Getting Reading Results in the Classroom: What Research Tells Us - Webcast
This webcast occurred on September 1, 2010
This webcast disseminated research findings from several five-year research projects investigating the development of literacy skills in adults enrolled in Adult Basic and Secondary Education classrooms. Three of the research scientists served as panelists and discussed the key cross-cutting research findings and themes as well as the implications for effective instruction in reading. During the discussion, the panelists summarized the research projects, the study participants, the nature of instructional interventions, and findings from their studies. Webcast participants had the opportunity to interact with panel members through a question and answer format.
Intended Audience: Adult literacy practitioners
Moderator: Brett Miller, Ph.D., Program Director, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
- Daphne Greenberg, Ph.D., Center for the Study of Adult Literacy, Georgia State University
- Charles (Skip) MacArthur, Ph.D., University of Delaware
- Daryl Mellard, Ph.D., Center for Research on Learning, University of Kansas, Lawrence
A series of multi-year grants were awarded to develop new research based knowledge on adult literacy learning, the critical factors that influence the instruction and development of literacy (reading and writing) competencies in adults, and to determine the most effective instructional methods and program organizational approaches for adult literacy programs.
The research focused on increasing understanding of the specific cognitive, socio-cultural, and instructional factors, and the complex interactions among these factors, that promote or impede the acquisition of English reading and writing abilities within adult and family literacy programs. The research studies and programs stimulated by this initiative contribute scientific data that bear directly on public policy issues and instructional practices.
The grants were awarded through a partnership with the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), the National Institute for Literacy, and the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE).
Brett Miller, Ph.D., is the Director of the Reading, Writing, and Related Learning Disabilities Program, which is part of the Child Development and Behavior Branch in the Center for Research for Mothers and Children, at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). This research program focuses on developing and supporting research and training initiatives to increase knowledge relevant to typical and atypical development of reading and written language abilities in people across the life span. Before accepting this position at the NICHD, Miller held the position of Associate Research Scientist at the Institute of Education Sciences, at the U.S. Dept. of Education. In this capacity, Miller served as program official for the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy, the Mathematics and Science Education Research program, and co-managed the Cognition and Student Learning program.
Daphne Greenberg, Ph.D., is Associate Professor in the Department of Educational Psychology and Special Education at Georgia State University and Associate Director of Georgia State University’s Coalition for the Study of Adult Literacy. Her research interests focus on family literacy, health literacy, and word reading processes of both children and adults. Two current research projects include the evaluation of various reading instructional approaches for adults who have low literacy skills, and an investigation of the climate for LGB learners in adult literacy programs. Greenberg is the book review editor for the Adult Basic Education and Literacy Journal and has published articles in the Journal of Educational Psychology, Scientific Studies of Reading, Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, and Annals of Dyslexia. She is moderator of the Diversity and Literacy and Reading and Writing Skills electronic discussion lists, sponsored by the National Institute for Literacy. Greenberg has tutored native and non-native English speaking adult nonreaders and has helped communities organize and develop community-based adult literacy programs.
Charles A. MacArthur, Ph.D., is Professor of Special Education and Literacy in the School of Education at the University of Delaware. A former special education teacher, MacArthur teaches courses on literacy problems and writing instruction. His major research interests include writing development and instruction for struggling writers, adult literacy, development of self-regulated strategies, and applications of technology to support reading and writing. MacArthur is currently principal investigator of a research project developing a writing curriculum for developmental writing courses in community colleges. He served as co-editor of The Journal of Special Education for 5 years, and serves on the editorial boards of several other journals. MacArthur has published over 100 articles and book chapters and edited several books, including the Handbook of Writing Research and Best Practices in Writing Instruction.
Daryl Mellard, Ph.D., is Associate Research Professor at University of Kansas. His research examines education and employment issues for adolescents and adults. Mellard’s current projects include serving as the principal investigator for an adolescent and adult literacy intervention study with Job Corps participants funded under the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) an appointment to the National Academies of Science’s Committee on Learning Sciences: Foundations and Applications to Adolescent and Adult Literacy. He is also one of the principal investigators at the National Dissemination and Technical Assistance Center on Response to Intervention. Mellard co-wrote RTI: A Practitioners Guide to Implementing Response to Intervention (Corwin Press, 2008) with colleague Evelyn Johnson.