Downloads & Free Reading Options - Results

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 20 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: (1) the relationship of self-monitoring and the study orientation of adult students; (2) the efficacy of the reading miscue inventory in evaluating the reading performance of college freshmen; (3) the relationships of selected factors to success in a college reading program; (4) self-concept and reading interests of older adults; (5) the attitudes, behaviors, and strategies related to occupational literacy; (6) teaching library skills in conjunction with freshman English; (7) freshman reading achievement levels and the readability of assigned books in content area courses in a community college; (8) the effects of teaching sentence combining to community college freshmen; (9) popular reading of college students from 1965 to 1975; (10) the ranges of life interests and reading interests among adult users of public libraries; (11) the reading flexibility of graduate students; (12) flow chart organizational training and its effect on reading comprehension and retention; (13) the implementation of a mastery learning model in reading at the college level; (14) the influence of two different methods of reading instruction on college students' reading achievement; and (15) schema theory, word frequency, and anticipation in reading. (FL)

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 28 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: (1) factors affecting third graders' comprehension of descriptive texts; (2) the trope density of selected first, second, and third grade basal readers; (3) a comparison of study skills instruction found in five widely used basal reading series; (4) trope density in seventh and eighth grade basal readers; (5) the effects of study strategies upon the reading comprehension of above- and below-average readers; (6) the effect of varied sentence construction on the reading comprehension of intermediate grade readers; (7) preschool reading related behaviors; (8) the effect of varied amounts of sustained silent reading on selected aspects of reading/thinking skills and attitude toward reading; (9) the role of the elementary school principal in the management of the primary school reading program; (10) a comparison of syntax in selected basal readers and commercial television programs that are popular with children; (11) evidence on the revisionist argument for grouping for primary grade reading; (12) the effect of teaching a story schema on third grade students' reading comprehension and story writing; (13) readability and plot content in basal readers and children's trade books; and (14) the effect of selected instructional strategies on pupils' reading achievement in grades 2 through 5. (HTH)

A study of the vocabulary and comprehension scores of juniors and seniors at Marygrove College was conducted during the winter term of 1983 in order to determine the reading levels needed for success in upper division courses. Because the research was designed to determine the reading levels needed for successful study, students on academic probation or taking more than one developmental course were eliminated from the potential sample. Sixty-six students were given the Nelson Denny Reading Test, Form F; three were subsequently eliminated, leaving 24 seniors and 39 juniors in the sample. Juniors had an average college sophomore reading level, and seniors had an average reading equivalent of late college freshman year. However, the scores encompassed a very wide range, indicating that a wide variety of reading levels is applicable for successful study at the college level. It appears that juniors and seniors who have taken developmental reading never attain the reading level of those students who did not take such courses, but they do persevere. Therefore, it might be better to admit students with reading deficiencies and then provide the appropriate educational support to enable them to achieve a meaningful liberal arts education. Numerous tables and charts provide participant test scores and other data. (DF)

Major historical work or chronicles of the field of college reading and study-skills instruction are identified, and 10 directions for further historical research are proposed. One approach for recounting the field's history is extensive chronicles that integrate a multitude of primary and secondary historical sources. The second major category of historical literature consists of historical summaries or outlines of the field, which highlight events or trends in the field. Compared to chronicles, summaries are less ambitious in their coverage of the occurrences and concerns of the varied areas. Works in the third category, historically important monographs and texts, were not issued initially as historical discussions but have assised the college reading specialist in understanding trends. The following topics for future historical research are considered: judging the impact of historical events, focusing on an era, assessing the impact of individuals, consulting the experienced, noting trends in programs, tracing changes in materials, observing changes across textbook editions, judging innovation, appraising elements of instrumentation, and creating archives. (SW)

Scan of book and prompt cards Reading and taking notes, Skills of OU study by The Open University [2007] {378.1930281--oclc}

Scan of book and prompt cards Reading and taking notes, Skills of OU study by The Open University [2007] {378.1930281--oclc}

A voluntary remedial reading and study skills class for students whose ability in these areas is insufficient to meet college demands is described. After the initial diagnostic pretesting is complete, each student works with a tutor or instructor to design a learning program suited to his individual needs, with six or seven half-hour units per week. In addition to four hours of class time, each student is required to spend at least one hour per week independently in the reading laboratory. Objectives, materials, and activities are included for eight units: diagnostic pretesting, theory and techniques of effective reading, the development of efficient study skills, small group tutoring/discussion session, laboratory development of reading comprehension, laboratory development of perceptual skills and reading speed, spelling improvement, and mastering the sounds of English-phonics development. (TO)

