WHAT IS AN EVIDENCE-BASED

PRACTICES AND WHEN CAN IT BE

IMPLEMENTED?
PRESENTED BY: PAUL ROMANO ROYO &
MARAH CEDILLO
OBJECTIVES:

•Define evidence-based practice

•Explain the importance of
evidence-based practices in
teaching reading and writing
•Cite plans of action to employ
evidence-based practices in
teaching reading and writing
SCHEMA ACTIVATION:

A. What do you know

about evidence-based
practices?
B. What do you want to
learn about evidence-
based practices?
DEFINITION OF TERMS:
 EVIDENCE-BASED-denoting an approach to
medicine, education, and other disciplines that
emphasizes the practical application of the
findings of the best available current research.
 PRACTICE-the actual application or use of an
idea, belief or method, as opposed to theories
relating to it.
 EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICES (EBPs)-are
instructional techniques with meaningful
research support that represent critical tools in
bridging the research-to-practice gap and
improving student outcomes.
EBPs are not identified on the
basis of a single study, but
instead require multiple high
quality studies of appropriate
design to show that a practice
reliably improves student
outcomes.
(Cook & Cook, 2011)
WHAT IS EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICE?
The basic idea of evidence-based practice is that good
quality decisions should be based on a combination of
critical thinking and the best available evidence.
Although all management practitioners use evidence
in their decisions, many pay little attention to the
quality of that evidence. The result is bad decisions
based on unfounded beliefs, fads and ideas
popularized by management gurus. The bottom line
is bad decisions, poor outcomes, and limited
understanding of why things go wrong.
Evidence-based practice seeks to
improve the way decisions are made. It
is an approach to decision-making and
day-today work practice that helps
practitioners to critically evaluate the
extent to which they can trust the
evidence they have at hand. It also
helps practitioners to identify, find and
evaluate additional evidence relevant
to their decisions.
WE USE THE FOLLOWING DEFINITION OF EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICE
WHICH ALSO DESCRIBES THE MAIN SKILLS REQUIRED TO PRACTICE IN
AN EVIDENCE-BASED WAY:

Evidence-based practice is about making decisions through

the conscientious, explicit and judicious use of the best
available evidence from multiple sources by:
1. Asking: translating a practical issue or problem into an
answerable question
2. Acquiring: systematically searching for and retrieving
the evidence
3. Appraising: critically judging the trustworthiness and
relevance of the evidence
4. Aggregating: weighing and pulling together the evidence

5. Applying: incorporating the evidence into the decision-

making process
6. Assessing: evaluating the outcome of the decision taken
to increase the likelihood of a favorable outcome.
EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICES
FOR TEACHING WRITING
WRITING: EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICES
 “Writing today is not a frill for the few, but
an essential skill for the many.”
 Scientific studies of writing interventions
provide:
 Trustworthy approach for identifying effective
methods for teaching writing
 Evidence of the effect of the writing intervention
 Confidence in study results
 How to replicate the strategy in new settings with
new populations of students
 Teachers should use a combination of strategies to
best meet the needs of their students.
WRITING: EVIDENCE BASED
STRATEGIES

 A high-quality writing program will provide a

balance between opportunities for children to
engage in writing that is meaningful to them,
and to receive explicit instruction in the skills
and strategies they need to become proficient
writers

 Development of the self-regulation strategies and

motivation needed for independent writing are
also important.
EFFECTIVE WRITING EVIDENCE-BASED
PRACTICES:
 Writing Strategies
 Summarizing text
 Collaborative writing
 Goals
 Word processing
 Sentence combining
 Process writing
 Inquiry
 Prewriting
 Models
(Gillespie & Graham, 2011)
SUMMARIZING TEXT:
 Summarize what is read
 Practice conveying ideas and messages

 Identify the main idea(s); (graphic organizers)

