Explore · I4I

Live Versus Audio-Recorded Narrative Stimuli Intervention

2016

This study examines whether different methods of presenting narrative stimuli (live reading by assessors versus audio-recorded stories) influence young children's narrative comprehension and oral-retell quality. Children in kindergarten, second grade, and fourth grade were matched on oral language comprehension ability and randomly assigned to either hear stories read aloud live by assessors or listen to audio-recorded stories via CD player. After hearing stories, children were asked to retell them and answer comprehension questions. The intervention involves presenting three narrative stories (from Test of Narrative Language Tasks 1, 3, and 5) using either live or audio-recorded delivery methods.

Kindergarten 2nd Grade 4th Grade

IEP Quality Tutorial

2013

The IEP Quality Tutorial is a web-based decision-making support system designed to help IEP teams develop high-quality, standards-based Individualized Education Programs for students with disabilities in grades 2-8. The Tutorial provides evidence-based tools and resources including Help Topics with guidance and examples, Toolbox Resources with downloadable planning sheets, Goal Assistants to help prioritize state learning standards and write measurable annual goals and short-term objectives, Case Student Scenarios, and a Resource Library. Teachers receive initial 3-hour on-site training on using the Tutorial, along with a training manual and ongoing email/phone support. The Tutorial emphasizes data-driven decisions, prioritization of instructional choices within a standards-based environment, and individualization of IEPs to meet students' unique needs.

2nd Grade 3rd Grade 4th Grade 5th Grade 6th Grade 7th Grade 8th Grade

Pennsylvania Dyslexia Screening and Early Literacy Intervention Pilot Program

2018

The Pennsylvania Dyslexia Screening and Early Literacy Intervention Pilot Program is designed to identify students at risk for reading difficulties, including dyslexia, and provide appropriate supports to improve future reading outcomes. The program has two levels of support: (1) a classroom program that supplements core instruction for all students with an increased focus on phonemic awareness and multisensory structured language (MSL), and (2) an MSL intervention to provide extra instruction for students identified as needing more support based on early literacy screening in the winter of kindergarten. The classroom program strengthens core instruction by providing classroom teachers with professional development aligned with evidence-based approaches while schools continue using their chosen core literacy program. The MSL intervention is provided to students with a kindergarten winter Letter Naming Fluency (LNF) score of 39 or below, delivered by trained interventionists in groups of no more than three students, with targets of 30 intervention hours by the end of kindergarten and 100 hours by the end of first grade. Districts implement various MSL intervention approaches including Orton-Gillingham, Sonday, Wilson, and others.

Kindergarten 1st Grade

NumberShire Level 1 Gaming Intervention

2016

NumberShire Level 1 Gaming Intervention (NS1) is a game-based, Tier 2 mathematics intervention designed for first-grade students with or at risk for mathematics difficulties. The intervention targets whole-number concepts and skills across three Common Core State Standards domains: Counting and Cardinality, Number and Operations in Base Ten, and Operations and Algebraic Thinking. NS1 consists of 48 sessions organized into 12 weeks of instruction, with four 15-minute sessions per week, totaling 12 hours of individualized instructional gameplay. The intervention is delivered individually through a gaming platform in school computer labs, facilitated by trained instructional assistants. Each session includes four activities: Warm-Up (practice of previously mastered skills), Teaching Event (explicit instruction on new concepts with demonstrations and guided practice), Assessment Event (extended practice of previously taught skills), and Wrap-Up (review activities). NS1 employs explicit instructional design principles including instructional scaffolding, frequent practice opportunities with immediate feedback, and a Differentiated Learning Pathway that adjusts instruction based on student performance metrics. The intervention uses virtual mathematical representations, NS1 characters for modeling, and a Renaissance-style fairy tale village setting to engage students. Interventionists receive four hours of professional development training before implementation.

1st Grade

Collaborative Intelligent Tutoring System for Fractions

2016

The Collaborative Intelligent Tutoring System for Fractions is an ITS designed to support elementary school students (4th and 5th grade) learning fractions through either individual or collaborative work. The system covers seven fractions units: naming, making, equivalent, least common denominator, comparing, adding, and subtracting fractions. Each unit contains eight problems using graphical representations (circles, rectangles, and number lines). The intervention offers two versions: a conceptually-oriented tutor that guides students to identify patterns and generalize fraction concepts, and a procedurally-oriented tutor that walks students through step-by-step problem-solving procedures. The collaborative version uses embedded collaborative scripts with distributed responsibility, where students sit at separate computers with shared but differentiated problem views and communicate through speech. Students work synchronously with networked collaboration. The system provides cognitive support through step-by-step guidance, immediate feedback, and on-demand hints. The study ran across five 45-minute class periods, with students working in pairs (for collaborative conditions) or individually throughout all sessions.