To effectively determine each student's ability to read and learn in each content area, reading teachers need a group inventory which will evaluate both the study skills and reading skills necessary for success in their content area. This paper presents a model for the development and implementation of a Reading and Study Skills Inventory (RASSI). The development of the RASSI should include readability analysis of instructional materials used in the content area, the construction of group and individual reading inventories based upon the skills required by the instructional materials and skills identified by instructors as being necessary for academic success in their content area, and the development of an examiner's manual and interpretation guide. The development, administration, interpretation, and implementation of a Reading and Study Skills Inventory demand the cooperation of content area teachers and reading specialists. Through this interdisciplinary communication and cooperation, a school faculty can develop an effective instrument to evaluate the reading and learning abilities of each student in each content area. (TS)

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 19 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: (1) the effects of study guides on content retention and reading achievement among community college freshmen; (2) the effects of schemata and text structure on retention; (3) syntactic cues used in silent reading comprehension by good, average, and poor college readers; (4) the effect of guidance in reading and study skills in the content areas on reading comprehension and course achievement; (5) the usefulness of advance organizers under a variety of experimental conditions; (6) the reading program practices of adult basic education centers in Ohio; (7) the aging process as it affects reading activities and cultural interests of the serious reader; (8) the types and use of context clues reported by mature readers of community college social science textbooks; (9) the efficacy of a diagnostic and prescriptive reading program in changing reading grade levels in technical college students; (10) the effects of a macroorangizer on the prose learning of graduate students with different reading levels; (11) the effects of an interrelated language skills approach on a remedial program for the adult learner; and (12) the effects of imposed processing strategies on the comprehension and recall of text. (FL)

This is one of a series of reports which provide definitions of and descriptive data on the variables used in the Comparative Study of Phase IV of the Individually Guided Education (IEG) Evaluation Project. Phase IV investigated three curriculum programs specifically designed to be compatible with instructional programming for the individual student: (1) the Wisconsin Design for Reading Skills Development (WDRSD); (2) Developing Mathematic Processes (DMP); and (3) Prereading Skills (PRS). Information on instructional methods and pupil outcomes for grades 2 and 5 was collected from achievement monitoring and domain referenced tests, teacher logs, and classroom observations. This report focuses on the procedures used in aggregating the reading skills and mathematics content areas. Data were grouped for analysis at three progressively more specific levels: content area; general objective; and specific objective. The content areas for reading skills were Word Attack, Comprehension, and Study Skills. The math skills content areas were Place Value and Numeration, Operations Fractions, Decimal Fractions, Measurement, and Problem Solving. Appendix A contains a listing of the reading skills and math content codes in the aggregated form. Each aggregated case contains 12 digits arranged in four three-digit fields. The fields represent the three grouping levels, and WDRSD or DMP skill and skill level. (BS)

The National Literacy Trust is a national charity dedicated to raising literacy levels in the UK. Their research and analysis make them the leading authority on literacy. They run projects in the poorest communities, campaign to make literacy a priority for politicians and parents, and support schools. RM Books is a market-leading ebooks platform designed specifically for schools. In early 2014, RM Books provided funding to allow a study of the impact of ebooks on pupils' reading skills and motivation over the academic year September 2014 to July 2015. Prior to the study, the National Literacy Trust conducted a rapid literature review to explore some of the research available on the role of technology in the literacy lives of young people. This final report outlines findings about the impact of access to an ebooks platform on pupils' reading motivation and skills over the academic year 2014/15. Schools from across the UK provided attitudinal and attainment data before and after running an ebooks project with a group of pupils, and a selection of practitioners and pupils also took part in interviews and focus groups to allow the exploration of initial findings in more depth. [For the pilot report: "The Impact of eBooks on the Reading Motivation and Reading Skills of Children and Young People: A Rapid Literature Review," see ED560635.]

