Effective Intervention for Children with Literacy Difficulties

1
Effective Intervention for Children with
Literacy Difficulties

• Dr Mary Nugent
• NEPS

2
An Overview

• What do we know about teaching literacy?
• Components of Good Practice
• Whats out there that works?
• What do I need to do?

3
West Dunbartonshire Literacy Initiative

• McKay (2007)
• Something that has never been done before
• the eradication of illiteracy from an entire
  education authority

4
West Dunbartonshire

• A 10 year project
• In the second most disadvantaged local authority
  in Scotland
• In 2007 only 3 children left secondary school who
  were not functionally literate

5
Need for Structured Interventions

• It can be argued that teaching anything in a
  systematic way will be more successful than much
  existing practice, particularly when the
  intervention targets reception chidlren, where
  teaching approaches are less formal than with
  other children
• Solity et al (2000)

6
Focus on Intervention

• We are only at the beginning point in
  systematic, controlled research on intervention
  methods for children with severe reading
  disabilities. Torgesen et al 1997

7
Swanson and Hoskyn 1998

• Meta-analysis
• Considered over 900 studies from 1972-1997
• Eventually included only 180 studies

8
Swanson and Hoskyn Findings

• Not all treatments are equally effective
• A combined model of direct instruction and
  strategy instruction is relatively more effective
  than other methods
• Small group settings and individual tuition is
  more effective than larger groups
• Structured, specialist tuition is more effective
  than eclectic approaches

9
Vaughan, Gersten Chard 2000

• Reviewed 68 studies
• Reiterated findings reported above and
• Suggest that small interactive groups and pairs
  with highly qualified teachers may be as
  effective as a one to one model
• Using a student with a disability as a cross age
  tutor is the most effective form of peer reading

10
National Reading Panel

• An initiative of the federal government of the
  USA
• A national panel to assess the status of
  research-based knowledge, including the
  effectiveness of various approaches to teaching
  children to read.
• Reported in 2000

11
Findings from the National Reading Panel

• Phonemic awareness
• Phonics instruction
• Fluency
• Comprehension
• Teacher Education
• Computer Instruction

12
Phonemic Awareness (PA)(sounds in spoken
language)

• Teaching children to manipulate phonemes in words
  was highly effective
• The effects of PA instruction on reading lasted
  well beyond the end of training
• Most effective PA included explicit systematic
  teaching

13
Phonics Instruction(how written letters relate
to sounds)

• Systematic synthetic phonics instruction works
  better than other approaches for children from
  low social economic groups and those with
  specific reading disability
• Explicit, systematic phonics instruction is a
  valuable essential part of a successful
  classroom reading programme
• Phonics teaching is a means to an end
• It is only part of a total reading programme

14
Fluency (speed and accuracy)

• Guided Reading Aloud
• Repeated oral reading, that included guidance
  from others had a significant positive impact
  on word recognition, fluency and comprehension
• Independent Silent Reading
• Not sufficient research evidence that such
  efforts reliably increase how much students read
  or improve their reading skills

15
Comprehension

• Vocabulary Instruction
• Does lead to gains in comprehension, but must be
  appropriate to age and ability of the reader
• Teaching Comprehension Strategies
• (Summarising, generating/ answering questions/
  mind maps)
• Specific programmes to generate definite benefits

16
Teacher Education

• In-service professional development produced
  significantly higher student achievement

17
Computer Instruction

• All studies reported positive results
• Use of word processors may be very useful, given
  that reading instruction is most effective when
  combined with writing instruction

18
West Dunbartonshire-10 Strands of Intervention

• Phonological awareness and the alphabet
• A strong and structured phonics emphasis
• Extra classroom help in the early years
• Fostering a literacy environment
• Raising teacher awareness thru focussed
  assessment
• Increased time spent on reading
• Identification and support of children failing
• Lessons from research in interactive learning
• Home support for encouraging literacy
• Changing attitudes, values and expectations

19
What works best?

• Systematic, structured teaching of phonics
  (National Reading Panel 2000)
• Synthetic (or small unit) approaches to phonics
  are preferable to analytic (or large unit)
  approaches (Macmillan 1997, McGuinness 1997)
• Frequency of teaching with distributed rather
  than massed practice (Solity 2002)
• A declaration of the intention to achieve (McKay
  2007)

20
What works best cont.

• A multi-element approach
• exposure to high quality books
• emphasis on language development
• importance of fluency and comprehension
• developing a sight vocabulary
• including spelling and writing skills
• shared reading experiences

