1

HOW DO CHILDREN LEARN TO READ?

WHY DO SOME CHILDREN HAVE DIFFICULTIES?

HOW CAN WE HELP ALL STUDENTS LEARN TO READ?

A presentation to the parents of Albuquerque

G. Reid Lyon, Ph.D.Executive VP, Research and Evaluation

Higher Ed Holdings, LLCWhitney International University Systems

2

WHAT DO KIDS NEED TO KNOW TO

READ?

A HECK OF A LOT

3

FluencyFluencyText Text

ComprehensionComprehension VocabularyVocabulary

Phonemic Phonemic AwarenessAwareness

Phonics & Phonics & Word StudyWord Study

Spelling &Spelling &WritingWriting

What Are the Critical Components of Scientific-

Based Reading?

3

Grouping

Maximizing Student Learning

Effective Reading

Interventions

4

I NEED TO KNOW MY SOUNDS TO READI NEED TO KNOW MY SOUNDS TO READ

5

How Do Children Learn to Read?

Phonological Awareness (PA)

• Phonological awareness involves the understanding that spoken words are composed of segments of sounds smaller than a syllable.

• It also involves the ability to notice, think about, or manipulate the individual sounds in words.

6

How Do Children Learn to Read?What is “Phonics”?

It is a kind of It is a kind of knowledgeknowledge..

Which letters are used to represent which Which letters are used to represent which phonemes?phonemes?

It is a kind of It is a kind of skillskill..

Pronounce these words…Pronounce these words…

blitblit fratchetfratchet

7

How Do Children Learn to Read?

FLUENCY

“Fluency is the ability to read text quickly, accurately, and with proper expression”

National Reading Panel

“Fluency is the ability to read text quickly, accurately, and with proper expression”

National Reading Panel

8

VOCABULARY:

• The “ fourth grade reading slump” reflects a language gap as much as a reading gap – Why?

• Reading tests (e.g., NAEP) in 4th grade are primarily measures of reading comprehension

It is impossible to comprehend what is read without the vocabulary relevant to what is being read

9

HOW VOCABULARY INFLUENCES READING COMPREHENSION

• Reading comprehension, at a minimum, depends on decoding/word recognition accuracy and fluency, VOCABULARY, AND BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE

• A student must be able to read correctly approximately 95 percent of the words accurately in text to comprehend what is read

• MOREOVER, to comprehend, a student must know the meanings of 90 to 95 percent of the words being read

• The unknown 5 to 10 percent can be inferred from text

10

5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

16

15

14

13

12

11

10

9

8

7

6

5

Reading Age Level

Chronological Age

Low Oral Language in Kindergarten

High Oral Language in Kindergarten

Hirsch, 1996

The Effects of Weaknesses in Oral Language on Reading Growth

5.2 years difference

11

Factors Affecting Student Achievement

Factors Examples

Teacher •Instructional strategies

•Classroom management

•Classroom curriculum design

Student •Home atmosphere

•Learned intelligence & background knowledge

•Motivation

School •Guaranteed & viable curriculum

•Challenging goals & effective feedback

•Collegiality & professionalism

Family •Parent & community involvement

•Safe & orderly environment

12

Major Sources of Reading Failure

• Socioeconomic Factors – Poverty

• Biological Factors – Genetics and Neurobiology

• Instructional Factors – Predominate

13

Environmental Influences

• By kindergarten a child from advantage typically has twice the vocabulary as a youngster born into poverty

• The typical 5-year-old from an urban environment and disadvantaged home enters kindergarten at the 5th percentile in vocabulary

• By age 16 advantaged children have four times the vocabulary as children born into poverty

14

What We Hear Many Educators Say:

• They’re poor;

• Their parents don’t care;

• They come to schools without breakfast;

• Not enough books

• Not enough parents . . .

15

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 1000

PoorPoor

Non-poorNon-poor

60

26

Percent of 4th Grade Students Performing Below Basic Level - 37%

HispanicHispanic 58

BlackBlack 63

WhiteWhite 27

National Center for Educational Statistics, 2003

Percent Performing Below the Basic Reading Level

16

Reading: Students Entering High School Better Prepared, But Leaving Worse

211 212

46 48

33 28

0

290

1984-1992 1988-1996

NA

EP

Scale

Sco

re G

ain

s

Ages 13-17 Growth

Ages 9-13 Growth

Age 9 Score

Total= 290 Total= 288

Source: NCES, 1999. Trends in Academic Progress. Data from Long Term Trend NAEP

17

100%

68%

40%

27%18%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

9th Graders High SchoolGraduates

Enroll in College SophomoreYear

Graduate fromCollege on Time

Filtering Out Students

Source: National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, Policy Alert, April 2004. Data are estimates of pipeline progress rather than actual cohort.

