The Beacon Spring 2020

Spring 2020 The Beacon

Institute

The

Beacon The Windward Institute Journal for Educators and Parents Spring 2020

Welcome!

The Beacon will now be published by The Windward Institute, which serves The Windward School by forming partnerships, providing professional development, enhancing Windward’s reputation and expertise, and advocating for students with language­based learning disabilities.

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1989 2019 2010

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2013 1996 The Beacon Over the Years As The Windward School’s oldest publication, the first issue of The Beacon debuted in 1988, and it has been in continuous print ever since. Under The Windward Institute, The Beacon will continue to be a leading resource that informs, inspires, and transforms lives.

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Welcome to The Windward Institute

By Dr. John Russell Executive Director of The Windward Institute

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he last sentence of The Windward School’s mission states “... the School provides ongoing training to its faculty based on the most current research and shares its expertise with the parent body, other educators, and the broader community.”

Guided by this statement, the Board of Trustees authorized that the Windward Teacher Training Institute (WTTI) be reorganized into an internal Windward Teacher Training Program (WTTP) and an external Windward Institute (WI).

At the most basic level, the WTTI was split into WTTP and WI to more efficiently and effectively manage the myriad of initiatives and responsibilities that the WTTI has taken on since its founding in 1988.

What is the mission of The Windward Institute?

To increase childhood literacy rates by disrupting the educational status quo The Windward Institute (WI or The Institute) accomplishes its mission through numerous endeavors. The WI supports the ongoing and active outreach in the community, works to impact the broader field of education by leveraging the success of The Windward School, supports expanding the School’s teacher training program, advocates for policies and practices that benefit students with language-based learning disabilities, and facilitates partnerships with universities and researchers to provide a bridge between research and educational practice.

Advocates for students with language­based learning disabilities

Establishes Partnerships

Institute

Offers Professional Development

Enhances Windward’s reputation and expertise

See further details on the work of The Windward Institute on page 21.

To learn more about The Windward Institute visit thewindwardschool.org/wi

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Beacon The Windward Institute Journal for Educators and Parents Spring 2020 IN THIS ISSUE Early Identification of Dyslexia

By Hugh W. Catts and Yaacov Petscher Page 1 HEAD LINES

Follow the Data to Ensure All Children Can Read

By Jamie Williamson Page 6 RESEARCH ROUNDUP

Developing Expertise for Reading Teachers

By Danielle Scorrano Page 9 Q&A WITH INSPIRING LEADERS IN THE WORLD OF DYSLEXIA

Dr. George Church, Founding Father of Genomics

By Stephanie Huie Page 12

Early Identification of Dyslexia Current Advancements and Future Directions

By Hugh W. Catts and Yaacov Petscher This article was originally published in Perspectives on Language and Literacy, vol. 44, No. 3, 2018 (summer), copyright by the International Dyslexia Association, Inc. (DyslexiaIDA.org). Used with permission.

NEWS AROUND WINDWARD

In­school Research Study and New Instructors/Classes for WI Page 16 INTERSECTING RESEARCH WITH CLASSROOM PRACTICE

Let the Games Begin

By Jill Fedele and Sarah Golden Page 19

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arly identification is an essential component of an effective intervention program for developmental dyslexia. Research demonstrates that children who are at risk for dyslexia have better outcomes when identified early and provided with appropriate intervention (Wanzek & Vaughn, 2007). Despite the importance of early identification, there are significant challenges to carrying it out. Whereas current procedures are successful in identifying many children who are at risk, these procedures are often associated with high false-positive rates. This over-identification can be costly and lead to many children receiving unnecessary intervention. There are also other challenges concerning the implementation of early identification programs; that is, who will do the assessment, when will it be done, how to get children engaged, and how much time can be devoted to assessment. In this article, we will briefly discuss recent advancements in

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theory, measurement, and technology that can help address some of the challenges faced in the early identification of dyslexia.

determine risk of cardiovascular disease. In fact, recently, a cardiovascular disease risk calculator has been introduced to assist in this identification.

This online calculator uses data for nine variables to determine the Multifactorial Assessment probability of cardiovascular problems in the next 10 years. It can Dyslexia is a complex developmental disorder involving genetic, be completed by a practitioner during an office visit or is available neurological, and environmental factors. Early models focused to the public online. See http://www.cvriskcalculator.com/. An primarily on single deficits as causal accompanying application also includes factors of dyslexia. Primary among them readily assessable reference information has been the phonological core deficit related to therapy, health monitoring, Some children with model (Stanovich, 1988). This model and lifestyle. argues that deficits in phonological A comparable procedure could be dyslexia have no history (speech sounds) processing, specifically adapted to assist in the early phonological awareness, leads to a cascade identification of dyslexia. In fact, a of phonological deficits of difficulties in learning to decode and prototype of such a calculator was recognize printed words. Numerous and many children with introduced by Catts, Fey, Zhang, and studies have examined the link between Tomblin (2001). This calculator used five dyslexia and deficits in phonological phonological deficits do kindergarten variables (phonological processing and there is considerable awareness, rapid naming, letter not develop dyslexia. support for a causal connection (Elliott & identification, sentence repetition, and Grigorenko, 2014). Other single deficit mother’s education) to estimate the Such evidence has led accounts have focused on visual problems probability of reading difficulties in in individuals with dyslexia. Research second grade. While the accuracy of the to the proposal of indicates that some individuals with calculator was limited, current science dyslexia do have visual deficits, but it and technology could be leveraged to multiple causal deficit remains unclear how much of a causal role create a more accurate and useful these deficits play in dyslexia (Saksida et models of dyslexia. probability calculator for dyslexia. As al., 2016). in medicine, it could be used by both Whereas single deficit models have practitioners and public to identify received much attention, there is now dyslexia and provide information concerning further assessment clear evidence that they are not sufficient to account for dyslexia. and treatment.

For example, the relationship between phonological processing Building on this idea, Petscher, Truckenmiller, and Zhou (2016) deficits and dyslexia is far from complete. Some children with developed an automated, online risk calculator (i.e., the Earlier dyslexia have no history of phonological deficits and many children Assessment for Reading Success; EARS) that uses one or more with phonological deficits do not develop dyslexia (Catts, McIlraith, curriculum-based measurements in K–3 to predict reading Bridges, & Nielsen, 2017; Pennington et al., 2012). Such evidence comprehension and language risk. Similar to the approach of Catts has led to the proposal of multiple causal deficit models of dyslexia et al. (2001), the EARS estimates various probabilities of reading (see Catts, 2017). These models argue that multiple genetic, and language success based on available curriculum-based measures neurological, and environmental factors interact to increase the in K–3. For example, suppose Teacher A has a kindergarten risk of dyslexia. For example, oral language impairments, slowed student’s fall and winter letter naming fluency scores, but Teacher B speed of processing, and/or limited early literacy experiences can only has a winter letter naming fluency score for one of her combine with phonological deficits to increase the probability of students. Both teachers could use the EARS to enter their respective dyslexia. Haft, Myers, and Hoeft (2016) have also introduced the student’s score(s) and both will receive a report that provides the Compensatory Risk and Protection model that not only posits student’s probability of reading success at the end of kindergarten multiple risk factors but highlights the importance of protective and grades 1–3. In other words, EARS is programmed to handle factors. They argue that protective factors such as early intervention, single and multivariate informed predictions concerning the growth mindset, and task-focused behavior can provide resilience likelihood of success. and reduce the probability of dyslexia in at-risk children.

One of the challenges to the use of multiple indicators is the The above work indicates that if procedures for early time required to complete an assessment. Assessment time can identification are to be accurate, they will need to be multifactorial increase significantly with each additional measure for an indicator. and consider more than one or two factors during assessment.

