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A Year of MULTILIT in Coen. Kevin Wheldall and Robyn Beaman MULTILIT Research Unit Macquarie University Special Education Centre. Presentation to a Public Seminar on Demanding Better Supply of Education in Cape York: The Coen Experience The Cape York Institute for Policy and Leadership,
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A Year ofMULTILIT in Coen Kevin Wheldall and Robyn Beaman MULTILIT Research Unit Macquarie University Special Education Centre Presentation to a Public Seminar on Demanding Better Supply of Education in Cape York: The Coen ExperienceThe Cape York Institute for Policy and Leadership, Cairns, September 22, 2006
Introduced the ‘No Child Left Behind’ legislation in 2002 Coined the phrase “the soft bigotry of low expectation” … But it was George Bush who …
By Year 3, aboriginal students are 19 months behind their non-indigenous peers in reading (NSW Basic Skills Test). By Year 7, this gap has increased to five years. Contemporary approaches to aboriginal education have clearly failed. Why? The NSW Aboriginal Education Review, 2005
We do not need literacy programs specifically for aboriginal students. We need literacy programs of proven efficacy. MULTILIT is such a program. An alternative non-categorical approach
Research Service provision/consultancy Product/program development What is MULTILIT?
Effective instruction in reading Evaluations of program efficacy Assessment/monitoring of reading MULTILIT Research
MULTILIT programs at MUSEC MULTILIT Centre (clinic) MULTILIT Outreach programs (eg Schoolwise, Coen) MULTILIT Service Provision/Consultancy
MULTILIT (individual) Reading Tutor Program MULTILIT Group Instruction Program MINILIT WARP, MULTILIT Book Levels and the Pre-WARP MULTILIT Product/Program Development
A non-categorical approach to reading problems A Positive Teaching framework for effective classroom management A contemporary ‘balanced’ or ‘integrated’ perspective on reading MULTILIT Predicates
Knowledge of categories does not help us to teach better Diagnosis can be limiting and dangerous A real child-centred alternative MULTILIT is non-categorical
High rates of praise High on-task behaviour High self-esteem MULTILIT is based on Positive Teaching
Bottom up - systematic instruction in sight words and phonics (accuracy and fluency) Top down - ‘reinforced reading’ of ‘real books’ for generalisation, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension Affective - teaching students to value reading MULTILIT is ‘balanced’ or ‘integrated’
So where does balance come in? • Phonics is a major part of the answer BUT phonics alone is not the total answer • Need for regular reading of real books as well for generalisation of skills • Need for real balance (not lip-service) and integration
Low-progress readers need: Non-categorical programs of demonstrable, proven efficacy; Intensive, systematic, explicit decoding instruction (phonemic awareness, phonic word attack skills and sight words); Opportunities for generalisation by reading ‘real’ books in a supported way; This is all operationalised within the MULTILIT Program. The role of effective instruction
The National Reading Panel (US) and the National Inquiry into the Teaching of Literacy (Australia) identified the following: Phonemic awareness; Phonics; Fluency; Vocabulary; Comprehension. They are all operationalised within the MULTILIT Program. The Five Pillars of Effective Reading Instruction
MULTILIT Word Attack Skills MULTILIT Sight Words MULTILIT Reinforced Reading The MULTILIT Reading Tutor Program
6 intakes with similar results at MUSEC 142 low-progress students in years 2 to 6 completed two term full-time programs Mean age 10 years 5 months; over three years behind in reading accuracy 75% boys MULTILIT Program at MUSEC, 1996-98
Average gains: 15 months in reading accuracy 13 months in reading comprehension 15 months in single word recognition 16 months in spelling 96% more words read correctly per minute 87% made accuracy gains of at least six months; 61% made at least a year Gains did not ‘wash out’ MULTILIT Program Gains 1996-98
6 intakes with similar results 106 very low-progress students in years 6 and 7 completed two term part-time programs Mean age 11 years 11 months; over four years behind in reading accuracy 63% boys Schoolwise Program 1996-98
Average gains: 15 months in reading accuracy 11 months in reading comprehension 15 months in single word recognition 14 months in spelling 50% more words read correctly per minute 88% made accuracy gains of at least six months; 65% made at least a year Gains did not ‘wash out’ Schoolwise Program Gains 1996-98
4 intakes with similar results 136 very low-progress students in years 5, 6 and 7 completed two term part-time programs Mean age 11 years 7 months; over three years behind in reading accuracy on average 55% boys Schoolwise Program 2002-2003
16 months in reading accuracy 12 months in comprehension 19 months single word recognition 11 months in spelling 50% more words read per minute Mean Gains in Schoolwise 2002-2003
Taught by teachers at the school for one and three quarter hours per day 38 low-progress students in years 3 to 6 completed two term part-time programs in MULTILIT Mean age 9 years 8 months; over two years behind in reading accuracy (less delayed) 66% boys Primary School Study
