Reading in the Classroom: Systems for the Observation of Teaching and Learning

• Helps schools choose the best systems for assessing outcomes and pinpointing methods that aren't working — goals that are more important than ever in light of No Child Left Behind's focus on improving school performance and implementing statewide accountability systems.



• Covers timely topics in literacy instruction — teaching English language learners, expanding professional development opportunities, improving education for students with learning disabilities, and more.

The best way to pinpoint what works and doesn't work in reading instruction is classroom observation — and this text will help educational stakeholders choose from available observation systems or design their own system. Each of the nine field-tested systems discussed has a different focus, such as assessing the effectiveness of early reading instruction for English language learners, assessing and improving the writing performance of students who struggle, and reviewing school-wide literacy outcomes and determining professional development needs. Each chapter explores the system's development; details its field testing, reliability, and validity; examines its strengths and limitations; and may include the actual tool discussed. With this invaluable book, researchers, teachers, and decision-makers will explore observational systems that give them the best possible understanding of which approaches to reading instruction are working — and what kind of work still needs to be done.

Sharon Vaughn, Ph.D., H.E. Hartfelder/Southland Corp. Regents Chair in Human Development and Executive Director, The Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk, University of Texas at Austin, Sanchez Building, 1912 Speedway, Austin, Texas 78712

Sharon Vaughn is the executive director of The Meadows Center, an organized research unit at the University of Texas at Austin. She is the recipient of the American Education Research Association Special Interest Group Distinguished Researcher Award, the International Reading Association Albert J. Harris Award, the University of Texas Distinguished Faculty Award, and the Jeannette E. Fleischner Award for Outstanding Contributions in the Field of Learning Disabilities from the Council for Exceptional Children. She is the author of more than 35 books and 250 research articles. Vaughn is currently the principal investigator on several research grants from the Institute for Education Sciences, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, and the U.S. Department of Education.

Kerri L. Briggs, Ph.D., is Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education at the U.S. Department of Education. In this capacity, Dr. Briggs contributes to the implementation of efforts associated with the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (PL 107-110). Prior to that, she was Director of Evaluation at the Texas Center for Reading and Language Arts at The University of Texas. She has co-authored several journal articles and book chapters about reading, school-based management, leadership, and charter schools.

Barbara R. Foorman, Ph.D., earned her doctorate at the University of California-Berkeley. She is Professor of Pediatrics and Director of the Center for Academic and Reading Skills at the University of Texas-Houston Medical School and Principal Investigator of the grant funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), Early Interventions for Children with Reading Problems. In addition to many chapters and journal articles on topics related to language and reading development, she is the editor of Reading Acquisition: Cultural Constraints and Cognitive Universals (Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1986). She is on the editorial board of Journal of Learning Disabilities and has guest edited special issues of Scientific Studies of Reading, Linguistics and Education and Journal of Learning Disabilities. Dr. Foorman has been actively involved in outreach to the schools and to the general public, having chaired Houston Independent School District's Committee on a Balanced Approach to Reading and having testified before the California and Texas legislatures and the Texas Board of Education Long-Range Planning Committee. Dr. Foorman is also a member of the National Academy of Sciences' Committee on the Prevention of Reading Difficulties in Young Children, the board of the Society for the Scientific Study of Reading, the Consortium on Reading Excellence (CORE), and several local reading efforts.

Dr. Greenwood is the Director of the Juniper Gardens Children’s Project and Professor of Applied Behavioral Science at the University of Kansas. He is a founding author of progress monitoring measures for infants and toddlers and editor of School-Wide Prevention Models: Lessons Learned in Elementary Schools (Guilford Press, 2008). He is co-principal investigator of the Center for Response to Intervention in Early Childhood (CRTIEC). He has more than 100 publications in peerreviewed journals to his credit. Under his leadership, the Juniper Gardens Children’s Project was awarded the 1996 research award of the Council for Exceptional Children for its contributions to interventions for children with special needs. He was the recipient of the 2009 Higuchi Research Achievement Award in Applied Science at the University of Kansas.

Diane Haager, Ph.D., is a researcher and teacher educator in reading and learning disabilities. She is a professor at California State University, Los Angeles, where she instructs special education teachers and graduate students. Dr. Haager has worked in public schools and clinics as a reading specialist and special educator. She has had extensive experience working with English language learners who have reading difficulties. She has written numerous book chapters and research articles. Her research interests include issues related to effective reading instruction for English language learners, students with learning disabilities, and students at risk for reading failure. She is the co-editor of Learning Disabilities Research and Practice, a journal for researchers and practitioners. Dr. Haager has directed several projects focusing on reading intervention for struggling readers in urban schools. She serves as a consultant and provides professional development for schools, districts, research projects, and state education leaders regarding reading instruction, reading intervention, and response to intervention.

In addition to his work at the Instructional Research Group, Dr. Gersten is also a professor emeritus in the College of Education at the University of Oregon. He is the director of the Math Strand for the Center on Instruction, the director of research for the Regional Educational Laboratory-South West, and the principal investigator for several What Works Clearinghouse projects. As Project Director of the Teacher Quality Distribution and Measurement Study, Dr. Gersten is currently working with a team of researchers from Harvard University to revise a mathematics observation measure that will be used to determine the effect of professional development on teachers' mathematics instruction. He is also a coauthor of a mathematics screening and progress monitoring measure for kindergarten and first-grade students that is in press. His main areas of expertise include evaluation methodology and instructional research on students with learning disabilities, mathematics, and reading comprehension. Dr. Gersten has conducted numerous randomized trials, many of which have been published in major scientific journals in the field. He has either directed or codirected 42 applied research grants addressing a wide array of issues in education and has been a recipient of many federal and nonfederal grants (more than $20 million). He has advised on a variety of reading and mathematics projects using randomized trials in education settings and has written extensively about the importance of randomized trials in special education research.

In 2002, Dr. Gersten received the Distinguished Special Education Researcher Award from the American Educational Research Association's Special Education Research Division. He served as a member of the National Mathematics Advisory Panel, a Presidential committee to develop researchbased policy in mathematics for American schools. Dr. Gersten also chaired the Panel that developed A Practice Guide on Response to Intervention in Mathematics for the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences (IES).

Beth Harry, Ph.D., is a professor of special education at the University of Miami in Florida. A native of Jamaica, Beth graduated from St. Andrew High School in 1962 and went on to pursue her bachelor of arts and master's degrees at the University of Toronto and her doctorate at Syracuse University. Beth has been a teacher all of her adult life, including teaching English at the secondary and community college levels and special education at all levels. Beth's current work focuses on teaching and research related to disability, multicultural, and family issues. She lived in Trinidad for 12 years, where both her children—Melanie and Mark Teelucksingh—were born.

Robert M. Gagne Professor of Psychology and Education and Director, Florida Center for Reading Research, Florida State University, 227 North Bronough Street, Suite 7250, Tallahassee, FL 32301. Dr. Torgesen’s research interests include instructional methods for the prevention and remediation of reading disabilities and assessment practices for the early identification of children at risk for reading difficulties.