Judith Langer Distinguished Professor Director Center on English Learning And Achievement Director Albany Institute for Research on Education OFFICE : ED 310 PHONE : (518) 442-5029 FAX: (518) 442-5008
EMAIL: jlanger@uamail.albany.edu

Judith A. Langer is distinguished professor at SUNY Albany where she is a faculty member in the Department of Educational Theory and Practice and director of the Center on English Learning and Achievement. She is also founder and director of the Albany Institute for Research in Education. She has held research and faculty positions at New York University, U.C. Berkeley and Stanford University.

Langer is an internationally recognized scholar who specializes in literacy, language learning and what schools can do to help students do well. On the one hand she is a theory builder, developing and testing out concepts such as how the literate mind works that can underlie how we target educational needs and educational reform. She also does research in schools to develop pedagogy that can improve education at the national, state and local levels, including what gets done on a daily basis in classrooms.

Her studies have had a tremendous effect on instruction as well as testing both across the United States and in other countries. She is consultant to many educational improvement efforts and many groups use her findings. Recently, the Annenberg/CPB Channel produced three separate television program series based on her work on literature. (One series has already been aired.) She has been a long-term consultant to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, is former editor of Research in the Teaching of English, sits on 6 editorial boards and has reviewed for 21 other journals.

She has won 18 awards and honors, including: Distinguished Professor, State University of New York (2002); State University of New York Chancellor's Award for Exemplary Contributions to Research (2001); Distinguished Benton Fellow, University of Chicago (1999); Excellence in Research Award, University at Albany (1997); Fellow and Scholar in Residence, Rockefeller Foundation, Bellagio, Italy (1994); and Presidential Award for Lifetime Career Achievement, Hofstra (1992). She was recently inducted into the Reading Hall Of Fame and awarded honoris causis (honorary doctorate) by Uppsala University, Sweden.

Langer has published 10 books among them Language, Literacy, and Culture: Issues of Society and Schooling; How Writing Shapes Thinking: Studies of Teaching and Learning; Envisioning Literature: Literary Understanding and Literature Instruction; and Effective Literacy Instruction. Getting to Excellent: How to Create Better Schools was recently released. Her articles have been published in numerous academic journals including: American Education Research Journal, Educational Researcher, Reading Research Quarterly, and Research in the Teaching of English.

• Selected Honors
• Books
• Articles
• National Assessment Reports
• Technical Monographs
• Editorials, Book Reviews, and Columns
• Spring 2006 Courses

Selected Honors

Books

Langer, J.A. Getting to Excellent: How to Create Better Schools, NY: Teachers College Press, 2004

Langer, J.A. Effective Literacy Instruction. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English, 2002.

Langer, J.A. Envisioning Literature: Literary Understanding and Literature Instruction. NY: Teachers College Press, 1995.

Flood, J. & Langer, J.A. (Eds.) Literature Instruction: Practice and Policy. NY: Scholastic Press, 1995.

Langer, J.A. (Ed.) Literature Instruction: A Focus on Student Response. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English, 1992.

Langer, J.A. and Applebee, A. How Writing Shapes Thinking: Studies of Teaching and Learning. Research Monograph Series. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English, 1987.

Langer, J.A. (Ed.) Language, Literacy, and Culture: Issues of Society and Schooling, Norwood, NJ: Ablex, 1987.

Langer, J.A. Children Reading and Writing: Structures and Strategies. Norwood, NJ: Ablex, 1986.

Kamil, M., Langer, J.A. and Shanahan, T. Understanding Reading and Writing Research. Allyn and Bacon, 1985.

Langer, J.A. and Smith-Burke, M. (Eds.) Reader Meets Author/Bridging the Gap: A Psycholinguistic and Sociolinguistic Perspective. Barksdale, Delaware: International Reading Association, 1982.

Articles

Close, E., Hull, M. & Langer J.A. (in press). Writing, Reading and Literacy Learning. In R. Indrisano (Ed.) Writing-Reading relationships in research and practice. Newark, DE. International Reading Association.

Applebee, A.N., Langer, J.A., Nystrand, M. & Gamoran, A. (2003) Discussion-based approaches to developing, understanding: Classroom instruction and student perfomance in middle and high school English, 40, 3, 685-730.

Langer, J.A. (2001). Beating the odds: Teaching middle and high school students to read and write well. American Educational Research Journal.

