Handbook of Research on Reading Comprehension
Second Edition
HardcoverPaperbacke-bookprint + e-book
This esteemed reference work and professional resource, now substantially revised, integrates classic and cutting-edge research on how children and adolescents make meaning from text. The comprehension tasks and challenges facing students at different grade levels are explored, with attention to multiple text types and reading purposes. Preeminent researchers offer a range of perspectives—cognitive, neuroscientific, sociocultural, pedagogical, and technological—on key aspects of comprehension. Effective approaches to assessment, instruction, and intervention are reviewed. The volume also addresses issues in teaching specific populations, including struggling readers and English language learners.
New to This Edition
- A decade's worth of significant research advances are reflected in 10 entirely new chapters.
- Revised throughout to incorporate new studies and timely topics: the expanding role of technology, changing school populations, the Common Core standards, international research, and more.
- Chapters on graphic, scientific, and multiple digital texts.
- Chapters on fluency, professional learning, and literacy coaching.
“This volume represents the definitive word on reading comprehension—and as we all know, reading with understanding is what reading is all about. The second edition takes the reader through the history of reading comprehension research right up to the present, with chapters that are highly readable and accessible. The book is exceptionally well organized and is an ideal text for graduate classes in literacy development. The authors of these chapters are the top scholars in the field.”
—Susan B. Neuman, EdD, Teaching and Learning Department, Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, New York University
“A masterpiece. This volume represents the new gold standard for research on reading comprehension. It surveys the historical, theoretical, methodological, empirical, cultural, and pedagogical dimensions of comprehension research. Researchers, educators, policymakers, and curriculum designers will find the second edition of this handbook indispensable.”
—Douglas K. Hartman, PhD, College of Education, Michigan State University
“Over recent years, there has been a revolution in our understanding of reading comprehension. The second edition of this handbook is the best and most up-to-date introduction to this revolution for researchers, teachers, and students alike. It is essential reading for anyone interested in literacy.”
—James Paul Gee, PhD, Mary Lou Fulton Presidential Professor of Literacy Studies and Regents’ Professor, Arizona State University
“We live in a time when an individual’s ability to process information and reason at a deep level is critical to quality of life and advancement as a society. Fortunately, the second edition of this handbook extends our knowledge about why we should study various aspects of reading comprehension and what approaches to instruction have merit. An extremely valuable and comprehensive resource.”
—Michael F. Hock, PhD, Senior Research Scientist and Director, Center for Research on Learning, University of Kansas
Table of Contents
I. Historical Analysis
1. Introduction: The Consequential Pulse of Reading Comprehension Research, Susan E. Israel and D. Ray Reutzel
2. The Roots of Reading Comprehension Instruction, P. David Pearson & Gina N. Cervetti
3. Comprehension Is Not Simple: Considering the Persisting Dangers in the Simple View of Reading Comprehension, James V. Hoffman
4. Professional Learning for Educators Focused on Reading Comprehension: A Historical Perspective, Barbara Laster & Carla Finkelstein
5. Research on Helping Readers Make Sense of Print: Evolution of Comprehension-Based Pedagogy, Kenneth S. Goodman, Yetta M. Goodman, & Kelly L. Allen
