Page 24 - iRead EL in Research Paper

Students from backgrounds such as these often face academic challenges and are overrepresented among struggling early readers (NRC, 1998). For example, according to 2005 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) data, approximately three- fourths of US English language learners scored “below basic level in reading when compared to non-Hispanic whites” (Cárdenas- Hagan, 2010, para. 3). Additional challenge is presented when these demographic factors overlap. For instance, according to the US Department of Education, of the children ages 5–9 who spoke a language other than English at home and reported speaking English with di culty, 70% are classi ed with a poverty status of poor or near poor (USDOE, NCES, 2011).
Personalized instructional approaches enhance the e ectiveness of teaching and learning for all students and can help ensure that students in classrooms of mixed readiness levels all have access to the same high-quality educational opportunities. Di erentiation promotes the e ectiveness of the partners in the learning process: teachers are more successful when they systematically evaluate their students to better understand their di ering learning needs and adapt instruction accordingly. In turn, students achieve at higher rates when learning environments are intentionally designed to maximize their individual cognitive development (Sousa & Tomlinson, 2011). Learning happens best when “time, space, materials, groupings, strategies, and other classroom elements” are systematically organized to “address students’ multiple development trajectories” (Sousa & Tomlinson, pp. 46–47).
To increase their chances of becoming successful readers, all children, from those with advanced skills, to those who are academically challenged should receive foundation literacy instruction that targets their speci c learning needs.
To meet the varying needs of students in mainstream classrooms, especially those who struggle with reading, technology can be a key to success. It can provide adaptive instruction based on ongoing assessment; repetitive practice tailored to each student’s individual needs; and data analysis to inform subsequent personalized learning (Hasselbring, 2012).
Personalized, Di erentiated Reading Instruction
By de nition, di erentiated instruction is a exible and individual approach to instruction that gives students multiple options for taking in information and making sense of ideas. Personalized, di erentiated instruction accommodates the variances in learning needs among individual children by tailoring instructional units to meet each student at his or her level.
Research Evidence and Expert Opinion
Accurate and uid reading depends on the successful integration of a variety of skills, which children learn at varying rates and with di ering degrees of ease. As the National Reading Panel (2000) points out:
In the early grades, children are known to vary greatly in the skills they bring to school. There will be some children who already know most letter-sound correspondences, some children who can even decode words, and others who have little or no knowledge (NRP, 2000, pp. 2-96—2-97).
In particular, low-income, nonwhite, and English language learners are at risk of experiencing di culties in reading (NRC, 1998).
22