The study examined how, in the current context of reading reform, teachers' beliefs coalesced and aligned with prevailing paradigms of reading instruction (Science of Reading, Balanced Literacy, and Whole Language). The sample included 14 graduate students (in-service teachers) and 13 undergraduate students (pre-service teachers). Q Methodology…

This mixed-method study explored teachers' perceptions of the Living Libraries (LL) professional development program. The study investigated the program's perceived effectiveness and impact on students' reading skills. Additionally, the researchers sought to understand how LL trained teachers perceived the program as aiding their reading…

As the face of education and the demands on teachers continues to change in the 21st century, so does the role of the literacy coach in schools across the country. This article explores the changing roles and responsibilities of literacy coaches by sharing the results of a study of 270 literacy coaches around the country. In this article, we share…

This article discusses the lingering problem of poor and inappropriate preparation of professional teachers of reading and learning disabilities--why it exists and what we can do about it. Because most students classified as having learning disabilities experience primary difficulties with language-based learning, teachers must know how to teach…

In this article, the author shares interview data showcasing teacher expertise and calls for more focused professional development in reading and discussing literature.

The authors make the case that literacy leadership is not a quality restricted to specialists with extra certifications. Instead, literacy leadership qualities are within the grasp of every conscientious classroom teacher who is willing to take advantage of opportunities for personal and professional growth.

The current educational spotlight on accountability has helped create a focus on teacher practices and their subsequent effects on student achievement. Professional development has been shown to be an effective vehicle to impact practices; however, research has only recently begun to provide an understanding of its impact in literacy instruction…

There is a significant body of international research indicating that reading instruction does not consistently occur in the final years of primary schooling and progress drops-off as students move through the schooling system. This paper uses case study research to investigate the interactions and the self-perceptions of five literacy leaders,…

Professional development with proven positive effects on vocabulary instruction and student achievement: that's what reading teachers are looking for, and that's what the Teacher Study Group (TSG) model delivers. With the nine complete TSG sessions in this book, K-8 teachers will form dynamic in-school learning groups with their fellow educators…

Literacy coaching has become an increasingly popular form of literacy professional development in the United States based on the common assumption that strong relationships between coaches and teachers will drive instructional improvement and gains in student achievement. However, there is little empirical research describing how literacy coaches…

This article describes a collaborative research study of university researchers and Grades one and two teachers from an Ontario, Canada French-language School Board. The School Board offered phonological awareness and reading-teaching training to grades one and two teachers with a long-term goal of improving the reading outcomes of the students in…

As a result of the Reading First Program of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), the view of reading has narrowed. Individual state's Reading First professional development programs, and hence reading teachers across the United States, have spent the six years since the funding of the program in 2002 focusing beginning and developmental reading on…

Describes how Edmund Burke Huey's "The Psychology and Pedagogy of Reading" helped shape and change the author's concepts of reading. (DD)

Brewster Elementary, a rural K-6 school of almost 500 students, just north of Yakima, WA, could reasonably be considered a school at risk: Fully 92 percent of its students qualify for Title I funding; 83 percent use English as a second language. For eight years running, Brewster has been using the HOSTS Learning system, with funding help from the…

The diverse population of students in grades 1- 3 at a suburban elementary school has created a challenge for teachers when differentiating instruction in reading. The purpose of this doctoral project study was to explore the lived experiences of these teachers as they have acquired research-based instructional strategies in reading that support…