Intellectual Contributions to the Field

Project researchers have initiated a series of qualitative and experimental research studies designed to support curriculum development work and answer foundational questions about literacy learning in the context of inquiry science. Recent papers or presentations can be downloaded from the links below, and are grouped under general headings, including a section with the presentations of P. David Pearson. To learn more about the presenters and authors, please see our staff page.

Overview of the Seeds/Roots program and features:

• An overview of the Seeds of Science/Roots of Reading implementation of the inquiry cycle by Jacqueline Barber.

Effectiveness Studies:

• An independent and respected research organization, the National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST) at the University of California, Los Angeles, conducted an extensive evaluation study of Seeds of Science/Roots of Reading units during the field trials at Grades 2/3, analyzing results and contacting field test teachers on their own. The report is available here.
• A summary of The Multiliteracy Tasks of Inquiry Science Instruction: A Qualitative Study of Second Grade Classroom Implementation of the "Shoreline Science" Science Unit a research report prepared by Dr. David Ian Hanauer of Indiana University of Pennsylvania. The report presents findings of an in-depth qualitative investigation on use of literacy-science materials, specifically the pilot test of the Shoreline Science unit of Seeds of Science/Roots of Reading. Provides an in-depth qualitative description of multiliteracy tasks conducted in this early elementary science classroom, and an in-depth qualitative description of the multiliteracy products used. Describes how scientific knowledge develops, and the role of literacy and multiliteracy in the development of scientific knowledge. (PDF file; requires Adobe Reader.)

English Language Learners and Seeds/Roots:

• Tapping the Linguistic Resources of Spanish/English Bilinguals:The Role of Cognates in Science: This paper explores the existence of and relationship between a set of Spanish/English cognates that have the potential for assisting Spanish/English bilinguals’ experiences with science texts. Spanish and English share many cognates, including some that are highly frequent in Spanish but less frequent in English, specifically in science text.  Consequently, Spanish/English bilinguals possess a linguistic resource that includes many words that, while commonplace in Spanish (e.g., enfermo), are reserved for scientific and academic registers in English (e.g., infirm).  For first language Spanish students these words might well aid in accessing core English words and in gaining understandings of science texts.  An analysis of the frequency of key vocabulary in three science units revealed a substantial number of these frequency-imbalanced cognate pairs, and shows that the Spanish member has a higher frequency than the English counterpart. Written by Marco A. Bravo, Elfrieda H. Hiebert, and P. David Pearson. (PDF file; requires Adobe Reader.)
• Seeds of Science/Roots of Reading author Jonathan Curley gave this presentation called "Making Science Accessible for English Language Learners: Strategies from the Seeds of Science/Roots of Reading Curriculum" to members of the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Vocabulary:

• At the CRA 2008 meeting, presented in Sacramento on October 16, 2008 Seeds/Roots team members Gina Cervetti, Megan Goss, Jennifer Tilson, Carolyn Jaynes, and Jill Castek presented, "Teaching and Learning Vocabulary in the Context of Science," which is available here as a PowerPoint presentation.

Integrating Science and Literacy:

• At IRA 2008 in San Jose, Costa Rica, Jennifer Tilson, Marco Bravo, and Gina Cervetti gave a presentation titled, "Literacy Learning in the Context of Inquiry-Based Science."
  Download a PDF of the presentation here
• Reading and Writing in the service of Inquiry-Based Science by Gina N. Cervetti, P. David Pearson, Marco A. Bravo, and Jacqueline Barber. This paper presents a working model of the science-literacy interface, a model that has guided development of curriculum units for the Seeds of Science/Roots of Reading program and is currently being empirically tested through that program. We believe we have a genuine contribution to make to the conversation about the science-literacy connection, and that all who care about this interface, ourselves included, need to move beyond theoretical ruminations about the benefits of integration to tough-minded empirical examinations. We are pleased to report that we are in the process of gathering evidence that speaks directly to the science-literacy connection. We also propose a preliminary model that might guide teachers, as it has guided us, in shaping an appropriate and supportive role for text and for literacy practices in inquiry-based science.  (PDF file; requires Adobe Reader.)
• At the American Educational Research Association (AERA) annual meeting in San Francisco we reported on Seeds of Science/Roots of Reading and the limits and potential of the science-literacy interface. A series of papers discussed our model of science-literacy integration and results of a quasi-experimental research study designed to evaluate the efficacy of integrated curricula relative to science-only and literacy-only interventions (as well as an untreated control) on measures of literacy and science learning. Jacqueline Barber and Kristen Nagy-Katz presented Improving Science Content Acquisition through a Combined Science/Literacy Approach: A Quasi-Experimental Study.
• From the 2005 IRA Pre Conference, a presentation by Elfrieda Hiebert: "Using Science Texts and Content in Interventions that Bring Struggling Readers to Proficient Reading." (Download the Power Point file; requires Power Point to view.)

