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2
Foundations of Reading and Writing
This chapter provides an overview of the components and processes
of reading and writing and the practices that develop these skills. This
knowledge is derived mainly from research with K-12 students because this
population is the main focus of most rigorous research on reading compo-
nents, difficulties in learning to read, and effective instructional practices.
The findings are particularly robust for elementary school students and less
developed for middle and high school students due to lack of attention in
research to reading and writing development during these years. We also
review a small body of research on cognitive aging that compares the read-
ing and writing skills of younger and older adults. From all the collected
findings, we distill principles to guide literacy instruction for adolescents
and adults who are outside the K-12 education system but need to further
develop their literacy.
Caution must be used in generalizing research conducted in K-12 set-
tings to other populations, such as adult literacy students. Precisely what
needs to be taught and how will vary depending on an individual’s existing
literacy skills; learning goals that require proficiency with particular types
of reading and writing; and characteristics of learners that include differ-
ences in motivation, neurobiological processes, and cultural, linguistic, and
educational backgrounds. Translational research will be needed to apply
and adapt the findings to diverse populations of adolescents and adults, as
discussed in later chapters.
This chapter is organized into five major parts. Part 1 provides an
orienting discussion of the social, cultural, and neurocognitive mechanisms
involved in literacy development. Part 2 describes the components and
24
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25
FOUNDATIONS OF READING AND WRITING
processes of reading and writing, and research on reading and writing
instruction for all students (both typical and atypical learners). We sum-
marize principles for instruction that have sufficient empirical support to
warrant inclusion in a comprehensive approach to literacy instruction.
Part 3 discusses the neurobiology of reading and writing development and
difficulties. Part 4 conveys additional principles for intervening specifically
with learners who have difficulties with learning to read and write. In Part
5, we describe what is known about reading and writing processes in older
adults and highlight the lack of research on reading and writing across the
life span.
Throughout the chapter, we point to promising areas for research and
to questions that require further study. We conclude with a summary of the
findings, directions for research, and implications for the learners who are
the focus of our report: adolescents and adults who need to develop their
literacy skills outside K-12 educational settings.1
SOCIAL, CULTURAL, AND NEUROCOGNITIVE
MECHANISMS OF LITERACY DEVELOPMENT
Literacy, or cognition of any kind, cannot be understood fully apart
from the contexts in which it develops (e.g., Cobb and Bowers, 1999;
Greeno, Smith, and Moore, 1993; Heath, 1983; Lave and Wenger, 1991;
Markus and Kitiyama, 2010; Nisbett, 2003; Rogoff and Lave, 1984;
Scribner and Cole, 1981; Street, 1984). The development of skilled read-
ing and writing (indeed, learning in general) depends heavily on the con-
texts and activities in which learning occurs, including the purposes for
reading and writing and the activities, texts, and tools that are routinely
encountered (Beach, 1995; Heath, 1983; Luria, 1987; Scribner and Cole,
1981; Street, 1984; Vygotsky, 1978, 1986). In this way, reading and
writing are similar to other complex cognitive skills and brain functions
that are shaped by cultural patterns and stimuli (Markus and Kitayama,
2010; Nisbett, 2003; Nisbett et al., 2001; Park and Huang, 2010; Ross
and Wang, 2010). The particular knowledge and skill that develop depend
on the literacy practices engaged in, the supports provided for learning,
and the demand and value attached to particular forms of literacy in
communities and the broader society (Heath, 1983; Scribner and Cole,
1 Other documents have summarized research on the components of reading and writing
and instructional practices to develop literacy skills. We refer readers to additional resources
for more extensive coverage of this literature (Ehri et al., 2001; Graham, 2006a; Graham and
Hebert, 2010; Graham and Perin 2007a, 2007b; Kamil et al., 2008; McCardle, Chhabra, and
Kapinus, 2008; National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, 2000a).
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26 IMPROVING ADULT LITERACY INSTRUCTION
1983; Vygotsky, 1986). Thus, how people use reading and writing differs
considerably by context.
As an example, forms and uses of spoken and written language in aca-
demic settings differ from those in nonacademic settings, and they also dif-
fer among academic disciplines or subjects (Blommaert, Street, and Turner,
2007; Lemke, 1998; Moje, 2007, 2008b; Street, 2003, 2009). Recent work
on school subject learning also makes it clear that content and uses of
language differ significantly from one subject matter to another (Coffin
and Hewings, 2004; Lee and Spratley, 2006; McConachie and Petrosky,
2010). People may develop and use forms of literacy that differ from those
needed for new purposes (Alvermann and Xu, 2003; Cowan, 2004; Hicks,
2004; Hull and Schultz, 2001; Leander and Lovvorn, 2006; Mahiri and
Sablo, 1996; Moje, 2000a, 2008b; Moll, 1994; Noll, 1998; Reder, 2008).
Thus, as depicted in Figure 1-2, a complete understanding of reading and
writing development includes in-depth knowledge of the learner (the learn-
ers’ knowledge, skills, literacy practices, motivations, and neurocognitive
processes) and features of the instructional context that scaffold or impede
learning. The context of instruction includes texts, tools, activities, interac-
tions with teachers and peers, and instructor knowledge, beliefs, and skills.
Types of Text
Types of text vary from books to medication instructions to Twitter
tweets. Texts have numerous features that in the context of instruction can
either facilitate or constrain the learning of literacy skills (Goldman, 1997;
Graesser, McNamara, and Louwerse, 2004). Texts that effectively support
progress with reading are appropriately challenging and well written. They
focus attention on new knowledge and skills related to the particular com-
ponents of reading that the learner needs to develop. They also support
the learner in gaining automaticity and confidence and in applying and
generalizing their new skills. To the greatest degree possible, the materials
for reading should help to build useful vocabulary and content (e.g., topic,
world) knowledge. Effective texts also motivate engagement with instruc-
tion and practice partly by developing valued knowledge or relating to the
interests of the learner.
Adult learners will have encountered many texts during the course
of formal schooling that are poorly written or highly complex (Beck,
McKeown, and Gromoll, 1989; Chambliss and Calfee, 1998; Chambliss
and Murphy, 2002; Lee and Spratley, 2010). Similarly, the texts of everyday
life are not written to scaffold reading or writing skill (Solomon, Van der
Kerkhof, and Moje, 2010). Developing readers need to confront challenging
texts that engage them with meaningful content, but they also need texts
that afford the practicing of the skills they need to develop and systematic
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FOUNDATIONS OF READING AND WRITING
support to stretch beyond existing skills. This support needs to come from
a mix of instructional interactions and texts that scaffold the learner in
developing and practicing new skills and becoming an independent reader
(Lee and Spratley, 2010; Moje, 2009; Solomon, Van der Kerkhof, 2010).
