David C. Caverly

Handbook of college reading and study strategy research

Part 1: Framework Chapter 1: History Chapter 2: Academic Literacy Chapter 3: Policy Issues Chapter 4: Student Diversity Part 2: Reading Strategies Chapter 5: Vocabulary Development Chapter 6: Comprehension Development Chapter 7: Reading / Writing Connection Part 3: Study Strategies Chapter 8: Strategic Study-Reading Chapter 9: Motivation and Study Strategies Chapter 10: Notetaking from Lectures Chapter 11: Test Taking Part 4: Program Delivery Chapter 12: Addressing Diversity Chapter 13: Technology Integration Chapter 14: Program Management Chapter 15: Program Evaluation Chapter 16: Reading Tests Appendix: Reading Tests Reviewed

The Effectiveness of Strategic Reading Instruction for College Developmental Readers

Two studies examined the short- and long-term effects of teaching strategic reading to first-year college students in a stand-alone course. In study one, developmental readers (N = 36) learned PLAN, a strategic reading heuristic. Significant pretest-posttest growth was found using cognitive, metacognitive, and affective measures, though no gain was found on a measure of self-efficacy. Strategy transfer was found during the next semester according to self-report. In a second study of developmental readers over four years, a larger treatment group (N = 51) outperformed a control group (N = 78) on a standardized test and average grade in a reading-intensive history course. These developmental readers seemed to learn strategic reading skills that transferred to a future core curriculum course.

Improving Reading in a Middle School Science Classroom

A new strategy for content-area reading instruction was successfully introduced by these authors.

Digital Literacies in Multiuser Virtual Environments among College-Level Developmental Readers.

As the rate of developmental reading students continues to climb, so does the surge in digital platforms as a means to deliver postsecondary instruction. Students enrolled in developmental reading courses should not be assumed to have digital literacy skills simply because they have been termed a “digitally literate generation.” In this study, one digital technology—multiuser virtual environments (MUVEs)— provided a platform that allowed students to engage in learning opportunities congruent with digital literacy. Examined in this study were (a) the digital literacy skills of developmental readers, (b) the differences in digital literacies between developmental reading students who used a MUVE and those who did not, and (c) the behaviors exhibited by students indicating their degree of digital nativeness. Participants in the experimental group demonstrated digital literacy through reading activities and observations in the MUVE, Second Life, and made higher reading achievement gains over the control group.