One approach that has proven to reduce the amount of time Other fields commonly use multiple factors to identify risk. For required for assessment is computer adaptive testing (CAT). example, in medicine, practitioners have used multiple indicators to

Spring 2020 The Beacon

Adaptive testing optimizes the assessment experience by creating However, advancements in speech recognition now allow for some individual forms of items for individual students. Traditional paper- computer-based scoring of children’s spoken (expressive) responses. and-pencil assessments typically involve one form of fixed items and For example, Northwest Education Association recently introduced are delivered to a set of individuals, such as students in a classroom. a new version of its Measures of Academic Progress reading fluency A problem with a set of fixed items is that item content can be too measure in which speech recognition software encodes children’s easy or too hard depending on the ability of the student. For reading of computer-presented passages and calculates words read students with reading problems, even the “easiest” items on a grade- correctly per minute. The software is specifically tailored to children level assessment can be challenging because they may not have 4–8 years of age and is sensitive to beginning readers’ behaviors such knowledge commensurate with a typically achieving student. As a as word and line skips, substitutions, and long pauses. This is an consequence, the resulting assessment score is an imprecise estimate important advancement and similar software could be developed to of the student’s actual knowledge; rather record and score measures used in than the assessment showing what the screening tests for dyslexia. student knows, it instead represents what Computer adaptive testing Gamification they do not know, and the teacher is left In addition to considerations for how may be beneficial for with little actionable information about to more efficiently administer and score how to target instruction and assessments, an emerging component of dyslexia screening not only intervention based on the student’s the assessment process is how to engage supposed capabilities. for its increased precision and enhance the user experience. One CATs attempt to circumvent this method for increasing the motivation problem by creating custom-built forms in skill estimation and time and enjoyment of assessments is for each individual student at the gamification, which is the use of gaming individual student’s unique ability level. savings, but also for its elements in non-game contexts By leveraging a set of algorithms and Sicart, Nacke, O’Hara, & estimating item and person features ability to measure a breadth (Deterding, Dixon, 2011).

Children are increasingly using item response theory psychometric exposed to social media, interactive of content in a timeframe models, a CAT can precisely calibrate a advertising and micro-transactions, and student’s ability. More succinctly, CAT video games in general.

As a result, that has typically allowed can be analogized to the childhood game researchers and practitioners have become of “hot and cold,” where the CAT is for only one construct interested in how gamification may be seeking to find items that are close to used in the assessment process as a means the ability of the student (Mitchell, to be assessed. for improving motivation, effort, and Truckenmiller, & Petscher, 2015). There overall satisfaction with an assessment are many commercially available CATs experience (Hanus & Fox, 2015). Gaming has seemingly intuitive that can be used for screening and progress monitoring purposes appeal.

Rather than a student being situated within a typical didactic (Shapiro & Gebhardt, 2012). CATs may be beneficial for dyslexia examiner-child environment with items statically delivered, the screening not only for their increased precision in skill estimation student could instead be immersed in a live, electronic platform and time savings, but also for their ability to measure a breadth of with art, music, and audio that could bring an assessment to life. content (e.g., word reading, language, and phonological memory) Gamification may be inclusive of basic environments that use in a timeframe that has typically allowed for only one construct to animation to deliver item content in a unique, created world, or as be assessed (Petscher, Foorman, & Truckenmiller, 2017). advanced as including competitive games with rewards, trophies, Computer Assisted Technology and avatar customizations for the student. The research on gamification Another issue related to screening is how test items are delivered is mixed. In a study by Domínguez et al. (2013), participants who and scored. In most “pencil and paper” assessments, a teacher or participated in an e-learning platform reported higher motivation aide provides instructions, delivers items, and scores responses. Such and overall performance in the assessment but did worse on subsequent implementation takes time and relies on the fidelity and reliability classroom assignments. Conversely, in a study of gaming and course of the examiner. With the development of technology, computer feedback (Charles, Charles, McNeill, Bustard, & Black, 2011), the assisted devices can now provide instructions, present items, and authors found that students who were given skill progress through score responses. Until recently, real time computer-based scoring has gamification were more likely to enjoy the feedback and had higher been limited to items in which the child selected the item/answer rates of success compared to a control group. using touch screen technology. This has meant that these Where gamification considerations have promise for holding assessments could only be used to measure “receptive” abilities. student interest, researchers are quick to note that how a reward

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system is embedded should be carefully considered. Deci, Koestner, and Ryan (2001) have suggested that motivation may actually decrease in gamified environments when those who are already interested in learning shift their motivations from intrinsic (i.e., motivated to learn for themselves) to extrinsic (i.e., motivated for the reward) factors. Because many electronic games are based on reward systems, gamified assessment with rewards should be sensitive to the motivational profile of a student.

Longitudinal Risk Models

Where traditional screeners use short­window longitudinal data within one academic school year to create cut­points for the assessments, following students over multiple years and building out longitudinal risk models may be advantageous in capturing the students who are late­emerging in their reading difficulties.

A final consideration for future directions in early identification lies at the very heart of screening assessment itself, “What are we screening for?” A single screener is inherently composed of two assessments—the screener and the outcome. Outcomes can range from criterion-referenced tests, such as state achievement tests, to normreferenced tests that include national norms for word reading and/or comprehension. Independent of the outcome type, virtually all screeners share a commonality in that they screen for risk at the end of the current grade level. This objective is a natural outcome for practitioners and educational researchers since the progression of student development easily can be tethered to end-of-year academic success. A limitation of

calibrating screener cut-points to end-of-year performance is that a sizable percentage (40%) of students with word reading deficits may not be identified for the first time until after grade 2 (e.g., Catts, Compton, Tomblin, & Bridges, 2012). Where traditional screeners use short-window longitudinal data within one academic school year to create cut-points for the assessments, following students over multiple years and building out longitudinal risk models may be advantageous in capturing the students who are lateemerging in their reading difficulties.

Additional progress monitoring assessments can further assist us in understanding the time course of these difficulties.

In this short article, we have highlighted recent developments or considerations that have the potential to improve the efficiency and accuracy of early identification of dyslexia. For these to have their maximum benefit, newly developed assessment tools will need to be matched with interventions that can address the full range of problems associated with dyslexia. Significant advancements are being made in the development of intervention programs for dyslexia (e.g., Lovett et al., 2017) and we are optimistic that these programs can be coupled with effective screening and progress monitoring tools.

About the Authors Hugh W. Catts, Ph.D., is Professor and Director of the School of Communication Science and Disorders at Florida State University. His research interests include the early identification and prevention of reading disabilities. He is a past board member of the International Dyslexia Association and past board member and president of the Society for the Scientific Study of Reading. He has received the Samuel T. Orton Award from the International Dyslexia Association.

Yaacov Petscher, Ph.D., is Associate Professor at Florida State University and Associate Director of the Florida Center for Reading Research.

His research interests include the study of individual differences in literacy and the application of quantitative methods to educational data.

He has received honors and awards from the International Literacy Association, the Society for the Scientific Study of Reading, and the American Education Research Association for his work. His current research concerns advances in measurement, computer adaptive testing, and studying trauma-informed educational assessment.

Editor’s note: The authors are funded on a subcontract from Harvard University to develop a screening and assessment tool for the identification of risk for reading and language difficulties.

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References Catts, H. W. (2017). Early identification of reading disabilities.

In K. Cain, D. L. Compton, & R. Parrila (Eds.), Theories of reading development. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing.

Catts, H. W., Compton, D., Tomblin, J. B., & Bridges, M. (2012).

Prevalence and nature of late-emerging reading disabilities. Journal of Educational Psychology, 104, 166–181.

Catts, H. W., Fey, M. E., Zhang, X., & Tomblin, J. B. (2001).

Estimating the risk of future reading difficulties in kindergarten children: A research-based model and its clinical implications.

Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 32, 38–50.

Catts, H. W., McIlraith, A., Bridges, M., & Nielsen, D. (2017).

Viewing a phonological deficit within a multifactorial model of dyslexia.

Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 30, 613–629.

Charles, D., Charles, T., McNeill, M., Bustard, D., & Black, M. (2011).

Game-based feedback for educational multi-user virtual environments.

British Journal of Educational Technology, 42, 638–654.

Deci, E. L., Koestner, R., & Ryan, R. M. (2001). Extrinsic rewards and intrinsic motivation in education: Reconsidered once again.

Review of Educational Research, 71, 1–27.

Deterding, S., Sicart, M., Nacke, L., O’Hara, K., & Dixon, D. (2011, May). Gamification: Using game-design elements in non-gaming contexts. CHI’11 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems (pp. 2425–2428). New York, NY: ACM. Domínguez, A., Saenz-de-Navarrete, J., de-Marcos, L., Fernández-Sanz, L., Pagés, C., & Martínez-Herráiz, J. J. (2013). Gamifying learning experiences: Practical implications and outcomes. Computers & Education, 63, 380–392.

Elliott, J. G., & Grigorenko, E. L. (2014). The dyslexia debate.

New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.

Haft, S. L., Myers, C. A., & Hoeft, F. (2016). Socio-emotional and cognitive resilience in children with reading disabilities.

Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, 10, 133–141.

Hanus, M. D., & Fox, J. (2015). Assessing the effects of gamification in the classroom: A longitudinal study on intrinsic motivation, social

comparison, satisfaction, effort, and academic performance. Computers & Education, 80, 152–161.

Lovett, M. W., Frijters, J. C., Wolf, M., Steinbach, K. A., Sevcik, R. A., & Morris, R. D. (2017). Early intervention for children at risk for reading disabilities: The impact of grade at intervention and individual differences on intervention outcomes. Journal of Educational Psychology, 109, 889–914.

Mitchell, A., Truckenmiller, A., & Petscher, Y. (2015). Computer-adaptive assessments: Fundamentals and considerations. Communique, 43, 8.

Pennington, B. F., Santerre–Lemmon, L., Rosenberg, J., MacDonald, B., Boada, R., Friend, A., Leopold, D. R., Samuelsson, S., Byrne, B., Wilcutt, E. G., & Olson, R. K. (2012). Individual prediction of dyslexia by single versus multiple deficit models. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 121, 212–224.

Petscher, Y., Foorman, B. R., & Truckenmiller, A. J. (2017). The impact of item dependency on the efficiency of testing and reliability of student scores from a computer adaptive assessment of reading comprehension.

Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, 10, 408–423.

Petscher, Y., Truckenmiller, A., & Zhou, C. (2016). The earlier assessment for reading success [Web application software]. Tallahassee, FL: Florida State University.

Saksida, A., Iannuzzi, S., Bogliotti, C., Chaix, Y., Demonet, J., Bricout, L., . . . Ramus, F. (2016). Phonological skills, visual attention span, and visual stress in developmental dyslexia. Developmental Psychology, 52, 1503–1516.

Shapiro, E. S., & Gebhardt, S. N. (2012). Comparing computer-adaptive and curriculum-based measurement methods of assessment. School Psychology Review, 41, 295–305.

Stanovich, K. E. (1988). Explaining the differences between dyslexic and garden-variety poor reader: The phonological core variable-difference model. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 21, 590–604.

Wanzek, J., & Vaughn, S. (2007). Research-based implications from extensive early reading interventions. School Psychology Review, 36, 541–561.

This article was originally published in Perspectives on Language and Literacy, vol. 44, No. 3, 2018 (summer), copyright by the International Dyslexia Association, Inc. (DyslexiaIDA.org). Used with permission.

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Head Lines

Follow the Data to Ensure All Children Can Read

By Jamie Williamson Head of The Windward School

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t has been 20 years since the findings of the best ways to teach many reading program authors and publishers simply hustled to children to read were released by the National Reading Panel rebrand and repackage, while simultaneously working to criticize (NRP), which was commissioned by Congress to evaluate the and discredit the science. The concept of a "balanced literacy" most current science of reading evidence and help define the future approach emerged, which focused on a whole language model of effective reading instruction. The 14-member panel comprised sprinkled with a little dash of phonics, and educators returned to members from varied backgrounds within the field of education, business as usual. such as administrators, reading teachers, and leading reading research scientists. Over three years, they conducted a comprehensive A Concerning Lack of Reading Improvement Over 20 Years analysis of the body of The broadscale response literature in reading research 2019 NAEP Reading Assessment Average Reading Score Results by publishers to the panel’s and, throughout the process, findings begs the question, considered more than 100,000 if we have truly “balanced” research articles on how the literacy needs of our children learn to read from students, then certainly well-respected, peer-reviewed more kids are reading journals. The panel discovered proficiently than ever before, that despite a long and arduous right? Again, sadly, the data historical debate about the best tells a different story. For approach for teaching reading, the last 40 years, we have the foundation of effective been tracking reading and reading instruction had five math performance in this critical components: phonemic country. The National awareness, phonics, fluency, Assessment of Educational vocabulary, and Progress (NAEP) is the comprehension (National nation’s report card, and the Reading Panel, 2000). This current data is nothing report’s recommendations, short of shocking. The culled from massive amounts most recent report, released of data, prioritized evidenceat the end of 2019, shows based approaches to reading that only 35% of fourth instruction. The insights graders and 34% of eighth revealed in this report intended graders are at or above to end the proverbial reading proficient in reading—a wars (the whole language decline from the 2017 versus phonics debate); or so report. If you dig a little we thought. deeper into the data, you will Unfortunately, rather than find that the most at-risk put an end to the debate,

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readers, or readers who scored in the bottom 10th percentile, have Follow Effective Research­Based Methodologies not significantly improved at all since 1992. (NAEP, 2019) So, what is impeding us from making progress teaching all Advocates for the balanced literacy approach have been selling children to read? While this is a wildly complex question to answer, programs across the country, and school districts and teachers have I have a few straightforward thoughts for moving forward. First and been led to believe that these programs are actually research- or foremost, we should stop using core programs that are not backed evidence-based. There is a major difference between including a few by scientific research as well as systematic and explicit in their components to an instructional program as indicated by research— instructional approach. The NRP did not recommend one single for example, adding a few phonics lessons—and implementing a program. Instead, the NRP chose to focus on the core components comprehensive scientifically research-based program that is delivered that should be well represented in a reading program, and that in an explicit and systematic way. I can’t imagine another scenario instruction in that program should focus on direct and explicit skill where this lack of progress would be tolerated or defended. Yet, here instruction. According to the NRP, there is a plethora of data to we are, still in the same relative position, 20 years after the National show that we know what to do, and we know how to do it.