4th Grade 5th Grade

Dual-Language Immersion Programs

2017

Dual-language immersion programs provide native English speakers and English learners with general academic instruction in two languages (Spanish, Mandarin, Japanese, or Russian) from kindergarten onward. The programs follow either a 90/10 two-way model (where 90% of instruction in kindergarten is in the partner language, declining by 10 percentage points per grade, serving approximately half native speakers of each language) or a 50/50 one-way model (where 50% of instruction in each core subject occurs in the partner language throughout elementary grades, primarily serving native English speakers). In grades K-3 of two-way programs, students receive 75%-100% of mathematics, 56%-100% of language arts, and 100% of science and social studies instruction in the partner language. In grades 4-5, they receive about 25% of mathematics, 58% of language arts, and 100% of science and social studies in the partner language. Middle school students take one language arts class in English, one in the partner language, and one social studies class in the partner language. Students are admitted through a district-administered lottery process.

Prekindergarten Kindergarten 1st Grade 2nd Grade 3rd Grade 4th Grade 5th Grade 6th Grade 7th Grade 8th Grade

Passport to Literacy

2016

Passport to Literacy is a widely-used, supplemental multi-component reading intervention program designed to improve reading outcomes for struggling readers in fourth grade. The program provides daily 30-minute sessions in small groups of 4-7 students throughout the school year (120 lessons total). Passport to Literacy addresses phonics and word recognition, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension in each lesson, with main emphasis on strategies for gaining understanding, building conceptual and background knowledge, and teaching students to interact with text to gain meaning and monitor comprehension. Lessons are organized into 12 ten-day adventures. Each lesson includes Word Works (focusing on advanced word study, affixes, roots, and multi-syllabic word strategies) and Read to Understand (organized into before, during, and after reading comprehension skills and strategies). The program requires research staff or trained interventionists to deliver instruction. Prior to intervention, teachers participated in approximately 8 hours of training over two days, with ongoing twice-monthly coaching visits and monthly meetings throughout implementation.

4th Grade

Early College High School Initiative (ECHSI)

2013

The Early College High School Initiative (ECHSI) provides underserved students with exposure to and support in college while they are in high school. Early Colleges partner with colleges and universities to offer all students an opportunity to earn an associate's degree or up to two years of college credits toward a bachelor's degree during high school at no or low cost to the students. The intervention serves students in grades 9-12, with most Early Colleges located on college campuses. Early Colleges provide a variety of supports including tutoring, advisories, college preparatory information, and academic support classes. The program integrates rigorous high school curriculum with college coursework, with students typically starting college courses in ninth grade. Seven of the ten study Early Colleges had course sequences allowing students to earn at least two years of college credit. The underlying assumption is that engaging underrepresented students in rigorous curriculum tied to earning college credits will motivate them and increase their access to postsecondary education and credentials after high school.

9th Grade 10th Grade 11th Grade 12th Grade

Highly and Minimally Guided Discovery Instruction for Basic Add-1 and Doubles Combinations

2015

This study evaluated computer-based interventions designed to promote fluency with basic addition combinations (add-1 and doubles) among kindergarten through second-grade students. The interventions used either highly guided discovery learning (which sequentially arranged problems to highlight patterns and provided explanatory feedback) or minimally guided practice (semi-random practice with feedback on correctness only). The highly guided add-1 training connected adding 1 to number-after relations, while the highly guided doubles training connected doubles to everyday analogies and even numbers. Students participated in two 30-minute computer sessions per week over approximately 9 months. The interventions included preparatory training (7 sessions on concrete counting strategies and 8 sessions on estimation) followed by three stages of primary training focused on strategy discovery, practice, and fluency development. All training was delivered one-on-one at computer stations outside classrooms.

Kindergarten 1st Grade 2nd Grade

Four Reading Interventions: Corrective Reading, Failure Free Reading, Spell Read P.A.T., and Wilson Reading

2006

This study evaluates four widely used remedial reading programs for struggling readers in grades 3 and 5: Corrective Reading, Failure Free Reading, Spell Read P.A.T., and Wilson Reading. The interventions were delivered as pull-out programs in small groups of three students, meeting five days per week for approximately 50-minute sessions from November 2003 through May 2004, totaling about 90 hours of instruction on average. Three interventions (Corrective Reading, Spell Read P.A.T., and Wilson Reading) focus primarily on word-level skills including phonemic awareness, phonemic decoding, and reading fluency through systematic and explicit instruction. Failure Free Reading focuses on building sight vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension through computer-based lessons, workbook exercises, and teacher-led instruction. Teachers were recruited from participating schools and received approximately 70 hours of professional development and support during the implementation year, including 30 hours of initial intensive training, 24 hours during a practice period, and 14 hours of supervision during the intervention phase.

3rd Grade 5th Grade