This resource helps school administrators, educators, and specialists answer complex questions about scientifically-based reading research and make informed choices about teaching practices. It covers brain research and neuroimaging and its influence on reading. Readers will: learn how to read research literature, judge its value, apply it to practice, and recognize common myths about scientific research; review the findings of the National Reading Panel report on Teaching Children to Read and examine research information about phonics and phonemic awareness, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension; and discover how reading research informs educational policy and get reliable information on legislation.
Peggy McCardle, Ph.D., M.P.H., Owner, Peggy McCardle Consulting, LLC
Peggy McCardle is a private consultant and an affiliated research scientist at Haskins Laboratories. She is the former chief of the Child Development and Behavior Branch of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), U.S. National Institutes of Health, where she also directed the Language, Bilingualism, and Biliteracy Research Program and developed various literacy initiatives. Dr. McCardle is a linguist, a former speech-language pathologist, and, in her remote past, a classroom teacher. Her publications address various aspects of public health and developmental psycholinguistics. The recipient of various awards for her work in federal government, including a 2013 NICHD Mentor Award, she also was selected in 2013 to receive the Einstein Award from The Dyslexia Foundation. Her publications address various aspects of public health and developmental psycholinguistics (e.g., language development, bilingualism, reading, learning disabilities) . Dr. McCardle has taught scientific and technical writing and has extensive experience developing and coediting volumes and thematic journal issues.
Vinita Chhabra, M.Ed., has a master's degree in educational psychology and a background in special education, with an emphasis in reading disabilities. She has worked in the public school system, completing cognitive and educational assessments and recommending children for special education programs. She also has worked as an evaluator at the NICHD-Yale Center for the Study of Learning and Attention, conducting assessments of children with possible reading disabilities and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and evaluating reading research data at the Yale University Department of Pediatrics. She has worked with the NRP since its inception and was responsible for researching and conducting searches of literature in reading for the NRP and coordinating and editing materials for the NRP report. She is heading the dissemination activities for the NRP and works as a liaison to joint educational activities with the National Institute for Literacy and the U.S. Department of Education. In addition, Ms. Chhabra assists the NICHD's Child Development and Behavior Branch in adolescent and family literacy initiatives, with a focus in motivation in reading and literacy. She has co-authored articles dealing with reading disabilities and is completing her doctorate in educational psychology at the University of Virginia.
Associate Research Professor, Psychology Department, University of Houston, and Associate Director, Texas Institute for Measurement, Evaluation, and, Statistics, 100 TLCC Annex, Houston, TX 77204. Dr. Carlsonâ (TM)s research interests include measurement development and psychometric evaluation, advanced statistical methods, program evaluation, and early literacy and language development in English- and Spanish-speaking students.
Doctoral Candidate, Educational Administration and Policy Program, University of Michigan School of Education, 610 East University Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI 48109. After graduating with honors from Princeton University, Ms. Coggshall taught middle school mathematics for 3 years in New York City. Her research interests include organizational theory, educational policy making, and teaching improvement and assessment.
Professor of Psychology, Program in Education, Duke University, Box 90739, Durham, NC 27708-0739. Dr. Cooper is Professor of Psychology and Director of the Program in Education at Duke University. He is also editor of the American Psychological Associationâ (TM)s journal Psychological Bulletin, which publishes research syntheses.
Distinguished Professor of Educational Psychology, Graduate Center of the City University of New York, 365 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10016. Dr. Ehriâ (TM)s research has contributed to the understanding of how beginners learn to read and spell words. Dr. Ehri has received research awards from the American Educational Research Association, the International Reading Association, the National Reading Conference, and the Society for the Scientific Study of Reading (SSSR). She is a past president of SSSR and was a member of the National Reading Panel.
Professor of Pediatrics and Associate Director, Center for Academic and Reading Skills, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, 7000 Fannin, UCT 2487, Houston, TX 77005. For the past 25 years, Dr. Fletcher, a child neuropsychologist, has conducted research on many aspects of the development of reading, language, and other cognitive skills in children. He has worked extensively on issues related to learning and attention problems, including definition and classification, neurobiological correlates, and, most recently, intervention.
