Research

Advancing the science of reading, writing, and implementation.

I identify and optimize effective reading and writing practices, then support their use for students with literacy difficulties across the real-world settings where they learn. We know a lot about what works, but far less about how to get it to work in practice. That's where implementation comes in.

Two strands of research

One goal, approached two ways.

My program of research runs along two connected lines: identifying what works and figuring out how to make it stick in practice.

Strand 01 — Intervention science

What works, and when.

Identify and refine the mechanisms that strengthen reading and writing outcomes, and clarify the conditions under which they work best.

Strand 02 — Implementation science

How to make it last.

Identify and test strategies that support the use, adaptation, and sustained use of effective literacy practices in authentic settings.

Active funding

A funded, current portfolio.

A current portfolio of externally funded research, held as PI or Co-PI across three strands of work — grouped below by the focus each project advances:

Intervention science
2025–27
Exploring spelling as a pathway to efficient word learning in students with dyslexia
NICHD, National Institutes of Health
PI
2025–26
Exploring the role of spelling in word-learning efficiency for students with dyslexia
Arrington Research Initiation Grant
PI
Implementation science
2026–27
Building caregiver capacity for structured literacy at home: a parent-leader implementation pilot
Deal Center for Early Language & Literacy
PI
2025–26
Project SPELL: supporting parents in enhancing language & literacy
Deal Center for Early Language & Literacy
PI
2025–26
Community learning center evaluation: scaling evidence-based PD with NYCDOE partnerships
Stephen Gaynor School
PI
Personnel preparation & doctoral training
2025–28
CEHD Ph.D. Fellow in Dyslexia
Frank & Karen Boykin — philanthropic award
PI
2024–25
Expanding capacity & improving the quality of the dyslexia endorsement
Georgia Department of Education
Co-PI
Selected publications

Peer-reviewed work.

2026
What gets measured? A systematic review of assessment practices in spelling intervention research
Assessment for Effective Intervention
2025
A meta-analytic review of spelling interventions for students with or at risk for learning disabilities
Journal of Learning Disabilities
2025
The science of spelling: untangling what the evidence supports and the questions that remain
The Reading League Journal, 6(3), 41–56
2025
Spelling practice and the multisyllabic word-reading skills of upper-elementary students with dyslexia
Learning Disability Quarterly
2025
Instruction & intervention to support word-level reading for adolescent learners with LD
Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 68(4), 380–391
2025
Effects of writing instruction on reading outcomes, pre-K to grade 5: a meta-analysis
Reading and Writing, 38(3), 627–650
2024
Correlates of K–12 students' intertextual integration: a scoping review
Educational Psychology Review, 32(6), 48
2023
Writing to read: writing's contributions to the science of reading
The Reading League Journal, 4(1), 5–11
Recognition & training

Honors and fellowships.

John Wills Lloyd Outstanding Research Award
Council for Exceptional Children, Division for Learning Disabilities · 2025
Quantitative Dissertation Research Award
Council for Exceptional Children, Division for Research · 2024
IES Fellow — Adaptive Interventions Training in Education
Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Dept. of Education · 2025
NCLII Scholar
National Center for Leadership in Intensive Intervention, OSEP · 2020–2024

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