 Use explicit strategies, then eventually fade as

independence of skill evolves
SUGGESTED STEPS FOR SUMMARIZING:
 (1) Discuss the text and identify important points.
Ask questions to help identify and clarify the topic.
 Once a learner can identify the topic, move to
identifying the more specific topics of paragraphs.
 (2) Show learners how authors put their main idea in
the first sentence in a paragraph. Provide practice.
Repeat the procedure in paragraphs in which the
main idea comes in the last sentence and with
paragraphs where the main idea is embedded in the
middle of paragraphs.
 Teach learners how to construct a main idea when
one is not clearly stated. Model how to construct
main idea statements for paragraphs. Provide
Practice time!!
SUGGESTED STEPS FOR SUMMARIZING:
 (3) Write summaries in their own words. Have
peers work together to share drafts.

(4) Review-
 R- Read a paragraph or passage

A- Ask questions: What’s the topic? Details?

P- Paraphrase: put information in your own
words.
COLLABORATIVE WRITING:
 Students work together to plan, write, edit, and
revise their writing
 Set explicit expectations for collaborative groups

 Student roles are assigned

 Students give explicit feedback to one another

 Switch roles and repeat the process

SET GOALS:
 Set specific goals for the writing assignments
that students are to complete
 Goals can be teacher created, student created or
class created
 Add ideas and specific elements as part of the
goal
WORD PROCESSING:
 Use computer for written tasks
 Text can be added, deleted and easily moved

 Access tools, such as spellcheck

 Teacher should provide guidance on proper

computer usage and software before students use
the computer independently
SENTENCE COMBINING:
 Explicitly teach students how to write complex
and sophisticated sentences
 Teacher modeling

 Apply sentence construction skills when writing

or revising
PROCESS WRITING:
 Flexible but practical classroom routines
 Extended opportunities for practicing the cycle of
planning, writing, and reviewing
 Write for authentic audiences

 Personal responsibility for written work

 Student-to-student interactions throughout the

writing process
 Self-evaluation
INQUIRY:
 Establishing clear goal for writing
 Examination of concrete data using specific
strategies
 Translation of what was learned into one or more
compositions
PREWRITING:
 Engage students in activities prior to writing
that help to produce and organize ideas
 Access what they “already know”

 Research a topic and learn about it

 Arrange ideas using a graphic organizer

MODELS:
 Demonstrate for students what is expected
 Produce work the students should imitate

 Identify critical and effective elements

PENS: SENTENCE WRITING STRATEGY
 P- Pick a formula
 E- Explore words to fit the formula

 N- Note the words

 S- Search and Check

 14 Sentence Patterns with four types of

sentences:
 Simple
 Compound
 Complex
 Compound-complex
PENS: SENTENCE WRITING STRATEGY
 1. Pick what type of sentence you're going to write.
 2. Explore, think about, what kinds of words will fit in
the formula.
 3. Note the words, write down the sentence.
 4. Search and check to see if the words match the
chosen formula.
 Examples:
 1. SV: Susie went swimming.
 2. SSV: Susie and Amy went swimming.
 3. SVV: Susie went swimming and jogging.
 4. SSVV: Susie and Amy went swimming and jogging.
WHAT THE RESEARCH SAYS….
 The PENS strategy is helpful, because it teaches
students:
 •basic vocabulary associated with sentence
writing
 •to write a variety of sentences with fluency

 •prerequisite skills for more advanced writing

Research results showed that students wrote an

average of 65% complete sentences on pretest and
an average of 88% complete on the posttest.
(Kansas University-Center for Research on Learning)
APPLYING QUICK WRITES TO
INSTRUCTION:
 Quick-writes: Otherwise known as “free
writing” time
 Non-graded

