Overview of Current and Ongoing Literacy Projects

Research at the K-16 Literacy Center is organized into three key categories: generating new knowledge, preventing reading difficulties, and addressing existing reading challenges.

1. Research to Generate New Knowledge

A collection of coordinated research studies and projects focus on advancing literacy research, enhancing instructional practices, and improving literacy achievement outcomes for students in K-16 educational settings. These efforts include the development of assessment tools to measure students' metacognitive awareness and use of reading strategies with academic texts, reports on literacy interventions designed to address specific reading challenges, and analyses of national and international datasets to identify performance disparities in reading among students worldwide. Sample published studies are provided under each category below.

Ghimire, N., & Mokhtari, K. (2024). Mapping Connections Across Layers: Interrelationships Between Key Factors and 15-Year-Old’s Reading Scores. Reading Psychology, 1–33. https://doi.org/10.1080/02702711.2024.2432882.

Delello, J., Sung, W., Mokhtari, K., & De Giuseppe, T. (2024). Are K-16 educators prepared to address the educational and ethical ramifications of artificial intelligence software? In K. Arai (Ed.), Advances in Information and Communication: FICC 2024 (pp. 406-432). Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems, 921. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-54053-0_28.

Ghimire, N., & Mokhtari, K. (In Press). Assessing the predictive power of metacognitive reading strategies across different educational settings. Large-scale Assessment in Education.

Mokhtari, K., Dimitrov, D., & Reichard, C. (2018). Revising the Metacognitive Awareness of Reading Strategies Inventory and Testing for Factorial Invariance. Studies in Language Learning & Teaching, 8(2), 219-246.

Mokhtari, K. (2018). Prior Knowledge Fuels the Deployment of Reading Comprehension Strategies. The TESOL Encyclopedia of English Language Teaching: The definitive reference in the field of English language teaching (pp. 1–10).

Mokhtari, K. (2018). The value and potential of coaching for improving teaching and learning. In A. Chekayri (Ed.). Teaching of reading in Arabic: New approaches (مقاربات جديدة في تدريس القراءة باللغة العربية). Ifrane, Morocco: Al Akhawayne University Press.

Nutta, J.W., Strebel, C., Mihai, F., Crevecoeur, E., & Mokhtari, K. (2018). Show, Tell, Build: 20 Key Instructional Tools and Techniques for English Learners. Harvard Education Press.

Shaffer-Willner, L., & Mokhtari, K. (2017). Improving Meaningful Use of Accommodations by Multilingual Learners. The Reading Teacher, 71 (4), 431-439.

Delello, J., & Mokhtari, K. (2018). Blurring the Boundaries: The Impact of Social Media in the Higher Education Classroom. International Journal of Interactive Communication Systems and Technologies (IJICST), 7 (1), 7-14.

Mokhtari, K., (Ed.,). (2016). Improving reading comprehension through metacognitive reading instruction. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield. https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781475831214/Improving-Reading-Comprehension-through-Metacognitive-Reading-Strategies-Instruction

Taylor, C., Kulkarni, A., & Mokhtari, K. (2016). Knowledge extraction from metacognitive reading strategies data using induction trees. International Journal of Advanced Computer Science and Applications, 7(6), 269-274.

Delello, J., Reichard, C., & Mokhtari, K. (2016). Multi-tasking among college students: Are freshmen more distracted? International Journal of Cyber Behavior, Psychology, & Learning, 6(4), 1-12.

Mokhtari, K., Delello, J. & Reichard, C. (2015). Connected yet distracted: multitasking among college students. Journal of College Reading & Learning, 45(2), 164-180.

2. Literacy Interventions for Preventing Reading Challenges

The Parent-Powered Literacy (PPL) Project

The Parent-Powered Literacy (PPL) Project is designed to empower expectant parents and parents of young children (ages 0-4) in the Tyler and East Texas region by providing essential tools and resources to support their children's early language and literacy development. This initiative equips parents with the knowledge and skills to foster a strong literacy foundation from the very beginning of their child’s life.

The PPL Project is partially funded by a combination of external agencies, private donors, and the K-16 Literacy Center at the University of Texas at Tyler. Your support is vital in helping us continue this important work. To contribute, please visit: www.uttyler.edu/education/literacy-center. Every donation directly helps parents build the capacity to support their children’s early literacy development at home.

Mokhtari, K., Neel, N., Kaiser, K., & Le, H-H. (2015). Assessing the promise of a supplemental reading intervention program for at-risk first grade students in a public-school setting. International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education, 7(3), 281-300.

Mokhtari, K., & Consalvo, A. (2017). Mapping a way to design, implement and evaluate literacy instruction in school settings: a flexible action-oriented data analytic framework. In S. A. Lawrence, (Ed.)., Literacy program evaluation and development initiatives for p-12 teaching. Hershey, Pennsylvania: IGI-Global Publishers. 

3. Literacy Interventions for Addressing Reading Challenges

Trained graduate and undergraduate students at UT Tyler provide targeted small-group instruction aimed at strengthening third through fifth grade students’ academic vocabulary and reading comprehension skills. Instruction takes place four days a week after school in two local area elementary schools in Tyler.

Mokhtari, K. & Velten, J. (2015). Strengthening academic vocabulary with Word Generation^® helps sixth graders improve reading comprehension. Middle Grades Research Journal, 10 (3), 25-44.

Mokhtari, K., Neel, J. Matatall, A, & Richards, A. (2016). The contribution of morphological knowledge to 7^th grade students’ reading ability. Reading Horizons, 54(3), 39-58.

Velten, J., & Mokhtari, K. (2016). Lessons learned from designing, implementing, and evaluating an after-school program for middle grade struggling readers. Texas Journal of Literacy Education, 4(1), 14-20.