Clarifying Differences Between Reading Skills and Reading Strategies

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/88049/1/RT.61.5.1.pd

The impact of an integrated approach to science and literacy in elementary school classrooms

This study investigates the efficacy of an integrated science and literacy approach at the upper‐elementary level. Teachers in 94 fourth grade classrooms in one Southern state participated. Half of the teachers taught the treatment unit, an integrated science–literacy unit on light and energy designed using a curriculum model that engages students in reading text, writing notes and reports, conducting firsthand investigations, and frequent discussion of key concepts and processes to acquire inquiry skills and knowledge about science concepts, while the other half of the teachers taught a content‐comparable science‐only unit on light and energy (using materials provided by their districts) and provided their regular literacy instruction. Students in the treatment group made significantly greater gains on measures of science understanding, science vocabulary, and science writing. Students in both groups made comparable gains in science reading comprehension. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 49: 631–658, 2012Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/91115/1/tea_21015_sm_SuppAppendix.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/91115/2/21015_ftp.pd

Assessing reading comprehension with narrative and expository texts: dimensionality and relationship with fluency, vocabulary and memory

Reading comprehension assessment should rely on valid instruments that enable adequate conclusions to be taken regarding students’ reading comprehension performance. In this article, two studies were conducted to collect validity evidence for the vertically scaled forms of two Tests of Reading Comprehension for Portuguese elementary school students in the second to fourth grades, one with narrative texts (TRC-n) and another with expository ones (TRC-e). Two samples of 950 and 990 students participated in Study 1, the study of the dimensionality of the TRC-n and TRC-e forms, respectively. Confirmatory factor analyses provided evidence of an acceptable fit for the one-factor solution for all test forms. Study 2 included 218 students to collect criterion-related validity. The scores obtained in each of the test forms were significantly correlated with the ones obtained in other reading comprehension measures and with the results obtained in oral reading fluency, vocabulary and working memory tests. Evidence suggests that the test forms are valid measures of reading comprehension.CIEC – Research Centre on Child Studies, IE, UMinho (FCT R&D unit 317), Portugal. Grant FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-010733 from Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) and the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER) through the European program COMPETE (Operational Program for Competitiveness Factors) under the National Strategic Reference Framework (QREN). It was also supported by FCT grant SFRH/BD/94763/2013.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

How portuguese and american teachers plan for literacy instruction

This study explored American and Portuguese elementary teachers' preferences in planning for literacy instruction using the Language Arts Activity Grid (LAAG; Cunningham, Zibulsky, Stanovich, & Stanovich, 2009), on which teachers described their preferred instructional activities for a hypothetical 2-h language arts block. Portuguese teachers (N = 186) completed Portuguese versions of a background questionnaire and LAAG electronically, in Survey Monkey; American teachers (N = 102) completed identical English measures using paper and pencil. Results showed that teachers in both groups usually addressed comprehension and reading fluency on their LAAGs and that they also allocated the most time to these two areas. However, American teachers were more likely to include teacher-directed fluency activities, whereas Portuguese teachers were more likely to include fluency activities that were not teacher directed. Significantly more American than Portuguese teachers addressed phonics in their planning, whereas significantly more Portuguese than American teachers addressed writing processes such as revision. Both groups of educators demonstrated large variability in planning, with many teachers omitting important components of literacy identified by researchers, for writing as well as reading. The study highlights the importance of providing teachers with comprehensive, research-based core literacy curricula as well as professional development on key components of literacy. Study findings also suggest significant relationships between orthographic transparency and teachers' instructional planning.This research was supported by a 2-year grant from the Foundation Francisco Manuel dos Santos in Portugal as well as by a Connecticut State University research grant in the U.S.A. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to these funding agencies as well as to the teachers and school districts who participated in the study and sent messages of interest about our research. In addition, warm thanks to our research assistants for their help with data collection, coding, and analysis, and to Anne Cunningham for providing us with inspiration as well as guidance in this work.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