 Informal

 Quick

 Motivational

 Allow for time to practice

 Opportunities for reflection and elaboration

 (Just Write! Guide, February 2012)
THE SENTENCE WRITING STRATEGY:
 Teacher should obtain a baseline measure of
student’s sentence writing ability
 Strategy is taught in 4 parts
 Part I- writing simple sentences
 Part II- writing compound sentences
 Part III- write complex sentences and integrate them
with skills of writing simple and compound sentences
 Part IV- learn to write compound-complex sentences
and integrate the skills of writing all four types of
sentences.
• (Shumaker & Sheldon, University of Kansas, 1985)
SELF-REGULATED STRATEGY
DEVELOPMENT (SRSD):
 1. Develop background knowledge- evaluate
students’ skills
 2. Discuss it- talk about the strategy and how it
can help
 3. Model it-talk aloud; describe and demonstrate
each step of the strategy
 4. Memorize it-memorize steps and procedures

 5. Support it-practice, practice, practice

 6. Independent performance-give
opportunities to perform and use strategy in
different contexts; apply the strategy.
WHAT THE RESEARCH SAYS…
 Students in primary grades do not spend
sufficient writing time planning and revising
connected text. Their writing improves when they
are taught these skills.
• (Cutler & Graham, 2008)

 Compared to their peers, students who struggle

with writing, including those with learning
disabilities, have difficulty planning and
organizing their writing and benefit from using
writing strategies
• (Baker, Gersten, & Graham, 2003)
POW + TREE EVIDENCE BASED
STRATEGY FOR PARAGRAPH WRITING:
 P= Pick an idea (opinion)
 O=Organize notes/ ideas using:
 T= Topic Sentence
 R= Reason

 E=Explanation

 E= Ending

 W= Write and say more

WHAT THE RESEARCH SAYS…
 When taught systematically, strategy use by
learners can be retained and applied beyond the
immediate instructional setting.
 (De la Paz & Graham, 2002; Graham & Perin, 2007)

 A large body of research demonstrates that

strategy instruction can be effective for
improving writing and for boosting learners’
planning, editing, and overall written product
quality.
 (De la Paz, 2007; De la Paz & Graham, 2002; Englert, 2009;
Graham, 2006; Graham & Perin, 2007)
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR TEACHING
STUDENTS TO BE EFFECTIVE WRITERS:

 Provide daily time for students to write!!

 Teach students to use the writing process
for a variety of purposes.
 Teach students the writing process.
 Teach strategies for the various components of the
writing process
 Gradual release from teacher to student
 Guide students to select and use appropriate writing
strategies
 Encourage students to be flexible in their use of
components of the writing process
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR TEACHING
STUDENTS TO BE EFFECTIVE WRITERS:

 Teach students to write for a variety of

purposes.
 Help students understand the different purposes of
writing
 Expand students’ concept of audience
 Teach students to emulate the features of good
writing
 Teach students techniques for writing effectively for
different purposes
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR TEACHING
STUDENTS TO BE EFFECTIVE WRITERS:
 Teach students to become fluent with
handwriting, spelling, sentence
construction, typing, and word processing.
 How to hold a pencil correctly and form letters
fluently and efficiently
 Spell words correctly
 Construct sentences for fluency, meaning, and style
 Type fluently and use a word processor to compose
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR TEACHING
STUDENTS TO BE EFFECTIVE WRITERS:

 Create an engaged community of writers.

