Educational Factors
Inappropriate instructional materials and techniques
Notes:
In the teacher effectiveness literature (Rosenshine and Stevens) effective teachers avoid wasting time. The amount of time students spend directly engaged in the tasks they are to be learning, is significantly related to achievement. For this reason CA recommends 2.5 hours per day of reading instruction.
Quality teaching makes a difference particularly over2-3 years.
Quality teaching means using appropriate materials and activities. How powerful is the lesson, how important is what I am trying to teach? Teachers sometimes believe that there is a magic bullet. But materials don’t teach, methods don’t teach, grouping practices don’t teach. Only teachers teach. Good teaching is the key to eliminating reading problems due to educational causes.
Page 60 has a list of features of successful reading programs.