Individualizing Student Instruction in First, Second and Third Grade: Research and Practice

1. Individualizing Student Instruction in First, Second and Third Grade: Research and Practice Carol McDonald Connor, FSU Florida Center for Reading Research International Dyslexia Association Conference, Orlando FL November 2009

2. 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?

3. 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

4. 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…

5. 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

6. Multiple Dimensions of Instruction

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

8. Beyond the Reading Wars • 108 Children followed from 1st through 3rd 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), 305-336.

9. 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

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

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

12. 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

13. Case Study from 1st through 2nd grade

14. 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

15. 3rd Grade Fall RC by Teacher/child-managed reading comprehension (TCM-RC) Interaction 75th percentile 25th percentile

16. Following Child A through 3rd grade

17. Designing Individualized Student Instruction • Dedicated Literacy Block • 90-120 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

20. What does this look like in the classroom? • Videotape

21. 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

22. 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

23. 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

24. 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 • www.fcrr.org • Transitions -- Salient cues

25. 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

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

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

29. Does Individualizing Instruction Work? Results of 3 Randomized Control Trials

30. HLM: Intent to treat results Study 2 (2006-2007) Study 1 (2005-2006)

31. Study 3 First Grade (2008-09) 2.2 2.0 2.9 2.7

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

33. Distance from Recommendations (SS)

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

35. Effect of Fidelity in G2 G1T G1C 8 12 16 G2 Fidelity Control

36. Results G3 Gates MacGinitie ESS

37. Thank you • cconnor@fcrr.org