Text Accessibility:

• The Implementation of the TExT Accessibility Model Within the Seeds of Science/Roots of Reading Texts is an abstract by Elfrieda Hiebert briefly describing the accessibility model for text used in developing Seeds of Science/Roots of Reading student books. The intention is for students to read these texts themselves, not for the teachers to use the texts only as read-alouds. The model emphasizes the use of the 1,000 most frequent words, and use of repetition with limited numbers of new, difficult words. Includes an analysis of one Seeds/Roots book including comparison to a comparable, popular trade book on the same topic. (PDF file; requires Adobe Reader.)
• A brief overview of the text roles served by the books in Seeds of Science/Roots of Reading provides insight into how the books are used to address specific learning goals within a unit. The books were developed with functional roles in mind, such as providing an invitation to explore a topic, modeling a science or literacy process, providing a reference resource, or providing support to firsthand and second-hand inquiry opportunities. (PDF file; requires Adobe Reader.)

Science as a Context for Language Learning:

• Jacqueline Barber and Gina Cervetti discuss, "Jess Makes Hair Gel and What if Rain Boots Were Made of Paper?: Using Science Texts as a Key Part of the Inquiry Process," in this presentation from the 2005 IRA conference. (Download the Power Point file; requires Power Point to view.)

• A presentation from the 2005 IRA Pre Conference by Elfrieda Hiebert, overview: "Five Reasons for Making Science Content/Texts Central to Language Arts/Reading." (Download the Power Point file; requires Power Point to view.)

Curriculum Development Models and Tools:

• A presentation by Gina Cervetti and Marco Bravo from the 2005 IRA conference titled, "Designing and implementing literacy and science activities through discourse." (Download the Power Point file.)

P. David Pearson's presentations:

• In this talk to the Learning Sciences Institute at Vanderbilt University, Dr. David Pearson discusses the history of education research within the context of reading education.

• David Pearson presented this chart, which summarizes the various national syntheses of early reading research, in the IRA session in Minneapolis (May 7, 2009) at which he and Robert Dykstra discussed the conduct and legacy of the First Grade Studies.

• David Pearson presented these slides for his talk entitled: Teaching Reading in a Time of Promise: What can we expect of the Obama years, at the Reading Research Conference for the International Reading Association in Minneapolis on May 2, 2009.

• Read, Write Talk: David Pearson presented these slides for his talk entitled, Reading, Writing and Language as Tools for Learning: Rethinking the School Curriculum: An Historical Perspective at a Preconference on the topic at the International Reading Association in Minneapolis on May 3, 2009.

• Update on First Grade Studies: David Pearson presented these slides for his talk entitled, So Where Have we Traveled since 1967?, at the International Reading Association in Minneapolis on May 7, 2009.

• Minnesota Mornings: David Pearson and Jane Hansen presented these slides for their talk entitled, Minnesota Mornings: An Interactive Reflection on our Career Pathways, at the International Reading Association in Minneapolis on May 6, 2009.

• David Pearson delivered this presentation on the work of Science and Literacy integration at both the Wisconsin State Reading Association and the National Reading Recovery Conference in early February 2009.

• David Pearson delivered this address, Teacher Knowledge and Teaching Reading, at a meeting of the College Reading Association in Salt Lake City, Utah, on November 2, 2007.

• David Pearson gave this presentation, Teaching Reading Comprehension: Research, Best Practice, and Good Teaching, at the closing session of the Florida Reading Association meeting in Orlando on September 9, 2007.

• On July 26, 2007, David Pearson gave this presentation on the Three Pillars of Comprehension Instruction at the Hyatt Hotel in Oakbrook, IL (MacDonald's campus). Please note that the videos do not transfer in this medium.

• David Pearson delivered this presentation entitled, "Comprehension Matters," on Sunday, May 13, 2007 at Preconvention Institute #1, at the International Reading Association in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

• On March 22, 2007, David Pearson used these slides to guide his panel presentation (Diversity, Pedagogy, and the Academy) at the UC Conference on Changing the Culture of the Academy: Toward a More Inclusive Practice on the Berkeley Campus.

• In this chapter for the 3rd Edition of Best Practices in Literacy Instruction, Pearson, Raphael, Benson, & Madda update their version of what it means to enact a balanced literacy curriculum.

• In this piece for The Reading Teacher, Afflerbach, Pearson, and Paris argue for a new way of conceptualizing the relationships between reading skills and reading strategies.

• In this 2004 essay, Pearson traces the history of the reading wars (the fundamental debate over curriculum-centered versus child-centered approaches to teaching reading) and the uses/misuses of research to shape the policy agenda.

Join us for a Seeds of Science/Roots of Reading 3-day institute at LHS.

Download a program overview.