Targeted Reading Intervention: Web-Based Observational Technology for Professional Development

1. The Targeted Reading Intervention: Utilizing Web-Based Observational Technology to Foster Professional Development Targeting instructional match in every interaction… Amy Hedrick Lynne Vernon-Feagans Marnie Ginsberg University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

2. The TRI Team • Kirsten Kainz • Peg Burchinal • Tim Wood • Jeanne Gunther • Mandy Peters • Iris Padgett • Sandra Garcia • Amanda Bock • Tom Leggett • Steve Amendum • Kelley Mayer • Jason Rose • Kate Gallagher • Pam Winton • Gina Harrison • Jennifer Baucom • Sally Meehan • Reid Adams Funded by IES as part of the National Research Center on Rural Education Support --NRCRES -- www.nrcres.org/TRI

3. Use of Technology for Professional Development and Classroom Observations • Increase in the use of technology (e.g., on-line discussion boards, email correspondence, webcam technology, on-line consultation) as a tool for providing access to professional development resources (Gentry, Denton, & Kurtz, 2008; Pianta, Mashburn, Downer, Hamre, & Justice, 2008;Russell, Kleiman, Carey, & Douglas, 2009) • Importance of classroom observations for myriad purposes, including teacher training and empirical studies of education and child development (Pianta & Hamre, 2009)

4. Overview • The TRI Framework and Research Design • Technology to Facilitate Consultation Delivery • Technology to Facilitate Teacher-Student Observations • Challenges and Benefits

5. General Framework of theTargeted Reading Intervention • Collaborative consultation for K-1 teachers’ professional learning • Serving struggling K-1 students • Intensive, diagnostic reading instruction • Daily • Given by the classroom teacher • One-on-one  small groups • Rapid reading growth

6. TRI Transactional Model

7. TRI Transactional Model

8. TRI Transactional Model

9. The Research: A Series of Randomized Control Trials in Rural School Districts • Study 1: Piloting a one semester TRI intervention kindergarten and first grade • Study 2: Two semester TRI intervention in kindergarten and first grade • Study 3: Two semester TRI intervention in Texas and New Mexico in kindergarten and first grade, using distance technology • Study 4: Four semester TRI intervention in Nebraska and North Carolina, using distance technology

10. Sample and Site by Year

11. Sample and Site by Year

12. Research Design • Schools were pair matched on free and reduced lunch, % minority, school size, and Reading First status • Schools were then randomly assigned to experimental or control conditions • Within each classroom: • 5 focal children were randomly selected from those children identified by the teacher as struggling learners (i.e., below expectations for literacy skills) • 5 non-focal children were randomly selected from those children identified by the teacher as progressing typically (i.e., meeting or exceeding expectations for literacy skills)

13. Technology to Facilitate Consultation Delivery

14. Professional Development for Experimental Teachers • Training begins with multi-day summer institute at UNC-Chapel Hill • During school year, work one-on-one every day with a struggling reader and up to 5 across the course of the year • Collaborative consultation bi-weekly with UNC literacy consultants via webcam • Focus on problem solving and diagnostic thinking to equip teachers with needed instructional tools in bi-weekly team meetings via webcam

15. Webcam for Team Meetings

16. Webcam for TRI Sessions

19. TRI Session Re-Reading for Fluency (2+ minutes) Word Work (8+ minutes) Guided Oral Reading (5+ minutes) TRI Extensions

20. TRI: Primary Word Work Strategies • Segmenting Words • Change One Sound • Read, Write, & Say • Pocket Phrases Word Work (~8+ minutes)

21. TRI Session Video

22. Utility of Technology • Allows for observation of teacher-student interaction in the TRI session • Opportunities for coach-teacher dialogue post-session • Continued discussions via email and text-chat

23. Technology to Facilitate Teacher-Student Observations

24. Observational Data • Whole Class Observations: focus on teacher context and teacher behaviors - methods of instruction, instructional focus, use of questions, reinforcement, relationship characteristics • Challenge with webcam technology • One-on-One Observations: focus on specific instructional strategies and behaviors – methods of instruction, use of questions, reinforcement, relationship characteristics • Utility of webcam technology

25. One-on-One Observations • All teachers, both experimental and control, participated in a guided oral reading session with three randomly selected focal children • Total observation time was 5 minutes, divided into 10 30-second blocks • Observations of behaviors/practices were coded on a presence/absence basis

26. Observation Video

27. Individualized Instruction Codes • Literacy Focus: describe the specific literacy skills introduced, reinforced, or emphasized by the teacher (e.g., listening to text, vocabulary, phonological awareness, comprehension) • Teacher Strategies: describe specific instructional methods employed by the teacher (e.g., modeling, coaching/scaffolding, redirection) • Behaviors: describe the affect and quality of interactions between the dyad (e.g., teacher engagement, child negative affect, shared positive affect)

29. Practical Considerations Challenges Benefits Cost-effective and more scalable Less invasive Teacher autonomy Video record of observational data • School capabilities: technology support, bandwidth, security firewalls • Teacher facility with technology • Ethical considerations: privacy, consent, use of video data

30. Summary • Technology can be used to foster teacher professional development and to carry out classroom observations for research purposes • Various considerations and improvements needed for more widespread use of such technological innovations

31. Thank you!