Literacy Needs of Adolescents in the Baltimore Metropolitan Area: A Multiple-Case Study Intended to Inform the Community

1
Literacy Needs of Adolescents in the Baltimore
Metropolitan Area A Multiple-Case Study Intended
to Inform the Community

• Dr. Sharon Pitcher
• Dr. Gilda Martinez
• Dr. Elizabeth Dicembre
• With input from
• Dr. Montana McCormick Dr. Darlene Fewster

2
Rationale

• Approximately eight million students in fourth
  through twelfth grade are reading below grade
  level in the United States.
• The National Endowment for the Arts (2007)
  reports that little more than a third of high
  school seniors now read proficiently.
• In Maryland, the State Department of Education
  reports that one-third of their students are
  reading below grade level.
• Fifty percent of those students are from
  Baltimore City, which neighbors our university.

3
Rationale

• The recent national report, Crisis in the Cities,
  demonstrates the seriousness of adolescent
  literacy problems in our metropolitan area
• Forty-seven percent less students graduate from
  high school in Baltimore City than in the
  surrounding metropolitan area.
• This discrepancy is the highest in the nation.

4
Research Questions

1. What types of reading instruction are adolescent
   students receiving?
2. What motivates adolescent students to read?
3. Does the reading instruction match their needs?

5
Significance of the Study

• Adolescents in Maryland schools today will be the
  college students and work force of the future.
  We are beginning to see
• The top 10 of students coming from Baltimore
  City Public Schools struggling in freshmen
  courses.
• An increased amount of freshmen needing
  developmental reading and struggling with writing
  courses in our university and other colleges in
  the state, although they have high GPAs in their
  high schools.

6
Significance of the Study to the Baltimore
Metropolitan Area

• An important mission of Towson University is to
• respond to our states socioeconomic and
  cultural needs and aspirations
• analyze academic trends and disseminate the
  results to build bridges between Towson
  University and educational stakeholders in the
  Baltimore Metropolitan area.
• Towson 2010 and the Universitys Mission
  Statement (Available on Towson Universitys
  website, www.towson.edu).

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Objective
This study supports Towson Universitys mission
by developing snapshots to begin a Metropolitan
dialogue on the literacy needs of adolescents.
8
Participants

• Seven adolescent students attending the Towson
  University Reading Clinic in the Spring 2008
  session, who were from a variety of school
  systems in the Baltimore Metropolitan Area,
  participated in this qualitative multiple-case
  study.

9
Researchers

• For this study, we assembled an investigative
  team with research experience in
• Adolescent Literacy
• English Language Learners
• Special Education
• Secondary Education
• Parent Involvement
• Curriculum Development
• to look at the data from different perspectives.

10
Data Collected

• Students were
• tested in reading using several assessments
• interviewed
• Their parents were
• interviewed, using questions that paralleled the
  student interview, to gain a richer description
  of the students reading abilities, motivation,
  and instruction being provided.

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Reading Assessments

• The following individually administered
  assessments were used
• Qualitative Reading Inventory IV
• (assesses word identification in and out of
  context, comprehension, and listening capacity.)
• Lexia Comprehensive Reading Test
• (computer assessment assessing same
  understandings as the QRI)
• Metacognitive Assessment
• (assesses how students think about reading)
• Adolescent Motivation to Read Survey
• (assesses value, instructional approaches and
  self concept of reading)

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Student and Parent Interviews

• Questions for both the students and the parents
  were similar. The following are some examples
  from the student interview
• What kind of difficulties are you having when you
  read?
•  
• Are you taking a reading class in school right
  now?
•  
• In what class do you have the most problems
  reading the assignments?
• In what classes do you like reading the most?
• Do you spend much time on the computer?
• Is reading ever a problem on the computer?
•  

13
Data Analysis

• The assessments, surveys and interviews were
  coded to study similarities and differences noted
  among these students and their parents, and
  compared to reveal like themes that emerged from
  the individual cases (Flick, 2002).
• Key words included motivation, comprehension,
  instruction, understanding
• Parent and student interviews were also reviewed
  to see how they defined reading.

