A Year of MULTILIT in Coen

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A Year of MULTILIT in Coen
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

• Kevin Wheldall and Robyn Beaman
• MULTILIT Research Unit
• Macquarie University Special Education Centre

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How not to teach reading
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But it was George Bush who

• Introduced the No Child Left Behind legislation
  in 2002
• Coined the phrase the soft bigotry of low
  expectation

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The NSW Aboriginal Education Review, 2005

• 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?

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An alternative non-categorical approach

• We do not need literacy programs specifically for
  aboriginal students.
• We need literacy programs of proven efficacy.
• MULTILIT is such a program.

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What is MULTILIT?

• Research
• Service provision/consultancy
• Product/program development

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MULTILIT Research

• Effective instruction in reading
• Evaluations of program efficacy
• Assessment/monitoring of reading

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MULTILIT Service Provision/Consultancy

• MULTILIT programs at MUSEC
• MULTILIT Centre (clinic)
• MULTILIT Outreach programs (eg Schoolwise, Coen)

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MULTILIT Product/Program Development

• MULTILIT (individual) Reading Tutor Program
• MULTILIT Group Instruction Program
• MINILIT
• WARP, MULTILIT Book Levels and the Pre-WARP

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MULTILIT Predicates

• A non-categorical approach to reading problems
• A Positive Teaching framework for effective
  classroom management
• A contemporary balanced or integrated
  perspective on reading

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MULTILIT is non-categorical

• Knowledge of categories does not help us to teach
  better
• Diagnosis can be limiting and dangerous
• A real child-centred alternative

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MULTILIT is based on Positive Teaching

• High rates of praise
• High on-task behaviour
• High self-esteem

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MULTILIT is balanced or integrated

• 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

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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

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The role of effective instruction

• 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.

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The Five Pillars of Effective Reading 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.

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The MULTILIT Reading Tutor Program

• MULTILIT Word Attack Skills
• MULTILIT Sight Words
• MULTILIT Reinforced Reading

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MULTILIT Program at MUSEC, 1996-98

• 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

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MULTILIT Program Gains 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

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Schoolwise Program 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

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Schoolwise Program Gains 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

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Schoolwise Program 2002-2003

• 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

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Mean Gains in Schoolwise 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

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Primary School Study

• 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

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Primary School Study Gains

• 20 months in reading accuracy
• 20 months in reading comprehension
• 19 months in single word recognition
• 44 more words read correctly per minute

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Schoolwise Program Intake 2 2004

• 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.

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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 Spellin
g 13.9 13.3 Reading fluency (wcpm)
30.2 34.6
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Boys Getting it Right

• 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)

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Is this rocket science?
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MULTILIT in Coen State School

• 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

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Other MULTILIT activities in Coen

• 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.

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Tests/measures employed

• 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

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MULTILIT in Coen State School

• 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

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First Intake into Coen MULTILIT Tutorial Centre

• 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)

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Coen First Intake Gains

• 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

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Effect Sizes for 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

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MULTILIT First Intake in Coen
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Second Intake into Coen MULTILIT Tutorial Centre

• 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)

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Coen Second Intake Gains

• 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

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Effect Sizes for 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

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MULTILIT Second Intake in Coen
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Coen State School 2005-06

• 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

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Coen State School Gains - Closing the gap

• 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

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Effect Sizes for Coen School Gains

• Reading accuracy 1.46
• Reading comprehension 1.41
• Single word recognition 1.11
• Phonic decoding 1.04
• Spelling 1.26
• Reading fluency 1.30

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Other benefits

• 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.

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What do the kids think?
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Issues Arising from this Pilot Study

• 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

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Where do we go from here?

• Continue to work with Cape York Partnerships in a
  new symbiotic model
• Implement MULTILIT school-wide in 2007
• An enhanced focus on language comprehension
• New case management model to increase attendance

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Towards a Simple Model of Effective Education
forIndigenous Students

• Educational outcomes
• family commitment X effective education
• Cape York Partnerships (CYP)
• Family commitment to increase attendance and
  school readiness via the new CYP case
  management model
• MULTILIT
• Effective education via Positive Teaching and
  MULTILIT data based instruction

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Acknowledgements

• We would like to thank the dedicated MULTILIT
  Instructors - Megan Cooper, Sarah Biffin, Helen
  Ward and Owen Bridgman - without whose commitment
  and skill this project would not have been
  possible.
• Thanks also to our Macquarie colleagues Dr Alison
  Madelaine, Simmone Pogorzelski, Dr Kerry Hodge,
  Louise Byatt, Liz Langstaff, Kate Parlevliet,
  Adam Johns, Christina Brock, and Lisa Limbrick,
  and to Rebecca Murray and Iain Rothwell of Access
  Macquarie Limited.