This study reports on an examination of the factor structure underlying reading performance in a ... more This study reports on an examination of the factor structure underlying reading performance in a sample of urban, dysfluent children. Participants were 140 sec-ond and third graders identified as exhibiting reading difficulties stemming from inefficient word and/or nonword reading. Consistent with a more complex view of reading, the results of structural equation modeling identify four distinct but This study was part of a reading and social emotional intervention project (The New 3R’s— Reading, Resilience, and Relationships in Afterschool Programs) conducted at Harvard University, Tufts University, and McLean Hospital, and funded by the Department of Education, awarded under the Interagency Education Research Initiative (IERI) (CFDA #84.305W), and the Piper Foundation, USA. The authors would like to thank Sally Wilson for her work coordinating this study as well as Adrianna Wechsler, Larina Mehta, and Chessie Shaw for assistance with data collection and entry. We are also grateful ...
inflectional endings (e.g.,-ed can be pro-nounced several ways); and (d) the “histor-ically deter... more inflectional endings (e.g.,-ed can be pro-nounced several ways); and (d) the “histor-ically determined logographic character ” of the alphabet. In the latter point Strauss argues that the alphabetic system is a man-ifestation of a much earlier logographic writing system, where visual symbols rep-resented meanings far more directly (e.g., in some early hieroglyphic logographic sys-tems, a visual drawing of a bird represented the word bird in that oral language). Strauss uses the assertion about logo-graphic roots to argue that if the alphabet is historically based on the direct appre-hension of meaning, then the current em-phasis in much reading research on the letter–sound or grapheme–phoneme rules of correspondence in written language is linguistically unnatural and pedagogically unnecessary in the teaching of reading. Further, such logographic origins, he as-serts, provide a rationale for the use of what are called whole-language reading methods, which eschew the direct learning o...
The digital learner seems particularly well-suited for a life of activity and a life of enjoyment... more The digital learner seems particularly well-suited for a life of activity and a life of enjoyment. The emphases of digital media on efficient, massive information processing; flexible multitasking; quick and interactive modes of communication; and seemingly endless forms of digitally based entertainment encourage such lives. These emphases, however, can be less suited for the slower, more time-consuming cognitive processes that are vital for contemplative life and that are at the heart of what we call deep reading.
This chapter examines the formation of a reading brain circuit and how it represents the gradual,... more This chapter examines the formation of a reading brain circuit and how it represents the gradual, ever-more-elaborated connections among visual and auditory perception, multiple language and cognitive functions, and affective processes. Based on this multi-component view of reading, we then approach why this circuit can be quite different in various writing systems and in different mediums like print and digital media. Finally, we examine why the circuit fails to develop in conventional ways in persons with dyslexia and, quite possibly, in one of the greatest and most unconventional artists and inventors of the last millennium, Leonardo da Vinci.
Con lettura profonda si intende quella gamma di processi che conducono alla comprensione e che in... more Con lettura profonda si intende quella gamma di processi che conducono alla comprensione e che includono il ragionamento inferenziale e deduttivo, le abilita analogiche, l’analisi critica, la riflessione e il discernimento. Il lettore esperto ha bisogno di millisecondi per eseguire questi processi; un cervello giovane ha bisogno di anni per svilupparli. Molti aspetti della lettura – dalle basilari capacita di decodifica alle competenze di comprensione di piu alto livello – devono essere esplicitamente insegnati, perche gli esseri umani non sono nati per leggere, ma per guardare, muoversi, parlare, e pensare. Man mano che l’organismo interagisce con l’ambiente, gradualmente si realizzano i programmi genetici per ciascuna di queste funzioni. La lettura e una nuova funzione cognitiva, inventata solo 5.500 anni fa e gli uomini hanno dovuto “imparare a leggere”, creando nel nostro cervello nuovi collegamenti tra le strutture che presiedono alla visione, all’ascolto, alla cognizione e al ...
EJ611259 - Naming-Speed Deficits in Developmental Reading Disabilities: An Introduction to the Sp... more EJ611259 - Naming-Speed Deficits in Developmental Reading Disabilities: An Introduction to the Special Issue on the Double-Deficit Hypothesis.