Literacy Tools
Being literate also requires proficiency with the tools and practices
used in society to accomplish valued tasks that require reading and writing
(see Box 2-1). For example, digital and online media are used to commu-
nicate with diverse others and to produce, find, evaluate, and synthesize
knowledge in innovative and creative ways to meet the varied demands of
education and work. It is important, therefore, to offer reading and writing
BOX 2-1
Literacy in a Digital Age
Strong reading and writing skills underpin valued aspects of digital literacy in
several areas:
• Presentations of ideas
Organizing a complex and compelling argument
Adjusting the presentation to the audience
Using multiple media and integrating them with text
Translating among multiple documents
Extended text
n
Summary
n
Graphics versus text
n
Responding to queries and critiques through revision and written
follow-up
• sing online resources to search for information and evaluating quality of
U
that information
Using affordances, such as hyperlinks and search engines
Making effective predictions of likely search results
Coordinating overlapping ideas expressed in differing language
Organizing bodies of information from multiple sources
Evaluating the quality and warrants of accessed information
• Using basic office software to generate texts and multimedia documents
Writing documents: writing for others
Taking notes: writing for oneself
Preparing displays to support oral presentations
SOURCES: Adapted from National Center on Education and the Economy (1997); Appendix
B: Literacy in a Digital Age.
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28 IMPROVING ADULT LITERACY INSTRUCTION
instruction that incorporates the use of print and digital tools as needed
for transforming information and knowledge across the varied forms of
representation used to communicate in today’s world. These forms include
symbols, numeric symbols, icons, static images, moving images, oral rep-
resentations (available digitally and in other venues), graphs, charts, and
tables (Goldman et al., 2003; Kress, 2003). Extensive research has been
conducted on youths’ multimodal and digital literacy learning, demonstrat-
ing that young people are experimenting with a range of tools and practices
that extend beyond those taught in school (see Coiro et al., 2009a, 2009b).
Continued research is needed to identify effective instructional methods
that incorporate digital technologies (e.g., Coiro, 2003; see Appendix B for
detailed discussion of the state of research on digital literacy).
Literacy Activities
The development of skilled literacy involves extensive participation
and practice using component skills of reading and writing for particular
purposes (Ford and Forman, 2006; Lave and Wenger, 1991; McConachie
et al., 2006; Rogoff, 1990; Scribner and Cole, 1981; Street, 1984; Vygotsky,
1986). Because literacy demands shift over time and across contexts, some
individuals may need specific interventions developed to meet these shift-
ing literacy demands. For example, a typical late adolescent or adult must
traverse, on a regular basis, workplaces; vocational and postsecondary
education; societal, civic, or political contexts; home and family; and new
media. Literacy demands also change over time due to global, economic,
social, and cultural forces. These realities make it especially important
to understand the social and cultural contexts of literacy and to offer in-
struction that develops literacy skills for meeting social, educational, and
workplace demands as well as the learner’s personal needs. The likelihood
of transferring a newly learned skill to a new task depends on the similar-
ity between the new task and tasks used for learning (National Research
Council, 2005), making it important to design literacy instruction using the
literacy activities, tools, and tasks that are valued by society and learners
outside the context of instruction. Such instruction also would be expected
to enhance learners’ motivation to engage with a literacy task or persist
with literacy instruction.
Instruction that connects to knowledge that students already possess
and value appears to be motivating (e.g., Au and Mason, 1983; Guthrie
et al., 1996; Gutiérrez et al., 1999; Lee, 1993; Moje and Speyer, 2008; Moll
and Gonzalez, 1994; Wigfield, Eccles, and Rodriguez, 1998) and thus may
be important for supporting the persistence of those who have successfully
navigated other life arenas despite not having developed a broader range
of literacy skills and practices. Successful literacy instruction for adults and
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FOUNDATIONS OF READING AND WRITING
adolescents should recognize the knowledge and experience brought by
mature learners, even when their literacy skills are weak.
Because the motivation to engage in extensive reading and writing
practice is so important for the development and integration of component
skills, we discuss the topic of motivation more extensively in Chapter 5.
Teacher Knowledge, Skills, and Beliefs
Literacy development, like the learning of any complex task, requires a
range of explicit teaching and implicit learning guided by an expert (Ford
and Forman, 2006; Forman, Minick, and Stone, 1993; Lave and Wenger,
1991, 1998; Rogoff, 1990, 1993, 1995; Scribner and Cole, 1981; Street,
1984; Vygotsky, 1986; Wertsch, 1991). To be effective, teachers of strug-
gling readers and writers must have significant expertise in both the com-
ponents of reading and writing, which include spoken language, and how
to teach them. The social and emotional tone of the instructional environ-
ment also is very important for successful reading and writing development
(Hamre and Pianta, 2003). Teachers are more effective when they nurture
relationships and develop a positive, dynamic, and emotionally supportive
environment for learning that is sensitive to differences in values and expe-
riences that students bring to instruction.
Effective instructors tend to have an informed mental map of where
they want their students to end up that they use to guide instructional
practices every day. That is, they plan activities using clear objectives with
deep understanding of reading and writing processes. Descriptions of ef-
fective teachers in the K-12 system stress that they are highly reflective in
their teaching, mindful of their instructional choices and how they fit into
the larger picture for their students, and able to fluently use and orchestrate
a repertoire of effective and adaptive instructional strategies (Block and
Pressley, 2002; Butler et al., 2004; Duffy, 2005; Lovett et al., 2008b). Effec-
tive teachers use feedback from their own performance to adjust and change
instruction, and they are able to transfer and apply knowledge from one
domain to another (Duffy, 2005; Israel et al., 2005; Zimmerman, 2000a,
2000b). Effective teachers of reading and writing also have deep knowledge
of the English language system and its oral and written structures, as well
as the processes involved in acquiring various language abilities (Duke and
Carlisle, 2011; Moats, 2004, 2005). Beyond the requisite knowledge and
expertise, literacy teachers often need coaching, mentoring, and encourage-
ment to question and evaluate the efficacy of their instruction.
