Investigates the personal, home, and school reading contexts of secondary school readers. Explores students' implicit resistance to reading school-assigned materials as an explanation for why students' interest in school reading declines after elementary school. Includes brief descriptions of resistant readers in other countries. (SR)

Replicates an earlier study in which students read versions of passages rewritten by composition instructors, text linguists, or Time-Life writers. Finds that the composition instructor's revisions were the most effective. Points out methodological lessons learned. Comments on some conclusions on improving textbook design and the measures used in…

Explores the effects of marginal glossing on college students' comprehension and retention. Describes what a marginal gloss is and how it might work. Concludes that although marginal glossing is a frequently recommended study strategy, its usefulness may be limited. (SR)

Discusses recent research on social interaction and literacy (the notion that substantive talk is a primary means for becoming literate). Discusses social interaction as a means for learning, as part of literacy periods, and as a means for integrating learning across the curriculum. Discusses the effects of social interaction on literacy learning.…

Explores the early childhood through high school reading experiences of teenagers. Provides details about favorite books, television viewing habits, and students' memories. Provides the results of a survey and explores how students who like reading got that way. (PRA)

Studies what inferences test-takers make as they struggle to match their expectations for an answer with the choices offered in a multiple-choice question. Finds that the 27 types of inferences observed within the metacognitive, cognitive, and affective interactions displayed during these protocols suggested a wealth of activity and thought. (MG)

Examines the reading processes and practices of one female college student through eight semesters of undergraduate education. Traces the student's beliefs about literate activity. Analyzes the student's conceptions of the functions of texts and authors as they grew in complexity. (HB)

Discusses three children who successfully learned phonics in three very different instructional settings (conventional, whole language, and tutoring in a learning center). Notes that the children developed in similar ways, yet at different rates; the teachers nudged the learners toward literacy development; and writing was a part of the curriculum…

Investigates the comparative effects of three different types of study guides--interlocking, noninterlocking, and teacher constructed--on comprehension and postreading oral discussion. Finds that study guides are worthwhile instructional aids; noninterlocking and interlocking study guides produced higher comprehension test scores; and the…

Investigates whether a reading methods course and/or student teaching can influence an individual's conceptual framework of reading. Finds some effect on changing subjects' perspectives about teaching reading, but also finds (in a subsequent study) that neither the reading methodology course nor student teaching had a statistically significant…

Compares reading achievement of at-risk primary-school students participating in a systematic, sequential, multisensory, synthetic, phonetically based approach to reading (Project Read) to reading achievement of students instructed through the use of traditional basal readers. Finds significant differences at first grade for all subtests and the…

Measures native skilled, nonnative skilled, and nonnative nonskilled English readers' word reading times. Finds reading times of native skilled readers were independent of word length, word location, and grammatical word classification compared to nonnative readers. Finds that native readers' reading time was different from nonnative skilled…

Describes a study which shows that pairing content and English classes has immediate benefits for students of English as a Second Language. Suggests that content and language learning reinforce each other. Shows that such a pairing helped ESL community college students compete with native speakers in a psychology course. (SR)

Reviews research relating to graphic organizers. Suggests that no systematic approach to analyzing graphic organizer research exists, resulting in a lack of explanations for why graphic organizers work or do not work. Proposes a framework through which graphic organizer research may be better understood in relation to the cognitive processes of…

Discusses components of children's motivation to read and learn. Presents several factors that influence student goal orientation and foster interest. Suggests that teachers emphasize learning goals instead of performance goals, ensure that children have the competence to carry out chosen literacy activities, and provide support for social…