1: Introduction 2: The Linguist's Tale 3: A Child's Tale 4: A Neuroscientist's Tale o... more 1: Introduction 2: The Linguist's Tale 3: A Child's Tale 4: A Neuroscientist's Tale of Words 5: The Deep Reading Brain 6: A Second Revolution in the Brain 7: A Literacy Agenda for Non-Literate Children
Because reading is not a natural process like language, young learners must be taught to read. Kn... more Because reading is not a natural process like language, young learners must be taught to read. Knowledge about how the reading brain develops has critical implications for understanding which teaching methods to use and helps reconceptualize previous debates. In this excerpt from Reader Come Home: The Reading Brain in a Digital World, Maryanne Wolf describes how many different parts of the brain must work together when reading and why each requires attention in teaching. She delves into research into different reader profiles, each of which needs different emphases in reading instruction, and she explains the value of teaching approaches that include both explicit instruction in decoding and deep reading processes, and engagement by learner and teacher with the world of words and stories.
Journal of experimental child psychology, Jan 8, 2017
A growing number of studies report links between nonlinguistic rhythmic abilities and certain lin... more A growing number of studies report links between nonlinguistic rhythmic abilities and certain linguistic abilities, particularly phonological skills. The current study investigated the relationship between nonlinguistic rhythmic processing, phonological abilities, and early literacy abilities in kindergarteners. A distinctive aspect of the current work was the exploration of whether processing of different types of rhythmic patterns is differentially related to kindergarteners' phonological and reading-related abilities. Specifically, we examined the processing of metrical versus nonmetrical rhythmic patterns, that is, patterns capable of being subdivided into equal temporal intervals or not (Povel & Essens, 1985). This is an important comparison because most music involves metrical sequences, in which rhythm often has an underlying temporal grid of isochronous units. In contrast, nonmetrical sequences are arguably more typical to speech rhythm, which is temporally structured bu...
This research investigated the influence of parental practices on helpless behaviors of strugglin... more This research investigated the influence of parental practices on helpless behaviors of struggling readers during homework tasks. Parents (N D 36) of elementary students reported on their children' s helpless behaviors, such as task avoidance and negative affect, during homework assignments, and on the nature and frequency of their support. Distinctions were made between parental support considered to be strategic, compensatory, or intrusive. Additional variables that influence achievement behaviors were assessed, including children' s language skills, academic abilities, and behavior regulation. Parent support considered intrusive, such as unsolicited interruptions and corrections, along with children' s behavior regulation abilities, accounted for the greatest variation in struggling readers' helpless behaviors.
Research suggests that early identification of developmental dyslexia is important for mitigating... more Research suggests that early identification of developmental dyslexia is important for mitigating the negative effects of dyslexia, including reduced educational attainment and increased socioemotional difficulties. The strongest pre-literacy predictors of dyslexia are rapid automatized naming (RAN), phonological awareness (PA), letter knowledge, and verbal short-term memory. The relationship among these constructs has been debated, and several theories have emerged to explain the unique role of each in reading ability/disability. Furthermore, the stability of identification of risk based on these measures varies widely across studies, due in part to the different cutoffs employed to designate risk. We applied a latent profile analysis technique with a diverse sample of 1215 kindergarten and pre-kindergarten students from 20 schools, to investigate whether PA, RAN, letter knowledge, and verbal short-term memory measures differentiated between homogenous profiles of performance on these measures. Six profiles of performance emerged from the data: average performers, below average performers, high performers, PA risk, RAN risk, and double-deficit risk (both PA and RAN). A latent class regression model was employed to investigate the longitudinal stability of these groups in a representative subset of children (n = 95) nearly two years later, at the end of 1st grade. Profile membership in the spring semester of pre-kindergarten or fall semester of kindergarten was significantly predictive of later reading performance, with the specific patterns of performance on the different constructs remaining stable across the years. There was a higher frequency of PA and RAN deficits in children from lower socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds. There was no evidence for the IQ-achievement discrepancy criterion traditionally used to diagnose dyslexia. Our results support the feasibility of early identification of dyslexia risk and point to the heterogeneity of risk profiles. These findings carry important implications for improving outcomes for children with dyslexia, based on more targeted interventions. Research highlights • A latent profile analysis revealed heterogeneous profiles of performance on measures of early literacy in 1215 kindergarten/pre-kindergarten students.
