Charting the Cs logo with black and blue text Charting the Cs Conference 2025: To Literacy and Beyond Cooperation Communication Collaboration To Inferencing and Beyond! Supporting Children’s Language Comprehension in the Inference Galaxy April 2025 Dr. Kristen McMaster Dr. Reagan Mergen Presenters Image of Kristen McMaster a light-skinned woman with shoulder-length light brown hair, wearing blue glasses and a blue jacket Kristen McMaster Image of Reagan Mergen, a light skinned woman with a slight smile and short, blonde hair Reagan Mergen University of Minnesota, Twin Cities: College of Education and Human Development Mission Statement: The College of Education and Human Development at the University of Minnesota will advance research, teaching, and community engagement to increase opportunities for all individuals to have a successful start in life and to foster healthy human development and will provide programs that meet the demands of the 21st century. a Maroon and Gold University of Minnesota banner on the left with Northrup Hall in the background Acknowledgements The research reported here is supported by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), U.S. Department of Education, through Grants R324A160064, R305A170242, andR305A220107 to the Regents of the University of Minnesota. The opinions are those of the authors and do not represent the policies of the U.S. Department of Education. Session Agenda We will: •Describe the Inference Galaxy, a technology - based suite of assessment and instructional tools designed to promote inference - making in children in K - 2, including children who experience difficulties with language comprehension. •Explain how it was developed, key components, and how it can be used within multi - tiered systems of support •Share findings from research supporting its feasibility to be implemented in practice and its promise to improve student learning outcomes •Provide information about how you can participate in Inference Galaxy research and use as well as strategies to support children's language comprehension skills in the classroom using the questioning, scaffolding, and feedback techniques Whip Around: Who Are You? Why This Session? I am…. •Name •Role (e.g., teacher, administrator, related service provider) •Age/Grade of Students •Setting (e.g., resource, self- contained ) I joined this session today because… •I hope to learn about inference-making The State of Reading •One of the main goals of elementary education is teaching young students to read •Teaching children ‘how to read’ is a multifaceted, complex process that requires decoding and comprehension skills •In our work, we developed innovative instructional solutions to supplement core reading instruction. ELCII and TeLCI are web - based tools designed specifically to bolster inference - making skills, the cornerstone skill of comprehension •Research suggests that inference making is a foundational component, or sub- skill, of reading comprehension •However, as you might have also experienced as a teacher, it is not widely included as one of the building blocks of reading instruction Addressing All the Pieces of the Reading Puzzle Inference Galaxy logo with stars A diagram of a puzzle. Each piece includes one word that describes components of the simple view of reading: Phonemic Awareness, Phonics Word Study, Fluency, Vocabulary, and Comprehension (the middle piece with red circle around it) Institute of Education Sciences (IES) logo with a sun Importance of Inference - Making •Inference: information or idea that is not explicitly stated, but can be generated based on information that we have seen, heard, or read (Kendeouet al., 2019) •Critical for reading comprehension and learning from text •Texts do not always provide all of the information needed for successful comprehension. •Connecting what readers know and information from text is only possible through inference - making (i.e., critical for coherent mental representation of the text) ( Hwang et al., 2024) National Need for Evidence- Based Reading Instruction A map of 11 Midwest US states with 4th grade national Need for Evidence-Based Reading Instruction (NAEP) reading scores in each state; in MN , 39% of 4th grade students had performing “below basic” in 2022 Minnesota Reading to Ensure Academic Development (READ) ACT Minnesota Reading to Ensure Academic Development Act, known as the READ Act, was passed and signed into law by Governor Tim Walz on May 24, 2023. The goal of this legislation is to have every Minnesota child reading at or above grade level every year, beginning in kindergarten, and to support multilingual learner and students receiving special education services in achieving their