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Case Studies

• Among the students
• Three girls
• Four boys
• Two students from Baltimore City
• Three students from Suburban County school
  systems
• One student from a parochial school
• One student being home schooled

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Case 1 Tamikas Background

• 6th grade attends public school
• English Language Learner, originally from South
  Africa
• She does not receive extra help in reading, other
  than having been placed in a reading intervention
  class using Language!
• Most common method of instruction she encounters
  in content area classes read and answer
  questions

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Case 1 Tamikas Perspective

• Enjoys math class best because there is not much
  reading involved
• Spends around 5 hours a day on the computer for
  enjoyment, reading and writing emails, updating
  her website, and playing games (and has no
  problems reading on the computer)
• When asked,
• What kind of difficulties are you having when
• you read?
• Tamika responded,
• Understanding what the topic is about.
• She knew where she needed help.

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Case 1 Tamikas Parents Perspective

• Explained that Tamikas greatest difficulty in
  reading is comprehension
• The difficulties my daughter is having
• is the comprehension part. She can read, she
• can spell, but the comprehension
• part for some reason is hard for her.
• Tamika was not receiving comprehension
• instruction in school.

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Case 1 Tamikas Parents Perspective continued

• Stated the teachers did not invite them to a
  parent conference because she was doing okay
• Explained that Tamika is not challenged in her
  reading intervention Language! class, but was
  placed in it as a result of a test (they were
  notified via mail of this placement)

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Case 1 What we found out about Tamika in clinic

• Strengths sight word identification, word
  recognition, before and after reading strategies,
  is aware of her needs
• Needs vocabulary instruction, during reading
  strategies
• Reading comprehension is on a 2nd grade level
  word recognition is on grade level
• Writing uses capital letters appropriately,
  complete sentences, correct spelling, but does
  not elaborate on a given topic
• Brought student to the Reading Clinic because she
  was not motivated to read and according to her
  mother now enjoys reading as a result

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Case 2 Karls Background

• 7th grade attends home school
• Student diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder
• When he was in public school, he had an I.E.P.
• Enjoys reading on his porch
• Keeps up with current events using Google

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Case 2 Karls Perspective

• Spends about 3 hours a day on the computer
  emailing friends, using myspace, reading the news
  (has no problems reading on the computer)
• When Karl was asked,
• Is reading ever a problem on the computer?
• His response was simply,
• Uh, no.

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Case 2 Karls Parents Perspective

• He is home-schooled to ensure instruction matches
  his needs
• His mother uses the Beckham curriculum (which
  consists of reading and answering questions) and
  supplements it with reading and researching
  online
• Stated self-selected readings and journaling are
  helpful in reading class
• Believe Karl needs to improve his writing skills

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Case 2 What we found out about Karl in clinic

• Strengths motivation to read self-selected
  texts
• Needs decoding, vocabulary, comprehension, and
  fluency instruction
• Word recognition and reading comprehension are on
  a 2nd grade level
• Writing needs instruction in grammar,
  punctuation, and how to expand ideas
• Does not use before, during, or after reading
  strategies
• Attended the Reading Clinic to improve overall
  reading skills. He improved in making
  connections while reading, thinking aloud, and
  visualization.

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Case 3 Kathys Background
Case 3 Kristen

• Is an eighth grade student in a public school in
  a suburban school system bordering Baltimore.
• Was diagnosed with Autism at a young age.
• Has an IEP and is receiving small group reading
  instruction.
• Does not receive reading support in Social
  Studies or Science.
• Enjoys playing the piano and basketball,
  horseback riding and acting in a theater group.
• Wants to be a librarian when she grows up.

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Case 3 Kathys Perspective
Kathys Perspective

• Really liked reading in elementary school because
  she could read books she liked but middle school
  is very different.
• Enjoys making bookmarks as presents using the
  Internet to find pictures and designs.
• Uses the Internet to search topics she is
  interested in and to shop.
• Uses the computer to write letters to pen pals.
• Seems to understand more of what she reads on the
  computer.
• Has the most problems reading in Science.
• Likes going to the library the most in school
  because she can choose books she likes.

