventionists may have.

Discussion Questions

• Think about the best way to get purposeful and lasting professional development (Spreading three days out vs. two days together and one day as follow up, after school, summer, Saturdays, common planning times, professional development days, etc.).

• As you begin to plan your calendar for next year, prioritize your professional development needs — what are the trends you are seeing with your teachers and who can provide the training they need?

• Think about differentiated PD – how do you provide training for new teachers vs. veteran teachers, those who are new to the program and teachers who have been using the program for a few years?

References

Foorman, B.R., Breier, J.I., & Fletcher, J.M. (2003). Interventions aimed at improving reading success: An evidence-based approach. Developmental Neuropsychology,24 (2 & 3), 613-639.

Mathes, P., Denton, C., Fletcher, J., Anthony, J., Francis, D., & Schatschneider, C. (2005).The effects of theoretically different instruction and student characteristics on the skills of struggling readers. Reading Research Quarterly, 40 (2), 148-182.

Snow, C. E., Burns, M. S., & Griffin, P. (Eds.). (1998). Preventing reading difficulties in young children. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

Torgesen, J. K., Wagner, R. K., Rashotte, C. A., Rose, E., Lindamood, P., Conway, T., & Garvan, C. (1999). Preventing reading failure in young children with phonological processing disabilities: Group and individual responses to instruction. Journal of Educational Psychology, 91 (4), 579-593.

Vaughn, S., Linan-Thompson, S., Kouzekanai, K., Pedrotty Bryant, D., Dickson, S, & Blozis, S. A. (2003). Reading instruction grouping for students with reading difficulties. Remedial and Special Education,24(5), 301-315.

Determining Instructional Level and Conducting Ongoing Progress Monitoring (OPM)

In 2004 the Florida Center for Reading Research developed procedures for determining the instructional level of students and conducting ongoing progress monitoring (OPM) using DIBELS measures. This information was compiled into a notebook and is available for downloading at the following URL: http://www.fcrr.org/assessment/pdf/OPM/OPMGuide-RevisedSep2006.pdf.

When students are receiving additional assistance, it is helpful if the teacher has a process for frequently determining whether the assistance is having the desired effect. Using the guidelines in the notebook gives the teacher the opportunity to determine the student’s functional level and identify where to begin ongoing progress monitoring. Determining the student’s instructional level is a critical first step to ongoing progress monitoring. At the end of each grade level section in the notebook, there are Steps and Decision Rules to assist in the process of determining a student’s instructional level. There are flowcharts at: http://www.fcrr.org/assessment/pdf/OPM/decisionMakingFlowcharts_Sep2006.pdf that provide an easy to follow visual representation of the Steps and Decision Rules.

While visiting schools this fall, we discovered some confusion or misunderstanding exists about how to use OPM. If a student is at high risk on a particular measure, the next step is to determine the child’s functional/instructional level by following the Steps and Decision Rules. It is not appropriate to begin progress monitoring using probes from the student’s grade level without determining his functional/instructional level. Occasionally, for students who are strategic on Oral Reading Fluency, the decision rules may say to conduct OPM using grade level passages. Students who are scoring in the high-risk range will not benefit from frequent progress monitoring using the passages from his/her grade level. This will only lead to frustration for the student and information that is not beneficial for the teacher regarding the student’s reading difficulties. Remember, OPM serves as a tool for the teacher to determine if his/her instruction is helping the child make reading gains. Additionally, there is no rule stating that all students who score in the high risk or strategic risk range must be monitored weekly on any measure for which they did not meet the benchmark. The frequencies for monitoring, found in the notebook, are just general suggestions. Teachers must use good professional judgment when determining which measures to monitor and this should be based on the skills for which they are providing intensive instruction or additional assistance.


