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Author: Rebecca Hoffa, rhoffa@purdue.edu
This preschool language program focuses on improving children’s language skills, and graduate students in speech and hearing sciences read aloud to children. (Purdue University photo/Tim Brouk)
Purdue University has launched an initiative to improve the reading comprehension of Indiana’s K-12 students by using science-based methods to enhance teacher preparation. Funding for this research was provided in part by a $1.5 million grant from Lilly Endowment, Inc. awarded to Purdue in August as part of the Lilly Endowment’s Indiana Reading Science Advancement Initiative, which began in 2022. It is being said.
The science of reading refers to the vast body of research that investigates how children learn to read, focusing on phonics, phonological awareness, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, and written and oral language. It also includes explicit, systematic, and cumulative instructional methods. Purdue University is one of her 28 universities in Indiana to receive a grant from the Lilly Endowment to support efforts to integrate the science of reading-aligned principles into teacher preparation programs.
From working with outside consultants to digging deeper into research into the science of reading and surveying former students about the concept of reading, we’re working with three Purdue campuses (West Lafayette, Northwest, and Fort Wayne) and two universities. of teachers are conducting the survey. The School of Education and the School of Health and Human Sciences (HHS) bring together their diverse perspectives and collaborate to enhance the preparation of college literacy teachers.
Six months later, Purdue faculty are already moving forward with their original plans to revamp the curriculum. Early in the fall, teachers met to review survey results to assess how well graduating and in-service teachers are reading and writing. In addition to research, the team met with outside consultants and partnered with Reading League Indiana to develop a shared understanding of the science of reading and evaluate how this information informs curriculum adjustments .
Purdue’s interdisciplinary approach is overseen by Jenna Likas, associate vice president for teaching and learning, and the grant is co-funded by Christy Wessel-Powell, associate professor of literacy education and director of the Center for Research in Literacy and Language Education, and Catherine It is co-led by (Cammy) McBride, professor of human development and family sciences and HHS associate dean for research. Mary Ann Cahill, associate dean for professional programs and dean of the School of Education and Counseling at Purdue Northwest, will serve as Purdue Northwest’s campus lead, and Holly Hallinger-Thirken, clinical associate professor of elementary education, will serve as campus lead. Serving. Fort Wayne at Purdue.
“We are grateful to the Lilly Endowment and the state of Indiana for their active support of literacy education,” said Wessel-Powell. “Knowing that we can put these resources to work to improve the way teachers work with students and that there is a long-term commitment towards these goals is really important.”
The funds will be used to support teacher collaborations to enrich curricula through science-based literacy methods in elementary, special education, and early childhood education. Their work spans her five main goals:
- Refining the Science of Reading Content in Purdue University’s Undergraduate Teaching Licensure Program Coursework.
- Create stacked credentials for undergraduate and graduate students and services for current teachers.
- Create an online repository of scientific research related to reading and writing.
- Provides professional development to faculty across all Purdue colleges and campuses and offers programs related to reading and writing.
- Connect with national leaders by providing research-based resources on literacy.
Those working on the grant plan to meet regularly in the spring to begin the process of restructuring and planning courses that will strengthen the curriculum and better provide future teachers with a deep understanding of the science of reading. This spring, the team will also begin developing professional development workshops for all Purdue faculty involved in literacy instruction across Purdue campuses, as well as begin building an online repository of resources for faculty to reference. To do.
“Ultimately, what we want is that the courses that are used to train teachers are better aligned with the science of reading so that teachers can take advantage of all the different skill-building tools to become better teachers. , to help kids read better,”’ McBride said.
Not only has the education landscape changed since the COVID-19 pandemic, Hallinger-Thirken is now turning to literacy to address the diverse needs of Indiana’s children. He pointed out that this is an important time.
“Although the effects of COVID-19 have been largely cited, we also know that Indiana has a very diverse student body, and we also know that many factors are involved when it comes to literacy. “It’s about how proficient students are at reading and writing,” Hallinger-Saken said. “It is up to us as educators and professionals to make sure that no student lacks these skills and to take great care to provide those skills to our students. I think this grant came at the perfect time because it gives us some of the resources and the attention to really focus on that specific goal.”
To meet the needs of Indiana’s diverse population, the grant will also bring in faculty members such as Associate Professor Trish Morita Malaney, who specializes in English language learning, to study the characteristics of language learning and literacy learning for English language learners. is focused on.
The 33 faculty members on this grant have experience with the cross-disciplinary elements of Purdue research, and many believe they have proven useful in sharing knowledge and sharing resources. I’m pointing it out.
“I really think the early years component is important. The developmental part. And what the language science, speech-language and hearing science faculty and what they can contribute is to make this more comprehensive and ultimately teacher training.” It just makes it a more useful approach to,” McBride said.
Grace Pigozzi, assistant professor of elementary literacy, said this grant opportunity will help faculty learn more about how Purdue’s system works, because higher education can get lost in daily routines and can be isolating. He explained that he was now able to understand. Together, we can make a difference in literacy education.
“For this opportunity to exist, we had to understand who we are as an entity, and to me, that was the most surprising thing,” Pigozzi said. “It’s kind of comforting to know you now and to be able to get funding to guide us as we work on this very difficult work.”
As part of the grant, Chenel Loudermill, a clinical professor in the Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, is assembling external consultants to implement the professional development component. He said this will allow grant-funded faculty to not only learn from each other, but also to think outside the box by exploring expertise outside the university in fields such as psychology, education, communication sciences and disorders, and neuroscience. He said it provides an opportunity to think outside the box.
“The interdisciplinary approach Purdue University has taken is exactly what is needed to advance literacy education in Indiana,” Loudermill said.
Faculty members shared that Purdue’s contribution to Lilly’s efforts to advance the science of reading will increase the university’s impact on Indiana’s children and teachers. This funding from the Lilly Endowment, and Purdue’s efforts within it, will improve reading outcomes in K-12 schools by helping in-service teachers bring the science of reading-aligned principles into their classrooms. It complements the Indiana Department of Education’s statewide efforts to
“We are a land-grant agency, so this is right in our wheelhouse,” Wessel-Powell said. “We see a lot of opportunity to create synergies and expand our impact across the state.”
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