The ongoing reading crisis in the United States necessitates a shift toward instructional practices that are firmly grounded in empirical research. This manuscript critiques the use of Alphabetic Phonics, not only for its reliance on multisensory techniques but also for its incorporation of instructional features that contradict the principles of…

Many adolescent readers experience difficulties comprehending informational text, which may result from underlying difficulties with foundational skills (e.g., word recognition and fluency), knowledge demands (e.g., background, text structure, and vocabulary), and/or reading motivation. Supplemental interventions for adolescents targeting only…

This study investigates the impact of a seven-week extensive reading (ER) program integrated with a blended learning modality (face-to-face and online) on tertiary-level English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners. In a mixed-methods research design, it investigated whether the systematic blended ER program affected learners' reading attitudes…

The purpose of this article is to describe a 40+ year journey during which researchers have endeavored to design and evaluate an integrated, empirically based reading intervention for secondary students and to chronicle the lessons learned as well as suggest future directions for this type of work. Initial development of the intervention began in…

Over the past 20 years, the primary focus of education policy and programming in low- and middle-income country contexts has shifted from access to quality. There has also been a laudable increase in the amount of available research about education quality in low- and middle-income countries, and a growing emphasis placed on incorporating…

In this commentary, drawing from reviews of research on literacy teacher preparation, the authors discuss points of leverage in preparation of literacy educators for deans and associate deans. Categories that leaders might attend to include: mediated field experiences, faculty development, and external reputation.

The decline of academic achievement during summer is well documented and can result in a one-month loss of skills acquired during the school year. Summer slide can further contribute to a widening gap between low and high achieving readers. This instrumental case study explored a summer class for adolescent readers labeled as struggling.…

The importance of alignment between identification processes and program design is widely noted in gifted and talented education literature. We analyzed publicly available district gifted program plans (Grades 3-5) from two states to examine the extent to which district identification practices matched intervention strategies. Our team developed a…

The Design Implementation Framework, or DIF, is a design approach that evaluates learner and user experience at multiple points in the development of intelligent tutoring systems. In this chapter, we explore how DIF was used to make system modifications to iSTART, a game-based intelligent tutoring system for reading comprehension. Using DIF as a…

Upon entering high school, students with ID who may be able to read simple texts often have difficulty grasping meaning when required to understand more complex texts. This failure affects their overall academic performance, since at this age, it is no longer just a question of learning to read, but rather of reading to learn, in all disciplines.…

This study reports on the instruction provided in district-designed intensive summer reading programs. The Tier 3 intervention was provided to 374 students from 24 school districts who were not meeting the end of third-grade reading benchmarks; students were exiting third grade and entering fourth grade. Observations of the 40 classes were…

In response to calls to resituate teacher preparation in clinical settings, teacher educators are increasingly repositioning their work in PK-12 contexts. In this article, we describe our efforts to connect theory and practice through site-based course instruction and explore how such experiences informed teacher candidates' perceptions of their…

Purpose: International exam scores of Turkish students, specifically of Project for International Student Achievement, attest that the level of comprehension of Turkish students is not satisfactory. Learning styles can be of use to schools in designing reading programs and materials to help Turkish students to improve their reading achievement.…

In this study, we investigate if a digital coach for low-literate learners that provides cognitive learning support based on scaffolding can be improved by adding affective learning support based on motivational interviewing, and social learning support based on small talk. Several knowledge gaps are identified: motivational interviewing and small…