Press
Releases and Congressional Testimony
Press
Releases
New Panel to Assess Readiness of Reading
Research for Use In Nation's Classrooms
Source: National Institute of Child
Health and Human Development
For Immediate Release March 27,
1998
A new panel unveiled today will study
the effectiveness of various approaches to teaching
children how to read and to report on the best ways
to apply these findings in classrooms and at home.
The National Reading Panel--requested
by Congress and created by the Director of the National
Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
in consultation with the Secretary of Education (ED)--includes
prominent reading researchers, teachers, child development
experts, leaders in elementary and higher education,
and parents.
The panel will build on the recently
announced findings presented by the National Research
Council's Committee on the Prevention of Reading Difficulties
in Young Children.
Based on its review of the literature,
the Panel will:
- Determine
the readiness for application in the classroom of
the results of these research studies;
- Identify appropriate
means to rapidly disseminate this information to facilitate
effective reading instruction in the schools; and
- Identify gaps
in the knowledge base for reading instruction and
the best ways to close these gaps.
"Each panel member brings substantial
experience and significant contributions in their respective
fields to this task," said Dr. Duane Alexander,
Director of the NICHD.
The 15 members of the panel were selected
from among nearly 300 persons who were nominated by
individuals and organizations interested in addressing
research-based mechanisms to teach children to read.
In order to obtain as broad a representation of nominees
as possible, requests for nominations were sent to ED
and NICHD scientists involved in reading research and
to major reading and other scientific organizations
and associations. The request for nominations also was
sent to subscribers of the major electronic mailing
lists that serve the reading community. From the responses
of all these sources, the list of nominees was prepared
and eventually panel members selected.
In accord with the legislative language
requesting the panel, none of the panelists or the panel
chair may be an officer or employee of the Federal Government.
The panel's inaugural meeting will
take place at 9 AM on April 24 in Conference Room 10
of Building 31 on the NIH campus in Bethesda, MD. In
the coming months, the full panel will meet several
times in the Washington, DC area.
"The panel is soliciting written
input from all interested parties," said National
Reading Panel Chair, Dr. Donald N. Langenberg, Chancellor
of the University System of Maryland. "In addition,
the plans for the panel include convening several regional
meetings. These meetings will afford local administrators,
researchers, teachers, parents, and others around the
country, the opportunity to attend a subcommittee meeting
and to present their own views in person, without having
to travel to the Washington area."
"An important feature of this
report will be that everyone has had a chance to contribute,"
said Dr. Alexander. "Convened meetings of the panel
will be open to the public and announced in advance
in the Federal Register."
According to the legislative language,
the panel's final report will be presented to the Secretary
of Health and Human Services, the Secretary of Education,
and to appropriate congressional committees.
"The (reading panel's) report
should present the panel's conclusions and an indication
of the readiness for rapid application in the classroom
of the results of this research," the original
legislative language said.
A listing of the members of the National
Reading Panel follows:
Dr. Donald Langenberg; Adelphi, Maryland
(Chair). Eminent physicist and Chancellor of the 13-member
University System of Maryland since 1990. Has served
as the Chancellor of the University of Illinois at Chicago,
Deputy Director (and Acting Director) of the National
Science Foundation, Professor of Physics at the University
of Pennsylvania, and President of the American Association
for the Advancement of Science and the American Physical
Society. Highly respected nationally and internationally
for his leadership capabilities, his ability to forge
consensus on difficult issues, and his dedication to
education at all levels.
Dr. Gloria Correro; Mississippi State,
Mississippi. Professor of Curriculum and Instruction
and Associate Dean for Instruction, Mississippi State
University. Highly respected educator and teacher educator
in Mississippi and the southeast and south central regions
of the country. Credited with establishing kindergarten
and early childhood programs in Mississippi, as well
as the Mississippi Reading Assistant program. Member,
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, Association
for Supervision and Curriculum Development, American
Association of Colleges of Teacher Education, Association
of Teacher Educators, National Association for the Education
of Young Children, Association for Childhood Education
International, Phi Delta Kappa, and Phi Kappa Phi.
Dr. Linnea Ehri; New York, New York.
Distinguished Professor, Ph.D. Program in Educational
Psychology, Graduate School and University Center of
the City University of New York. Nationally and internationally
recognized scientist for her research on early reading
development and instruction. Known among cognitive psychologists
for her ability to identify aspects of pedagogy that
are popular among teachers and to empirically examine
the underlying assumptions of the pedagogy. Past President,
Society for the Scientific Study of Reading; past Vice
President, American Educational Research Association
(Division C-Learning and Instruction); past member Board
of Directors of the National Reading Conference; recipient
of the Oscar S. Causey Award for Distinguished Research
(National Reading Conference). Member, International
Reading Association, Reading Hall of Fame, National
Reading Conference, American Educational Research Association,
American Psychological Association (Fellow), and Society
for the Scientific Study of Reading.
