The Moral Laboratory

The Moral Laboratory
Author: Jèmeljan Hakemulder
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing
Total Pages: 226
Release: 2000-01-01
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 9789027222237

The idea that reading literature changes the reader seems as old as literature itself. Through the ages philosophers, writers, and literary scholars have suggested it affects norms, empathic ability, self-concept, beliefs, etc. This book examines what we actually know about these effects. And it finds strong evidence for the old claims. However, it remains unclear what aspects of the reading experience are responsible for these effects. Applying methods of the social sciences to this particular problem of literary theory, this book presents a psychological explanation based upon the conception of literature as a moral laboratory. A series of experiments examines whether imagining oneself in the shoes of characters affects beliefs about what it must be like to be someone else, and whether it affects beliefs about consequences of behavior. The results have implications for the role literature could play in society, for instance, in an alternative for traditional moral education.

Examining Reading

Examining Reading
Author: Hanan Khalifa
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 358
Release: 2009-08-27
Genre: Foreign Language Study
ISBN: 9780521736718

This publication highlights the need for test developers to provide clear explanations of the ability constructs which underpin tests offered in the public domain. An explanation is increasingly required or if the validity of test score interpretation and use are to be supported both logically and with empirical evidence. The book demonstates the application of a comprehensive test validation framework which adopts a socio-cognitive perspective. The framework embraces six core components which reflect the practical nature and quality of an actual testing event. It examines Cambridge ESOL writing tasks from the following perspectives: Test Taker, Cognitive Validity, Context Validity, Scoring Validity, Criterion-related Validity and Consequential Validity. The authors show how an understanding and analysis of the framework and its components in relation to specific writing tests can assist test developers to operationalise their tests more effectively, especially in relation to criterial distinctions across test levels.

Handbook of Family Literacy

Handbook of Family Literacy
Author: Barbara H. Wasik
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 497
Release: 2012-08-06
Genre: Education
ISBN: 113689912X

The Handbook of Family Literacy, 2e, provides the most comprehensive, up-to-date coverage of family literacy of any available book. It documents the need for literacy education for children and parents, describes early literacy and math development within the home, analyses interventions in home and center settings, and examines the issues faced by fathers and women with low literacy skills. Cultural issues are examined especially those for Hispanic, African American, American Indian, Alaskan Native, and migrant populations. Noted experts throughout the United States, Canada, England, the Netherlands, Germany, New Zealand, and South Africa analyze the commonalities and differences of family literacy across cultures and families. Key features include the following. Comprehensive – Provides updated information on the relation between early childhood literacy development, parenting education, and intervention services. Research Focus – Provides an extensive review of experimental studies, including national reviews and meta-analyses on family literacy. Practice Focus – Provides a comprehensive treatment of family literacy interventions necessary for program developers, policy makers, and researchers. Diversity Focus – Provides detailed information on cultural and diversity issues for guiding interventions, policy, and research. International Focus – Provides an international perspective on family literacy services that informs program developers, researchers, and policy makers across countries. Evaluation Focus – Provides detailed guidelines for ensuring program quality and fidelity and a valuable new evaluation perspective based on implementation science. This book is essential reading for anyone – researchers, program developers, students, practitioners, and policy makers – who needs to be knowledgeable about intervention issues, family needs, program developments, and research outcomes in family literacy.

On Reading Books to Children

On Reading Books to Children
Author: Anne van Kleeck
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 404
Release: 2003-04-02
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1135643741

Brings together current research on adult book reading to children; chapter authors are eminent scholars from fields of reading and literacy, child language, speech pathology, and psychology, representing diverse perspectives.

The Science of Reading

The Science of Reading
Author: Margaret J. Snowling
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 680
Release: 2008-04-15
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 0470757639

The Science of Reading: A Handbook brings together state-of-the-art reviews of reading research from leading names in the field, to create a highly authoritative, multidisciplinary overview of contemporary knowledge about reading and related skills. Provides comprehensive coverage of the subject, including theoretical approaches, reading processes, stage models of reading, cross-linguistic studies of reading, reading difficulties, the biology of reading, and reading instruction Divided into seven sections:Word Recognition Processes in Reading; Learning to Read and Spell; Reading Comprehension; Reading in Different Languages; Disorders of Reading and Spelling; Biological Bases of Reading; Teaching Reading Edited by well-respected senior figures in the field

Lenses on Reading, Second Edition

Lenses on Reading, Second Edition
Author: Diane H. Tracey
Publisher: Guilford Press
Total Pages: 274
Release: 2012-05-09
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1462504752

This widely adopted text explores key theories and models that frame reading instruction and research. Readers learn why theory matters in designing and implementing high-quality instruction and research; how to critically evaluate the assumptions and beliefs that guide their own work; and what can be gained by looking at reading through multiple theoretical lenses. For each theoretical model, classroom applications are brought to life with engaging vignettes and teacher reflections. Research applications are discussed and illustrated with descriptions of exemplary studies. New to This Edition *Current developments in theory, research, and instructional practices. *Useful pedagogical features in every chapter: framing questions, discussion ideas, and learning activities. *Classroom applications give increased attention to English language learners and technology integration. *Coverage of additional theories (Third Space Theory) and theorists (Bakhtin and Bourdieu).