Langer, J.A. (2001). Succeeding against the odds. English Journal, 91, 1, 37-42.

Langer, J.A. (March 2001). Turning obstacles into opportunity. Harvard Education Letter.

Langer, J.A. (2001). Literature as opening possibilities. In L. Vanderhoeven & C. Snow (Eds.) Creating a world of engaged readers. NY: Erlbaum.

Langer, J.A. (2000). Excellence in English in Middle and High School: How teachers' professional lives support student achievement. American Educational Research Journal. 37, 2, 397-439.

Langer, J.A. & Flihan, S. (2000). Writing and reading relationships: Constructive tasks. In R. Indrisano & J. Squire (Eds.) Writing and Research/Theory/Practice. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.

Langer, J.A. (1998). Thinking and doing literature: An 8-year study. English Journal. 87, 2, 16-22.

Langer. J.A. (1997). Literacy through literature. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy. 40, 8, 606-615.

Langer, J.A. (1995). Literature and learning to think. Journal of Curriculum and Supervision, 10, 3, 207-226.

Langer, J.A. (1994). Teaching disciplinary thinking in academic coursework. In J.N. Mangieri & C. Collins (Eds.), 82-109. Advanced educational psychology: Creating effective schools and powerful thinkers. NY: Harcourt, Brace, Javonovich.

Langer, J. (1994). A response-based approach to reading literature. Language Arts, 71, 3, 203-211.

Langer, J.A. (1994). Reader-based literature instruction. In J. Flood & J. Langer (Eds.) Literature instruction: Practice and policy. NY: Scholastic Press.

Langer, J. (1992). Rethinking literature instruction. In J. Langer (Ed.) Literature Instruction: A Focus on Student Response. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English.

Langer, J.A. (1992). Speaking of knowing: Conceptions of understanding in academic disciplines. In A. Herrington & C. Moran (Eds.). Writing, Teaching, and Learning in the Disciplines. NY: Modern Language Association.

Langer, J. (1992). Discussion as exploration: Literature and the horizon of possibilities. In G. Newell & R. Durst (Eds.) Exploring Texts: The Role of Discussion and Writing in the Teaching and Learning of Literature. Norwood, MA: Christopher Gordon Publishers.

Langer, J.A. & Allington, R. (1992). Curriculum research in writing and reading. In P. Jackson (Ed.) Handbook of Research on Curriculum. NY: Macmillan., 687-725.

Langer, J.A. (1992). Reading, writing, and genre development: Making connections. In M.A. Doyle & J. Irwin (Eds.) Reading and Writing Connections, Newark DE: International Reading Association.

Langer, J.A. (1991). Literacy and schooling: A sociocognitive perspective. In Hiebert, E. (Ed.) Literacy for a diverse society. NY: Teachers College Press, 9-27.

Langer, J.A. (1990). The nature of understanding: Reading for literary and informational purposes. Research in the Teaching of English, 24, 3, 229-260.

Langer, J.A. (1990). Understanding literature. Language Arts, 67, 8, 817-823.

Langer, J.A.; Bartolome, L.; Lucas, T.; & Vasquez, O. (1990). Meaning construction in school literacy tasks: A study of bilingual students. American Educational Research Journal, 27, 3, 427-471.

Langer, J.A. (1988). The state of research on literacy. Educational Researcher, 17, 3, 42-46.

Langer, J.A. (1988) Research on the enterprise of writing instruction. In J. Davis & J. Marshall (Eds.), Ways of knowing: Research and practice in the teaching of writing. IA: Iowa Council of Teachers of English

Langer, J.A. (1988). The role of literature in cognitive development. Reading, writing, and civic literacy. St. Louis MO: Department of Education.

Langer, J. A. (1987). A sociocognitive perspective on literacy learning, in J. Langer (Ed.) Language literacy and culture: Issues of society and schooling. Norwood, NJ: Ablex.

Langer, J.A. (1987). The Construction of meaning and the assessment of comprehension: An Analysis of Reader Performance on Standardized Test Items, in R. Freedle (Ed.) Cognitive and linguistic analyses of standardized test performance, Norwood, New Jersey: Ablex.

Langer, J.A. (1987). Envisionment: A reader-based view of comprehension, The California Reader, 20, 3, 4-7.