Teacher beliefs can have a profound impact on the opportunities pro-
vided during instruction to develop literacy skills. For example, both Green
(1983) and Golden (1988) demonstrated how teachers’ instruction changed
depending on what the teachers assumed about the literacy abilities of the
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30 IMPROVING ADULT LITERACY INSTRUCTION
students in each group. Students who were identified as reading at lower
levels were not asked to think about the texts and interpret them in the
same way as those at higher reading levels (see also Cazden, 1985). Being
thought of as “successful” or “achieving” or, at the other extreme, “unsuc-
cessful” and “failing” can produce low-literacy learning and even, in some
cases, what is identified as disability (McDermott and Varenne, 1995).
As discussed further in Chapter 3, it is well known that the knowl-
edge and expertise of adult literacy instructors are highly variable (Smith
and Gillespie, 2007; Tamassia et al., 2007). A large body of research on
the efficacy of teacher education and professional development practices
for literacy instruction does not exist that could be used as a resource for
instructors of adults (McCardle, Chhabra, and Kapinus, 2008; National
Institute of Child Health and Human Development, 2000a; Snow, Griffin,
and Burns, 2005). Neither preparation nor selection of instructors in adult
literacy education or developmental college courses has been studied much
at all and certainly not in terms of ability to apply the practices presented
in this chapter. Thus, the issue of instructor preparation for the delivery of
effective instructional practices is vital to address in future research.
Neurocognitive Mechanisms
The field of cognitive neuroscience is opening windows on the brain
mechanisms that underlie skilled reading and writing and related difficul-
ties. Much of the research has focused on identifying the neurocircuits
(brain pathways) associated with component processes in reading and
writing at different stages of typical reading development, and differences
in the progression of brain organization for these processes in atypically
developing readers. It also has focused mainly on word- and sentence-level
reading. More needs to be understood from neurocognitive research about
the development of complex comprehension processes. In addition, because
different disciplines study different aspects of literacy, much remains to be
discovered about how various social, cultural, and instructional factors
interact with neurocognitive processes to facilitate or constrain the develop-
ment of literacy skills.
Brain imaging studies (both structural and functional imaging) have re-
vealed, however, robust differences in brain organization between typically
and atypically developing readers (see Chapter 7). It is yet to be determined
whether these observed brain differences are the cause or consequence of
reading-related problems. It is possible, however, to confirm certain levels of
literacy development by observing the brain activity associated with literacy
function. More needs to be understood about (1) the genetic, neuroana-
tomical, neurochemical, and epigenetic factors that control the development
of these neurocircuits and (2) the ways in which experiential factors, such as
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FOUNDATIONS OF READING AND WRITING
enriched learning environments, might modulate brain pathways in strug-
gling readers at different ages and in different environments. Research on
gene-brain-environment relations has the potential to inform instruction in
at least three ways: (1) the development and testing of theories and models
of typical and atypical development of reading and writing needed to guide
effective teaching and remedial interventions; (2) development of measures
that provide more sensitive assessments in specific areas of difficulty to use
for instruction and research; and, though less germane to this report, (3)
knowledge of neurobiological processes needed for early identification of
risk with an eye toward prevention of reading and writing difficulties. The
same possibilities apply for writing instruction, although neurobiological
research on writing is in the early stages. In subsequent sections, we further
describe what is known about the neurobiological mechanisms specific to
reading and writing. A key point to keep in mind, however, is that neither
the available behavioral data nor neurocognitive data suggest that learners
who struggle with reading and writing require a categorically different type
of instruction from more typically developing learners. Rather, the instruc-
tion may need to be adapted in particular ways to help learners overcome
specific reading, writing, and learning difficulties, as discussed later in the
chapter.
READING
Reading is the comprehension of language from a written code that rep-
resents concepts and communicates information and ideas. It is a complex
skill that involves many human capacities that evolved for other purposes
and it depends on their development and coordinated use: spoken language,
perception (vision, hearing), motor systems, memory, learning, reasoning,
problem solving, motivation, interest, and others (Rayner et al., 2001).
Reading is closely related to spoken language (National Research Council,
1998) and requires applying what is known about spoken language to de-
ciphering an unfamiliar written code. In fact, the correlation between com-
prehension of spoken and written language in adults is high, approximately
.90 (Braze et al., 2007; Gernsbacher, Varner, and Faust, 1990). Conversely,
being less skilled in a spoken language—having limited vocabulary, less
familiarity with standard grammar, speaking a different dialect—makes it
more difficult to become skilled at reading that language (Craig et al., 2009;
Scarborough, 2002). Reading also depends on knowledge of the context
and purpose for which the act of reading occurs (Scribner and Cole, 1981;
Street, 1984; Vygotsky, 1978).
Although reading and speech are similar, they differ in important ways
that have implications for instruction (Biber, 1988; Clark, 1996; Kucer,
2001). Speech fades from memory whereas most types of text are more
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32 IMPROVING ADULT LITERACY INSTRUCTION
permanent, allowing for reanalysis and use of strategies to comprehend
complex written structures (Biber and Conrad, 2006). Skilled readers are
attuned to the differences between texts and spoken language (e.g., dif-
ferences in types and frequencies of words, expressions, and grammatical
structures) (Biber, 1988; Chafe and Tannen, 1987), and they know the strat-
egies that help them comprehend various kinds of text. Perhaps the most
important difference is that people learn to speak (or sign) even when direct
instruction is limited or perhaps absent, whereas learning to read almost al-
ways requires explicit instruction as well as immersion in written language.
The major components of reading are well documented and include
decoding, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. Box 2-2 summarizes
BOX 2-2
Principles of Reading Instruction
Becoming an able reader takes a substantial amount of time. Reading is a complex
skill, and, like other complex skills, it takes well over 1,000 hours, perhaps several
times that, to acquire fully. Instruction consistent with the principles that follow must
therefore be implemented and learner engagement supported at the scale required for
meaningful gains.
• se explicit and systematic reading instruction to develop the major
U
components of reading (decoding, fluency vocabulary, comprehension)
according to the assessed needs of individual learners. Although each
dimension is necessary to proficient reading, adolescents and adults vary in the
specific reading instruction they need. For example, some will require compre-
hensive decoding instruction; others may need less or no decoding instruction.
Further research is needed to clarify the forms of explicit instruction that effec-
tively develop component skills for adolescents and adults.
• ombine explicit and systematic instruction with extended reading prac-
C
tice to promote acquisition and transfer of component reading skills.
Learning to read involves both explicit teaching and implicit learning. Explicit
teaching does not negate the vital importance of incidental and informal learning
opportunities or the need for extensive practice using new skills.
