Robin Scarcella, Ph.D.

English Language Acquisition, Level 1A

Robin Scarcella is a professor in the School of Humanities at the University of California at Irvine, where she also directs the Program of Academic English/English as a Second Language (ESL). She has edited research volumes and written methodology books and numerous research articles as well as developed materials for teaching English, social studies, science, and mathematics to struggling readers and English learners, Kindergarten - Grade 12. Her most recent volume is Accelerating Academic English.

Hector Rivera, Ph.D.

English Language Acquisition, Level 1A

Hector H. Rivera is an Assistant Professor at Southern Methodist University, Simmons School of Education and Human Development. He is currently the director of a federally funded Newcomer program at SMU. Dr. Rivera is also collaborating in research on school reform projects in Guatemala as well as on Inuit educational reform efforts with the Institute of Arctic Education in Greenland.

Mabel Rivera, Ph.D.

English Language Acquisition, Level 1A

Dr. Mabel Rivera is an assistant research professor at the Texas Institute for Measurement, Evaluation, and Statistics in the University of Houston. Her current research interests include the education and prevention of reading difficulties in English learners. In addition, she engages in local and national service activities related to preparing personnel to teach students with special needs, and she presents at national and state conferences.

Isabel L. Beck, Ph.D.

Vocabulary

Isabel Beck is a professor emerita in the School of Education and a senior scientist at the Learning Research and Development Center, both at the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Beck has conducted extensive research in the areas of decoding, vocabulary, and comprehension, having published approximately 1000 articles and several books on those topics. Dr. Beck's work has been acknowledged by numerous awards.

Margaret G. McKeown, Ph.D.

Vocabulary

Margaret McKeown is a senior scientist at the University of Pittsburgh's Learning Research and Development Center. Dr. McKeown's work addresses practical, current problems that classroom teachers and their students face. Her work covers the areas of instructional design and teacher professional development in the reading comprehension and vocabulary.

Penny Chiappe-Collins, Ph.D.

Decoding, African American Vernacular English

Penny Chiappe-Collins, assistant professor in the Department of Education at the University of California, Irvine, teaches courses that address language, literacy, and reading development. Her research examines both cognitive and instructional factors that contribute to reading development among children from linguistically diverse backgrounds. Penny is on the editorial boards of Journal of Learning Disabilities and Educational Psychology. She is currently involved in projects examining effective instructional interventions to promote academic success for English learners in elementary and middle schools.

Action Learning Systems

Action Learning Systems is a California-based professional development company that helps schools and districts focus on—and meet—their ultimate goal of increasing student achievement by providing research-based teaching strategies, training and coaching, and intervention programs.