Research & Evaluation |
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Community Initiatives, Project FLITE/Even Start
As partner with Community School District 7 from 1997-2001 in the Even Start-funded Project FLITE, ILS staff designed and conducted the program's longitudinal evaluation. The evaluation resulted in five findings:
- the power of shared learning: program activities in FLITE promoted the notion that learning was not uni-directional (parents to children or staff to families), but reciprocal and shared among parents, children, and staff.
- the value of multiple points of entry: parents' first contact with a program component matched their initial needs and provided the support necessary to explore other program options as their needs changed. As a result, parents ventured further into their own and their children's learning.
- the importance of supporting a range of literacy practices: parents engaged in a wide variety of reading, writing, and talking activities for various purposes. Particular practices "took root" and became established within the families.
- the impact on children of attending to adults' learning and to their developing confidence. Our attention on adult learning resulted in parents' focused engagement with children, broadened opportunities for literacy learning, and deepening communication among family members.
- ongoing staff development also served as processes for formative evaluation. Blending staff development with program documentation allowed FLITE to consider participants' needs and educational practice in an ongoing way.
New York City Writing Project, Improving the Teaching of Writing: Teacher and Student Outcomes
With funding from the U.S. Department of Education/National Writing Project, the Institute for Literacy Studies is conducting a two-year study of the New York City Writing Project's (NYCWP) impact on a sample of high school teachers and their students. Findings from the first year of this research initiative indicate that NYCWP teacher-consultants play a pivotal role in improving teachers' classroom practices across the curriculum. The data also suggest that NYCWP practices have a positive impact on English-language learners, in particular, and student writing in general. A report on year one findings from this Local Site Research Initiative will be available in early spring 2006.
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New York City Writing Project, Annual Evaluation of Inservice Program
The NYCWP conducts an annual evaluation of its inservice program in order to understand its impact on teachers and administrators in New York City public schools. Methods include interviews, surveys, and participant evaluations of seminars, study groups, and workshop series. These instruments were developed and revised by NYCWP directors and staff in consultation with experts in research and evaluation at the CUNY Graduate Center and the National Writing Project. The data are tabulated and analyzed each year by a researcher from the Graduate Center, who provides us with an annual report. Surveys ask participating teachers to assess the NYCWP's impact on their classroom practices (including specific writing strategies they used to meet stated literacy goals) and their student outcomes. In 2002, 180 teachers responded to the survey; 204 teachers responded in 2003. Analysis of the data for the years 2002 and 2003 reveals consistent results. More than 95% of participating teachers report that their work with the NYCWP:
- added to their knowledge about and ability to introduce specific strategies for writing.
- assisted them to use a variety of writing strategies with more frequency and for more purposes, including to support reading.
- helped them prepare their students for the ELA or other Regents exams.
- increased their own comfort with and enthusiasm for the teaching of writing.
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New York City Writing Project, New Teacher Initiative
In 2002, with funding from the NWP/Stone Foundation, the New York City Writing Project designed a three-year initiative to support new teachers, but also to conduct their own inquiry into the unique needs of this group. Though the Writing Project had always worked with teachers at all levels of experience, the New Teacher Initiative (NTI) invited teachers in their vulnerable first, second, and third "induction" years to form a community across schools. The model included one-on-one support for each new teacher through an on-site "teacher-consultant" mentor, regular meetings in which all the new teachers and consultants came together from across the city to write and talk, and a new teacher listserv. Two core questions guided the internal evaluation of this effort: How would encouraging the voices of novices and making them a part of a supportive community affect their self-definition and commitment as teachers? How might what they learned with the Writing Project translate into their work with students? Data from surveys, interviews, and listserv transcripts are being analyzed. A report will be available on this website in spring 2006.
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