The purpose of this paper is to offer publicity ideas for college reading and study skills programs. Examined are such basic publicity materials as brochures, posters, slide-tape presentations, handouts, and newspaper articles. Sixty-one publicity ideas are suggested, including offering a study skills workshop to freshman athletes before school opens; explaining center programs to orientation counselors; setting up an information table at registration; meeting with readmitted students to explain center programs; setting up a display in the campus library; placing individualized posters in each college of the university; placing flyers in student mailboxes; and working with the foreign student advisor to reach internationals with course information. (TS)

This 18-item bibliography includes journal articles, yearbook chapters, dissertations, unpublished papers, and ERIC documents dealing with the characteristics or evaluation of college reading/study skills programs. Each item in the alphabetical list is briefly annotated. (AA)

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 22 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: a remedial reading program for Marine recruits; methods for improving reading flexibility and rate, spelling ability, vocabulary comprehension, and study skills in college students and adults; the impact of reading/study skills courses and independent work in learning centers on the academic success of nursing students and high-risk community college students; the significance of high school basic skills scores in predicting college performance; strengths and weaknesses of adult basic education programs; an overview of remedial English teaching in colleges and universities; the development of the Thirteen College Curriculum Program Reading Model for college freshmen; adult basic education learners' perceptions of teaching skills and behavior; the role of reading ability in the retention of community college students; and a case study of a community reading academy. (GW)

A study guide to accompany the Florida College Basic Skills Exit Tests : Reading and Writing. Answers included

A study guide to accompany the Florida College Basic Skills Exit Tests : Reading and Writing. Answers included

A study guide to accompany the Florida College Basic Skills Exit Tests : Reading and Writing. Answers included

251 pages : 26 cm

251 pages : 26 cm

The Reading Study Center is an all-university service whose mission is to facilitate the development of efficient college-level learning strategies in students of all abilities. Strategies for improved textbook study, time management, note taking, test preparation and test-taking are taught through both for-credit courses and non-credit services. http://www.uwosh.edu/readingstudycenter

The Reading Study Center is an all-university service whose mission is to facilitate the development of efficient college-level learning strategies in students of all abilities. Strategies for improved textbook study, time management, note taking, test preparation and test-taking are taught through both for-credit courses and non-credit services. http://www.uwosh.edu/readingstudycenter

The Reading Study Center is an all-university service whose mission is to facilitate the development of efficient college-level learning strategies in students of all abilities. Strategies for improved textbook study, time management, note taking, test preparation and test-taking are taught through both for-credit courses and non-credit services. http://www.uwosh.edu/readingstudycenter

p. cm

p. cm

Literacy skills are fundamental to children’s personal and professional growth in our society. Yet, children vary greatly in their reading development throughout the school years (Storch & Whitehurst, 2002). Because such individual differences can be observed as early as in the preschool years, it has been argued that the home literacy environment (HLE) may play an important role in scaffolding early literacy skills. The Home Literacy Model (Sénéchal, 2006, Sénéchal & Lefevre, 2002) makes the distinction between informal and formal home literacy experiences, which could each relate differently to children’s literacy skills. Notably, informal literacy experiences (e.g., frequency of shared book reading or literacy resources at home) have been found to contribute to vocabulary skills. (Manolitsis, Georgiou, & Parrila, 2011; Sénéchal, 2006, Torppa et al., 2007). In contrast, formal literacy experiences (e.g., explicit reading instructions) have been related to children’s phonological awareness, letter knowledge or early reading skills. It has also been suggested that the relation between HLE and literacy skills depend on HLE complexity, with advanced formal practices being uniquely related to vocabulary skills (Skwarchuk et al. 2014). While most prior studies have assessed children’s HLE through indirect parental questionnaires, some have also used more direct measures of parental talk. Both amount and quality of adult speech addressed to children have been found to be related to children’s language skills (Hoff, 2003; Huttenlocher, Waterfall, Vasilyeva, Vevea, & Hedges, 2010; Rowe, 2012; Schwab & Lew-Williams, 2016). The quality of language input has also been assessed through vocabulary diversity or number of decontextualized utterances (Rowe et al. 2012) or by the number of adult-child conversational turns (Romeo et al. 2018). Thus, there is considerable variation in the way HLE are analyzed. This raises questions about analytical flexibility and makes it difficult to distinguish exploratory from confirmatory results. Furthermore, the brain mechanisms mediating the relation between HLE and reading performance remain poorly understood. A first line of evidence comes from studies investigating how disparities in socio-economic status (as a distal measure measure for the quality of the HLE) may relate to children’s brain regions typically associated with literacy, notably in the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) (Raizada et al., 2008). Neuroimaging studies that have more explicitly assessed the HLE also suggest that quality of adult-child literacy interactions at home affects both structure and function of left perisylvian areas (particularly at the level of the left IFG) (Romeo et al. 2018; Su et al. 2020, Powers et al. 2016). These previous studies, however, only provide indirect evidence that the HLE relates to brain regions associated with reading in children. This is because studies to date have either assessed structural (not functional) properties of the brain of reading children (Merz et al. 2020, Su et al. 2020) or have only measured brain activity of pre-reading children using auditory tasks that did not involve word decoding per se (Hutton et al. 2017; Romeo et al. 2018; Powers et al. 2016). In the present project, we aim to explore the relation between the HLE of children from 5 to 6 and both (i) literacy performance (phonological awareness and vocabulary) and (ii) fMRI activity associated with reading letters.