How to Read Like a Writer

How to Read Like a Writer
Author: Mike Bunn
Publisher: The Saylor Foundation
Total Pages: 17
Release:
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN:

When you Read Like a Writer (RLW) you work to identify some of the choices the author made so that you can better understand how such choices might arise in your own writing. The idea is to carefully examine the things you read, looking at the writerly techniques in the text in order to decide if you might want to adopt similar (or the same) techniques in your writing. You are reading to learn about writing. Instead of reading for content or to better understand the ideas in the writing (which you will automatically do to some degree anyway), you are trying to understand how the piece of writing was put together by the author and what you can learn about writing by reading a particular text. As you read in this way, you think about how the choices the author made and the techniques that he/she used are influencing your own responses as a reader. What is it about the way this text is written that makes you feel and respond the way you do?

Reading Comprehension Difficulties

Reading Comprehension Difficulties
Author: Cesare Cornoldi
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 498
Release: 2013-04-03
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1136488626

Recognizing the characteristics of children with learning disabilities and deciding how to help them is a problem faced by schools all over the world. Although some disorders are fairly easily recognizable (e.g., mental retardation) or very specific to single components of performance and quite rare (e.g., developmental dyscalculia), schools must consider much larger populations of children with learning difficulties who cannot always be readily classified. These children present high-level learning difficulties that affect their performance on a variety of school tasks, but the underlying problem is often their difficulty in understanding written text. In many instances, despite good intellectual abilities and a superficial ability to cope with written texts and to use language appropriately, some children do not seem to grasp the most important elements, or cannot find the pieces of information they are looking for. Sometimes these difficulties are not immediately detected by the teacher in the early school years. They may be hidden because the most obvious early indicators of reading progress in the teacher's eyes do not involve comprehension of written texts or because the first texts a child encounters are quite simple and reflect only the difficulty level of the oral messages (sentences, short stories, etc.) with which the child is already familiar. However, as years go by and texts get more complex, comprehension difficulties will become increasingly apparent and increasingly detrimental to effective school learning. In turn, studying, assimilating new information, and many other situations requiring text comprehension -- from problem solving to reasoning with linguistic contents -- could be affected. Problems with decoding, dyslexia, and language disorders have attracted more interest from researchers than have specific comprehension problems and have occupied more room in specialized journals. Normal reading comprehension has also been a favorite with researchers. However, scarce interest has been paid to subjects who have comprehension difficulties. This book is an attempt to remedy this situation. In so doing, this volume answers the following questions: * Does a reading comprehension problem exist in schools? * How important and widespread is the problem? * Is the problem specific? * How can a reading comprehension difficulty be defined and identified? * Does the "syndrome" have a single pattern or can different subtypes be identified? * What are the main characteristics associated with a reading comprehension difficulty? * When can other well-identified problems add to our understanding of reading comprehension difficulties? * Which educational strategies are effective in preventing and treating reading comprehension difficulties? * What supplementary information can we get from an international perspective?

Teaching Readers (Not Reading)

Teaching Readers (Not Reading)
Author: Peter Afflerbach
Publisher: Guilford Publications
Total Pages: 202
Release: 2021-11-20
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1462548644

Reading instruction is too often grounded in a narrowly defined "science of reading" that focuses exclusively on cognitive skills and strategies. Yet cognition is just one aspect of reading development. This book guides K–8 educators to understand and address other scientifically supported factors that influence each student's literacy learning, including metacognition, motivation and engagement, social–emotional learning, self-efficacy, and more. Peter Afflerbach uses classroom vignettes to illustrate the broad-based nature of student readers’ growth, and provides concrete suggestions for instruction and assessment. The book's utility is enhanced by end-of-chapter review questions and activities and a reproducible tool, the Healthy Readers Profile, which can be downloaded and printed in a convenient 8 1/2" x 11" size.

Studying Fiction

Studying Fiction
Author: Jessica Mason
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 164
Release: 2021-04-19
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0429619979

Studying Fiction provides a clear rationale alongside ideas and methods for teaching literature in schools from a cognitive linguistic perspective. Written by experienced linguists, teachers and researchers, it offers an overview of recent studies on reading and the mind, providing a detailed guide to concepts such as attention, knowledge, empathy, immersion, authorial intention, characterisation and social justice. The book synthesises research from cognitive linguistics in an applied way so that teachers and those researching English in education can consider ways to approach literary reading in the classroom. Each chapter: draws on the latest research in cognitive stylistics and cognitive poetics; discusses a range of ideas related to the whole experience of conceptualising teaching fiction in the classroom and enacting it through practice; provides activities and reflection exercises for the practitioner; encourages engagement with important issues such as social justice, emotion and curriculum design. Together with detailed suggestions for further reading and a guide to available resources, this is an essential guide for all secondary English teachers as well as those teaching and researching in primary and undergraduate phases.