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Case 3 Kathys Parents Perspective

• Researched autism, sought professional help, and
  have a strong understanding of her strengths and
  needs.
• Believe Kathy needs a very visual /kinesthetic
  learning approach.
• Realized that Kathys vocabulary is limited but
  she needs to make connections with the words in
  context rather than just reading a definition on
  paper (Kathys mom shared).
• Are frustrated that the school refuses to let
  Kristen use the computer in school because they
  feel it would be distracting to her.

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Case 3 Kathys Parents Perspective continued

• Tried to share with the school how well she
  learns on the computer but the school ignores
  them.
• The father shared Heres the window to this
  child and no one can take advantage of it. At
  three years old, we sat her down in front of the
  computer and now she writes her own stories.

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Case 3 Kathys Parents Perspective continued

• Her father
• Serves on an advocacy group for parents of
  children in Special Education.
• Discovered that the reading program her school
  uses is not research-based, focuses on word
  identification with a weak comprehension
  component, is predominantly auditory based, and
  has no computer component. When he shared this
  with teachers, he got the deer in the head
  lights stare.
• Shared that they want to partner with Kathys
  school but constantly receive resistance from the
  schools faculty. He remarked that they cant
  answer the hard questions.

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Case 3 What We Learned About Kathy in Clinic

• Her word recognition level is on Grade 6 but her
  instructional comprehension level is on Grade 1.
• Her writing demonstrated understanding of
  complete sentences, correct punctuation,
  capitalization and grammar.
• When her metacognitive understanding of reading
  strategies were assessed, she could not verbalize
  any strategies.

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Case 3 What We Learned About Kathy in Clinic
continued

• Her Reading Clinic teacher reported
• Kathy responded very positively in Clinic when
  strategies were taught using pictures, writing
  and story maps.
• Teaching her explicitly to make connections when
  reading with visual organizers was very
  successful.
• Expanding her vocabulary was an important part in
  improving her comprehension.

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Case 4 Leons Background

• 7th grade student in a K-8 School
• Lives in Baltimore City
• Has never been retained or received extra
  academic help in school and has been placed in
  gifted/talented classes
• Does attend a voluntary coaching class after
  school
• He likes to play football and basketball
• His mother is a Baltimore City school teacher
• His father once played for a professional
  football team and Leon would like to do the same

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Case 4 Leons Perspective

• Likes to read when he has a choice of what he
  reads
• Likes to play games on the computer but has had
  some problems reading directions
• Does not like to read aloud because he had
  trouble stuttering when he was younger, but this
  is often done in his classes

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Case 4 Leons Perspective Continued

• Has the most problem reading in science class
• Understood that he has a comprehension problem.
  He shared that Before I started the Towson
  Clinic, I really didnt understand what I read.
  Yes, I feel like I can understand a lot more than
  I did before. Yes.

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Case 4 Leons Parents Perspective

• His mother
• Felt her son had a problem with comprehension but
  he always scored Advanced on the Maryland State
  Assessment
• Was concerned that the school does not do a lot
  of in-depth studies and research and that her
  son is not learning higher order thinking
  skills
• Is concerned that her son is in overcrowded
  classes with new teachers who come and go

35
Case 4 Leons Parents Perspective continued

• Knows that her son needs a more hands-on approach
  like he is getting in Clinic where he is using
  visual organizers and able to synthesize and
  evaluate all levels of thinking
• His school does not provide tips on how parents
  can help their children and has not explained
  what type of curriculum they are using

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Case 4 Leons Parents Perspective continued

• Shared that she wanted her son to go to a
  well-known private school in the city next year,
  but they wanted him to repeat 7th grade, which
  surprised her
• Her son was very excited about coming to the
  Clinic he does his work for Clinic without being
  reminded and is finally starting to put things
  together

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Case 4 What We Learned About Leon in Clinic

