1 Working Definition of “High School Literacy” Working Definition of “High School Literacy” “High School Literacy includes all the elements of literacy—

1

Working Definition of “High School Literacy”Working Definition of “High School Literacy”

“High School Literacy includes all the elements of literacy—reading, writing, listening, speaking, critical thinking, use of technology, and habits of mind that foster postsecondary success—that are expected of entering freshmen across all college disciplines as well as those entering the workforce. These competencies should be learned in the content areas and should be valued and reinforced in all related instructional areas throughout students' high school experiences.”

High School Literacy

Don Deshler

LANGUAGE

SKILLS

STRATEGIES

SUBJECT MATTER

Building Blocks for Content Literacy

HIGHER ORDER

SUBJECT MATTER

STRATEGIES

SKILLS

LANGUAGE

A Continuum of Literacy Instruction (RTI -- Tiered Instruction )

HIGHER ORDER

Level 1: Enhance content instruction (mastery of critical content for all regardless of literacy levels)

Level 2: Embedded strategy instruction (routinely weave strategies within and across classes using large group instructional methods)

Level 3: Intensive strategy instruction (mastery of specific strategies using intensive-explicit instructional sequences)

Level 4: Intensive basic skill instruction (mastery of entry level literacy skills at the 4th grade level)

Level 5: Therapeutic intervention (mastery of language underpinnings of curriculum content and learning strategies)

Content Literacy “Synergy”

Improved Literacy

CONTENT CLASSES

Level 1. Enhanced Content Instruction

CONTENT CLASSES

Level 2. Embedded Strategy

InstructionLevel 3. Intensive

Strategy Instruction

• strategy classes

• strategic tutoring

Level 4. Intensive Basic Skill Instruction

KU-CRL CLC- Lenz, Ehren, &Deshler, 2005

Level 5. Therapeutic Intervention

Foundational language competencies

Proficient readers are “good at” or have…Proficient readers are “good at” or have…

• Background knowledge

• Text/knowledge structure

• Vocabulary

• Learning strategies

• Fluency

• Sight word vocabularies

• Word recognition

Level 1

Level 3, 4, 5

Level 1, 2, 3

The Performance Gap

12

11

10

9

8

7

6

5

4

3Years in School

Grade Level • Expectations

• Demands• Skills

The Performance Gap

Years in School

Infrastructure Supports

ExistingSupport


•Flexible Scheduling

•Time for Teacher Learning and Planning

•Behavioral Supports

•Smaller Learning Communities



The Performance Gap

/



System Learning Supports


Current Supports

• Progress Monitoring

• Collaborative Problem-Solving

• Instructional Coaching

• Professional Learning


Years in School

The Performance Gap

/



Instructional Core



Current Supports

Years in School

Instructional Core

• Standards-Informed Curriculum Planning

• Connected Courses & Coherent Learning

• Continuum of Literacy Instruction

• Motivation Strategies

• Engaging Instructional Materials & Activities

• Student-Informed Teaching

System change System change mustmust be closely be closely tied to the individual within the tied to the individual within the

systemsystemShared…• Vision…that allows individual contributions• Knowledge…that leads to individual learning• Leadership…that seeks the voice of individuals• Responsibility…that shapes individual

planning and action• Evaluation…that guides self assessment• Accountability…that motivates individual

action

Critical Values for System ChangeShared…

+

+

Instructional Core

Standards-Informed Curriculum

Planning

Connected Courses & Coherent Learning

Continuum of Literacy

Instruction

Motivation Strategies

Engaging Instructional Materials & Activities

Student-Informed Teaching


Progress Monitoring

Collaborative Problem Solving

Instructional Coaching

Professional Learning

ImprovedOutcomes=

=College

Readiness

and Postsecondary Success


Flexible Scheduling

Time for Teacher

Learning and Planning

Extended Learning

Time

Behavioral Supports

Smaller Learning

Communities

+

Vision Knowledg

e

Leadership

Accountabili

ty

Evaluatio

n

Responsibility

…that respects the individual in the system

+

Lessons learned by KU-CRL about improving secondary school outcomes…

1. Initiatives should be driven by high expectations that prepare students for college and post-secondary success

2. The literacy needs of adolescents vary greatly -- these differences must be accounted for in a continuum of instruction that meets the needs of all students