This study reports on an examination of the factor structure underlying reading performance in a ... more This study reports on an examination of the factor structure underlying reading performance in a sample of urban, dysfluent children. Participants were 140 sec-ond and third graders identified as exhibiting reading difficulties stemming from inefficient word and/or nonword reading. Consistent with a more complex view of reading, the results of structural equation modeling identify four distinct but This study was part of a reading and social emotional intervention project (The New 3R’s— Reading, Resilience, and Relationships in Afterschool Programs) conducted at Harvard University, Tufts University, and McLean Hospital, and funded by the Department of Education, awarded under the Interagency Education Research Initiative (IERI) (CFDA #84.305W), and the Piper Foundation, USA. The authors would like to thank Sally Wilson for her work coordinating this study as well as Adrianna Wechsler, Larina Mehta, and Chessie Shaw for assistance with data collection and entry. We are also grateful ...
inflectional endings (e.g.,-ed can be pro-nounced several ways); and (d) the “histor-ically deter... more inflectional endings (e.g.,-ed can be pro-nounced several ways); and (d) the “histor-ically determined logographic character ” of the alphabet. In the latter point Strauss argues that the alphabetic system is a man-ifestation of a much earlier logographic writing system, where visual symbols rep-resented meanings far more directly (e.g., in some early hieroglyphic logographic sys-tems, a visual drawing of a bird represented the word bird in that oral language). Strauss uses the assertion about logo-graphic roots to argue that if the alphabet is historically based on the direct appre-hension of meaning, then the current em-phasis in much reading research on the letter–sound or grapheme–phoneme rules of correspondence in written language is linguistically unnatural and pedagogically unnecessary in the teaching of reading. Further, such logographic origins, he as-serts, provide a rationale for the use of what are called whole-language reading methods, which eschew the direct learning o...
The digital learner seems particularly well-suited for a life of activity and a life of enjoyment... more The digital learner seems particularly well-suited for a life of activity and a life of enjoyment. The emphases of digital media on efficient, massive information processing; flexible multitasking; quick and interactive modes of communication; and seemingly endless forms of digitally based entertainment encourage such lives. These emphases, however, can be less suited for the slower, more time-consuming cognitive processes that are vital for contemplative life and that are at the heart of what we call deep reading.
This chapter examines the formation of a reading brain circuit and how it represents the gradual,... more This chapter examines the formation of a reading brain circuit and how it represents the gradual, ever-more-elaborated connections among visual and auditory perception, multiple language and cognitive functions, and affective processes. Based on this multi-component view of reading, we then approach why this circuit can be quite different in various writing systems and in different mediums like print and digital media. Finally, we examine why the circuit fails to develop in conventional ways in persons with dyslexia and, quite possibly, in one of the greatest and most unconventional artists and inventors of the last millennium, Leonardo da Vinci.
Con lettura profonda si intende quella gamma di processi che conducono alla comprensione e che in... more Con lettura profonda si intende quella gamma di processi che conducono alla comprensione e che includono il ragionamento inferenziale e deduttivo, le abilita analogiche, l’analisi critica, la riflessione e il discernimento. Il lettore esperto ha bisogno di millisecondi per eseguire questi processi; un cervello giovane ha bisogno di anni per svilupparli. Molti aspetti della lettura – dalle basilari capacita di decodifica alle competenze di comprensione di piu alto livello – devono essere esplicitamente insegnati, perche gli esseri umani non sono nati per leggere, ma per guardare, muoversi, parlare, e pensare. Man mano che l’organismo interagisce con l’ambiente, gradualmente si realizzano i programmi genetici per ciascuna di queste funzioni. La lettura e una nuova funzione cognitiva, inventata solo 5.500 anni fa e gli uomini hanno dovuto “imparare a leggere”, creando nel nostro cervello nuovi collegamenti tra le strutture che presiedono alla visione, all’ascolto, alla cognizione e al ...
EJ611259 - Naming-Speed Deficits in Developmental Reading Disabilities: An Introduction to the Sp... more EJ611259 - Naming-Speed Deficits in Developmental Reading Disabilities: An Introduction to the Special Issue on the Double-Deficit Hypothesis.
