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The Instruction of Reading Comprehension
Abstract
Bibliography: p. 38-49 Supported in part by the National Institute of Education under contract no. NIE-400-81-0030
... It includes content and practices that are supported by empirical evidence (Cabell et al. 2023;Herrera et al. 2021;National Early Literacy Panel 2008). For example, the targeted skills of phonological awareness, print knowledge, language and comprehension, and emergent writing are those designated as critical in research syntheses, and NBS! uses evidence-based instructional practices such as teaching letter names and sounds simultaneously using paired-associate learning, scaffolding the instruction of key concepts, utilising a gradual release of responsibility framework and providing lessons in small groups of four or fewer children (Pearson and Gallagher 1983;Piasta 2023;van de Pol et al. 2010;Wasik 2008). Prior randomised controlled trials implemented by the NBS! developers demonstrated main effects on children's print knowledge, phonological awareness and general early literacy skills (d = 0.24-0.74; ...
... The 20 scripted lessons follow a sevenpart instructional format with multisensory supports. The lessons are structured so that instructors initially model and teach concepts explicitly, then children practice with the instructor, and end with independent child practice to provide a gradual release of responsibility (Pearson and Gallagher 1983). The intervention has been made commercially available to teachers (www. ...
A growing number of early childhood interventions are intended to be used by classroom teachers to support children's emergent literacy development, yet we know little about for whom such interventions might be effective. In this study, we examined whether children's initial emergent literacy skills (alphabet knowledge, phonological awareness, vocabulary) moderated the effects of a small‐group emergent literacy intervention. Preschool children (Mage = 4.28 years) identified as at‐risk for later reading difficulties (n = 281; 48% girls; 45% Black, 20% White, 13% Hispanic/Latinx) were randomly assigned to intervention conditions or a business‐as‐usual control condition. Using an instrumental variables approach to account for differences in intervention dosage, we found main effects of initial skills (ds = 0.07–0.27) but no evidence of differential response to intervention based on initial skills (ds < |0.01|). We call for further attention to this important issue in future intervention work.
... The first is shared writing, often defined as a collaborative composition between teacher and learners where the teacher is a writer (Swartz et al., 2001). As the second strategy, interactive writing involves the same procedure of shared writing with the difference that in interactive writing the teacher and students share the transcription of their shared compositions (Pearson & Gallagher, 1983). Interactive writing is similar to shared writing (Pinnell & McCarrier, 1994) in that the teacher and students collaboratively decide on a message and work through the writing process together; however, in interactive writing, the teacher will generally solicit a sentence from students based on a reading, conversation, or prior class experience. ...
... In the EG2, the students received interactive writing strategy for six sessions. Based on Pearson and Gallagher (1983), the participants were asked to interact together regarding the topic and pictures then they wrote about them cooperatively. The learners discussed the topic for about 15 minutes before writing. ...
Second Language (L2) writing has always been a matter of difficulty for foreign language learners and an appealing topic for researchers in the field. Following a quasi-experimental method, this study aimed to investigate the comparative effects of shared, interactive, and independent writing on Lebanese EFL learners' writing accuracy and complexity. To achieve this aim, 74 non-Iranian female EFL learners were selected through a convenience sampling technique. The results of the Oxford placement test indicated that their level of English proficiency was intermediate. Afterward, the participants were assigned to three experimental groups (i.e., shared, interactive, and independent writing groups). The syntactic accuracy was gauged in terms of t-units and complexity was calculated based on the number of the words in t-units. The results of statistical analysis manifested that the group which used interactive writing strategies outperformed the other two groups, and no significant differences were found between shared and independent writing groups. Moreover, the performance of the interactive writing group differed significantly from those of the other two groups. Hence, it was concluded that an interactive writing strategy may lead to more accurate and complex writing performance. This study might have implications for language instructors, EFL learners, material developers, and syllabus designers.
... While purposeful teacher-led questioning scaffolds student engagement with strategic digital reading, overuse of teacher-led instruction risks promoting passive learning (Pearson & Gallagher, 1983). To foster genuine cognitive autonomy, the dmQAR framework suggests that instruction must gradually shift from teacher-led modeling to student-driven questioning. ...
This paper proposes the Digital Metacognitive Question–Answer Relationship (dmQAR) Framework, an adaptation of traditional QAR models for the complexities of digital reading environments. In response to the nonlinear, multimodal, and algorithmically curated nature of online texts, the dmQAR Framework scaffolds purposeful metacogni-tive questioning to support comprehension, evaluation, and critical engagement. Drawing on research in metacognition, critical literacy, and digital reading, the framework reinterprets “Right There,” “Think and Search,” “Author and Me,” and “On My Own” question categories to align with the demands of digital spaces. Practical in-structional strategies, including think-alouds, student-generated questioning, digital annotation, and reflection journals, are detailed to support implementation across diverse educational contexts. The paper emphasizes that developing self-regulated questioning is essential for fostering critical literacy and resisting surface-level engagement with digital texts. Implications for instruction highlight the need for explicit metacognitive scaffolding and equitable access to digital literacy tools. Future research directions include empirical validation of the framework’s impact on digital reading comprehension and exploration of developmental differences in metacognitive questioning practices. In an era of wide-spread misinformation and algorithmic bias, embedding metacognitive questioning into literacy education is vital for preparing students to navigate digital landscapes critically and reflectively.
