W1 - Reconciling the Common Core Standards with Reading Research

Symposium Chair: Louisa Moats, Ed.D., IDA Board Member and President, Moats Associates Consulting, Inc.

Most states in the US have now adopted the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for English Language Arts (www.corestandards.org). Intended to guide the development of curriculum, assessment, and lesson design, the CCSS characterize the reading, language, writing, and topic knowledge necessary for high school graduates to become “college and career ready.” Guidelines issued for publishers, K-12, assert that reading/language arts instruction will be improved if lessons incorporate more informational text, more reading aloud by teachers of “complex” text, more stringent demands for sophisticated interpretation of literature, and more cross-curricular content. Writing standards emphasize mastery of genre, even at young ages. “Language” standards pertain to both oral and written language, without clear differentiation. In this context, consensus findings from decades of scientific research in reading and writing development, especially those pertaining to the education of dyslexic and less skilled readers, are at risk of being overlooked or misapplied. In this symposium, our speakers will each address a critical area of reading/language arts instruction, examining the alignment between the CCSS and research. Can we unpack the Standards to promote more effective educational practices for students who struggle with reading and language?

Welcome & Introduction
Louisa Moats, Ed.D., IDA Board Member and President, Moats Associates Consulting, Inc.

Language, Literacy, and Text Complexity
Marilyn Adams, Ph.D., Visiting Scholar, Department of Cognitive, Linguistic, and Psychological Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI

The call by the Common Core Standards for students at every level to read more complex texts is well motivated, but how can it be made manageable and productive?  On one hand, research shows that students cannot understand text that is beyond their vocabulary.  On the other, vocabulary intervention studies rarely produce significant increases in reading comprehension. Adams will discuss how, as aligned with the CC Standards, both vocabulary growth and productive understanding of complex text may be advanced through focus on the underlying semantic and syntactic relations among words.

Critiquing the Coverage of Phoneme Awareness and Phonics in the Common Core Standards
Susan Brady, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology, University of Rhode Island and Research Scientist, Haskins Laboratories, Yale University

Do the CCS Standards adequately reflect what has been learned from reading research about the development of phoneme awareness and phonics?  Is it a problem that the standards do not take a stand regarding methods of instruction for these two domains?  What additional information would help educators meet the instructional needs of all learners in the areas of phoneme awareness and phonics?

Making the CCSS Work for Students with Language and Learning Difficulties – Increasing the Intensity of Early Vocabulary Instruction and Intervention
Michael Coyne, Ph.D., Professor of Special Education, University of Connecticut, Storrs

The CCSS provide a framework for what teachers and schools should teach, but provide little guidance on how content should be taught – particularly to meet the needs of students at risk for language and learning difficulties. This presentation will summarize the findings of a program of research on direct and extended vocabulary instruction and intervention in kindergarten delivered within a multi-tier, or RTI, framework. The presentation will focus on strategies for increasing the intensity of instruction to make the CCSS attainable for all students.

LUNCH BREAK

Foundations of Writing and Spelling Instruction: Are the CCSS Leading Us Astray?
Louisa Moats, Ed.D., IDA Board Member and President, Moats Associates Consulting, Inc.

The CCSS in “writing” address production of three text genres: narration, informational text, and argumentation. Yet many foundational skills must be developed in young writers to enable planning and organization, production and transcription of language, and reviewing for the purposes of editing and revising.  With reference to research on writing development, it is clear that the CCSS can only be accomplished if (mostly unnamed) foundational skills are taught sequentially, explicitly, and systematically.

Structured Word Inquiry: Integrating Morphology and Inquiry as Guiding Principles for Reading, Vocabulary and Spelling Instruction 
Peter Bowers, Ph.D. Candidate; Researcher and Consultant

Research shows that morphological instruction has positive literacy effects, especially for less able and younger students. In line with this research, morphology is a component in the CCSS from the start. However, strategies for morphological problem-solving to facilitate this word-learning process must be directly taught, linked to instruction in phonology, and  integrated into reading, spelling and vocabulary instruction from the start.  The structured word inquiry approach described in this talk (including videos, images and lessons from K-8 classrooms) helps teachers and students use scientific inquiry principles to gain an ever deeper understanding of how the written word works.

Addressing the Complex Instructional Needs of Struggling Readers in High School
Maureen W. Lovett, Ph.D., C. Psych., Senior Scientist, Neurosciences & Mental Health Program, Director, Learning Disabilities Research Program at The Hospital For Sick Children and Professor of Pediatrics, University of Toronto

This presentation will consider what needs to be put in place for students who reach high school still functioning many grades below expectation in their level of reading proficiency.  High school students with limited reading skills struggle with all aspects of the curriculum and require instruction targeted to support the development of basic reading and reading comprehension skills.  This presentation will describe a research-based reading intervention program offered to 1500 struggling readers in 25 Canadian high schools. Preliminary results and outcomes will be outlined. Some of the challenges encountered in undertaking reading remediation in a high school setting will be discussed and ongoing efforts to improve student involvement in improving their reading skills will be described.