Mrs. Gwenette Ferguson; Houston, Texas.
Reading Teacher, North Forest Independent School District
(Houston). Chair, English Language Arts Department;
Kirby Middle School Teacher of the Year (1991). Received
the Kirby Middle School Award for Outstanding Dedication
and Service (1988, 1989,1990); Houston Area Alliance
of Black School Educators Outstanding Educator Award,
and North Forest Independent School District Achieving
Through Excellence Award. Member, National Council of
Teachers of English, Texas Council of Teachers of English.
Vice President Elect of Affiliates, North Forest District
Reading Council, Greater Houston Area Reading Council,
and Texas Classroom Teachers Association.
Ms. Norma Garza; Brownsville, Texas.
Certified Public Accountant for Law Firm of Rodriguez,
Colvin & Chaney, LLP. Parent of three sons, (ages
11, 14, 16). Founder and chair of the Brownsville Reads
Task Force. Serves on the Governor's Focus on Reading
Task Force, Governor's Special Education Advisory Committee,
Texas panel member of Academics Goals 2000. Received
the Texas State Board of Education "Heroes for
Children" Award. Member, International Dyslexia
Association. Strong advocate for business community
involvement in education.
Dr. Robert Glaser; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Distinguished University Professor, Departments of Psychology
and Education; Founding Director, Learning, Research
and Development Center, University of Pittsburgh. Internationally
recognized scholar in the psychology of learning, cognition,
and instruction. Served as President of American Educational
Research Association, President, National Academy of
Education, and President, American Psychological Association
(APA) Division of Educational Psychology and Evaluation
and Measurement. Received the APA Distinguished Scientific
Award for the Applications of Psychology; the APA Distinguished
Lifetime Contribution to Evaluation, Measurement, and
Statistics Award; the APA E. L. Thorndike Award; and
the American Psychological Society James McKeen Cattell
Award.
Dr. Michael Kamil; Stanford, California.
Professor of Language, Literacy, and Culture and Director
Learning, Design, and Technology Program, School of
Education, Stanford University. Serves as Chair, Stanford
University Commission on Technology in Teaching and
Learning Grants Committee, Chair, Technology Committee
of the National Reading Conference (NRC). Former member
of the Board of Directors of the National Reading Conference
and the National Conference for Research in English.
Formerly, editor of the Journal of Reading Behavior
(1988-89); Editor NRC Yearbook (1980-82) and Co-editor
of Reading Research Quarterly (1991-1995). Co-authored
Understanding Research in Reading and Writing and co-edited
Volumes I and II of The Handbook of Reading Research.
Received Albert J. Kingston Award from the National
Reading Conference and the Milton Jacobson Readability
Research Award from the International Reading Association.
Currently, member of the American Psychological Association,
American Educational Research Association, International
Reading Association, National Conference for Research
in English (Fellow), and the National Reading Conference.
Dr. Cora Bagley Marrett; Amherst, Massachusetts.
Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Provost, University
of Massachusetts-Amherst. As Assistant Director, National
Science Foundation (1992-1996), was first person to
lead the Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic
Sciences. Also served as Director of the United Negro
College Fund/Mellon Programs; Associate Chairperson
for Department of Sociology, University of Wisconsin;
and member, Board of Directors, Center for Advanced
Study in the Behavioral Sciences. Served in 1979 on
the President's Commission on the Accident at Three
Mile Island. Member, Board of Governors, Argonne National
Laboratory; Board of Directors, Social Science Research
Council; Commission on the Behavioral and Social Sciences
and Education, National Research Council; Peer Review
Oversight Group for the National Institutes of Health;
National Advisory Council for the Fogarty International
Center, also of the National Institutes of Health. Fellow,
American Association for the Advancement of Science,
and Vice President, American Sociological Association.
Dr. S. J. Samuels; Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Professor, Department of Educational Psychology, University
of Minnesota. Recipient of the College of Education
Distinguished Teaching Award. Internationally respected
reading researcher. Highly experienced consultant to
inner-city schools. Selected for the Reading Hall of
Fame. Received the Wm. S. Gray Citation of Merit from
the International Reading Association and the Oscar
O. Causey Award from the National Reading Conference
for Distinguished Research in Reading. Member of the
Governing Council, Center for Research in Perception,
Learning and Cognition at the University of Minnesota;
American Educational Research Association; American
Psychological Association (Fellow); International Reading
Association; and National Reading Conference.