21
What about spelling?

• Even the best, most effective literacy
  interventions have a modest impact of spelling
• Children with dyslexia tend to make most progress
  in the area of reading comprehension, some
  progress in word reading and relatively poor
  progress in spelling

22
3 components of Evidence Based Practice

• The aim of evidence based practice is to help
  professionals to base their practice on best
  current evidence Fox 2003
• Research should provide the evidence on which
  professional practice is based
• Professionals will change and adapt their
  practice on best available research evidence
• By keeping accurate outcome measures, services
  can monitor the effects of their interventions

23
Interventions

• We are only focusing on literacy interventions
  for children with literacy difficulties, not
  preventative approaches
• The interventions can be used with children of
  low ability and/ or with children with dyslexia
  and/ or children where the origin of the reading
  difficulty is unknown

24
Key Text

• What Works for Children with Literacy
  Difficulties-
• The Effectiveness of Intervention Schemes
• By Greg Brooks National Foundation for
  Educational Research (Nfer) (2007)
• Published by the Department for Children, Schools
  and Families. Ref 00688-2007 BKT-EN

25
Quality of Research

• Importance of
• Pre and post intervention data
• Use of control groups
• Longitudinal studies
• Use of standardised tests
• Tests of reading (not just component elements,
  such as blending)

26
How much progress should we expect?

• Shiel,Morgan Larney (1998) found that Irish
  children receiving remedial teaching made gains
  of 3.41 standard score points
• However, some made little or no progress, and
  children attending schools designated as
  disadvantaged did not improve, but maintained
  their relative position in achievement.

27
Brooks (2007)

• Good Impact- sufficient to at least double the
  standard rate of progress- can be achieved and it
  is reasonable to expect it

28
Ratio Gains

• The gain in reading during a chronological time
  span, expressed as a ratio of that time span
• A ratio gain of 1.0 is exactly standard progress
• A ratio gain of 1.4 is impact of educational
  significance
• A ratio gain of less that 1.4 is impact of
  doubtful educational significance

29
Effect Sizes

• The average gain of the experimental group, minus
  the average gain of the control group, expressed
  as standard deviation.
• All standardised tests have an implied control
  group, so the effect size is the gains of the
  group, divided by 15
• An effect size of 0.25 or above is impact of
  educational significance
• An effect size of less than 0.25 is impact of
  doubtful significance

30
Key Points (Brooks 2007)

• Ordinary teaching is not enough
• Working on Childrens self-esteem and reading in
  parallel has definite potential
• ICT approaches only work if precisely targeted
• Large scale schemes (expensive and requiring
  teacher training) can give good value for money
  (Phono-graphix, Reading recovery)

31
Key points cont.

• Where reading partners are available and can be
  trained and supported, partnership approaches can
  be very effective
• Success with some children with the most severe
  difficulties is elusive, therefore the need for
  skilled, intensive 11 intervention
• Interventions for longer than 1 term do not
  necessarily produce proportionally greater
  benefits.

32
Interventions

• Jolly Phonics
• Toe by Toe
• Paired Reading
• Phono-Graphix
• Acceleread/ Accelewrite
• Precision Teaching (SNIP)
• Reading Recovery

33
Jolly Phonics- Consists of

• Photocopiable Master Handbook
• Readers
• Videos
• Grammar Book
• Involves quite a lot of initial organisation and
  photocopying
• Is relatively cost effective

34
Jolly Phonics-Suitable for

• A whole class approach to teaching phonics in the
  early years
• An alternative to Letterland
• Suitable for use with children accessing learning
  support/ resource
• Best suited to younger children, (up to 2nd
  class)

35
Jolly Phonics- A Multi-sensory Method

• A story
• A picture
• An action
• A sound
• Tracing of letter
• Intensive blending and segmentation

36
Jolly Phonics

• Involves very rapid learning of letters
• Includes homework component
• It as synthetic phonics approach
• Minimises sound learning, with an emphasis on
  blending

37
Jolly Phonics- Research

• Tends to rely on research about synthetic
  phonics, rather than research explicitly about
  Jolly Phonics
• After 16 week programme children were
• 7 months ahead of CA in reading
• 8 months ahead of CA in spelling
• After a year of Jolly Phonics
• 11 months ahead of CA in reading
• 1 month ahead of CA in spelling
• (Johnston and Watson 1999)

38
Toe by Toe, suitable for

• An individualised approach
• Suitable for children from the age of 6, but more
  appealing to older primary/ secondary students
• Has been used effectively in the prison service
• Use of one workbook, provides both teacher
  direction and student programme
• Each book costs approx. 40

39
Toe by Toe

• Highly structured phonics programme
• Involves teaching skills to a level of fluency
• Use on non-words puts focus on underlying skills
  of decoding
• Considerable emphasis on recording progress

40
Claims Made (Toe by Toe)

• Any student who successfully completes the Toe
  by Toe scheme will have dramatically improved
  reading age. Their spelling will also have
  improved and most importantly- their
  self-esteem will have been transformedIt is not
  an exaggeration to say that this book changes
  lives..

