1st Year Teacher Survey Specific to Preparation for Teaching Reading

Mississippi Momentum: A Partnership to Improve Early Literacy Instruction

This is a statewide survey to collect information and impressions from FIRST YEAR TEACHERS in elementary education about their educator preparation experience specific to early literacy instruction.

Your feedback will help us strengthen teacher preparation in this area. Therefore, we encourage your most candid responses, which will not be identifiable or shared publicly. The survey should take no more than 10 minutes to complete. We appreciate your participation in this important project.

MS Momentum Partners:

The Barksdale Reading Institute, The Center for Excellence in Literacy Instruction,

the MS Department of Education, and the Institutions of Higher Learning.

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* 1. Which educator preparation program did you attend?

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* 2. If you transferred from a community college program or from another university, please indicate which one. If you were not a community college transfer, please select one of the last two options in the dropdown box.

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* 3. Which best describes the sequence in which you completed Early Literacy 1 and Early Literacy 2 coursework?

	Fall Semester, Junior Year	Intersession, Junior Year	Spring Semester, Junior Year	Summer Session, Junior Year	Fall Semester, Senior Year	Intersession, Senior Year	Spring Semester, Senior Year	Summer Session, Senior Year	Did not complete
Early Literacy 1	Early Literacy 1 Fall Semester, Junior Year	Early Literacy 1 Intersession, Junior Year	Early Literacy 1 Spring Semester, Junior Year	Early Literacy 1 Summer Session, Junior Year	Early Literacy 1 Fall Semester, Senior Year	Early Literacy 1 Intersession, Senior Year	Early Literacy 1 Spring Semester, Senior Year	Early Literacy 1 Summer Session, Senior Year	Early Literacy 1 Did not complete
Early Literacy 2	Early Literacy 2 Fall Semester, Junior Year	Early Literacy 2 Intersession, Junior Year	Early Literacy 2 Spring Semester, Junior Year	Early Literacy 2 Summer Session, Junior Year	Early Literacy 2 Fall Semester, Senior Year	Early Literacy 2 Intersession, Senior Year	Early Literacy 2 Spring Semester, Senior Year	Early Literacy 2 Summer Session, Senior Year	Early Literacy 2 Did not complete
EL 1/EL2, blocked as single course	EL 1/EL2, blocked as single course Fall Semester, Junior Year	EL 1/EL2, blocked as single course Intersession, Junior Year	EL 1/EL2, blocked as single course Spring Semester, Junior Year	EL 1/EL2, blocked as single course Summer Session, Junior Year	EL 1/EL2, blocked as single course Fall Semester, Senior Year	EL 1/EL2, blocked as single course Intersession, Senior Year	EL 1/EL2, blocked as single course Spring Semester, Senior Year	EL 1/EL2, blocked as single course Summer Session, Senior Year	EL 1/EL2, blocked as single course Did not complete

If other sequence, please specify:

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* 4. Which best describes how well your Early Literacy 1 professor prepared you to teach the following content?

	Well prepared	Moderately prepared	Minimally prepared	Not prepared at all	This topic was not addressed in the course.
Concepts of Print	Concepts of Print Well prepared	Concepts of Print Moderately prepared	Concepts of Print Minimally prepared	Concepts of Print Not prepared at all	Concepts of Print This topic was not addressed in the course.
Phonological Awareness	Phonological Awareness Well prepared	Phonological Awareness Moderately prepared	Phonological Awareness Minimally prepared	Phonological Awareness Not prepared at all	Phonological Awareness This topic was not addressed in the course.
Phonemic Awareness	Phonemic Awareness Well prepared	Phonemic Awareness Moderately prepared	Phonemic Awareness Minimally prepared	Phonemic Awareness Not prepared at all	Phonemic Awareness This topic was not addressed in the course.
Phonics/Decoding	Phonics/Decoding Well prepared	Phonics/Decoding Moderately prepared	Phonics/Decoding Minimally prepared	Phonics/Decoding Not prepared at all	Phonics/Decoding This topic was not addressed in the course.
Spelling/Encoding	Spelling/Encoding Well prepared	Spelling/Encoding Moderately prepared	Spelling/Encoding Minimally prepared	Spelling/Encoding Not prepared at all	Spelling/Encoding This topic was not addressed in the course.
Assessment of EL1 Skills	Assessment of EL1 Skills Well prepared	Assessment of EL1 Skills Moderately prepared	Assessment of EL1 Skills Minimally prepared	Assessment of EL1 Skills Not prepared at all	Assessment of EL1 Skills This topic was not addressed in the course.

