Literacy Instruction | Study of Instructional Improvement

Below are teacher measures of instructional practice in language arts developed by Correnti and Rowan (2007) using SII teacher log data. Generally, log data have been analyzed by SII researchers using three-level hierarchical linear models that nest multiple log reports within teachers within schools (see an example here).

It may interest readers to view the log instrument protocols filled out by teachers (here) and to review the glossaries (here) explaining SII terminology adopted for the instruments. Log data files for both language arts and mathematics are available for download here. Although the log data files contain many of the variables necessary for critical data reduction, researchers may observe the syntax to replicate the process here.

Table 1: Word Analysis Measures

Measures	Components	Log Item
Letter–sound relationships	letter-sound relationships	C1a
	Counting the number of sounds in a word	C1b
	sound spelling/invented spelling/developmental spelling	C1c
	segmenting a part of the word	C1d
	other segmenting tasks	C1e
	blending initial sounds with a rhyming word (onset-rime)	C1f
	blending individual phonemes into real words	C1g
	blending phonemes into nonsense words	C1h
	blending syllables	C1i
	other blending tasks	C1j
Sight words	word recognition, sight words	C1k
Use picture/context cues	use of context, picture, and/or sentence meaning and structure to read words	C1m
Use phonics cues	use of phonics-based or letter-sound relationships to read words in sentences or stories	C1n
Structural analysis	structural analysis, examining word families, prefixes, suffixes, contractions, etc.	C1l
Assess Student Ability	I listened to the target student read	C4a
	I took running records or conducted a miscue analysis	C4b
	I administered a word analysis test	C4c
Teacher Directed Instruction	I corrected the student’s errors or modeled the correct answer	C3a
	I prompted the student to use the context (other words in sentence, pictures, what they already know) to read the word	C3c
	I gave oral cues – sounding out parts of the word for them	C3d
Focus on Comprehension	Percent of word analysis lessons reading comprehension was also a focus	4a
Focus on Writing	Percent of word analysis lessons writing was also a focus	4b

Table 2: Reading Comprehension Measures

Measures	Components	Log Item
Activate knowledge	Activating prior knowledge or making personal connections to text	A1a
Activate knowledge	Making predictions, previewing or Surveying	A1b
Literal comprehension	Answering questions that have answers directly stated in the text	A1j
	Answering questions that require inferences	A1k
	Explaining how to find answers or information	A1l
Story structure	Using concept maps, story maps or text structure frames	A1i
	Sequencing information or events	A1m
	Identifying story structure	A1n
	Summarizing important details	A1q
Analyze/ synthesize	Comparing and/or contrasting information or texts	A1p
Analyze/ synthesize	Analyzing and evaluating text	A1r
Brief answers	Answered brief oral questions	A3a
	Answered multiple choice questions	A3e
	Completed sentences filling in blanks	A3f
	Wrote brief answers to questions	A3h
Students discuss text	Discussed text with peers	A3b
	Did a think-aloud or explained how they applied a skill or strategy	A3c
	Generated questions about text	A3d
Extended answers	Wrote extensive answers to questions	A3i
Extended answers	Worked on a literature extension project	A3j
Teacher directed instruction	Teacher demonstrated or explained a skill	A4a
	Teacher demonstrated or explained how to use a reading strategy	A4b
	Teacher explained why or when to use a reading strategy	A4c
Integrate writing	examining literary techniques or author’s style	A1s
	written literature extension project	A1t
	examined literary techniques or author’s style in writing	B1c
	teacher explained how to write, organize ideas, revise or edit using a published author’s writing	B3c
Focus on Writing	Percent of reading comprehension lessons where writing was also a focus	4b

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Table 3: Writing Measures

Measures	Components	Log Item
Pre-Writing	generating ideas for writing	B1a
Pre-Writing	organizing ideas for writing	B1b
Writing Practice	writing practice	B1e
Revise writing	revision of writing-elaboration	B1f
Revise writing	revision of writing-refining or re-organizing	B1g
Edit writing	editing capitals, punctuation, or spelling	B1h
Edit writing	editing word use, grammar or syntax	B1i
Share writing	sharing writing with others	B1j
Literary techniques /genre study	literary techniques or author’s style	B1c
Literary techniques /genre study	writing forms or genres (e.g. letter, drama, editorial, Haiku)	B1d
Teacher comments on writing	I commented on what the student wrote not how	B3f
Teacher comments on writing	I described what the student did well in his/her writing	B3g
Teacher directed instruction	I demonstrated or did a think-aloud using my own writing	B3a
	I explained how to write, organize ideas, revise or edit using st. writing	B3b
	I explained how to write, organize ideas, revise or edit using a published author’s writing	B3c
	I led the student and his/her peers in a group composition	B3e
	I commented on how the student could improve his/her writing	B3h
Focus on Comprehension	Percent of writing lessons where reading comprehension was also a focus	4a
Integrate Comprehension	examining literary techniques or author’s style	A1s
	written literature extension project	A1t
	wrote extensive answers to questions	A3i
	worked on a literature extension project	A3j
Write words	student’s writing consisted of letter strings or words	B2a
Separate sentences	student’s writing consisted of separate sentences	B2b
Separate paragraph	student’s writing consisted of a single paragraph	B2c
Connected paragraphs	student’s writing consisted of connected paragraphs	B2d

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