41
Toe by Toe- Research Evidence

• Pre- and post data over one year
• 24 secondary aged pupils
• Matched pairs
• Experimental group- Toe by Toe
• Control Group- normal learning support
• Toe by Toe group were taught individually for 20
  minutes per day, five days per week, for average
  of 3 months

42
Toe by Toe research findings cont.

• The results were definitive. The experimental
  group made average gains of three and a half
  years. The control group made average gains of
  five months
• MacKay Cowling
• Literacy Today, March (2004)

43
Paired Reading

• Largely based on the work of Keith Topping,
  Centre for Paired Learning, University of Dundee
• PAL-Peer Assisted Learning
• It is clear that PAL is not a diluted and
  inferior substitute for direct professional
  teaching- it has quite different strengths and
  weaknesses and to deploy it to maximum effect
  teachers need to be aware of these. Topping
  (2001)

44
Paired reading /Duolog reading

• A specific and structured technique
• Selecting a book
• Reading aloud together
• The tutee gives prompt when ready to read alone
• Tutor supplies difficult words directly (no
  sounding out/ guessing)
• The tutor praises the tutee

45
Paired Reading

• A range of formalised approaches
• Considered cost-effective
• Needs on-going organisation including
• Training of tutors
• Monitoring of progress
• Maintenance
• (some form of reward system?)

46
Paired reading-research findings

• Brooks (2007) reports studies involving 2,372
  children in 155 projects in 71 schools
• Ratio Gains of 3.3 in reading and
• 4.3 in comprehension
• (effect sizes of .87 for reading and .77 for
  comprehension)
• Social gains also widely reported

47
Paired reading/ Duolog Reading

• The general picture in published studies is that
  Paired readers progress at about 4.2 times
  normal rates in reading accuracy during the
  initial period of commitment. Follow-up studies
  indicate that gains are sustained and do not
  wash out over time.
• Topping 2004

48
Peer Reading in Ireland

• The Reading Partners Programme in a special
  school (See Nugent 2001, British Journal of
  Special Education)
• Helpers made 17.4 months progress (control
  group made 7.16 months progress)
• Learners made 6.55 months progress
• (compared to typical gains of 3 months progress)

49
Paired Reading

• Cross-aged tutoring seems particularly effective
• Practical applications
• Transition students reading with first year
  partners
• Traveller child, reading with younger (settled)
  child
• Older sibling reading with younger sibling

50
Phono-Graphix, suitable for

• Also known as Reading Reflex
• Can be used throughout the age range
• Intended for use in one to one or small group
  tuition
• Uses a teacher/ parent manual, 40 approx.
• Highly structured and directed delivery

51
Phono-Graphix, content

• A synthetic phonics approach
• The premise is that letters are pictures of
  sounds
• Teaches the basic code
• Lots of sound bingo, auditory processing,
  spelling practice, word lists and some short
  readings.

52
Phono-Graphix-Research

• 87 children, aged 6-16 years
• 12 hours of Phono-Graphix therapy (or less)
• Standard score gains of 14 points on Woodcock
  Word Identification
• These gains were phenomenal, representing gains
  that equalled and surpassed other methods that
  took seven to fourteen times longer to achieve.
• Phono-Graphix Website

53
Phono-Graphix -Research

• The impact measures were substantial, including
  the largest ratio gain for reading of all the
  studies reviewed in this report (Brooks 2002)
• 230 children in 13 schools, after 20 week
  intervention
• Ratio Gains of 7.0 in word reading and 6.3 in
  comprehension and 3.3 in spelling (ratio gains
  for younger children, ages 5-6 years, were more
  modest, at 2.2 for reading)
• Appears to work well even with severely dyslexic
  children, ratio gains of 4.5 reported in a
  special school