Reading Panel’s report conclusively determined that reading Revamp Teacher Training at the programs should provide “explicit instruction University Level in phonemic awareness” and “systematic Secondly, university training programs phonics instruction” (National Reading Panel, At Windward, we should begin teaching pre-service teachers 2000). how to effectively teach reading with At Windward, we succeed because we succeed because we instructional strategies based in science, not follow where the data leads: we know what Thousands of teacher prep programs needs to be done, we implement it, and we follow where the data opinion. exist today in the US, but there is very little have a proven track record of teaching for curriculum. Faculty members at students that other schools fail. In fact, the leads: we know what oversight each institution decide what is taught, and methods used to teach students with language-based learning disabilities, such as needs to be done, we there is no single body acting as the authority to determine benchmarks for teacher training. dyslexia, “are not new or controversial. implement it, and we The result is an ever-widening pool of new Research suggests that if all children were teachers without a standard toolkit for taught to read using approaches that work for have a proven track effectively teaching reading, who are then students with dyslexia, reading achievement forced to learn on the fly. Teachers graduate would improve overall” (Hanford, 2017). record of teaching from these programs with the credentials for How We Can Begin to Move the teaching reading but without the skillsets to students that other Reading Needle Forward effectively remediate students’ reading issues When I am problem solving, I often ask a before they become major problems. This schools fail. question that I would use when I was working circumstance is massively unfair for the directly with students as a school psychologist. teachers who dedicate so much of themselves The question, designed to help creatively to their students without knowing that they’ve devise solutions to problems, came out of a Solution Focused been betrayed by their own training. And this circumstance is tragic Therapy model. Known as the Miracle Question, it was created in for the students, as proven by decades of appalling reading scores as 1988 by Steve de Shazer as a thought experiment well as their social, economic, and political implications. to shift one’s perspective: “If you woke up tomorrow and this thing Enact Continuous Evidence­Based Professional that we are working on was miraculously fixed/solved/better/ Development for Teachers improved, how would you know? What would be different?” (de Further to this point, school districts should routinely Shazar and Dolan, 2007). When I think about these questions in implement comprehensive professional development programs the context of literacy, my answer is clear. If I woke up tomorrow focused on these areas to bridge the skill gap in the field today. This and this thing that I have committed my career to was suddenly solved, I would know because all students would be able to read and would keep teachers current on the science that continues to evolve thanks to brilliant researchers and advances in technology. Andrea write. Period. But when looking at the consistent trends in reading instruction, I have to ask, is that what we all really want? The NAEP Rowson was one of those teachers underserved by her training. She was taught nothing about phonics during her university studies in data, which has been stagnant for the last 28 years, would seem to suggest that we are more concerned with protecting the status quo than the 1980s, but she now trains teachers how to teach reading.

“Teachers need to know the reading research,” says Rowson, in giving kids what they need in the classroom.

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“because when they don’t, kids suffer, and so do teachers” (APM, schools should be screening every child in kindergarten through 2017). After a group of 19 parents filed a complaint with the state sixth grade to identify students at risk for developing reading issues of Ohio, specifying the district’s lack of action in remediating and to monitor the progress of all students. Rowson’s district in Ohio, students’ reading deficits, the district completely overhauled its for example, now routinely screens all students for dyslexia in approach to reading instruction, and Rowson is one of the experts kindergarten. They also employ Orton-Gillingham tutors to target who is training (and retraining) those Ohio those students who need early interventions. teachers. Instead of continuing to use As student data evolves based on regular programs tailored to the whole language or assessments of progress, it is also important for We know what balanced literacy approach, the district schools to use a system of flexible groupings, transitioned to research-based, multisensory, which allows schools to be responsive to to do and how explicit, systematic reading instruction. student needs in “real time.”

Schools should also develop rigorous to do it. It is We Know What to Do coaching and mentoring programs to support and How to Do It teachers as they develop these instructional just a matter of Moving the needle on reading in this skills, which would not only provide the country is going to require a massive much-needed support that teachers are asking implementing it coordinated effort, focused not only on for but also help create a cohesive program accepting the scientific evidence, but also on across each school and ensure the integrity of on a larger scale. district and university-level leaders working in the program. Windward has been deeply tandem with state and local governments. committed to this process and the results have All these efforts must be undertaken with a been transformational for students. view toward what is truly important, a continued push to serve our Screen Every Child for Dyslexia Early students. We know what to do and how to do it. It is just a matter Lastly, schools should recognize that the pathway to academic of implementing it on a larger scale. During a key scene in All the success within their programs begins with foundational academic President’s Men, Woodward tells his informant, “All we have are skills and a focus on early intervention. Neuroscience clearly shows pieces. We can’t figure out what the puzzle is supposed to look like.” that good intervention can actually change students’ brains—the The informant famously responded, “Follow the money.” How do earlier, the better (Krafnick et al., 2011). Regardless of whether the we solve the reading puzzle for American students? In this case, the state a school resides in has adopted laws around universal screening, answer is clear: Follow the data.

References Armbruster, Lehr, and Osborn. (2000) Report prepared for the National Institute for Literacy and U.S. Department of Education. The Research Building Blocks for Teaching Children to Read: Put Reading First Kindergarten through Grade 3. Washington: NICHD Publications.

De Shazar, S and Dolan, Y. (2007). More Than Miracles: The State of the Art of Solution-Focused Brief Therapy. Routledge.

Hanford, E. (2017, September 11). APM Reports. Hard to Read: How American Schools Fail Kids with Dyslexia. [audio podcast] https://www.apmreports.org/story/2017/09/11/hard-to-read.

NAEP. (2019, October 30). NAEP Report Card: 2019 NAEP Reading Assessment. Retrieved from https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/ highlights/reading/2019.

Spring 2020 The Beacon

Research Roundup

Developing Expertise for Reading Teachers

By Danielle Scorrano, Research Coordinator and Manhattan Middle School Teacher

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n her article, Teaching Reading is Rocket Science (1999), Louisa Moats, EdD, compares the expertise of reading teachers to other highly specialized, expert professionals. Teaching reading requires deep knowledge and skills in the science of reading, instructional pedagogy, and understanding the needs of all learners, especially students with reading difficulties. Moats (1999) proposes that reading teachers need to demonstrate competencies and skills in four core areas: (1) psychology and child development as it pertains to reading, (2) the research-based foundations in the structure of language, (3) implementation of best practices in reading instruction, and (4) application of varied diagnosis and assessment tools to monitor student progress. Any experienced reading teacher in the classroom would admit—delivering evidencebased reading practices with fidelity requires intense preparation, careful planning, continuous practice, specific feedback, and reflection.

The National Reading Panel report (2000) and decades of related research explain that effective, evidence-based instruction and curriculum must integrate explicit, systematic teaching in five categories: (1) phonemic awareness, (2) phonics, (3) fluency, (4) comprehension, and (5) vocabulary (National Institute of Child Health & Human Development, 2000). Further research demonstrates the importance of early oral language and reading comprehension instruction, particularly for students at risk of developing a language-based learning disability or developmental language disorder (Adlof & Hogan, 2019). High-quality, explicit writing instruction has also shown to support reading on various levels. Graham and Hebert (2010) posit that explicitly teaching writing strategies at the sentence and text structure levels enhances reading comprehension. Integrating their knowledge and competencies in research-based instructional practices, a trained teacher will be able to assess students’ skills and needs and implement instruction and interventions based on that assessment.

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A Call for Better Teacher Education

implications on professional learning. Adding or changing programs without adequate professional development too often results in lack of fidelity to evidence-based instructional practices and may not fully support the students who are in greatest need of explicit reading instruction.

Given that teaching reading requires highly specialized, prescriptive knowledge and skill competencies, it is necessary that teachers are adequately prepared to deliver instructional methodology before entering the classroom. Pre-service teacher preparation continues to fall short in preparing the next cadre of 2. Commit adequate time and resources expert reading teachers. According to the National Council on to sustained professional development.

