Transaction Search Form: please type in any of the fields below.
Date: April 29, 2024 Mon
Time: 8:22 pm
Time: 8:22 pm
Results for reading programs
1 results foundAuthor: Hopkins, Tom Title: Turning Pages, Changing Lives: Evaluation of the Shannon Trust Turning Pages programme Summary: Turning Pages is a newly developed reading programme by Shannon Trust and, whilst it shares a focus on phonics with its predecessor Toe by Toe, it has many unique factors that aim to contribute to the development and acquisition of reading in adult Learners within the context of prison. This evaluation therefore aims to monitor the impact Turning Pages has on Learners and Mentors and by doing so aims to answer the following research questions: • How effective are the Turning Pages teaching methods in improving reading ability in adults? • How important are the delivery methods in prisons, the quality of provision and the impact of the one on the other? • What are the wider benefits/outcomes to Learners and Mentors of involvement in Turning Pages? The evaluation drew on multiple theoretical perspectives to address these questions and to make judgements about effectiveness. Phonological awareness and de-coding skills were assessed through the use of quantitative, standardised word and non-word reading tests undertaken over a six-month period. As Turning Pages incorporates five manuals that contain interactive learning activities for Learners, the evaluation considered the impact manual progression had on Learners’ reading ability. The impact of working with Turning Pages on the lives of Learners and Mentors was explored through semi-structured interviews and discussion groups. Key Findings How effective are the Turning Pages teaching methods in improving reading ability in adults? • Turning Pages was able to promote the word decoding skills and sight word reading of adult Learners through the application of a synthetic phonics based approach. • Significant gains in word reading and non-word reading scores were found for all Learners involved in the Turning Pages evaluation (regardless of their initial reading ability) during the first three months and from baseline to the final six-month period. • Learners reported an increase in reading confidence over the six-month period. • Learners reported a significant increase in their self-rated reading attainment, enjoyment and reading comprehension ability over the six-month period. • Learners who had either completed Turning Pages or were reading the final manual, read significantly more words and non-words compared to their peers and rated themselves as more able readers over the six-month period. • Learners and Mentors place significant value on the informal, non-institutional nature of Turning Pages and identified the adult focus of the programme, one-to-one support of Mentors and the opportunity to work at their own pace as key factors in supporting successful learning. How important are the delivery methods in prisons, quality of provision and the impact of the one on the other? • The Learner/Mentor pairing is highly valued by all parties and central to the success of the programme. The nuanced, individualised approach to support taken by Mentors (‘grounded pedagogies’) in negotiation with their Learners is seen by Learners as central to their success. • The success of Turning Pages is related to the ‘un-schooled’, social approach Turning Pages has to adult learning (i.e. occurring outside formal education) which, based upon responses in this evaluation, has been shown to attract Learners. • The number of weekly sessions Learners had with Mentors ranged from 3 to 5. The number of reading sessions was not found to have an effect on reading performance. It may be possible therefore for Learners to vary the number of sessions each week without negatively affecting reading improvement. It is still recommended, however, that the full allocation of 5 sessions is made available to all Learners. • Learners attending functional skills classes read fewer words and non-words than their peers and they were also completing the reading manuals at a significantly slower rate. However, this sub-group still showed improvement in their reading abilities. The fact that most reported having a diagnosis of dyslexia suggests that this (along with other potential learning needs) may be contributing to their slower rate of reading acquisition and manual progression. • Learners were progressing through the manuals with most having reached either the second manual or stage two of the first after the first three months and after six-months, most Learners had either completed Turning Pages or had reached the final manual. This suggests that the duration of six months at the intensity of around 3-5 weekly sessions was enough for Learners to reach the final stages of the reading programme. • Manual progression was related to perceived reading improvement and gains in reading scores, suggesting that improvement in reading over time was related to the Turning Pages manuals. • Significant positive correlations were found between perceived reading ability, perceived reading enjoyment and perceived reading comprehension ability at the six-month stage, and perceived ratings also correlated significantly with word and non-word reading scores at the three-month stage. This suggests that some importance should be weighted to the promotion of reading enjoyment, comprehension and reader confidence in the reading sessions for Learners engaged in Turning Pages. What are the wider benefits/outcomes to Learners and Mentors of involvement in Turning Pages? • Findings show that after the six-month intervention, Learners were reading more for functional participation within prison and for social engagement. This also included reading materials that Learners had reported a lack of confidence reading prior to their engagement with Turning Pages, such as legal letters, books and application forms. • Turning Pages provided Learners with productive opportunities to re-engage with learning, build confidence and work towards goals that were meaningful to their own lives. • Phase Two data suggests that working with Turning Pages provided important opportunities for Learners and Mentors to exercise a degree of choice in an otherwise highly regulated environment – this fed into a re-appraisal of their existing ideas and experiences of education and opened up opportunities for thoughtful reflection on the past, present and future. This enabled participants to begin to articulate new hopes and aspirations for the future. Recommendations For Shannon Trust • It is recommended that the reading plan model of participation (peer mentoring) continues to remain separate from formal compulsory education to maintain the un-schooled, social approach Turning Pages has to adult learning, which based upon responses in this evaluation has been shown to attract Learners. • To provide better access to more reading books (Readers) that accompany the manuals for Learners. • To consider including building opportunities for reading comprehension in to the manuals or associated materials to encourage Mentors to target reading comprehension in conjunction with the Readers. • To identify Learners with additional learning needs and Learners who are accessing literacy support to monitor their progression and provide any additional tailored support that focuses on reinforcing components learnt in the manuals. Promoting greater awareness of dyslexia and managing this through reading programmes like Turning Pages could be incorporated in the Mentor training. For the prison service and NOMS • To promote awareness of Turning Pages across all prison staff and prospective Learners and in partnership with Shannon Trust develop a standardised model to which new potential Learners are introduced and encouraged to participate in the reading programme. • Embed the Turning Pages sessions into the prison routine and other learning/educational sessions so as not to disrupt Learners’ free time and to ensure that sessions are being delivered. For research • To fully test the effectiveness of Turning Pages, any outcomes measured would need to be compared to a comparison group who are ideally also receiving a similar educational intervention. • It would be useful to gain information on the way in which Mentors creatively tailor their approach to Learners in conjunction with the resources used in Turning Pages and to identify the extent to which this contributes to a successful learning experience for Learners enrolled on Turning Pages. • To assess prison staff’s awareness of Turning Pages and its psycho-social benefits in order to highlight potential solutions for increasing awareness and Learner recruitment. • To monitor the long-term value and benefits of working with Turning Pages in a longitudinal impact study. • To monitor the implementation of any reading comprehension activities and the extent to which this aids the development of reading. Details: London: Shannon Trust, 2017. 96p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 11, 2017 at: http://www.open-access.bcu.ac.uk/3809/1/report Year: 2017 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.open-access.bcu.ac.uk/3809/1/report Shelf Number: 144828 Keywords: Correctional ProgramsEducational ProgramsLiteracy ProgramsMentoring ProgramsPrisoner RehabilitationReading Programs |