 Teachers should participate as members of the
community by writing and sharing their writing
 Give students writing choices
 Encourage students to collaborate as writers
 Provide opportunities to give and receive feedback
throughout the writing process
 Publish student’s writing, and extend the community
beyond the classroom
WHAT IS EVIDENCE-BASED
READING INSTRUCTION AND HOW
DO YOU KNOW IT WHEN YOU SEE
IT ?
 WHAT IS EVIDENCE-BASED READING
INSTRUCTION?
 The Partnership for Reading (National Institute for
Literacy, 2005) defines reading as a complex system
of deriving meaning from print. It requires:
-an understanding of how phonemes, or speech sounds,
are connected to print
-the ability to decode unfamiliar words
-the ability to read fluently
-sufficient background information and vocabulary to
foster reading comprehension
-the development of appropriate active strategies to
construct meaning from print
-the development and maintenance of a motivation to
read (Reading Excellence Act; retrieved Oct. 9, 2011;
http://www2.ed.gov/offices/OESE/REA/reading_act.pdf)
A summary of scientifically-based
findings is found in Adult Education
Literacy Instruction: A Review of the
Research (Kruidenier, MacArthur, &
Wrigley, 2010). It is a follow-up to
Research-Based Principles for Adult
Basic Education Reading Instruction
(Kruidenier, 2005). Applying Research
in Reading Instruction for Adults:
First Steps for Teachers (McShane,
2005) presents the consensus among
experts about the implications of this
research for instruction.
The research produced findings that together form
the basis of evidence-based practices. Among them:
There are four key component areas of reading:
alphabetics (phonemic awareness, phonics,
decoding), fluency (the ability to read accurately,
at an appropriate rate, and with prosody),
vocabulary, and comprehension. Learners’
strengths and weaknesses need to be assessed in
each of the four components. Instruction should be
based on assessment results. Instruction should be
systematic, sequenced, direct, and explicit.
Instruction and materials need to be engaging and
relevant to learners’ needs. Instruction must be
continuously monitored, by teacher and learners, to
gauge its effectiveness.
The research suggests that effective adult
reading instruction is more nuanced than
traditionally delivered in most adult basic
education classrooms. For example, most, if
not all, instructional decisions generally
have been based on a single assessment,
specifically a silent reading comprehension
test, such as TABE. The research, however,
tells us that a single assessment provides
an incomplete picture of a learner’s
strengths and weaknesses.
It is critical to assess a student’s strengths and
weaknesses in all components for the simple reason
that the strengths and weaknesses a student
exhibits in one component affect his or her ability
in the other components. Multiple assessments
provide more instructionally relevant information
about a learner’s needs (Kruidenier, MacArthur, &
Wrigley, 2010). For example, a student who is not a
fluent reader will likely have difficulty
comprehending much of what he or she is reading.
The poor comprehension is in part due to the lack
of fluency. Helping a non-fluent reader to improve
his or her fluency skills will also help raise that
student’s comprehension level.
A key concept of EBRI is “teach the reader,
not the reading.” In other words, the focus
of evidenced-based instruction is not to
have students master content area subject
matter; rather, EBRI focuses on helping
students master reading strategies that
build reading skill. For example, when the
student learns the comprehension strategy
of summarizing, he or she transfers it to
another situation, thereby allowing the
student to make meaning from a variety of
texts.
Similarly, vocabulary instruction should focus on
the corpus of high-utility, high-frequency words
that learners will find useful in many contexts
(National Reading Panel, 2000). These are often
referred to as Tier 2 Words (Beck & McKeown,
1985). Words such as analyze, recognize, and
transform have numerous applications, and
students will encounter them in a wide range of
materials across content areas. Spending precious
class time teaching specialized words like
metamorphosis or scythe is counterproductive
when it comes to building a rich, useful vocabulary.
These content-area words can be explained at the
time they are encountered in a text (Beck et al.,
2002).
That is not to say that content-related
materials should not be introduced
into an EBRI classroom. One of the
purposes of assessment is to
determine a student’s mastery and
instructional levels in the component
areas. Content- or job-related
materials have a place in an EBRI
classroom as long as they are at the
appropriate levels for the students
who will be using them.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR
IMPLEMENTATION OF EBRI
Our recommendations are divided into
six categories: EBRI training,
instructional support, operational
support, teacher hiring, materials
development, and measurable student
outcomes. Many of the
recommendations mirror STAR best
