It is evident from reading research that students with learning disabilities (LD) greatly benefit from teacher-student interactions during small group comprehension instruction (e.g., Berkeley, Scruggs, & Mastropieri, 2010). Given that questioning takes up the vast majority of instructional interactions between teachers and students (Chin,…

The area of professional development, within the educational setting, is critical to on-going learning for teachers and ultimately, higher student achievement. The literature on professional development is vast; however, the empirical research on implementation of skills learned from the training to the classroom is lacking. This study looked at…

The Instant Word Notebook study was a program evaluation completed by two educators who saw a need for an instructional tool to teach and assess Instant Words. In order to address reading deficits of students in first and second grades, teachers were expected to teach Instant Words. Unfortunately, teachers did not have a systematic process to…

Many middle school students are not achieving the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) at individual schools in North Carolina. A consequence of continual failure to reach AYP goals is the withdrawal of Title 1 funding. Since federal funds are an integral part of nearly half of the public schools in North Carolina, it is imperative that students improve…

The general purpose of this study was to determine if the implementation of the Brazosport Model improves student reading achievement as determined by Arizona's Instrument to Measure Standards (AIMS). In particular, this study examined the implementation of the Brazosport Model and its effect on the achievement of English Language Learners (ELLs)…

An investigation was conducted to determine the best criterion for advancement to a new reading passage during the commonly used classroom strategy of repeated reading. Knowing when to move students to a new passage during the repeated reading process was considered of value to teachers in efficiently using student learning time. The study also…

Teachers' observations of student performance in reading are abundant and insightful but often remain internal and unarticulated. As a result, such observations are an underutilized and undervalued source of data. Given the gaps in knowledge about students' reading comprehension that exist in formal assessments, the frequent calls for teachers'…

AISD's Office of Turnaround Schools implemented a high-dosage tutoring (HDT) program for selected grade levels and subject areas in the Travis and Eastside Memorial vertical teams. This report summarizes the first year of implementation.

In an attempt to analyse more closely the training experiences of pre-service teachers, the author conducted an exploratory quasi-experimental study at a university located in the Rocky Mountain region of the USA. All students who were enrolled in the same reading methods course (but enrolled in different sections) were invited to participate in…

There is increasing evidence that a significant number of children in America are not learning important basic reading skills. Response to intervention (RTI) for support in reading is appropriate, but what does a school district do about students who are in Tier 3 and not making progress? Teachers and psychologists at the Special School District…

The main purpose of this study was to examine the classroom, teacher and student factors distinguishing grade three classes performing at higher levels than expected, in relation to socioeconomic status (SES) and language factors, from classes performing below their potential with regard to the same factors. Data from a standardized reading…

This study evaluated the impact of a comprehensive reading program enhanced with sign language on the literacy and language skills of three elementary school students with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Students received individual and small group comprehensive reading instruction for approximately 55 minutes per session. Reading…

Numerous studies have identified isolated elements for successfully teaching early reading. However, very few studies have examined the effect of early reading programs that use a combination of multiple research-based practices. A 4-year longitudinal study starting with 243 students was conducted to determine the effects of the "Reading in…

In today's educational environment, schools struggle to meet the academic needs of every student. Many schools are challenged by the use of a response-to-intervention framework in which too many students need strong interventions. This article details a data-driven, decision-making response-to-intervention reading team model in which teachers,…

Utilizing a New Literacies Studies framework, this article presents critical lessons in film production from a multiple site case study. Examples of children's classroom experiences demonstrate how filmmaking and play come together in a process of storying--a collaborative and multimodal approach to text composition. Students in both preschool and…