Reading&Technology	Lesson 1: Readings 1	-

Teaching Children to Read: An evidence-based assessment of the scientific research literature on reading and its implications for reading instruction. Report of the subgroups (Executive Summary)

National Reading Panel (2000)

Washington, DC: U. S. Department of Health and Human Services
Available:
http://www.nichd.nih.gov/publications/nrp/smallbook.htm

Abstracted by Anne Daugherty

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In 1997, the Director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, constituted a National Reading Panel of14 people: scientists in reading research, representatives of colleges of education, reading teachers, educational administrators, and parents. Previously, the National Research Council (NRC) Committee on Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children (Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1998), had identified and summarized research literature relevant to the critical skills, environments, and early developmental interactions that are instrumental in the acquisition of beginning reading skills.

The National Reading Panel completed comprehensive, formal, evidence-based analyses of the experimental and quasi-experimental research literature relevant to a set of selected topics judged to be of central importance in teaching children to read. Databases revealed that approximately 100,000 research studies on reading have been published since 1966, with perhaps another 15,000 prior to that date. Since it was not possible to examine all the research, a screening process was employed, honing the research into three major topic areas central to learning to read-Alphabetics, Fluency, and Comprehension.

Regional public hearings were held in Chicago, IL, Portland, OR, Houston, New York, NY, and Jackson, MS, with teachers, parents, students, and policymakers about their needs and their understanding of the research. Following the regional hearings, the following topics were selected for intensive study: Alphabetics, Phonemic Awareness Instruction, Phonics Instruction, Fluency, Comprehension, Vocabulary Instruction, Text Comprehension Instruction, Teacher Preparation and Comprehension Strategies Instruction , Teacher Education and Reading Instruction, Computer Technology and Reading Instruction.

The Panel developed and adopted a set of rigorous research methodological standards by which to guide the screening of the research literature relevant to each topic area. In general, reported successes in the use of computer technology for reading instruction were encouraging, but relatively few specific instructional applications could be gleaned from the research. The studies report positive results, suggesting that it is possible to use computer technology for reading instruction.

In particular, the use of hypertext may have an instructional advantage. Also, the use of computers as word processors may be very useful, given that reading instruction is most effective when combined with writing instruction.

The panel suggests that research is needed on the incorporation of Internet applications to reading instruction and on the value of speech recognition as a technology and the use of multimedia presentations in reading instruction.