Providing a context for discussion rather than an insider's point of view, this report discusses the current state of reading research. The report reviews differing visions of educational reform of reading instruction espoused by supporters of phonics and by supporters of the whole language approach. The report then proposes four criteria for use…

A TECHNOLOGY WAS NEEDED TO BRIDGE THE GAP BETWEEN EDUCATIONAL THEORY AND THE PRACTICE OF TEACHING. THE CHIEF GOAL WAS TO DEVELOP A PROCEDURE FOR TEACHING CHILDREN THE METHOD OF DIFFERENCE, THE PROBLEM-SOLVING STRATEGY IN WHICH EACH FACTOR IS VARIED IN SUCCESSION WHILE ALL OTHER FACTORS ARE HELD CONSTANT. THE COMPONENTS, SCOPE, AND LIMITATIONS…

Argues that a weak form of schema theory (a schema being an abstract set of expectations) gives the best account of the knowledge most people have about ordinary matters. Emphasizes that a person's culture is a principal determiner of what is already known and what can come to be known. (KH)

A total of 292 Chinese children in the first, third, or fifth grade in Beijing, China, participated in one of two experiments investigating radical awareness; that is, the knowledge that a component of most Chinese characters, called the radical, usually provides information about a character's meaning. The technique was to present two-character…

A gap exists between talk about teaching that is featured in most preservice teacher education and the working knowledge and problem-solving expertise that characterize skilled teaching. This gap exists because typical teacher training does not embody the principles of modeling, coaching, scaffolding, articulation, and reflection. Three methods…

A pervasive finding from research on teaching and classroom learning is that a low rate of error on classroom tasks is associated with large year to year gains in achievement, particularly for reading in the primary grades. The finding of a negative relationship between error rate, especially rate of oral reading errors, and gains in reading…

The results of a series of investigations into the effect on children's learning and recall of interest are summarized in this report. The report describes investigations using sentences, showing that interest has a pervasive effect on learning that is independent of the relationship between attention and learning. It then presents two compatible…

Previous research has shown that adults tend to narrow the meanings of words encountered in context, a process that has been termed instantiation. In the present study, 60 first and fourth graders selected pictures which best represented the meanings of sentences read to them. The sets of pictures included three examples of a target word in each…

In this study 60 first and fourth graders selected pictures that best represented the meanings of sentences read to them. Results indicated that children were instantiating the target words with specific concepts rather than bringing to mind abstract, undifferentiated meanings. (HOD)

Investigates the relationship of out-of-school activities to reading achievement. Finds a wide variation between children in amount of out-of-school reading. Concludes that reading books was the out-of-school activity that had the strongest association with reading proficiency, but that on most days most subjects did little or no book reading. (MM)

Examines evidence on error rate in classroom tasks. Claims the usual interpretation of a negative relationship between error rate (especially in oral reading errors) and reading achievement as meaning that low error rates lead to reading growth may be mistaken. Suggests oral errors cause tension, which increases attention and instigates deeper…

Reports that results of two experiments designed to assess the effects of text cohesion and schema availability on children's comprehension of social studies passages that varied in vocabulary difficulty failed to support expectations based on the interactive theory of reading. (FL)

Finds that third and fifth graders were able to select characters containing the correct radicals (a component of Chinese characters that provides information about the character's meaning) even when the characters as a whole were unfamiliar to them. Finds that good readers displayed more awareness of radicals than poor readers. (RS)

The article summarizes a report of the Commission on Reading which lends support (based on research findings) to many of the practices embodied in the Direct Instruction Model. The Commission recommends practices such as early teaching of reading and parent involvement that are closely tied to Direct Instruction strategies. (DB)

Defining metalinguistic awareness as the ability to reflect on and manipulate the structural features of language, this article examines the hypothesis that the metalinguistic demands of learning to read are shaped by the structure of a language and its associated writing system. The article examines the relationship between phonemic awareness and…