54
Acceleread/ Accelewrite

• An individual approach
• Requires 11 teaching, 20 minutes per day for 4
  weeks
• Uses computer and voice feedback
• Suitable for ages 7-18 (but best progress is made
  with those of 10 years plus)

55
Acc/Acc Research

• In the age group 10-14, average gains of 37
  months reading progress have been reported after
  6 months of intervention (see dyslexic.com)
• In a study of 30 children, using the programme
  for 4 weeks, the average gains were of 16
  standard score points in reading and 10 in
  spelling, representing ratio gains of 16.0 in
  reading and 9.8 in spelling (Martin Miles/ Devon
  Study)

56
Acc/ Acc research cont

• Brooks (2007) reported on the Jersey Project,
  involving 61 students in 15 primary schools and 4
  secondary schools
• After 4 week intervention students made ratio
  gains of 8.3 in reading and 4.0 in spelling with
  further increases reported over time.
• The Bristol Study (Sue Derrington) involved 60
  children in 13 primary schools.
• After 8 weeks of intervention students made
  ration gains of 2.3 in reading accuracy, 2.9 in
  comprehension and 2.0 in spelling.

57
Acc/ Acc research cont.

• Research by Theresa Tierney of NEPS (2004) found
  that, after an average of just 14 sessions,
  students made an average of 10 months progress
  with reading
• Research by Pat Devanney (2007) showed that class
  teachers could deliver the programme and after 4
  weeks, the 7 participants had made 5 standard
  score points progress (about 9 months progress)
  while the control group (who received learning
  support) made no progress

58
Precision Teaching

• Precision teaching is based on rigorous research
  in the area of instructional psychology
• Precision teaching emphasises the importance of
  fluency
• Precision teaching techniques can be used to
  teach sight words, phonics (or other skills)
• Puts the focus of learning failure on
  instructional methods and not on students
• Outcomes suggest at least twice the normal rate
  of progress

59
Precision teaching cont.

• Sets time-based mastery criteria for each
  curriculum step
• Provides daily opportunities for practice and
  timed measurement
• Charts the student performance (and involves the
  student in this monitoring)
• Advances to the next step when criteria are met
• Changes procedures if chart shows inadequate
  progress

60
Direct Instruction

• Very familiar to those using SRA reading lab
• Detailed scripting of teacher behaviour
• Uses the most effective methods of teaching to
  help children catch-up
• Teaching of the general case (the smallest
  possible number of examples to produce the
  largest possible amount of learning)

61
SNIP

• This is a precision teaching package
• It can be downloaded free!
• Precision teaching is based on very rigorous
  research in the area of instructional psychology
• This approach is best suited to students whose
  literacy difficulties are more mild (learning
  support rather than resource)

62
SNIP

• Contains lists of word to be learnt as sight
  vocabulary
• Appropriate for top end primary and early
  secondary school
• Includes essential curriculum words
• Plus irregular words that often confuse students

63
SNIP cont.

• Emphasises fluency
• Daily practice of 5 minutes
• The reading aloud of word lists is timed
• Using this pack we have achieved measurable
  gains of three years in an academic year with
  some of our pupils
• Carol and Phil Smart

64
Precision teaching cont.

• The same precision teaching techniques can be
  used to teach sight words
• Free prompt sheets can be made up using the
  website johnandgwyn.co.uk
• Probe sheets can have anything from 4 to 24 words
  on them

65
Reading Recovery

• The Marie Clay method
• Developed in New Zealand in 1970
• Now widely available in schools in US, UK, Canada
  and Australia
• 85 schools in Ireland use the method, under
  initiatives to tackle disadvantage

66
Reading Recovery

• Short-term intervention, for those falling behind
  after one year of instruction (best with senior
  infants and first class)
• Half-hour lesson each day for 12-20 weeks (or
  until they reach class level)
• Teachers are specially trained

67
Reading Recovery

• Begins with comprehensive diagnostic assessment
• Data is collected about letter identification,
  sight vocabulary, concepts of print, phonemic
  awareness and reading and writing skills
• The first two weeks then focuses on what the
  child can do, building their confidence and
  establishing rapport with the teacher

68
Reading recovery cont.

• Highly structured sessions
• Reading familiar stories
• Rereading a story read the day before
• Working with letters/ words using magnetic
  letters
• Writing a story
• Assembling a cut-up story
• Preparing and reading a new story

