In Becoming a Nation of Readers (BNR) (1985), Richard C. Anderson, Elfrieda H. Hiebert, Judith A. Scott, and Ian A. G. Wilkinson argued that the quality of teaching is a powerful influence on children's reading development–more powerful than the influence of the general teaching approach or materials used. In this article, we focus on one research tradition in the area of literacy teaching quality: case studies of teachers who are identified as effective or exemplary as literacy educators. Review of these studies reveals a wide range of well-coordinated practices used by effective literacy educators, echoing, expanding, and deepening points made in BNR.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AndersonR. C., HiebertE. H., ScottJ. A., & WilkinsonI. A. G. (1985). Becoming a nation of readers: The report of the commission on reading.Washington, DC: National Academy of Education, National Institute of Education, & Center for the Study of Reading.
2.
BognerK., RaphaelL., & PressleyM. (2002). How grade 1 teachers motivate literate activity by their students.Scientific Studies of Reading,6, 135–165. doi:10.1207/S1532799XSSR0602_02
3.
BohnC. M., RoehrigA. D., & PressleyM. (2004). The first days of school in the classrooms of two more effective and four less effective primary-grades teachers.The Elementary School Journal,104, 269–287.
4.
ClarkeM. A., DavisA., RhodesL. K., & BakerE. D. (1996). High achieving classrooms for minority students: A study of three teachers.Denver, CO: University of Colorado at Denver; Washington, DC: U.S. Dept. of Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement, Educational Resources Information Center.
5.
FlynnN. (2007). Good practice for pupils learning English as an additional language: Lessons from effective literacy teachers in innercity primary schools.Journal of Early Childhood Literacy,7, 177–198. doi:10.1177/1468798407079286
6.
GrahamS., & HebertM. (2011). Writing to read: A meta-analysis of the impact of writing and writing instruction on reading.Harvard Educational Review,81(4), 710–744.
7.
LoudenW., RohlM., PughC. B., BrownC., & CairneyT. (2005). In teachers’ hands: Effective literacy teaching practices in the early years of schooling.Mount Lawley, Western Australia: Edith Cowan University. Retrieved from http://research.acer.edu.au/monitoring_learning/2
8.
NyeB., HedgesL. V., & KonstantopoulosS. (2001). Are the effects of small classes cumulative? Evidence from a Tennessee experiment.The Journal of Educational Research,94, 336–34.
9.
NyeB., KonstantopoulosS., & HedgesL. V. (2004). How large are teacher effects?Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis,26, 237–257. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/3699577
10.
ParrJ. M., & LimbrickL. (2010). Contextualising practice: Hallmarks of effective teachers of writing.Teaching and Teacher Education,26, 583–590.
11.
SailorsM., HoffmanJ. V., & MattheeB. (2007). South African schools that promote literacy learning with students from low-income communities.Reading Research Quarterly,42(3), 364–387.
12.
TaylorB. M., PearsonP. D., ClarkK., & WalpoleS. (2000). Effective schools and accomplished teachers: Lessons about primary-grade reading instruction in low-income schools.Elementary School Journal,101(2), 121–166. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/1002340
13.
TivnanT., & HemphillL. (2005). Comparing four literacy reform models in high-poverty schools: Patterns of first-grade achievement.The Elementary School Journal,105, 419–441.
14.
ToppingK., & FergusonN. (2005). Effective literacy teaching behaviours.Journal of Research in Reading,28(2), 125–143.
15.
TurnerJ. (2005). Orchestrating success for African American readers: The case of an effective third-grade teacher.Reading Research and Instruction,44(4), 27–48.
16.
WrayD., MedwellJ., FoxR., & PoulsonL. (2000). The teaching practices of effective teachers of literacy.Educational Review,52(1), 75–84.