20 months in reading accuracy 20 months in reading comprehension 19 months in single word recognition 44% more words read correctly per minute Primary School Study Gains
Cohort of 14 students from Aboriginal backgrounds, 20 from non-Aboriginal backgrounds No major differences in gains for indigenous and non-indigenous students MULTILIT is effective for Aboriginal students, as expected. Schoolwise Program Intake 2 2004
Schoolwise Program Gains (months) 2004 Aboriginal Non-Aboriginal Reading accuracy 11.7 9.7 Reading comprehension 10.4 10.1 Single word recognition 15.3 16.7 Phonic decoding 16.1 10.2 Spelling 13.9 13.3 Reading fluency (wcpm) 30.2 34.6
“The knowledge and practical instructional techniques developed in MULTILIT by the researchers at Macquarie University should inform and enhance initial and remedial literacy instruction throughout Australia and form the core of remedial reading programs in primary and high schools.” (Source: Report of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Education and Training Inquiry into the education of boys, ‘Boys: Getting it Right’, 2002) ‘Boys: Getting it Right’
MULTILIT testing team assessed all students in Years 2 to 7 in June 2005 Two MULTILIT Instructors relocated to Coen for five months in July 2005 (and in January 2006) MULTILIT Tutorial Centre established on school site in July 2005 Two intakes were admitted to the MULTILIT program, 2005-06 MULTILIT in Coen State School
Students in Years 2-3 participated for one hour each afternoon in the MINILIT Program (a program in the development phase). MULTILIT Instructors worked with four adult ‘tutors’ participating in the Computer Culture Project operating alongside the school over 2005-06. Other MULTILIT activities in Coen
The Neale Analysis of Reading Ability - Accuracy The Neale Analysis of Reading Ability - Comprehension The Burt Word Reading Test The Wheldall Assessment of Reading Passages (WARP) South Australian Spelling Test Martin and Pratt Nonword Test Tests/measures employed
24 primary aged students (Years 4, 5, 6 & 7) assessed in June 2005 Average age 10 years 10 months 67% were boys Over three years (40 months) behind in reading accuracy Nearly four years (46 months) behind in reading comprehension MULTILIT in Coen State School
10 primary aged students (Years 6 & 7) Average age 11 years 6 months 90% were boys About four years behind in both reading accuracy and reading comprehension 75% attendance About 17 weeks of instruction prior to post-testing (3 hours daily) First Intake into Coen MULTILIT Tutorial Centre
13.6 months in reading accuracy 4.3 months in reading comprehension 12 months in single word recognition 24.3 months in phonic decoding 15.9 months in spelling 43% more words read correctly per minute Coen First Intake Gains
Reading accuracy 0.81*** Reading comprehension 0.41* Single word recognition 0.62** Phonic decoding 0.81*** Spelling 0.84*** Reading fluency 1.16*** Effect Sizes for Coen First Intake Gains
8 (originally 10) primary aged students (Years 5 & 6) Average age 10 years 6 months 50% were boys Over three years behind in both reading accuracy and four years behind in reading comprehension 67% attendance (two students missed the last four weeks of instruction) About 18 weeks of instruction prior to post-testing (3 hours daily) Second Intake into Coen MULTILIT Tutorial Centre
15 months in reading accuracy 7.5 months in reading comprehension 14.6 months in single word recognition 25.4 months in phonic decoding 11.4 months in spelling 50% more words read correctly per minute Coen Second Intake Gains
Reading accuracy 1.68*** Reading comprehension 2.17*** Single word recognition 1.34*** Phonic decoding 1.50*** Spelling 0.67** Reading fluency 1.52*** Effect Sizes for Coen Second Intake Gains
15 primary aged students (Years 5, 6 & 7 in 2006) Average age in June 2006 was 11 years 6 months 5 students from First Intake, 8 students from Second Intake and 2 students had no formal program Typically three and a quarter years behind in reading accuracy and three and three quarter years behind in reading comprehension in mid 2005 Coen State School 2005-06
21.4 months in reading accuracy 10.7 months in reading comprehension 19 months in single word recognition 25.9 months in phonic decoding 22.8 months in spelling 75% more words read correctly per minute Now only two and a half years behind in reading accuracy and no further behind in reading comprehension Coen State School Gains - Closing the gap …
Reading accuracy 1.46*** Reading comprehension 1.41*** Single word recognition 1.11*** Phonic decoding 1.04*** Spelling 1.26*** Reading fluency 1.30*** Effect Sizes for Coen School Gains
Peer tutors not directly receiving MULTILIT instruction made major gains. Tutor 1 - Over four years in reading accuracy and over three years in reading comprehension . Tutor 2 - Three and a half years in reading accuracy and over two years in reading comprehension. Other benefits
Large gains achieved in spite of poor attendance (75% and 67%) What could be achieved with 95% plus attendance? Attendance a focus for Stage Two Major gains in word recognition, phonic recoding and spelling, reversing the downward trend More modest gains in reading comprehension, holding the position but not reversing it Comprehension a focus for Stage Two Issues Arising from this Pilot Study