Literacy skills are fundamental to children’s personal and professional growth in our society. Yet, children vary greatly in their reading development throughout the school years (Storch & Whitehurst, 2002). Because such individual differences can be observed as early as in the preschool years, it has been argued that the home literacy environment (HLE) may play an important role in scaffolding early literacy skills. The Home Literacy Model (Sénéchal, 2006, Sénéchal & Lefevre, 2002) makes the distinction between informal and formal home literacy experiences, which could each relate differently to children’s literacy skills. Notably, informal literacy experiences (e.g., frequency of shared book reading or literacy resources at home) have been found to contribute to vocabulary skills. (Manolitsis, Georgiou, & Parrila, 2011; Sénéchal, 2006, Torppa et al., 2007). In contrast, formal literacy experiences (e.g., explicit reading instructions) have been related to children’s phonological awareness, letter knowledge or early reading skills. It has also been suggested that the relation between HLE and literacy skills depend on HLE complexity, with advanced formal practices being uniquely related to vocabulary skills (Skwarchuk et al. 2014). While most prior studies have assessed children’s HLE through indirect parental questionnaires, some have also used more direct measures of parental talk. Both amount and quality of adult speech addressed to children have been found to be related to children’s language skills (Hoff, 2003; Huttenlocher, Waterfall, Vasilyeva, Vevea, & Hedges, 2010; Rowe, 2012; Schwab & Lew-Williams, 2016). The quality of language input has also been assessed through vocabulary diversity or number of decontextualized utterances (Rowe et al. 2012) or by the number of adult-child conversational turns (Romeo et al. 2018). Thus, there is considerable variation in the way HLE are analyzed. This raises questions about analytical flexibility and makes it difficult to distinguish exploratory from confirmatory results. Furthermore, the brain mechanisms mediating the relation between HLE and reading performance remain poorly understood. A first line of evidence comes from studies investigating how disparities in socio-economic status (as a distal measure measure for the quality of the HLE) may relate to children’s brain regions typically associated with literacy, notably in the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) (Raizada et al., 2008). Neuroimaging studies that have more explicitly assessed the HLE also suggest that quality of adult-child literacy interactions at home affects both structure and function of left perisylvian areas (particularly at the level of the left IFG) (Romeo et al. 2018; Su et al. 2020, Powers et al. 2016). These previous studies, however, only provide indirect evidence that the HLE relates to brain regions associated with reading in children. This is because studies to date have either assessed structural (not functional) properties of the brain of reading children (Merz et al. 2020, Su et al. 2020) or have only measured brain activity of pre-reading children using auditory tasks that did not involve word decoding per se (Hutton et al. 2017; Romeo et al. 2018; Powers et al. 2016). In the present project, we aim to explore the relation between the HLE of children from 5 to 6 and both (i) literacy performance (phonological awareness and vocabulary) and (ii) fMRI activity associated with reading letters.

