WordScientists.org: free on-line teacher literacy training

A free app, with on-demand training videos, research based Early Reading books and lesson guides, downloadable for multiple devices.

PROBLEM

There are thousands of schools around the world, that need an early reading program, but are unable to afford it. There are more students around the world attending school than ever before. However, many aren’t learning to read because:

1. Teachers lack adequate training: Pedagogy is not emphasized to teach young children how to read.

2. Thousands of Schools Lack Books & Lesson Guides: Under-resourced schools around the world cannot afford appropriate reading materials for students.

SOLUTION

A SCALABLE, AFFORDABLE MODEL FOR TRAINING THOUSANDS OF TEACHERS TO TEACH EARLY READING

WordScientists.org is a new model for affordable teacher training to increase both the quality and quantity of teachers and other educators with the knowledge and skills to teach early reading. WordScientists.org is particularly appropriate in under-resourced communities and in post-disaster situations.

WordScientists.org uses online software and downloadable apps as a central place for teachers to learn how to teach early literacy, along with accompanying research-based materials that can be used in their classroom. For no cost, any school, teacher, or parent with or without access to the internet can download, print, view, and utilize teaching resources, lesson guides, and tutorials.

Key Features:

• Professional development that is free, interactive, and self-paced.

• Available online and offline.

• Sensitive to adult learner needs.

• Attuned to the needs of second-language learners.

• Provides research-based methods for fostering literacy development in the early grades.

• Curriculum develops metacognitive & critical thinking skills to meet the needs of 21st century learners.

• Analytics give feedback to teachers in how to address the varied needs of students. WordScientists.org personalizes and adapts for teaching to all students, especially people with disabilities, and learners living in areas disrupted by crises or in low-income settings.

Once fully developed, piloted, and refined WordScientists.org would be scalable to thousands of schools by leveraging digital distribution methods. The site would serve as a long-term professional development source for early reading instruction to which teachers can return as their instructional needs dictate.

HOW THIS WILL CHANGE THE WORLD

Our Mission: To ensure all children’s right to learn to read by providing educators with the means to teach early literacy.

617 million children are unable to read a single word after having been in school for up to four years which increases the probability of school drop out. Reading success or failure has drastic economic consequences for a country with large numbers of its population unable to read.

More importantly, the consequences for the individual are dire in terms of finding and keeping a job and being cut off from the world of the imagination that reading and literature provide. “Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.” — Frederick Douglass

A NEW APPLICATION OF EXISTING TECHNOLOGIES

WordScientists.org is delivered through the internet (or on a USB drive), taking advantage of existing technologies, computers, smartphones, tablets and printers.

ALL IN ONE PLACE

WordScientists.org provides the instructional knowledge for how to teach early reading and the engaging books and lesson guides to apply this knowledge in a systematic and explicit way in any setting.

DIFFERENT FROM OTHER LITERACY OFFERINGS

Other programs provide literacy materials but do not combine teacher training with a systematic curriculum with which to teach early reading: All on one free open source technology platform.

SUPPLY SIDE

Distribution platforms like Youtube and AWS have brought the costs of distributing media and software to almost $0, providing the capability for WordScientists.org to deliver programming to nearly anywhere in the world.

DEMAND SIDE

Basic technologies, Smartphones, Tablets, Computers and Printers are nearly ubiquitous around the world.

WordScientists.org publishes all resources on its online and downloadable platform. By providing free online and digital access to literacy resources, WordScientists.org can remove many of the traditional barriers that exist in the education space related to the cost of licenses, seats, and copies of classroom resources.

Teacher Training

Upgrade the teacher training component with a complete set of high interest, stimulating, interactive training videos  

Assessment and Analysis

Create assessment tools for teachers that use analytics to give teachers the capacity to track progress make interventions.

Develop the lesson interventions and create the feedback instructional loop

Integrate the student assessment tools with the Tangerine (USAID Open Source Early Grade Reading Assessment software)

General

Improve functionality based on feedback from pilot schools

Complete the curriculum of books and lesson guides matched to the four stages of early reading development

GOALS

• Reach 1 million Students Worldwide
• Deliver via Gooru, Kolibri, Let’s Read!, the Open Learning Network for large scale distribution capacity.
• Develop partnerships in 10 - 15 countries-- Nigeria, Uganda, Lebanon, South Africa, India, and Pakistan.
• Have a system for onboarding education departments and NGOs.
• Spread to individual teachers and institutions via Public Relation and Social Media.