High School Graduation Rates

18

• Their average earnings of $22,000 per year is close to the poverty line for a family of four

• Almost 50% of heads of households are on welfare

• They have 8 times the poverty rate of college graduates

• Their average lifetime wages are $1,000,000 less than a college graduate

• They are twice as likely to smoke

THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS TO HIGH SCHOOL DROPOUTS

19

• They have 19 times the incarceration rate of a college graduate

• They comprise almost 50% of the prison population

• A one-year increase in the average years of schooling for high school dropouts would reduce murder and assault by almost 30%, car theft by 20% and arson by 13%

• They have significantly higher drug and alcohol abuse

• They earn only 22% as much as a professional degree holder and 40% of a college graduate

THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS TO HIGH SCHOOL DROPOUTS

20

HS Graduation Rate College Readiness Rate

Source: Public High School and College-Readiness Rates 1991-2002 Manhattan Institute Report Feb 2005

010

20

30

40

5060

70

80

90

100

White African Hispanic American

College Readiness Rates

21

34%

17%10%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

White Black Hispanic

College Graduation Rates

Students with bachelor degrees between 24 and 29

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplement, 2003

22

Employment Change by Education1992 – 2002

Source: Employment Policy Foundation tabulations of Bureau of Labor Statistics / Census Current Population Survey data; MTC Institute.

23

Why Scientific Research Is Critical To Instruction

Essential for identifying effective instructional practices

Essential for identifying effective instructional practices

Provides reliable information about what works and why and how it worksProvides reliable information about

what works and why and how it works

Essential for designing new effective teaching methods

Essential for designing new effective teaching methods

24

Alternatives To Research-based Instruction

ANECDOTESANECDOTES

UNTESTED BELIEFS ABOUT TEACHING AND LEARNING

UNTESTED BELIEFS ABOUT TEACHING AND LEARNING

FADS, QUICK FIXES, AND APPEALS TO AUTHORITY

FADS, QUICK FIXES, AND APPEALS TO AUTHORITY

STUDENT FAILURESTUDENT FAILURE

25

Research Questions

• How do children develop language abilities?

• How do children develop social competencies?

• How can we foster children’s emotional health?

• How do children learn to read?

• Why do some children have difficulties learning to read?

• How can we prevent reading difficulties?

• How can we remediate reading difficulties?

26

Answering Fundamental Questions About Teaching and Learning Through NIH

Multidisciplinary Research

NIH-NICHD Research Site Composition

– Educators

– Psychologists

– Neuroscientists

– Geneticists

– Pediatricians

– Neurologists

– Radiologists

– Linguists

– Economists

– Research Methodologists

– Demographers

27

NIH-NICHD Multidisciplinary Research Program (North America; Lyon, 1985-2005)

NICHD Sites

U of Arkansas – Med CtrDykman

U of MissouriGeary

Colorado LDRCDefries

U of MichiganMorrison

TorontoLovett

U of LouisvilleMolfese

Mayo ClinicKalusic

Boy’s TownSmith

U of HoustonFrancis

SUNY AlbanyVellutino

U of California – San Diego, Salk InstituteBellugi

U of Texas – Med CtrFoorman/Fletcher

Yale MethodologyFletcher

Emerson CollegeAram

TuftsWolf

Syracuse UBlachman

U of Massachusetts

Rayner

Beth IsraelGalaburda

Children’s Hospital/Harvard LDRCWaber

Florida StateTorgesen/Wagner

U of WashingtonBerninger

Stanfor

d

Reiss

U of Southern CaliforniaManis/Seidenberg

Univ of California – IrvineFilipek

Bowman GrayWood

Georgetown UEden

D.C./HoustonForman/Moats

Johns HopkinsDenckla

Haskins LabsFowler/Liberman

YaleShaywitz

Purdue UHynd

Univ of FloridaAlexander/Conway

Georgia StateR. Morris

San FranciscoHerron

U of KansasShumaker

U of WisconsinJohnson-Glenburg

Northwestern UBooth

Gallaudet ULaSasso

Duke UGoldston

U of GeorgiaStahl

ColoradoMoats

U of TexasVaughn

Rutgers UScarboro-ugh

Carnegie-Mellon

28

Applying What We Know From Neuroscience to Improve

Education And Student Learning

Motivate Evaluate

ModifyTeach

Apply Assess

StudentAchievemen

t

29

A Theoretical Model for the Brain Circuit for Reading (Component

Processes)

Phonological processing: articulatory mapping

Graphemic analysis

Phonological processing: correspondence between letter and sound

Relay station; Cross-modality integration

30

Patricia Kuhl - U. Washington

31

Learning Begins Early

Kuhl -U. Washington

32

Why Do Some Children Have Difficulties Learning to Read?