individualized reading goals in order to meet grade level proficiency. The READ Act replaces Read Well by Third Grade (RWBTG) and is in effect as of July 1, 2023. Minnesota Department of Education Logo Inference Galaxy logo with stars Institute of Education Sciences (IES) logo with a sun Inference Galaxy Title: Multi-Tiered System of Supports A pyramid in the middle The bottom Tier 1 in green - on the left is an orange alien next to Progress Monitoring; on the right is a green alien labeled Kindergarten. Above Tier 1 is Tier 2 in purple. To the left is an orange alien with Screening + Progress Monitoring; on the right is a purple alien labeled Grades 1-2. At the top is a gray triangle with no labels. Inference Galaxy logo with stars Inference Galaxy, video Inference Galaxy video A screenshot of Inference Galaxy Dashboard: Orange alien - MIA; Green alien - ELCII; Purple alien - TeLCI shown under a purple screen that has the title, Inference Galaxy (the small screenshot of a video with a girl in the background is not easily visible) Inference Galaxy, cont. A group of 3 cartoon character aliens, Purple alien (TeLCI); green alien (ELCII); orange alien (MIA) A orange and purple letters that spell MIA with a small orange alien peeking out from behind the letter A. Designedto assessinference making in Grades K-2. It is an interactive software application with 4 test forms, which engage students to: •View age - appropriate, nonfiction videos •Respond to inferential questions •Short and fully-automated (15 min) A green and purple cartoon letters that spell ELCII with a small green alien peeking out from the letter C Instructional Module Topics: ELCII = is an interactive software application comprised of 40 Fiction and Nonfiction instructional modules designed to take 10 - 15 minutes for a kindergartner to complete one full module. Sample modules include: a panda bear resting on a tree USA map Wild fires Cartoon of the Berenstains Bears Questioning with scaffolding & feedback Questioning with scaffolding feedback First AttemptCorrect AnswerIncorrect AnswerScaffold 1Scaffold 2Second Attempt A screenshot of ELCII inference-making scaffolding during questioning with a grid of 4 squares showing different shots of a polar bear and snow A screenshot of the green alien, ELCII with thought bubbles, 1, 3 and 2 (in that order) Sample Inference Galaxy Module Clip (3 min) Sample Inference Galaxy Module video Clip Blue and purple cartoon letters that spell TeLCI with a small purple alien peeking out from the letter C Inference Galaxy logo with stars Thought bubble says "data-based" Thought bubble says "Interactive" TeLCI a cartoon of a purple monster wearing glasses Thought bubble says "Culturally Responsive" culturally resCulturally Responsive Thought bubble that says "personalized, differentiated" data- basedData-basedpersonalizedPersonalized, differentiated Blue and purple cartoon letters that spell TeLCI with a small purple alien peeking out from the letter C Instructional Module Topics: TeLCI = is an interactive software application comprised of 24 Nonfiction instructional modules designed to take 10 - 15 minutes for a kindergartner to complete one full module. Sample modules include: A monkey sitting on a wood fence Two panda bears eating bamboo A group of children smiling A hand pointing at dirt in a garden Development & Key Components Design Principles Inference Galaxy Logo with stars •Content aligns with common core standards (e.g., science, social studies). •Culturally responsive •Self - paced and fully automated •Efficient (each module 15 - 20 min) •Flexible implementation (in class, remote, small group, homework) •Theory-based and evidence-based Image of Inference Galaxy teacher dashboard. The left side has a dark purple background with blurred subheadings. On the right side the background is a light green with a charter - blurred. Iterative development process Iterative development process 2014Initial Development•Input from experts,teachers, caregivers2015Field Test•Observe, survey, collect student performance data2016-2018Revise•Based on field test data2019-2020Pilot Study2023-2025 Current RCT Study Large-Scale Randomized Trial (2023-25) Oct-Nov BAU Control and Treatment TreatmentBAU Control Jan - Mar: 10 weeks of instruction (4 x app)) and Business as Usual 10 weeks of instruction 10 weeks of instruction (4 x app)) Business as Usual10 weeks of instruction Jan -Mar Spring: Posttest (CUBED, MIA, Knowledge) Posttest (CUBED, MIA, Knowledge) Spring Fall: Reading Comprehension Reading ComprehensionFall ELCII Timeline and Implementation A purple and white poster with people sitting at desks. Described the ELCII research and implementation timeline. From left to right (1) prep and