Diane Corcoran Nielsen

Phonological Awareness: One Key to the Reading Proficiency of Deaf Children

A case is made for the importance of childrens development of phonological awareness—whether they are hearing or deaf—if they are to reach their potential as readers. Relevant terms are defined (i.e., phonological awareness, phonological processes, and phonics) to assist the reader with the research review, which covers (a) the typical stages in the acquisition of phonological awareness and (b) phonological awareness and deafness. Suggestions for phonological awareness assessment are offered, along with the recommendation that the use of recently developed formal and informal measures of phonological awareness might facilitate the setting of goals and objectives when deaf educators or speech-language pathologists are evaluating the skills of deaf students and planning instruction for these students. Such tools yield information about skills that have been shown to correlate with literacy attainment and that are not commonly addressed by deaf educators or speech-language pathologists serving deaf students. Finally, research concerning the facilitation of phonological awareness and its application is explained.

The Dimensionality of Language Ability in Young Children

The purpose of this study was to empirically examine the dimensionality of language ability for young children (4-8 years) from prekindergarten to third grade (n = 915), theorizing that measures of vocabulary and grammar ability will represent a unitary trait across these ages, and to determine whether discourse skills represent an additional source of variance in language ability. Results demonstrated emergent dimensionality of language across development with distinct factors of vocabulary, grammar, and discourse skills by third grade, confirming that discourse skills are an important source of variance in childrens language ability and represent an important additional dimension to be accounted for in studying growth in language skills over the course of childhood.

A Model of a New-Teacher Induction Program and Teacher Perceptions of Beneficial Components.

Abstract Hiring new teachers and continuing their professional growth so that they remain in the profession and become effective teachers have been a challenge for decades. Research suggests that induction programs can achieve these outcomes if they are highly structured, include mentoring, focus on professional learning, and emphasize collaboration that is broad and focused. The Great Beginnings new-teacher induction program, the focus of this article, contains these effective components. Results of a multiyear study indicate that the new teachers view the instructional resource teacher, an instructional coach and mentor, and opportunities to collaborate with colleagues as the key components of the new-teacher induction program. Additionally, teachers value professional development that they perceive as addressing their particular challenges. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Early Identification of Reading Disabilities Within an RTI Framework

Early and accurate identification of children at risk for reading disabilities (RD) is critical for the prevention of RD within a response to intervention framework. In this study, we investigated the use of universal screening and progress monitoring for the early identification of RD in kindergarten children. A total of 366 children were administered a battery of screening measures at the beginning of kindergarten and progress-monitoring probes across the school year. A subset of children who showed initial risk for RD also received a 26-week Tier 2 intervention. Participants’ achievement in word reading accuracy and/or fluency was assessed at the end of first grade. Results indicated that a screening battery containing measures of letter naming fluency, phonological awareness, rapid naming, or nonword repetition accurately identified good and poor readers at the end of first grade. Findings also showed that children’s response to supplemental and/or classroom instruction measured in terms of growth in letter naming fluency added significantly to the prediction of reading outcomes.

Essential Practices as Adults Read to Meet the Needs of Deaf or Hard of Hearing Students

Most deaf or hard of hearing students do not read proficiently (Karchmer, Milone, & Wolk, 1979; Allen, 1986), yet Winzer (1985) found no agreement as to the best way to teach reading to them. We reviewed the literature in related fields in an attempt to assist teachers and parents in identifying practices that are supported by research and linked to literacy attainment. We were especially impressed by the work of Adams (1990) with regard to the practices that promote proficient reading in hearing students, as well as by that of Hoggan and Strong (1994), who studied the techniques of those working with students with language disabilities. The result of our review was a rationale and description of ten practices that we suggest are essential to include when reading to students if they are to become proficient readers themselves. Our work is particularly applicable when adults are using the methods of read aloud, adult/student shared reading, and adult guided reading. These essential practices can be modeled by teachers for parents and others working with students as they develop reading skill.

A Study of the Effectiveness of a Small-Group Intervention on the Vocabulary and Narrative Development of At-Risk Kindergarten Children

This study investigated the effect of a small-group storybook-based intervention on kindergarten students’ vocabulary and narrative development, which is important to later reading achievement. Twenty-eight kindergarten children from a high-poverty urban school, all significantly behind their peers on standardized measures of language development (semantic and syntactic) and narrative (understanding and production), were randomly assigned to the intervention or control group. The intervention students engaged in three 30-minute storybook-based lessons per week for 12 weeks, focused on vocabulary and narrative development. The intervention students made greater gains on both standardized and nonstandardized measures of vocabulary and narrative achievement than did control-group children.

Early Identification of Reading Comprehension Difficulties

Most research on early identification of reading disabilities has focused on word reading problems and little attention has been given to reading comprehension difficulties. In this study, we investigated whether measures of language ability and/or response to language intervention in kindergarten uniquely predicted reading comprehension difficulties in third grade. A total of 366 children were administered a battery of screening measures at the beginning of kindergarten and progress monitoring probes across the school year. A subset of children also received a 26-week Tier 2 language intervention. Participants’ achievement in word reading was assessed at the end of second grade, and their performance in reading comprehension was measured as the end of third grade. Results showed that measures of language ability in kindergarten significantly added to the prediction of reading comprehension difficulties over and above kindergarten word reading predictors and direct measures of word reading in second grade. Response to language intervention also proved to be a unique predictor of reading comprehension outcomes. Findings are discussed in terms of their relevance for the early identification of reading disabilities.

The English-Language and Reading Achievement of a Cohort of Deaf Students Speaking and Signing Standard English: A Preliminary Study

Abstract: Research suggests that English-language proficiency is critical if students who are deaf or hard of hearing (D/HH) are to read as their hearing peers. One explanation for the traditionally reported reading achievement plateau when students are D/HH is the inability to hear insalient English morphology. Signing Exact English can provide visual access to these features. The authors investigated the English morphological and syntactic abilities and reading achievement of elementary and middle school students at a school using simultaneously spoken and signed Standard American English facilitated by intentional listening, speech, and language strategies. A developmental trend (and no plateau) in language and reading achievement was detected; most participants demonstrated average or above-average English. Morphological awareness was prerequisite to high test scores; speech was not significantly correlated with achievement; language proficiency, measured by the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals-4 (Semel, Wiig, & Secord, 2003), predicted reading achievement.

The Effectiveness of a Model of Language-Focused Classroom Instruction on the Vocabulary and Narrative Development of Kindergarten Children

The purpose of the study that is reported in this article was to examine the effectiveness of a model of language-focused instruction, delivered by the classroom teacher, on the vocabulary and narrative development of kindergarten children living in high-poverty conditions. There were 22 participants, the majority significantly behind their peers on standardized measures of vocabulary and narrative (understanding and production). The four-day sequence of instruction focused on a different storybook each week for 12 weeks. The findings demonstrated that it was possible to increase both vocabulary and narrative with explicit classroom instruction, repeated experiences, and active engagement. Implications for core kindergarten instruction and for teacher education are discussed.