
Amy M. EllemanMiddle Tennessee State University | MTSU · Literacy Studies
Amy M. Elleman
PhD
About
43
Publications
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Introduction
Additional affiliations
May 2009 - May 2011
Publications
Publications (43)
Writing is a skill that has increased in significance for both researchers and classroom teachers due to changes in recent standards. Currently, many high school English Learners (ELs) are struggling to master this priority skill. A strategy that has been shown to be effective for adolescent writers is Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD). Al...
Various knowledge sources have been hypothesized to relate to individual differences in reading comprehension skill in developing readers. We present results from two studies using explanatory item-response models to examine the unique role of knowledge in predicting reading and listening comprehension in 5th grade students (mean age of 10.77 years...
One potential contributor to student achievement that has garnered recent attention is students' mindset. A recent review of the literature on the effect of a growth mindset intervention on students' academic achievement has shown small effects, but limited research has been conducted with young students. This study investigated whether students wh...
In tiered instructional systems (Response to Intervention [RTI]/Multitier System of Supports [MTSS]) that rely on ongoing assessment of students at risk of experiencing academic difficulties, the ability to make informed decisions using student data is critical for student learning. Prior research has demonstrated that, on average, teachers have di...
Research has indicated that adding mind‐set and self‐regulation strategy instruction to the writers’ workshop framework may improve motivation, independence, and academic success in young writers. Invented spelling can strengthen the relation between phonological and orthographic representations. The authors examined the impact of growth mind‐set i...
The purpose of this study was to examine word learning efficiency in at-risk first grade students (N = 93) participating in a yearlong study evaluating a multicomponent intervention targeting word reading and decoding skills. As part of each intervention lesson, students participated in a 1 to 3-min sight word reading activity in which high-frequen...
We conducted a secondary analysis of data from a randomized control trial to explore this question: Does “response/no response” best characterize students’ reactions to a generally efficacious 1st-grade reading program, or is a more nuanced characterization necessary? Data were collected on 265 at-risk readers’ word reading prior to and immediately...
Purpose
The purpose of this tutorial is to explain key concepts about vocabulary acquisition and instruction and to translate research from middle school vocabulary interventions into practice recommendations for practitioners. In this tutorial, we consider the relationship between vocabulary and reading comprehension, describe vocabulary acquisiti...
This convergent parallel mixed methods exploratory study used qualitative and quantitative data collected simultaneously, analyzed separately, and merged for an overarching interpretation. Kindergarten students (n = 27) were randomly assigned to either a control condition of Writer’s Workshop or an experimental condition that featured collaboration...
Reading comprehension is one of the most complex cognitive activities in which humans engage, making it difficult to teach, measure, and research. Despite decades of research in reading comprehension, international and national reading scores indicate stagnant growth for U.S. adolescents. In this article, we review the theoretical and empirical res...
This presentation examines the influence of teachers pre-service training, professional development, and experience on their ability to interpret student progress monitoring graphs and make appropriate educational decisions. Results indicate experience in teaching and RTI implementation were not related to their graph literacy. Additionally, result...
In this paper, we describe the on-going development of a comprehensive reading comprehension program to be delivered by tutors in one-to-one sessions to third and fourth grade children at-risk for school failure. We are developing a comprehensive program because reading for understanding requires the use of multiple skills and strategies (e.g., Gaj...
This special issue bundles a set of eight empirical studies and one review article that explore the role of statistical learning (SL) mechanisms (both domain-specific and domain-general) in supporting word reading and spelling development, and vice versa. In this introduction to the special issue, we worked to summarize the extent to which studies...
This presentation reports preliminary results examining teachers' graph literacy and confidence in making data-based decisions to inform instruction.
This study explored the developmental trajectories and predictors of word reading and reading comprehension among young at-risk readers. In fall of 1st grade, 185 students identified as at-risk for reading difficulties were assessed on measures of domain-specific skills (phonological awareness, letter knowledge, and vocabulary), domain-general skil...
Because of the importance of teaching reading comprehension to struggling young readers and the infrequency with which it has been implemented and evaluated, we designed a comprehensive first-grade reading comprehension program. We conducted a component analysis of the program’s decoding/fluency and reading comprehension dimensions (DF and COMP), c...