• Reading comprehension level was three grades
  below his grade level on two different
  assessments
• The only strategies he was able to verbalize were
  sounding out and predicting
• Although his word identification was higher than
  comprehension, it was still two grade levels
  below his grade level

38
Case 4 What We Learned About Leon in Clinic
continued

• He read higher orally than silently but is very
  self-conscious reading aloud because of his early
  stuttering
• His self-concept as a reader was higher than his
  value of reading when he started Clinic

39
Case 4 What We Learned About Leon in Clinic
continued

• Responded best in Clinic when his interests were
  considered in selecting reading materials
• Did well when comprehension strategy instruction
  included hands-on activities such as visual
  organizers and writing notes while reading
• Over the course of ten weeks of instruction of
  one hour per week he improved his reading
  approximately three grade levels

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Case 5 Sams Background

• Enrolled in grade 6 in a public school in
  Baltimore City
• No chronic illnesses, vision or hearing problems
• Loves sports, especially basketball
• Father describes him as a gifted athlete
• Makes good grades in school
• Received support from a one-on-one reading
  specialist two days a week in grade 5

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Case 5 Sams Perspective

• Does not read for pleasure
• States that sometimes he does not understand what
  he reads
• Believed reading was easier when he was 6 years
  old and he had pictures to help him
• Described his reading class as consisting of a
  drill, talking about something, reading a book,
  and finally doing tests on the book

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Case 5 Sams Perspective continued

• Indicated that the reading strategies he uses are
  reading aloud, rereading, and taking notes
• Likes reading class best when they get to talk
  about what they read
• When asked, When do you like reading the most?
• Sam responded, When I like the book and its
  about what I like . . . like basketball.

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Case 5 Sams Parents Perspective

• Expressed concern about Sams reading based upon
  observations made at home when he is reading to
  complete his homework
• Believe Sam has a limited vocabulary and
  difficulty understanding what he reads
• Stated that Sam has always tested on grade level

44
Case 5 Sams Parents Perspective continued

• Stated that Sam does not understand the value in
  working at something
• Stated that Sam does not spend much time on the
  computer
• Stated that Sam has difficulty with
  comprehension wherever whether in print or on
  the computer, in retelling important story events
  in order

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Case 5 What we found out about Sam in clinic

• Reading comprehension at 5th grade level
• Strengths phonics and decoding, knowledge and
  use of before reading strategies, motivated to
  succeed, positive attitude toward to school and
  clinic
• Needs during and after reading strategies,
  vocabulary development

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Case 6 Stacys Background

• Enrolled in the sixth grade in a private school
  in Baltimore County, Maryland
• Lives with biological parents and two siblings
• Is an avid reader
• Enjoys trips to bookstores and the public library
• Is involved in many extra-curricular activities
• Basketball and softball
• Girl Scouts

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Case 6 Stacys Perspective

• Stacy reports that
• She reads chapter books in class and a choice is
  offered to students
• She likes working on the computer in reading
  class
• She likes reading in one content area, math
• In class, she reports
• no one really reads with me
• Its not like a one-on-one thing
• I like to read books

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Case 6 Stacys Parents Perspective

• Areas of difficulty for Stacy
• comprehension and motivation
• can read but has trouble with comprehension

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Case 6 Stacys Parents Perspective continued

• Comments showed a concern that there is a
  disconnect between the reading instruction that
  Stacy receives and her reading needs
• Stacy has a positive self-concept about her
  reading

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Case 6 What we found out about Stacy in clinic

• Word identification is on grade level and reading
  comprehension is on a 2nd grade level
• She has a very high self-concept as a reader
  (however, she did not realize that she was not
  understanding what she was reading)
• Needs
• during and after reading strategies
• Retelling story details
• Identifying the main idea
• Decoding multisyllabic words

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Case 7 Andrews Background

• Fourteen-year old male in the 8th grade
• Second time in Towson Reading Clinic
• Enrolled in public school in a suburban school
  district
• Will attend a science magnet school program
• Never diagnosed with medical issues that might
  influence reading or academics