An application of the Rasch model to reading comprehension measurement

An effective reading comprehension measurement demands robust psychometric tools that allow teachers and researchers to evaluate the educational practices and track changes in students’ performance. In this study, we illustrate how Rasch model can be used to attend such demands and improve reading comprehension measurement. We discuss the construction of two reading comprehension tests: TRC-n, with narrative texts, and TRC-e, with expository texts. Three vertically scaled forms were generated for each test (TRC-n-2, TRC-n-3, TRC-n-4; TRC-e-2, TRC-e-3 and TRC-e-4), each meant to assess Portuguese students in second, third and fourth grade of elementary school. The tests were constructed according to a nonequivalent groups with anchor test design and data were analyzed using the Rasch model. The results provided evidence for good psychometric qualities for each test form, including unidimensionality and local independence and adequate reliability. A critical view of this study and future researches are discussed.CIEC – Research Centre on Child Studies, IE, UMinho (FCT R&D unit 317), PortugalThis research was supported by Grant FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-010733 from Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) and the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER) through the European program COMPETE (Operational Program for Competitiveness Factors) under the National Strategic Reference Framework (QREN).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A Systematic Review of the Research on Vocabulary Instruction That Impacts Text Comprehension

Although numerous studies have identified a correlational relationship between vocabulary and comprehension, we know less about vocabulary interventions that impact reading comprehension. Therefore, this study is a systematic review of vocabulary interventions with comprehension outcomes. Analyses of 36 studies that met criteria are organized around (a) type of comprehension measure (i.e., comprehension of passages that included taught words or more generalized comprehension measures) and (b) type of intervention (i.e., direct teaching of word meanings or word‐learning strategies). The authors looked for patterns in characteristics of vocabulary instruction within these analyses. Their findings led to four major themes: (1) Teaching of word meanings supported comprehension of text containing the target words in almost all cases; (2) instruction that focused on some active processing was typically more impactful than a definition or a dictionary method for supporting comprehension of text containing the target words, but we do not know how much instruction is sufficient; (3) there is very limited evidence that direct teaching of word meanings, even long‐term, multifaceted interventions of large numbers of words, can improve generalized comprehension; and (4) there is currently no empirical evidence that instruction in one or two strategies for solving word meanings will impact generalized comprehension. However, studies that actively teach students to monitor their understanding of vocabulary and to use multiple, flexible strategies for solving word meanings are a promising area for future research. The authors discuss the implications of these themes, as well as critical avenues for future vocabulary research.Chinese虽然许多研究已经确定了词汇与阅读理解之间的相关关系,但在词汇干预教学对阅读理解的影响方面,我们所知道的则较少。因此,本研究针对词汇干预教学及其阅读理解学习成果,作一个系统性文献综述。符合标准的36个研究按其类别分两方面作分析:(a)阅读理解测验的类型(即,包含已教过的单字的文章阅读理解测验或较广义的阅读理解测验);(b)干预教学的类型(即,单字意义的直接教学或单字学习策略)。本文作者在这些分析中寻找词汇教学特点的模式,其分析结果带出四个主要主题︰(1)在几乎所有情况下,单字意义教学能支援含有目标单字的文本阅读理解;(2)就支援含有目标单字的文本阅读理解而言,侧重于一些主动性文本处理的教学,通常比单字定义教学或字典教学更有影响力,但本文作者不知道多少教学才足够; (3)单字意义的直接教学,甚至是长期性的,多方面的大量单字干预教学,均只有非常有限的证据证明可以提高广义的阅读理解; (4)目前还没有实证研究证据证明只教一两个解决单字义的学习策略就能对广义阅读理解产生影响。然而,在未来研究中,那些积极指导学生监控自己对词汇的理解和使用多样灵活的字义解决策略的研究,应是一个有希望的领域。本文作者最后讨论这四个主题的启示,以及未来词汇研究的关键途径。