Important points to remember related to OPM:

• Anyone administering DIBELS measures must be trained by a qualified Facilitator of DIBELS



• Before administering DIBELS OPM, one must determine the student’s instructional level



• Teachers should determine which measures to progress monitor based on the area(s) for which they are currently providing instruction

School Profile: Chester A. Moore School – St. Lucie County

Chester A. Moore School is located on the north side of Ft. Pierce in St. Lucie County. It currently houses 665 students in grades K – 7 with 85% minority, 85% free and reduced lunch, and 31% students who have limited proficiency in English (LEP). Principal Susan Lyle has been at the school for nine years and is very proud of her staff and students’ achievements over the past several years. The school performed at the 85th percentile among all Reading First schools last year in term of effectivemess of their interventions for struggling readers, as it is assessed by the Effectiveness of Intervention (EI) Index.

Principal Lyle and her administrative team identified two key components of their success: teacher training and the use of data. It is the data and specific needs of the teachers that drive the decisions regarding the content of professional development delivered. Professional development is offered in the summer, after school, on Saturdays, and during the school day. The primary source of the professional development in specific programs comes from the company or publisher that supplies the program. This consists of an initial training offered at the beginning of the school year or in the summer with follow up meetings with publisher consultants planned throughout the school year. The reading coaches also attend monthly district and quarterly training meetings where they receive additional training to support the teachers and interventionists at their school.

The coaches provide training in using data and instructional methods not specific to a particular program. The coaches stated that they use the input they receive from teachers, the observations they make during walkthroughs and the student data to determine what topics they will offer in their training. Another important aspect of the training the coaches provide is that it is differentiated. They have a high teacher turnover rate at Chester A. Moore and therefore have to plan for training new teachers to ‘get them up to speed’ while still maintaining the training of teachers who have been at the school for several years. This is a challenge faced by many of our Reading First schools. The coaches track which teachers have had certain trainings and then cluster the teachers into specific groups. They provide different workshops for new teachers, refresher trainings for veteran teachers, and develop some workshops appropriate for all teachers.

When the trainings take place during the school day, coverage for teachers’ classes is a challenge. The administrators at Chester A. Moore feel strongly that both the training and the follow up meetings are key elements that require coverage. An alternative solution to trainings during the school day is to use the teachers’ planning time or common meeting time during special area classes (i.e music, physical education, etc.) to provide training which does not require the school to find coverage for classrooms.

The administrators and coaches at the school mentioned the district support as another reason they feel they have been able to offer such intense professional development. They credited Donna Dorio, the Reading and Language Arts coordinator for St. Lucie County, with her dedication to supporting the schools and the coaches during the monthly meetings she holds as well as helping the school in whatever means necessary, whether finding new programs or funds to help pay for substitutes for coverage.

It is clear the professional development offered at Chester A. Moore School aligns with the components seen in many research studies discussed in the Research Corner. The professional development is offered before the teachers begin using a specific program and the school offers follow up trainings. The coaches gain ideas for workshops from their walkthroughs, the student data and from teacher requests. They provide these trainings individually, by grade level, whole staff, to new teachers or veteran teachers at a variety of times during the school day, after school or on Saturdays. Professional development is a critical component to an effective intervention program that requires a great deal of planning and organization.

Congratulations to the district and school level administrators, coaches and teachers at Chester A. Moore School for their dedication to continuously working to improve their knowledge to help reach all of their students.

Instructional Tips

Management and behavior issues can cause a great disruption to instruction, especially during small group instruction. Research identifies the practice of establishing procedures and expectations at the beginning of the year as most effective; however, a long vacation can be seen as another ‘start’ of the year and is a wonderful opportunity to reestablish classroom rules and routines. In the June newsletter, we will provide you with more detailed research and information that you can implement at the start of the 2007-2008 school year. Until that time, we wanted to provide you with some key points from research and a practical classroom management tip for starting back in January.

