We compared the effects of children's reading of an educational electronic storybook on their emergent literacy with those of being read the same story in its printed version by an adult. We investigated 128 5- to 6-year-old kindergarteners; 64 children from each of two socio-economic status (SES) groups: low (LSES) and middle (MSES). In each…

This study focused on the predictive validity of fluency measures that comprise Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS). Data were gathered from first through third graders attending 44 schools in 9 districts or local educational agencies that made up the first Reading First cohort in Michigan. Students were administered DIBELS…

This follow-up study compares cognitive and language aspects of a group of Italian children ages 4-6 years, who had shown delayed expressive language abilities at 24 months of age (late talkers), with those of a group of children with a history of normal expressive language development (average talkers). Children were given a battery of…

The primary goal of this project was to examine the predictability of Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) reading item difficulty (equated delta) for main idea items, and the predictability of main idea, inference, and explicit statement item types. A secondary purpose was to contrast the responses of high verbal and low verbal ability examinees.…

A practicum was designed to improve the oral/aural vocabulary which would eventually improve the reading vocabulary of second language learners. The practicum, implemented in a second grade by a media specialist who counted on the cooperation of the classroom teacher, consisted of a read-aloud program in which the students read daily from a…

Since the introduction of the concept of reciprocal teaching by A. S. Palincsar and A. L. Brown in 1984, researchers have conducted a number of studies that attempted to replicate and/or extend the original one. A review was conducted of 19 studies that used reciprocal teaching to help students improve their ability to comprehend text. The review…

In this report, the effectiveness of prototypes of interactive learning environments (ILEs) is compared with printed learning environments or traditional face-to-face lectures. The learning content for all conditions was a course on inferential statistics for first-year college students. In the learning materials, a clear distinction was made…

This study examined students' experiences of university medical education, approaches to learning, and comprehension of learning tasks. It used semi-structured interviews with 60 preclinical and clinical medical students. Half of the students attended Gothenburg University (Sweden), which employed a conventional discipline-based curriculum, while…

A study examined issues related to between- and within-class decomposition of variance in reading achievement. The aim is to find "pure" latent structures of achievement at the between-class level as a basis for further investigation of explanatory factors such as teaching. Multilevel factor analysis (MFA) can give a pattern…

Creating a learning and instructional environment for teaching students in a "humane and efficient" manner, this book is designed to empower teachers by providing them with specific suggestions for problems they will encounter as they provide students with direct, explicit instruction in reading. As in earlier editions, the book devotes…

The reading comprehension abilities of 21 intermediate grade children, previously diagnosed as having Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), were compared to 21 carefully matched age/grade peers who did not have this disorder. The study investigated ADHD and Comparison group differences in different levels of comprehension…

A study examined the effect of whole language philosophy as compared to a more traditional reading program on children's reading comprehension scores. The study included a review of current research indicating the importance of teachers stating the topic prior to reading as well as the importance of students' oral reading ability to assess reading…

An action research project describes a cross-age tutoring program to help increase the reading achievement of targeted second graders. The targeted population consisted of second and fifth graders in a middle class suburban community west of a large midwestern city. The problems of poor word attack skills and reading comprehension were documented…

This handbook presents brief descriptions of various aspects of reading instruction and related lesson plans and class activities. Sections of the handbook discuss readiness, word recognition, developing vocabulary skills, reading in the content area, and reading comprehension. The handbook also offers brief biographies on Emmett Betts, Guy Bond,…

A study evaluated the effect software for self-assessment and management of reading practice had on reading achievement and motivation in two primary schools in Aberdeen, Scotland. The program utilized was The Accelerated Reader (AR) which was designed to enable curriculum based assessment of reading comprehension within the classroom. Students…