Literacy skills are fundamental to children’s personal and professional growth in our society. Yet, children vary greatly in their reading development throughout the school years (Storch & Whitehurst, 2002). Because such individual differences can be observed as early as in the preschool years, it has been argued that the home literacy environment (HLE) may play an important role in scaffolding early literacy skills. The Home Literacy Model (Sénéchal, 2006, Sénéchal & Lefevre, 2002) makes the distinction between informal and formal home literacy experiences, which could each relate differently to children’s literacy skills. Notably, informal literacy experiences (e.g., frequency of shared book reading or literacy resources at home) have been found to contribute to vocabulary skills. (Manolitsis, Georgiou, & Parrila, 2011; Sénéchal, 2006, Torppa et al., 2007). In contrast, formal literacy experiences (e.g., explicit reading instructions) have been related to children’s phonological awareness, letter knowledge or early reading skills. It has also been suggested that the relation between HLE and literacy skills depend on HLE complexity, with advanced formal practices being uniquely related to vocabulary skills (Skwarchuk et al. 2014). While most prior studies have assessed children’s HLE through indirect parental questionnaires, some have also used more direct measures of parental talk. Both amount and quality of adult speech addressed to children have been found to be related to children’s language skills (Hoff, 2003; Huttenlocher, Waterfall, Vasilyeva, Vevea, & Hedges, 2010; Rowe, 2012; Schwab & Lew-Williams, 2016). The quality of language input has also been assessed through vocabulary diversity or number of decontextualized utterances (Rowe et al. 2012) or by the number of adult-child conversational turns (Romeo et al. 2018). Thus, there is considerable variation in the way HLE are analyzed. This raises questions about analytical flexibility and makes it difficult to distinguish exploratory from confirmatory results. Furthermore, the brain mechanisms mediating the relation between HLE and reading performance remain poorly understood. A first line of evidence comes from studies investigating how disparities in socio-economic status (as a distal measure measure for the quality of the HLE) may relate to children’s brain regions typically associated with literacy, notably in the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) (Raizada et al., 2008). Neuroimaging studies that have more explicitly assessed the HLE also suggest that quality of adult-child literacy interactions at home affects both structure and function of left perisylvian areas (particularly at the level of the left IFG) (Romeo et al. 2018; Su et al. 2020, Powers et al. 2016). These previous studies, however, only provide indirect evidence that the HLE relates to brain regions associated with reading in children. This is because studies to date have either assessed structural (not functional) properties of the brain of reading children (Merz et al. 2020, Su et al. 2020) or have only measured brain activity of pre-reading children using auditory tasks that did not involve word decoding per se (Hutton et al. 2017; Romeo et al. 2018; Powers et al. 2016). In the present project, we aim to explore the relation between the HLE of children from 5 to 6 and both (i) literacy performance (phonological awareness and vocabulary) and (ii) fMRI activity associated with reading letters.

Literacy skills are fundamental to children’s personal and professional growth in our society. Yet, children vary greatly in their reading development throughout the school years (Storch & Whitehurst, 2002). Because such individual differences can be observed as early as in the preschool years, it has been argued that the home literacy environment (HLE) may play an important role in scaffolding early literacy skills. The Home Literacy Model (Sénéchal, 2006, Sénéchal & Lefevre, 2002) makes the distinction between informal and formal home literacy experiences, which could each relate differently to children’s literacy skills. Notably, informal literacy experiences (e.g., frequency of shared book reading or literacy resources at home) have been found to contribute to vocabulary skills. (Manolitsis, Georgiou, & Parrila, 2011; Sénéchal, 2006, Torppa et al., 2007). In contrast, formal literacy experiences (e.g., explicit reading instructions) have been related to children’s phonological awareness, letter knowledge or early reading skills. It has also been suggested that the relation between HLE and literacy skills depend on HLE complexity, with advanced formal practices being uniquely related to vocabulary skills (Skwarchuk et al. 2014). While most prior studies have assessed children’s HLE through indirect parental questionnaires, some have also used more direct measures of parental talk. Both amount and quality of adult speech addressed to children have been found to be related to children’s language skills (Hoff, 2003; Huttenlocher, Waterfall, Vasilyeva, Vevea, & Hedges, 2010; Rowe, 2012; Schwab & Lew-Williams, 2016). The quality of language input has also been assessed through vocabulary diversity or number of decontextualized utterances (Rowe et al. 2012) or by the number of adult-child conversational turns (Romeo et al. 2018). Thus, there is considerable variation in the way HLE are analyzed. This raises questions about analytical flexibility and makes it difficult to distinguish exploratory from confirmatory results. Furthermore, the brain mechanisms mediating the relation between HLE and reading performance remain poorly understood. A first line of evidence comes from studies investigating how disparities in socio-economic status (as a distal measure measure for the quality of the HLE) may relate to children’s brain regions typically associated with literacy, notably in the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) (Raizada et al., 2008). Neuroimaging studies that have more explicitly assessed the HLE also suggest that quality of adult-child literacy interactions at home affects both structure and function of left perisylvian areas (particularly at the level of the left IFG) (Romeo et al. 2018; Su et al. 2020, Powers et al. 2016). These previous studies, however, only provide indirect evidence that the HLE relates to brain regions associated with reading in children. This is because studies to date have either assessed structural (not functional) properties of the brain of reading children (Merz et al. 2020, Su et al. 2020) or have only measured brain activity of pre-reading children using auditory tasks that did not involve word decoding per se (Hutton et al. 2017; Romeo et al. 2018; Powers et al. 2016). In the present project, we aim to explore the relation between the HLE of children from 5 to 6 and both (i) literacy performance (phonological awareness and vocabulary) and (ii) fMRI activity associated with reading letters.