Teaching Quality (2020), 51% of teacher preparation programs in Professional learning must be deliberately planned to take place the United States require courses in the foundations of the science during the school day and across sustained durations of time of reading (Drake & Walsh, 2020). While these statistics show an (Jensen, Sonnemann, Roberts-Hull & Hunter, 2016; Learning First improvement from previous years, more comprehensive preparation Alliance, 2000). While hosting one-day or short-term workshops needs to occur across all pre-service programs. for teachers may be well-intended, it is not effective for teachers’ Teachers may also hold misconceptions about the characteristics agency and their ability to transfer newly acquired knowledge into of learners with reading difficulties or disabilities as well as the best sustained classroom practices (Clarke & Hollingsworth, 2002). methods to provide appropriate interventions. For instance, Ness Some studies have shown that teacher knowledge, skills and Southall (2010) found that pre-service teachers demonstrated competencies, and student outcomes have improved when teachers inaccurate perceptions about the phonological are engaged in at least 20 hours of professional origins of dyslexia, while Washburn and development (Desimone, 2009). Other colleagues (2017) presented similar evidence Professional studies show benefits of continuous that novice teachers held misconceptions focusing on literacy, language, and development should workshops about the characteristics of dyslexia. instruction at repeated intervals throughout Three Considerations for include opportunities the summer and the school year (Brady & Moats, 1997; Brady et al., 2009). Overall, Implementing Effective professional development should be for teachers to Professional Development continuous and sustained to allow teachers to In order to support reading teachers’ practice with guidance reflect upon their learning, collaborate, and effective implementation of reading practice, ultimately building teacher agency instruction, schools need to be deliberate in and feedback. and enactment of new practices (Clarke & how they align teacher professional learning Hollingsworth, 2002). with research-based standards and methodology. Here are three considerations for schools when 3. Offer multiple, varied opportunities implementing effective professional learning programs:

1. Maintain a consistent focus and alignment between content, methodology, and professional learning.

Professional learning should maintain a focus and coherence in content (Darling-Hammond, Hyler & Gardner, 2017; Desimone & Garet, 2015; Learning First Alliance, 2000). To ensure teachers understand and apply the methodology within the context of their classrooms, professional learning should consistently train teachers in the research-based foundations of language and literacy as well as instructional methodology. The Learning First Alliance (2000) calls for the alignment of instructional programs and methodology to the appropriate standards and curriculum adopted by a school or district. Schools dedicated to teaching all students to read must ensure that all curriculum and methodology they adopt are founded in research-based, systematic instruction and curriculum.

Unfortunately, some instructional leaders may choose to merely supplement existing, less effective reading programs with evidencebased programs, with the hope that additional supports may aid the students who need it. Others may change programs each year in response to student performance, without full consideration for the

that will provide teachers with expert support and enable teachers to integrate knowledge with practice and feedback.

Workshops that teach the evidence-based foundations of language, literacy, and reading instruction are effective for teachers to improve upon their instructional knowledge and skills (SpearSwerling & Brucker, 2004). Workshops, however, are just one component of an overall scope of a professional learning program.

Reading teachers need more opportunities that translate their learning into daily instructional practices. Every day, reading teachers integrate instructional foundations of literacy, oral language, and reading comprehension—skills that require expert knowledge, planning, and deliberate practice in classroom language and discourse. To fully support and engage teachers in the application of newly learned skills, professional development should include opportunities for teachers to practice with guidance and feedback (Darling-Hammond et al., 2017; Learning First Alliance, 2000).

Literacy coaching has shown promise for improving teacher instructional practices (Brady et al., 2009; Desimone & Pak, 2017; Ehri & Flugman, 2017; McCollum, Hemmeter & Hsieh, 2011).

Spring 2020 The Beacon

Building effective professional development programs requires full involvement from all members of the school community. Just as children deserve schools that will foster their academic success, teachers deserve cultures of professional learning that will support their growth and ability to deliver highly effective reading instruction their students need. Studies show that teachers and students are most successful when professional development fosters collective agency amongst teachers, collaboration between all members of the school, and strong instructional leadership to set the course for best evidence-based practices (Kindall, Crowe & Elsass, 2018; Youngs & King, 2002). Teaching reading is a job of an expert, and it requires opportunities for expert learning. Our teachers and students deserve it.

The questions below demonstrate six examples of the foundational knowledge and competencies required of expert reading teachers. How would you perform?

Flip this page upside down to see the correct answers.

1. What are the five core aspects of an effective, evidence­based reading curriculum and instruction, as identified by the National Reading Panel report (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, 2000) and related research?

2. Explain the difference between phonemic awareness and phonological awareness.

3. Identify the core deficit demonstrated by students with dyslexia.

4. What is the difference between a phoneme and a morpheme?

5. Count the number of phonemes (speech sounds) you hear in the following words: (Moats, 2010) shook

wrinkle

quick

6. Identify the number of syllables in the following words: educate

recreational

studious

5. shook has three phonemes, wrinkle has five phonemes, and quick has four phonemes

Why Schools Should Cultivate Professional Learning Communities

Test Yourself!

6. educate has three syllables, recreational has five syllables, and studious has three syllables

Effective literacy coaching and mentoring provide teachers with active, personalized learning opportunities (Desimone & Pak, 2017; Ehri & Flugman, 2017). With the research supporting literacy coaching, schools must also consider the complexity of this personalized professional learning opportunity (Bryk, Gomez, Grunow & LeMahieu, 2015). Defining the roles of coaches, maintaining high fidelity of the expertise of coaches, determining the most appropriate programmatic structure of coaching, and committing to a culture of trust are just some important considerations for schools before implementing a literacy coaching program (Bryk et al., 2015, Kraft & Papay, 2014).

At The Windward School, teachers participate in multiple, varied opportunities of professional learning, including mentoring and coaching. For example, speech-language pathologists provide expert support and coaching in language and reading instruction to teachers. With the prescriptive, technical nature of literacy and language instruction, speech-language pathologists serve as valuable resources to provide coaching in early literacy and language expertise for teachers as well as to provide expert support for students with reading difficulties or language disorders (Girolamatto, Weitzman & Greenberg, 2012; Hogan, 2018).

Accessing the expertise of speech-language pathologists for professional learning support is one area of exploration for both research and practice.

4. A phoneme is the smallest unit of sound while a morpheme is the smallest unit of meaning.

3. phonological deficit 2. Phonemic awareness is a component of phonological awareness. Phonemic awareness involves the ability to hear the smallest units of sounds (phonemes) of language, whereas phonological awareness encompasses the sound structures of a language including phonemes, syllables, and words (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, 2000). Both are crucial for early reading development.

1. phonemic awareness, phonics, reading fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension

Answers

To view the complete list of references, visit thewindwardschool.org/thebeacon

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The Beacon Spring 2020

Q&A with Inspiring Leaders in the World of Dyslexia

Dr. George Church

Founding Father of Genomics In this Q&A series, we will interview individuals from the dyslexia community who are influencers in their respective fields. We hope this series will provide insight into how dyslexia impacts our world and inspire our readers to see the potential that dyslexic children can achieve in the future.

By Stephanie Huie, Associate Director of Digital Communications & Publications George Church, PhD, renowned Professor of Genetics at Harvard Medical School and one of TIME’S 100 Most Influential People in the World in 2017, was one of the first geneticists to sequence the human genome, and he has been advancing the scientific technologies to decipher humanity’s genetic code since the 1970s. Dr. Church initiated the Human Genome Project in 1984 and the Personal Genome Project in 2005, and both projects were instrumental in allowing scientists to connect human genetic information (human DNA sequence, gene expression, etc.) with human trait information (medical information, physical traits, etc.) and environmental exposures. Through his Harvard lab and 35+ startup companies, Dr. Church is probing the possibilities of genetic engineering and editing genetic code to see whether human cells can become resistant to all viruses, aging can be reversed, extinct species can be resurrected, and full­sized organs can be grown from DNA.

How did you discover that you were dyslexic?

Well, the main thing I was bad at was timed reading because I’ve always read very slowly. Instead, I focused on images in books through elementary school, like the full 51-volume Time Life series, Understanding Science and Nature. Eventually, my mother earned her PhD in clinical psychology as I was becoming a teenager, and she tested me.

What type of reading instruction did you receive?

