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An Interview with Adolescent Literacy Expert Don Deshler

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By Claus von Zastrow on March 13, 2008

DeshlerPictureWeb.gifRounding out our two-week celebration of NEA's Read Across America this year is Public School Insights' telephone interview with Don Deshler, one of the nation's most respected experts on adolescent literacy.  Deshler is well known for linking policy to practice.  As director of the Center for Research on Learning at the University of Kansas, he has been providing specialized training to secondary special education teachers for over 20 years

In the interview, Deshler discusses strategies for building schools' capacity to address the very specific needs of struggling adolescent readers.  He urges schools to make adolescent literacy a school-wide focus, arguing that adolescent students with serious reading difficulties require both high quality and "high dosages" of instruction.

Deshler points to several schools that can boast stunning improvements in adolescent literacy:  JEB Stuart High School in Virginia; Riverbank High School in California; and Muskegon High school in Michigan.  You can be sure that Public School Insights will be checking them out.

Listen to about 5 minutes of highlights from my interview with Deshler here:


The full 25-minute interview is available here. 

Alternatively, you can listen to any of the following sections:

1.  Why is Adolescent Literacy Important? (1:43)   

2.  Is it Getting Enough Coverage? (3:09)

3.  Can schools help struggling adolescent readers catch up? What are examples of such schools? (4:10)

4.  Where do We Find Age Appropriate Material for Struggling Readers? (4:11)

5.  The Team Approach to Content Literacy-What does it Look Like for Teachers and Administrators? (2:42)

6.  Focusing on Instruction and Administrative Structures (4:00)

7.  How Do We Ensure that Poor Behavior Does Not Stymie Learning? (1:48)

8.  Final Thoughts: High Quality in High Doses! (2:54)

Link to this story: http://www.publicschoolinsights.org/interview-adolescent-literacy-expert-don-deshler

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