Improving Literacy Instruction at Scale: State Reading Policy Implementation and Capacity Building in Small and Rural Schools

• In Event: Virtual Poster Session
  In Virtual iPresentation Only: Division L - Section 7: Policy Implementation, Analysis, and Impact Virtual Poster Session

Abstract

Contemporary reading policy focuses on what and how teachers should teach. Simultaneously, state departments of education have embraced the concept of high-quality instructional materials. Like previous policies, these laws assume teachers need to be told what to do without considering their knowledge or the schools’ organizational capacity. This study examines the experiences of teachers and administrators who participated in a two-year professional learning program developed by university faculty to support the uptake of these reading policies in a single state. This study focuses on participants in small and rural schools with limited organizational capacity and more limited access to professional learning. Findings suggest that participation in the program supported scheduling changes, teacher teaming, and coherence through instructional routines and shared language

Authors

• Sarah J Zuckerman, University of Nebraska - Lincoln

• Michael Hebert, University of California - Irvine

• Pamela Bazis, University of Nebraska - Lincoln

• Sara Wing, University of Nebraska - Lincoln

• Janet Bohaty, University of Nebraska - Lincoln

• Nathan Speer, University of Nebraska - Lincoln

• Rachel E. Schachter, University of Illinois at Chicago

• Marc Goodrich, Texas A&M University

• Derek Rodgers, University of Iowa