I was required to take remedial reading classes in eighth grade and my freshman year of college [at Duke University]. I grew up in Florida, and there I was made to go to a night class in addition to my regular school. The class had dyslexics and illiterates mixed in with speed readers, which was the strangest thing. Because the class was fairly unstructured, occasionally I would pretend to be in the speed-reading class. Apparently, I was really good at recognizing the words that they would flash incredibly fast onto the board. This instruction did not amount to anything, neither the remedial reading nor speed reading, but it helped me open my mind to the idea of other possibilities in different ways of learning.

You completed two bachelor’s degrees in zoology and chemistry in two years at Duke University before eventually receiving your PhD in biochemistry and molecular biology from Harvard University. How did you navigate your demanding academic course load?

I would “read the pictures” growing up, and I gravitated towards STEM subjects that required less reading. [As an undergrad and grad student] I invented work-around skills. Because I would read very slowly, I would just read all the textbooks before the course started. I would just read them very slowly, but then I’d be done.

The other thing I would do is just listen in class. Other students wouldn’t listen, so they had to read, but I could listen and remember just about everything. Reading is still very slow for me, but I figure it out like a puzzle. I also listen to books on tape, or ebooks today.

Spring 2020 The Beacon

What is your perspective on neurodiversity, and how did you come to this conclusion?

When I was young, I tried hard to blend in and not stand out as different. My main goal in life was to be ordinary. If I would have been able to be ordinary, I would have, but then I still would be. In a world where everyone is in the middle of a bell curve, any point outside of the bell curve makes you think differently. For some small but impactful niches [like professions] being different on any axis (dyslexia, narcolepsy, ADHD, OCD, autism) can help to think outside of the box and ask or answer positively disruptive questions. This is valuable if you happen to be a hard worker who is at the right place at the right time with a different idea. By being different, you’re not tempted to be ordinary.

By being different, you’re not tempted to be ordinary.

You’re known as the “father of personal genomics and synthetic biology,” but have you faced any hurdles due to your dyslexia?

I had many social hurdles, particularly social awkwardness. I know a

lot of teenagers feel they have social awkwardness, but I think mine was deeper than that. I had to figure out social workarounds to figure out how I could do what others were doing in some other way. Academically, I had to repeat ninth grade and the first two years of my PhD. Using a computer keyboard since 1968 has addressed some problems I have with writing.

On the other hand, do you believe you have experienced any advantages as a dyslexic during your career?

My focus on “reading the pictures” gave me good spatial skills and good memory for images. When I was young, one of my favorite things to do was look at Civil War pictures through 1870s stereoscopes. As I looked to combine my interests in the natural world and the highly unnatural world of math when I was older, I found crystallography [the science of examining the properties and inner structures of crystals to determine the arrangement of atoms]. Crystallography is all about spatial relationships, symmetry, complicated 3D structures, and navigating your way through them. I learned quickly that I was

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The Beacon Spring 2020

Could you elaborate on what developments of reading and writing brain components might be in store for the future?

One possibility is biological computing might start replacing You have had a prolific career, but is there a particular electronics because it is more energy efficient and can do certain professional accomplishment of which you are most tasks better. Often, it’s phrased the other way, that electronics might proud? replace humans, but it’s possible that we, as molecular machines, Since 1986, I’ve had about 300 researcher trainees that have worked might replace mechanical devices. For example, in Jeopardy, where in my laboratory, and they have been exposed to a radically the computer [Watson] supposedly won, it was using 200,000 watts innovative environment. It is very gratifying to be surrounded by and the human brains were using 20 watts, so that’s hardly a fair bright, hardworking people capable of understanding even my most fight. Right now, computers are temporarily better at raw memory complex, forward-looking ideas and swiftly implementing them. It and raw math abilities, but we’ve recently shown that molecular is rewarding to see the fruits of our many years of effort in use by memory might be better because you could store the entire internet people all over the world. Also, I am proud in the palm of your hand as opposed to a of the idea of molecular multiplexing via megawatt exabyte facility sitting on an acre barcodes from my 1984 PhD thesis.

When the of land. good at that. That was one of the first big payoffs because I built the rest of my science on the foundation of crystallography, which in turn was based on the foundation of looking at pictures a lot.

At the Church Lab at Harvard, are consequences are Through genetic engineering, could we there certain cultural values that are cure diseases and viruses to prevent not high, you can most important to you as a leader in future pandemics such as the outbreak fostering an innovative environment? of COVID­19? fail multiple times I want people to follow their dreams and We have engineered cells to be resistant to enjoy themselves every day. I don’t “lead” by viruses one at a time based on the cell’s in a row so you commanding, but by example, or by slowly receptor. In the case of COVID-19, if you arranging an environment, like one where it’s can succeed. remove the ACE2 protein, you will be okay to fail. When the consequences are not to that coronavirus. We know how to The word “impossible” resistant high, you can fail multiple times in a row so do this one at a time, but it is hard to remove you can succeed. The word “impossible” is all receptors throughout life. Another strategy is rejected. rejected. Instead of throwing an idea in the we have is we can change the code, or trash, we put it up on the wall and look at it recoding of the genome, which makes us every few months to see if there’s a new technique we developed resistant to all viruses, including viruses we have not seen before. So that suddenly makes it possible. Another thing we try to do is bring far, our coding has been aimed at industrial microorganisms, but it down costs. Rather than figuring out how to raise money to solve a could work for human transplanted cells or cell therapies. In problem, we figure out how to reduce costs, as that has the principle, you could make the whole human body resistant to all advantage of helping people all over the world that can’t possibly viruses if you had good delivery. We are working on that, and we raise that amount of money. Ultimately, our goal is to make have started an international project to make different organisms everything [technologies and resources] free. resistant to all viruses, including pigs, plants, and humans.

What are you most excited about in your field of genetics that is to come in the next 50 years?

Making DNA reading affordable to everyone (free or nearly so), aging reversal therapies, carbon sequestration via wild ecosystems, full bio-recycling as needed for space colonies, and reading and writing brain components.

For our Windward students who are also dyslexic or have language­based learning disabilities, what is a message you would share with them?

Our experiences will vary tremendously even if we share labels, but find your passions and strengths and chemotax swiftly towards them. One of my favorite aphorisms as well is “I have been very lucky and find that the harder I work the luckier I am.”

Spring 2020 The Beacon

Listen, Subscribe, and Share!

READ The Research, Education, and ADvocacy podcast readpodcast.org Produced by The Windward Institute, the READ podcast CONNECTS you with thought leaders who SHARE their insights and TEACH you about best practices in literacy, teacher training, and child development.

Listen to READ on your favorite podcast player

TIP In your podcast player, search for ‘READ: The Research Education and ADvocacy podcast.’

The show may not appear if you only type in READ.

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The Beacon Spring 2020

News Around Windward

First Year of Windward/Haskins In­School Research Study Completed

In January 2019, Windward was invited to join the Haskins Laboratories Global Literacy Hub, an international and interdisciplinary collaborative that brings together an unprecedented partnership of expert researchers, practitioners, educators, and education technology specialists from around the globe, to improve language and literacy outcomes for at-risk children, across languages and cultures. The Windward Institute directs the Windward/Haskins Collaborative Project.

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n this study, titled Predicting Literacy Outcomes at The Windward School, researchers are using neurocognitive measures to better understand how and why reading instruction leads to differential gains for different students, a critical step in moving toward individualized brain-based instructional programs, with the overarching goal of improving literacy outcomes for all children.

This study involves in-school brain imaging, using electroencephalography (EEG), as well as behavioral assessment of critical cognitive, language, and reading skills. Brain imaging from EEG testing provides researchers with a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms of speech and print processing for children with language-based learning disabilities to help identify new biomarkers of response to intervention. The behavioral assessments administered allow for tracking of students’ reading and language skills over the course of their instruction at The Windward School.