69
Research Findings

• Most researched initiative in the UK,
• London and Surrey, 89 children in 22 schools,
  average 21 weeks of intervention, Ratio gains of
  2.0 (effect size of .70) See Hurry and Sylva
  (1998, 2007)
• Bristol, 145 children in 21 schools, after 20
  weeks, ratio gains of 2.9 in reading (Fudge 2001)

70
Reading recovery in Ireland

• Connolly (2003) reports on the initiative over
  three years (2000-2003)
• In the first year 51 out of 76 children (aged
  5.9-6.6) were successfully returned to the
  average band in their class after 20 weeks
• In the second year 95 out of 131 were
  successfully returned after 20 weeks
• In both cases further children were returned
  after more intervention

71

• Large-scale evaluation in Northern Ireland (Munn
  and Ellis 2001)
• Consistent finding of effectiveness, but may not
  have enough phonemic/ phonological elements to
  effectively target children with severe dyslexia

72
What about PAT?

• Daily 10 minute intensive phonics work
• Identifying sounds
• Blending phonemes together
• Segmenting or isolating sounds in words
• Worksheet based, with specific rimes, reading
  lists and sentences for dictation

73
PAT, research findings

• The results were not clear cut. The children in
  the experimental group did make significantly
  more progress than those in the control group
  but the children in the experimental group made
  scarcely any more progress than would have been
  expected from ordinary classroom teaching and
  development Brooks 2002

74
PAT

• 24 children in 3 schools
• 20 week intervention
• Ratio Gains of 0.16 for experimental group

75
A word of caution

• Research cited here indicates that some
  interventions work for some children in some
  settings and we need to be cautious about
  interpreting findings. Some interventions were
  not shown to be highly effective, but may need
  further analysis.

76
Next Big Thing?

• ARROW, Dr Colin Lane
• Read Write Inc, Ruth Miskin

77
Waterford Reading ProjectsPrimary
2006-7Secondary 2007-8
78
Overview of Action Research

• Primary- Involved 48 children in 12 schools
• Secondary- Involved 55 children in 10 schools
• Lasted 4 months
• Explored the effectiveness of reading
  interventions
• Implementation of named programmes
• Pre and post intervention reading data
• Logs and review data from teachers

79
Intervention Programmes

• Primary
• Acceleread/ Accelewrite
• Barton-Gillingham
• Sound Linkage
• Paired Reading
• Precision Teaching (sight vocabulary)
• Toe by Toe

• Secondary
• Acceleread/ Accelewrite
• Paired Reading
• Precision Teaching (SNIP)
• Toe by Toe

80
Table 1 , Primary ResearchInterventions,
Participants, and Teaching Inputs
81
Overall result word reading
82
Overall result sentence reading
83
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Secondary Reading Gains
86
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89
Other progress

• Teachers felt that the children had made progress
  which the tests given did not readily capture.
• Confidence greatly improved. LS teacher for
  maths reports Child A is able to read more
  problems
• Her mother said that she felt the AA programme
  had improved her reading as well as her
  confidence
• Significant difference made in Child Bs
  automatic sight vocabulary (from 40 known to
  93)

90
A Framework for School Wide Intervention

• Although there are no short-cuts to accelerating
  the literacy of older struggling readers, it is
  possible to close the literacy gap by providing a
  coherent and co-ordinated school-wide literacy
  acceleration programme that systematically
  increases the amount of time, teaching and
  practice available to all struggling readers
• Feldman (2004)

91
Feldmans Framework(2004)

• Assess all struggling readers
• Match length / intensity of intervention to
  severity of need
• Select a research-based, validated curriculum as
  the programme anchor
• Assign knowledgeable and enthusiastic teachers
• Support teachers with curriculum specific
  professional development
• Monitor the progress of students

92
Assessing Literacy

• Word reading
• Reading comprehension
• Spelling
• Pseudoword reading and spelling
• Samples of written work
• Dictation
• Information from teachers (esp re oral skills)
• Assessment of general ability

93
And then what?

• Rethink your timetable
• Emphasis on short-term intensive intervention
• Individual or very small groups
• Evidence based interventions
• Collect your own pre and post intervention data
• Monitor and review

94
Then what?

• Come back and tell us all about it..

95
Support Pack for Schools

• List of resources for assessing literacy
• List of evidence based interventions, with
  contact details and costs, including information
  on free downloads
• Rough Guide to Precision Teaching, with SNIP
  references and supporting checklists
• Rough Guide to Reading Partners, with supporting
  templates

96
Thanks

• With thanks to children, parents, teachers and
  psychology colleagues who have informed this
  presentation in so many ways.