Describes how text sets (a group of related texts of varied genres and reading levels) can help meet the needs of the diverse population of students enrolled in community college developmental reading courses. Describes how to develop a text set, and describes four text sets used by the author. Discusses how cooperative learning and journal…

Describes the instructional framework of a college-level developmental-reading class that is founded on two principles: connecting the reading and writing processes, and encouraging students to bring their lives to their reading and writing. Discusses the course framework, course readings, pre- and post reading and writing activities, and…

Outlines a model for understanding the second-language reading process. Uses errors in comprehension to illustrate how the reading comprehension process works. Discusses pedagogical implications and suggestions for teaching students to develop and practice better comprehension strategies using think-alouds. (RS)

Examines whether children taught in literacy program classrooms make greater progress in reading during their first two years of formal schooling than children in classrooms not involved in the literacy program. Finds that children in the literacy program classrooms made more reading progress in both the Reception year and Year 1. (CMK)

Describes a strategy adaptable to middle school, high school, and college levels that helps to motivate students to want to read and gain information; promotes discussion and fosters students' learning from one another; helps below-grade-level readers understand content; and encourages higher order thinking. (SR)

In a basic-level writing course at the University of Minnesota, students were asked to read and engage in intelligent conservation about Keith Gilyard's "Voices of the Self." The book is about education but alternates autobiographical material with scholarly analysis. Literacy researchers expect students to read a text, understand what…

While college reading programs have lagged behind public school systems in the procurement of computers, a move toward using computers to provide at least part of the instruction in postsecondary reading programs seems to be gaining momentum. With the abundance of software on the market, lab personnel need a categorization scheme to use while…

Reading courses at the college level strive to improve advanced reading proficiency as well as basic reading skills. The use of a problem-solving model is one way to provide students with an organized approach to comprehending, investigating, and resolving problem statements. The problem-solving model begins with a problem statement provided by…

Noting that role playing and writing as prereading activities have the potential to improve reading comprehension, a study tested the efficacy of a role playing method for improving reading comprehension. Students in three college developmental reading classes were asked to assume the role of author of a selection that they were about to read and…

Unlike trends in reading and writing instruction which are shortlived, such as speed reading, performance contracting, and the i.t.a. (initial teaching alphabet), certain influences exist which contribute to lasting improvements in reading and writing. Several factors can help to distinguish trends from the more permanent influences on education.…

Subjects in the first part of this two-part study (56 undergraduates) read a 24-frame text on computer programming that was presented either in logical or in random order. The results of this experiment showed that the subjects given an advance organizer in the random order presentation performed better on a posttest than did control subjects (no…

Reading and writing teachers can use visual compositions--a grouping of pictures, photos, or slides suggesting a unified story or theme--to help students understand style and organization in writing. Students who are categorized as language deficient, have difficulty with invention, or are influenced in language learning by visual/spatial input…

To meet the needs of educationally disadvantaged college freshmen, a developmental reading program that emphasized student-generated questioning techniques was implemented at Manhattanville College (New York). The program was intended to help students comprehend and recall information from different subject areas and to organize complex topics…

THIS CONFERENCE WAS SPONSORED BY THE FLORIDA STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, DIVISION OF COMMUNITY JUNIOR COLLEGES, IN COOPERATION WITH THE SOUTHEASTERN EDUCATION LABORATORY. IT COVERED (1) THE JUNIOR COLLEGE PHILOSOPHY OF PROVIDING AN OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL STUDENTS, (2) PROPOSALS TO DEVELOP A JUNIOR COLLEGE CURRICULUM ESPECIALLY FOR THE…

The reading instructor and clinician may need to come to terms with the need for a changing role in working with college students with severe reading problems. As a growing number of intellectually able children with severe reading problems are identified during elementary and secondary school years, more students with a history of learning…