Purpose

The purpose of this course is to provide an historical and theoretical perspective on reading and writing theory and instruction. Knowing where the literacy field has already been intellectually and pedagogically helps us to move forward in our practice rather than simply repeat the efforts and mistakes of the past. A solid familiarity with the contemporary research base allows us to place literacy-related issues and challenges in a meaningful context that will help us make well-informed decisions that will ultimately benefit the students we are charged to educate. This course is intended to provide teachers with that solid theoretical foundation.

Course Objectives

After completing this course, you will be able to:

• Describe how social, political, and economic contexts have influenced literacy instruction philosophy and practice throughout the history of our nation.
• Describe the contributions of prominent reading researchers and leaders over past decades.
• Describe the major models and topics of reading research and their influence upon practice.
• Describe the major themes of the current knowledge base in literacy pedagogy.
• Discuss major current issues in literacy research and theory.

Course Topics

• Historical overview of reading: What is literacy?
• Models of reading
• Top-down models
• Bottom-up models
• Interactive models
• Reading research: models, issues, and trends
  • early literacy development and phonemic processes
  • print processing
  • vocabulary acquisition and comprehension
  • home and cultural influences in reading
  • metacognition and comprehension strategies research
  • needs of diverse learner
  • interest and motivation research and practice
• Major instructional practices in reading
  • basal reading programs
  • literature-based program
  • phonics-based programs
  • writing-intensive instruction
  • technology-based programs
  • writing process and writing workshops
• Intervention programs such as Reading Recovery, Success for all
• Special issues (e.g., dyslexia, phonemic awareness)
• Assessment and evaluation of reading and writing

Assignments

• Complete assigned readings and be prepared to discuss them in class.
• Prepare a paper describing the "educational pendulum" as it has influenced reading instruction over the past decades.
• Select a line of literacy research or a prominent literacy researcher and prepare a paper describing this body of work in-depth.
• Observe and reflect in writing on literacy practices in an elementary or secondary classroom.
• Examine, summarize, and share research to build in-depth knowledge about one aspect of literacy instruction.
• Compare your current classroom instructional practices to recent research findings, and develop a plan to increase the use of research in your teaching.

Bibliography

Braunger, J. & Lewis, J. (1999). Using the knowledge base in reading: Teachers at work. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.

Braunger, J. & Lewis, J. (1998). Building a knowledge base in reading. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.

Cunningham, A. & Stanovich, K. (1998). What reading does for the mind. American Educator, 22, 8-17.

Ehri, L. (1998). Grapheme-phoneme knowledge is essential for learning to read words in English. In J. Metsala & L. Ehri (Eds). Word recognition in beginning literacy. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Gee, J. (1988). Discourse systems and aspirin bottles: On literacy. Journal of Education,170, 27-40.

Heath, S. B. (1983). What no bedtime story means: Narrative skills at home and school. Language and Society, 2, 49-76.

Kamil, M.L., Mosenthal, P.B., Pearson, P.D., &Barr, R. (2000). Handbook of reading research, volume III. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Kintsch, W. (1998). Comprehension a paradigm for cognition. NY: Cambridge University Press.

Resnick, D.P. (1990). Historical perspectives on literacy and schooling. Daedalus, 119, 2, 15 32.

Robinson, R.D., McKenna, M.C., & Wedman, J.M. (2000). Issues and trends in literacy education. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Stahl, S.A. & Hayes, D.A. (1997). Instructional models in reading. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Stanovich, K.E. (1997). Twenty-five years of research on the reading process: The grand synthesis and what it means for our field. Oscar S. Causey Research Award Address presented to the National Reading Conference, Scottsdale, AZ.