Dr. Timothy Shanahan; Chicago, Illinois.
Professor of Urban Education, Director of the Center
for Literacy, and Coordinator of Graduate Programs in
Reading, Writing, and Literacy at the University of
Illinois at Chicago. Internationally recognized reading
researcher with extensive experience with children in
Head Start, children with special needs, and children
in inner-city schools. Editor of the Yearbook of the
National Reading Conference and formerly Associate Editor
of the Journal of Reading Behavior. Received the Albert
J. Harris Award for Outstanding Research on Reading
Disability and the Milton D. Jacobson Readability Research
Award from the International Reading Association. Member,
American Educational Research Association, International
Reading Association, National Council on Research in
Language and Literacy, National Council of Teachers
of English, National Reading Conference, and Society
for the Study of Reading.
Dr. Sally Shaywitz; New Haven, Connecticut.
Professor of Pediatrics and Co-Director, Yale Center
for the Study of Learning and Attention, Yale University
School of Medicine. Neuroscientist nationally and internationally
recognized for research contributions in reading development
and reading disorders, including recent demonstration
of neurobiological substrate of reading and reading
disability. Unique for contribution to development of
conceptual model of reading and reading disability and
for identifying high prevalence of reading disability
in girls. Received Distinguished Alumnus Award, Albert
Einstein College of Medicine. Most recently served on
National Academy of Sciences Panel on Preventing Reading
Difficulties in Children. Diplomate, American Board
of Pediatrics; member, American Academy of Pediatrics,
American Association for the Advancement of Science,
American Educational Research Association, Council for
Exceptional Children, International Dyslexia Association,
Society for Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics,
Society for Pediatric Research, Society for Research
and Child Development, and Society for the Scientific
Study of Reading.
Dr. Thomas Trabasso; Chicago, Illinois.
Irving B. Harris Professor, Department of Psychology,
The University of Chicago. Cognitive scientist internationally
recognized for investigations of comprehension during
reading. Has most recently developed a connectionist
model that simulates dynamic processing over the course
of reading. Has served as Chair of Department of Psychology,
Editor of Cognitive Psychology, and Associate Editor
of the Journal of Experimental Child Psychology. Member,
Psychonomic Society, Society for Research and Child
Development, American Educational Research Association,
International Reading Association, National Reading
Conference, American Psychological Society, Society
for Discourse and Text Processing (Founding Member and
Chair), and Society for the Scientific Study of Reading.
Dr. Joanna Williams; New York, New
York. Professor of Psychology and Education, Columbia
University. Internationally recognized scholar for research
on linguistic, cognitive, and perceptual bases of reading
development and disorders. Fulbright Scholar, University
of Paris; Oscar S. Causey Award for Outstanding Contributions
to Reading Research from the National Reading Council;
elected to Reading Hall of Fame (1994); and recognized
as a Guy Bond Scholar by the University of Minnesota
(1997). Currently serves as Editor of Scientific Studies
in Reading and has served as the Editor of the Journal
of Educational Psychology. Member, American Educational
Research Association, American Psychological Association
(Fellow), Council for Exceptional Children, International
Reading Association, National Conference on Research
in English, National Reading Conference, New York Academy
of Sciences, and Society for the Scientific Study of
Reading.
Dr. Dale Willows; Toronto, Ontario,
Canada. Professor, Department of Human Development and
Applied Psychology, Ontario Institute for Studies in
Education, University of Toronto. Internationally recognized
scholar in reading development and reading difficulties.
Has served on the editorial boards of the Journal of
Research on Reading and Reading Research Quarterly.
Member, American Educational Research Association, International
Dyslexia Association, International Reading Association,
and National Reading Conference.
Dr. Joanne Yatvin; Portland, Oregon.
Principal, Cottrell and Bull Run Schools, Boring, Oregon.
Forty-one years' experience as a classroom teacher and
school administrator. Served as Chair of the Committee
on Centers of Excellence for English and the Language
Arts, National Council of Teachers of English. President
of the Wisconsin Council of Teachers of English and
the Madison (Wisconsin) Area Reading Council, and a
member of the National Advisory Board, Educational Resources
Information Center on Reading and Communication Skills
ERIC/RCS. Named Elementary Principal of the Year by
the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction and the
Wisconsin State Reading Association. Received the Distinguished
Elementary Education Alumni Award from the University
of Wisconsin School of Education. Member, National Council
of Teachers of English, International Reading Association,
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development,
and Oregon Reading Association.
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