Nell K. Duke

Effective Practices for Developing Reading Comprehension

Reading comprehension research has a long and rich history. There is much that we can say about both the nature of reading comprehension as a process and about effective reading comprehension instruction. Most of what we know has been learned since 1975. Why have we been able to make so much progress so fast? We believe that part of the reason behind this steep learning curve has been the lack of controversy about teaching comprehension. Unlike decoding, oral reading, and reading readiness, those who study reading comprehension instruction have avoided much of the acrimony characteristic of work in other aspects of reading. As it should be, much work on the process of reading comprehension has been grounded in studies of good readers. We know a great deal about what good readers do when they read:

For the Rich It's Richer: Print Experiences and Environments Offered to Children in Very Low- and Very High-Socioeconomic Status First-Grade Classrooms:

This study investigates whether there are differences in the print environments and experiences offered to children in 20 first-grade classrooms chosen from very low- and very high-socioeconomic status (SES) districts. Each classroom was visited for 4 full days over the course of a school year. On each visit, information was recorded about the classroom library, classroom environmental print, and any activity during the school day that involved print in any way. Data indicate that there are substantial differences between the low- and high-SES classrooms in all major areas examined, including the amount, type, and uses of print. Literacy can be added to the list of domains for which meaningful differences in instruction have been observed in schools serving different socioeconomic groups. Literacy is another domain through which schools may contribute to lower levels of achievement among low-SES children and may begin to do so quite early in the schooling process.

Authentic literacy activities for developing comprehension and writing

Authentic literacy activities in the classroom replicate and reflect literacy activities that occur in peoples lives outside of school and instructional contexts. A growing body of research supports use of such activities in teaching and learning. The authors elaborate on the definition of authentic literacy, describe supporting research and theory, and give examples of authentic literacy activities documented in a research study. They identify strategies teachers can use to implement these activities for reading and writing, focusing particularly on science instruction.

Literacy research methodologies

Mallette, Duke, Introduction. Barone, Case-Study Research. Stanovich, Cunningham, Inferences from Correlational Data: Exploring Associations with Reading Experience. Florio-Ruane, Morrell, Discourse Analysis: Conversation. Goldman, Wiley, Discourse Analysis: Written Text. Purcell-Gates, Ethnographic Research. Vellutino, Schatschneider, Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Design in Literacy Research. Reinking, Bradley, Connecting Research and Practice Using Formative and Design Experiments. Stahl, Hartman, Doing Historical Research on Literacy. Henk, McKenna, Developing Affective Instrumentation for Use in Literacy Research. Bus, van IJzendoorn, Meta-Analysis in Reading Research. Fletcher, Simos, Papanicolaou, Denton, Neuroimaging in Reading Research. Baumann, Bason, Survey Research. Pressley, Hilden, Verbal Protocols of Reading. Dressman, McCarthey, Toward a Pragmatics of Epistemology, Methodology, and Other Peoples Theories in Literacy Research. Duke, Mallette, Conclusion, Appendix: Alphabetical Listing of the Exemplars.

The Role of Text and Text‐Reader Interactions in Young Children’s Reading Development and Achievement

One of the most rapidly developing areas of educational innovation involves the texts available to young readers and their teachers, leading to a host of new issues regarding the characteristics and roles of text that support young children’s learning. This article describes research conducted by investigators at the Center for the Improvement of Early Reading Achievement (CIERA) to increase knowledge about the role of text and text‐reader interactions in young children’s reading development and achievement. Questions driving CIERA inquiry about readers and text include: What are useful ways to characterize and evaluate the texts that young readers experience? Findings in response to this question point to the trade‐offs when publishers place differential emphases on high‐quality literature as opposed to the accessibility of the text. In response to the question, What do reading researchers know about the ways young children experience texts that can be applied to creating more meaningful texts and instructional contexts for children?, findings suggest that children learn to value and use various features characteristic of informational text when they use these texts in ways that are consistent with everyday and meaningful uses. Finally, investigations of how texts can be used to enhance subject‐matter learning suggest that efforts to integrate content‐area and reading instruction promote general literacy knowledge and skill as well as subject‐matter knowledge, even for primary‐grade students.

