Carlin Conner
Carlin Conner, PhD is a Senior Research Scientist at the University of Virginia in the School of Education. She received her PhD in May of 2020 from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. During her PhD program, she was a scholar with the National Center for Leadership in Intensive Intervention, funded by the Office of Special Education Programs. Her research interests include literacy and behavior interventions for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder as well as English Language Learners. Before beginning her PhD, Carlin spent time as both a special education teacher and special education instructional coach in Dallas.
Thought Leader Session Description
Using the Science of Reading to Guide the Intensification of Reading Interventions
Emily Solari and Carlin Conner
(Assessment and Data, Special Ed, Dyslexia, Other Learning Challenges, Equity & Inclusion, ELL, Components of Literacy Instruction, General Science of Reading)
In this session, we will discuss how the science of reading is used to intensify interventions in classrooms for students with, and at risk for, reading difficulty, including students with reading disability, dyslexia, ADHD, language learners, students with autism spectrum disorder, and students testing below benchmark on standardized assessments of reading. High literacy rates have been tied to improved life expectancy, higher rates of employment, higher levels of education, and better physical and mental health (Gilbert et al., 2018), and as such, it is important that all students, including students with or at risk for reading difficulty, receive effective reading instruction based in the science of reading. Guided by the simple view of reading (SVR, Gough & Tunmer, 1986), an empirically developed framework describing the development of reading comprehension in multiple profiles, this presentation will discuss how to intensify reading interventions by targeting skills directly related to both decoding and linguistic comprehension, the two sides of the SVR. We will focus on instruction as it takes place in classrooms, including a focus on phonics instruction, skill-based instruction, the use of data to inform instruction and grouping by skill, and the use of decodable and grade-level texts.
Target Audience(s): Elementary
Education Track(s): New to the Science of Reading, Advanced Science of Reading, Equity & Inclusion, Leadership
Concurrent Session Description
Using Read-Alouds to Target Comprehension Development
Emily Solari and Carlin Conner
(Special Ed, Dyslexia, Other Learning Challenges, Components of Literacy Instruction, Coaching/Instructional Support, General Science of Reading)
In this interactive session, we will present a deep dive into how to create effective read-alouds to target comprehension through explicit development in language comprehension. Our work is grounded in the simple view of reading, an empirically supported framework that describes how reading comprehension develops in multiple profiles of learners (Gough & Tunmer, 1986). According to the simple view, reading comprehension is the product of decoding and linguistic comprehension, and to comprehend text, readers must develop skills in both areas. Through read-alouds, we will target the linguistic comprehension side of the simple view, by building skills related to both expressive and receptive language understanding through read-alouds that incorporate explicit instruction in vocabulary knowledge, language structures such as syntax and semantics, print concepts, and incorporation of background knowledge. In this interactive session, we will teach participants how to create effective read-alouds that can be used in whole group, small group, or one on one instruction to target linguistic comprehension, a crucial part of comprehension development.
Target Audience(s): Elementary
Education Track(s): New to the Science of Reading
Concurrent Session Description
Weighing the Hog Doesn’t Make It Fatter: Linking Assessment to Instruction
Stephanie A. Stollar, Ph.D. and Carlin Conner
(Assessment and Data, Special Ed, Dyslexia, Other Learning Challenges, Equity & Inclusion, ELL, General Science of Reading)
Are you collecting data you never use? Do you have questions about your students that you can’t answer? Has assessment become a compliance activity? Perhaps you have lost touch with WHY you are assessing reading skills. This session will help elementary teachers, coaches and administrators identify the essential questions about reading performance and select the most efficient ways to answer them. Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS), the framework for implementing the science of reading, requires a coordinated system of assessment for four main purposes: screening, diagnostic, progress monitoring, and outcome evaluation. Assessments should be used for the purpose for which they were designed. Each assessment purpose is linked to specific instructional decisions in the MTSS model, such as supplementing core reading instruction, forming small groups, and intensifying intervention. Participants will gain knowledge of how the four purposes of assessment link to instruction within the MTSS model for the benefit of all students.
Target Audience: Elementary
Education Track(s): New to the Science of Reading, Advanced Science of Reading, Equity & Inclusion, Leadership