practices. Others are the based on our
field experience implementing EBRI.
EBRI Training
Based upon our experiences, the
investment in EBRI training is
considerable—more than 30 hours
of training, plus administrative
in-services and follow-up support
for teachers in the classroom. All
of this consumes time and money,
and requires a personal as well as
professional commitment from
participants.
A screening process, such as an application,
should be in place to identify motivated
school teams with the potential to
successfully implement EBRI. School teams
must be open to changing the way
instruction is delivered and the program is
operated. Teachers and administrators need
to understand that EBRI is not about
“cherry picking” a few instructional
strategies to try out in the classroom. To
successfully implement EBRI, agencies
must be prepared to change the way they do
business, from configuring classes and
attendance policies (i.e., managed
enrollment) to instructional delivery.
Less is more: The EBRI training can be
overwhelming, even for the experienced
teacher. And with many ABE teachers
coming to the profession with little or no
formal background in reading, support and
guidance are essential. Coaching must
continue after the training for all teachers
in order to ensure EBRI implementation
and fidelity (Van Dyke et al., 2010).
Therefore, train only the number of
teachers who can be adequately supported
with mentoring and frequent classroom
visits for as long as a year or two after the
training.
Additional professional support: EBRI
requires that a teacher be skilled in other
crucial aspects of teaching. Professional
development in managing small groups,
working with volunteers or aides, lesson
planning, and scaffolding instruction should
also be part of the overall EBRI
implementation plan.
If teachers are paid for participating in
EBRI training, payment, if possible, should
be tied to changes made in the classroom,
not simply to seat time in training.
Instructional Support
As noted above, teachers need a great deal of
support during the implementation stage. EBRI-
trained teachers benefit from having multiple
opportunities to come together—in real time or,
perhaps, virtually—to meet and share successes,
discuss challenges of implementation, and
problem solve.
In Los Angeles, we identified model EBRI
teachers who were willing to have newly-trained
EBRI teachers observe their classes. During
training, we impress upon teachers that
transitioning to EBRI is a process. Teachers will
often need a full school year to implement and
feel comfortable with EBRI.
Operational Support
Support for the kind of change that
EBRI requires must come from the
highest levels—statewide, agency-
wide, district-wide. Without this
support, critical operational changes
are not likely to happen smoothly, or
happen at all. This may mean
adapting new class size guidelines and
advocating for paid planning time
among other recommendations.
The EBRI approach is focused on the needs
of learners performing at the intermediate
level (4th-8th-grade levels). Consequently,
EBRI classrooms need to be leveled to
include only these intermediate-level
readers. Teachers who are implementing
EBRI should not be expected to also meet
the needs of 0-3 readers and upper-level
ESL students. Only one teacher we worked
with was able to do this successfully
because he is an exceptional teacher and
had a classroom aide and volunteers.
EBRI is based on assessment and
planned, systematic instruction.
Therefore, a managed enrollment
model is essential. Managed
enrollment minimizes classroom
turbulence and allows for the
necessary assessment and systematic
instruction. It may be necessary to
provide additional staffing or teacher
hours to ensure that students are
properly assessed.
Teacher Hiring
We believe that most adult education
teachers are dedicated professionals.
However, not all of them are cut out to
be adult reading instructors.
Therefore, it is important to identify
instructors who are committed to
growing as professionals and who may
have a background in education or
teaching reading. These are the better
candidates for EBRI training.
Materials Development Most current
adult reading materials do not
support EBRI, and teachers spend
considerable time developing their
own materials. A system for creating
and sharing of teacher-developed
EBRI materials and lessons should be
established. Programs should have an
ongoing dialogue with authors and
publishers to encourage the
development of instructional
materials that support EBRI.
Measurable Student Outcomes
STAR EBRI training was developed and
promoted as a way to change teacher behavior
and the operational delivery of adult reading
instruction. Improved student outcomes were
implied, but not supported by data. It is time at
this point in the evolution of EBRI
implementation to look at measurable student
outcomes. Creating a viable EBRI program
takes a sizeable investment. If it cannot be
proven that EBRI results in considerable
improvement in student outcomes, then the
support and funding for EBRI will be in
jeopardy. EBRI must now prove itself.
LET’S THINK FOR A WHILE …

