Beyond tutoring: After-school literacy instruction

One of the greatest challenges facing teachers is accommodating struggling, diverse, and at-risk readers. Even with the use of effective, research-based techniques, many children fail to make adequate progress in reading and may need additional assistance. One way to provide this assistance is through tutoring. This article outlines a successful after-school reading project that utilized university graduate students as tutors for struggling readers. The authors discuss both challenges and solutions associated with the project. © 2008 Hammill Institute on Disabilities

Literacy instruction in rural elementary schools in Jamaica: Response to professional development

Rural educators from several elementary schools in southwest Jamaica completed pre- and post-literacy surveys. Professional training was developed and provided in response to the pre-assessment results. Literacy training combined two essential skills: (a) ongoing assessment of literacy achievement and (b) evidenced-based intervention strategies. Pre- and post-assessment results revealed that the phonics approach was the most frequently used literacy strategy. The least used method of literacy instruction was the use of ongoing or informal literacy assessments. Although the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills was modeled as an example of an ongoing assessment, post-assessment results revealed that educators did not frequently use this assessment. The most utilized literacy intervention strategies were teacher-directed activities implemented at the class-wide level. © The Journal of Negro Education, 2010