The majority of students with disabilities require support in the area of reading. Given the importance of reading instruction, it is essential that special education teacher preparation programs prepare candidates who are knowledgeable about reading development and skilled in the delivery of reading instruction. The purpose of this article is twofold. First, an overview of key concepts related to reading acquisition and the implications for what special education candidates should know about reading development and instruction is provided. Second, a review of promising practices in higher education that support special education candidates’ knowledge and skills related to reading is presented. Finally, future directions that will enhance candidates’ ability to successfully identify and remediate reading difficulties are discussed.
AdamsM. J. (1990). Beginning to read: Thinking and learning about print. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
2.
Al OtaibaS.LakeV. (2007). Preparing special educators to teach reading and use curriculum-based assessments. Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 20, 591–617. doi:10.1007/s11145-007-9056-z
3.
BakerS.SimmonsD.Kame’enuiE. (1998). Vocabulary acquisition: Synthesis of the research. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement, Educational Resources Information Center.
4.
BerningerV. W.AbbottR. D.VermeulenK.FultonC. M. (2006). Paths to reading comprehension in at-risk second-grade readers. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 39, 334–351.
5.
Binks-CantrellE.JoshiR. M.WashburnE. K. (2012). Validation of an instrument for assessing teacher knowledge of basic language constructs of literacy. Annals of Dyslexia, 62, 153–171.
6.
Binks-CantrellE.WashburnE. K.JoshiR. M.HougenM. (2012). Peter effect in the preparation of reading teachers. Scientific Studies of Reading, 16, 526–536. doi:10.1080/10888438.2011.601434
7.
BosC.MatherN.DicksonS.PodhajskiB.ChardD. (2001). Perceptions and knowledge of preservice and inservice educators about early reading instruction. Annals of Dyslexia, 51, 97–120. doi:10.1007/s11881-001-0007-0
8.
BradyS.MoatsL. C. (1997). Informed instruction for reading success: Foundations for teacher preparation. Baltimore, MD: International Dyslexia Association.
9.
ButlerS.UrrutiaK.BuengerA.GonzalezN.HuntM.EisenhartC. (2010). A review of current research on vocabulary instruction. Washington, DC: National Reading Technical Assistance Center.
10.
ChardD. J.VaughnS.TylerB. J. (2002). A synthesis of research on effective interventions for building reading fluency with elementary students with learning disabilities. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 35, 386–406.
11.
CunninghamA.PerryK.StanovichK.StanovichP. (2004). Disciplinary knowledge of K–3 teachers and their knowledge calibration in the domain of early literacy. Annals Of Dyslexia, 54, 139–167.
12.
EhriL. C. (2002). Phases of acquisition in learning to read words and implications for teaching. In StainthorpR.TomlinsonP. (Eds.), Learning and teaching reading (pp. 7–28). London, UK: British Journal of Educational Psychology Monograph Series II.
13.
GormleyS.RuhlK. L. (2007). Language structure knowledge of preservice teachers: Connecting speech to print. Teacher Education and Special Education, 30, 27–36.
14.
Gormley BudinS.MatherN.CheesmanE. (2010). Examining promising practices to improve linguistic knowledge and inform practice in teacher education. Perspectives on Language and Literacy, 36, 13–16.
15.
GrahamS.HarrisK. R.ChorzempaB. (2002). Contribution of spelling instruction to the spelling, writing, and reading of poor spellers. Journal of Educational Psychology, 94, 669–686.
16.
International Dyslexia Association. (2010). Knowledge and practice standards for teachers of reading. Baltimore, MD: Author.
17.
JenkinsJ. R.FuchsL. S.van den BroekP.EspinC.DenoS. L. (2003). Sources of individual differences in reading comprehension and reading fluency. Journal of Educational Psychology, 95, 719–729.
18.
JoshiR.BinksE.HougenM.DahlgrenM. E.Ocker-DeanE.SmithD. L. (2009). Why elementary teachers might be inadequately prepared to teach reading. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 42, 392–402. doi:10.1177/0022219409338736
19.
KennedyM. J.DriverM. K.PullenP. C.ElyE.ColeM. T. (2013). Improving teacher candidates’ knowledge of phonological awareness: A multimedia approach. Computers & Education, 64, 42–51.
20.
MayerR. E. (2008). Applying the science of learning: Evidence based principles for the design of multimedia instruction. American Psychologist, 63, 760–769. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.63.8.760
21.
McCutchenD.HarryD.CunninghamA. E.CoxS.SidmanS.CovillA. (2002). Content knowledge of teachers of beginning reading. Annals of Dyslexia, 52, 207–228.
22.
