What Research Has to Say About Reading Instruction - International ...

Learning logs: Reflection and application
Participants should respond to one or more of the following questions
related to the discussion stems from the Hot Seats activity:
• Do other countries use the same sort of “absolute standard” to
describe reading achievement as is used in the United States
with the NAEP? What differences exist, and what are the pros
and cons of the various approaches?
• Are the terms reading disabled and learning disabled
interchangeable? Are we creating learning-disabled students?
• Explain several components that would be evident in a
comprehensive program based on a preventive design. What
is the difference between “meaning emphasis” and “skill
emphasis”?
• What role does the classroom teacher play in accelerating the
development of students with learning disabilities?
• How does RTI support the acceleration process in our schools?
• How are schools supporting students who need more than a
one-year intervention program?
Extended Learning
Have participants read an article or chapter on RTI; several are listed
in the “Recommended Readings” section of this guide (for this session
and session 5). Ask participants to reflect and respond to Richard
Allington’s view that most of what schools have always done simply
has little research foundation to suggest that common approaches will
accelerate reading development and solve children’s reading problems.
Ask them to consider their own practice with struggling readers in
their classes and to reflect on the question of whether we are creating
learning disabilities.
From the Professional Development Edition of What Research Has to Say About Reading Instruction
(3rd ed.), © 2009 International Reading Association.
38