Langer, J.A. (1986). Reading, writing, and understanding: An analysis of the construction of meaning, Written Communication, 3, 2, 219-267.

Langer, J. & Applebee, A. (1986). Reading and writing instruction: Toward a theory of teaching and learning, in E. Rothkopf, Review of Research in Education, Vol. 13, Washington, DC: AERA, 171-194.

Langer, J.A. (1986). Learning through Writing: Study skills in the content areas, Journal of Reading, 29, 5, 401-406.

Langer, J. (1985). What eight-year-olds know about expository writing, Educational Perspectives, 23, 3, 27-33.

Langer, J.A. (1985). Children's sense of genre: A study of performance on parallel reading and writing tasks, Written Communication, 2, 2, 157-188.

Langer, J. & A. Applebee (1985). Learning to write: Learning to think, Educational Horizons, 64, 1, 36-39.

Langer, J.A. (1985). Levels of questioning: An alternative view, Reading Research Quarterly 20, 5, 586-602.

Langer, J.A. & Gates, V.P. (1985). Knowledge and comprehension: Helping students use what they know, in T. Harris & E. Cooper (Eds.) Reading, writing and concept development. New York: The College Board, 53-71.

Langer, J.A. (1985). Computers in the classroom: Perspectives and directions, in J. Orasanu (Ed.) A decade of reading research: Implications for practice, Hillsdale, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 189-203.

Langer, J.A. (1984). Literacy instruction in American schools: Problems and perspectives, American Journal of Education, 93, 1, 107-132. Reprinted in N.Stein (Ed.) (1986). Literacy in American schools. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

Langer, J.A. (1984). The effects of available information on responses to school writing tasks, Research in the Teaching of English, 18, 1, 27-44. This body of work is also reported in J. Langer, Where problems start, A. Applebee (Ed.) Contexts for learning to write: Studies of secondary school instruction, Norwood, NJ: Ablex, 1984.

Langer, J.A. (1984). Examining background knowledge and text comprehension, Reading Research Quarterly, 14, 4, 468-481.

Langer, J.A. & Applebee, A. (1984). Writing instruction: Negotiating the message, in A. Applebee (Ed.) Contexts for learning to write, Norwood, New Jersey: Ablex.

Langer, J.A. & Pradl, G. (1984). Standardized testing: A call for action, Language Arts, November 764-67.

Applebee, A.N. & Langer, J.A. (1983). Instructional scaffolding: Reading and writing as natural language activities, Language Arts, 60, 2, 168-175. Reprinted in J. Jensen (Ed.) Composing and comprehending. Urbana, IL: NCRE/ERIC, 1984, 183-190. Also reprinted in J. Britton (Ed.) English teaching: An international exchange, London: Heinemann, 1984.

Langer, J.A. (1982). The reading process, in H. Alan Robinson & Alan Berger (Eds.) Secondary school reading: What research reveals about classroom practice. Urbana, IL: National Conference on Research in English, 39-52.

Langer, J.A. (1982). Reading, thinking, writing...and teaching, Language Arts, 59, 4, 336-341.

Langer, J.A. (1982). Facilitating text comprehension: The elaboration of prior knowledge, in J. Langer & M. Smith-Burke (Eds.) Reader meets author: Bridging the gap, Newark, Delaware: International Reading Association, 1982, 149-162.

Langer, J.A. (1981). From theory to practice: A pre-reading plan, Journal of Reading, 25, 2, 152-156.

Langer, J.A. & Nicolich, M. (1981). Prior knowledge and its effect on comprehension, Journal of Reading Behavior, 13, 4, 373-381.

Langer, J.A. (1981). Pre-reading plan (PReP): Facilitating text comprehension, in J. Chapman (Ed.) The reader and the text. London: Heinemann, 1981, 125-131.

Grundin, H., Courtney, Brother L., Langer, J., Pehrsson, R., Robinson, H.A., & Sakamoto, T. (1981). A cross cultural study of main idea and cloze procedure. Journal of Research in Reading (United Kingdom, 4, 2, 104-122). Also translated for Journal of the Science of Reading (in Japanese), 1981.

Langer, J.A. (1980). Relation between levels of prior knowledge and the organization of recall, in M. Kamil & A.J. Moe (Eds.) Perspectives in Reading Research and Instruction, 28-33.

