March 30, 2005
dgordon@cast.org
40 Harvard Mills Square, Suite 3
Wakefield, MA 01880
Tel: 781-245-2212 ext. 279
USDOE gives CAST and Harvard $1.5 million to develop technology-based approach
WAKEFIELD, Mass.—To help improve literacy instruction for millions of struggling readers, especially those whose first language is not English, CAST will receive a three-year, $1.5 million federal research grant to develop and test universally designed supported reading environments with built-in comprehension supports for Spanish-speaking students.
CAST will partner with the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) on the project, which is funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences.
In announcing the award, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA), said: "[It is] essential to learn more about why some students have more difficulty than others in comprehending what they read, so that we can take more effective steps to improve their skills. I commend CAST for undertaking this important research, and I look forward to its practical applications in the years ahead."
CAST will develop supports that are customizable to meet the needs of individual learners. These include vocabulary supports, bilingual glossaries, background information, digital work logs, prompts that teach reading strategies, bilingual animated characters that provide model answers and feedback to students, and more.
CAST and HGSE will then evaluate the intervention in urban and semi-urban fifth-grade classrooms with diverse populations to test its value for improving reading comprehension. Literacy experts Catherine Snow, Henry Lee Shattuck Professor at HGSE, and Bridget Dalton, Chief Education Officer at CAST, are Co-Principal Investigators; CAST Research Scientist C. Patrick Proctor, Jr., will direct the project.
For the past decade, CAST’s research has focused the role of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and technology in supporting diverse learners. Recent work has applied research on reading comprehension instruction, specifically reciprocal teaching, and the principles of UDL, a framework developed by CAST to extend learning opportunities to all students.
“The research will contribute to our understanding of how to design and implement scaffolded digital reading environments that are customizable in response to the varying needs of diverse readers,” says Dalton. “We’re delighted to be working with Harvard and Catherine Snow, whose work on literacy and bilingualism sets the highest standard, to discover ways to support English language learners in developing the literacy skills they need.”
About CAST
CAST is a nonprofit education R&D organization that works to expand learning opportunities for all individuals, especially those with disabilities, through the development of innovative, technology-based educational resources and strategies. To learn more, go to www.cast.org.
