This book brings together some of the world’s foremost literacy scholars to discuss how research influences what teachers actually do in the classroom. Chapters describe the current state of knowledge about such key topics as decoding, vocabulary, comprehension, digital literacies, reading disabilities, and reading reform. At the same time, the authors offer a unique “inside view” of their own research careers: key personal and professional influences, how their research agendas took shape, and what they see as the most important questions currently facing the field. The book honors the contributions of Isabel Beck, who has achieved tremendous success in translating research into widely used instructional practices.

Margaret G. McKeown, PhD, is Clinical Professor of Education and Senior Scientist at the Learning Research and Development Center, University of Pittsburgh. Her work covers the areas of learning, instruction, and teacher professional development in reading comprehension and vocabulary.

Linda Kucan, PhD, is Assistant Professor of Reading Education in the Department of Instruction and Learning at the University of Pittsburgh. Her interests include teacher education, classroom discourse about text, the design of meaningful and motivating tasks to support comprehension of text, and vocabulary instruction.