New study shows early reading in any language helps children learn to read English
September 24, 2019
A new study co-authored by the University of Delaware’s Steven Amendum has found that children who had strong early reading skills in their native Spanish language when they entered kindergarten experienced greater growth in their ability to read English from kindergarten through fourth grade. Importantly, when the researchers factored in …
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Learning To Be “Bookworms”
August 8, 2019
Not that long ago, some of Delaware’s lowest-performing schools could be found in the neighboring school districts of Seaford and Laurel, both of which serve rural, high-poverty communities in the southwestern corner of the state. In 2014, Seaford ranked last in English Language Arts (ELA) and Math, according to assessments by …
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Reading to Children
April 29, 2019
In the eyes of a child who is learning how to read, touchscreen tablets and “smart” technology are no substitute for a living, breathing adult. At least, that’s according to new research by University of Delaware doctoral student Daniela Avelar. The cognitive benefits a child experiences when reading with an …
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From Students to Scholars
March 27, 2019
As an assistant professor in the University of Delaware’s School of Education (SOE), Joshua Wilson frequently employs undergraduate assistants to provide support for grant-funded research projects. For some projects — as with a recent $400,000 research grant from the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) — Wilson may need to assemble …
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Faculty Awarded $3.3 million Dept. of Education Grant
February 15, 2019
Research grant will fund professional development to benefit English learners Steve Amendum and colleagues from Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill are seeking to develop a comprehensive teacher professional development (PD) program aimed at increasing collaboration between classroom and English-as-a-Second Language (ESL) teachers to benefit young Latinx English …
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Spencer grant to improve assessment of students’ writing skills
October 20, 2017
Josh Wilson’s Spencer Grant will allow him to expand his research to develop a new computerized formative assessment model that identifies student language skills at the word, sentence, and discourse level through automated evaluations of the essay’s word choice, syntax, and cohesion. He will examine results across multiple genres of student …
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Improving ELA instruction in DE classrooms
August 30, 2017
Literacy professors Josh Wilson and Charles MacArthur received an IES grant to study the effect PEG Writing software has on nearly 3,000 students from Red Clay School District in grades 3-5. The grant partners them with Gaysha Beard, supervisor of Red Clay’s English language arts (ELA).
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Bookworms improves literacy outcomes in Cecil County
April 7, 2017
Bookworms curriculum introduced into Cecil County Public Schools UD professor Sharon Walpole and her colleague, Michael McKenna* developed Bookworms in response to the increased reading and writing expectations in the Common Core State Standards. Bookworms is a free, online, open-source database of reading lesson plans and resources for elementary school teachers …
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Assessing effectiveness of PEG Writing software
March 7, 2017
Imagine an elementary classroom where students could write an essay on their computer and receive instant feedback on its organization, word choice and accuracy. They would then be able to correct errors, make revisions and resubmit their essays, allowing their teacher to focus on developing their critical thinking and higher-level writing skills. …
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QUILS language screener for young children
December 8, 2016
Researchers in education, psychology and speech pathology have collaborated to develop a computerized language screener to help early childhood educators and specialists identify areas where young children are experiencing difficulties mastering language. Too many children with language issues are not identified until they reach five years of age. Through funding from the …
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Writing instruction intervention for community colleges
August 10, 2016
UD researchers have created an instructional intervention that provides community college students the tools to significantly improve their writing skills.
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Bookworms curriculum improves reading skills
March 30, 2016
Sharon Walpole, University of Delaware, and Mike McKenna, University of Virginia, developed “Bookworms,” a free, open-access, elementary ELA curriculum to increase students’ reading comprehension and vocabulary. Schools in Delaware and Georgia have successfully implemented this program.
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