3. Change initiatives should be undertaken in light of individual school resources, values, and skill sets

Lessons learned by KU-CRL about improving secondary school outcomes… (continued)

4. The secondary school culture must explicitly reinforce literacy with sufficient authentic and explicit practice embedded across all subject areas

5. There is a interactive synergistic relationship based on principles of learning that cuts across a continuum of literacy instruction (i.e., CLC)

6. Critical instructional and infrastructural elements must be leveraged at the school and district level

ContactDon Deshler785.864.4780

[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

Enhancing Literacyfor

High School Improvement

James Kemple

MDRC

Prepared for

National High School Center

Summer Institute

June 2007

Overview of Key Issues:Nature of the Problem

Struggling adolescent readers face general problem with reading for understanding.

Specific challenges span weak basic skills (phonics, vocabulary, fluency, etc…) through limited repertoire of strategies aimed at reading for understanding (meta-cognition, drawing inferences, drawing meaning from context, content-specific vocabulary, etc…)

Literacy not typically seen as the domain of high schools, particularly content-area teachers.

Overview of Key Issues:Strategies for Intervention

Equipping high schools and high school teachers with literacy-focused instructional strategies will require: Making literacy a priority that complements, rather

than competes with content requirements. Building capacity for teachers to differentiate

instruction without lowering expectations. Three pronged strategy:

Teaching strategies that account for limited literacy General teaching strategies that address literacy needs Intensive support for struggling readers

Overview of Key Issues:Building Knowledge

Limited evidence about what works points to the need for knowledge building by evaluating new initiatives before going to scale.

© WestEd, Teacher Professional Development, 2007

Literacy for Adolescent English Learners: Building Capacity for Quality Programs

Aída WalquiDirector, Teacher Professional Development Program

[email protected]/qtel

National High School Center Summer InstituteWashington, S.C.

Tuesday, June 12, 2007


Issues that need to be addressed

• Language mediates all learning. For English Language Learners the development of literacy skills entails both building the tool and the product of learning at the same time.

• To teach something, teachers need to know it explicitly. Most teachers in high school are disciplinary experts, but their knowledge of the language needed to demonstrate their expertise is implicit. Disciplinary language awareness is a must for teachers.


Teachers going through QTEL professional development learn by participating in activity


This enables them to understand the disciplinary language and the pedagogy necessary to develop rich literacies in

English as a second language


We seldom see quality instruction with English Language Learners

Quality is characterized by QTEL’s principles:

• Sustain Academic Rigor in teaching English Learners

• Hold High Expectations in teaching English Learners

• Engage in Quality Interactions with English Learners

• Sustain a Language Focus in teaching English Learners

• Develop Quality Curricula in teaching English Learners


Teaching Learning Zones(adapted from Mariani, 1997; Hammond and Gibbons, 2007)

high challenge

low challenge

high supportlow support

‘APPRENTICESHIP’ ZONE (ZPD)

‘FRUSTRATION’ ZONE

‘POBRECITO’ ZONE

‘NOWHERE’ZONE


Building Capacity

• At the school level: Nested, coherent professional development that encompasses : ESL, subject matter teachers; teacher supporters (professional developers, coaches, instructional support specialists, curriculum directors); educational leaders.

• East Side Union High School District, 5 schools


Work withEducational Leadership

Figure 1: Ripples of impact on Teacher professional Development, Year 1

All teachers(6 days)

Informal teacherLeadership

(2 more days)

Formal teacherLeadership

(4 more days)


Figure 1: Ripples of impact on Teacher professional Development, Year 1 Irvine Grant

All teachers

Informal teacherleaders

Formal teacherleaders

Whole School Improvement


Capacity building in a large urban district: The New York City case

• Multiple embedded model of working with teachers, teacher support specialists, educational leadership

• Processes at each level mirror what happens at other levels

APPRENTICESHIP APPROPRIATION

PHASE 1

Building the BaseWestEd increases knowledge base of the ISSs and capacity to support teachers