II. Theoretical Perspectives
6. An Evolving Perspective of Constructively Responsive Reading Comprehension Strategies in Multilayered Digital Text Environments, Byeong-Young Cho & Peter Afflerbach
7. Toward a Theory of Literacy Meaning Making within Virtual Worlds, Richard Beach and Robert J. Tierney
8. Meaning Making in the 21st Century: The Sociogenesis of Reading Comprehension, James Gavelek & Colleen E. Whittingham
9. Literacy, Comprehension, and the Neurosciences, George G. Hruby
III. Diagnosis, Assessment, and Intervention
10. Assessments of Reading Comprehension: Challenges and Directions, Lauren Leslie and JoAnne Schudt Caldwell
11. Using Assessments to Map and Evaluate the Comprehension Development of Young Children, Katherine A. Dougherty Stahl & Georgia Earnest García
12. Comprehension Difficulties and Struggling Readers, Richard L. Allington & Anne McGill-Franzen
13. Self-Regulation and Reading Comprehension: Moving Beyond the Individual's Cognition in Regulated Learning, Dixie D. Massey & Samuel D. Miller
14. Reconsidering Fluency's Role in Reading Comprehension, Melanie Kuhn & Paula J. Schwanenflugel
IV. Impact of Text and Higher-Order Processing
15. Text and Comprehension: A Retrospective, Perspective, and Prospective, Emily Fox & Patricia A. Alexander
16. Reading Comprehension in the Middle Grades: Characteristics, Challenges, and Effective Supports, Ruth Wharton-McDonald & Joy Erickson
17. Vocabulary and Reading Comprehension: The Nexus of Meaning, Gwynne Ellen Ash & James F. Baumann
18. Improving Adolescent Comprehension: Developing Strategies in the Content Areas, Mark W. Conley
19. Structure, Epistemology, and Metalanguage Foundations of Reading Comprehension in Scientific Texts, Linda M. Phillips & Anat Yarden
20. Graphic Text and Visual Literacies in Reading Comprehension, Stergios Botzakis, Jason D. DeHart, & Sean P. Connors
V. Diverse Components and Engagement
21. Reading Comprehension Research and the Shift Toward Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy, Colleen M. Fairbanks, Jewell E. Cooper, Sandra M. Webb, & Lynn A. Masterson
22. Comprehension in the Disciplines, Cynthia Shanahan
23. Constructing Meaning through Discussion, Keli Garas-York & Janice F. Almasi
24. The Role of Interest in Reading Comprehension, Sheree E. Springer, Janice A. Dole, & Douglas J. Hacker
25. Comprehension Strategies Instruction for Learners of English: Where We Have Been, Where We Are Now, Where We Still Might Go, Rachel Brown
26. Family Literacy Initiatives and Reading Comprehension, Patricia A. Edwards, Maria Selena Protacio, Marliese Peltier, & Laura Hopkins
VI. Future Directions
27. The Role of Literacy Coaching in Improving Comprehension Instruction, Misty Sailors, Sylvia Minton, & Lorena Villarreal
28. Public Policy in an Era of Changing Literacies: A Focus on Reading Comprehension, Lori Helman & Cory Stai
29. Sophistication of Reading Comprehension: Where to from Here?, Susan E. Israel
About the Editor
Susan E. Israel, PhD, is a literacy researcher, educator, and author who has focused on reading comprehension since her early days teaching in the classroom in the 1990s. She taught at the University of Notre Dame, in the Alliance for Catholic Education summer program, and at the University of Dayton, where she received the Panhellenic Council Outstanding Professor Award. Dr. Israel is a recipient of a Teacher as Researcher grant from the International Literacy Association (ILA) and has served on several ILA committees and interest groups, including as president of the History of Literacy Special Interest Group. Dr. Israel has written or edited more than 25 books on literacy and teacher education, including, most recently,
Verbal Protocols in Literacy Research.
