Language and Literacy Development: What Educators Need to Know

James P. Byrnes, PhD, is Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in the College of Education at Temple University in Philadelphia. He is a Fellow of Division 15 (Educational Psychology) of the American Psychological Association and has served as Vice President of the Jean Piaget Society. An Associate Editor of the Journal of Cognition and Development, Dr. Byrnes has published over 70 books, chapters, or articles on several different areas of cognitive development, such as logical reasoning and mathematical learning. Dr. Byrnes has received grant funding from the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and the U.S. Department of Education, and awards for his teaching and mentoring of undergraduate and graduate students. His most recent work has focused primarily on developing two comprehensive theoretical models, one on adolescent decision making and one on academic achievement. The model of academic achievement has been designed specifically to provide insight into ways to eliminate or substantially reduce gender, ethnic, and racial gaps in achievement.

Barbara A. Wasik, PhD, is Associate Professor and the PNC Endowed Chair in Early Childhood in the Department of Curriculum, Instruction, and Technology in Education at Temple University in Philadelphia. Her research interests are emergent literacy and early intervention in beginning reading, with a specific focus on disadvantaged children. Dr. Wasik has extensive experience in program and curriculum development, and is specifically interested in the role that teachers play in the development of children’s language and literacy skills. She has written numerous articles on early literacy, one of which received the Dina Feitelson Research Award from the International Reading Association for outstanding research article. She is the coauthor of several books, including one with Carol Seefeldt, Early Education: Three-, Four-, and Five-Year-Olds Go to School (2nd edition). Also interested in educational policy issues, Dr. Wasik is the author of several papers that have affected teaching practices in classrooms.