A Griffith University reading education program has doubled the number of Logan students represented in the top 20 per cent of achievement in Queensland State Schools.Griffith University education researchers, in conjunction with the Department of Education, Training and Employment, have developed an innovative program for teaching reading that has been implemented in four Logan schools.

Lead researcher Dr Kath Glasswell says the program, called Navigating Thinking, is designed to accelerate student learning and develops them as knowledgeable, critical and creative thinkers.

“Navigating Thinking is a cutting-edge innovation that can serve as a state, national and international model of best practice,’’ she said.

“After a year of implementation, the schools have doubled the number of students performing in the band that represents the top 20% of State students.

“In comparison to national norms on another measure, the schools have seen student progress accelerate at two to four times the rate of expected gain.”

Dr Glasswell said it was a significant outcome for the Logan schools and the research team and gives them an insight to better improvement strategies for literacy development.

“The project is making a significant contribution to the national and international knowledge base of what works in school and intervention approaches for improved outcomes in literacy.”

The program’s excellence was recognised at a special awards ceremony last month winning a 2012 regional Showcase Award for Excellence in Schools.

“The resources and innovation tools we developed specifically for this program represent a new way of simultaneously developing teacher and student knowledge for high-level engagement with texts of all kinds,’’ Dr Glasswell said.

The Navigating Thinking program is part of the award-winning ‘Literacy Lessons for Logan Learners’ (LL4LL) program that started in 2009 as a three-year Griffith University Smart Education Partnerships program.