Reshaping literacy teacher preparation

Research drives changes to statewide standards

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By Meleah Maynard

This fall, all Minnesota colleges that prepare K–12 literacy teachers introduced research-driven curricular changes aimed at preparing future teachers to help kids succeed. Recent national surveys indicate that novice teachers want to feel comfortable teaching literacy in today's classrooms, which increasingly include more English language learners. At the same time, policymakers and others are taking interest in the impact of effective teacher preparation on K–12 students’ achievement.

Changes to the higher education programs reflect new Minnesota Board of Teaching (BOT) standards for reading, which were influenced by research led by literacy professor Deborah Dillon, Guy Bond Chair in Reading. With funding from the Bush Foundation, Dillon and colleagues from the University, along with faculty and research associates from Augsburg College, St. Catherine University, and St. Cloud State University, worked together to enhance K–12 literacy teacher preparation across their institutions. After sharing their research report, called Minnesota Reads: A Higher Education Partnership to Better Prepare Faculty and Future Teachers for Literacy Instruction, with literacy educators nationwide, Dillon and her colleagues in the Minnesota Reading Association (MRA) took the project further. They worked with the BOT and other reading professionals to revise standards for literacy teacher preparation, using the Minnesota Reads findings as a key resource.

The University collaborated with the Minnesota BOT Reading Task Force (comprising representatives from the Minnesota Department of Education, MRA, Minnesota Reading License Coalition, Minnesota Association of Colleges of Teacher Education, Minnesota Literacy Coalition, Minnesota Academy of Reading, Education Minnesota, Parent Advocacy Group, International Dyslexia Association, and Groves Academy) on new statewide teaching standards enacted July 2009. Then the University led 28 other institutions in professional development sessions while all literacy teacher preparation institutions revised curricula and submitted them to the BOT for review last spring.

The revised syllabi and enhanced practicums reflect research that identifies what pre-service teachers need to know to teach reading, how practicums can be set up to promote putting knowledge into practice, and the opportunities needed for reflection on interactions with K–12 students.

What the Research Shows

The Minnesota Reads project was initially designed as professional development for teacher education faculty. Representatives from the four participating institutions reviewed research in reading and language arts, as well as best practices in teacher education and literacy education. They also studied the development of literacy in primary and subsequent languages and looked at ways to use technology to enhance teacher preparation. Researchers considered evaluation procedures for assessing pre-service teachers’ learning, as well.

Findings indicate that these sessions promoted consensus building among literacy faculty and the development of several key components of the revised standards. Researchers agreed on conceptual guidelines behind curriculum and syllabi revision; identified knowledge and practices deemed important for new teachers; and developed four common assignments and three pre-and post-course assessments.

Literacy teacher educators involved in the Minnesota Reads Project piloted the newly approved common assignments at their respective institutions and brought samples of pre-service teachers’ work to professional development sessions. The researchers analyzed these assignments to determine what new teachers were learning, as well as areas for concern, then used these findings to strengthen course topics, readings, assignments, and the assessments.

“Examining assessment and assignment data from our pre-service teachers was a powerful way to help us think about our intended goals for new teacher learning and what we needed to do to adjust our instruction or practicum experiences,” Dillon says.

What Others are Saying

The collaboration involved in crafting new BOT standards was unique. “Getting folks together from higher education institutions across the state is really unprecedented for something like this,” says Kari Ross, reading specialist for the Minnesota Department of Education, “and we’re fortunate that the University not only offered a venue for bringing everyone’s expertise together but played a leadership role in developing and implementing needed changes.”

Karen Balmer, the BOT’s executive director, expressed gratitude for the hundreds of hours Dillon and others invested in defining and enacting the new standards and added, “We believe there will be a profound and positive impact on Minnesota K–12 students’ achievement and motivation to read for years to come.”

Why this Research Matters

Research has shown a direct connection between teacher preparedness and children’s success in learning to read. The curricular changes driven by the Minnesota Reads Project and the new BOT reading standards reflect current, comprehensive research about preparing literacy teachers to help all students in the classroom. Changes to the University’s own pre-service literacy teacher preparation program include an expansion of coursework in reading, language arts, and children’s literature and the addition of a second practicum.

“As pre-service teachers gain new knowledge about reading processes and work with K–12 students, they often see what does and doesn’t work to foster readers,” says Dillon. “Through reflection and discussion teacher candidates delve back into their readings to deepen their knowledge and fine-tune their practices. As a result, new teachers are better prepared and feel more self-efficacious about their ability to work with a variety of learners.”

At Sojourner Truth Academy in Minneapolis, reading scores have improved since pre-service literacy teachers from the University began working as reading buddies to the students. “The kids really embraced that and looked forward to reading with their buddies,” says Principal Julie Guy. “I think the extra time students studying to be teachers spend working with kids will help give them the kind of real-life training they need.”

For more information:

Deborah R. Dillon, 612-626-8271 dillon@umn.edu

Resources

Dillon, D. R., O’Brien, D. G., Sato, M., & Kelly, C. M. (2010). Professional development and teacher education for reading instruction. In M. L. Kamil, P. D. Pearson, E. B. Moje, & P. Afflerbach (Eds.), Handbook Of Reading Research (Vol. 4, pp. 629-659).  Mahwah, N.J: Lawrence Erlbaum Publishers.

International Reading Association. (2010). International Reading Association Standards for Reading Professionals. Newark, D.E.

Dillon, D. R. (2007). Minnesota Reads: An Opportunity To Strengthen Literacy Teacher Preparation. Resources for the March 30, 2007, meeting of all Minnesota reading professors. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota College of Education and Human Development.

Minnesota Board of Teaching and the Minnesota Board of Teaching Reading Task Force (2007–2009). New standards for teachers of reading: Teachers of elementary education; Teachers of early childhood education; Teacher of reading; Reading leader.

Vagle, M. D., Dillon, D. R., Davison-Jenkins, J. LaDuca, B., & Olson, V. (2006). Redesigning literacy pre-service education at four institutions: A three-year collaborative project.  Fifty-Fifth Yearbook of the National Reading Conference (pp. 324-340). Milwaukee: The National Reading Conference.

Revised November 2010