Grundin, H., Courtney, Brother L., Langer, J., Pehrsson, R., Robinson, H.A., & Sakamoto, T. (1978). Cloze procedure and comprehension: An exploratory study across three languages, in D. Feitelson (Ed.), Cross-cultural perspectives on reading and reading research, Barksdale, Delaware: International Reading Association, 48-61.

National Assessment Reports

(1995) Reading Assessment Redesigned. Princeton, N.J.: Educational Testing Service (with J. Campbell, S. Neuman, I.V.S. Mullis, H. Persky, & P. Donahue).

(1994). Writing Report Card. Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service (with A. Applebee, I.V.S. Mullis, A.S. Latham, & C.A. Gentile).

(1990). Learning to Write in Our Nation's Schools: Instruction and Achievement Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service (with A. Applebee, I.V.S. Mullis, & L.B. Jenkins).

(1990). Learning to Read in Our Nation's Schools. Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service (with A. Applebee, I.V.S. Mullis, & M. A. Foertsch).

(1990). The Writing Report Card. Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service (with A. Applebee, I.V.S. Mullis, & L.B. Jenkins).

(1989). Crossroads in American Education. Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service (with A. Applebee & I.V.S. Mullis).

(1989). Understanding Direct Writing Assessments. Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service (with A. Applebee & I.V.S. Mullis).

(1988). Who Reads Best? Factors Related to Reading Achievement in Grades 3, 7, and 11. Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service (with A. Applebee & I.V.S. Mullis).

(1987). Grammar, Punctuation, and Spelling: Controlling the Conventions of Written Language, Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service (with A. Applebee & I.V.S. Mullis).

(1987). Literature and U.S. History: The Instructional Experiences and Factual Knowledge of High School Juniors. Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service (with A. Applebee & I.V.S. Mullis).

(1987). Learning to be Literate in America: Reading, Writing and Reasoning. Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service, 1987(with A. Applebee & I.V.S. Mullis).

(1986). The Writing Report Card: Writing Achievement in American Schools, Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service (with A. Applebee & I.V.S. Mullis).

(1986). Writing Trends Across the Decade, 1974-1984. Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service (with A. Applebee & I.V.S. Mullis). Also condensed in Education Digest, February 1987, 24-27.

(1985). The Reading Report Card: Progress Toward Excellence in Our Schools; Trends in Reading over Four National Assessments, 1971-1984, Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service (with A. Applebee & I.V.S. Mullis).

Technical Monographs

Langer, J.A. (1999). English instruction in schools that beat the odds: Teaching middle and high school students to read and write well..Report Series 12014. Albany, NY: National Research Center English Learning & Achievement. OERI Grant No. R305A960005.

Langer, J.A. (1999). Excellence in English in middle and high school: How teachers' professional lives affect student achievement, Report Series 12002. Albany, NY: National Research Center English Learning & Achievement. OERI Grant No. R305A960005.

Langer, J.A. (1993). Approaches toward understanding in low and high rated readers. Center for the Learning and Teaching of Literature, SUNY Albany, Albany NY. OERI Grant No. R117G10015.

Langer, J.A. (1992). Academic Learning and Critical Reasoning: A Study of Knowing in Academic Subjects Final Report to the United States Department of Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement, Grant No. R117E0051.

Langer, J.A. (1992). Critical thinking and English language arts instruction. Report series 6.5, National Research Center on Literature Teaching and Learning, SUNY Albany, Albany, NY. OERI Grant No. R117G10015.

Langer, J.A. (1991). Literary Understanding and Literature Instruction. Report Series 2.11, Center for the Learning and Teaching of Literature, SUNY Albany, Albany, NY. OERI Grant No. G008720278.

Roberts, D. & Langer, J. (1991). Supporting the process of literary understanding: Analysis of classroom discussion. Report Series 2.12. Center for the Learning and Teaching of Literature, SUNY Albany, Albany NY. OERI Grant No. G008720278.

Langer, J.A. (1989). The development of literary understanding. Report 2.1, Center for the Learning and Teaching of Literature, SUNY Albany, Albany NY. OERI Grant No. G008720278.

Applebee, A.N., Langer, J.A., & Green, M. (1990). Policy and Practice in the Teaching of Literacy. Final Report to the Department of Education, Grant No. G008710015.

Langer, J.A. & Applebee, A. (1988). Speaking of Knowing: Conceptions of Learning in Academic Subjects, Final Report to the Office of Educational Research and Improvement, Grant No. G008610967.