• otivate engagement with the literacy tasks used for instruction and ex-
M
tensive reading practice. Learners, especially adolescents, are more engaged
when literacy instruction and practice opportunities are embedded in meaningful
learning activities. Opportunities to collaborate during reading also can increase
motivation to read, although more needs to be known about how to structure
collaborations effectively.
• evelop reading fluency as needed to facilitate efficiency in the reading of
D
words and longer text. Some methods of fluency improvement have been vali-
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FOUNDATIONS OF READING AND WRITING
principles of instruction related to developing each of these components.
Although the components are presented separately here for exposition,
reading involves an interrelated and interdependent system with reciprocity
among the various components, both within reading and between reading
and writing.
A substantial body of evidence on children shows that effective reading
instruction explicitly and systematically targets each component of reading
skill that remains to be developed (National Institute of Child Health and
Human Development, 2000a; Rayner et al., 2001). More extensive evidence
for this statement is available for younger than older learners and for word
identification and decoding processes than for reading comprehension and
dated in children (e.g., guided repeated reading); these require further research
with adolescents and adults.
• xplicitly teach the structure of written language to facilitate decoding
E
and comprehension. Develop awareness of the features of written language
at multiple levels (word, sentence, passage). Teach regularity and irregularity of
spelling-to-sound mappings, the patterns of English morphology, rules of gram-
mar and syntax, and the structures of various text genres. Again, the specifics
of how best to provide this instruction to adolescents and adults requires further
research, but the dependence of literacy on knowledge of the structure of written
language is clear.
• o develop vocabulary, use a mixture of instructional approaches com-
T
bined with extensive reading of texts to create “an enriched verbal en-
vironment.” High-quality mental representations of words develop through
varied and multiple exposures to words in discourse and reading of varied text.
Instruction that integrates the teaching of vocabulary with reading comprehen-
sion instruction, development of topic and background knowledge, and learning
of disciplinary or other valued content are promising approaches to study with
adolescents and adults.
• o develop comprehension, teach varied goals and purposes for reading;
T
encourage learners to state their own reading goals, predictions, ques-
tions, and reactions to material; encourage extensive reading practice with
varied forms of text; teach and model the use of multiple comprehension
strategies; teach self-regulation in the monitoring of strategy use. Read-
ing comprehension involves a high level of metacognitive engagement with text.
Developing readers often need help to develop the metacognitive components of
reading comprehension, such as learning how to identify reading goals, select,
implement, and coordinate multiple strategies; monitor and evaluate success of
the strategies; and adjust strategies to achieve reading goals. Extensive prac-
tice also is needed to develop knowledge of words, text structures, and written
syntax that are not identical to spoken language and that are gleaned from
extensive experience with various texts.
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34 IMPROVING ADULT LITERACY INSTRUCTION
reading fluency, given that research has focused mainly in these areas. De-
spite this caveat, this principle of reading instruction is considered to have
strong research support (National Institute of Child Health and Human
Development, 2000a). The emphasis of instruction within and across read-
ing components will vary depending on each person’s need for skill devel-
opment, but skill needs to be attained in all the components. It is possible
to design many ways to provide explicit and systematic reading instruction
focused on the learner’s needs using methods and formats that will appeal
to learners (McCardle, Chhabra, and Kapinus, 2008).
Learning to read involves both explicit teaching and implicit learning.
Explicit teaching does not negate the importance of incidental and infor-
mal learning opportunities, or the need for extensive practice using new
skills. Explicit and systematic reading instruction must be combined with
extended experience with reading for varied purposes in order to promote
learning and the transfer of reading skills. Thus, it is important to provide
forms of reading practice that develop the particular skills that need to be
acquired. Learners, especially adolescents, are more engaged when literacy
instruction and practice are embedded in meaningful learning activities
(e.g., Guthrie and Wigfield, 2000; Guthrie et al., 1999; Schiefele, 1996a,
1996b; Schraw and Lehman, 2001).
Decoding
Decoding involves the ability to apply knowledge of letter-sound re-
lationships to correctly pronounce printed words. It requires developing
phonological awareness, which consists of phonemic awareness (an oral
language skill that involves awareness of and ability to manipulate the
units of sound, phonemes, in a spoken word) and alphabetic knowledge
(knowing that the letters in written words represent the phonemes in spo-
ken words) (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development,
2000b; Rayner et al., 2001).
Even highly skilled adult readers must rely on alphabetic knowledge
and decoding skills to read unfamiliar words (e.g., “otolaryngology”)
(Frost, 1998; Rayner et al., 2001). Word reading also requires being able
to recognize sight words that do not follow regular patterns of letter-sound
correspondence (e.g., “yacht”). Explicit and systematic phonics instruction
to teach correspondences between letters and phonemes has been found to
facilitate reading development for children of different ages, abilities, and
socioeconomic circumstances (Foorman et al., 1998; McCardle, Chhabra,
and Kapinus, 2008; Morris et al., 2010; National Institute of Child Health
and Human Development, 2000a; Torgesen et al., 1999). The evidence is
clear that explicit instruction is necessary for most individuals to develop
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FOUNDATIONS OF READING AND WRITING
task with both phonological and orthographic processing demands (Meyler
et al., 2008; Shaywitz et al., 2004; Simos et al., 2002a; Temple et al., 2003).
Most who struggle with reading and writing, particularly those with
severe literacy learning disorders, have specific difficulties in aspects of
speech or language that impact their ability to learn to read and write, such
as poor phonological awareness and phonological processing skills, lags
in oral language development (e.g., vocabulary, syntax), and slow naming
speed (that may or may not be independent of phonological deficits) (Catts
and Hogan, 2003; Liberman, 1971; Liberman and Shankweiler, 1991;
Pennington and Bishop, 2009; Schatschneider et al., 2004; Shankweiler and
Crain, 1986; Share and Stanovich, 1995; Vellutino et al., 2004; Wagner
et al., 1997; Wagner, Torgesen, and Rashotte, 1994; Wolf and Bowers,
1999). Based on studies mostly with younger participants, it is reasonable
to assume (subject to needed empirical verification with adults) that these
difficulties can be remediated by increasing the time and intensity of instruc-
tion that is focused on building the language skills on which fluent reading
and writing skills depend.
