Efficient strategies that promote the development of literacy and the self-concept in elementary and junior level studen

1. Efficient strategies that promote the development of literacy and the self-concept in elementary and junior level students Yves Herry Associate Vice-President Claire Maltais Director, Teacher Education Catherine Mougeot Project Manager Research commissioned by the Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat of Ontario

2. Objective of the project : • Identify efficient strategies that promote the development of literacy and the self-concept in elementary and junior level students. • Reduce the performance gaps between the students in the areas of literacy and self-concept. • The methodology included the implementation of a virtual learning community comprised of the members of the research team and 13 teachers from all the regions of the province. • This community tested various strategies and facilitated the exchange of experiences, expertise and knowledge with regards to literacy and self-concept.

3. Why take into consideration the self-concept in literacy development? Research has shown that: • The self-concept influences learning (Marsh, 1993) • The linguistic skills of the students are positively linked to the self-concept (Derntzaki and Efklides, 2000) • Learning difficulties in French (more than in any other field) have a major impact on the self-concept as a whole (Burden, 2005) • The self-concept is also related to the decision to read. The more the student has a positive self-concept, the more (s)he chooses to read in his/her spare time (McKool, 2007)

4. The structure of the self-concept Global self-concept Academic self-concept Non academic self-concept Self-concept in French Social self-concept Emotional self-concept Self-concept in mathematics Self-concept in science Physical self-concept Writing Relationships with parents Relationships with adults Communication Reading Relationships with peers Physical appearance Physical performance Specific daily situations

5. Efficient strategies to ensure the development of literacy and the self-concept Use of documents produced by the Ministry of Education • Guides to Effective Instruction in Literacy, grade 1 to 3 and grade 4 to 6 The importance of these strategies • Demonstrated impact on literacy development, • Demonstrated impact on the development of a positive academic self-concept: • Research has demonstrated that improving student performance in reading, writing and oral communication is the most efficient method to improve the academic self-concept (Chapman and Tunmer, 1995; Chapman, Tunmer and Prochnow, 2000; House, 2003).

6. Main strategies to promote the development of a positive self-concept • Problem resolution • Applied to academic situations • Applied to personal situations • Verbalizing • Identifying and expressing feelings (what I feel) • Identifying and describing behaviours: (what I am doing, what I should do and how I should do it) • Understanding the instructions given to the student and his/her ability to use them • Role-play • Improvisation

7. Main strategies to effectively promote the development of a positive self-concept • Involvement with others • Cooperative learning and teamwork • Mentoring • Social and community action • Development of a positive academic self-concept • Use of literacy development strategies

8. Methodology Participants Table 1: Participants in the project and their distribution by region

9. Data collected (qualitative and quantitative) Qualitative data: strategy implementation process. Information on: • the type of interventions in the classroom • the effects identified by the teachers • progress of the project Analysis: • of the chat zone of the Internet site • of the logs • of the content of discussions and exchanges (videoconference meetings)

10. Quantitative data Concerned the evaluation of the effects of the interventions on student development. Use of: • A quasi-experimental pre-test-post-test research model, paired to the use of a control group and a test group. • Questionnaires for students, parents and teachers. • Questions for each domain of the structure of the self-concept • Questions on the reading, writing and oral communication performance • Questions on the attitudes towards reading, writing and oral communication • Question on the use of French in school and at home

11. Schedule of project activities

12. Performance change – before and after the intervention

13. Change in attitude- before and after the intervention

14. Change in self-concept- before and after the intervention

15. Global self-concept Academic self-concept Non academic self-concept Self-concept in French Self-concept in science Social self-concept Emotional self-concept Physical self-concept Self-concept in mathematics Relationships with peers Reading Writing Communication Relationships with parents Relationships with adults Physical appearance Physical performance Specific daily situations Structure of the self-concept and self-concepts that become more positive (in red)

16. Differences in the teaching practices of the teachers between the beginning and the end of the project Reading • Guided reading in a small group • Make the students read in pairs (they take turns reading parts of a text) • Special activities to promote the motivation to read (book of the month, reading club, reading centre, promotion poster, etc.)

17. Differences in the teaching practices of the teachers between the beginning and the end of the project Writing • Identify the writing purpose and the recipients • Do research to flesh out the subject addressed • Evaluate the choice of words taking into account the subject, the recipient and the intention • Do guided reading (a group of students practices with the teacher a strategy that has been already taught)

18. Differences in the teaching practices of the teachers between the beginning and the end of the project

19. b) Strategies related to the development of the self-concept

20. Differences in the teaching practices of the teachers between the beginning and the end of the project

21. Strategies most used by the teachers for the development of the self-concept • Problem resolution • Verbalizing • Cooperative learning and teamwork

22. Thanks • Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat of Ontario • The teachers and students who accepted to participate in this project and invest their time and energy • The school principals and school board administrations who collaborated in this project  • Conseil des écoles publiques de l’Est de l’Ontario (CEPEO), • Conseil scolaire catholique des Grandes Rivières (CSCDGR), • Conseil scolaire de district catholique de l’Est ontarien (CSDCEO) • Conseil scolaire de district Centre-Sud-Ouest (CSDCSO). • the Centre de vidéoconférence scolaire franco-ontarien and the Video conference Service of the University of Ottawa