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Overview

Imagination Station is an interactive computer reading curriculum developed to provide a comprehensive reading and intervention program for PreK - 8th grade students that maximizes student growth. Initially, students are assessed in order to place them in the program at their individual level for instruction. This program tracks student progress and adjusts the instruction as they move through the cycles. Lessons are scaffolded from easy to difficult across the curriculum content. Istation is a blended learning program that combines digital and online media with teacher directed lessons that correlate to reinforce the skills a student is currently learning. Students receive differentiated instruction that can be delivered online or in-class, individually or in a small group. Istation aligns with Common Core and state standards.

• Target Populations K-8

  • General and Special Education
  • ELL
  • RtI
  • Advanced

• Instruction Strands

  • Phonological and Phonemic Awareness
    • awareness of oral sounds and spoken whole words
    • exposure to rhymes that build awareness of words that share the same sounds
    • instruction and practice to build awareness of increasingly smaller parts of words: syllables, onset and rime, phonemes
    • explicit instruction and practice in phoneme identification, oral segmentation, oral blending
    • explicit instruction and practice in phoneme manipulation
    • instruction to connect sound to print
  • Phonics - Letter Knowledge - Alphabetic Decoding - Spelling/Word Analysis
    • understanding that individual sounds create words
    • systematic and explicit instruction on letter/sound relationship
    • direct instruction and application of blending sounds and spelling to read words
    • systematic and explicit instruction on phonics spelling patterns and structural analysis skills
    • systematic and explicit instruction on irregular and high frequency words
    • application of skills in isolation, in words, and in connected text
  • Listening Comprehension - Reading Comprehension
    • begins with oral reading
    • integrates vocabulary into all instructional activities
    • repeated use of words across skills and cycles in instruction to develop deep meaning
    • practice and application of alphabetic principle and phonics skills until they become automatic
    • explicit instruction on comprehension strategies
    • grade level appropriate text with familiar concepts to read, apply strategies, and understand meaning
  • Vocabulary
    • begins with spoken word
    • frequent listening opportunities to develop vocabulary
    • explicit instruction on vocabulary in daily activities
    • repeated use of words across skills and cycles of instruction to develop deep meaning
    • strategies for using context clues to derive word meaning
    • extensive practice and application of vocabulary in grade level appropriate text
  • Text Fluency
    • begins with oral reading to develop word recognition and model fluency
    • integrates vocabulary into all instructional activities and provides word repetition across skills and cycles to develop deep meaning
    • practice and application of alphabetic principle and phonics skill until they become automatic
    • abundant opportunities for reading text in multiple formats at instructional level

• Lesson Format

  • Introduction
  • Model/Teach
  • Guided Practice
  • Independent Practice
  • Reteach (when necessary)
  • Connected Text
  • Teacher Directed Lessons for Small Group Instruction

Scope and Sequence

• Read-aloud books- students read along with the narration
• Repeat words with narration
• Click on words for auditory support
• Listening Comprehension
• Self-selected passages - then student selects a prompt and produce a written response

• Suggested Usage

  • Tier 1= 30 min/week (1,080 min or 18 hrs/yr)
  • Tier 2= 60 min/week (2,160 min or 36 hrs/yr)
  • Tier 3= 90 min/week (3,240 min or 54 hrs/yr)

• Reports

  • Priority Reports - identify students that demonstrate weaknesses or lack of progress by risk level and skill need
  • Summary Reports - graphically show the number of students in each tier and overall scores in each critical subject domain, with the ability to change what is shown on the report by demographics and reporting period
  • Skill Growth Reports - show progress made in all skills tested, across all assessment periods, with variable views by student, classroom, tier group, grade level, campus, district, and state
  • Tier Movement Reports - show a monthly comparison of the number of students within each tier

Evidence of Effectiveness

• Istation Reading Growth Study: Nationwide Data for Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten (2014)- Department of Education Policy and Leadership, Southern Methodist University
• This study was conducted to determine if students using the Istation program make greater gains in early literacy skills, than those who have not used this program. The study also measures growth for students who are at-risk for reading failure and the use of the Istation program.
  • Implementation: 1 school year
  • PreK and Kindergarten students across the US using Istation (Tier I,II, and III students)
  • Data: The ISIP (Istation Indicators of Progress) Early Reading assessment scores for Fall 2013 and Spring 2014. The pseudo control group consisted of students that took the Fall ISIP but had no further usage and the treatment group consisted of students that took the Fall ISIP and used the program during the school year
  • Results

• Florida Center for Reading Research (2006)
• This report provides an overall review of the Isation program and notes how it aligns with Reading First. It also cites research on the program for the 2003-2004 school year. In the concluding remarks it states that "there is at least a beginning level of research support for the use of Istation as an internet-based curriculum to teach reading to children." Some Strengths and Weaknesses cited are listed here:
• Strengths of Istation
  • Engaging animation and game-like format
  • Multiple opportunities for modeling and student practice with each activity
  • Systematic and sequential presentation of skills based on student performance data
  • Internet-based design allows for immediate software updates
  • Teacher reports assist in grouping and provide ready to use materials for intervention
• Weakness of Istation
  • None were noted

• Evaluation and Training Institute - USOE Early Intervention Report FY 2014
  • Implementation: FY 2013-2014
  • 3,403 program students K-3 (data taken from 962 program students K-3)
  • Outcome measures were provided for overall ability scores at first and final Istation sessions; ability scores at first and final session for each literacy strand (eight domains); and students percentile rank at first and final session.
    • Linear regression show a slight but statistically significant, positive relationship between program usage and final test scores for 1-3 grade students. The effect was most profound in 1st grade students.
    • In contrast, time spent on the software was not statistically significant for kindergarten students. However, regressions for the final test scores for each literacy strand show a statistically significant, positive relationship between program use and two literacy strands: listening comprehension and letter knowledge
  • This report looked for measurable growth from beginning of year (BOY) DIBELS Next scores and End of Year (EOY) scores for treatment students compared to non-program (control) students. The report does not disaggregate DIBELS Next scores for Istation and the 4 other interactive software programs used statewide.

Summary

Istation is a kid-friendly, web-based interactive education network designed to provide reading instruction and intervention to K-8 students. The main goal of the program is teach students to read fluently and with comprehension. This begins with foundational skills and cycles through a systematic scope and sequence, on a range of ability levels, through instruction for more advanced and complex reading skills. Assessments provide initial placement and ongoing progress monitoring throughout the program. Research and Review reports indicate that with appropriate usage, as suggested by the developers, Istation can have a positive effect on student learning. The format is engaging and instruction is explicit with opportunities for application and practice for students acquiring critical reading skills.