Literacy Processes: Cognitive Flexibility in Learning and Teaching » (1st Edition)

Kelly B. Cartwright, PhD, received her doctorate in experimental (research) psychology, with an emphasis in cognitive development, from the University of Arkansas in 1997. Her research focuses on applications of cognitive-developmental theory and methods to other domains of development, with particular emphasis on reading and language development. She is currently Associate Professor of Psychology and Associate Provost for Academic Services at Christopher Newport University (CNU) in Virginia, where she has taught undergraduate courses in child development, cognitive development, and research methods. Dr. Cartwright has also served on the steering committee for the interdisciplinary Teacher Preparation Program at CNU, for which she designed and teaches graduate courses in reading. In addition to her university appointments, Dr. Cartwright serves on the editorial board for the Journal of Literacy Research; is a literacy consultant for public and private schools; and is a member of the Cognitive Development Society, the International Reading Association, the National Reading Conference, and the Society for Research in Child Development.

Reading and writing instruction require individuals--both students and teachers--to flexibly process many kinds of information, from a variety of sources. This is the first book to provide an in-depth examination of cognitive flexibility: how it develops across the lifespan; its role in specific literacy processes, such as phonemic awareness, word recognition, and comprehension; and implications for improving literacy instruction and teacher education. The contributors include leading researchers in literacy, psychology, and cognitive development, who summarize the current state of the science and offer practical suggestions for fostering cognitive flexibility in learners of all ages.

Children's Literature

This hefty volume of research collected by an expert in the field of literacy development provides a broad foundation of study topics. Beginning with an overview of the literary learning process and continuing on to specific cognitive skills, Dr. Cartwright sites prolific and specific research. Phonological awareness, monitoring strategies, fluency issues, and vocabulary development are key literacy features about which much exploration and experimentation has been conducted. An impressive array of expertise in those topics and others is represented—Allington, Johnston, Juel, Piaget, Pressley, Stahl, Sternberg, and scores of others. The various stages of the cognitive development of literacy from infancy through adulthood are visited, with multitudes of sources cited for further exploration. This compilation of experts in the intriguing field of literacy development would make an appropriate collegiate textbook. Reviewer: Janice DeLong

Theoretical Foundations
Introduction to Literacy Processes: Cognitive Flexibility in Learning and Teaching   Kelly B. Cartwright     3
Cognitive and Representational Development in Children   Bruce D. Homer   Elizabeth O. Hayward     19
Cognitive and Representational Development in Adults   Jan D. Sinnott     42
Flexibility in Word-Level Processes
The Role of Representational Ability in the Development of Phonological Awareness in Preschool Children   M. Jeffrey Farrar   Sylvia Ashwell     71
Developing Cognitive Flexibility in Word Reading among Beginning and Struggling Readers   Irene W. Gaskins     90
Flexibility in Word Reading: Multiple Levels of Representations, Complex Mappings, Partial Similarities, and Cross-Modality Connections   Virginia W. Berninger   William E. Nagy     114
Graphophonological-Semantic Flexibility: Contributions to Skilled Reading across the Lifespan   Kelly B. Cartwright   Melinda D. Hodgkiss   Marisa C. Isaac     142
Flexibility in Comprehension Processes
An Invitation to Study Professionals Reading Professional-Level Texts: A Window on Exceptionally Complex, Flexible Reading   Michael Pressley   Mary Lundeberg     165
Flexible Use of Comprehension Monitoring Strategies: Investigating What a Complex Reading Framework MightLook Like   Susan E. Israel     188
Content-Area Reading/Learning: Flexibility in Knowledge Acquisition   Cynthia Hynd Shanahan   Timothy Shanahan     208
Fluent Reading and the Representation of Texts   Betty Ann Levy   W. Matthew Collins     234
Flexibility in Instructional Practice
The Impact of Flexibility on Vocabulary and Comprehension Development   Sheri R. Parris   Cathy Collins Block     257
Flexibility and Developmental Coordination: Keys to Negotiating Beginning Reading Materials   Heidi Anne E. Mesmer     278
Teaching Flexibility?: Possibilities and Challenges   Dixie Massey     300
Using Technology to Teach Flexibility through Peer Discussion   Nicola Yuill   Lucinda Kerawalla   Darren Pearce   Rose Luckin   Amanda Harris     320
The Dynamics of Flexibility in Effective Literacy Teaching   Ruth Wharton-McDonald     342
Concluding Reflections: What Can We Learn from Considering Implications of Representational Development and Flexibility for Literacy Teaching and Learning?   Kelly B. Cartwright     359
Index     373