Main themes highlighted in several sources:

• Establish expectations and CLEARLY communicate those expectations


• Involve the students in the creation of classroom rules, procedures, and consequences


• Follow through on rules/procedures consistently and fairly across all children


• Look for opportunites to use positive reinforcement vs. always focusing on negative behavior


• Model the behaviors you would like your children to display


• Establish a mentor program in your school between new teachers and veteran teachers so that mentor teachers can share the behavior managment tips they have found succesful for the children at your school

An instructional tip: While working in small groups, interruptions can be one of the most challenging behaviors to manage. It is critical that you establish a procedure for answering student questions while you are working with a small group of children. Some teachers suggest wearing a specific hat or Hawaiian Lai that indicates the teacher may not be interrupted at that time unless it is an emergency (you also need to define emergency – someone hurt, sick or fire, etc). You then need to define a procedure for what the child should do when he cannot interrupt the teacher. For example, the student can ask two or three classmates and then if still no resolution he can read independently or chose another activity until it is transition time when he can ask the teacher. Other teachers, especially those working with the younger children, understand that the younger students may not be able to wait, so they establish a “no talking waiting box” where the child can stand or use a signal (child places an arm on teacher’s shoulder) to indicate that they have a question. The teacher establishes a signal to indicate to them that she sees them and will answer their question when she comes to a break in her instruction.

It is helpful to role-play various situations that may arise during small group instruction so that students can add their input and ‘see’ potential solutions to problems. Whatever procedure you choose for your classroom, make sure the children understand their options and the importance of your uninterrupted instruction time. Acknowledge those students that follow these procedures on a regular basis.

What's New?

Curriculum and Instruction Team at FCRR

• A special note for reading coaches and principals. The Student Center Activities for grades K-3 have a K/1 and 2/3 Professional Development DVD and Teacher Resource Guide included with them for use by coaches and principals in assisting teachers’ implementation of the center activities. The DVD and Teacher Resource Guide arrived with the activity binders and are also available for downloading from our website http://www.fcrr.org/curriculum/studentCenterActivities23.htm. The DVD and Teacher Resource Guide are critical tools for implementation of the Student Center Activities. Using the DVD and Teacher Resource Guide in conjunction with a “make and take” workshop is an effective way to impart information and have fun!
  
  
• Six new FCRR reports have been posted since the last newsletter. Go to http://www.fcrr.org/FCRRReports/index.aspx to read these new additions to the website.

PMRN Update

• Please check the personal information in your Profile. This information determines how a teacher's name appears on printed reports and to where PMRN E-mails are sent. The Profile can be accessed from the left hand side of the Page (next to the boy's knee) after Signing In to the PMRN.



• After OPM scores are entered and Saved in the PMRN, the student's scores will be available on the Student Progress Report and the Student Ongoing Progress Monitoring Report.

Just Read, Florida!

• For the past year and a half, the Just Read, Florida! Office and the Instructional Materials Office at the Department of Education have been working to update and revise the Reading and Language Arts Sunshine State Standards. A final draft is posted at the following website: http://flstandards.org.



• The Reading Specifications for the 07-08 state adoption are posted on the following website: http://www.firn.edu/doe/instmat/. The 2007-2008 Reading Adoption will be quite different than previous adoptions, because, at the elementary level, we have extended our call to include not only comprehensive core reading programs, but also supplemental intervention programs and comprehensive intervention reading programs to better meet the needs of all students in Florida.

RFPD Update

Reading First Regional Coordinators presented the second Quarterly Professional Development training of the year during the months of November and December. The training was entitled, “Coaching When the Stakes are High.” The training focused on:

• Refining coaches’ descriptive and analytic skills as they pertain to the teaching of reading in classrooms throughout the state;
  
  
• Helping coaches to determine critical elements of practice so they may direct teachers’ attention to what will strengthen instruction;
  
  
• Reiterating the importance of the reading coach and how the role needs to be dedicated solely to the professional development of teachers in the area of reading.

The next Quarterly training will occur in locations throughout the state in January, and will be entitled, “Coaching the Use of Alternative Lesson Structures in Reading First Classrooms.”

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