SpanishAunque numerosos estudios han mostrado una relación correlativa entre el vocabulario y la comprensión, no sabemos tanto sobre las intervenciones de vocabulario que impactan la comprensión lectora. Por ende, este estudio es una revisión sistemática de intervenciones de vocabulario que incluyen comprensión. Los análisis de 36 estudios que satisfacen dicho criterio fueron organizados de acuerdo a (a) la clase de comprensión medida (p. ej., la comprensión de pasajes que incluían palabras enseñadas o medidas de comprensión más generalizadas) y (b) la clase de intervención (p. ej., la enseñanza directa del significado de las palabras o estrategias para aprender palabras). Los autores buscaron patrones en las características de la instrucción de vocabulario dentro de estos análisis. Encontraron cuatro temas principales: (1) La enseñanza del significado de palabras apoya la comprensión de textos que incluyen dichas palabras en casi todos los casos; (2) la instrucción enfocada en algún procesamiento activo tiene típicamente un impacto mayor que una definición o el uso del diccionario para apoyar la comprensión del texto con las palabras indicadas, pero no sabemos cuánta instrucción se necesita; (3) hay poca evidencia de que la enseñanza directa del significado de las palabras, aún en intervenciones multifacéticas a largo plazo de muchas palabras, mejora la comprensión en general; y (4) actualmente no hay evidencia empírica alguna que la instrucción usando una o dos estrategias para resolver el significado de palabras impacta la comprensión general. Sin embargo, instrucción que les enseña activamente a los estudiantes a supervisar su propio entendimiento del vocabulario y a usar varias estrategias flexibles para encontrar el significado de las palabras prometen ser un área para investigaciones futuras. Los autores discuten las implicaciones de estos temas al igual que vías de vital importancia para futuras investigaciones sobre el vocabulario.Arabicعلى الرغم من أن العديد من الدراسات قد حددت العلاقة الارتباطية بين المفردات والفهم، لا تزال معرفتنا اقل بالنسبة لتدخلات المفردات التي تؤثر على القراءة والفهم. وبالتالي، فإن هذه الدراسة تراجع منهجية تدخل المفردات المؤثرة على الفهم. تم تنظيم التحاليل التي أجريت على 36 دراسة تلبي معايير (أ) نوع مقياس الفهم (أي: فهم المقاطع التي شملت الكلمات المدرسة أو تدابير الفهم الأكثر عمومية) (ب) نوع التدخل (أي التعليم المباشر لمعاني الكلمات أو استراتيجيات تعلم الكلمات). نظر المؤلفون عن أنماط خصائص تعليم المفردات ضمن هذه التحليلات. وأدت نتائجهم إلى أربعة محاور رئيسية هي: (1) تدريس معاني الكلمات التي تدعم فهم النص الذي يحتوي على الكلمات المستهدفة في جميع الحالات تقريبا، (2) التعليمات التي تركز على المعالجة الفعَّلة كانت عادة أكثر تأثيرا من تعريف الكلمة أو الأسلوب القاموسي لدعم فهم النص الذي يحتوي على الكلمات المستهدفة، لكننا لا نعرف ما هو الكافي من التعليمات. 3) هناك أدلة محدودة للغاية أن التعليم المباشر لمعاني الكلمات، وحتى على المدى الطويل، او التدخلات المتعددة الأوجه لأعداد كبيرة من الكلمات، يمكن أن يحسن الفهم العام. و (4) لا يوجد حاليا أي أدلة تجريبية أن التعليمات العملية في واحد أو اثنين من استراتيجيات تحليل معاني كلمة سيؤثر على الفهم العام. لكن، الدراسات التي تعلم الطلاب بنشاط مراقبة فهمهم للمفردات، واستخدام عدة استراتيجيات مرنة من أجل تحليل معاني الكلمات لها مبَشِّـرات للبحوث المستقبلية. يناقش المؤلفون الآثار المترتبة على هذه المحاور، وكذلك السبل الهامة في بحثوث المفردات المستقبلية.RussianМногочисленные исследования установили корреляцию между словарным запасом и пониманием текста, однако о лексических вмешательствах, которые дают положительный эффект для понимания прочитанного, известно немного. Поэтому был предпринят системный обзор подобных лексических интервенций. Анализ выбранных по определенному принципу 36 исследований сосредоточен на (a) критериях понимания (понимание абзацев, содержащих изученные слова, или критерии более общего характера) и (б) типе вмешательства (прямое обучение значениям слова или освоение стратегий работы с лексикой). В рамках данного обзора авторы пытались классифицировать полученные выводы. Выделены четыре лейтмотива: (1) почти всегда обучение значениям слова приводит к пониманию текста, содержащего целевую лексику; (2) обучение, связанное с активными лексическими упражнениями, как правило, более эффективно для понимания текста, содержащего целевую лексику, чем работа с определениями или словарями, но пока