Targeted interventions also improve the performance of struggling
writers. Although some who experience difficulties with writing have other
difficulties with learning (Graham and Harris, 2005) or language pro-
cessing (Dockrell, Lindsay, and Connelly, 2009; Smith-Lock, Nickels, and
Mortensen, 2008), not all aspects of writing are necessarily affected (see,
e.g., Mortensen, Smith-Lock, and Nickels, 2008). In these cases, interven-
tions that target a specific component skill on which writing depends have
had some success. Teaching the language skill of phonological aware-
ness, for example, results in better spelling performance for those who are
weak spellers (Bradley and Bryant, 1985; O’Connor, Notari-Syverson, and
Vadasky, 1996). A few studies have shown that teaching vocabulary to
developing writers enhances their writing performance (Duin and Graves,
1987; Popadopoulou, 2007; Thibodeau, 1964). Sentence combining, an
oral language practice that often relies heavily on combining smaller sen-
tences into larger ones when speaking, has improved the quality of writ-
ing in adolescents (Graham and Perin, 2007b). In addition, some limited
evidence with elementary school students experiencing difficulties with
regulating attention shows that teaching ways to monitor attention while
writing improves writing skills and increases the amount of text written
(Harris et al., 1994; Rumsey and Ballard, 1985). Again, these findings must
be verified with adult learners. Common to almost all effective interven-
tions is that they targeted specific areas of processing as part of teaching
and practicing the act of writing, instead of trying to remediate processing
problems in isolation.
Notably, the process-writing approach, which does not systematically
target specific difficulties (Graves, 1983), has not been effective with strug-
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60 IMPROVING ADULT LITERACY INSTRUCTION
gling writers in a recent meta-analysis of five studies (Sandmel and Graham,
in press). Varied forms of the approach are often used, however, and re-
search is needed to determine whether some form is effective with some
struggling learners.
S
truggling learners benefit from more intense instruction, more
•
explicit instruction, and even more opportunities to practice.
The most significant gains obtained in reading interventions are as-
sociated with more intense, explicit, and systematic delivery of instruc-
tion (Fletcher et al., 2007; Torgesen et al., 2001). Reading interventions
are especially effective if they teach to mastery, include academic content,
monitor progress, and offer sufficient scaffolding of skills and emotional
support (Fletcher et al., 2007). Greater time devoted to literacy activities
allows for the additional explicit instruction required to remediate skills;
opportunities to address gaps in vocabulary and language knowledge;
and the additional exposures needed to consolidate, review, and explicitly
teach for the generalization of newly acquired skills (Berninger et al., 2002;
Blachman et al., 2004; Lovett et al., 2000; Torgesen et al., 2001; Wise,
Ring, and Olson, 2000).
Similarly, almost all of the strategies that have proven to be effective
in teaching struggling writers have involved intense and explicit instruction
with ample opportunities to practice taught skills (see the meta-analysis
by Graham and Perin, 2007a; Rogers and Graham, 2008). This research
included teaching planning strategies together with genre knowledge
(see the meta-analysis by Graham and Harris, 2003), revision (Graham,
2006a; Schumaker et al., 1982), handwriting and spelling (Berninger et al.,
1997, 1998; Graham, 1999), as well as sentence construction (Saddler
and Graham, 2005) and paragraph construction skills (Sonntag and
McLaughlin, 1984; Wallace and Bott, 1989). In addition, the self-regulated
strategy development model for teaching writing strategies has been more
effective than other approaches for teaching writing strategies to struggling
writers (Graham, 2006a). It involves explicitly teaching how to regulate the
use of strategies and requires developing skills to a criterion, unlike other
approaches that are time-limited.
S
truggling learners need enhanced support for the generaliza-
•
tion and transfer of new literacy skills.
A majority of struggling learners do not apply and transfer newly learned
literacy skills spontaneously. To be effective, instruction for all learners must
attend to the generalization of new skills and knowledge and include oppor-
tunities to practice these in varied tasks outside the intervention context. This
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observation is particularly true, however, for those with reading disabilities.
For example, children with reading disabilities demonstrate problems with
transfer that are specific to printed language; these difficulties are not evi-
dent on learning tasks with parallel cognitive demands but no phonological
processing requirements (Benson, 2000; Benson, Lovett, and Kroeber, 1997;
Lovett, Barron, and Benson, 2003). Children with severe reading disabilities
also demonstrated marked transfer-of-learning failures even when instructed
target words were well learned and remembered (Lovett et al., 1989, 1990).
For example, in one study, those who learned to read the word bake and
practiced on words with the same spelling pattern (e.g., rake, fake, lake)
could not later reliably identify make (Lovett et al., 1990).
A recent synthesis of intervention research with adolescent struggling
readers (Edmonds et al., 2009) confirmed that older struggling readers
do benefit from explicit reading comprehension strategy instruction, but
these skills did not generalize well. It is possible that more explicit train-
ing and scaffolding would support generalization, as might more practice
opportunities.
Struggling readers experience particular difficulties in acquiring self-
regulatory strategies across a variety of literacy tasks (Levin, 1990; Pressley,
1991; Swanson, 1999; Swanson and Alexander, 1997; Swanson and Saez,
2003; Swanson and Siegel, 2001; Wong, 1991), and these difficulties are
likely to affect the transfer and generalization failures observed among
struggling learners (Harris, Graham, and Pressley, 1992; Meltzer, 1994).
For example, when children with reading disabilities have received strat-
egy instruction, some appear to remain novices relative to their more able
peers because they fail to transform simple strategies into more efficient
forms (Swanson, Hoskyn, and Lee, 1999; Zimmerman, 2000a, 2000b).
Multidimensional interventions that combine explicit skills instruction with
the teaching of specific strategies for reading can help those with reading
disabilities to generalize strategies and skills (Lovett et al., 2003, 2005;
Lovett, Lacerenza, and Borden, 2000; Morris et al., 2010; Swanson, 1999).
Faster growth and better outcomes in word identification, for example, are
attained when a multidimensional intervention is adopted, particularly one
that combines direct and dialogue-based instruction, explicit teaching of
different levels of syllabic segmentation, and teaching of multiple decoding
strategies. Although most of this research has focused on word reading,
the critical importance of explicit instruction for developing the flexible
use of strategies to identify words and read extended text cannot be over-
emphasized when it comes to achieving generalization and maintenance of
remedial gains.