Narrowing the Achievement Gap in Second-Grade Social Studies and Content Area Literacy: The Promise of a Project-Based Approach

Abstract This study addresses the question: Do second-grade students from low- socioeconomic-status (SES) schools taught with an iteratively designed project-based approach to social studies and content literacy instruction: (a) make statistically significant gains on standards-based social studies and content area literacy assessments, and (b) reach a benchmark on these assessments set by a group of students from high-SES schools? If so, what did the project-based approach entail? Students from 4 classrooms in low-SES schools were assessed before and after experiencing 2 project-based units focused on standards in economics; civics and government; public discourse, decision making, and citizen involvement; and content area literacy. Students from 2 high-SES schools were also assessed, following a year of business-as-usual social studies and content literacy instruction, to establish a benchmark we hoped low-SES students could attain. Results show that low-SES students made statistically significant gains in social studies and content literacy and, at post-test, showed no statistically significant differences from the students in the high-SES schools: Following instruction, there was no SES achievement gap on these assessments. The authors describe the project-based units and strategies that the teachers used to implement these plans, and discuss implications of the study for future research and practice.

The Impact of Instruction in the WWWDOT Framework on Students' Disposition and Ability to Evaluate Web Sites as Sources of Information

Much research has demonstrated that students are largely uncritical users of Web sites as sources of information. Research-tested frameworks are needed to increase elementary-age students’ awareness of the need and ability to critically evaluate Web sites as sources of information. This study is a randomized field trial of such a framework called WWWDOT. A matched-pair design involving 12 grade 4 and 5 classes was adopted. Data were collected through 3 assessments administered before and after the intervention: a questionnaire, a Single Web Site Evaluation Task, and a Web Site Ranking Task. ANCOVA and ordinal regression analyses reveal that students taught the WWWDOT framework became more aware of the need to evaluate information on the Internet for credibility and were better able to evaluate the trustworthiness of Web sites on multiple dimensions. However, students’ overall judgment and ranking of the relative trustworthiness of Web sites was not improved.

Diagrams, Timelines, and Tables—Oh, My! Fostering Graphical Literacy

The Common Core State Standards place unprecedented emphasis on visual text—appropriately so, as visual components are increasingly ubiquitous in many kinds of text. This shift in emphasis requires substantial changes in our teaching. Concepts of print need to be expanded to include concepts of graphics, and specific graphical devices, such as diagrams, timelines, and tables, need to become the focus of systematic instruction. This article shares research-based instructional practices that may support childrens development in this increasingly important area.

How Much for Whom? Lessons from an Efficacy Study of Modest Professional Development for Child Care Providers.

Research Findings: Examining the effects of professional development of the early childhood workforce that fit within the constraints of government policy is crucial for identifying types and amounts of effective training and informing child care policy. The present study used a cluster-randomized trial to evaluate the effects of a professional development program for child care providers designed to meet the criteria for 2 state-level policies: (a) that child care providers working in licensed centers engage in 10 hr of professional development annually and (b) that all licensed child care settings provide 30 min of developmentally appropriate literacy activity daily. Results indicated that 10 hr of professional development focused on literacy was effective for significantly improving the literacy practices and knowledge of child care providers. However, it was not effective in eliciting substantial growth in child literacy outcomes, at least in the short term. The lack of child outcomes illustrates the importance of measuring professional development effects at both the provider and child levels. Practice or Policy: This study illustrates the importance of critically questioning and analyzing state policy, particularly dosage. In practice, dosage is an influential factor in how professional development is selected by programs and providers, because most policies only specify a required number of hours to be completed. The design of policy, which can influence both provider practice and child outcomes, relies upon alignment between early childhood research and policy.

Portrayals of Print Literacy in Children's Television Programming

Television continues to be an important part of young childrens daily lives. Therefore, an important question lies in how popular television programs depict aspects of childrens development and learning, including literacy. Through a content analysis, this study analyzed the top 10 programs for viewers between the ages of 2 and 5 for portrayals of literacy, specifically looking at the amount of and affective qualities of print literacy events in these programs. Print literacy events were defined as any time print appeared and was read, written, or listened to by characters in the sample episodes. They were coded for characteristics of the print literacy events, the print used within events, and the literacy user(s). Major findings included: (a) little print included and used, (b) a limited variety of texts, and (c) a lack of gender or racial balance in the characters who interacted with print. Relatively few positive messages about literacy were found, and negative messages about literacy were observed. Missed opportunities to include print literacy in programs were also noted. These findings address gaps in current bodies of research on television, literacy, and young children. They also can help to inform decision-making by families, educators, producers, and policymakers about television and young children.