1: Introduction 2: The Linguist's Tale 3: A Child's Tale 4: A Neuroscientist's Tale o... more 1: Introduction 2: The Linguist's Tale 3: A Child's Tale 4: A Neuroscientist's Tale of Words 5: The Deep Reading Brain 6: A Second Revolution in the Brain 7: A Literacy Agenda for Non-Literate Children
Because reading is not a natural process like language, young learners must be taught to read. Kn... more Because reading is not a natural process like language, young learners must be taught to read. Knowledge about how the reading brain develops has critical implications for understanding which teaching methods to use and helps reconceptualize previous debates. In this excerpt from Reader Come Home: The Reading Brain in a Digital World, Maryanne Wolf describes how many different parts of the brain must work together when reading and why each requires attention in teaching. She delves into research into different reader profiles, each of which needs different emphases in reading instruction, and she explains the value of teaching approaches that include both explicit instruction in decoding and deep reading processes, and engagement by learner and teacher with the world of words and stories.
Journal of experimental child psychology, Jan 8, 2017
A growing number of studies report links between nonlinguistic rhythmic abilities and certain lin... more A growing number of studies report links between nonlinguistic rhythmic abilities and certain linguistic abilities, particularly phonological skills. The current study investigated the relationship between nonlinguistic rhythmic processing, phonological abilities, and early literacy abilities in kindergarteners. A distinctive aspect of the current work was the exploration of whether processing of different types of rhythmic patterns is differentially related to kindergarteners' phonological and reading-related abilities. Specifically, we examined the processing of metrical versus nonmetrical rhythmic patterns, that is, patterns capable of being subdivided into equal temporal intervals or not (Povel & Essens, 1985). This is an important comparison because most music involves metrical sequences, in which rhythm often has an underlying temporal grid of isochronous units. In contrast, nonmetrical sequences are arguably more typical to speech rhythm, which is temporally structured bu...
This research investigated the influence of parental practices on helpless behaviors of strugglin... more This research investigated the influence of parental practices on helpless behaviors of struggling readers during homework tasks. Parents (N D 36) of elementary students reported on their children' s helpless behaviors, such as task avoidance and negative affect, during homework assignments, and on the nature and frequency of their support. Distinctions were made between parental support considered to be strategic, compensatory, or intrusive. Additional variables that influence achievement behaviors were assessed, including children' s language skills, academic abilities, and behavior regulation. Parent support considered intrusive, such as unsolicited interruptions and corrections, along with children' s behavior regulation abilities, accounted for the greatest variation in struggling readers' helpless behaviors.
Research suggests that early identification of developmental dyslexia is important for mitigating... more Research suggests that early identification of developmental dyslexia is important for mitigating the negative effects of dyslexia, including reduced educational attainment and increased socioemotional difficulties. The strongest pre-literacy predictors of dyslexia are rapid automatized naming (RAN), phonological awareness (PA), letter knowledge, and verbal short-term memory. The relationship among these constructs has been debated, and several theories have emerged to explain the unique role of each in reading ability/disability. Furthermore, the stability of identification of risk based on these measures varies widely across studies, due in part to the different cutoffs employed to designate risk. We applied a latent profile analysis technique with a diverse sample of 1215 kindergarten and pre-kindergarten students from 20 schools, to investigate whether PA, RAN, letter knowledge, and verbal short-term memory measures differentiated between homogenous profiles of performance on these measures. Six profiles of performance emerged from the data: average performers, below average performers, high performers, PA risk, RAN risk, and double-deficit risk (both PA and RAN). A latent class regression model was employed to investigate the longitudinal stability of these groups in a representative subset of children (n = 95) nearly two years later, at the end of 1st grade. Profile membership in the spring semester of pre-kindergarten or fall semester of kindergarten was significantly predictive of later reading performance, with the specific patterns of performance on the different constructs remaining stable across the years. There was a higher frequency of PA and RAN deficits in children from lower socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds. There was no evidence for the IQ-achievement discrepancy criterion traditionally used to diagnose dyslexia. Our results support the feasibility of early identification of dyslexia risk and point to the heterogeneity of risk profiles. These findings carry important implications for improving outcomes for children with dyslexia, based on more targeted interventions. Research highlights • A latent profile analysis revealed heterogeneous profiles of performance on measures of early literacy in 1215 kindergarten/pre-kindergarten students.
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