Year one of the Windward/Haskins Collaborative Project’s inschool research study was incredibly successful with 23 Windward students participating in the fall of 2019. For members of The Windward School’s faculty, the partnership with Haskins has also offered an exciting opportunity to participate in a training and

professional development program where they worked alongside scientists to achieve research-to-practice goals together. Four faculty members of The Windward School’s Research Leadership Team led the EEG, or electroencephalography, portion of the study, and three oversaw the behavioral assessments. The EEG leaders were Emma Block, Manhattan Middle School Teacher; Andrea Kaminsky, Westchester Lower School Teacher; Danielle Scorrano, Research Coordinator and Manhattan Middle School Teacher; and Isabelle Soussou, Westchester Middle School Teacher. The behavioral assessment leaders were Nicole Berkowitz, Manhattan Lower and Middle School Speech and Language Pathologist; Dr. Jackie BrittFriedman, Westchester Lower School Psychologist; and Nicole Hanby, Westchester Middle School Guidance Counselor.

The Research Leadership Team members have been participating in hands-on professional development led by scientists from Haskins Laboratories since last summer, but they received additional training in advance of taking lead roles for the phase two data collection. In January, the EEG Research Leadership team visited Haskins Laboratories headquarters in New Haven, CT to reinforce their neuroscience data collection skills. The group

Spring 2020 The Beacon

reviewed EEG processes, including practicing equipment set-up, applying the EEG cap, identifying proper brain signals for data collection, and simulating each step of EEG testing procedures. In February, the EEG leaders had another training workshop that detailed the foundations of neuroscience so the faculty members could have a deeper appreciation for the implications of the study.

The same Windward students who volunteered in phase one of the in-school research project have elected to continue their participation. Although initial plans were set to conduct a second round of in-school EEG testing and behavioral assessments in March and April of 2020, the closing of all schools due to the COVID-19 pandemic required a change in plans. For the spring of 2020, the research team developed new tools to administer the behavioral assessments online so that students could complete this portion of the study from home.

While social distancing is preventing the collection of EEG data this spring, the researchers and Windward Research Leadership Team hope to restart EEG data collection during the fall semester.

Over the summer, the Haskins team of researchers, led by Nicole Landi, PhD, Director of EEG Research at Haskins, will begin to examine the results. With the obvious disruption caused by COVID-19, the researchers will be facing new challenges, but they also hope to make some important discoveries about how children adapt to online learning environments.

This research represents a key step toward the development of comprehensive models of the neural basis of reading development in children who learn differently.

Three New Instructors for The Windward Institute Deirdre McKechnie, MS Ed Deirdre McKechnie has worked at The Windward School since 2016 and is currently teaching secondgrade language arts and math. During her twenty plus years of experience, she has served as a reading support teacher in a general education school and has used multi-sensory reading instruction in a range of educational settings. Ms. McKechnie is also IMSLEC (The International Multisensory Structured Language Education Council) certified at the teaching level.

Molly Ness, PhD Molly Ness began her teaching career as a Teach for America corps member and sixth-grade teacher in Oakland, CA. She earned a doctorate in reading education from the University of Virginia, where she led the McGuffey Reading Clinic. Since 2006, Dr. Ness has been a teacher, educator, and associate professor in childhood education at Fordham University’s Graduate School of Education. She is the author of three books and multiple articles in peer-reviewed journals.

Paul Riccomini, PhD Paul Riccomini, PhD, began his career as a dual certified general education mathematics teacher of students with learning disabilities, emotional and behavioral disabilities, and gifted and talented students. He earned his doctorate in special education from The Pennsylvania State University, and his research focus is on effective instructional approaches, strategies, and assessments for students with dyscalculia and students with learning disabilities in mathematics.

NEW! Don’t Miss These Three Reading Comprehension & Math Skills Workshops for Educators!

The Reinvigorated Read Aloud Instructor: Molly Ness, PhD Date Announced Soon WI Westchester Learn about the instructional benefits of read alouds and how to incorporate read alouds across text genre, content area, and grade level. Gain strategies including print referencing, dialogic reading, and think alouds.

Powerful Math Instructional Strategies: Increasing Retention and Fluency

Best Practices for Comprehension Instruction

Instructor: Paul Riccomini, PhD

Instructor: Molly Ness, PhD

July 20­21 • 9 a.m. ­ 1 p.m

July 29­30 • 9 a.m. ­ 1 p.m.

WI Westchester In this two-session workshop, you will learn three powerful yet simple instructional strategies that can significantly boost your students’ long-term retention of important content. These research-based strategies will promote more effective learning in the areas of computational and procedural fluency.

WI Westchester This two-day workshop will unpack the complexities of reading comprehension and its underlying factors. Explore engaging comprehension strategies that encourage metacognition and higher-level thinking as well as the Gradual Release of Responsibility as an instructional framework.

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The Beacon Spring 2020

News Around Windward

A brief recap of some of The Windward Institute’s many endeavors since its formation

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1. Dr. John J. Russell, Executive Director of The Windward Institute, joined a high­profile panel of experts to discuss the urgent need to improve dyslexia diagnosis and education in New York State at a forum by the Rockefeller Institute of Government.

2. The Windward Institute launched its READ (Research, Education, and ADvocacy) podcast, and new episodes are released monthly.

Danielle Scorrano, Windward’s Research Coordinator and Manhattan Middle School Teacher, serves as the podcast host.

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3. The EEG Research Leadership team, consisting of four Windward faculty members, continued to participate in hands­on training sessions to learn how to lead the EEG data collection of the Windward/Haskins in­school research study.

4. One of the Institute’s most popular professional development offerings is the Expository Writing Instruction: Part One course, taught by Betsy Duffy, Windward’s Director of Language Arts & Instruction.

Pictured is Ms. Duffy (left) with course participants from the NYC Department of Education’s Hospital Schools.

5. Windward’s reputation is well­ regarded internationally, and The Windward Institute has welcomed guests from abroad to learn about Windward’s research­based and direct instruction program. First Lady of France Mrs. Brigitte Macron visited for a classroom observation and presentation.

6. As part of the Windward/Haskins partnership that The Windward Institute oversees, Dr. Ken Pugh, President of Haskins Laboratories, along with other Haskins scientists, has provided numerous professional development offerings to the Windward community.

Spring 2020 The Beacon

Intersecting Research with Classroom Practice

Let the Games Begin:

Putting Research into Practice in the Windward Classroom

By Jill Fedele and Sarah Golden Coordinators of Language Arts t The Windward School, reading is taught with a strong emphasis on language competence, skill development, and cognitive strategy. Windward’s curriculum, which includes multisensory, direct instruction that integrates spelling, handwriting, and components of reading such as phonemic awareness, accuracy, and fluency into cohesive and carefully sequenced lessons, is based on the latest evidence-based research, including that of the National Reading Panel (2000), the largest and most comprehensive research study on reading to date.

In order for children, especially those with language-based learning disabilities, to generalize new learning to various contexts, research has demonstrated the importance of providing multiple and varied opportunities to practice newly acquired skills in exciting and engaging ways, which can be achieved through game play.

According to Moats (1998), “Instruction in component skills, practice applying those skills in controlled texts, and reinforcement in games and workshops is balanced with listening to and reading literature of all kinds.” Using games in the classroom for the acquisition, reinforcement, and generalization of skills is critical as “multimodal teaching may be necessary to help students with reading disability integrate information across sensory input modalities and link these modalities with motor output and internal language systems” (Berninger & Wolf, 2016). The National Reading Panel’s report on phonics and literacy, published in 2000, further supports the importance of games, emphasizing the need to keep children motivated for successful acquisition of decoding skills.

Finally, research has shown that “effective teachers provide varied, meaningful practice to ensure student mastery and transfer of a skill to other meaningful reading situations” (Villaume & Brabham, 2003 as cited in Rupley, Blair & Nichols, 2009).