IMPACT

WordScientists.org will affect the lives of more people because the more students who have access to trained teachers and reading resources, the more people will be literate, and have more economic and educational opportunities.

To REACH potential beneficiaries, WordScientists.org will replicate the Hands in Outreach (HIO) model used in Nepal.

WordScientists.org RETAINS its beneficiaries, i.e. current teachers and students in HIO schools, because it has demonstrated that it increases the knowledge base of teachers and the reading skills of its students

ACCESS is provided by local NGOS with which WordScientists.org partners. For example, in Uganda and Lebanon the NGOs that we partner with are providing the technology access via tablets.

Globally, ACCESS is free and available online or offline to other users through smartphone, tablet or computer access.  

WordScientists.org works with 5 pilot schools and serves 800 school students from nursery age through grade 3 as well as some of the mothers. The majority of the students in these schools are from families whose income level is at or less than $2 per day.

The web analytics show an additional 5,000+ users from around the world including over 1,500 additional users using WordScientists.org offline.

Students in the pilot schools, outperformed students in a comparison school on the Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) test which assessed the foundational skills of early reading. White paper:

12 MONTHS

120,000 in Uganda, Lebanon, Pakistan, India in partnership with, Gooru, Sun Books, Ana Aqra, DIL.   

100,000 via Open-Access       

3 YEARS

1,000,000 through open-distribution platforms- Gooru, Kolibri, Let’s Read!, the Open Learning Exchange.

These partnerships serve students whose families are primarily low income wage earners.

IMPACT WITH JUSTIFICATION

WordScientists.org expects to significantly impact student reading achievement. Our data show that with one year of teachers’ use of WordScientists teacher training, reading books and lesson guides, the reading achievement of students is positively impacted.

We have attracted leaders from several fields to our multidisciplinary team of experts including neuroscientists, curriculum developers, providers of teacher professional development as well as software developers, and entrepreneurs with business, and startup experience.

Because of our stellar team who have spent several years working to translate neuroscience of human language and speech into practice in the classroom we would like to attract software and curriculum developers with the expertise to move the analytics aspect of the project forward.

WordScientists.org MUST BE FREE TO THE END USER; STUDENTS WHOSE FAMILIES LIVE BELOW $2 PER DAY 

ONGOING COSTS

Will be met by opening up our web platform that links multiple screens and tracks analytics to other education and business developers; and, donations of $2.50 per child per year from users who can pay for the services. Continuing sponsorships will be sought from companies and from private donors and other charities.

SUSTAINABILITY - EXPANSION

Once developed WordScientis.org, has minimal distribution costs.

To fund completion of the product, WordScientists.org will seek introductions  and exposure to distribution and user partners who have the means to pay to complete the professional development component.

Within the US: WS could provide its model for on-demand professional development to Education Departments; before and after-school literacy providers, Charter Schools etc.

Globally, providers of teacher professional development will be sought to adopt WS programming as part of their credit and certificate offerings.

A fee based structure for institutions who in turn charge their users (or who use the training in lieu of their own budget) would provide revenue to fund the completion of the current product. Such a structure, would fund future development and modifications.

Solve can provide exposure and access to:

1. Key global contacts needed for distribution.

2. Connections to the MIT campus and other universities for:

• Technology partners and mentors to provide engineering assistance.  For example, assistance to merge USAID Tangerine software with WordScientists.org teacher training feedback loop. WS goal is to connect data on student achievement data, to training support and generate specific lesson plans for individuals and groups needing additional instruction.
• Departments with professors and graduate students for Impact Measurement and Validation and Media Visibility and Exposure

3. Potential funding organizations through the publicity associated with SOLVE.

WordScientists.org product is ready to scale but needs:

Solve can provide access to Institutional support. Support is needed to get to the next level. To date the WordScientists.org prototype has been built by graduate students and professionals who volunteer their time.  

Introductions to global actors such as USAID, Save the Children, World Vision, World Learning etc for distribution purposes;

Introductions to and exposure to distribution and user partners who have the means to pay for the professional development component of WordScientists.org.