KEY PARTICIPANTS

WestEdTPD Team

ELL Instruct.Support Specialist

Teachers inApprenticeship

W

ISSs

TIA

ISSsW

PARTICIPATE AS LEARNERS

A Model of Professional Development A Model of Professional Development ApprenticeshipApprenticeship


ISSs


PHASE 1 PHASE 2


Participation/ObservationISSs develops multiple levels of knowledge and skills through participation/observation and analysis of WestEd’s professional development with TIAs

KEY PARTICIPANTS

WestEdTPD Team



W

ISSs

TIA

ISSsW W

ISSs

TIA

OBSERVE AND REFLECT




ISSs

T

T

T

T

P/O

O

T = Teacher

P/O = Participant/Observer

O = Observer


PHASE 1 PHASE 2 PHASE 3



Mentoring/CoachingISSs delivers selected Teacher Professional Development tools and processes in schools with WestEd support, mentoring, and coaching

KEY PARTICIPANTS

WestEdTPD Team



W

ISSs

TIA

ISSsW W

ISSs

TIA TIAISSs

W

IMPLEMENT WITH COACHING


OBSERVE AND REFLECT



ISSs


PHASE 1 PHASE 2 PHASE 3 PHASE 4



Mentoring/CoachingISSs delivers selected Teacher Professional Development tools and processes in schools with WestEd support, mentoring, and coaching

AppropriationISSs supports TIAs in providing rigorous academic language and content knowledge to secondary English learners with WestEd consultation

KEY PARTICIPANTS

WestEdTPD Team



W

ISSs

TIA

ISSsW W

ISSs

TIA TIAISSs TIAISSs

W

W

IMPLEMENT WITH CONSULTATION


IMPLEMENT WITH COACHING

OBSERVE AND REFLECT



ISSs

Mid-Continent Comprehensive Center (MC3)

MC3’s Major GoalHelp increase state capacity to assist districts and schools to meet their student achievement goals by providing front line assistance to states enabling them to• assess improvement needs of districts &

schools• develop solutions to address those needs• build and sustain systemic support for

district and school improvement efforts• improve tools & systems for school

improvement and accountability

MC3 Indicators of SuccessRelevance

• technical assistance that meets State Education Agencies’ (SEAs’) needs related to NCLB

Utility • technical assistance that provides SEAs

the tools, information, knowledge, and skills necessary to support their work with NCLB

High Quality • research-based content and effective

delivery of technical assistance

RelevanceMC3 and its State Coordinating Councils (SCCs) collaborated in the development of a Technical Assistance (TA) Plan to “Build State Capacity”

Kansas Goal: • “Develop a Pre-K through 18+

Kansas literacy plan”

Missouri Goal :• “Develop guidelines for

district literacy plans” Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

Utility

•Need: • KSDE and DESE needed current

information about services and resources supporting adolescent literacy

•Outcome: • Kansas District and School surveys

developed with MC3 Adolescent Literacy Work Group (ALWG)

• Missouri Middle and High School surveys under development with MC3 ALWG

Utility: Workgroup Process

MC3 Adolescent Literacy Workgroup:• Built capacity within MC3 regarding

research-based best practices on issues of adolescent literacy

• Collaborated with experts at:• Content Center on Instruction• National High School Content Center• University of Kansas Center on Research

and Learning• National Association of State Boards of

Education

Utility: Survey Development

Surveys developed by MC3 ALWG: • Beta tested with MC3 ALWG & SCC• Piloted with representative sample of

districts and schools, and focus group interviews

• Rigorous revision process with MC3 ALWG, Kansas SCC, and KSDE reading team

• Distributed statewide to districts and schools with high response rate (83 district/110 school)

• Data compiled and shared with MC3 ALWG and Kansas SCC to garner feedback and recommendations on next steps

Quality

“Effective, collaborative partnership between MC3 and KSDE”

“We need the knowledge and support of others in like situations.”

• MC3 Reading Community of Practice to begin Year 3 (July 2007)

Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

Documents

1 Working Definition of “High School Literacy” Working Definition of “High School Literacy” “High School Literacy includes all the elements of literacy—