New Literacies for New Times: Preparing for Common Core State Standards

1. New Literacies for New Times:  Preparing for Common Core State Standards Donald J. Leu Neag School of Education University of Connecticut SoMIRAC Hunt Valley, MD March 28, 2012

2. Congratulations to SoMIRAC!!!

3. Thank you to Pearson Scott-Foreman and Reading Street!

4. Important Funding and Support From: • Ray and Carole Neag • The Carnegie Corporation of New York • IES, U.S. Department of Education • The National Science Foundation • North Central Educational Research Lab • PBS • The Annenberg Foundation • William and Flora Hewlett Foundation • Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation • Australian Council of Educational Research • OECD • Schools and teachers around the world.

5. The Central Ideas • What are the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in Reading and Writing? • How are we doing? • A new assessment. • How can we teach Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in Reading and Writing?

6. *The Common Core State Standards A common system of developmental standards to inform instruction. Replaces “Big 5” -- phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. Emphasizes higher-level thinking during reading and writing AND preparation for important new online skills necessary in the 21st century. *Available at: http://www.corestandards.org/assets/CCSSI_ELA%20Standards.pdf

7. CEO Why CCSS? The Nature of Work Has Changed Upper Level Management Upper Middle Level Management Middle Level Management Line Supervisors Workers The “General Motors” Model of Economic Management • Command and control • Lower levels of education required. • Wasted intellectual capital • Highly inefficient • Lower productivity • Little innovation • Little need for higher level and creative thinking. Wasted intellectual capital

8. In a Flattened World: Opportunities Expand but Competition and Cooperation Increase How do economic units increase productivity? Flatten The Organization into Problem Solving Teams Team Team Team Team Team Greater Intellectual Capital Use = Greater Productivity • Define problems • Locate information • Critically evaluate information • Synthesize and solve problems • Communicate solutions These teams take full advantage of their intellectual capital to the extent their education system has prepared them for this.

9. Which tool has been used by economic units to increase productivity and compete? Recent productivity gains are due to using the Internet to share information, communicate, and solve problems (van Ark, Inklaar, & McGuckin, 2003; Friedman, 2005; Matteucci, O’Mahony, Robinson, & Zwick, 2005). The Internet Team Team Team Team Team • Online Research and Comprehension • Define problems • Locate information • Evaluate information • Synthesize and solve problems • Communicate solutions

10. Implications For Education? • Online research and reading comprehension become essential • Higher-level thinking and reading skills required. • Problem-based, online learning essential • Effective online information and communication skills required.

11. What Are The New Literacies of Online Reading Comprehension? Data From Think Aloud Protocols • How we read online when we do research. This requires additional reading comprehension skills beyond those required for offline reading. • Define a problem • Locate • Evaluate • Synthesize • Communicate Castek, 2008; Coiro & Dobler, 2007; Henry, 2007; Leu, Castek, Hartman, Coiro, Henry, Kulikowich, & Lyver, 2005; Leu, Kinzer, Coiro, & Cammack, 2004 Leu, O’Byrne, Zawilinski, McVerry, & Everett-Cacopardo, 2009

12. Online and Offline Reading Comprehension Are Not Isomorphic (r=0.19, n = 89, N.S.) Leu, Castek, Hartman, Coiro, Henry, Kulikowich, Lyver, 2005 Online Reading Comprehension = ORCA Blog Offline Reading = Connecticut Mastery Test (CMT) of Reading Comprehension

13. CCSS:The New Literacies of Online Research and Comprehension Blended into the Standards Whole • New Literacies: Online Reading Comprehension: • Identify a problem • Locate information • Evaluate information • Synthesize information • Communicate information “To be ready for college, workforce training, and life in a technological society, students need the ability to gather, comprehend, evaluate, synthesize, and report on information and ideas, to conduct original research in order to answer questions or solve problems, and to analyze and create a high volume and extensive range of print and nonprint texts in media forms old and new.” (Introduction, p. 4)

14. These New Literacies Appear at Every Grade Level in CCSS Kindergarten (WS 6) With guidance and support from adults, explore a variety of digital tools to produce and publish writing, including in collaboration with peers. Grade 3 (WS 8) ...gather information from print and digital sources; take brief notes on sources and sort evidence into provided categories. 14

15. These New Literacies Appear at Every Grade Level in CCSS Grade 6 (RS 7) Integrate information presented in different media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively) as well as in words to develop a coherent understanding of a topic or issue. Anchor Standard 6 Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and to interact and collaborate with others. 15

16. How Are We Doing?

17. State Assessment Policies in ReadingNot a single state in the U.S. measures... • ...students’ ability to read search engine results during state reading assessments. • ...students’ ability to critically evaluate information that is found online to determine its reliability. This generation’s defining technology for reading.

18. Not a single state measures... • ...students’ ability to compose clear and effective email messages in their state writing assessment. • all students to use a word processor on their state writing assessment.* *See Russell & Plati, 1999; 2000; 2001. They report effect sizes of .57 – 1.25 for word processor use on MCAS. See also Russell & Tao, 2004 who report 19% more 4th grade students classified as “Needs Improvement” would move up to the “Proficient” performance level with word processors.

19. Instruction: The Rich Get Richer and The Poor Get Poorer • Neglecting research into online reading comprehension perpetuates public policies that help the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. • 63% of children from households earning more than $75,000 annually reported that they used the Internet at school, but only 36% of children from households earning less than $15,000 annually (Lazarus, Wainer, and Lipper, 2005). Leu, McVerry, O’Byrne, Zawilinski, Castek, J., Hartman, D.K. (2009).

21. New Assessments are Coming with CCSS in 2014

22. Click to edit Master text styles • Click to edit Master text styles • Click to edit Master text styles Portions of this material are based upon work supported by the U.S. Department of Education under Award No. R305G050154 and No. R305A090608. Opinions expressed herein are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent the position of the U.S. Department of Education.

27. Results

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34. What Does This Study Suggest? • Achievement gaps in the new literacies of online reading and research may be substantially greater than with traditional reading between rich and poor. • We may be at risk of losing students unprepared for the new literacies of online reading and research.

35. What Does Instruction With CCSS Look Like In a World of Online Information and Communication? Two Classrooms

36. Grade 2: Morning Message of the Day http://www.epals.com/search/maps/

39. Grade 7, Language Arts: Online International Projects Hey! Let’s do Gary Paulson??? We’re on it! Making a web page now. Yeah! I got some great ideas. Let me send them to Tomas and Ben in the U.S. Jose, Costa Rica Ben and Tomas, Connecticut Monique, South Africa

40. What Can I Do In My Classroom to Prepare Students for CCSS? 40

41. 1. “Borrow” good ideas and pass them along • Google these key words: 4th grade classroom home page 1st grade classroom home page • Get connected to online resources. Google

42. 2. Understand that it is the teacher, not the technology, that makes a difference in classrooms.

43. 3. Use Starfall.com and teacher-tested apps for early reading development

44. 4. Use Read Write Think at All Levels

45. 5. Use Internet Workshop as An Instructional Model Videos

46. 6. Use ePals, or another free, student safe email package

47. 7. Teach the reading comprehension skills of locating information

48. 8. Teach critical evaluation

49. 9. Help the last become first.

50. 10. Explore the potential of Wikipedia