When the author and her teaching colleague assessed their 7th and 8th grade students' research papers, they realized that although the papers demonstrated proper structure, the students had not gained meaningful understanding of their topics. Although the teachers had carefully prepared students to write, they had not ensured that students had…

We used a multiple baseline across students design to evaluate the effects of an intervention program consisting of vocabulary instruction, error correction, and fluency building on oral reading rate and comprehension of five English-language learners who were struggling readers in a primary school. During the first intervention condition (new…

This chapter describes an undergraduate psychology research methods course in which laptops facilitated online organization, electronic portfolios, and flexible laboratories to improve student engagement, capability, and understanding. (Contains 3 figures.)

The purpose of this study is twofold: first, to estimate the contribution of discipline-related knowledge and English-language proficiency to reading comprehension in English for academic purposes (EAP) and, second, to specify the levels at which the compensatory effect between the two variables takes place for successful EAP reading. The…

Students learning English as a new language are the fastest-growing group in U.S. schools today. These students speak many languages, their reading levels cover a wide range, and they experience great cognitive demands as they learn both language and content in order to participate fully in class. Literature can play a critical role in immersing…

The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of a readers' theater fluency program. The participants were 12 students with learning disabilities in a combined second/third grade exceptional education classroom. Through the use of pre and post reading attitude surveys, field notes recorded by the observer, and pre and post oral fluency…

Background: Phonological awareness is known to be an excellent predictor of later reading acquisition. It remains unclear, however, whether phoneme manipulation alone best explains this association or whether an additional direct contribution of onset-rime awareness is predictive. This issue is explored here. Method: A longitudinal study is…

Happe (1993) proposed that theory of mind (ToM) understanding was necessary for comprehension of metaphorical expressions. The current study investigated the role of both ToM and language ability in metaphor understanding. Ninety-four children aged 8-15 years with communication impairments were grouped according to language ability and autistic…

The effects of a Self Regulated Learning (SRL) environment on pre-service primary teachers of Science and Technology were investigated in this exploratory study. A representative sample of teachers was interviewed about their experience and how it impacted on them pedagogically, affectively, conceptually and metacognitively. The preliminary…

The study investigated reading errors made by Ethiopian learners of Hebrew (n=34). These newcomers to Israel, unlike other groups such as the Russian Jews, typically have low literacy skills in their first language (Amharic). Their ability to read Hebrew, as judged on a reading comprehension test, was still poor after living in Israel for seven…

This study focused on 27 second graders in one urban school that used SRA Reading Mastery. Children's strategy use, comprehension, and perception of the reading process were appraised using samples of oral reading with retellings; classroom observations; interviews with the children, their teachers, and the principal; and a phonics test. Results…

This study focuses on the influence of high school students' (10th and 11th grade) epistemological understanding and topic interest on their interpretation of a dual-position expository text about genetically modified food, as well as on the change in their beliefs about the topic. After reading, students were given different tasks: (1) to write…

The present study examined factors that influence the process of learning to read in a second language. The Hebrew reading comprehension skills of 68 Russian-speaking children (mean age 7 years 6 months) were screened at the start of Grade 2. From this sample, 40 participants were selected: 20 successful learners and 20 unsuccessful learners.…

In this longitudinal study, we examined the effects of the use of English as the language of instruction in the first 4 years of secondary education in The Netherlands on the students' language proficiency in English and Dutch, and achievement in subject matters taught through English. Compared to a control group in regular secondary education,…

Simultaneous interpreting is a complex skill in which language comprehension and production take place at the same time in two languages. In this study, we examined performance on basic language and working memory tasks that have been hypothesized to engage cognitive skills important for simultaneous interpreting. The participants were native…