Opportunity for high schools!
WestEd’s Reading Apprenticeship project invites districts with at least one high school to participate in a grant funded, evidence-based professional learning project. The project will serve 600 high school educators and support the improvement of teaching and learning over the 2021–2024 school years.
Reading is about content area learning and is not just for ELA teachers — teachers of English, history, and science should participate. Priority is given to rural and low wealth districts.
Why join the Reading Apprenticeship EIR study?
Join this grant-funded journey to experience high-quality professional learning and be part of a research study that will contribute to the field of teaching and learning at the high school level. The professional learning takes place both in-person and online, and supports teachers across all subject areas to help students with both academic and social-emotional learning.
Teachers will learn new ways to:
- read a broader range of complex texts
- develop awareness and mastery of discipline-specific literacy skills and high level comprehension strategies
- build content-area knowledge
- engage in strategic reading problem solving and text-based reasoning, individually and collaboratively
- increase perseverance and stamina when working with challenging texts
Contact for more information:
April Spencer
WRESA
Secondary/Professional Development Coordinator
(828) 774-5681 ext #103
[email protected]
Dr. Deborah (DJ) Jones
Educational Leadership Consulting, LLC
Consultant/Executive Coach
(336) 314-7582
[email protected]
Bill Loyd
WestEd
Program Coordinator
[email protected]
Project Overview
Project Title: Accelerating Literacy through Self-Regulation, Collaboration, and Persistence:
Reading Apprenticeship
Dates: 2020–2025
Grant awarded to WestEd from: U.S. Department of Education, Education Innovation and Research program (EIR)
EIR priorities: This is a mid-phase project that meets the strong evidence base required for Absolute Priority 1. The project also addresses Absolute Priority 3, “fostering knowledge and promoting the development of students’ academic literacy proficiencies and aptitude for social-emotional learning.”
Project description: WestEd seeks to improve the academic achievement and social-emotional learning skills (SEL) of high school students in rural and low-wealth districts by engaging 600 educators in Reading Apprenticeship professional learning (PD) and leadership development. Participating teachers and students will incorporate literacy and social-emotional learning practices into their classrooms. Students will improve their collaboration, problem solving, self-regulation, and develop positive academic mindsets, leading them to realize improved academic performance as measured by attendance, assessments, and completion of academic courses.
Subjects, grades, and teachers served: About 600 teachers of history, ELA, and science from 50 districts serving low-wealth students will participate in the research study. Teachers of other subjects and grades are invited to participate in PD, but not in the research. Participating teachers will serve an estimated 25,000 high school students, grades 9–10.
Professional learning model: Teachers participate in blended PD (both online and in-person) over a two year period. The PD is designed and facilitated by WestEd and active teacher consultants who are Reading Apprenticeship experts in multiple subject areas. The PD includes online learning, in-person learning, small group coaching, and leadership development.
Evaluation: An external evaluator, SRI International, will conduct a randomized controlled trial to assess the impact of the project. For more information, visit the “research” tab above.
Partners: North Carolina’s Western Region Education Service Alliance will serve as one local project coordinator. The proposal was supported by another 55 North Carolina Districts, education associations, and service agencies.
Interested in Participating? Contact Bill Loyd at [email protected].
Research Study
SRI International is conducting an independent evaluation that includes a randomized controlled trial. The study provides information to improve the project and assess its implementation, as well as its impact on teacher practice and student learning.
Research Questions
Implementation: Was Reading Apprenticeship implemented with fidelity? What contextual factors facilitated or impeded local implementation?
Proximal outcomes: What is the impact of Reading Apprenticeship on teacher practice and student academic mindsets and use of learning strategies?
Distal outcomes: What is the impact of Reading Apprenticeship on student academic performance and behaviors? Moderation: Do student impacts vary by sub-group? Mediation: How do proximal impacts on teachers and students mediate the impacts of Reading Apprenticeship on student academic performance and behaviors?
Cost effectiveness: What are the ingredients required to implement Reading Apprenticeship and what is its cost effectiveness relative to the control condition?
Scaling and sustainability: How does WestEd replicate and scale Reading Apprenticeship in rural, low-wealth Districts while maintaining program fidelity? To what extent do local teachers and leaders develop the expertise, sense of ownership, and depth of change required for sustainability?