52
Case 7 Andrews Background Continued

• Student athlete (football and basketball)
• Makes good grades in school, but often
• loses motivation towards the end of the
• school year
• Has worked with a reading specialist from
• grades 1 through 6
• Works with a private reading tutor every
• Saturday

53
Case 7 Andrews Perspective

• Loves to discuss sports, read about sports, and
  find athletic-themed clothing styles online
• Has difficulty remembering what he reads,
  particularly in language arts class
• Noisy classrooms make it harder for him to read
• In language arts class The teacher picks the
  stories and books, sometimes has class
  discussion, but mostly students answer questions
  about reading

54
Case 7 Andrews Perspective continued

• Frustrated with teachers They need to start
  teaching and explaining things!
• When he cannot remember what he reads or does not
  understand, he goes back and re-reads
• Has the most problems with comprehension in
  language arts (yet mother indicated problems in
  science)
• Considers himself an OK reader, prefers to have
  choice in reading selections, and enjoys reading
  on computer

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Case 7 Andrews Parents Perspective

• Frustrated with the schools and seeks out
  alternative instruction for Andrew
• Enrolled Andrew in a magnet high school but
  concerned that Andrew will struggle
• Thats what worries me. I dont want to set
  him up for failure and thats why Ive been
  trying to give him all types of help. Ive been
  looking for programs for the summer. Everything
  will be academic for the summer because I have to
  give him what he is not getting in school.

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Case 7 Andrews Parents Perspective continued

• Feels that most of Andrews academic problems
  stem from lack of motivation
• Stated that Andrews grades were slipping in
  science and attributed this to not being able to
  comprehend the science texts
• Stated that history and math textbooks are the
  only texts brought home
• Frustrated that the teachers do not communicate
  with her more

57
Case 7 Andrews Parents Perspective continued

• Everything else is handouts. The tutor
  questioned it last year and she actually spoke to
  one of the teachers and was told that the school
  has no fundingbecause they are frustrated with
  the school and the principals, they are just
  teaching basics. And, these kids are not
  learning anything. They are not learning. The
  school has not passed the MSA testing for 3
  years.

58
Case 7 Andrews Parents Perspective continued

• They are just not doing anything and it is sad.
  They dont call me. They dont tell me
  anything. I dont care if you have 50 kids in
  your class. 10 out of 50 may be doing good. Let
  me follow up. I dont think they have phone
  numbers because they never have called me.

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Case 7 What we found out about Andrew in clinic

• Reading comprehension at 6th grade level
• Strengths word recognition
• Needs vocabulary, comprehension strategies
  while he is reading, monitoring comprehension,
  writing development

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Students View of Reading

• Reading in class consists of
• Reading and telling what the story was about
• like fill out a paper say it was like
  adventurewe read books and do a biography on
  them.
• Answering questions about the reading
• The teacher picks what we read and we mostly
  answer questions about it.
• Taking turns reading out loud
• Sometimes we have group reading. We just read
  books, read out loud.
• Occasionally we have discussions

61
Students View of Reading continued

• What makes reading hard or easy
• Noise in the classroom (quiet helps)
• When Im by myself and its quiet. When its
  noisy, like in class, its harder to read.
• Pictures help
• Uh, history.well, its because lots of
  pictures.
• Um, when I look at the pictures. It makes it
  more easy to understand what Im reading.
• The words (both recognizing them and knowing the
  vocabulary)
• Like if something is stated hard and like the
  words are complicated its more hard for me to
  understand it. If the words are easy and simple,
  I can understand it more clearly.

62
Students View of Reading continued

• What teachers do to help students understand
• More discussion
• help me think out loud.
• Help with vocabulary
• When the teacher goes over it, explains things,
  and helps with words you dont understand.
• Give students choice
• Help students relate the reading to their own
  lives
• she made the lessons more funit was just like
  regular work, but she compared like with people
  we want to get with, that made it fun.
• Individual attention
• Yes, that there was a person there to review
  with you.
• the teacherpays attention to every student.