Please add any other comments about your preparation to teach EL1 content in your classroom. Were other components of literacy addressed in this course? If so, please specify.

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* 5. Which best describes how well your Early Literacy 2 professor prepared you to teach the following content?

	Well prepared	Moderately prepared	Minimally prepared	Not prepared at all	This topic was not addressed in the course.
Oral Language Development	Oral Language Development Well prepared	Oral Language Development Moderately prepared	Oral Language Development Minimally prepared	Oral Language Development Not prepared at all	Oral Language Development This topic was not addressed in the course.
Vocabulary	Vocabulary Well prepared	Vocabulary Moderately prepared	Vocabulary Minimally prepared	Vocabulary Not prepared at all	Vocabulary This topic was not addressed in the course.
Morphology	Morphology Well prepared	Morphology Moderately prepared	Morphology Minimally prepared	Morphology Not prepared at all	Morphology This topic was not addressed in the course.
Levels of Understanding Connected Text (literal, inferential, propositional)	Levels of Understanding Connected Text (literal, inferential, propositional) Well prepared	Levels of Understanding Connected Text (literal, inferential, propositional) Moderately prepared	Levels of Understanding Connected Text (literal, inferential, propositional) Minimally prepared	Levels of Understanding Connected Text (literal, inferential, propositional) Not prepared at all	Levels of Understanding Connected Text (literal, inferential, propositional) This topic was not addressed in the course.
Strategies of Critical Thinking	Strategies of Critical Thinking Well prepared	Strategies of Critical Thinking Moderately prepared	Strategies of Critical Thinking Minimally prepared	Strategies of Critical Thinking Not prepared at all	Strategies of Critical Thinking This topic was not addressed in the course.
Products of Comprehended Text (main idea, theme, cause and effect, etc.)	Products of Comprehended Text (main idea, theme, cause and effect, etc.) Well prepared	Products of Comprehended Text (main idea, theme, cause and effect, etc.) Moderately prepared	Products of Comprehended Text (main idea, theme, cause and effect, etc.) Minimally prepared	Products of Comprehended Text (main idea, theme, cause and effect, etc.) Not prepared at all	Products of Comprehended Text (main idea, theme, cause and effect, etc.) This topic was not addressed in the course.
Text Types	Text Types Well prepared	Text Types Moderately prepared	Text Types Minimally prepared	Text Types Not prepared at all	Text Types This topic was not addressed in the course.
Assessment of EL2 Skills	Assessment of EL2 Skills Well prepared	Assessment of EL2 Skills Moderately prepared	Assessment of EL2 Skills Minimally prepared	Assessment of EL2 Skills Not prepared at all	Assessment of EL2 Skills This topic was not addressed in the course.

Please add any other comments about your preparation to teach EL2 content in your classroom. Were other components of literacy addressed in this course? If so, please specify.

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* 6. What grade did you teach this past year?

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* 7. Approximately how much time during the school day did you teach reading?

less than an hour

about an hour

60 to 90 minutes

90 - 120 minutes

more than 120 minutes

all day

I was not assigned to teach reading.

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* 8. In what setting/context did you teach reading if it was part of your assignment? Check all that apply.

Self-contained classroom

For my grade level (departmentalized)

Special education resource or inclusion

Full-time interventionist

Part-time interventionist

After-school program

N/A: I was not assigned to teach reading.

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* 9. If you taught 3rd grade this past year, what percentage of your class passed the State Assessment for Reading on the first try?

100%

90 - 99%

80 - 89%

70 - 79%

50 - 69%

less than 50%

I did not teach 3rd Grade.

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* 10. Now that you've taught in an elementary classroom, how much of your ability to implement effective reading instruction came from each of these sources? (Check all that apply; your responses need not total 100%.)

