The K-16 Literacy Center

Vision

To establish the K-16 Literacy Center as a hub where literacy is recognized as a fundamental right, and where individuals of all ages are empowered to become literate, enabling them to engage more fully in society.

Mission

To improve the quality of life for children and adults through literacy by conducting high-quality research, offering exceptional teaching, and providing impactful service initiatives. These efforts aim to strengthen instructional practices and enhance literacy outcomes within the university, local schools, and the broader East Texas community.

Goals

1. Engage in Research to Generate New Knowledge
   Conduct research to advance understanding and improve literacy instruction and assessment practices in K-16 educational settings.
2. Prepare Highly Qualified Literacy Professionals
   Equip future educators to serve as classroom teachers, literacy tutors, and curriculum and assessment professionals in K-16 settings, ensuring students receive high-quality literacy instruction.
3. Provide Professional Development Support
   Provide professional development to schools and community organizations, strengthening instructional practices to improve literacy outcomes in K-16 educational settings.
4. Promote and Support Evidence-Based Literacy Interventions
   Collaborate with schools and community organizations to implement evidence-based literacy interventions that prevent and address reading challenges for students in K-16 educational settings. 

K-16 Literacy Center Staff

Kouider Mokhtari, Ph.D.
Interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Psycholinguistics and Reading
Anderson-Vukelja-Wright Endowed Professor of Literacy
The University of Texas at Tyler

Dr. Kouider Mokhtari is a leading scholar in the fields of metacognition and reading comprehension, with a special focus on both first and second language readers. As the Anderson-Vukelja-Wright Endowed Professor of Literacy, he has made significant contributions to understanding how metacognitive processes influence reading. His extensive body of research has been widely published and cited, underscoring the impact of his work in the field.

View more information on Dr. Mokhtari's research.

LeAnn Nash, Ph.D.

Dr. LeAnn Nash is the Project Coordinator for the K-16 Literacy Center. She has worked as a Writing Program Administrator for 15+ years. She has taught composition, literature, editing, and has writing center work as a research interest.

Graduate Students

Hina Fatima Rehan, Graduate Research Assistant. Hina is pursuing a degree in Clinical Mental Health.

Undergraduate Students

Ayesha Khalid, Undergraduate Research Assistant. Ayesha is pursuing a degree in Computer Science.

Amber Banks, Undergraduate Research Assistant. Amber is pursuing a degree in English.

Samantha Walls, Undergraduate Research Assistant. Samantha is pursuing a degree in English. 

K-16 Literacy Center Advisory Board

Kouider Mokhtari, Ph.D., Director, K-16 Literacy Center, Anderson-Vukelja-Wright Endowed Professor of Literacy, The University of Texas at Tyler; kmokhtari@uttyler.edu

LeAnn Nash, Ph.D., Project Coordinator, K-16 Literacy Center, The University of Texas at Tyler; lnash@uttyler.edu  

Joanna Neel, Ed.D., Associate Professor of Literacy Education, School of Education, The University of Texas at Tyler; jneel@uttyler.edu

Susan Rossman, Interim Vice President for University Advancement, The University of Texas at Tyler; srossman@uttyler.edu

Stormie Tolar, Workforce Solutions Community Outreach Specialist, Workforce Solutions, Stormie.Tolar@easttexasworkforce.org

Aliceson Wallace, Chief Development Officer, Family Circle of Care Health Centers, Aliceson.Wallace@txfcc.org

Jamie Rhorer, Independent Research Strategist, jamie.rhorer@gmail.com

Billy Hibbs, Jr., Chairman/Owner, Heartland Security Insurance Group, Inc. 

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.

PPL Program Structure

The PPL Project runs annually from September to May.

Project Incentives:

Participating parents will receive:

• An initial literacy resource kit to help begin the journey of early literacy.
• Training on strategies to support children’s literacy at home and enhance learning in everyday activities.
• A comprehensive reference list of community resources available for children and families.
• Ongoing support throughout the project to reinforce language and literacy skills and track progress.

PPL Program Requirements

To participate, parents agree to:

1. Attend a 2-hour monthly training seminar from September to May.
2. Document their child’s language and literacy progress throughout the year.
3. Engage fully in all program activities and commit to their child’s early learning journey.

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.