Although the evidence base for struggling writers is smaller than for
reading, it suggests that struggling writers also have difficulty maintaining
and generalizing gains from instruction (Wong, 1994). The findings need
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62 IMPROVING ADULT LITERACY INSTRUCTION
to be interpreted cautiously, however, because maintenance decrements do
not appear to be severe (Graham, 2006a; Graham and Harris, 2003), and
in most research maintenance of gains was assessed for no more than a
month from the end of the intervention. Generalizing specific writing skills
to tasks and contexts beyond those in which they were taught is not an
all-or-none phenomenon, and transfer often appears to generalize to some
degree (Graham, 2006a; Graham and Harris, 2003).
A very small body of research with elementary and middle school
students who are struggling writers shows that maintenance and general-
ization of taught writing skills and strategies can be facilitated by teaching
target material to mastery, having students set goals for using the skills
and strategies and monitoring their progress in doing so, analyzing when
and how to use the skills and strategies, and enlisting peers as a resource
for reminding and helping struggling writers to apply new skills (Harris,
Graham, and Mason, 2006; Sawyer, Graham, and Harris, 1992; Stoddard
and MacArthur, 1993).
M
aladaptive attributions, beliefs, and motivational profiles of
•
struggling learners need to be understood and targeted during
instruction.
The motivational profiles of struggling and typical readers and writ-
ers can be very different. Struggling learners are usually lower in intrinsic
motivation and a sense of self-efficacy for reading and writing, more likely
to be extrinsically motivated or unmotivated, and more likely to attribute
failure to internal factors (e.g., ability) and success to external factors
(e.g., luck)—all of which lead to disengagement from reading and writing
activities, less reading and writing experience, and markedly lower literacy
achievement (Deci and Ryan, 2002b; Graham, 1990a; Graham, Schwartz,
and MacArthur, 1993; Guthrie and Davis, 2003; Harter, Whitesell, and
Kowalski, 1992; Moje et al., 2000; Morgan et al., 2008; Ryan, Stiller, and
Lynch, 1994; Sawyer, Graham, and Harris, 1992; Taboada et al., 2009;
Wigfield et al., 2008). Specific difficulties in these domains include mal-
adaptive attributions about effort and achievement, learned helplessness
rather than mastery-oriented motivational profiles, immature and poorly
developed epistemic beliefs, and disengagement from reading and writing
activities.
There is a dearth of experimental evidence on how to build adap-
tive attributions and motivations for struggling adult readers and writers
during the course of intervention, although research with children and
adolescents with reading disabilities is emerging (Guthrie et al., 2009;
Lovett, Lacerenza, and Borden, 2000; Morris et al., 2010; Wigfield et al.,
2008; Wolf, Miller, and Donnelly, 2000). In other research, positive attri-
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butional change has been observed for children in middle school with the
effective remediation of reading disabilities. Emerging research with strug-
gling adolescent readers suggests the importance of intervening directly to
address the attributional and motivational correlates of literacy learning
difficulties (see Guthrie, Wigfield, and You, in press). In this research,
adding attributional retraining to comprehension strategy instruction was
associated with better maintenance of gains (Berkeley, Mastropieri, and
Scruggs, 2011).
Similarly, few writing studies have examined how to address the mal-
adaptive attributions and beliefs that affect struggling writers (Wong et al.,
2003). Adding attribution retraining to strategy instruction in writing is
a promising approach that has enhanced the compositions of struggling
writers (Garcia-Sánchez and Fidalgo-Redondo, 2006; Sexton, Harris, and
Graham, 1998). For example, one writing program improved struggling
writers’ motivation to write by including components for enhancing mul-
tiple affective factors, including self-efficacy, self-esteem, expectations, and
beliefs about writing (García and de Caso, 2004).
I
ntervention should be differentiated to scaffold learning and
•
meet the individual needs of those who struggle with literacy.
Scaffolding is the term used to describe teaching approaches in which
the instructor or presentation of tools supports execution of a skill until the
student gradually develops full mastery. Differentiated instruction is the term
used for teaching that meets individual and small group needs by providing
learning activities and supports for the development of skills that have not
yet been acquired but that are necessary to move through an instructional
sequence. With this type of scaffolded and integrated instruction and inter-
vention model, learning deficits are addressed and remediated while teaching
all of the necessary skills for reading and writing development that enable
struggling students to participate and move through the broader program of
instruction (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development,
2000a). Differentiation avoids provision of extra or specialized instruction to
those who do not need it, which is counterproductive and could lead learners
to view literacy activity as uninteresting.
One of the premises of special education, the arm of educational prac-
tice that specializes in learning difficulties, is that instruction should be fur-
ther tailored to meet the processing needs of individual students (Edmonds
et al., 2009; Scammacca et al., 2007). As discussed earlier, to date, little evi-
dence from controlled intervention studies supports the tailoring of literacy
instruction to difficulties with more general processing; what seems most
important is that the intervention offer explicit, systematic, and intense
reading remediation targeted to develop component literacy skills in the
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64 IMPROVING ADULT LITERACY INSTRUCTION
context of reading instruction and reading practice (Fletcher et al., 2007;
Morris et al., 2010; Torgesen et al., 2001).
Differentiation of instruction also appears to be effective for writing.
Most of this research has focused on teaching planning strategies to strug-
gling writers who spend little time systematically planning their papers (e.g.,
Englert et al., 1991). The instruction has a positive impact on the quality
and structure of text produced by struggling writers (see meta-analyses by
Graham, 2006a; Graham and Harris, 2003; Graham and Perin, 2007a;
Rogers and Graham, 2008). MacArthur and Lembo (2009) also found
this to be a productive strategy with adult literacy learners. Similarly, a
few studies show that instruction that targets the handwriting or spelling
of elementary school students experiencing difficulties with these skills im-
proves these skills as well as how much the students write and their facility
with constructing sentences (Berninger et al., 1997, 1998; Graham, Harris,
and Fink, 2000; Graham, Harris, and Fink-Chorzempa, 2002). In addition,
the writing performance of middle and high school struggling writers was
enhanced when they were taught sentence construction skills (e.g., Saddler
and Graham, 2005; Schmidt et al., 1988).
READING AND WRITING ACROSS THE LIFE SPAN
Although much is known from research about the processes involved
in the development of reading and writing and effective instruction for
typically developing readers and writers and those who struggle, almost
no research has focused on changes in reading and writing processes from
early childhood through adulthood. This research will be needed to estab-
lish whether adults with low literacy have not yet achieved an asymptotic
level of skill along a common learning trajectory or, perhaps less likely,
whether they need truly alternative pathways to competence. A small body
of research on cognitive aging has, however, examined differences in read-
ing and writing processes between younger and older adults, although some
studies examine change in cognitive functions from the late 30s or 40s.