David J. Francis, Ph.D., Hugh Roy and Lillie Cranz Cullen Distinguished University Chair, Department of Psychology, University of Houston, 4811 Calhoun Road, 3rd Floor, Houston, Texas 77204
Dr. David J. Francis is the Hugh Roy and Lillie Cranz Cullen Distinguished Chair of Quantitative Methods and former Chairman of the Department of Psychology (2002-2014) at the University of Houston, where he also serves as Director of the Texas Institute for Measurement, Evaluation, and Statistics. He was a recipient of the 2006 Albert J. Harris Award from the International Reading Association, and has received the University of Houston's Teaching Excellence Award and the Excellence in Research and Scholarship Award, and in 2008 received the Esther Farfel Award, which recognizes career accomplishments in research, teaching, and service, and is the highest award given to faculty members at the University of Houston.
Professor and Associate Dean, College of Education, The California State University, Long Beach, 250 Bellflower Boulevard, Long Beach, CA 90740. Dr. Goldenberg has taught junior high school in San Antonio, Texas, and first grade in a bilingual elementary school in the Los Angeles area. He is involved in a number of research projects focusing on Latino childrenâ (TM)s academic development, home and school influences on Latino childrenâ (TM)s academic achievement, and the processes and dynamics of school change. He is a member of the National Literacy Panel on Language Minority Youth and Children.
Professor and Director of Maryland Literacy Research Center, Department of Human Development, University of Maryland, 3304 Benjamin Building, College Park, MD 20742. Dr. Guthrie investigates the reading engagement and motivation of children and adolescents. He has designed and implemented a teaching framework, Concept-Oriented Reading Instruction, that increases engagement and reading achievement for students in the later elementary grades. He has published more than 150 articles and book chapters, edited more than 10 books, and received multiple research awards.
Graduate Research Assistant, Department of Human Development, University of Maryland, 3304 Benjamin Building, College Park, MD 20742. Ms. Humenickâ (TM)s research interests include reading motivation and engagement and literacy development.
Professor, School of Education at Stanford University, 123 Cubberly Hall, 485 Lasuen Mall, Stanford, CA 94305. Dr. Kamil was a member of the National Reading Panel and the RAND Reading Study Group and is a member of the National Literacy Panel on Language Minority Children and Youth. He is Chair of the Planning Committee for the Reading Framework of the 2007 National Assessment of Educational Progress and is the lead editor of Handbook of Reading Research, Volume III (Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2000). In addition, he has edited, authored, or coauthored more than 100 books, chapters, and journal articles.
W. Einar Mencl, Ph.D., Director, Neuroimaging Research, Haskins Laboratories, 300 George Street, New Haven, CT 06515.
Dr. Mencl received his Ph.D. in experimental psychology from Dartmouth College in 1994. His expertise is in experimental design and analysis of functional and brain imaging data and applying techniques such as functional magnetic resonance imaging and magnetoencephalography toward the understanding of reading development and reading disability. Other interests include auditory perception, music perception, and multivariate analysis of brain activation patterns.
Professor of Educational Administration and Policy, University of Michigan School of Education, 610 East University Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI 48109. With grants from the Office of Educational Research and Improvement and the Spencer Foundation, Dr. Miskel has recently completed extensive 5-year investigations of reading policy at the national level, including Reading First, and in nine states. He is particularly interested in examining what factors bring reading to the top of the policy agenda, the processes involved in producing reading policy, and the people, organizations, and their relationships active in the policy arena. Professor Miskel is now writing two books focusing on reading policy.
Robin D. Morris, Ph.D., Regents Professor of Psychology, Department of Psychology, Georgia State University, P.O. Box 5010, Atlanta, GA 30302-5010.
Dr. Morris is Associate Provost for Strategic Initiatives and Innovation and Regentâ (TM)s Professor of Psychology at Georgia State University. He holds joint appointments in the Department of Educational Psychology and Special Education and the Neurosciences Institute. His scholarly and clinical work focuses on the biological and environmental factors that influence academic, attentional, and social development in children and adolescents. His current research is focused on interventions for dyslexia and reading disabilities, mitochondrial disease, using technology to assist in reading development, and the neuroimaging of the typical and atypically developing brain.
Professor and Director, Division of Clinical Neurosciences, Department of Neurosurgery, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, 1333 Moursund, Suite H114, Houston, TX 77030. Dr. Papanicolaou, a neuropsychologist, has conducted extensive research in human neurophysiology, studying the neural bases of language, memory, and emotions with both healthy volunteers and patients.
Kenneth R. Pugh, Ph.D., President, Director of Research, and Senior Scientist, Haskins Laboratories, 300 George Street, Suite 900, New Haven, Connecticut 06511.
