Learning From Exemplary Teachers of Literacy

Abstract

Abstract Recent articles in The Reading Teacher have communicated contributions of reading research over the last three decades. In this article, the authors focus on a type of research that has contributed to our understanding of practice: studies of exemplary teachers of literacy. The authors discuss three studies and their findings: a study of a teacher who was exemplary in fostering the literacy achievement of African American students; a study of two teachers who were, in comparison with five other teachers studied, exemplary in fostering literacy engagement; and a study of 36 teachers who were more and less effective at fostering literacy growth. These and other studies of exemplary teachers reveal a wide range of instructional practices and their orchestration.