Background
In June 2002, the Board of Directors of Pacific Resources for Education and Learning (PREL) asked PREL staff to develop a basic reading course for the Pacific region, an area rich in culture and diversity. The request was for the course 1) to include essential information about beginning literacy instruction to expand the current knowledge base of in-service teachers and 2) to be delivered in a medium that would allow the teachers to remain in their local entity. K-3 Reading Framework is a response to that request.

This course was initially piloted with participants who represented many of the Pacific entities in the PREL service region. Participants were asked to engage in reflective learning and provide feedback on the course content, as well as the linguistic and cultural relevancy for each Pacific jurisdiction. Such critical feedback ensured that teachers will receive the instructional practices and delivery methods that best meet the linguistic and literacy needs of children of the local culture. Feedback and dialogue are expected and will be instrumental in the continued development of the course. At the end of the pilot phase, the course was revised and made available to institutions of higher education and departments/ministries of education in the Pacific region. In addition, PREL is offering the course to interested participants.

Organization of the Course
K-3 Reading Framework is a course designed to help teachers address the unique beginning reading needs of lower elementary students. The course is based on best practices in the teaching of early literacy in English. Participants of the course are asked to reflect on these ideas and collaborate with other course participants (including the instructor) to adopt or adapt the content in order to establish the most appropriate early literacy practices for their cultural and linguistic setting. Each course module is organized so participants will engage in various activities such as Collaboration Group meetings, professional readings, classroom application, and online discussions.

One characteristic of successful schools and districts is regular collaboration among educators. Course participants will be involved in weekly Collaboration Group meetings to share knowledge and expertise. Participants will work with the instructor to decide how the best practices outlined in the course can be adapted to meet their cultural ways of learning and how to apply the concepts in their instructional language to meet the unique needs of the children in their entities. They will also discuss the main points from the readings, work together to adapt and complete class assignments, and offer insights and suggestions to the instructor as to how the current lessons can most effectively be delivered locally. Their ideas will help determine course revisions.

The course integrates the key elements of reading instruction, as outlined by the Report of the National Reading Panel: Teaching Children to Read, an Evidence-Based Assessment of the Scientific Research Literature on Reading and Its Implications for Reading Instruction (2000), that include phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. The course is designed to help participants consider these key elements conceptually and in practice, using different components of a comprehensive literacy framework. These components include reading aloud, shared reading, guided reading, independent reading, writing aloud, shared writing, interactive writing, guided writing, independent writing, and word study. Through professional readings, participants will learn about a variety of approaches and how to implement these components.

Participants are encouraged to adapt the key elements, components, and lessons to meet the cultural and language needs of the students they teach. If a certain key element, component, or lesson is not appropriate for their entity, participants are asked to make adaptations and to share this information with other participants and the instructor. The course is designed to create a collaborative learning environment where the participants and the instructor learn from each other as the course progresses.

K-3 Reading Framework is divided into three courses consisting of seven modules as listed below:

• Course 1: Collaboration and Assessment
  • Module 1: Building a Community of Learners
  • Module 2: Understanding Literacy Development
  • Module 3: Assessing Early Readers
• Course 2: Instructional Practice and Guided Reading
  • Module 4: Using a Variety of Literacy Approaches
  • Module 5: Meeting the Instructional Needs of Readers
• Course 3: Comprehension and Community Involvement
  • Module 6: Enriching Student Learning
  • Module 7: Agents of Growth: Student, Parent, Community, Educator, Self

Participants bring different experiences to the course. This will be the first reading course for some, while others come with an extensive background in reading. Through a sharing of expertise and information, participants at each site will develop an understanding of what a comprehensive literacy framework looks like for their own schools. A common vocabulary and knowledge base about the teaching of reading will evolve. Participants will interact with each other through an online discussion group called Literacy Talk. On the course website, a question will be posed in each module. Participants will respond to this question and to other participants’' responses as well.

Materials
This course will be available on CD-ROM and online. Additional resource books will be required. See Materials List and Ordering Information for more information.

Standards for Reading Professionals
To ensure that participants are reaching their goals of becoming qualified reading specialists, each lesson identifies what standards are being addressed according to the Standards for Reading Professionals developed by the International Reading Association (1998).

Instructor
The instructor for the course is responsible for checking assignments, providing feedback to participants on the assignments, and assisting the site coordinator as needed. The instructor will make contact with each site coordinator at least once a month to discuss the progress of the participants and provide support. Through these conversations, the instructor will learn about participants’' new insights and what defines a comprehensive literacy framework in their entities. The instructor also participates in the online Literacy Talk discussion group by commenting on the participants’' thoughts and encouraging further online reflections.

Site Coordinator
Current research indicates that to make a difference, professional development needs to be ongoing and facilitated by a knowledgeable person at the local level. To support the research, each entity will have a site coordinator who will guide the participants as they progress through the course and apply the reading theories to their unique setting.

The responsibilities of the site coordinator include the following:

Collaboration Group Meeting
Each week the participants and site coordinator will meet for 1 1/2 hours to share their reflections and to discuss their completed assignments. The discussions will be an opportunity for all participants to learn from each other and further develop their expertise as teachers and their ability to function as a team.

A facilitator, a recorder, and a timekeeper assist each Collaboration Group meeting. The roles are rotated on a weekly basis among all of the Collaboration Group members.

The responsibilities of the facilitator include the following:

The responsibilities of the recorder include the following:

The responsibilities of the timekeeper include the following:

Assignments
Each lesson has one or more assignments. Some assignments are to be done independently, and each participant is responsible for emailing them to the instructor. Other assignments are to be completed as a group, and the recorder is responsible for emailing them to the instructor on behalf of the group. All assignments must include the participant’'s name, location, and the exact lesson number and title (e.g., Maria Alexander; Chuuk; Lesson 1.1; Collaboration Group). Additional information on how to submit assignments will be given in each module.

Assignment due dates will vary across the sites. At the first Collaboration Group meeting for each module, the participants will agree on subsequent meeting dates and the due dates for each assignment. The recorder will fill in these dates on Module Overview and Due Dates (included with each module) and email a copy to the instructor.

Self and Peer Assessment
In Modules 4-7, participants will self-assess their implementation of instructional practices using the tool, Profile of Reading Instructional Practices. The profile is also designed for participants to observe one another and offer peer coaching. Using the same tool, the site coordinator will conduct pre- and post-observations to provide the participants with further feedback regarding their growth over time.

Module Evaluation
The last assignment of each module is to complete the evaluation instrument found online. The evaluation consists of open-ended questions and the completion of a rating scale based on the participants’' implementation and the content of the course. Feedback from the evaluations will assist the course developers with future revisions.

Glossary
K-3 Reading Framework includes a glossary to assist participants with understanding new vocabulary terms. These terms are outlined in the hard copy of the course and hyperlinked in the CD-ROM and online versions. By simply clicking on the highlighted terms, participants will be directed to the glossary.

Staff and Faculty

Project Managers

Course Developers, Writers

Editors

Web-Based Instructional Designer

Technical Support

Credits
PREL would like to thank its staff for their contributions and the Professional Education Center at the University of Alaska Southeast for generously allowing us to use the Comprehensive Reading for Alaska K-3 distance delivery class as a model in developing a similar course for the Pacific region. Portions of this course are reprinted with permission from the Professional Education Center at the University of Alaska Southeast, Juneau, Alaska, 2003.

Comprehensive Reading for Alaska K-3

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