Some bad ideas never seem to die, despite research showing they do not actually work. It can be hard to spot them at first. Those dispelled education theories that research shot down long ago. They creep up in studies, shuffling around mumbling in the reference lists, or moan loudly in blog posts. The author often stumbles across these…

Mind maps are often used to help readers process texts, but their effectiveness is empirically under-investigated. This study explores whether the use of mind maps presented either before or after the text can prime successful selective processing strategies related to the text topic structure. Differences in performance outcomes (i.e., memory and…

This aim of this study is on the learners' reading skills under the implementation of interactive scaffolding collaborative learning approach (ISCLA). This study provides ample evidence on how pedagogical innovation may serve as a steppingstone to ameliorate students' poor reading comprehension, attitude, and engagement. The goal of this action…

The What Works Clearinghouse™ is a federally funded source of scientific evidence for what works in education. The What Works Clearinghouse aims to disseminate findings from rigorous education research to the education community. One mechanism for accomplishing this aim is the production of practice guides. Panels of national content experts,…

The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate linguistic variation within ESL/EFL reading textbooks and between EAP reading textbooks and lower-division university textbooks. Specifically, within ESL/EFL reading textbooks, lexical, lexico-grammatical, and formulaic variation was measured within series of textbooks, across textbooks at the…

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore how elementary Reading Recovery teachers, who are currently serving in the position of Reading Recovery teachers or who have served previously in the position, describe their perceptions of and response to professional development for implementing reading instructional practices in a…

Reading includes multiple skills essential for students to develop to become productive adults, yet results from state testing show some students are not meeting grade-level expectations. Colorado Department of Education shows a percentage of students have sufficient reading deficiencies, which resulted in having schools use an approved reading…

As students enter middle school, many lack literacy skills, especially English language learners (ELLs). The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to examine what supports middle school teachers perceived they needed to be effective using response to intervention (RTI) strategies with ELLs. This basic qualitative study was framed by the RTI…

This research study addressed the impact of The Next Step Forward on Guided Reading on first-grade students reading fluency, sight word reading, and attitude toward reading. Two suburban elementary schools, one experimental and one control, participated in the study. The researcher used Reading Records and EasyCBM Passage Reading Fluency…

Narrative inquiry has long been respected as a qualitative approach to researching the lived experiences of participants. Used widely in educational research the approach enables insights into the practices, perspectives and preferences of teachers, most often considering a small number of participants within a close circle of influence. In…

This paper investigates the implementation of a reading program designed for third grade elementary school classrooms in Austria. Using a mixed-methods approach, lesson types were identified, respective class compositions analyzed, and the effects on students' reading gains examined. The results show that the lesson types seem to reflect learner…

Pedagogical strategies intended for monolingual classes may not adequately address the educational needs and aspirations of culturally and linguistically diverse learners, as multilingual and bilingual learners differ from monolinguals. This article sought to understand multilingual teachers' pedagogical approaches to helping non-speakers of the…

This Spotlight will help readers investigate one state's plan to improve literacy with daily summer reading instruction; review how teachers can better support struggling older readers; gain expert insights into strategies for boosting reading proficiency; evaluate the merits of audiobooks for improving reading engagement; explore how short bursts…

Exploring the realm of literacy involves understanding how graphic novels shape students' reading and writing journeys. Through scholarly research, the authors delve into the significant impact of graphic novels on education while highlighting their appeal to students through visual features and engaging storytelling. Included is a discussion of…

Early reading achievement is essential for all children's development and future success. However, U.S. schools continue to under prepare Black children in early literacy, as evidenced by disparate outcomes observed for this population of learners. The under preparation of Black students is problematic, given the strong negative correlation…