At Windward, games are incorporated into instruction either as a standalone reinforcement lesson, or as part of a spelling or reading

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lesson. In the lower grades, students enjoy playing games such as popcorn, waterfall, or volley, which promote tracking and attention while engaging in multiple readings of the wordlist. Teachers also play games with students that incorporate both encoding and decoding components like WORD-O, a game similar to BINGO, in which students fill out their own board before playing the game, and Roller, where students roll a die to determine the number of points they will receive if they spell a dictated word correctly on the first try. If a student spells the word incorrectly, the teacher scaffolds until the student spells the word accurately, and the child receives half the points value of their roll. In addition to providing guided practice in applying a target skill to the spelling of words, Roller also reinforces math concepts of single-digit addition and division. In the activity Monster Munch, teachers use interactive white board technology to motivate students during reinforcement exercises using a specific target skill. While playing Monster Munch, students drag words into the monster’s mouth. Words containing the target skill are “eaten” by the monster, while words that do not contain the target skill are spit back out.

In the upper grades, once students have been introduced to concepts of morphology, teachers add additional engaging and interactive games to their repertoire. While playing Morpheme Matrix and Word Creator, students use and combine roots, prefixes, and suffixes to generate multisyllabic words. An example of a reinforcement lesson for the middle school grades is a trivia game like Jeopardy in which students must utilize the meaning of morphological components to accurately respond to questions and accrue points for their team.

The direct connection between the use of reinforcement games in the acquisition and internalization of encoding and decoding skills is well documented and these activities are certainly enjoyed by all members of the Windward community. Let the games begin!

Resources

Panel: Teaching children to read: an evidence-based assessment of the scientific research literature on reading and its implications for reading instruction: reports of the subgroups. Washington, D.C.: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health.

Berninger, V.W., & Wolf, B.J., (2016) Dyslexia, dysgraphia, OWL LD, and dyscalculia: Lessons from science and teaching (2nd ed.). Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes Publishing.

Moats, L.C. (1998). Teaching decoding. American Educator 22 (1 & 2), 42-49, 95-96.

National Reading Panel (U.S.), & National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (U.S.). (2000). Report of the National Reading

Rupley, W.H., Blair, T.R. & Nichols, W.D. (2009). Effective reading instruction for struggling readers The role of direct/explicit teaching. Reading & Writing Quarterly, 25(2-3), 125-138. DOI: 10.1080/1057356080268323

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NonProfit Organization US Postage PAID White Plains, NY Permit No. 16

Institute

Beacon The

The Windward Institute Journal for Educators and Parents Spring 2020

Jamie Williamson Head of School Jonathan Rosenshine Associate Head of School Dr. John J. Russell Executive Director of The Windward Institute

A Note About the Robert J. Schwartz Memorial Lecture 2020

The Windward School and The Windward Institute were looking forward to welcoming Hugh Catts, PhD, to present his lecture "Early Identification of Dyslexia: Research to Practice” on April 14, 2020. Due to the incredibly complex and rapidly evolving situation created by COVID­19, Windward had to cancel this year’s lecture.

We were truly disappointed to cancel this exciting event; however, Dr. Catts has agreed to present at our 2021 Robert J. Schwartz Lecture next spring. We look forward to welcoming him to Windward next year.

COMMUNITY LECTURE 2020

BOARD OF TRUSTEES 2019–20 EXECUTIVE BOARD

Ellen Bowman President Timothy M. Jones 1st Vice President Patricia L. Wolff 2nd Vice President Mark A. Ellman Treasurer Mitchell J. Katz Secretary Arthur Ceria Thomas J. Coleman Elizabeth A. Crain Peter D’Avanzo George Davison Nicholas Finn David Friedland Alexander A. Gendzier Jeffrey B. Goldenberg Meredith Jenkins Gregory D. Kennedy Stacy Kuhn Joseph Lorono Staci Marlowe Janice Meyer Magdalena Zavalía Miguens Denis O’Leary, III Jenny Price Katie Puris Maria Reed Jon Steingart Nicholas Van Amburg

Institute

Save the Date

October 22, 2020 7:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

How Families and Educators Can Address Anxiety Location:

The Windward School Westchester Middle School

Presented by

Rachel Busman, PsyD, ABPP Senior Director of Anxiety Disorders Center and Director of Selective Mutism Service at Child Mind Institute

EDITOR

Heather Pray Director of Communications MANAGING EDITOR

Stephanie Huie Associate Director of Digital Communications & Publications DESIGN

The Blank Page, NYC

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Spring 2020 The Beacon

The Windward Institute, led by Dr. John J. Russell, serves The Windward School and the broader educational community by providing professional development, forming partnerships, advocating for students with language-based learning disabilities, and enhancing The Windward School’s reputation and expertise.

Professional Development The Windward Institute provides professional development based on scientifically validated research in child development, learning theory, and pedagogy. Courses, workshops, seminars, and lectures address a broad range of topics appropriate for both mainstream and special educational settings. The WI serves as a resource for The Windward School’s teachers, non-Windward educators, families, and professionals in allied disciplines, such as speech and language therapists, pediatricians, and psychologists.

The WI’s relationships with colleges, universities, and research institutions allows the Institute to continuously update its professional development offerings by integrating new findings into its offerings.

Partnerships The WI builds partnerships with external institutions including, but not limited to, Carnegie Mellon University, University of Connecticut, Yale University, Manhattanville College, The Child Mind Institute, Tufts University, and University of California San Francisco. The Institute will forge additional alliances with colleges/universities and research organizations. One example is the WI directing the Windward/Haskins Laboratories Collaborative Project. The overarching goal of this partnership is to improve literacy outcomes for all children. Cognitive and brain imaging research is also being conducted to improve early diagnosis of language-based learning disabilities (LBLD) in at-risk preschool children. Finally, a joint Windward/Haskins training and professional development program has been created for Windward teachers, educators, clinicians, researchers, and other stakeholders so that critical research-to-practice goals can be achieved.

Advocating for the Rights of Students with Language­Based Learning Disabilities The WI engages in advocacy activities in support of dyslexics including, but not limited to, the passage of legislation at the state and national levels that protects/advances the rights of dyslexics.

Many LBLD students are never identified, and the ones that are identified are frequently not identified in a timely manner. The WI advocates for policy changes such as mandated, universal screening for dyslexia upon entrance to school. Another example of a policy area that demands attention relates to LBLD students that have individual education programs (IEP). Typically, an IEP provides students with accommodations such as extended time on tests; however, in many instances qualifying students are denied the accommodations to which they are entitled.

Enhancing The Windward School’s Reputation and Expertise The Strategic Plan, adopted by the Board of Trustees in 2019, established a goal to provide greater access to The Windward School’s expertise and research on proven ways to remediate language-based learning disabilities, and this pertains to The Windward Institute. Greater access will be achieved by leveraging The Windward Institute to become internationally recognized as a leader in closing the gap between proven research and current teaching practices (inquiries from Argentina, Jamaica, and China have already been received) and by partnering with leading research institutions to help improve language and literacy outcomes for children at risk (as done with the partnership with Haskins Laboratories).

Supporting the Mission of The Windward School Through its various initiatives, The Windward Institute enables The Windward School to continue to deliver the most effective program for the remediation of language-based learning disabilities, to share its expertise, and to further expand Windward's influence.

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The Windward Institute Journal for Educators and Parents Spring 2020

Meet The Windward Institute Team

Dr. John J. Russell

Annie Stutzman

Najah Frazier

Executive Director of The Windward Institute

Assistant Director of The Windward Institute

Assistant to the Executive Director

Erikka Ramkishun

Asante Robinson

Danielle Scorrano

Manhattan Administrative Assistant

Westchester Administrative Assistant

Research Coordinator and READ Podcast Host

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