Applying Research to Reading Instruction: What’s Next?

Timothy ShanahanUniversity of Illinois at Chicagoshanahan@uic.edu

Why research?

• Lack of growth in reading achievement in more than 3 decades: need to do better

• Deep divisions in the profession: must have way to solve disagreements

• Higher accountability demands: greater need for certainty

Settling the Reading Wars

• The National Reading Panel: a public review of research

• Nature of acceptable evidence• Findings become the basis of public

standards: Reading First

However,

• NRP findings are not yet in place• RF Implementation Study: Not much

change in comprehension instruction in RF

• ETR Survey (ETR): many teachers still unaware of SBRR

• NCTQ study on teacher education• Let’s do a quick review of NRP…

Phonemic Awareness

• Studies show that young children need to learn to hear the separable sounds within words

• PA is not phonics• Teachers need to know how to

teach PA (and they need to be able to distinguish the sounds in words)

Phonics

• Studies show that phonics gives young children (K-2) a clear benefit in learning to read

• Phonics instruction needs to be systematic• Teachers need to know how to

teach phonics and they need to provide a substantial amount of phonics in early grades and in remedial interventions

Oral reading fluency

• Studies show that teaching students to read aloud fluently improves reading achievement

• Fluency instruction requires oral reading practice with repetition and feedback

• Teachers need to provide substantial fluency instruction

• Cleveland study

Vocabulary (word meaning)

• Studies show that explicit teaching of word meanings improves reading achievement

• Teachers need to provide substantial vocabulary instruction

• NELP panel findings• NLP panel findings

Reading comprehension

• Studies show that teaching reading comprehension strategies improves reading achievement

• Strategies instruction is more than comprehension practice

• Teachers need to provide substantial amounts of comprehension instruction

• Are strategies necessary?

Why do we need to get beyond those points?

• Those five things are essential, but there are many other issues in the teaching of reading

• There has not been a sufficient continuous federal effort to keep the research picture updated (new panel coming)

Importance of time

• Amount of instruction is the number one determinant of school learning

• Need to ensure that teachers spend sufficient amounts of time teaching reading and writing

• Schools are finding ways for providing more time

Need for Greater Literacy Effort in Pre-K and K

• Importance of alphabetic code including phonological sensitivity, letter names, print awareness, oral language and no difference pre-K and K (NELP)

• More explicit idea of vocabulary knowledge (NELP, in process)

• Oregon evaluation of all-day K• NELP: positive findings for phonological

and print instruction, reading to kids, parent efforts, preschool, and oral language

• ERF study due in fall

Greater focus on content area reading

• What are we preparing kids for?• The ACT study• Greater attention to content

reading instructionCarnegie projects

Need for greater ELL effort

• ELL students are a growing population, and as a group they have lower comprehension

• They often match first language students on basic skills

• The elements work, but not as well as they do with first language students

• Need for vocabulary and comprehension efforts (intensity)

Need for writing instruction

• Writing is a key element of literacy

• Research is clear that writing instruction (not just practice) can raise reading achievement

• Many aspects of reading benefit from the greater intensity of writing instruction

Need for on-going professional development• Most neglected finding in NRP was that

professional development for teachers led to higher reading achievement for students

• NCTQ study (Philadelphia, etc.)• Successful districts do more than

buy programs—they make sure teachers can use programs effectively

Conclusion

• We’ll never make progress in reading achievement until we rigorously apply research findings

• But that isn’t a static process

• Research evidence needs to continue to accumulate for continued improvement

Thank you.

Timothy ShanahanUniversity of Illinois at

Chicagoshanahan@uic.edu