Most of those who receive adult literacy instruction are older adolescents
and young adults (e.g., according to Tamassia et al., 2007); in the program
year 2001-2002, 34 percent were 16- to 24-years old and 46 percent were
25- to 44-years old. Yet a significant portion of adult learners (18 percent)
are older than 44. Thus, we review this research with older populations to
identify whether adults may experience unique challenges in developing and
using their literacy skills in midlife and beyond. There is a lack of research
on changes in literacy (and learning processes) from young adulthood to
middle adulthood because most research has focused on young populations
or older adults.
An important caveat to the findings reported here is that the research
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has focused not on older adults who need to develop their literacy but on
relatively well-educated and literate populations. The research typically
compares the performance of older adults to that of college students who
serve as samples of convenience. Thus caution must be applied in general-
izing the findings to populations of adults who need to develop literacy
skills later in life.
In general, the processes involved in the component skills of reading
and writing studied thus far appear mostly preserved into later adulthood,
although older adults do experience declines in areas affected by percep-
tion and speed of processing (Durgunoğlu and Öney, 2002; Stine-Morrow,
Loveless, and Soederberg, 1996). Word recognition reappears to be funda-
mentally preserved throughout the adult life span. With age, readers tend
to rely more on recognizing a whole word as a unit instead of decoding it
using phonics skills (Spieler and Balota, 2000), although phonics facility
remains essential for reading new words. As in younger readers, eventual
automatic recognition of newly learned words occurs through adulthood
(Lien et al., 2006). In both spoken and written communication, aging may
bring reliance on the broader discourse context to decode individual words
(Madden, 1988; Stine and Wingfield, 1990; Stine-Morrow et al., 2008;
Wingfield et al., 1985).
Vocabulary knowledge is maintained and has the potential to grow
throughout adulthood (Birren and Morrison, 1961; Schaie, 2005). For
example, the ability to recognize the meanings of words in a text appears
to be intact (Burke and Peters, 1986; Burke, White, and Diaz, 1987; Light,
Valencia-Laver, and Zavis, 1991). It is possible, however, for vocabulary
growth to decelerate later in life, perhaps because declines in working
memory hinder inferring the meanings of novel words in the course of
ordinary reading (McGinnis and Zelinski, 2000, 2003).
Reading comprehension can become compromised in several respects
with age. Sensory impairment, which becomes more prevalent in later
adulthood, may require adult readers (and listeners) to allocate more at-
tention to decoding the surface form, which reduces cognitive resources
available for understanding the meaning of text (Dickinson and Rabbitt,
1991; Stine-Morrow and Miller, 2009; Wingfield, Tun, and McCoy, 2005).
Phonological skills also may be affected by sensory acuity deficits (Hartley
and Harris, 2001), presenting a barrier to comprehension.
Skills in basic parsing of syntax may remain intact throughout the
life span (Caplan and Waters, 1999), although age-related declines in pro-
cessing capacity may reduce comprehension of syntactically complex text
(Kemper, 1987; Norman, Kemper, and Kynette, 1992). The production of
utterances in both speech and writing shows reliable trends toward syn-
tactic simplification and reduced informational density with age (Kemper,
1987; Kemper et al., 2001; Norman, Kemper, and Kynette, 1992), so one
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would assume reasonably that the ability to read more complex and dense
texts might be slowed or otherwise compromised. Comprehension of com-
plex constructions may require more controlled/executive processing with
age (Wingfield and Grossman, 2006). For example, older adults may find
it more necessary to use such strategies as making notes and rereading text
elements.
Decreased ability to rapidly construct meaning from language may
result from age-related declines in mental processing capacity (Federmeier
et al., 2003; Hartley, 1988; Hartley et al., 1994; Stine and Hindman, 1994).
Aging readers also may allocate relatively less attention to the semantic
analysis of sentences (Radvansky et al., 2001). With age, people usu-
ally experience decreases in memory for text (Johnson, 2003; Radvansky
et al., 2001; Stine-Morrow and Shake, 2009; Zelinski and Gilewski, 1988),
perhaps beginning as early as midlife (ages 40-45) (Ferstl, 2006; Van der
Linden et al., 1999). These declines are mitigated by routinely engaging
in activities that require text memory, by having high verbal ability, and
by having knowledge related to the topic of the text (Hultsch and Dixon,
1983; Meyer and Rice, 1989; Stine-Morrow et al., 2008).
Older readers tend to remember information from elaborated texts that
provide redundant support for key information better rather than isolated
facts (Daneman and Merikle, 1996; Stine and Wingfield, 1990; Stine-
Morrow et al., 2008). The ability to generate inferences about the larger
situation described by a text is mostly intact (Radvansky and Dijkstra,
2007). Yet comprehension skills can be affected by decreased capacity for
making inferences as a result of memory decline. For example, older adults
can have difficulty with important inferences that require remembering text
from one sentence to later ones. As a consequence, they may create a fuzzier
or less complete representation of the text (Cohen, 1981; Hess, 1994; Light
and Capps, 1986; Light et al., 1994; McGinnis, 2009; McGinnis et al.,
2008; Noh et al., 2007).
An important strength of adulthood is accumulated knowledge that
often occurs as a consequence of literacy. The dependence on knowledge in
reading may increase throughout adulthood (Meyer, Talbot, and Ranalli,
2007; Miller, 2003, 2009; Miller and Stine-Morrow, 1998; Miller, Cohen,
and Wingfield, 2006). Knowledge has a variety of forms, including the
ability to articulate ideas (declarative knowledge), skilled performance
(procedural knowledge), and implicit processes in work and social con-
texts (tacit knowledge), and encompasses the range of human experiences
(e.g., cultural conventions, facts, conceptual systems, schemas that abstract
essential elements of a system and their organization). Such knowledge
can enhance text comprehension through a number of routes (Ackerman,
2008; Ackerman and Beier, 2006; Ackerman et al., 2001; Barnett and
Ceci, 2002; Beier and Ackerman, 2001, 2005; Charness, 2006; Ericsson,
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2006; Graesser, Haberlandt, and Koizumi, 1987; Griffin, Jee, and Wiley,
2009; Miller, 2009; Miller and Stine-Morrow, 1998; Miller, Cohen, and
Wingfield, 2006; Miller et al., 2004; Noordman and Vonk, 1992). Knowl-
edge enables, for example, understanding relations among concepts not
obvious to the novice, understanding vocabulary and jargon, abstract rea-
soning (e.g., analogy), making inferences and connections in the text, and
monitoring the success of efforts made to comprehend.
