WELCOME
The University of Minnesota Center for Reading Research conducts applied research on reading and research on teaching approaches that facilitate reading instruction.
The focus is on conducting research that supports teachers, particularly those who teach students of poverty and students from diverse backgrounds. The Center addresses problems and issues in reading that require creative and powerful research efforts. Learn more about our mission.
Recent News & Annoucements
Star Tribune: Apps take e-books beyond mere reading
Star Tribune, January 3, 2011:
Lori Helman, associate professor of literacy education at the University of Minnesota and co-director of the Minnesota Center for Reading Research, said human relations are crucial to child development.
"We need a lot of opportunities for face-to-face interaction so children can learn what it means to be human," she said. "A developing person, whether they're 2 or 7, needs to be able to ask questions and check out their understanding. And no app can be responsive to all the questions and thoughts and wonderings that a young person needs. You need people." That said, Helman added, apps and e-books can give kids more access to books and put libraries at their fingertips. "If we're using these things as little babysitters, I think kids will get tired of them," she said. "But if we use them to enhance our interaction, imagine the great conversation that could spark."
Reading Today: Professional Development for Literacy Leaders of All Kinds
Reading Today features an article by Julianne Scullen, 2010-11 Minnesota Reading Association President, that highlights the Leadership in Reading Network (LiRN) initiative: "The Minnesota Reading Association (MRA) has partnered with the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) and the Minnesota Center for Reading Research (MCRR) to provide professional development for the state’s literacy leaders in an initiative called Leadership in Reading Network (LiRN)."
Learn more about this partnership in the Reading Today article [PDF] from the October/November 2011 issue.
PRESS in the News: Corporate help spurs education in Minnesota
KARE-11: "Every student in Ann Matthes' kindergarten class at Anne Sullivan Communication Center has a book in hand…The Minnesota Reading Corps and the University of Minnesota Center for Reading Research are partners in the program, providing the expertise in the classroom, the framework for the program, as well as tools to evaluate how well the program is working."
Watch the full story on KARE-11.
Interview on Early Literacy with Dr. Lori Helman
Visit Mom Enough to listen to an interview with Dr. Lori Helman, MCRR Co-Director, discussing early literacy instruction and what parents can do to encourage and support their child's reading at home.
Connection with Minneapolis schools shows literacy outreach success
From CEHD News, September 21, 2011:
Professors Deborah Dillon and David O'Brien (Department of Curriculum and Instruction), received excellent news from the Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) recently about the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments (MCA) test results. Students who have been participating in a new reading program guided by the two professors showed marked improvement in their scores.
Dillon and O'Brien have been working with literacy leaders, teachers, and literacy coaches in MPS at the grade 6-8 level for the past several years, helping to implement a formal reading program targeted at middle school students who were not performing up to grade level in reading. Their efforts in professional development and meetings with district personnel were coupled with the MPS superintendent and alumna Bernadeia Johnson's (Ph.D., '11) commitment to hiring and educating a cadre of teachers who had specialization in reading. Specifically, the district helped support a collaboration with the CEHD Reading Licensure program. Literacy faculty taught the 15-credit series of licensure courses off site at the Urban Research and Outreach-Engagement Center to support the MPS teachers who work with middle school youth in the reading classes (and the literacy leaders who coach these educators).
Sixth graders who participated in the new reading program two years ago grew in their achievement significantly. The excellent growth in their reading scores on this particular MCA test is particularly impressive considering that the state test recently changed and became more challenging. Additionally, students from the Native American, African American, and Asian student groups all increased in performance levels.
Building Better Readers with the U: MCRR at the Minnesota State Fair
MCRR hosted a booth at the 2011 Minnesota State Fair on Saturday, September 3rd.
MCRR Co-Directors Lori Helman and Matt Burns were joined by Yolanda Majors (Visiting Associate Professor) for an evening at the Minnesota State Fair to visit with families, answer questions, and offer tips on how to support children in reading and writing.
Visitors to the Univerisity of Minnesota building were greeted with an opportunity to share their reading questions, talk with our faculty experts, and learn more about what we do at the Minnesota Center for Reading Research.
Dr. Yolanda Majors joins CEHD and Reading Center
The Minnesota Center for Reading Research (MCRR) in the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Minnesota is pleased to announce the addition of Yolanda Majors, Ph.D., as a new faculty leader with a 50% appointment at the MCRR beginning in the fall of 2011. Dr. Majors will lead an effort at the Reading Center to enhance our work with K-12 schools to support teachers, particularly those who teach students of poverty, as they learn to effectively teach youth from diverse backgrounds to become competent readers and writers. Dr. Majors will guide the Reading Center to better understand effective approaches to engage students who struggle with literacy at the middle and high school levels, and to translate this research into practice. She will help the MCRR to create bidirectional relationships between practicing educators in middle and high schools and university researchers and provide a voice to the MCRR concerning the strengths and challenges for African American youth, underserved youth in urban school settings, and struggling students at the middle and high school levels as they work to meet state and national literacy standards.
In addition to her appointment at the MCRR, Dr. Majors will provide leadership throughout the CEHD to support under-represented pre-tenured faculty members with structured mentoring opportunities. She will also teach a course each year in the English Education program area of the Department of Curriculum & Instruction, where she will be appointed Visiting Associate Professor for 2011-2012.