S#1: At risk

S#31: Not at risk

Left Hemisphere Right HemisphereKindergarten

150-300 300-1000 msTime after Stimulus

Onset

33

Kindergarten

S#1: At risk

S#31: Not at risk

150-300 300-1000 msTime after Stimulus

Onset

Left Hemisphere Right Hemisphere

34

Kindergarten

1st Grade

At Risk Reader

Left Hemisphere Right Hemisphere

35

Measuring the Effects of Scientifically-Based

Instruction

36

16% 13% 15% 19% 19% 12%

The Effects of Scientifically Based Instruction

Individualization

Application

Computerized Instruction

Tutoring

Mastery Learning

Instructional Media

20

19

18

17

16

15

14

13

12

10

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

Percentage Point Gains

Marzano, 2002

37

Student Performance is Increased When Teachers use Science Based Instruction

Avg. Teacher

Least Effective Teacher

Effective Teacher

Teachers Trained with Science BasedMethods

50% 3% 63% 96%

100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

50th percentile

Marzano, 2003; Wallberg, 2002

38

31.8

20.4

Proportion falling below the

25th percentile in word reading ability at the end of 1st grade

10

20

30

1995 1996

Screening at beginning of 1st grade, with extra instruction for those in bottom 30-40%

40

Hartsfield Elementary School Progress Over Five Years

Torgesen, Alexander et al., 2001

39

Proportion falling below the 25th

percentile in word reading ability at the end of first grade

10

20

3031.8

20.4

10.96.7

3.7

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999

Average Percentile 48.9 55.2 61.4 73.5 81.7for entire grade (n=105)

Screening at beginning of first grade, with extra instruction for those in bottom 30-40%

40

Hartsfield Elementary ProgressOver Five Years

King & Torgesen (in press)

40

WHAT CAN WE DO?

Early Intervention is Effective

Prevention studies in reading (and behavior) commonly show that 70- 90% of at risk children (bottom 20%) in K- 2 can learn to read in average range (Fletcher et al., 2006)

42

Progress Monitoring

The second step is to monitor progress of those at risk- are students learning at rates that demonstrate adequate progress?

Short, probe assessments of reading fluency, math computations, and problem behaviors most widely utilized to monitor progress and signal the need for more intense instruction

http://www.studentprogress.org/

43

Proactive Intervention

• Explicit instruction in synthetic phonics, with emphasis on fluency.

• Integrates decoding, fluency, and comprehension strategies.

• 100% decodable text

• Carefully constructed scope and sequence designed to prevent possible confusions.

• Every activity taught to 100% mastery everyday.

44

Explicit Instruction

Regardless of the approach, teachers make instruction explicit when they explain how and when to use strategies and model implementation; help students use them in multiple contexts in different content areas and genres; scaffold support

45

Professional Development

• RTI is a system wide change- must build gradually and scale- may take several years

• Break down the intervention silos

• PD must target the general education teacher, esp. in reading and behavior

• Major obstacle: How do you organize PD if the district has multiple core reading and supplemental programs and interventions are tied to silos?

• What is the link between classroom and supplemental intervention?

• District-wide literacy plan that coordinates instruction and focuses PD around a small number of core and supplemental programs

46

• Systematic and explicit instruction on whatever component skills are deficient: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, reading comprehension strategies

• Significant increase in intensity of instruction

• Ample opportunities for guided practice of new skills

• Appropriate levels of scaffolding as children learn to apply new skills

Effective Training in Reading Instruction Provides:

Lyon, et al., 2006 Torgesen, 1998, 2002, 2005;

47

Implementing the 3-tier model of reading

How to start: Universal screening, progress monitoring, professional development for classroom teachers, supplemental instruction, intensive instruction

Focus is always first on the classroom and then on supplemental instruction and intensive intervention

Screening and progress monitoring must be in place because instructional decisions are driven by data on student performance

48

ARE COLLEGES OF EDUCATION UP TO THESE CHALLENGES

60 % of Teachers Report their Undergraduate Program in Education Did Not Prepare Them for the Classroom

62 % of Teachers Report their Master’s Program in Education Did Not Prepare them For the Classroom

57 % of Teachers Report Their Doctorate Degree in education Did Not Prepare Them for the Classroom

*The passing grade for students in school is usually 65 percent

*By this criterion, colleges of education receive an F

49

Countdown from 10 on Intervention

# 10 Because students are missing “skills” doesn’t mean intervention should only address those skills. READ READ READ READ READ. READ. If students can only read a few words – write sentences with those words.

# 9 A teacher implements systematic change based on research, not on ideology and philosophy

# 8 Students who do not respond to more analytic approaches to phonics may respond to more synthetic approaches.

50

Countdown from 10 on Intervention

#7 Readily remediated and difficult to remediate students may look very similar before intervention; However, they require very different amounts of intervention.

#6 Some students who succeed initially in interventions thrive in the classroom after intervention – other students do not.

51

Countdown from 10 on Intervention

#5 A teacher provides intensive, explicit research-based reading instruction to ALL children, including English language learners and students with special needs

# 4 Students whose response to interventions is low are rarely able to read fluently – even if they are successful at decoding and comprehension.

52

Countdown from 10 on Intervention

#3 Students who have long term and significant fluency problems may need substantially more than repeated reading e.g., rapid word recognition, vocabulary, and comprehension

#2 Excessive time on PA not needed for most students.

#1 Making reading interesting - make teaching and learning motivating

53

WHAT YOU CAN DO AT HOME

• Read to your child every day.

• Have your child read to you everyday.

• Get involved with your child’s classroom.

• Make reading a rewarding activity at home.

54

Remember

The person who says it can not be done should not interrupt the person doing it.

--Ancient Chinese Proverb