McNaughtonD.HallT. E.MacciniP. (2001). Case-based instruction in special education teacher preparation: Practices and concerns of teacher educator/researchers. Teacher Education and Special Education, 24, 84–94. doi:10.1177/088840640102400203
23.
MoatsL. (1994). The missing foundation in teacher education: Knowledge of the structure of spoken and written language. Annals of Dyslexia, 44, 81–102.
24.
MoatsL.CarrekerS.DavisR.MeiselP.Spear-SwerlingL.WilsonB. (2010). Knowledge and practice standards for teachers of reading. Baltimore, MD: International Dyslexia Association.
25.
NagroS. A.CorneliusK. E. (2013). Evaluating the evidence base of video analysis: A special education teacher development tool. Teacher Education and Special Education, 36, 312–329.
26.
National Reading Panel. (2000). Report of the National Reading Panel. Teaching children to read: An evidence-based assessment of the scientific research literature on reading and its implications for reading instruction (NIH Pub. No. 00-4769). Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
27.
PerfettiC. A. (1985). Reading ability. New York: Oxford University Press.
28.
PindiproluS. S.PetersonS. M. P.RuleS.Lingugaris/KraftB. (2003). Using web-mediate experiential case-based instruction to teach functional behavioral assessment skills. Teacher Education and Special Education, 26, 1–16.
29.
PressleyM. (2000). What should comprehension instruction be the instruction of? In KamilM.MosenthalP. B.PearsonP. D.BarrR. (Eds.), Handbook of Reading Research (Vol. 3). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
30.
PufpaffL. A.YsselN. (2010). Effects of a 6-week, co-taught literacy unit on preservice special educators’ literacy-education knowledge. Psychology in the Schools, 47, 493–500. doi:10.1002/pits.20485
31.
PughK. R.MenclW.JennerA. R.LeeJ.KatzL.FrostS. J.. . . ShaywitzB. A. (2001). Neuroimaging studies of reading development and reading disability. Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, 16, 240–249.
32.
RaynerK.FoormanB. R.PerfettiC. A.PesetskyD.SeidenbergM. S. (2002). How should reading be taught?Scientific American, 286, 84–91.
33.
ShareD. L.StanovichK. E. (1995). Cognitive processes in early reading development: Accommodating individual differences into a model of acquisition. Issues in Education: Contributions from Educational Psychology, 1, 1–57.
34.
SmarttS. S.ReschlyD. J. (2007). Barriers to the preparation of highly qualified teachers in reading (TQ Research & Policy Brief). Washington, DC: National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality.
35.
SnowC. E.JuelC. (2005). Teaching children to read: What do we know about how to do it? In SnowlingM. J.HulmeC. (Eds.), The science of reading: A handbook (pp. 501–520). Oxford, UK: Blackwell.
36.
Spear-SwerlingL. (2009). A literacy tutoring experience for prospective special educators and struggling second graders. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 42, 431–443. doi:10.1177/0022219409338738
37.
Spear-SwerlingL.BruckerP. (2004). Preparing novice teachers to develop basic reading and spelling skills in children. Annals of Dyslexia, 54, 332–364. doi:10.1007/s11881-004-0016-x
38.
Spear-SwerlingL.BruckerP. (2006). Teacher-education students’ reading abilities and their knowledge about word structure. Teacher Education and Special Education, 29, 116–126. doi:10.1177/088840640602900204
39.
Spear-SwerlingL.BruckerP. O.AlfanoM. P. (2005). Teachers’ literacy-related knowledge and self-perceptions in relation to preparation and experience. Annals of Dyslexia, 55, 266–296.
40.
TorgesenJ. K. (2006). Recent discoveries from research on remedial interventions for children with dyslexia. In SnowlingM.HulmeC. (Eds.), The science of reading: A handbook (pp. 521–537). Oxford, UK: Blackwell.
41.
TorgesenJ. K.HoustonD. D.RissmanL. M.DeckerS. M.RobertsG.VaughnS.. . . LesauxN. (2007). Academic literacy instruction for adolescents: A guidance document from the Center on Instruction. Portsmouth, NH: RMC Research Corporation, Center on Instruction.
42.
Usui JohnsonC. (2012). Teacher leadership resource tool: Video feedback protocol. Los Angeles, CA: Center XChange.
WeiserB.MathesP. (2011). Using encoding instruction to improve the reading and spelling performances of elementary students at risk for literacy difficulties: A best-evidence synthesis. Review of Educational Research, 81, 170–200.
45.
YadavA.BouckE.Da FonteA.PattonS. (2009). Instructing special education preservice teachers through literacy video cases. Teaching Education, 20, 149–162. doi:10.1080/10476210902878510
