Hot Topics in Literacy Education for 2015

The International Reading Association released its annual list that forecasts "hot" topics in literacy education. Hot is not the same as important, but indicates an area of high interest or even debate among reading experts.  Conducted by Jack Cassidy and Stephanie Grote-Garcia, the 2015 survey polled 25 leading literacy scholars and researchers to find what's hot and what's not.

2015 IRA LITERACY SURVEY

HOT AND SHOULD BE HOT:

• Common Core State Standards
• Close Reading/Deep Reading
• Digital Literacies/New Literacies
• College and Career Readiness
• Informational/Nonfiction Texts
• Text Complexity
• Argumentative Writing

SHOULD BE VERY HOT:

• Preschool Literacy Experiences
• Adolescent Literacy
• Comprehension
• English Learners/ English as a Second Language

COLD BUT SHOULD BE HOT:

• Literacy Coaches
• Creative Writing
• Professional Development
• Motivation/Engagement
• Struggling Readers (Grade 4 and older)

SHOULD NOT BE HOT:

• Phonics/ phonemic Awareness
• Fluency
• High-Stakes Testing

(Cassidy & Grote-Garcia, 2014)

Hot Topics in Literacy Education for 2013

The International Reading Association released its annual list of "hot" topics in literacy education. Conducted by Jack Cassidy and Stephanie Grote-Garcia, the 2013 survey polled 25 leading literacy scholars and researchers to find what's hot and what's not.

2013 LITERACY SURVEY

HOT:

• Common Core State Standards
• Comprehension
• Adolescent Literacy
• College and Career Readiness
• Informational/Nonfiction Texts

SHOULD BE HOT:

• English Learners/ESL
• Motivation/Engagement
• Struggling/Striving Readers (4th grade +)
• Vocabulary/Word Meaning
• Writing

SOMEWHAT HOT

• New Literacies/Digital Literacies
• Content Area Literacy
• Early Intervention (K-3)
• Political/Policy Influences on Literacy
• Response to Intervention
• Text Complexity

HOT BUT SHOULD NOT BE HOT:

• High-stakes Assessment

The experts agree; these two topics are

NOT HOT AND SHOULD NOT BE HOT:

• Phonics
• Phonemic Awareness

(Cassidy & Grote-Garcia, 2012) http://www.reading.org/general/Publications/blog/BlogSinglePost.aspx/reading-today-online/2012/09/14/2013-what-s-hot-what-s-not-literacy-survey-how-it-was-done