Research

The Research Pillar brings together researchers with a variety of research interests centered around language and literacy. Research Pillar members conduct foundational research on the neural, cognitive, cultural, and linguistic processes involved in language and literacy acquisition at multiple stages of life and the policies and practices that increase access to language and literacy acquisition. Members also engage in rigorous translational science in close partnership with community stakeholders to advance research and practice in schools, libraries, governments, and other contexts.

Current Research

Participate in PLANES (Preschool Language and Neural Engagement Study)

PLANES (Preschool Language and Neural Engagement Study) investigates how children’s early language experiences relate to brain development that supports literacy.

Click here to participate in the study!

Study conducted by Language, Experience, and Development (LEAD) Lab.

AIM Coaching

AIM Coaching is an adaptive intervention model (AIM) that coaches can use to provide teachers with differentiated support. AIM Coaching provides coaches with a way to prioritize their efforts based on easy-to-collect screening data. Then, supports are individualized to meet teacher needs.

AIM Coaching was developed by a team of researchers, instructional coaches, and middle school teachers, all dedicated to bridging educational research and practice to improve literacy outcomes for all middle school students.

Learn more about AIM Coaching

Relevant Publications

Publications By Jade Wexler

Books

Wexler, J., Swanson, E., & ^Shelton, A. (2021). Literacy coaching in secondary settings: Improving intensive instruction for all students. New York, NY: Guilford Press.

Nominated for the 2022 Robert W. Hamilton Book Awards Program; The University of Texas at Austin

Reed, D. K., Wexler, J., & Vaughn, S. (2012). RTI for reading at the secondary level: Recommended literacy practices and remaining questions. New York, NY: Guilford Press.

Denton, C. A., Vaughn, S., Wexler, J., Bryan, D., & Reed, D. (2012). Effective instruction for middle school students with reading difficulties: The reading teacher's sourcebook. Baltimore, MD: Brookes Publishing.

Journals

^Stark, K., Wexler, J., Shelton, A., Johnston, T.J. & ^Omohundro, Karen (2023). Explicit and evidence-based literacy instruction in middle school: An observation study. Reading and Writing. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-023-10470-y

Shelton, A., Swanson, E., Wexler, J., Payne, S. B., & Hogan, E. (2023). An exploration of middle school literacy coaching: A multi-survey study of teachers and instructional coaches. Teacher Education and Special Education. https://doi.org/10.1177/08884064231172733

Wexler, J., Kearns, D.M., Lemons, C.J., Shelton, A., Pollack, M.S., Stapleton, L.M., Clancy, E., Hogan, E.K., Lyon, C., (2022). Improving literacy instruction in co-taught middle school classrooms to support reading comprehension. Contemporary Educational Psychology. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2021.102040

Wexler, J., Swanson, E., Vaughn, S., Shelton, A., Bray, L., Hogan, E.K., Kurz, L. (2022). Sustaining the use of evidence-based tier 1 literacy practices that benefit students with disabilities. Journal of Learning Disabilities. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/00222194211065499

Publications By Rachel Romeo

Romeo, R.R. (2023). The neuroscience of early literacy development. In S. Cabell., S. Neuman, & N. Patton Terry (Eds.) Handbook on the Science of Early Literacy, 2nd edition. New York, NY: Guilford Press.

Taylor, E., Abdurokhmonova, G., & Romeo, R.R. (2023). Socioeconomic Status and Reading Development: Moving from “Deficit” to “Adaptation” in Neurobiological Models of Experience-Dependent Learning. Mind, Brain, and Education. https://doi.org/10.1111/mbe.12351

Romeo, R.R., Perrachione, T.K., Olson, H.O., Halverson, K.K., Gabrieli, J.D.E., & Christodoulou, J.A. (2022). Socioeconomic dissociations in the neural and cognitive bases of reading disorders. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, 58(101175). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dcn.2022.101175

Romeo, R.R., Uchida, L., & Christodoulou, J.A. (2022). Socioeconomic status and reading outcomes: Neurocognitive and behavioral correlates. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 2022(52-70).https://doi.org/10.1002/cad.20475

Romeo, R.R., Choi, A.B., Gabard-Durnam, L.J., Wilkinson, C.L., Levin, A.R., Rowe, M.L. Tager-Flusberg, H., & Nelson, C.A. (2021). Parent language input predicts neuroscillatory patterns underlying language development in infants at risk of Autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 52, 2717-2731. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-021-05024-6

Romeo, R.R. (2019). Socioeconomic and experiential influences on the neurobiology of language development. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups: Special Issue on the Neurobiology of Language Development and Disorders. 4(6), 1229-1238. https://doi.org/10.1044/2019_PERSP-19-00073

Romeo, R.R., Segaran, J., Leonard, J.A., Robinson, S., West, M.R., Mackey, A.P., Yendiki, A., Rowe, M.L., Gabrieli, J.D.E. (2018). Language exposure relates to structural neural connectivity in childhood. Journal of Neuroscience, 38(36), 7870-7877. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0484-18.2018

Research Pillar Members

Jade Wexler

Associate Director, Research

Jade Wexler, Ph.D. is an associate professor of special education and the inaugural College of Education Impact Professor at the University of Maryland. Her current research focuses on improving literacy outcomes for secondary students with reading difficulties and disabilities, via teacher professional development and the establishment of sustainable school-wide literacy models. Dr. Wexler has been the principal investigator and co-principal investigator on several federally funded adolescent literacy focused grants totaling approximately $8M. She has published over 55 articles in peer-reviewed journals and is the co-author of three books about adolescent literacy. As a former high school special education and reading teacher, Dr. Wexler aims to bring her practical experience in the field to her research and greatly values her school partners.

Learn more about Jade Wexler