Kenneth R. Pugh--in addition to his positions at Haskins Laboratories, a Yale University and University of Connecticut affiliated interdisciplinary institute that is dedicated to the investigation of the biological bases of language--holds positions at the University of Connecticut, Yale University, and the Yale University School of Medicine. He directs the Yale Reading Center, is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board for the International Dyslexia Association and the Rodin Remediation Academy in Stockholm, and has served as a peer reviewer at the National Institutes of Health and as a panel member at the National Research Council of the National Academies. His research in cognitive neuroscience and psycholinguistics focuses on the neurobiology of typical and atypical language and reading development.
Doctoral Student, Department of Psychology, University of Missouriâ "Columbia, 217 McAlester Hall, Columbia, MO 65211. Ms. Reach is a doctoral student in child clinical psychology at the University of Missouriâ "Columbia.
Director, Informatics and Decision-Making Laboratory, University of Arizona College of Medicine; Director, Division of Learning, Technology, and Assessment, Arizona Research Laboratories; and Professor of Surgery, Medicine, Biomedical Engineering, Womenâ (TM)s Studies, Mexican American Studies, and Public Health, Arizona Health Sciences Center, Post Office Box 245031, 1620 North Warren Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85724-5031. Dr. Reyna prepared her chapter while serving as senior research advisor in the U.S. Department of Education, Office of the Assistant Secretary and the Institute of Education Sciences. She is the author of numerous publications concerning learning and cognition and is a fellow of the American Academy for the Advancement of Sciences, the American Psychological Association, and the American Psychological Society.
Research Psychologist, The California State University, Long Beach, 250 Bellflower Boulevard, Long Beach, CA 90740. Dr. Saunders is Director of the Getting Results Network, an external provider that helps schools improve teaching, learning, and achievement through goal setting, assessment, professional development, and administrative, and teacher leadership. Dr. Saunders is also Co-principal Investigator on several research projects. His areas of focus include school change, elementary school education, assessment, and instruction for English language learners.
Timothy Shanahan, Ph.D., is Distinguished Professor of Urban Education at the University of Illinois at Chicago where he is Director of the UIC Center for Literacy. Previously, he was Director of Reading for the Chicago Public Schools, serving 437,000 children. His research focuses on the relationship of reading and writing, school improvement, the assessment of reading ability, and family literacy. He has published more than 200 research, articles, chapters, and books on literacy.
Professor of Pediatrics and Neurology, Yale University School of Medicine, and Co-director, NICHDâ "Yale Center for the Study of Learning and Attention, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, CT 06510. Dr. Bennett A. Shaywitz is a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences and recipient of the 2003 Distinguished Alumni Award from Washington University in St. Louis.
Professor of Pediatrics, Yale University School of Medicine, and Co-director, NICHDâ "Yale Center for the Study of Learning and Attention, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, CT 06510. Dr. Sally E. Shaywitz is a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, was a member of the National Reading Panel, and is the author of Overcoming Dyslexia: A New and Complete Science-Based Program for Reading Problems at Any Level (Alfred A. Knopf, 2003).
Panagiotis G. Simos, Ph.D., Professor of Developmental Neuropsychology, School of Medicine, University of Crete, Vassilika Vouton, Herakleion 71003, Greece
Panagiotis Simos received his Ph.D. in experimental psychology-biopsychology (1995) from Southern Illinois University. He served as an assistant and associate professor with the Department of Neurosurgery at the University of Texas Health and Science Center at Houston and the Department of Psychology at the University of Crete, Greece. His research focuses on neuropsychological and brain imaging studies of reading and memory using magnetoencephalography and MRI with children and adults. Ongoing studies explore psychoeducational, emotional, and neurophysiological profiles associated with specific reading disability, attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder, and neurodegenerative disorders.
Research Scientist, American Institutes for Research, 1000 Thomas Jefferson Street, NW, Washington, D.C., 20007. Dr. Songâ (TM)s research interests include education policy and politics, program evaluation, quantitative methodology, and social network analysis.
Professor of Curriculum and Instruction, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 395 College of Education, 1310 South Sixth Street, Champaign, IL 61820. Dr. Stahl teaches courses in reading education at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and is Co-director of the Center for the Improvement of Early Reading Achievement. Prior to pursuing doctoral studies at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, he was a special education teacher in New York and Maine. He has conducted research in many aspects of reading education and has a long-standing interest in beginning reading instruction and vocabulary instruction.