Literacy skills are fundamental to children’s personal and professional growth in our society. Yet, children vary greatly in their reading development throughout the school years (Storch & Whitehurst, 2002). Because such individual differences can be observed as early as in the preschool years, it has been argued that the home literacy environment (HLE) may play an important role in scaffolding early literacy skills. The Home Literacy Model (Sénéchal, 2006, Sénéchal & Lefevre, 2002) makes the distinction between informal and formal home literacy experiences, which could each relate differently to children’s literacy skills. Notably, informal literacy experiences (e.g., frequency of shared book reading or literacy resources at home) have been found to contribute to vocabulary skills. (Manolitsis, Georgiou, & Parrila, 2011; Sénéchal, 2006, Torppa et al., 2007). In contrast, formal literacy experiences (e.g., explicit reading instructions) have been related to children’s phonological awareness, letter knowledge or early reading skills. It has also been suggested that the relation between HLE and literacy skills depend on HLE complexity, with advanced formal practices being uniquely related to vocabulary skills (Skwarchuk et al. 2014). While most prior studies have assessed children’s HLE through indirect parental questionnaires, some have also used more direct measures of parental talk. Both amount and quality of adult speech addressed to children have been found to be related to children’s language skills (Hoff, 2003; Huttenlocher, Waterfall, Vasilyeva, Vevea, & Hedges, 2010; Rowe, 2012; Schwab & Lew-Williams, 2016). The quality of language input has also been assessed through vocabulary diversity or number of decontextualized utterances (Rowe et al. 2012) or by the number of adult-child conversational turns (Romeo et al. 2018). Thus, there is considerable variation in the way HLE are analyzed. This raises questions about analytical flexibility and makes it difficult to distinguish exploratory from confirmatory results. Furthermore, the brain mechanisms mediating the relation between HLE and reading performance remain poorly understood. A first line of evidence comes from studies investigating how disparities in socio-economic status (as a distal measure measure for the quality of the HLE) may relate to children’s brain regions typically associated with literacy, notably in the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) (Raizada et al., 2008). Neuroimaging studies that have more explicitly assessed the HLE also suggest that quality of adult-child literacy interactions at home affects both structure and function of left perisylvian areas (particularly at the level of the left IFG) (Romeo et al. 2018; Su et al. 2020, Powers et al. 2016). These previous studies, however, only provide indirect evidence that the HLE relates to brain regions associated with reading in children. This is because studies to date have either assessed structural (not functional) properties of the brain of reading children (Merz et al. 2020, Su et al. 2020) or have only measured brain activity of pre-reading children using auditory tasks that did not involve word decoding per se (Hutton et al. 2017; Romeo et al. 2018; Powers et al. 2016). In the present project, we aim to explore the relation between the HLE of children from 5 to 6 and both (i) literacy performance (phonological awareness and vocabulary) and (ii) fMRI activity associated with reading letters.

