Appendix G SRCL Teacher Inverview

Appendix G: Teacher Post-Observation Interview Protocol and Consent Form

Striving Readers Program Evaluation

Teacher Post-Observation Interview Protocol

Interviewer_____________________________________ Interviewee ID#_________________

Site ___________________________________________ Date/Time_____________________

Introduction

In this study, we’d like to learn about the nature of literacy instruction across various grades (prekindergarten through grade 12) at different schools receiving SRCL funds. As we observe classrooms, we’re interested in the resources teachers use for reading and writing instruction and the approach they take. Watching your classroom was very helpful. I’d like to ask some follow-up questions about you and your instruction. Is that all right?

Key points to convey to the respondent:

• This is a study conducted by the American Institutes for Research (AIR), Abt Associates, and the Instructional Research Group on behalf of the U.S. Department of Education. The purpose of the study is to understand the implementation of the SRCL grant program at the state, district, school, and classroom levels.

• This is not a compliance study; our purpose is solely to provide policymakers and the general public with insight regarding local experiences with the SRCL program.

• We are conducting site visits to SRCL schools in a subset of districts. Also, we are administering surveys of district officials and school principals to collect data from a wider range of respondents.

• The study results will be discussed in a final report that will be available to the public. We will not include any information in our public reporting that identifies your district or school. However, officials at the U.S. Department of Education will know that districts in your state participated in this study.

• We know that you are very busy, and we appreciate your time. We anticipate that this interview will take approximately 15 minutes.

• We would like to record this conversation so that we can be sure we have an accurate record. We will not share this recording with anyone outside the research team, and we will delete the recording after the final report is complete. Is that okay with you?

• You may discontinue your participation in this interview at any time. If we touch on topics that you believe to be sensitive for any reason, please bring that to our attention, and we will not include these comments either in public reporting or in discussions with the U.S. Department of Education.

Role and Previous Education-Related Experience

1. How many years have you been teaching? At this school? At this grade level?

2. Do you have any specific qualifications or training related to supporting struggling readers who are English speakers? Struggling readers who are English learners? Special education students with individualized education programs (IEPs) in reading?

Approach to Program or Strategy and Implementation

3. Can you briefly give an overview of the resources—in terms of reading program, materials, interventions—you used during the observation?

4. How would you describe the goal and approach of what you were teaching?

5. Were any of the resources specific to a new (adopted this year) program or practices for reading? If yes, which of the resources were specific to this new program or practices? What is the focus of the new program/practices?

6. If relevant: What information did you use to group students in the way we saw them grouped today? Use probes below, if needed.

• Scores on district/state achievement tests

• Scores on a diagnostic test used in the school/school district/state (such as Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills, or DIBELS)

• Scores on assessments included in the reading program

• Recommendations from a reading specialist

• Informal assessment based on student’s work

• Other: Please specify ________________________________________________

Differentiated Instruction

7. Did any of your students receive different (e.g., supplemental or modified) materials [or, if relevant] instruction from a reading specialist or another resource person during the observation?

• If yes, what kind of instruction did they receive?

Professional Development/Training

8. Have you had any professional development this year (workshops, courses, webinars) on implementing your literacy/reading program?

• If yes, what kind of training did you receive?

Success, Challenges, and Sustainability

9. How well do you think the reading instruction method or resources meet the needs of students?

10. Have you experienced any challenges associated with the reading instruction method or resources your school uses?

Conditions of Observation

11. Were there any unusual events or circumstances that happened during your observation? Please explain.

Thank you so much for your time!

Striving Readers Program Evaluation Interview:
Informed Consent

Purpose

American Institutes for Research (AIR) is the independent and external evaluator contracted by the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences (IES) to conduct the Striving Readers Comprehensive Literacy (SRCL) program evaluation. The purpose of this study is to provide information to policymakers, administrators, and educators regarding the following: grant award procedures, technical assistance, continuous improvement procedures, and literacy interventions at the school level.

In an effort to gather insight about SRCL implementation, we are administering surveys, conducting interviews, and observing classrooms. Online surveys will be administered to all SRCL subgrantees, and a sample of principals and teachers in SRCL-funded schools. We will also conduct interviews with state-level grantee administrators and a sample of principals, reading specialists, and teachers. Interviews will focus on the award process, literacy interventions’ evidence of effectiveness, strategies for serving the largest number of students, technical assistance from states and districts, professional development plans, and use of assessments to identify student needs, inform instruction, and monitor progress.

Risks and Discomfort

There are no anticipated or known risks in participating in this evaluation. Your responses will have no adverse effect on your position in the school or district in any way and your participation is voluntary. This is NOT an evaluation of you personally but an attempt to understand how states, districts, and schools implement the SRCL literacy initiative. If there is any question that you do not want to answer or you feel uncomfortable about, please let me know and we can skip it.

Benefits

Your participation in the evaluation will contribute to an understanding of the implementation processes associated with a large-scale SRCL initiative. Findings from the interviews will help policymakers and educators to improve the support of federal grant programs and literacy instruction.

Confidentiality

We will keep the information you share during this interview confidential and we will not identify you, your school, or your district in any reports or to anyone outside the research team. Your responses are protected from disclosure by federal statute (P.L. 107-279, Title I, Part E, Sec.183). All responses that relate to or describe identifiable characteristics of individuals may be used only for statistical purposes and may not be disclosed, or used, in identifiable form for any other purposes, unless otherwise compelled by law. All documents or audio recordings from this interview will be kept in secure data files to be accessed only by staff on the research team. Audio recordings will be kept until the end of the project and then permanently deleted. In public reports, we may include quotes from interviews but we will not identify any respondents and will mask any potentially identifying details.

Voluntary participation

Your participation is entirely voluntary. Your invitation to participate in this interview does not represent an obligation to participate. We value your insight and hope you will agree to an interview. However, if you do not want to participate, please let Kerstin Le Floch (klefloch@air.org) know as soon as possible.

More Information

If you would like more information about this evaluation, you may contact the project director, Jessica Heppen at AIR, at 202-403-5488 or at jheppen@air.org. For questions regarding your rights as a subject participating in this research, please contact the Institutional Review Board (IRB) at IRBChair@air.org or toll free at 1-800-634-0797.

Informed Consent

I have read the above information. I have asked questions and received answers. I consent to participate in the study.

Signature: Date: ________________________

Print Name: Position: ________________________

State/District/School:

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