	All (100%)	Most (70%)	Some (50%)	Very little (30%)	Not at all (0%)	N/A
Early Literacy 1 or Early Literacy 2 professor.	Early Literacy 1 or Early Literacy 2 professor. All (100%)	Early Literacy 1 or Early Literacy 2 professor. Most (70%)	Early Literacy 1 or Early Literacy 2 professor. Some (50%)	Early Literacy 1 or Early Literacy 2 professor. Very little (30%)	Early Literacy 1 or Early Literacy 2 professor. Not at all (0%)	Early Literacy 1 or Early Literacy 2 professor. N/A
Other reading professors or courses within the 15-hour degree requirement.	Other reading professors or courses within the 15-hour degree requirement. All (100%)	Other reading professors or courses within the 15-hour degree requirement. Most (70%)	Other reading professors or courses within the 15-hour degree requirement. Some (50%)	Other reading professors or courses within the 15-hour degree requirement. Very little (30%)	Other reading professors or courses within the 15-hour degree requirement. Not at all (0%)	Other reading professors or courses within the 15-hour degree requirement. N/A
LETRS training provided by MDE.	LETRS training provided by MDE. All (100%)	LETRS training provided by MDE. Most (70%)	LETRS training provided by MDE. Some (50%)	LETRS training provided by MDE. Very little (30%)	LETRS training provided by MDE. Not at all (0%)	LETRS training provided by MDE. N/A
Professional development offered by school or district.	Professional development offered by school or district. All (100%)	Professional development offered by school or district. Most (70%)	Professional development offered by school or district. Some (50%)	Professional development offered by school or district. Very little (30%)	Professional development offered by school or district. Not at all (0%)	Professional development offered by school or district. N/A
A supervising teacher during my internship experience.	A supervising teacher during my internship experience. All (100%)	A supervising teacher during my internship experience. Most (70%)	A supervising teacher during my internship experience. Some (50%)	A supervising teacher during my internship experience. Very little (30%)	A supervising teacher during my internship experience. Not at all (0%)	A supervising teacher during my internship experience. N/A
An official mentor assigned by the school or district.	An official mentor assigned by the school or district. All (100%)	An official mentor assigned by the school or district. Most (70%)	An official mentor assigned by the school or district. Some (50%)	An official mentor assigned by the school or district. Very little (30%)	An official mentor assigned by the school or district. Not at all (0%)	An official mentor assigned by the school or district. N/A
An informal mentor (fellow teacher) in my school or district.	An informal mentor (fellow teacher) in my school or district. All (100%)	An informal mentor (fellow teacher) in my school or district. Most (70%)	An informal mentor (fellow teacher) in my school or district. Some (50%)	An informal mentor (fellow teacher) in my school or district. Very little (30%)	An informal mentor (fellow teacher) in my school or district. Not at all (0%)	An informal mentor (fellow teacher) in my school or district. N/A
A literacy coach in my school or district or from MDE.	A literacy coach in my school or district or from MDE. All (100%)	A literacy coach in my school or district or from MDE. Most (70%)	A literacy coach in my school or district or from MDE. Some (50%)	A literacy coach in my school or district or from MDE. Very little (30%)	A literacy coach in my school or district or from MDE. Not at all (0%)	A literacy coach in my school or district or from MDE. N/A
A relative or friend who is also a teacher or retired teacher.	A relative or friend who is also a teacher or retired teacher. All (100%)	A relative or friend who is also a teacher or retired teacher. Most (70%)	A relative or friend who is also a teacher or retired teacher. Some (50%)	A relative or friend who is also a teacher or retired teacher. Very little (30%)	A relative or friend who is also a teacher or retired teacher. Not at all (0%)	A relative or friend who is also a teacher or retired teacher. N/A
My own initiative and self-study.	My own initiative and self-study. All (100%)	My own initiative and self-study. Most (70%)	My own initiative and self-study. Some (50%)	My own initiative and self-study. Very little (30%)	My own initiative and self-study. Not at all (0%)	My own initiative and self-study. N/A
None of the above; I still don't feel prepared.	None of the above; I still don't feel prepared. All (100%)	None of the above; I still don't feel prepared. Most (70%)	None of the above; I still don't feel prepared. Some (50%)	None of the above; I still don't feel prepared. Very little (30%)	None of the above; I still don't feel prepared. Not at all (0%)	None of the above; I still don't feel prepared. N/A

Other (please specify)

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* 11. What words best describe your approach to reading instruction? Check all that apply.

Differentiated

Structured Literacy

Whole Group

Explicit and systematic, using Decodable Text

Guided Reading using Leveled Text

Small Group

Dynamic Grouping

Balanced Literacy

Data-driven instruction

Standards-based Objectives

Use of Independent Centers

Interventions

Technology

Anchor Charts

Other (please specify)

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* 12. What impressions do you have about the Foundations of Reading Test? Check all that apply.

My program prepared me well.

My program somewhat prepared me.

It was aligned to my pre-service coursework.

It was a good test for determining what I know about reading and teaching reading.

I had to take it more than once.

I had to hire a tutor or get extra help.

My score is an accurate reflection of what I know about teaching reading.

Other (please specify)

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* 13. Overall, how prepared did you feel to teach reading on Day 1 of your first year?

Well prepared

Moderately prepared

Minimally prepared

Not at all prepared

Additional comments?

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* 14. Recognizing that professional growth occurs over time, what suggestions do you have for teacher preparation programs in Mississippi that could better equip first year teachers to be ready on "day one" to teach reading in the early grades?