 How do I find a program or teaching

strategy that is evidence-based?

 How do I determine whether the

evidence-based practice I’m using is
working with my students?
HOW DO I FIND A PROGRAM OR TEACHING
STRATEGY THAT IS EVIDENCE-BASED?

 Published Research Journals

 Internet sources- several organizations have
created free, online databases that offer
evaluations of the research evidence for various
teaching programs and practices along with
recommendations for use.
 Exemplary Web-sites:
 What Works Clearinghouse; U. S. Dept. of Ed.
 Best Evidence Encyclopedia; Johns Hopkins
University School of Education
 Promising Practice Network on Children, Families
and Communities; Rand Corporation
 Current Practice Alerts Teaching LD: Information
and Resources for Teaching Students with Learning
Disabilities; Teaching LD.org
HOW DO I DETERMINE WHETHER THE
EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICE I’M USING IS
WORKING WITH MY STUDENTS?

 Progress monitoring
 Curriculum-based measurement

 Both inform teachers about the effectiveness of

instruction
 Frequent and brief quizzes that are measured
against a student’s individual progress against
an established grade-level or individualized
education program (IEP) goal, typically using a
line graph.
References
Beck, I. L., & McKeown, M. G. (1985). Teaching vocabulary: Making the instruction fit the goal. Educational
Perspectives, 23(1), 11-15.
Beck, I. L., McKeown, M. G., & Kucan, L. (2002). Bringing words to life: Robust vocabulary Instruction. New
York: The Guilford Press.
Beder, H. & Medina, P. (2001). Classroom dynamics in adult literacy education. NCSALL Report #18.
http://ncsall.net/fileadmin/resources/research/report18.pdf (retrieved Oct. 10, 2011).
Beder, H., Tomkins, J., Medina, P., Riccioni, R., & Deng, W. (2006). Learners’ engagement in adult literacy
education. NCSALL Report #28. http://www.ncsall.net/fileadmin/resources/research/report28.pdf (retrieved Oct.
10, 2011).
Beers, K. (2003). When kids can’t read: What teachers can do. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
11 Adult Education Great Cities Summit
What Is Evidence-Based Reading Instruction and How Do You Know It When You See It?
12 Adult Education Great Cities Summit
Comings, J., Parrella, A., & Soricone, L. (1999). Persistence among adult basic education students in pre-GED
classes. NCSALL Report #12. http://www.ncsall.net/fileadmin/resources/research/report12.pdf. (retrieved Oct.
10, 2011).
Kruidenier, J. R. (2002). Research based principles for adult basic education reading instruction. Washington,
DC: National Institute for Literacy.
Kruidenier, J. R, MacArthur, C.A, & Wrigley, H.S. (2010). Adult education literacy instruction: A review of the
research. Washington, DC: National Institute for Literacy.
McShane, S. (2005). Applying research in reading instruction for adults: First steps for teachers. Washington,
DC: The Partnership for Reading, National Institute for Literacy, Washington, DC.
National Reading Panel (2000). Teaching Children to Read: An Evidence-Based Assessment of the Scientific
Research Literature on Reading and Its Implications for Reading Instruction, U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services, Public Health Service, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Child Health and
Human Development, NIH Pub. No. 00-4769, Washington, DC.
Reading Excellence Act, 1999. Washington, DC: United States Department of Education. Archived at
http://www2.ed.gov/inits/FY99/1-read.html (retrieved Oct. 9, 2011).
Sticht, T., MacDonald, B., & Erickson, P. (1998). Passports to paradise: The struggle to teach and learn on the
margins of adult education. El Cajon, CA: Applied Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences, Inc.
Strucker, J. (2006). More curriculum structure: A response to “turbulence.” Focus on Basics, 8 (C).
http://www.ncsall.net/index.php?id=1151 (retrieved Oct. 10, 2011).
Van Dyke, M., Fixsen, D., Blase, K., Duda, M., Metz., A., & Naoom, S. (2010). Implementation and Scale-up of
Effective Educational Practices (Adult Education Great Cities Summit, September 20, 2010). Chapel Hill, NC:
National Implementation Research Network.