Bairnsdale Secondary College, Bayview College Portland, Beechworth Secondary College, Broadmeadows Secondary College, Brunswick Secondary College, Catholic Ladies College Eltham, Catholic Regional College Melton, Collingwood College, Covenant College, Deer Park Secondary College, Dromana Secondary College, Eaglehawk Secondary College, Epping Secondary College, Essendon Keilor District Secondary College, Eumemmerring Secondary College (Fountain Gate Campus), FJC College Benalla, Frankston High School, Heatherhill Secondary College, Highview College Maryborough, Kurnai College (Morwell Campus), Lyndale Secondary College, MacKillop College, Marian College Sunshine, McGuire College, Monbulk College, Murtoa Secondary College, Newcomb Secondary College, Oakleigh Greek Orthodox College, Orbost Secondary College, Ovens Secondary College, Padua College Mornington, Presentation College Moe, Princes Hill Secondary College, Robinvale Secondary College, Simonds College West Melbourne , St John's Regional College Dandenong, St Paul's College Altona, Tallangatta Secondary College, Tyrrell College, Upper Yarra Secondary College, Werribee Secondary College, Wheelers Hill Secondary College, Wodonga West Secondary College. Medlemmer af Successful Interventions Secondary Literacy and Numeracy Initiative Steering Committee, som omfattede alle partnere i projektet: Department of Education, Victoria; den katolske uddannelseskommission i Victoria og Association of Independent Schools of Victoria. Analyse af de kvantitative og kvalitative data indsamlet i Successful Interventions Literacy Research Project indikerer, at nogle interventionsprogrammer og målrettede læse- og skriveundervisningsstrategier gør en forskel for læsefærdigheder.
Careful targeting of the intervention program and strategies to meet individual students' literacy learning needs is of great importance. Communication between teachers across all key learning areas and recognition of the role alphabetic learning plays in all key learning areas.
CONTEXT AND PURPOSES OF THE STUDY
7 The outcomes of this research continue the work begun in Phase 1 of Successful Interventions, an environmental scan of literacy programs and strategies carried out in 1998 by the Victorian Association for the Teaching of English. The research in Phase 2, the Successful Interventions Literacy Research Project, was carried out in 44 Victorian schools, including government, Catholic and independent schools in rural and urban locations, and including both large and small schools. All programs and strategies were already planned or in place in the schools selected, and schools were provided with small research grants to enable them to implement the programs and strategies as planned.
The selection of schools was such that a wide range of programs and strategies were included in the project. The selection of schools also made it possible to examine the functioning of some of the same programs in different contexts.
THE RESEARCH APPROACH
These materials provided a means of charting student growth in reading and writing over the lifetime of the study. A variety of data were collected to examine some of the factors that may be associated with differences in achievement for students participating in a variety of literacy intervention programs. Survey instruments, in the form of three written questionnaires, were developed for the 44 participating schools, focusing on the operation of the literacy program within the structures and resources of the whole school curriculum.
Twenty school sites were selected, representative of the full range of intervention strategies and programs examined. The collection of observational data in the classrooms of the sample schools provided insight into both the intended and actual operation of the range of intervention programs.
THE PROJECT SCHOOLS AND STUDENTS
The small number of newcomers to the project were not involved in specific interventions, but in some of the whole class approaches and strategies. In the context of this project, this is highly generalized information, but it nevertheless broadens the understanding of the diversity of students' literacy experiences. The list below shows the main focus of the literacy programs and strategies in the project schools.
Making a Difference Using Laptops Bridging the Gap WA First Steps Strategies Direct Instruction (Corrective . Reading) Spalding (“The Writing Path to Reading”). Many of the intervention programs, for example Making a Difference and the Spalding program, include professional development activities specific to the program. Other arrangements observed included providing additional support for some students in the context of the classroom.
A series of key questions were the focus for each visit to schools in the second round. All schools visited expressed their appreciation for the special grant that enabled them to implement their selected programs and strategies in the most effective way. Student performance on the DART assessment tasks can be interpreted in terms of the components and levels of the Nationally Developed English Profile (Australian Education Council, 1994).
The reporting of students' performance against the levels of the English CSF is therefore relevant for the application of this criterion. Comments from the teacher logs indicate some of the responses to the first set of DART assessments:. We found that with the class discussion for the letter - planning a pet show - the students worked very well, with all students in the group participating.