Yolanda J. Majors is an Associate Professor of Curriculum and Instruction in the College of Education, University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), where she focuses her research on adult/adolescent literacy, instructional design, and academic and social problem solving expertise within specific ethnic speech communities and their implications for learning and teaching processes. She has been with the University of Illinois, Chicago (UIC) since 2003. Prior to UIC, she was Assistant Professor of Language Education at the University of Georgia (2001–2003). Dr. Majors has been the recipient of a Spencer Foundation Dissertation Award and a National Academy of Education/Spencer Postdoctoral Fellowship. She was also the 2002 recipient of the Promising Researcher Award from the National Council of Teachers of English. Dr. Majors' bio.
Please join us in welcoming Dr. Majors to the College and Reading Center!
Dr. Lori Helman and Dr. Matt Burns, Co-directors, Minnesota Center for Reading Research
Read more Recent News.
Presentations & Features
Handouts from the 2011 MCRR Summer Literacy Workshop
- Keynote - Leading Literacy Improvement: Shared and Nuanced Practice
Jennifer York-Barr - PPT Handout [PDF] - Using Assessment Data to Target Tier 2 and Tier 3 Reading Interventions
Matthew Burns - PPT Handout [PDF] - Best Practices for Literacy Instruction in Multilingual Classroom Settings
Lori Helman - Bibliography, Multilingual Handout [PDF] - Make New PALS (But Keep the Core): Customizing an Evidence-Based Practice to Improve Student Reading Outcomes
Kristen McMaster - PPT Handout, Table Handout [PDF] - Using Informational Text in the Primary Grades
Debra Peterson - PPT Handout [PDF]
FAQ on Cognitive Engagement Model
A new resource has been added to the Frequently-Asked-Questions on Scientifically-based Reading Research. Visit the FAQ on SBBR section to learn more about the Cognitive Engagement Model and other topics related to reading research. What is Teaching for Cognitive Engagement? [PDF]
Webinar: Differentiated Independent Activities
Visit the resources section of our website to view the webinar "Supporting Teachers as They Develop Differentiated Independent Activities" presented by Debra Peterson, Education Specialist at MCRR.
Awards & Honors
CEHD Research Award
Matthew Burns, MCRR Co-Director, was awarded the College of Education & Human Development Excellence in Research Award at the CEHD Spring Assembly, April 26, 2011.
Literacy professors recognized for influential research [CEHD News]
Reading researchers Deborah Dillon and David O'Brien
(Professors of Literacy Education, Curriculum & Instruction;
MCRR Affiliated Faculty) were noted for their "highly influential research in the field of literacy" by David Reinking (Eugene T. Moore Professor of Teacher Education, Clemson University) in his recent presidential address to members of the Literacy Research Association (LRA). Reinking stated in his address that an article by Dillon, O'Brien, and Elizabeth Heilman (Michigan State University) in the millennial issue of RRQ (Reading Research Quarterly) "should be required reading for all literacy researchers or those who wish to become one."
Reinking's address, along with the article, was included on a flash drive provided to the members of the association. Also included was a copy of Dillon's paper, delivered when she served as president of the organization (published in 2003). View Reinking's presidential address.
School Psychology Review
Matthew Burns, Co-Director, will serve as an Editor for the School Psychology Review starting January 2011.
2009 Oscar S. Causey Award
Barbara Taylor, MCRR Director 2004-10, was awarded the 2009 Oscar S. Causey Award for outstanding contributions to reading research at the National Reading Conference Annual Meeting in Albuquerque, New Mexico (December 2-5, 2009). Dr. Oscar S. Causey was the founder of the National Reading Conference and served many years as Chair of the Executive Committee. The Award is presented annually to recognize outstanding contributions to literacy research and was first presented in 1967.
Frequently-Asked-Questions Related to Reading
The University of Minnesota faculty and staff affiliated with the Minnesota Center for Reading Research will now take your questions!
Check our FAQ section to discover answers and further resources related to Scientifically-based Reading Research, such as:
- What is Teaching for Cognitive Engagement? [PDF]
- What is Formative Evaluation? [PDF]
- How do you motivate students to read? [PDF]
- Read more FAQs...
If you have a question related to Scientifically-based Reading Research you would like the MCRR faculty to answer, please submit it to mcrr@umn.edu.
We cannot guarantee that every question submitted to us will be answered or posted on this website, but we will do our best to respond to all queries.
Improving Literacy Instruction
The Minnesota Center for Reading Research worked with over 70 Minnesota Elementary Schools, from 2003 to 2010, to improve their literacy instruction through both the Reading First Professional Development Program and the Minnesota Statewide Reading Academy: School Change in Reading Program. Schools participating in these programs have seen above average growth in student reading scores and many positive changes in school climate, staff collaboration, more effective reading instruction and effective use of school-wide data. After participating in the Reading First program for 2-3 years, schools typically experience the following (as shared by one of our Reading First schools):
We have experienced many successes while involved with Reading First. Some of our highlights are:
- Students are engaged in their learning, actively discussing and writing about what they are reading.
- Students are more strategic readers. They flexibly use reading strategies of prediction, question, summarize and clarify. Students have a heightened sense of metacognition, as they understand more about why and when strategies should be used.
- Last year our third graders received more above average and superior scores on their MCA tests than they had in three prior years.
- Teachers are having collegial discussions about reading. These discussions and conversations about reading are helping teachers think about their teaching and are encouraging teachers to implement scientific research based instructional strategies.
- We have embraced using data to monitor student progress. We are working to share data school wide and across grade levels.
We will be offering a series of workshops to help other interested schools gain access to the same model of success that has been proven to work so well. For more information, please see Bridging Research to Practice.