Less research has focused on changes in writing processes with age.
Although vocabulary knowledge either stabilizes or grows through adult-
hood, especially if the adult continues to engage with text (Stanovich, West,
and Harrison, 1995), adults may have difficulty with recalling a word, may
substitute or transpose speech sounds in a word, and may make spelling
errors more frequently beginning in midlife (Burke and Shafto, 2004; Burke
et al., 1991; MacKay and Abrams, 1998).
As people age, the speech and writing they produce has simpler syntax
and is less dense with information (Kemper, 1987; Kemper et al., 2001;
Norman, Kemper, and Kynette, 1992). The tendency to produce less com-
plex syntax is due partly to declines in working memory (Norman, Kemper,
and Kynette, 1992), but also to some extent may reflect greater awareness
that simpler syntax is easier for the listener or reader to understand. There
is not a universal trend, however, toward simplified writing with age. For
example, although syntax becomes simpler over time, narrative storytelling
becomes more complex (Kemper et al., 1990).
In sum, not enough is known about the ways in which reading and
writing processes change across the life span to determine whether or how
instructional approaches would need to be modified to make them more
effective for learners of different ages. Most research has concentrated on
young children at the beginning of reading development and on older adults
at the opposite end of the life span who are proficient readers benefiting
from the fruition of knowledge growth but beginning to experience some
declines in processing capacity. The findings available hint, however, at
some of the underlying cognitive processes that are likely to remain intact
in older adults. They also suggest some challenges in developing and using
literacy skills later in life that may require enhanced supports.
SUMMARY AND DISCUSSION
A complete understanding of reading and writing development requires
knowledge of the learner (the learners’ knowledge, skills, literacy practices,
motivations, and neurocognitive processes) and features of the instructional
context (types of text, literacy tools, literacy activities, instructor knowl-
edge, beliefs, and skills) that scaffold or impede learning. Because different
disciplines study different aspects of literacy, research has yet to systemati-
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cally examine how various social, cultural, and contextual forces interact
with neurocognitive processes to facilitate or constrain the development of
literacy.
The major components of reading and writing are well documented.
Depending on the assessed needs of the learner, instruction needs to target
decoding and strategies for identifying unfamiliar words. Instruction should
focus on depth, breadth, and flexibility of vocabulary knowledge and use.
Learners also need strategies for comprehending and learning from text.
Instruction should support the development of knowledge, including back-
ground, topic, and world knowledge. Learners also need metalinguistic
knowledge (phonology, morphology) and discourse knowledge (genre and
rhetorical structure). Metacognitive skills may need to be developed to
facilitate comprehension and meet goals for reading.
Figure 2-1 shows the writing skills that may need to be targeted with
instruction, among them sentence construction skills, planning and revis-
ing, spelling, and usage (capitalization and punctuation skills). As for
reading, knowledge to develop for writing includes background, topic,
and world knowledge as well as knowledge of the potential audiences for
written products. Writing instruction, like reading instruction, needs to
develop facility with writing for particular purposes, contexts, and con-
tent domains. Writing also requires mastery of tools required for writing
(typing, word processing, and handwriting).
Literacy development, like the learning of any complex task, requires
a range of explicit teaching and implicit learning guided by an expert. Ex-
plicit and systematic instruction is effective in developing the components
of reading and writing and facilitating the integration and transfer of skills
to new tasks and context. Full competence requires extensive practice
with varied forms of text and tasks that demand different combinations
of literate skill. It also requires learning how to use tools required in a
society for producing and using text for communication, self-expression,
and collaboration. Principles of effective reading and writing instruction
are summarized in Boxes 2-2 and 2-4. Box 2-5 lists practices shown to be
effective in the development of writing. Reading and writing involve many
shared components and processes. Instruction that includes activities that
capitalize on and make explicit the relations between reading and writing
facilitates development of a better integrated and mutually reinforcing
literacy system.
A sizeable literature on efficacious interventions for struggling learn-
ers points to additional principles for teaching reading and writing to this
population that include (1) direct targeting of specific areas of difficulty in
the context of explicit reading and writing instruction; (2) more intense
instruction, more explicit instruction, and even more opportunities to prac-
tice; (3) direct targeting of the generalization and transfer of learning; (4)
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targeting of maladaptive attributions and beliefs; and (5) differentiation
of instruction to meet the particular needs of those who struggle or have
diagnosed disabilities in the course of broader instruction to develop read-
ing and writing skills.
Several limitations in current knowledge of component processes indi-
cate that research is needed to (1) develop more integrated and comprehen-
sive models of reading comprehension processes, including metacognitive
components, to develop more complete approaches to instruction and
assessment; (2) understand the relation of fluency to comprehension and
how best to develop fluency; (3) identify efficacious methods for develop-
ing vocabulary and other aspects of linguistic knowledge for reading and
writing proficiency; (4) develop more integrated models of writing processes
and writing instruction; (5) develop methods of teaching reading and writ-
ing in tandem with world and topic knowledge in academic, disciplinary,
or content areas; (6) understand the neurobiology of reading and writing
to test theories and models of typical and atypical developmental processes,
develop more sensitive assessments, guide teaching and treatment of dis-
ability, and prevent reading and writing difficulties; and (7) understand the
social and contextual forces on reading and writing and the implications
both for the design of instruction to develop valued functional literacy skills
and the assessment of these skills as part of evaluating the effectiveness of
instructional outcomes.
Cognitive aging research suggests that adults may experience some age-
related neurocognitive declines affecting reading and writing processes and
speed of learning that might need consideration during instruction. Most
research has concentrated on young children at the beginning of reading
development and on older adults at the opposite end of the life span who
are proficient readers beginning to experience some declines. As a result,
more needs to be known about how reading and writing processes change
across the life span to determine how to make instruction effective for
learners of different ages.
As Chapter 3 makes clear, except for a few intervention studies, the
study of component literacy skills and processes has not been a priority in
research with adults, nor has the research fully incorporated knowledge
of the practices that develop reading and writing skills in K-12 students.
The population of adult learners is highly diverse. Adults bring varied life
experiences, knowledge, education levels, skills, and motivations to learning
that need attention in instructional design. Research with adolescents and
adults will be required to validate, identify the boundaries of, and extend
current knowledge of literacy to identify how best to meet the particular
literacy development needs of well-defined subgroups of learners.
