STAR. What is STAR? STAR is a professional development package to assist teachers, program administrators, and state leaders in implementing evidence-based.

STAR

What is STAR? STAR is a professional

development package to assist teachers, program administrators, and state leaders in implementing evidence-based reading instruction.

What is that?? Evidence Based Reading

Instruction (EBRI) is instruction based on practices that have a track record of being successful.Scientific Research“Professional Wisdom”

Promising Practices from the research:

Assessment of learners’ strengths and needs on each component of reading Alphabetics Fluency Vocabulary Comprehension

Alphabetics

The process readers use to decode printed words into meaningful spoken words

Assessed by having students read graded word lists

Fluency The ability to read with efficiency

and ease Includes

AccuracyRateProsody

Assessed by listening to students read connected text out loud

Vocabulary The words a person knows

and understands Assessed by having students

provide definitions/explanations of words on graded lists

Comprehension

Interaction between the reader and the text that results in understanding

Assessed by having students read graded passages silently, and then answering questions or retelling the information.

Reading

ComprehensionVocabulary

Alphabetics

Fluency

Four Reading Components

Each learner has a “profile” of strengths and weaknesses.

These profiles are used to group students and plan instruction.

Other promising practices include....

Direct and explicit instruction, consisting of teacher explanation and modeling, and student opportunities for guided practice and application.

Continuous monitoring—by both teachers and learners—of instructional effectiveness.

What STAR is NOT.... A curriculum Published materials A lock-step approach to

working with adult readers A panacea – darn it!

What level students does the STAR Initiative focus on? Adult Intermediate Readers Grade Level Equivalent of 4-8 Why?

These students often need all four components of reading

This is the largest group of adult students in ABE programs

STAR learners might also be students who are second or other language learners (ELL), adults with learning disabilities, etc.

Adult learners who test above or below the 4-8 grade level would benefit from some of all of the techniques and instruction, but STAR has a focus of intermediate level learners. Below 4... learners need mostly alphabetics and

fluencyAbove 8.0, they need mostly vocabulary and

comprehension

What is involved in STAR training? Three 2-day training sessions Work done outside the training sessions

to practice and apply the skills and techniques involved

Development of Action Plans – to guide your work in between the training sessions

A commitment to try to implement STAR/EBRI at your site

Benefits of STAR training Learn more about adult readers

(especially important if you do not have training in reading pedagogy)

Learn useful techniques and strategies to teach your students

Know you are doing your best to help your students improve their reading

Use of the STAR Tool Kit (online resource)

Technical Assistance (site visits, etc.)

Responsibilities..... Attendees must attend all the training

sessions. Attendees must commit to doing work in

between the training sessions (conducting assessments, etc.)

Attendees and their team will develop Action Plans to guide your STAR implementation

Attendees may need to make some structural, programmatic changes to implement STAR

Contact PersonPeggy Meyers, Education DirectorWisconsin Technical College System Office4622 University AvenueMadison, Wisconsin [email protected]