Professional Staff Member, Committee on Education and the Workforce, U.S. House of Representatives, 2181 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, D.C., 20515. For 20 years Mr. Sweet served as a high school teacher, educational textbook salesman, and teacher trainer for McGraw-Hill and Holt, Rinehart & Winston. In 1981 Mr. Sweet joined the Reagan Administration and held positions at the U.S. Department of Education, the National Institute for Education, and the White House. Under President George H.W. Bush he was Administrator for Juvenile Justice and was Associate Director for the Childrenâ (TM)s Bureau at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. He is a professional staff member on the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce and focuses on improving reading instruction in the United States. He was the primary author of the Reading First initiative and helped define the term scientifically based research, now noted in law more than 100 times.
Robert M. Gagne Professor of Psychology and Education and Director, Florida Center for Reading Research, Florida State University, 227 North Bronough Street, Suite 7250, Tallahassee, FL 32301. Dr. Torgesenâ (TM)s research interests include instructional methods for the prevention and remediation of reading disabilities and assessment practices for the early identification of children at risk for reading difficulties.
Louisa Cook Moats, Ed.D., has published many book chapters, journal articles, and policy papers on reading instruction. Formerly Project Director at the District of Columbia Public Schools site of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Early Interventions Project, Dr. Moats is now an independent consultant and writer who specializes in the professional development of teachers of reading and writing. Dr. Moats spent the 1996-1997 school year as a visiting scholar at the Sacramento County Office of Education, where she authored and presented leadership training materials on early reading for the California State Board of Education. These materials are now required content in all of the professional development programs conducted under Assembly Bill 1086 in California. Dr. Moats received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Wellesley College, her Master of Arts degree from Peabody College of Vanderbilt University, and her doctorate of education in reading and human development from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She worked as a teacher, neuropsychology technician, and specialist in learning disorders prior to her doctoral training. She was a licensed psychologist in private practice for 15 years in Vermont and a graduate instructor both at Harvard and at St. Michael's College in Winooski, Vermont, where she developed innovative courses for teachers linking the disciplines of linguistics and reading education. Specializing in reading development, reading disorders, spelling, and written language, she has written and lectured widely throughout the United States and abroad. She has taught courses in teacher education at the Greenwood Institute in Putney, Vermont, and at Simmons College in Boston. Her publications include this text's companion workbook, Speech to Print Workbook: Language Exercises for Teachers (Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co., 2003); journal articles; book chapters; a classroom basal spelling program; a book titled Spelling: Development, Disability, and Instruction (York Press, 1995); and a book for parents, co-authored with Susan L. Hall, Straight Talk About Reading: How Parents Can Make a Difference in the Early Years (Contemporary Books, 1999).
Barbara R. Foorman, Ph.D., earned her doctorate at the University of California-Berkeley. She is Professor of Pediatrics and Director of the Center for Academic and Reading Skills at the University of Texas-Houston Medical School and Principal Investigator of the grant funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), Early Interventions for Children with Reading Problems. In addition to many chapters and journal articles on topics related to language and reading development, she is the editor of Reading Acquisition: Cultural Constraints and Cognitive Universals (Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1986). She is on the editorial board of Journal of Learning Disabilities and has guest edited special issues of Scientific Studies of Reading, Linguistics and Education and Journal of Learning Disabilities. Dr. Foorman has been actively involved in outreach to the schools and to the general public, having chaired Houston Independent School District's Committee on a Balanced Approach to Reading and having testified before the California and Texas legislatures and the Texas Board of Education Long-Range Planning Committee. Dr. Foorman is also a member of the National Academy of Sciences' Committee on the Prevention of Reading Difficulties in Young Children, the board of the Society for the Scientific Study of Reading, the Consortium on Reading Excellence (CORE), and several local reading efforts.
Barbara K. Keogh, Ph.D., Professor Emerita, Graduate School of Education, and Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles. Dr. Keogh's research has focused on children with learning disabilities or developmental problems and their families. She is the author of Temperament in the Classroom: Understanding Individual Differences (Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co., 2003).
Dr. Pollard-Durodola is a professor in the Early Childhood, Multilingual, and Special Education Department of the School of Education at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. Her scholarship attends to the prevention/intervention of language and literacy difficulties (Spanish/English) among students at risk of academic difficulties. Central to her scholarship is developing intervention curricula that build on validated instructional design principles, evaluating their impact on the language and reading development of struggling readers, and investigating how to improve the quality of language/literacy practices of teachers and parents of English learners. She is interested in bridging research and practice by examining the feasibility/usability of research-based practices. She has published in peerreviewed journals such as
Exceptional Children; Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness; The Elementary School Journal; Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools; and
Bilingual Research Journal.