PD (teachers send out information, parents can opt out, and online PD); (2) 10-12 weeks of ELCII implementation, and (3) Follow-up in 1st grade (1 reading comprehension measure) Implementation 4 times per week 15 - 20 min 10 weeks A screen shot of a green chalkboard that with a schedule on the left and options 1-4 on the right next to green aliens. Research Findings to Date Strong Evidence Inference Galaxy Logo Inference Galaxy Instruction Inference - making Language comprehension Reading comprehension Yello ribbon outline Usability Feasibility Promise Screenshot of a very small research article Screenshot of a very small research article Screenshot of a very small research article Screenshot of a very small research article Cohort 1: Preliminary Results Inference Galaxy Logo •Effect on inference-making •Measured with Minnesota Inference Assessment (MIA) •The treatment group performed higher in MIA •Cohen’s d = .43 (small to moderate effect) •66% of treatment group students are expected to be above the mean of the control group Inference Galaxy Logo •Effect on content knowledge •Knowledge measure developed by the research team •Multiple - choice and true/false items •The treatment group performed higher in the knowledge measure •Cohen’s d =.61 (moderate effect) •76% of the treatment group students will be above the mean of the control group Inference Galaxy Logo Bar graph with Average Accuracy (%) on the y-axis and MIA on the left and Knowledge on the right. Pre tests are green and post tests are purple bars. MIA pretest Treatment is 38.2% post-test Treatment is 51.8%. MIA Control pre-test is 37.7% and post-test is 43.6%. On the right is Knowledge. Treatment pre-test is 56.7% and post-test 68.5%. Control pre-test is 56.2% and post-test is 60.4%. Current Status of Inference Galaxy •Three - year randomized control trial in 40+ kindergarten classrooms in Minnesota •Scan the QR Code to visit our website for additional research findings: https://inferencegalaxy.com/ A qr code with a dinosaur https://inferencegalaxy.com/ Group Discussion •How to adapt IG to your student population (i.e., students with low- incidence disabilities)? •How do you currently teach inference - making? •What strategies are you using to teach inference - making and/or reading? •What barriers/challenges do you face with your reading instruction? •How does the READ act impact your reading instruction? Strategies for Supporting Inference Making Using the questioning, scaffolding, and feedback techniques Inference-Making Skills Transfer Across Media •Inference - making processes are general regardless of types of media (e.g., video, audio, written text) •Different media can be used to support inference - making •Offering scaffolding to students while they answer inferential questions can help their inference - making •Inference - making when listening to read - alouds can be transferred to inference- making when reading independently How to Design Your Own Inference-Making Videos! 1.Select a topic or theme aligned with student interests and/or curriculum and standards 2.Find videos that relate to the topic or theme 3.Prepare explicit teaching of vocabulary words important to understanding the videos 4.Write inferential questions (see next slide) 5.Consider how you will provide scaffolding and feedback Source: Hwang, H., Kendeou, P., & McMaster, K. L. (2024). Fostering inference-making through video- based technology in young children with early reading difficulties. Manuscript accepted pending minor revisions in Journal of Special Education Technology. Writing Inferential Questions •Analyze the content of the video. oWhat information is stated explicitly? oWhat ideas are missing or implied? •Develop a question that uses explicitly stated information to help fill in the missing information. Example •Polar bear video states: o“When pack ice breaks in the Arctic, most animals will fall into the water.” o“Polar bears have a special walk that keeps them from breaking the ice.” •Ask a question about what is not explicitly stated, but implied: o“Why don’t polar bears fall into the water?” A polar bear walking on ice “Hands On” Inference Making Activity Design Your Own Read Aloud & Inferencing Video Activities Inference-Making During Read Alouds You can replicate in your classroom via read alouds with books. Use our Lesson Plan template to guide inferencing. Key Elements 1.Pre - teach vocabulary 2.Model inferencing with explicit clues 3.Engage students in guided practice 4.Provide feedback and extensions Summary •Inference - making is generating a new idea based on ideas we have seen, heard, and/or read •Inference - making is critical for reading and content - area learning •Read - alouds can be leveraged