Project Overview​
 

It is critical that students in the upper elementary grades have access to high-quality, evidence-based instruction to read and write multisyllabic, big words in order to be skilled readers and writers as they progress through school and prepare for their careers.
 

The BIG WORDS Instructional and Professional Development program aims to improve both student skills and teacher effectiveness through targeted instructional components and professional development.
 

The developers worked closely with upper elementary students, teachers, and community experts. Utilizing evidence-based practices, previous research, and in collaboration with partners:
 

• we designed/developed and tested specific instructional components and methods. The instructional structures and methods aimed to improve students' ability to decode, encode, write sentences, and read fluently. The program also focused on boosting students' confidence in reading, spelling, and writing.
   

• ​we examined how teachers responded to the online professional development. It looked at how the asynchronous online content and structures helped teachers feel more confident, increase their knowledge of content in a self-paced, non-stressful format and taught them how to provide multisyllabic instruction with fidelity retaining the program’s integrity and improving students' performance in the classroom.