... For example, video games often require understanding and comprehending the narrative (i.e., storyline) to drive success or failure of player driven choices. Thus, comprehension can be overtly and intentionally examined within gaming environments, which in turn may alleviate challenges in research design absent clear definitions and frameworks (Chall, 1983;Gee, 2015;Pearson & Gallagher, 1983). ...
A narrative literature review was conducted to examine how researchers have addressed the concept of reading comprehension skills within digital game-based learning environments. A Boolean search revealed 25 articles that met criteria for inclusion. Deductive and inductive coding lead to the operationalization of the Stages of Reading Development framework. The majority of research teams (n = 14) examined aspects of reading comprehension within video games from the perspective of Learning to Read, while the remaining researchers (n = 11) examined reading comprehension within digital game-based learning environments from the perspective of Reading to Learn. Contradictory and conflicting findings are addressed, implications are discussed, and avenues for future research are identified.
... This interpretation has been promoted by researchers such as van de Pol et al. (2010) in seeing three stages of (1) contingency-tailored, responsive and adjusted support; (2) fading-gradual withdrawal of support over time; and (3) transfer of responsibility to the students. As such, scaffolding is often related to the Gradual Release of Responsibility (GRR) model (Pearson & Gallagher, 1983), sometimes reduced to the notion of "I do, we do, you do." ...
This practice-based case study is taken from a large three-year school-based participatory research project and presents evidence of both teacher-adapted and peer-supported learning in collaborative group work in early years mathematics. We draw on Vygotskian sociocultural theory, incorporating asynchronous and synchronous scaffolding, to examine evidence from one teacher’s unit of work conducted with a class of 6- to 8-year-old children where the focus was on equal grouping as an aspect of early multiplicative thinking. Four videoed lesson observations were taken over a six-week period. These indicate how the teacher adapted her support across the four lessons, both in promoting talk prompts and in progressing learning. Detailed transcript data are presented of the interactions of two groups of three children from the fourth lesson as they collaborated on a task intended to challenge their thinking in relation to equal grouping. The two interactions are analysed according to sociocultural discourse and demonstrate how the use of manipulatives took on a critical mediation role in the collaborative dialogue and shared learning within the groups. In solving the task, the children took the group’s shared ideas as their own. The two group interactions are presented as practice-based evidence that an approach, which takes account of teacher autonomy in directing and reinforcing steps of learning (asynchronous scaffolding), can result in productive peer-supported synchronous learning.
The transition from student to classroom teacher presents many opportunities and challenges. Introduction to Education welcomes pre-service teachers to the field of education, providing an overview of the context, craft and practice of teaching in Australian schools. Each chapter poses a question about the nature of teaching and explores authentic classroom examples, contemporary research and literature, and the professional, policy and curriculum contexts of teaching. Thoroughly updated, the second edition continues to cover both theoretical and practical topics, with chapters addressing assessment, planning, safe learning environments, professional experience, and working with colleagues, families, caregivers and communities. Each chapter features: chapter opening stimulus materials and questions to activate prior learning and challenge assumptions; connections to policy and research with questions to encourage critical thinking and professional literacy; voices of educators and students that provide authentic classroom examples of the practical application of theory.
Literacy is important foundational knowledge for all teaching areas and classroom settings. Language and Literacy covers the building blocks of literacy, as well as the developmental skills all pre-service and in-service teachers need to teach effectively and meaningfully across the Australian curriculum. Part one moves chronologically from the early years to the secondary years, covering phonological, phonemic and morphological awareness, word and sentence-level grammar, language use in social contexts, and a discussion on English language diversity and change. Part two introduces the metalanguage, content knowledge and teaching methods required to develop students' competence in vocabulary, text types and grammar, as well as oracy, reading, writing and critical literacy. Each chapter includes discussion points and further resources to engage students, with key terms linked to the comprehensive glossary. Written by experienced educators, Language and Literacy is an essential resource, offering a focused exploration of language and literacy knowledge for pre-service and in-service teachers.
Literacy is important foundational knowledge for all teaching areas and classroom settings. Language and Literacy covers the building blocks of literacy, as well as the developmental skills all pre-service and in-service teachers need to teach effectively and meaningfully across the Australian curriculum. Part one moves chronologically from the early years to the secondary years, covering phonological, phonemic and morphological awareness, word and sentence-level grammar, language use in social contexts, and a discussion on English language diversity and change. Part two introduces the metalanguage, content knowledge and teaching methods required to develop students' competence in vocabulary, text types and grammar, as well as oracy, reading, writing and critical literacy. Each chapter includes discussion points and further resources to engage students, with key terms linked to the comprehensive glossary. Written by experienced educators, Language and Literacy is an essential resource, offering a focused exploration of language and literacy knowledge for pre-service and in-service teachers.
Early literacy development is crucial for academic success, yet the COVID-19 pandemic has widened pre-existing educational gaps, particularly affecting students from low-income households through uneven access to quality remote instruction and learning technology. While educational technology offers promising solutions for personalized learning, many digital tools lack robust evidence of effectiveness. This paper reports a quasi-experimental study investigating the impact of My Reading Academy , an adaptive, game-based literacy program, on early reading skills in pre-kindergarten and kindergarten students. The study involved 1,092 students (402 treatment, 690 comparison) across 14 schools, using propensity score weighting and hierarchical linear models to analyze program impact. Results showed significant gains in literacy skills among kindergarten students using My Reading Academy , particularly in alphabet knowledge. Pre-kindergarten students who mastered more than half of the alphabet knowledge content in the program showed enhanced performance compared to peers. Teachers reported the program effectively supported personalized instruction and classroom equity.
