Reading Research Articles

Allor, J.H., Fuchs, D. & Mathes, P. (2001). Do students with and without lexical retrieval weaknesses respond differently to instruction? Journal of Learning Disabilities, 34(3), 264-275.

Students with poor phonological awareness and with (or without) lexical retrieval weaknesses participated in generally effective instruction. Children with both poor phonological awareness and lexical retrieval weaknesses were least likely to benefit from the instruction.

Barton-Arwood, S.M., Wehby, J.M., & Falk, K.B. (2005). Reading instruction for elementary-age students with emotional and behavioral disorders: Academic and behavioral outcomes.Exceptional Children, 72(1), 7-27.

Dion, E., Morgan, P.L., Fuchs, D., & Fuchs, L.S. (in press). Evidence based early literacy programs. Exceptionality

A review of evidence-based early literacy programs.

Fuchs, D., & Fuchs, L.S. (l998). Researchers and teachers working together to adapt instruction for diverse learners. Learning Disabilities Research and Practice, 13, 126-137.

Summarizes the research program on reading PALS, along with the research-to-practice model, by which researchers and teachers collaboratively developed and tested PALS.

Fuchs, D., Fuchs, L.S., Al Otaiba, S., Thompson, A., Yen, L., McMaster, K.N., Svenson, E., & Yang, N.J. (2001). K-PALS: Helping kindergartners with reading readiness: Teachers and researchers in partnerships. Teaching Exceptional Children, 33 (4), 76-80.

Describes the kindergarten reading PALS methods.

Fuchs, D., Fuchs, L.S., & Burish, P. (2000). Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies: An evidence-based practice to promote reading achievement. Learning Disabilities Research and Practice, 15, 85-91.

Describes the reading PALS procedures for students at grades 2-6.

Fuchs, D., Fuchs, L.S., Mathes, P.G., & Martinez, E. (2002). Preliminary evidence on the social standing of students with learning disabilities in PALS and No-PALS classrooms. Learning Disabilities Research and Practice, 17(4), 205-215.

Results from an experimental field trial suggested that students with learning disabilities in PALS classes enjoyed greater social acceptance than students with learning disabilities in non-PALS classes.

Fuchs, D., Fuchs, L.S., Mathes, P.G., & Simmons, D.C. (l997). Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies: Making classrooms more responsive to diversity. American Educational Research Journal, 34, 174-206.

Reports findings of a major experimental study on the efficacy of reading PALS at grades 2-6; findings showed strong effects for students with learning disabilities, as well as for students with low- and average-achievement levels, on a variety of reading measures.

Fuchs, D., Fuchs, L.S., Thompson, A., Al Otaiba, S., Yen, L., Yang, N., & Braun, M. (2002). Exploring the importance of reading programs for kindergartners with disabilities in mainstream classrooms. Exceptional Children, 68(3), 295-311

An experimental field trial of Kindergarten PALS showed that the program helped about 50% of young children with disabilities in mainstream classrooms.

Fuchs, D., Fuchs, L.S., Thompson, A., Al Otaiba, S., Yen, L., Yang, N.J., Braun, M., & O’Connor, R. (2001). Is reading important in reading readiness programs? A randomized field trial with teachers as program implementers. Journal of Educational Psychology, 93(2), 251-267.

Describes a study examining the effectiveness of PALS with kindergarten children; results provide evidence that PALS helps children get off to a stronger start in reading, regardless of whether they began the year low-, average-, or high-performers.

Fuchs, D., Fuchs, L.S., Thompson, A., Yen, L., Al Otaiba, S., Nyman, K., Svenson, E., Yang, N., Prentice, K., Kazdan, S., & Saentz, L. (2001). Peer-assisted learning strategies in reading: Extensions for kindergarten, first grade, and high school. Remedial and Special Education, 22, 15-21.

Describes the collaborative process between teachers and researchers, which was used to develop PALS, and explains the PALS methods at kindergarten and high school.

Fuchs, L.S., Fuchs, D., & Kazdan, S. (1999). Effects of peer-assisted learning strategies on high-school students with serious reading problems. Remedial and Special Education, 20, 309-318.

Describes a study examining the effectiveness of PALS with high-school students with serious reading problems; results provide evidence that High-School PALS helps students improve their reading comprehension.

Fuchs, L.S., Fuchs, D., Kazdan, S., & Allen, S. (l999). Effects of peer-assisted learning strategies in reading with and without training in elaborated help giving. Elementary School Journal, 99, 201-219.

Reports a study that examined the contribution of student training in elaborated help giving within reading PALS; results showed that (a) at the intermediate grades, elaborated help giving, in which students helped partners figure out unknown words and main ideas on their own, enhanced reading achievement, but (b) at the primary grades, students achieved better with the standard PALS, without the addition of elaborated help-giving strategies.

Locke, W.R., & Fuchs, L.S. (l995). Effects of peer-mediated reading instruction on the on-task behavior and social interactions of children with behavior disorders. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 3, 92-99.

Reports the effects of PALS on the on-task behavior and social interactions of children with behavior disorders served in a self-contained classroom.

Mathes, P.G., Howard, J.K., Allen, S.H., & Fuchs, D. (l998). Peer-assisted learning strategies for first-grade readers: Responding to the needs of diverse learners. Reading Research Quarterly, 33, 62-94.

Reports a study examining the effectiveness of reading PALS at the first-grade level; findings support the efficacy of PALS for low- and average-performing first graders and documents that PALS does not harm high-achieving first graders.

McMaster, K.N., Fuchs, D., & Fuchs, L.S. (in press). Research on peer-assisted learning strategies: Promise and limitations on peer mediation. Reading and Writing Quarterly.

A review of the promises and limitations of “best practices” like PALS.

McMaster, K.N., Fuchs, D., & Fuchs, L.S. (2002). Monitoring the academic progress of children who are unresponsive to generally effective instruction. Assessment for Effective Intervention, 27(4), 23-33.

Detailed description of how CBM may be used to identify nonresponders to PALS instruction.

Saddler, B, Asaro, K., & Behforooz, Bita, (2008). The Effects of Peer-Assisted Sentence-Combining Practice on Four Young Writers with Learning Disabilities, Learning Disabilities: A Contemporary Journal, 6(1), 17-31

In this study sentence-combining practice with a peer-assistance component was used to improve the ability of four young students with LD to construct sentences and compose stories. Results support the use of sentence-combining practice to increase sentence-construction ability

Simmons, D., Fuchs, D., Fuchs, L.S., Pate, J., & Mathes, P. (l994). Importance of instructional complexity and role reciprocity to classwide peer tutoring. Learning Disabilities Research and Practice, 9, 203-212.

Reports a study examining the effects of role reciprocity and of standard classwide peer tutoring achievement versus PALS strategic reading behaviors; results favored role reciprocity and PALS strategic reading behaviors on comprehension outcomes.

Simmons, D., Fuchs, L., & Fuchs, D. (l995).

Effects of explicit teaching and peer tutoring on the reading achievement of learning disabled and low-performing students in regular classrooms. Elementary School Journal, 95, 387-408.

Sutherland, K.S & Snyder A (2007). Effects of Reciprocal Peer Tutoring and Self-Graphing on Reading Fluency and Classroom Behavior of Middle School Students with Emotional or Behavioral Disorders, Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders,, 15 (2),103-118.

Examines the effects of an intervention involving reciprocal peer tutoring and self-graphing of reading data on the disruptive behavior, active responding and reading fluency of students with emotional or behavioral disorders. Results indicated during the intervention phase students’ disruptive behavior decreased and active responding increased. Each student made progress on words ready correctly per minute.