My goal is to prepare teachers to use diagnostic assessments for the identification of students’ strengths and weaknesses related to key areas of reading and language development in order to plan for targeted, structured literacy instruction.
Associate Professor
As a researcher, I’m focused on the causes and treatment of dyslexia and other learning disabilities. As a teacher educator, I pass my knowledge along to my students to ensure that every student that passes through their classrooms will have the same learning opportunities as their peers.
In order to increase the reading achievement of many struggling readers, effective training that is specifically designed to (a) strengthen instructional skills related to reading instruction and intervention, (b) increase understanding of the reading process, and (c) facilitate the integration of new research findings related to dyslexia into existing instructional practices is needed. With a clearer understanding of the hierarchy of necessary phonological skills for typical reading development, a teacher can recognize when a student is not meeting age-appropriate milestones and attribute these observations to indications of dyslexia.
My teaching and research focus on causes and treatment of dyslexia and other learning disabilities, issues surrounding the provision of accommodations to individuals with dyslexia and other learning disabilities, early literacy with a focus on teacher training and the use of research-based methodologies for improving student performance, and the relationships between cognitive and linguistic abilities and poor reading and writing development. Researchers have found that the severity of reading problems can be prevented through early identification, but only if robust, instructional strategies are implemented by a well-trained teacher.
Learn more about Jennifer Lindstrom.