The Targeted Reading Intervention: Utilizing Web-Based Observational Technology to Foster Professional Development

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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

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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
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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, 2008Russell,
  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)

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Overview

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

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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

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TRI Transactional Model
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TRI Transactional Model
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TRI Transactional Model
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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

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Sample and Site by Year
Year One Year Two Year Three Year Four Year Five
Site North Carolina North Carolina Texas and New Mexico North Carolina and Nebraska North Carolina and Nebraska
Teachers 20 K 1st Grade 12 K 1st Grade 43 K 1st Grade 34 K 1st Grade 18 1st Grade
Students 186 K 1st Grade 326 K 1st Grade 364 K 1st Grade 216 K 1st Grade 147 1st Grade
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Sample and Site by Year
Year One Year Two Year Three Year Four Year Five
Site North Carolina North Carolina Texas and New Mexico North Carolina and Nebraska North Carolina and Nebraska
Teachers 20 K 1st Grade 12 K 1st Grade 43 K 1st Grade 34 K 1st Grade 18 1st Grade
Students 186 K 1st Grade 326 K 1st Grade 364 K 1st Grade 216 K 1st Grade 147 1st Grade
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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)

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Technology to Facilitate Consultation Delivery
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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

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Webcam for Team Meetings
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Webcam for TRI Sessions
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TRI Session
Re-Reading for Fluency (2 minutes)
Word Work (8 minutes)
Guided Oral Reading (5 minutes)
TRI Extensions
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TRI Primary Word Work Strategies

• Segmenting Words
• Change One Sound
• Read, Write, Say
• Pocket Phrases

Word Work (8 minutes)
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TRI Session Video
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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

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Technology to Facilitate Teacher-Student
Observations
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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

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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

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Observation Video
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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)

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Practical Considerations

• Challenges

• Benefits

• School capabilities technology support,
  bandwidth, security firewalls
• Teacher facility with technology
• Ethical considerations privacy, consent, use of
  video data

• Cost-effective and more scalable
• Less invasive
• Teacher autonomy
• Video record of observational data

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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

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Thank you!