Administered DART: noticed a lack of continuity to our normal English program which caused this (but Year 7 camp in Week 3 - the whole week - also contributed). Corrective Reading and Bridging the Gap students tested separately from the rest of the class. More detailed analyzes of the DART reports examined the impact of the various intervention programs on students' literacy achievement.
The March DART evaluation found that student performance from the 44 project schools was spread across levels 2 – 5 of the CSF.
TEACHERS’ PERSPECTIVES: THE LOGBOOKS
The fatigue of some students can be a problem - their energy wanes towards the end of the week - sometimes towards the end of a session. These summaries were evaluative and helped to identify strengths and weaknesses of the different approaches. The needs and responses of individual students, the context of the whole school environment and the experiences of teachers all influence the implementation of a program or strategy.
The most difficult thing was to maintain a positive atmosphere in some groups. Classroom organization can occur in almost any classroom, and aspects of the First Steps program, strategies, etc., that have been introduced have far-reaching implications for use in all areas where reading and writing occur. The main purpose of case studies is to obtain accurate information about students' experiences in literacy programs.
The focus of each case study was on students' educational and literacy needs; the adequacy of the intervention program to meet these needs; the student's response to the intervention program; and the perceived benefits to the student from different perspectives. It is interesting to note that these aspects of literacy receive significant emphasis in most programs designed to provide additional support to students with low literacy achievement. Comments from case study interviews with parents provide insight into some of the literacy practices students engage in at home.
I was a bit upset at the beginning of the year, but I've picked it up a bit now. At the beginning of the year I would sit down and say tell me the answer. Definitely a change because she wouldn't even have tried it at the beginning of the year.
SUMMER SCHOOLS
Other evidence, such as parent comments and teacher-tutor reports, pointed to improvements in motivation and self-confidence. In a questionnaire completed at the end of the Summer School, participants were asked to comment on the perceived benefits to students of the daily hour and a half tuition. It is interesting to note the identification of increased self-esteem and confidence, and the value of the individualized learning strategies.
Students were not directly involved in the program; however, participants undertook a case study of a student in their school. At the end of the program the teachers reported that they had gained a lot of knowledge about learning and teaching literacy – “to understand the causes of reading difficulties – hence some hope for improvement”;. The approaches and strategies presented in the course were found useful in various ways: “I would use a lot of them in my English classes”; "Organizing PD for other staff so that strategies can be used across the curriculum"; “Guided Reading, Readability Assessments.
Work modification is helpful in planning and delivering lessons that maximize opportunities for success." The benefits of the case study component of the course for teachers were acknowledged by all: "it gave me a greater insight into the complexity of the difficulties experienced by the selected students and my responsibility as a classroom teacher to adopt appropriate strategies". Further, the benefits of case study for students were also recognized: “starting to experience success”;.
As with the Monash summer school, these evaluative comments are consistent with reported gains among students in the 44 project schools.
SUCCESSFUL INTERVENTIONS: MAIN FINDINGS,
Time is required to implement literacy initiatives – schools often report the need for considerable time to allow familiarization and adaptation of the program. This comment from a science teacher about a student's progress shows some recognition of the evidence of improvement in science lessons associated with her participation in the intervention. She is much more confident in what she does in terms of her ability to get on with things and provide answers.
Also, her ability to follow written instructions - I don't know if she just got used to the expectations, but she is very sequential in her approach. I always remind her that we don't just do it in here - that they are skills if she's at home reading or if she's in the classroom and. I think she does, whereas with some of the other students it just goes in one ear and out the other.
She has the sense to realize that this is what she meant to do now, not to be happy with the first thing that comes out, but to go back and read it out loud and the bits she's not sure about not to underline those kinds of things. Now, instead of looking at something and saying 'I can't do that' at least now she will have a chance. She might not get everything perfect the first time, but at least she'll have a chance.
And just little things around the house like - she loves to cook and now she'll get out a recipe book and go ahead and do it. For teachers to expand their repertoire of teaching strategies, awareness of the need to ensure diverse skills, access to funding and flexible provision of professional development was seen as necessary. Quantifying the extent and nature of literacy difficulties was seen as a useful strategy to convince staff of the need for action.
