Good Teaching Can Determine Students Realize Potential
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Good teaching allows kids’ natural reading abilities to shine through, new research suggests. In contrast, in classrooms with poor teachers, children perform at a more uniformly low level, even though their geneticallybased abilities may vary widely.
The extent to which reading ability is the result of genetics or environment has been the subject of much debate. In a study published in the 23 April issue of Science, Jeanette Taylor of Florida State University and colleagues analyzed reading skills, as reflected by the Oral Reading Fluency test, of identical and fraternal twins in elementary school in Florida.
“When children receive more effective instruction, they will tend to develop at their optimal trajectory,” Taylor
Good teaching allows kids’ natural reading abilities to shine through, new research suggests. In contrast, in classrooms with poor teachers, children perform at a more uniformly low level, even though their geneticallybased abilities may vary widely.
The extent to which reading ability is the result of genetics or environment has been the subject of much debate. In a study published in the 23 April issue of Science, Jeanette Taylor of Florida State University and colleagues analyzed reading skills, as reflected by the Oral Reading Fluency test, of identical and fraternal twins in elementary school in Florida.
“When children receive more effective instruction, they will tend to develop at their optimal trajectory,” Taylor