The Georgia Wolf Trap Project
2005-2008
&
Georgia Wolf Trap
for English Language Learners
2008-2012
A collaboration of
Alliance Theatre,
Fulton County Schools,
and Georgia State
University
Funded (2005-2012) by the
U.S. Department of Education
Arts Education Model
Development and
Dissemination Program
(AEMDD)
AEMDD Criteria

Discipline-specific arts instruction and

Enhancement of academic achievement

Low-income children
Context of the Intervention

Language development in early childhood
predicts school performance.

The “achievement gap” begins before the
child’s first day of school.

Low-income children begin Kindergarten with
less than half the vocabulary of high-income
students, challenging literacy development.
Premises of the Intervention

Social and communicative experiences that
support the development of symbolic functioning
are essential in early childhood.

Pretend play, the developmental foundation of
drama, is the child’s “first language.”

Joint pretense and story sharing can unpack
language. Drama engages children’s emotions
and intellect, transcending culture and class.
1st Project – 2005-8

All Kindergarten classes in 6 schools

Random assignment of low-income schools to
conditions; pre-intervention/post-intervention

Professional learning opportunities for
Kindergarten teachers in summer and fall;
artists and teachers collaboratively infuse drama
into language lessons in January and February
Sample Characteristics

N= 545 students

36% special needs

71% qualified for free or reduced lunch

94% African American
Sample Starting Point
100
PPVT
90
80
Oral Vocabulary
70
60
Grammatic
Understanding
Sentence Imitation
50
40
30
20
10
0
Pretest Percentile Rank
Hypotheses

Intervention students will show more
improvement than control students in

Language Development

Writing (near transfer)

Academic Achievement (far transfer)
Language Development:
Syntax
55
Pre
Post
45
35
Control
Intervention
Writing: Quantity
15
10
Pre
Post
5
0
Control
Vocabulary
Intervention
4
3
Pre
Post
2
1
0
Control
Intervention
Sentences
Writing: Quality
20
Theme
Structure
Resolution
10
0
Control
Intervention
Percentage of Students with Improvement over Time
Report Card Grades
First Grade (Cohorts 1& 2)
Special Needs
CRCT Scores
First Grade (Cohorts 1& 2)
Special Needs
Contributions

Drama = Developmental Appropriateness

Helping children find their voice—childcentered education supports symbolic
development

Authentic, meaningful activity in a languagerich and emotionally engaging context

Usefulness of this approach for development
and learning
Next?
Georgia Wolf Trap for
English Language Learners
Context

In 2008 Latino students were the largest
minority in American schools - 11 Million
or 22%

Facing an educational crisis:
Less likely to be enrolled in pre-K programs
 Twice as likely to be retained
 Highest dropout rates—18.3 % in 2008
(compared to the total rate of 8%).

White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics
October 19, 2010

White House Initiative advocates enhanced preK preparation and K-12 educational reforms for
Latino students

Fulton County was the third most populous
Latino community in GA; over 20% living in
poverty; many students with limited English
proficiency

FC schools are English only

Pull out/push in services in K=45 minutes/day


Achievement gap in 2008

70% of Fulton County ELL K students finished the
year with low English proficiency

33%were below academic expectations after 1st
grade

only 39% passed all areas of GA high school
graduation test
Language minority and low income status =
double risk for academic failure

Background: Quantity of exposure to English in
class does not predict acquisition; quality of
engagement with English does (Snow et al.,
1998).

Hypothesis: an emphasis on meaningful
communication experiences will support
acquisition.

Professional development for teachers as before
—teaching artists as coaches, November-March

Drama activities—“improvised guided
enactment”—can disambiguate language

Story sharing; analyzing and enacting; retelling and reflecting

Elements in common with ESOL strategies
language embedded in meaningful contexts
 using the senses, props, facial expressions
 physicalization, repetition
 incorporating students’ ideas

Design

Paired Cluster/random assignment of
schools to conditions (6 schools; all K
classrooms)

Random selection of research participants
(all ELL)

Schools range from 39-68% ELL
Participants

514 Kindergartners over three years 200912

All qualified as ELL, all speak Spanish at
home

97% qualified for free or reduced lunch

All regular education students
Measures

District ESOL Screening Measures - English


WAPT-L/S - at registration
Kindergarten ACCESS for ELLs - January/February

WMLS-R - two languages - pre (Sept & Oct) and
post (April & May)

Story Writing - English only - pre and post

G-KIDS - first grade readiness test - English only
Significance Testing:
Treatment Received

All three years of professional learning
(N=12 teachers)

Control group (N=31 teachers)
Total Oral English
468
466
464
462
460
Control
Intervention
Story Writing - Fluency
20
Control
Intervention
15
10
5
0
Words
Sentences
Story Writing - Quality
0.2
Control
Intervention
0.15
0.1
0.05
0
Emotion
Dialogue
Academic Achievement
GKIDS
Control
70
Intervention
60
50
40
30
Language Arts
Academic Achievement
GKIDS
Control
Intervention
70
60
50
40
30
Mathematics
What We Learned



Drama = links among emotion,
meaning, words
Brief intervention —> noteworthy
effects in language and mathematics
Enhanced language engagement
(versus exposure or drill)
What is driving all this?
Professional Learning
Professional Learning
Key to
Positive
student
outcomes
and
true reform
PL Process

PL is most effective when teachers are taught as
they would teach


Workshops employed Wolf Trap strategies
PL takes time



Summer study
Opportunities throughout year to observe, coteach
Three years duration
Evaluation Sources

Teachers’ evaluations

Teaching artists’ evaluations

Focus groups

Classroom observations

Teachers’ self-assessment surveys
Performance Measures

100% developed lessons integrating drama
during the residencies

95% employed drama management
techniques

95% used Best Practices in Drama during the
residencies

90% indicated they would develop lessons
using Best Practices in Drama after the
residencies ended
What Did You Learn?

“I learned to put down my guard and try new
things ‘dramatically’ with the students.”

“I learned how to effectively use my body and
my voice to tell a story.”

“I learned how to build drama into my literacy
instruction.”

“I learned how to incorporate Wolf Trap ideas in
other areas of teaching.”
PL Conclusions

Teachers recognize the learning taking place in
their students – socially, emotionally,
linguistically, and cognitively.

Teachers applaud the PL model used, especially
the Teaching Artist as coach in the classroom.

Over time, teachers increasingly used the
strategies throughout their teaching.
It Makes a Difference
Oral Language
Story Writing: Fluency
18
466
16
14
464
12
462
Control
Some Professional Learning
Three Years Professional Learning
10
Control
Some Professional Learning
Story Writing: Quality
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
Control
Some Professional
Learning
Three Years
Professional Learning
Three Years Professional Learning
Acknowledgements

Fulton County Schools

Alliance Theatre Education Department

Jackie Gray, Carol Jones, Michele Mummert, Denise
Jennings, Jes Booth

GSU: Audrey Ambrosino, Brooke Bays, Judy Orton, Lynda Kapsch,
Heather Smith, Nicole Lorenzetti, Carol Ashong, Josephine Lindsley,
Callie Reeves, Daniel Medina, Kareema Spells, Peter Samuelson,
Elizabeth McGarragh, Macy Strickland, Lisa Quick, Joanna Sherwood,
Beatrice Moreno, Araceli Santa Cruz, Inez McDaniel, Renzo Gobea,
Brandi Harper, Kathryn Taylor, Meghann Griffin, Rachael Kaplan, Emily
White, Billy Thompson
Thank you!