Contributors
Peter Afflerbach, PhD, Department of Teaching and Learning, Policy and Leadership, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland
Patricia A. Alexander, PhD, Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland
Kelly L. Allen, PhD, Department of Teaching, Learning and Sociocultural Studies, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona
Richard L. Allington, PhD, Department of Theory and Practice in Teacher Education, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee
Janice F. Almasi, PhD, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky
Gwynne Ellen Ash, PhD, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas
James F. Baumann, PhD, Department of Learning, Teaching, and Curriculum, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri
Richard Beach, PhD, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Stergios Botzakis, PhD, Department of Theory and Practice in Teacher Education, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee
Rachel Brown, PhD, Reading and Language Arts Center, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York
JoAnne Schudt Caldwell, PhD, College of Education and Leadership, Cardinal Stritch University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Gina N. Cervetti, PhD, School of Education, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Byeong-Young Cho, PhD, Learning Research and Development Center and Department of Instruction and Learning, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Mark W. Conley, PhD, Department of Teacher Education, University of Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee
Sean P. Connors, PhD, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas
Jewell E. Cooper, PhD, School of Education, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, North Carolina
Jason D. DeHart, EdS, Department of Theory and Practice in Teacher Education, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee
Janice A. Dole, PhD, Department of Educational Psychology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah
Patricia A. Edwards, PhD, Department of Teacher Education, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan
Joy Erickson, MS, Department of Education, University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire
Colleen M. Fairbanks, PhD, Department of Teacher Education and Higher Education, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, North Carolina
Carla Finkelstein, PhD, Department of Instructional Leadership and Professional Development, Towson University, Towson, Maryland
Emily Fox, PhD, Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland
Keli Garas-York, PhD, Department of Elementary Education and Reading, Buffalo State, The State University of New York, Buffalo, New York
Georgia Earnest García, PhD, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, Champaign, Illinois
James R. Gavelek, PhD, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
Kenneth S. Goodman, EdD, Department of Language, Reading and Culture, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona
Yetta M. Goodman, EdD, Department of Language, Reading and Culture, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona
Douglas J. Hacker, PhD, Department of Educational Psychology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah
Lori Helman, PhD, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota
James V. Hoffman, PhD, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas
Laura Hopkins, MEd, Department of Curriculum, Instruction, and Teacher Education, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan
George G. Hruby, PhD, Collaborative Center for Literacy Development and College of Education, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky
Susan E. Israel, PhD, Global Reading Alliance for Catholic Education, Fishers, Indiana
Melanie Kuhn, PhD, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana
Barbara Laster, EdD, Department of Elementary Education, Towson University, Towson, Maryland
Lauren Leslie, PhD, College of Education, Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Dixie D. Massey, PhD, College of Education, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
Lynn A. Masterson, PhD, College of Education, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas
Anne McGill-Franzen, PhD, Department of Theory and Practice in Teacher Education, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee
Samuel D. Miller, PhD, School of Education, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, North Carolina
Sylvia Minton, PhD, Department of Interdisciplinary Teaching and Learning, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas
P. David Pearson, PhD, Graduate School of Education, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California
Marliese Peltier, MA, Department of Curriculum, Instruction, and Teacher Education, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan
Linda M. Phillips, PhD, Canadian Centre for Research on Literacy, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Maria Selena Protacio, PhD, Department of Special Education and Literacy Studies, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan
D. Ray Reutzel, PhD, College of Education, University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming
Misty Sailors, PhD, College of Education and Human Development, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas
Paula J. Schwanenflugel, PhD, Department of Educational Psychology and Instructional Technology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia
Cynthia Shanahan, PhD, College of Education (Emerita), University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
Sheree E. Springer, MEd, Department of Educational Psychology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah
Katherine A. Dougherty Stahl, EdD, Department of Teaching and Learning, New York University, New York, New York
Cory Stai, MEd, Division of Academic Standards and Instructional Effectiveness, Minnesota Department of Education, Roseville, Minnesota
Robert J. Tierney, PhD, Department of Language and Literacy Education, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Lorena Villarreal, PhD, Department of Interdisciplinary Learning and Teaching, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas
Sandra M. Webb, PhD, Department of Professional Learning and Innovation, Georgia College, Milledgeville, Georgia
Ruth Wharton-McDonald, PhD, Department of Education, University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire
Colleen E. Whittingham, MEd, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
Anat Yarden, PhD, Department of Science Teaching, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
Audience
Teacher educators, literacy researchers, and graduate students in education; educational and school psychologists.
Course Use
May serve as a text in graduate-level courses such as Curriculum and Instruction, Foundations of Reading, and Literacy Pedagogy.
New to this edition:
- A decade's worth of significant research advances are reflected in 10 entirely new chapters.
- Revised throughout to incorporate new studies and timely topics: the expanding role of technology, changing school populations, the Common Core standards, international research, and more.
- Chapters on graphic, scientific, and multiple digital texts.
- Chapters on fluency, professional learning, and literacy coaching.