63
Students View of Reading continued

• Reading in content areas comments were varied
• Math. Like if were on a certain topic like if
  we were doing fractions or something like that
  and theres like 10 pages about it and theres a
  test you can take in the book for review.
• Math. Cuz, its little reading and math you just
  use numbers and not a lot of reading.
• I have to say science because our science class
  was so big, and I have to talk louder. Like
  basically scream.

64
Parents View of Reading

• All of the parents explained their childrens
  reading problems were about comprehending what
  they read
• Parents all commented in some way about their
  childrens difficulty understanding what they
  were reading in content areas
• One father shared that his son had Difficulty
  understanding the text. He reads the words. He
  does better at reading the words than
  understanding the words.

65
Parents View of Reading Continued

• Some of the parents were also concerned their
  children needed vocabulary development to
  comprehend texts
• Most of the parents realized that motivation to
  read played a part in how their children
  comprehended
• When their children read books of choice or on
  the computer, they did not seem to struggle as
  much

66
Parents View of Reading Comprehension Strategies

• Kathys mother realized that when she read with
  her daughter that she has to relate something we
  are reading to a real life situation
• A father shared that his son has to see the
  value of the process
• Another parent shared that her son was not being
  challenged to think critically

67
Results - Students

• Overall students
• were aware they had difficulty with reading
  comprehension
• enjoyed reading when they self-selected it
• could read without any problems on the computer
• rarely used the computer (if at all) while in
  school
• enjoyed games on the computer and in school
• were not motivated by their reading instruction
  at school
• could articulate reading strategies at the end of
  the clinic experience
• struggled most with reading in social studies
  and/or science

68
Results - Parents

• Overall parents stated
• there was limited home-school communication
• reading programs were not explained
• their child did not struggle to read on the
  computer
• their child enjoyed reading on the computer
• the reading instruction at school did not meet
  their childs needs

69
Recommendations for Instruction

• Teach reading to adolescents by focusing on their
  needs rather than solely following programs
• Focus on comprehension strategies until they
  become internalized
• Apply comprehension instruction in the content
  areas as well as in language arts
• Provide time for self-selected reading
• Use the computer to enhance instruction

70
Recommendations for Parent Involvement

• Inform parents about the reading instructional
  plans for their children
• Listen to parent voices when making instructional
  decisions for students
• Create a partnership with parents through ongoing
  communication

71
Limitations of the Study

• We cannot generalize to other students beyond
  these seven students
• Data were collected towards the end of a
  semester-long reading clinic, so students were
  well-versed in reading strategy terminology
• Parents of these students may not be
  representative of other parents because these
  parents actively sought their childs
  participation in the Towson University Reading
  Clinic

72
Disseminating What We Learned

• These case studies
• Are snapshots that share what these adolescents
  and their parents know, believe or understand
• Can begin a very important dialogue in our state
• Could be used as a bridge between our university
  and surrounding school systems to create future
  partnerships on how to change adolescent literacy
  instruction in schools

73
Disseminating What We Learned Continued

• We plan to
• Design a brochure to share the stories of these
  students with school systems in Maryland
• Share the stories at state conferences
• Offer to present this information to secondary
  school administrators and faculty in school
  systems in the Baltimore metropolitan area
• Begin a dialogue on what adolescents need in as
  many venues in our metropolitan area as possible

74
We Aim to

• Encourage administrators to
• Move away from one-size-fits-all programs
• Align instruction to match the needs of the
  students
• Create literacy experiences that will make
  differences in the lives and academic success
  rates of adolescent students
• View parents as collaborative partners

75
Continuing the Research

• After presenting our study at local conferences,
  we will ask the participants to fill out a survey
  on their perception of the state of adolescent
  literacy in their school systems. Attendees at
  these conferences often include teachers,
  reading specialists and administrators.
• Compile the results of the surveys and also share
  it with educational stakeholders to continue the
  dialogue.

76
To obtain this presentation, visit

• http//pages.towson.edu/gmartine/
• If you want more information about this study,
  contact Sharon Pitcher at
• spitcher_at_towson.edu

77
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