Many students in the primary and intermediate grades demonstrate poor reading comprehension (RC) in informational texts, which places them at considerable risk of school failure. Current evidence-based reading programs have been shown to improve the RC of some or many of these children, but by no means all. One reason may be that, whereas comprehen...
This study compared the effects of 2 strategy-based comprehension treatments intended to promote vocabulary and content knowledge for elementary students at risk for developing reading difficulties (N = 105) with a traditional content approach. The study examined the effectiveness of strategy versus nonstrategy instruction on reading comprehension,...
The use of printed words to capture language is one of the most remarkable inventions of humankind, and learning to read them is one of the most remarkable achievements of individuals. In recent decades, how we learn to read and understand printed text has been studied intensely in genetics, education, psychology, and cognitive science, and both th...
Purpose
In this article, we respond to Catts and Kamhi's (2017) argument that reading comprehension is not a single ability.
Method
We provide a brief review of the impact of strategy instruction, the importance of knowledge in reading comprehension, and possible avenues for future research and practice.
Results
We agree with Catts and Kamhi's ar...
Inference ability is considered central to discourse processing and has been shown to be important across models of reading comprehension. To evaluate the impact of inference instruction, a meta-analysis of 25 inference studies in Grades K–12 was conducted. Results showed that inference instruction was effective for increasing students’ general com...
This poster examines the longitudinal differences in Word Attack, Word Identification, Passage Comprehension, and Reading Efficiency among students following a latent class analysis. The latent profile analysis resulted in four distinct groups. Following group extraction, ANCOVA's and linear growth trends were examined to determine differences at d...
Although instruction has been shown to be effective at increasing vocabulary knowledge and comprehension, factors most important for promoting the acquisition of novel vocabulary are less known. In addition, few vocabulary studies have utilized models that simultaneously take into account child-level, word-level, and instructional factors to better...
Purpose
We examined the effectiveness of a multistrategy inference intervention designed to increase inference making and reading comprehension for middle-grade struggling readers.
Method
A total of 66 middle-grade struggling readers were randomized to treatment (n = 33) and comparison (n = 33) conditions. Students in the treatment group received...
In English, gains in decoding skill do not map directly onto increases in word reading. However, beyond the Self-Teaching Hypothesis, little is known about the transfer of decoding skills to word reading. In this study, we offer a new approach to testing specific decoding elements on transfer to word reading. To illustrate, we modeled word-reading...
Our contribution to this special issue on reading theory questions the effectiveness of the prevailing interventions intended to improve word-reading and reading comprehension skills in children with reading disability (RD). Our hypothesis is that we as a field may have inadvertently diluted reading theory in ways that compromise the power of inter...
In this study, the authors explore a newly constructed dynamic assessment (DA) intended to tap inference-making skills that they hypothesize will be predictive of future comprehension performance. The authors administered the test to 100 second-grade children using a dynamic format to consider the concurrent validity of the measure. The dynamic por...
Social validity refers to participants’ perceptions regarding the goals, procedures, and effects of a practice. The collection and report of social validity data can serve an important role in understanding, and possibly remedying, obstacles affecting the successful adoption of empirically based practices by the field. Studies published between 200...
A meta-analysis of vocabulary interventions in grades pre-K to 12 was conducted with 37 studies to better understand the impact of vocabulary on comprehension. Vocabulary instruction was found to be effective at increasing students' ability to comprehend text with custom measures (d = 0.50), but was less effective for standardized measures (d = 0.1...
The purpose of this study was to examine (1) the stability of latent classes associated with reading disability (RD) and typical development (TD) across time, (2) the importance of speeded word recognition as a latent class indicator of RD and TD, and (3) possible early indicators of students with late-emerging RD. Analyses were based on a longitud...
The authors explored a new means of assessing responsiveness to decoding-skill intervention to model individual differences in the transfer of decoding-skill gains to other aspects of reading acquisition in 35 children, Grades 3 through 5, with reading disabilities. Seven different parameters, representing responsiveness to decoding instruction, we...