The authors provide a review and critique of 82 empirical investigations conducted in the United States on teacher preparation for reading instruction. These studies were chosen from a pool of 298 based on the authors' coding of research quality indicators. Applying an inductive paradigmatic analysis of the 82 studies, this review suggests that in…

With the push for teacher accountability and the controversy concerning high-stakes testing, more teachers are looking for systematic ways to increase academic achievement. If the U.S. is to regain its global position as number 1 in the education arena, education policy must dictate that teachers integrate technology as a regular part of core…

Reading teacher education, as is true with much of higher education, is plagued with pressures of providing "here and now" answers to very complex, entangled issues. The reading methods course becomes the site of many of these pressures, despite considerable insights provided by scholars such as Kumaravadivelu (2001) that "methods" may be more of…

Students are challenged to pass mandated tests in grades three through eight and the exit test on the secondary school level in order to be promoted to the next higher grade level or to receive a high school diploma. Failure is certainly a negative experience. It behooves reading teachers to assist learners to attach meaning to what is being…

While incorporating digital technologies into the classroom has offered new ways of teaching and learning into educational processes, it is essential to take a look at how the digital shift impacts teachers, school administration, and curriculum development. "Academic Knowledge Construction and Multimodal Curriculum Development" presents…

Teachers' personal self-efficacy about their ability to motivate students and encourage learning has been shown to affect the classroom they create and student achievement. Therefore, research has been conducted on ways to increase teacher efficacy for in-service and pre-service teachers. One area of research that has been explored is the impact…

As educators we talk a great deal about theory to practice, and we hope our candidates will understand and make the connections needed in order to apply their theory to practice. Often though, we do not spend enough time helping our candidates discover what their own theory base is and thus that theory to practice (praxis) connection gets broken.…

With the number of students eligible for federally financed tutoring continuing to grow, school officials and tutoring providers are fighting over the scope of the program and debating how to measure its quality. As Congress revisits the tutoring initiative and other sections of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, lawmakers want answers to…

Describes how Edmund Burke Huey's "The Psychology and Pedagogy of Reading" helped shape and change the author's concepts of reading. (DD)

Survey data gathered from a group of reading specialists and classroom teachers participating in a regional IRA conference focused on vocabulary instruction were analyzed for this article. The survey inquired into their classroom and building practices relative to the teaching of vocabulary. The results indicate that the major concern is not what…

This report summarizes the results of the Newark, New Jersey, Striving Readers program for project Years 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. This report updates one analysis (3 years); the remainder of the impacts and implementation findings are for Year 4. The Striving Readers Grant addresses the unmet needs of middle school students reading 2 or more years below…

How can busy teachers successfully manage the complex task of assessing their students' reading comprehension? This invaluable book--the first stand-alone guide on the topic--presents reliable, research-supported guidelines and procedures for K-6 teachers to use in the classroom. Through practical tips and realistic examples, the book demonstrates…

Not too long ago, on a visit to two sixth-grade classrooms, the author saw very clearly the challenge teachers have before them when they try to differentiate reading. In both classrooms, 11-year-olds who read like fourth graders shared tables with classmates who read like the average ninth grader--a five-year span. How teachers approach this…

The purpose of this study was to explore upper elementary reading classes in a low socio-economic area to determine the effects frequent praise, both academically and socially, have on the zone of proximal development in reading (ZPD[subscript RL], Renaissance Learning, 2006). A causal-comparative study was utilized by observing two groups of…

It is the transformation and fusion of the reader and text into something greater than each alone that makes reading a mysterious, visionary process. (HOD)