USAID Malawi National Reading Strategy Implementation Phase II FINAL REPORT
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
USAID Malawi National Reading Strategy Implementation Phase II FINAL REPORT November 2017 This publication was produced at the request of the United States Agency for International Development. It was prepared independently by School-to-School International. COST-PLUS-FIXED-FEE CONTRACT CONTRACT NO.: AID-612-C-15-00005 PREPARED BY: SCHOOL-TO-SCHOOL INTERNATIONAL 1005 TERRA NOVA BOULEVARD, SUITE 1, PACIFICA CA 94044 USA DISCLAIMER The author’s views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Agency for International Development or the United States Government. CONTENTS Acronyms ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 1 Executive Summary ........................................................................................................................................................................... 1 1. Introduction .............................................................................................................................................................................. 1 Highlights of the National Reading Program ........................................................................................................................... 1 Strategy 1: Effective Reading Instruction ............................................................................................................................. 1 Strategy 2: Assessment ........................................................................................................................................................... 1 Strategy 3: Teacher Preparation ........................................................................................................................................... 2 Strategy 4: Families and Communities ................................................................................................................................. 2 Component 1: Phonemic Awareness .................................................................................................................................. 2 Component 2: Phonics ........................................................................................................................................................... 3 Component 3: Fluency ............................................................................................................................................................ 3 Component 4: Vocabulary ..................................................................................................................................................... 3 Component 5: Comprehension ............................................................................................................................................ 4 Two Additional Components—Oral Language Development and Writing ................................................................ 4 2. Contextual Factors of Education in Malawi ........................................................................................................................ 4 Key Government Stakeholders .................................................................................................................................................. 5 USAID Investments ...................................................................................................................................................................... 5 3. Data Methods and Analysis .................................................................................................................................................... 6 4. Findings ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 6 National Reading Strategy Task Force Workshop ................................................................................................................ 7 Materials Development for Standards 1–4 English and Chichewa Subjects ................................................................... 11 English Language Panel .......................................................................................................................................................... 11 Standard 2 English Literacy and Language Workshop .................................................................................................... 15 Standards 2–4 English and Chichewa Scope and Sequence Development Workshops.......................................... 19 Review and Quality Control of Standard 2–4 English and Standard 3–4 Chichewa Materials .............................. 20 Support to Teacher Training .................................................................................................................................................... 22 Teacher English Proficiency Support ...................................................................................................................................... 24 Review of Teacher English Proficiency Test ..................................................................................................................... 24 Support to Pilot Program for Improving Teacher English Proficiency ........................................................................ 25 Advising on Early Grade Reading Benchmarking .................................................................................................................. 26 6. Conclusions ............................................................................................................................................................................. 26 7. Recommendations ................................................................................................................................................................. 27 8. Annexes ................................................................................................................................................................................... 28 Annex 1: English Literacy Scope and Sequence ............................................................................................................... 28 Annex 2: English Language Panel Time Allocation .......................................................................................................... 29 Annex 3: Examples of Skills and Knowledge Required in Four Communicative Domains .................................... 31 Annex 4: English Language Panel Concepts ...................................................................................................................... 32 Annex 5: Standard 2 English Literacy and Language Themes ....................................................................................... 35 Annex 6: Effective Strategies for and Decisions on Read Alouds ................................................................................ 36 Annex 7: Standard 2 English Template for Daily Lessons’ Scope and Sequence ...................................................... 38 Annex 8: Example Lesson 1 for Teaching Vocabulary and Comprehension ............................................................. 44 Annex 9: Example Lesson 2 for Teaching Vocabulary and Comprehension ............................................................. 46 Annex 10: Instructions for Scope and Sequence Chart Development ....................................................................... 49 Annex 11: Standard-specific Scope and Sequence Guidance ........................................................................................ 50 Annex 12: Materials Review Guidance .............................................................................................................................. 53 Annex 13: Review of Standard 2 Materials ....................................................................................................................... 57 Annex 14: Review of Standard 4 Materials—Units 1 and 2 .......................................................................................... 60 Annex 15: Teacher Training Cascade and Draft Manual Excerpt ................................................................................ 63 Annex 16: Teacher’s English Proficiency Test—Summary of Item Revision ............................................................. 65 Annex 17: Benchmarking Meeting Summaries ................................................................................................................. 67 ACRONYMS ASPIRE Girls’ Empowerment through Education and Health Activity DIAS Directorate of Inspection and Advisory Services EGRA Early Grade Reading Activity LB Learner’s Book MERIT Malawi Early Grade Reading Improvement Activity MIE Malawi Institute of Education MoEST Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology NRP National Reading Program NRS National Reading Strategy NRSTF National Reading Strategy Task Force RTI Research Triangle Institute International SEGREM Strengthening Early Grade Reading in Malawi STS School-to-School International TG Teacher’s Guide TOT Training of Trainers USAID United States Agency for International Development EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Under the National Reading Strategy Implementation Phase II contract, School-to-School International (STS) provided expert technical assistance to the Malawi Ministry of Education,