Studies classroom practices to identify those that were most useful for improving students' reading ability. Describes the teacher practices observed in the classrooms, particularly those that are derived from the research of the last four decades. Examines the relationship between teachers' practices and students' growth in reading achievement.…

This article reviews research conducted at the Center for the Improvement of Early Reading Achievement that investigated the effects of home, community, school, and teacher factors on students' reading achievement. First, we review studies that highlight the importance of positive school-home partnerships and open communication between schools and…

Presents open-ended and semistructured interviews to assess reading comprehension. Highlights the potential value of interviews in aligning assessment practices with instruction and learning theory. (MG)

Summarizes research in teacher preparation. Argues that a great deal is known about the training of teachers but much less about the teaching of teachers. Reviews research in areas of training and teaching of teachers and points toward promising practices in the area of teaching teachers. Concludes with recommendations for a research agenda in…

To characterize basic processes of reading comprehension, this report focuses on how the reader's schemata, or knowledge already stored in memory, function in the process of interpreting new information and allowing it to enter and become a part of the knowledge store. The paper first traces the historical antecedents of schema theory, then…

The existing literature on reading comprehension instruction is organized and reviewed. The authors question whether explicit training to improve comprehension or monitoring strategies should be offered, since these behaviors improve with maturity and experience and in the absence of any apparent training, but conclude that it is possible that…

Reflects on the 30th anniversary of the publication of the "First-Grade Studies." States that what can be learned is that "It all depends" is the most effective approach to teaching reading and that pretty much any alternative method was superior to the "look-say" basals popular in the early 1960s. (PA)

Discusses the current political situation in the United States and the ways in which literacy education, particularly reading education, has been socially constructed and politically situated in the last several years. Suggests that the policies educators are currently implementing will lead to a generation of teachers who pay homage to externally…

Synthesizes research on the basic processes and instructional factors that influence literacy development. Points out patterns of agreement and disagreement among literacy scholars and practitioners. Presents an agenda for reading research of the future. (RS)

This article's fundamental argument is that the reading instruction and reading research have been shaped by political forces desiring to privilege particular approaches to instruction or particular combinations of methodological and epistemological perspectives on research. The swings in both dominant pedagogies and dominant research paradigms…

This conceptual paper uses two literatures--the work examining the development of expertise in reading comprehension processes and the work on effective approaches to instruction--to build an instructional model for teaching reading comprehension strategies. The report assumes a constructivist view of both reading comprehension and social…

A study assessed the effects of metacognitive training in question answering strategies on students' ability to answer postreading comprehension questions. In the first part of the study, baseline data concerning the level of metacognitive awareness exhibited by expert readers when answering questions were gathered through the use of 44 skilled…

A reader's background knowledge (schemata) and purpose for reading have an overriding influence upon the reader's development of meaning. Reading comprehension also involves activating, focusing, maintaining, and refining ideas toward developing interpretations that are plausible, cohesive, and complete. Recent examinations of instructional…

Discusses four aspects of listening comprehension citing supportive research: (1) what is involved in listening comprehension, (2) whether it be taught, (3) how it is related to reading comprehension, and (4) what other factors affect listening comprehension. Provides recommendations for teaching. (HTH)

Discusses policy and assessment tools needed to support literacy instruction in the future, identifying changes in literacy education policy that moved from teacher-centered professional judgments to legislative curricular mandates in the 1980s. Examines this country's policy, reading, and assessment heritage and discusses future policy and…