неясно, каков должен быть объем обучения; (3) существует совсем мало доказательств того, что прямое обучение значениям слова и даже долгосрочные, многогранные вмешательства, включающие большое количество лексики, улучшают общее понимание почитанного; (4) в настоящее время нет никаких эмпирических доказательств того, что обучение одной или двум стратегиям, позволяющим уловить смысл слова, положительно влияет на общее понимание прочитанного. Однако наиболее перспективным направлением для исследований представляется ситуация, когда школьников активно обучают самоконтролю при освоении лексики и дают им разнообразные гибкие стратегии для понимания смысла слов. В статье обсуждается значение полученных выводов, а также критически важные направления для будущих исследований.FrenchQuoique de nombreuses recherches aient mis en évidence une corrélation entre le vocabulaire et la compréhension, nous ne savons pas grand‐chose des interventions relatives au vocabulaire qui ont un impact sur la compréhension de la lecture. Cette étude est par conséquent une revue systématique des interventions en matière de vocabulaire et de leurs effets sur la compréhension. Les analyses des 36 études répondant aux critères sont organisées autour de (a) le type de mesure de la compréhension (i.e. la compréhension de passages qui incluent les mots enseignés ou des mesures plus générales de la compréhension) et (b) le type d’intervention (i.e. un enseignement direct de la signification des mots ou des stratégies d’apprentissage des mots). Les auteurs ont examiné les structures des caractéristiques de l’enseignement du vocabulaire au cours de ces analyses. Les résultats conduisent à quatre conclusions principales : (1) Enseigner la signification des mots est presque toujours bénéfique à la compréhension du texte contenant les mots cibles ; (2) un enseignement focalisé sur un processus actif a de façon typique un impact supérieur à une méthode qui donne la définition du vocabulaire pour améliorer la compréhension du texte contenant les mots cibles, mais sans pouvoir préciser quelle quantité d’enseignement est suffisante. (3) Il y a très peu de preuves qu’un enseignement direct de la signification des mots, et même que des interventions longues et multidimensionnelles d’un grand nombre de mots, puissent conduire à une compréhension générale ; et (4) on n’a actuellement pas de preuve empirique que l’une ou l’autre de ces deux stratégies de connaissance du sens des mots ait un impact sur la compréhension en général. Toutefois, les recherches qui enseignent aux élèves à diriger de façon active leur compréhension du vocabulaire et qui utilisent des stratégies multiples et souples de compréhension des mots sont un domaine prometteur pour les recherches à venir. Les auteurs discutent des implications de ces conclusions, ainsi que des voies pertinentes pour les futures recherches sur le vocabulaire.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/136457/1/rrq163_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/136457/2/rrq163.pd

Toward a Multifaceted Heuristic of Digital Reading to Inform Assessment, Research, Practice, and Policy

In this commentary, the author explores the tension between almost 30 years of work that has embraced increasingly complex conceptions of digital reading and recent studies that risk oversimplifying digital reading as a singular entity analogous with reading text on a screen. The author begins by tracing a line of theoretical and empirical work that both informs and complicates our understanding of digital literacy and, more specifically, digital reading. Then, a heuristic is proposed to systematically organize, label, and define a multifaceted set of increasingly complex terms, concepts, and practices that characterize the spectrum of digital reading experiences. Research that informs this heuristic is used to illustrate how more precision in defining digital reading can promote greater clarity across research methods and advance a more systematic study of promising digital reading practices. Finally, the author discusses implications for assessment, research, practice, and policy