The Impact of Project GLAD on Fifth-Grade Reading, Vocabulary, Writing, and Science Achievement

• In Event: 56.036 - How Can Educators Help Improve All (English) Learners' Academic Success? Findings From Three Randomized Studies

Abstract

This study evaluated the impact of Project GLAD professional development on the reading comprehension, vocabulary, writing, and science knowledge of fifth-grade English learners (ELs) and non-ELs. English learners (ELs) are often taught in mainstream classrooms alongside their English proficient peers but may need extra assistance accessing academic content while learning to understand, speak, read, and write English (Tharp, Estrada, Dalteen, & Yamaguchi 2000; Echevarria, Short & Powers, 2006). Schools often turn to some form of teacher professional development to support ELs in developing their English while also learning grade-level content.

Project GLAD offers professional development to help teachers incorporate a range of interconnected instructional strategies designed to support all students but particularly to ELs. It has been widely used in the western United States since the early 1990s. The instructional strategies address motivation, background knowledge, socio-emotional issues, engaging presentation of content using a range of visual supports, oral language practice, and reading and writing supports (Brechtel, 2001). Teachers initially receive seven days of professional development, including 15 or more hours of demonstration in the classroom. Teachers in the study also had three days of follow-up coaching in Years 1 and 2.

We conducted a cluster-randomized study with fifth-grade classrooms in a final sample of 29 Idaho schools. Our research questions were:

(1) What is the impact of Project GLAD on the literacy and science outcomes of fifth-grade current and former ELs?
(2) How does that impact compare to the impact on students who were never ELs?

We examined treatment effects separately for reading comprehension, vocabulary, six distinct writing traits (ideas, organization, voice, sentence fluency, word choice, and conventions) and science separately using a two-level ANCOVA model run with HLM6 (Raudenbush, Bryk, & Congdon, 2008) for both the ever-EL (current and former ELs) and non-EL samples. The percentage of ELs per school (13%) was somewhat less than anticipated, leaving some analyses underpowered.

To examine reading comprehension and vocabulary, we used the Gates-MacGinite assessment. Writing was assessed using a science-writing prompt scored using the 6+1-Traits rubric, while both the state science assessment and an end-of-unit assessment were used to measure science achievement.

Impact estimates for the reading comprehension, vocabulary and writing outcomes were positive, except for the writing trait of voice. In reading comprehension, vocabulary, and the writing trait of ideas, estimate impacts approach significance (p ≤ 0.1). The largest effects were seen in the writing trait of ideas (Hedges’ g=0.22), reading comprehension (Hedges’ g =0.16), vocabulary (Hedges’ g =0.14), and word choice (Hedges’ g =0.14). Effects were larger for ELs at the intermediate level. Effects for non-ELs were generally positive in Year 1 and negative in Year 2, but for both years results were not significant. We found no impact on the two science measures.

Results from this first rigorous study of Project GLAD challenges the claim of “good for all students,” but suggests there may be a positive impact for EL students, particularly at the intermediate level.

Authors

• Theresa Deussen, Education Northwest

• Makoto Hanita, Education Northwest

• Angela Roccograndi, Education Northwest