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The ten titles deal with the following topics: passage integrity and type of instruction in prose learning; college student self-concept and reading gain in two instructional methods; the consequences for adults of childhood underachievement in reading; an instrument for evaluating instructional materials for adult basic reading; adult reading behavior and ego-stage development; the reading preferences of institutionalized versus noninstitutionalized rural older adults; tutor training practices, procedures, and materials in an adult literacy program that uses volunteer tutors; the validity of four nontraditional measures of reading comprehension; relationships between college reading program content, operation, and effectiveness; and the development of an adult literacy program. (RL)

A study was conducted to examine and describe the knowledge and beliefs of elementary school teachers and students regarding the acquisition of reading comprehension skills during reading instruction and the application of those skills during social studies instruction. One teacher and 26 fourth and fifth grade students were observed daily over a four-month period. The focus of the observations was on the reading group discussion sessions that the teacher conducted with each of nine reading groups in the classroom. Interviews were also conducted with the teacher and with individual students. The results indicated that the teacher had developed a teaching perspective that revolved around the use of discussion of story content to teach the comprehension skills that he deemed important for lifelong reading. He had organized his social studies instruction around the practice and application of those skills. He used several plans for grouping students for instruction, and had developed his own materials for teaching comprehension. The children's ideas concerning reading and reading instruction included the following: (1) reading is comprehension, (2) reading is reading aloud, (3) workbook exercises do not help in understanding a story or in developing reading skills, (4) children who read aloud with the teacher have difficulty with reading, and (5) reading skills learned in elementary school will help in high school. (Excerpts from teacher/student discussions are appended.) (FL)

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The seven titles deal with the following topics: (1) the teaching of reading using art as a teaching tool, (2) the effectiveness of a written cueing summary in increasing reading rate and retrieval speed in two content area subjects, (3) the effects of position and conceptual level of adjunct questions on comprehension and attitudes, (4) the effect of prereading strategies on comprehension, (5) the impact of intensive visual perceptual training on reading proficiency, (6) the use of reciprocal teaching of comprehension monitoring strategies to improve reading comprehension, and (7) instructional strategies for helping readers identify the gist in expository text. (HOD)

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The seven titles deal with the following topics: (1) the teaching of reading using art as a teaching tool, (2) the effectiveness of a written cueing summary in increasing reading rate and retrieval speed in two content area subjects, (3) the effects of position and conceptual level of adjunct questions on comprehension and attitudes, (4) the effect of prereading strategies on comprehension, (5) the impact of intensive visual perceptual training on reading proficiency, (6) the use of reciprocal teaching of comprehension monitoring strategies to improve reading comprehension, and (7) instructional strategies for helping readers identify the gist in expository text. (HOD)

xvi, 302 p. : 24 cm

xvi, 302 p. : 24 cm

xvi, 302 p. : 24 cm

xvi, 302 p. : 24 cm

xvi, 302 p. : 24 cm

xvi, 302 p. : 24 cm

xvi, 302 p. : 24 cm

xvi, 302 p. : 24 cm

xvi, 302 p. : 24 cm

xvi, 302 p. : 24 cm

xvi, 302 p. : 24 cm

xvi, 302 p. : 24 cm

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The ten titles deal with the following topics: (1) the composing process of adult basic writing students; (2) an integrated approach to reading and writing for college students; (3) the teaching and learning of reading in the community college; (4) the relative effectiveness of four instructional approaches to college speed reading instruction; (5) the effects of advance organizers on the reading recall of adults with varying reading abilities; (6) the effects of word frequency, sentence length, and sentence structure on the readability of two college textbook passages; (7) selected characteristics of older adult readers and nonreaders; (8) the combined effects of motivation training and reading instruction on the performance of high-risk community college freshmen; (9) reading instruction in Texas community and junior colleges and two-year technical colleges; and (10) the reading competency of successful community college students. (RL)

The effect of training in reading-study skills and reduction of the academic credit load on the probability of academic success and the reduction of withdrawal rates for marginal college students was investigated. Subjects were 330 students, selected from the 1964-65 freshman class of West Virginia University, who had a predicted grade point average of 1.99 and below (on a 4.0 scale). Criterion measures included cumulative grade point averages, student grades converted to standard score basis, and student withdrawal rate per semester. Subjects were randomly assigned to four groups: (1) a reading-study skills class with reduced credit load, (2) a reading-study skills class with no reduction in credit load, (3) a reduced load with no special class, and (4) a control group with no special class and no reduction in credit load. At the close of the first semester each of the criterion measures showed a significant difference in favor of those groups taking the course. Significant interaction effects between the special course and the reduced load treatment were also shown. The group with only the reduced load treatment achieved at a level below the other three groups and had the highest rate of withdrawals. A bibliography and appendixes are included. (Author/WB)