Project READI Technical Reports
Constant Comparison Analysis and Other Classroom Observation Activity
Litman, C., Greenleaf, C., Charney-Sirott, I., Sexton, U., & Brown, W. (2012)
This study draws on field notes and lesson artifacts from observations of 42 San Francisco Bay Area English language arts, history, and science lessons conducted in Year 1 of Project READI, prior to intervention development. These observations surfaced issues that informed READI work throughout the project, including the role of close reading and interactive argumentation in evidence-based argument (E-BA), and attention to the difference between generating and supporting a claim.
Language Arts, History and Science
Litman, C. & Greenleaf, C. with Charney-Sirott, I., Marple, S., & Sexton, U. (2012)
This study draws on field notes and lesson artifacts from observations of 79 San Francisco Bay and Chicago area English language arts, history, and science lessons conducted in Year 1 of Project READI, prior to intervention development. We identified eight themes that represent malleable factors mediating student engagement and learning from higher level literacy tasks: (1) texts; (2) close reading; (3) argumentation; (4) disciplinary knowledge building; (5) teacher direct support for learning; (6) instrumental support for learning; (7) epistemological framing; and (8) participation structures.
The Enduring Impact of Design-based Professional Development on Literacy Instruction in Secondary Subject Areas
Litman, C., Marple, S., & Greenleaf, C. (2015)
Drawing from observations conducted during Year 1 of Project READI, prior to instructional intervention, this mixed-methods study explores differences in opportunities for students to learn offered by teachers who had previously participated in a model of design-based PD versus those who had not. We found that teachers who had participated in PD allocated less time to delivering content and more time to working with text, argumentation, close reading, and cross-textual analysis than comparison teachers.
Classroom Observation Opportunity to Learn Analysis
Litman, C., Marple, S., & Greenleaf, C. with Bolz, M., Charney-Sirott, I., Richardson, L., & Hall, A. (2013)
This mixed-methods study of literacy opportunities to learn (OTL) for students is based on videotapes of middle and high school ELA, history/social studies, and science lessons conducted in California and Chicago during Year 1 of Project READI, prior to instructional intervention. In addition to analysis of OTL, the report includes descriptions of the coding scheme, coder training, and inter-rater reliability that constitute the foundation for analyses of OTL in these classrooms. The report also includes an analysis of grade band differences not reported elsewhere.
Designing Text-Based Investigations for Evidence-Based Argumentation in Science
Greenleaf, C., Brown, W., Hale, G., Sexton, U. (WestEd), & George, M. (UIC) (2012)
This report outlines the approach we designed to simultaneously advance students’ understanding of the nature of science, learning of science concepts, and ability to read and reason with authentic science sources and multiple representations. We focus on engaging students in Text-based Investigations to develop explanatory models of phenomena and offer the research base and design principles underlying the approach.
and Explanatory Models to Measure Learning Outcomes from Instruction
with Text-based Investigation Modules
Brown, W., Greenleaf, C., Marple, S., Reade, F., Charney-Sirott, I., Sexton, U., Hale, G., Ko, M., James, K., & Burkett C. (2016)
This report details the research base, goals, and iterative development of an approach to disciplinary literacy assessment. We undertook this design work to be able to gauge the effects of students’ engagements in Text-based Investigations. We present a coding scheme for analyzing written annotations on texts for evidence of students’ reading processes and ability to use texts for science conceptual learning. We also describe the development and use of a rubric for scoring students’ science models as a measure of science conceptual learning from text.
Studying the Implementation of Text-based Investigations on Water in Middle School Science Classrooms: Lessons from Collaborative Design-based Research
Ko, M., Brown, W. Greenleaf, C., James, K. & George, M. (2013)
This report describes the development, implementation, and iterative refinement of a Text-based Investigation unit on water purity. Over two cycles, the water module was refined to respond to middle school students’ conceptual understandings and learning needs revealed during module implementation.
MRSA in High School Science Classrooms: Lessons from Collaborative
Design-based Research
Greenleaf, C., Brown, W. & Sexton, U. (2013)
This report describes the collaborative design-based research of Project READI as a method of testing and refining our approach to Text-based Investigations in science. Here we detail lessons learned from the implementation of a unit on Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) in diverse high school science classrooms.
Studying the Implementation of Text-based Investigations on MRSA in Middle School Science Classrooms: Lessons from Collaborative Design-based Research
Ko, M., Brown, W., Greenleaf, C., & Goldman, S. R. (2013; updated 2016)
Based on the high school MRSA module, we developed a middle school MRSA unit. This report describes the development, implementation, and iterative refinement of the unit in two middle school classrooms.
to Support Evidence-based Argumentation in Science
Ko, M., Brown, W., Greenleaf, C., Goldman, S. R., Sela, R., Childers, E., & Juareguy, A. (2013; updated 2016)
In early implementations of Text-based Investigation units we found that students were unfamiliar with the construction and use of models in science. This report describes the collaborative design of a mini-unit on Reading Models in response to students’ need to develop this core disciplinary literacy practice.
Developing and Refining Text-based Investigations on Homeostasis in High School Classrooms: Lessons from Collaborative Design-based Research
Ko, M., James, K., Brown, W., Greenleaf, C., & Goldman, S. R. (2014; updated 2016)
This report describes the collaborative development and iterative refinement of a Text-based Investigation module focused on homeostasis for high school biology.
Teacher Knowledge, Beliefs, and Practices
Greenleaf, C., Brown, W., Litman, C., Charney-Sirott, I., Cribb, G., & Jensen, R. (2016)
This report details the elaboration of professional development inquiries and how these evolved from resources and inquiries previously developed by SLI. The report explains how the design team incorporated READI learning objectives and curricular resources to leverage and refine these PD inquiry approaches and tools, and how these inquiries were integrated into a professional learning sequence implemented to impact teacher practice and student learning outcomes in the RCT conducted in the final years of the project.
Design Rationale, Learning Goals, and Hypothesized Progressions for Text-based Investigations in Middle and High School Science Classrooms
Greenleaf, C., Brown, W., Ko, M., Hale, G., Sexton, U., James, K., & George, M. (2013)
This report updates the design rationale for Text-based Investigations offered in READI Technical Report #17 and lays out the six student learning objectives for science informing the project’s design work. It also offers a vision of how teaching and student learning might progress over the course of a school year to advance these goals.