to support inference-making Read - Aloud Activity: Modeling and Practicing Inference Making with The Bear Ate Your Sandwich •Introduction & Vocabulary oBook Title:The Bear Ate Your Sandwich by Julia Sarcone - Roach •Objective: Teach students to make inferences by analyzing the caterpillar’s journey and habits. •Pre-teach Vocabulary: •Key Words: den, ripe, scent •Use vocabulary cards, images, or tactile materials (e.g., real or felt fruit models) Cover of the book: “The Bear Ate Your Sandwich” by Julia Sarcone-Roach. A black bear eyes a sandwich in a red lunchbox on the right. Sarcone - Roach, J. (2015). The bear ate your sandwich. Knopf Books for Young Readers. •Teacher - Led Modeling of Inference Making oPose a guiding question: How did the Bear find the red pick - up truck? •“I know that the bear stepped out of his den.” (Teacher gestures to one hand) •“I also know that the bear smelled the scent of ripe berries.” (Teacher gestures to other hand) On the left, a black bear is climbing into a red pick-up truck. On the right, a black bear is sitting and eating red berries on what appears to be the truck bed. Sarcone - Roach, J. (2015). The bear ate your sandwich. Knopf Books for Young Readers. •Model inference oInference #1: “I can infer that the bear found the red pick - up truck because he smelled the berries in the back of the truck.” (Teacher demonstrates by bringing both hands together.) On the left, a black bear is climbing into a red pick-up truck. On the right, a black bear is sitting and eating red berries on what appears to be the truck bed. Sarcone - Roach, J. (2015). The bear ate your sandwich. Knopf Books for Young Readers. •Guided Practice with Peer Interaction: oPose a new question: Now it’s your turn to make an inference! Turn to a neighbor and tell them why you think the bear thought he was in a new forest? oPrompt students to think - pair - share. Ask students for some suggested answers and give them feedback. On the left, a black bear has its head in a garbage can. On the right, three other garbage cans are scattered behind the back of a garbage truck. Sarcone - Roach, J. (2015). The bear ate your sandwich. Knopf Books for Young Readers. •After hearing some answers, review the scaffolds and correct answer: oWe know that the bear climbed buildings, parks, and streetlights he had never seen before.(Teacher gestures to one hand) oAnd we know the bear discovered many different smells. (Teacher gestures with the other hand) On the left, a black bear has its head in a garbage can. On the right, three other garbage cans are scattered behind the back of a garbage truck. Sarcone - Roach, J. (2015). The bear ate your sandwich. Knopf Books for Young Readers. Video Inferencing Activity: Modeling and Practicing Inference Making with The Bear Ate Your Sandwich •You can follow the same read aloud lesson sequence with a video read aloud of The Bear Ate Your Sandwich oPause in the same places to ask questions, model and practice inference making, and provide student feedback Video Inferencing Activity It’s Your Turn! Design Your Own Inferencing Video Lesson! 1.Select a topic or theme aligned with curriculum and standards and/or student interests 2.Find relevant videos that relate to the topic or theme 3.Prepare explicit teaching of vocabulary words important to understanding the videos 4.Write inferential questions (see next slide & IG Lesson Plan template) 5.Consider how you will provide scaffolding and feedback Source: Hwang, H., Kendeou, P., & McMaster, K. L. (2024). Fostering inference - making through video - based technology in young children with early reading difficulties. Manuscript accepted pending minor revisions in Journal of Special Education Technology. Remember: Writing inferential questions •Analyze the content of the video. oWhat information is stated explicitly? oWhat ideas are missing or implied? •Develop a question that uses explicitly stated information to help fill in the missing information. Inference Lesson Planning Resources •Video resources ohttps://tpt.pbslearningmedia.org/ ohttps://www.nationalgeographic.org/society/education-resources/ ohttps://learninglab.si.edu •For video annotation oVideoAnt (freely available at https://ant.umn.edu/ ) oVideo Notebook (freely available at https://www.videonotebook.com/ ). •For vocabulary instruction (kid friendly definitions): ohttps://kids.wordsmyth.net/ ohttps://www.powerthesaurus.org/ Want to Learn More About Inference Galaxy?! 1.Visit our website and complete the Contact Form: https://inferencegalaxy.com/contact/ A qr code with a dinosaur links to https://inferencegalaxy.com/contact/ Charting the Cs logo with black and blue text Thank you! Kristen & Reagan mcmas004@umn.edu rmergen@umn.edu