My 2 cents: I have taught all levels of SIPPs and Wilson and I find that if students are challenged enough to be considered in need of a Tier 3 intervention, Wilson is a much better program. For Tier 2 kids, I would probably just do more prescriptive instruction based on an assessment of their decoding skills (and then you probably don't need a scripted or intensive program). SIPPs is an okay starting point, but I think the order in which the phonics skills are taught is not ideal for achieving mastery in your most deficient students, and there is not a true multisensory component (in my opinion) which is often necessary for those struggling to "crack the code".
On Sun, Feb 26, 2012 at 4:18 PM, Susan <[email protected]> wrote: > I totally agree with your assessment of the variables that we all deal > with on a daily basis. My district also purchased SIPPS. The school that I > used to work at tested all kids and placed them in ability based groups. I > think the groups were reflective of many of the different factors that you > described. I was always given one of the lower groups to work with. I would > say that I taught the groups with fidelity but because of attention, > language deprivation, new language learning and a plethora of other issues, > I didn't see any startling results. I also didn't notice much transfer of > this knowledge at my level (4th grade). The younger grades are still using > this and many like the program but I am happy to say it is only used as an > intervention. > Sue > > Sent from my iPad > > On Feb 26, 2012, at 3:29 PM, "Palmer, Jennifer" <[email protected]> > wrote: > > > I have used SIPPS as a reading specialist in a non-title one school. I > abandoned doing it with fidelity as I felt that it did not work very well. > A few kids grew, but many did not. Our districts data did not support it > either and we probably had about 20 schools using it. Some with fidelity, > some less so. I tried modifying it...got slightly better results, but no > better than when I just did what I knew to be best for kids. > > > > As an administrator now in a Title One school, I totally understand the > accountability requirement. When you spend taxpayer money on a program you > have to be able to justify that it is money well-spent. I sometimes grit my > teeth at the time I spend away from instruction to deal with that, but I > fully understand that title one money must be used to help kids effectively. > > > > I will tell you at this point that my fabulous reading specialists in > Title One have also abandoned SIPPS. > > > > Now I would like to address the idea of 'fidelity'. As part of my > doctoral program, I have read a lot of research...and I have learned how to > evaluate the quality of research. In social science research, which > education research is, we have some serious ethical issues to consider when > planning a study. The first of these is that we are working with children. > If we have an intervention we think might work, it is unethical to deny > some students the opportunity for that intervention. How would you like > YOUR children to be in a control group, getting the same old thing, when > your neighbor's child, randomly assigned to an intervention group, is > making progress? > > > > So, to account for that, researchers who are trying to do experimental, > or quasi-experimental research have some serious obstacles to overcome. > First, the quality of the teacher. Even in a scripted program, like SIPPS, > when delivered with the exact same words might get different results. > Suppose I am the most loved teacher... and my neighbor across the hall > hates kids and yells at them all day. Do you really think that there would > not be a difference in the results between the two rooms? And then ,there > is the kids. We don't usually get kids randomly assigned to teachers. How > many of us are in schools where the most assertive parents get their kids > into the classroom that they want? So, the kids in the classroom across > the hall are different...have less parental support...less time spent on > homework. AND then, SIPPS in Title One where there are kids that are not > recieiving adequate food or health care, vs those that are in a upper > middle class school... ? > > > > When we evaluate research...especially on these phonics programs, we > have to ask ourselves how the setting for the research is like, or unlike > ours. We have to ask how the teachers differ in levels of experience, and > in those affective qualities that are hard to measure. we have to ask how > the children are the same or different. We need to think about the size of > the groups of children and how far below level they are, and where they > disabled, or ADD or second language learners. > > > > I guess what I am arguing is this: We try to reduce the teacher variable > by making them use a script to see if the program works. I would argue that > there are too many other variables at play here to be able to make a > judgment. So, I use the same script as you do... I get results and you > don't. Why is that? Do I have better students? Do I have better classroom > control? Do I have more involved parents? Do I have a smaller class size? > Do I have fewer behavior problems? > > > > This is a situation where qualitative research techniques, which collect > different kinds of data...non-numerical data...might be more useful. So, > your class isn't doing well with SIPPS. Say we find that some of the kids > aren't doing well because they lack focus. Let's adjust the program and > give it in shorter segments so that they pay attention and see how it > works. Teachers are capable of that... if they understand how to identify > the problem and collect appropriate data. We can make more informed > judgments about the quality of the program IF we first ensure that the > program is matched to kids who will benefit from the intervention. Second, > we enlist teachers and use what they know to help us understand what is > working and not working about a program. And finally, we stop kidding > ourselves that when we do a program evaluation that we have controlled the > variables by making teachers follow a script. > > > > Incidently, a colleague and I were interested in the research behind > SIPPS and followed up on the studies cited in the manual that support it > about a year and half ago. First, there are not many. Second, they are all > done by the company that developed the program. Third, there were flaws in > the methodology. My district was fooled. We bought this as a research based > program... but no one actully looked at the research with a knowledgeable > eye before we spent the money. That's not to say that it is not working > elsewhere...and maybe there have been more studies done since I last looked > into it. It very well may be that there is new research supporting it, and > I would be happy to hear that there are students benefitting from it. We > just need to start asking questions with these programs when looking at the > research. How are these kids like or unlike mine? How are the teachers like > or unlike mine? How is the rest of the curriculum like and unlike mine? > (Maybe SIPPS works well with > > kids in reading workshop but not kids in the Harcourt basal...for > example.) How will I fairly evaluate the program, realizing that it is > truly impossible to control the variables as we would for experimental > research.... > > > > > > Jennifer L. Palmer > > > > Instructional Facilitator > > > > National Board Certified Teacher > > > > > > > > Magnolia Elementary (home school) > > > > 901 Trimble Road > > > > Joppa, MD 21085 > > > > 410-612-1553 > > > > Fax 410-612-1576 > > > > "In every child a touch of greatness!!' > > > > Proud of our Title One School > > > > > > > > Norrisville Elementary > > > > 5302 Norrisville Road > > > > White Hall, MD 21161 > > > > 410-692-7810 > > > > Fax 410-692-7812 > > > > Where Bright Futures Begin!! > > > > ________________________________________ > > From: > > [email protected][mosaic-bounces+jennifer.palmer= > [email protected]] on behalf of Stein, Ellen H. [ > [email protected]] > > Sent: Sunday, February 26, 2012 2:10 PM > > To: Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group > > Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] SIPPS > > > > We use SIPPS in a much more structured way. The theory is if we don't > use the script provided with the program we have no check on whether the > "program" worked. Having purchased this and other interventions with title > 1 funds, we need accountability as to whether it worked or not. If we don't > use them with fidelity we don't know the reason for the success or failure. > > > > Sent from my Droid Charge "Stacy.caudill" wrote: > > Regarding phonics instruction- has anyone ever heard of SIPPS? I have > been using it for several years. It allows me to assess students and work > with small leveled groups. Although the lessons are laid out I don't really > think of it as a program because I just use and adapt what is appropriate > for my students. I meet with each group for only about 15 minutes, and I > have found that it is very easy for me to build on when I am conferring in > reader's and writer's workshop or doing guided reading lessons. > > _______________________________________________ > > Mosaic mailing list > > [email protected] > > To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to > > http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org > > > > Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive > > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Mosaic mailing list > > [email protected] > > To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to > > http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org > > > > Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive > > _______________________________________________ > > Mosaic mailing list > > [email protected] > > To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to > > http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org > > > > Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive > > > > _______________________________________________ > Mosaic mailing list > [email protected] > To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to > http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org > > Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive > > _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive
