Educational research in Australia is minimal, according to the author. And yet the need for improved instruction to reach poor and reluctant readers compares in seriousness with the needs in the United States and Great Britain. It is recommended that research should place less emphasis on comparative evaluation of teaching methods and an increased…

With the contention that increased concern over the status of reading requires that the experimental testing of reading hypotheses be conducted with the most modern methods of behavioral science and be based on a theoretical analysis of the reading process, both psychological and linguistic, this final report from a group of investigators pursues…

A 3-year study attempted (1) to predict reading achievement through third grade, (2) to establish data for a nonverbal discrimination test, (3) to devise supplementary perceptual instructional programs, and (4) to develop screening devices to assess perceptual abilities and identify potential learning disabilities. In first, second, and third…

This survey attempts to: (1) identify specific reading skills which serve to impede pupil progress in reading, (2) provide teacher input as to which reading skills they feel are most often responsible for poor reading performance, (3) provide a localized sequence of reading skills upon which they feel corrective activities may be based, and (4)…

This book is designed for both preservice and inservice teachers of reading. The contents are divided into nine modules: (1) "Making Your Plans for Reading Instruction," (2) "Helping Children Develop Skill in Phonic Analysis," (3) "Using Principles of Learning to Teach Reading Effectively," (4) "Helping Children Develop Other Word Recognition…

This book focuses on how individuals learn to read, how motivations for reading or avoiding reading are built, how the cognitive characteristics of the learner can be used to select the most promising beginning approach, and how self-directed reading extends the cognitive and the affective world of the reader. The book covers the interaction of…

A research proposal to study the effect of multisensory teaching methods in first-grade reading is presented. The focus is on sex differences in learning and in multisensory approaches to teaching. The project will involve 10 experimental and 10 control first-grade classes in several Southern California schools. Both groups will be given IQ,…

A 3-year study with 359 pupils compared individualized reading instruction with basal reading instruction. Twenty-eight first-grade classrooms were paired (individualized and basal), and teachers received prior instruction for working in the experiment. Pupils remained together in their various classes and treatment groups for the 3-year period,…

This study describes a program designed at Stanford University in the computer-assisted instruction (CAI) of reading, which has been used by children in kindergarten through grade three. The program is an adjunct to classroom instruction, stressing the decoding aspect of reading and leaving the communication aspect to the teacher. The report…

Presents the results of a questionnaire sent to teachers using the initial teaching alphabet (i.t.a.), and their principals. Generally favorable effects were reported by both groups, with the great majority of teachers indicating they would choose to continue using i.t.a. (DLG)

This paper analyzes some of the conditions affecting the introduction of innovations in reading instruction in post-war Britain. The relationship between these innovations and research is explored. Section one presents background information and discusses possible causes for the influx of innovative techniques in reading instruction in the 1950s…

A series of articles with the chief emphasis on phonics as a means of analyzing words is presented. Various articles pertain to elementary, secondary, and college level instruction. The first of the five parts into which the volume is divided is comprised of a single article which gives an excellent overview of the field of word recognition. Part…

Reports on the observation of a group of kindergartners in their classroom library twice a week for eight weeks to learn more about how the nature of the texts--familiarity, predictability, and size--influence the children's use of books. (NH)

Examines the role of metalinguistic abilities in the initial stages of learning to read. Indicates that children's ability to acquire low-level metalinguistic skills depends in part on their level of operativity, and that phonological and syntactic awareness play more important roles in beginning reading than does pragmatic awareness. (JK)

Examines effective ways of practicing reading that facilitate the development of efficient reading skills in beginners. Indicates that increases in reading efficiency depend largely on the amount of independent, computer-aided practice with speech feedback, a method that seems promising as a means of improving reading skills in beginners. (JK)