Langer, J.A., Meaning Construction in School Reading Tasks: A Study of Mexican-American Students, Final Report to the Spencer Foundation, 1988.

Langer, J.A., Policy and Practice in the Teaching of Writing, Final Report to the Spencer Foundation, 1988.

Langer, J.A., Writing and Learning in the Secondary School, Final Report, National Institute of Education, Grant No. NIE-G-82-0027, 1986.

Langer, J.A., Reading and Writing in School-Age Children: A Developmental View, Final Report, National Institute of Education,Grant No. NIE-82-0025, 1984.

Editorials, Book Reviews, and Columns

Langer, J.A. (1999). Common Instructional Features in Uncommonly Successful English/Language Arts Programs. English Update.

Langer, J.A. (1999). Teachers Excel in Rich Professional Environments. English Update.

Langer, J.A. (1998). Beating the Odds: Critical Components Boost Student Performance. English Update.

Langer, J.A. (1997). Forward, In S. Hynds. Negotiating the Brink. NY: Teachers College Press

Langer, J.A. (1997). Beyond Winners and Losers. English Update.

Langer, J.A. (1995). The Debate on Critical Thinking in the English Language Arts. Encyclopedia of the English Language Arts. NY: Scholastic.

Langer, J.A. (1995). Reading and Writing Connections. Encyclopedia of the English Language Arts. NY: Scholastic.

Langer, J.A. (1995). Envisionment. Encyclopedia of the English Language Arts. NY: Scholastic.

Langer, J.A. Reflections on Research in the English Language Arts. Research in the Teaching of English, 25, 4, 388-390, 1991 (with A. Applebee).

Langer, J.A. The interplay of emotions in writing. Contemporary Psychology, 35, 10, 1990.

Langer, J.A. Literate Thinking and Schooling, Thinking, 8, 3, 29-31, 1989.

Langer, J.A. Literate Thinking and Schooling, Literacy Research Newsletter, 5, 1. University of Pennsylvania, Spring 1989.

Langer, J.A. Reading Children's Writing: A Linguistic View, Language in Education, Fall 1989.

Langer, J.A. From Research to Coursework: Rethinking the Shape of Academic Programs in Literacy, Research in the Teaching of English, 22, 2, 1988.

Langer, J.A. Testing and the Inhibition of Educational Reform, Research in the Teaching of English, 21, 4, 1987.

Langer, J.A. Commentary on R. Calfee, The Design of Comprehensible Text, in J.R. Squire (Ed.) The Dynamics of Language Learning. NCRE, 1987.

Langer, J.A. Some Thoughts on Testing, Forum, Fall, 1986.

Langer, J.A. Red Herrings in Language Research: Qualitative versus Quantitative Methods, Research in the Teaching of English, 21, 2, 1987.

Langer, J.A. PReP: Preparing to learn from academic writing. Ignite: Building Higher Level Thinking Skills. Newark, DE: International Reading Association, 1987.

Langer, J.A. Research on Learning and Instruction: Assessing Our Progress, Research in the Teaching of English, 20, 4, 1986.

Langer, J.A. Computers and Conversation, Research in the Teaching of English, 20, 2, 1986.

Langer, J.A. A Sociocognitive Approach to Language Learning, Research in the Teaching of English, 19, 4, 1985.

Langer, J.A. Cognition and Instruction, Research in the Teaching of English, 19, 2, 1985.

Langer, J.A. Novice and Expert Distinctions, Research in the Teaching of English, 18, 4, 1984.

Langer, J.A. Process and Product, Research in the Teaching of English, 18, 2, 1984.

Langer, J.A. Research Directions, Research in the Teaching of English, 18, 1, 1984. (with A. Applebee).

Langer, J.A. What Students Know and What they Write: Ways to Focus a Writing Conference, National Writing Project Newsletter, 1981, 4, 1.

Langer, J.A. Pre-Reading Language and Concept Organizers, Sunrise Semester Bulletin, New York University, Spring 1979.

Fall 2008 Course:

ETAP 780, Class #3829 - Research Practicum in ETAP
(3 credits)
Designed for students who wish to participate in research projects directed by faculty. Experiences include library research, study of measurement instruments, training in administration of instruments, scoring and analysis of results, and participation in data collection and analysis. Prerequisite: Consent of instructor.