Lindsay Donahoo

Questionnaire for National Reading Panel Document

Define the Congressional Charge?
The Congressional Charge is a national panel created in 1997, to evaluate the status of
knowledge that is research-based. This includes the assessment of how effective approaches of
various teaching methods to help children with reading.
What role did the National Research Council (NRC) provide? What about the research?
The National Research Council was a committee on Preventing Reading Difficulties In Young
Children. This document is based on the judgments of a diverse group who are experts in
research, reading and reading instruction. They summarized and identified research literature that
was relevant to the environments, critical skills and early developmental interactions. Also they
address what materials, approaches and instructional method are most beneficial for students of
all types abilities. The Council discussed in what ways critical reading skills are most effectively
taught as a whole.
The panel used the research literature to decide what was relevant to selected topics and chosen
to be the most important in teaching children to read. Since 1966 using public databases 100,000
research studies on reading have been published, with another 15,000, which appeared before
that date. Therefore a screening process was essential. The subgroups for this Panel for learning
to read are Alphabetics, Fluency, and Comprehension.

Where did the public hearings take place and why? Were they productive?
These
regional public hearings took place in Chicago, IL (May 29), Portland, OR (June 5), Houston,
TX (June 8), New York, NY (June 23), and Jackson, MS (July 9), all in the year 1998. It was
important that these public regional hearings were held at these locations because it was key for
the Panel to hear from the people who this affects, knowing their needs and understanding of the
research. Yes, they were productive because they made issues that were important for the public
clear for the members to understand. They received testimony that about 125 individuals or
organizations which represented citizens, used determinations and findings that had come from
the Panel.

Identify key themes expressed at the hearings.

importance of

The

The role of parents and other concerned individuals, especially in providing children with early
language and literacy experiences.

 The importance of early intervention and identification for all children at risk for reading
failure.
Phonemic awareness, phonics, and good literature in reading instruction and the need to
develop a clear understanding of how best to integrate different reading approaches
The need for clear, objective, and scientifically based information on how effective the different
types of reading instruction and the need to have such research inform policy and practice
Applying the highest standards of scientific evidence to the research review process
The role of teachers, their professional development, and their interactions and collaborations
with researchers
Widely disseminating the information that is developed by the Panel.
After the hearings, what topics did the panel decide for intensive study? Describe the
questions used to identify effective instructional reading approaches?
The Panel decided on these topics:
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 broad questions that are used to identify effective instructional reading
approaches are:
-Does instruction in phonemic awareness improve the reading? If so, how is it best
provided?
-Does phonics instruction improve reading achievement? If so, how is it best provided?

-Does guided oral reading instruction improve fluency and reading comprehension? If so,
how is it best provided?
-Does vocabulary instruction improve reading achievement? If so, how is it best
provided?
-Does comprehension strategy instruction improve reading? If so, how is it best
provided?
-Do programs that increase the amount of childrens independence when reading actually
improve reading motivation and achievement? If so, how is it best provided?
-Does the education of teachers education how effective teachers are at teaching children
to read? If so, how is it best provided?
Describe the methodological overview.
The research methodological standards that the Panel adopted and developed might quite
possibly be its most important action. The screening of the research literature that is relevant to
each topic is guided by these standards. The Panels standards for use in the topic analyses is
only met by a small number of the total reading research literature.
Scientifically Based Research is:
The emphasis on scientifically based research supports the consistent use of instructional
methods that have been proven effective. This research must;

Employ systematic, empirical methods that draw on observation or experiment

Involve rigorous data analyses that are adequate to test the stated hypotheses and justify
the general conclusions
Rely on measurements or observational methods that provide valid data across evaluators
and observers, and across multiple measurements and observations; and
Be accepted by peer-reviewed journal or approved by a panel of independent experts
through a comparatively rigorous, objective, and scientific review

Tell what you know about instruction, findings and determinations of the following:
Alphabetics
The results of the meta-analysis were impressive. Mainly, the Panel was led to conclude that the
most improvement was shown when students are trained/taught to manipulate phonemes in their
phonemic awareness, reading, and spelling following training. To provide casual claims, findings
were then repeatedly replicated with multiple experiments, which give evidence that converges
and gives casual claims. All children improved in their reading skills and phonemic awareness,
including ones with varying disabilities, as a function of their phonemic training.

Fluency
According to research, the Panel came to the conclusion that the oral repetition that is guided
through reading procedures was the most successful for all age groups on fluency. Of course,
students can only learn and grow if their peers, teachers and parents guide them. This research
concluded positive results for both regular and special needs classrooms. Although, not all
needed information is provided, there were gaps in the research.
Comprehension
Evidence suggests that reading comprehension methods are the most effective. But there is still
insufficient information on strategies to better help teachers teaches comprehension strategies.
Information such as what strategies are most appropriate and effective for which age groups. But
it is important to know what teacher tendencies are the best strategies for their students as
individuals learning comprehension.
Vocabulary
Instruction in vocabulary is shown to gain comprehension, but they have found that the
methods that are being used have to be appropriate for tailored for the readers age and ability.
Surprisingly, in several studies, the use of technology and computers in vocabulary was found
more effective than traditional methods. While we know vocabulary should be taught directly
and indirectly, there is little research on the best methods for teaching this subject.
Next Steps: Can you add to the pool of existing research? Yes, professions can add research. Do
you understand the purpose and charge for establishing this committee? Yes, it shows strategies
that are best used for reading according to research. What are your questions and concerns? I
dont feel as if this information would be completely accurate for every schools population.
Reflection: How will this knowledge impact your reading instruction in the classroom?
-It could be used as a tool when choosing reading strategies and lessons.