Spotlight on Dyslexia Event Speakers

Allison Peck

Allison Peck

Chief Academic Officer

Allison Peck is currently the Chief Academic Officer at Neuhaus Education Center in Houston, Texas. She holds certifications as a Certified Academic Language Therapist-Qualified Instructor, Licensed Dyslexia Therapist for the state of Texas, and a Structured Literacy Dyslexia Specialist per the International Dyslexia Association. She is a special education, general education, and reading specialist teacher, with her experience being in the public school (middle school) and private school (elementary) realms for the last 18 years. She started her journey in the field of education after her oldest child was diagnosed with dyslexia. Allison has a BA in Political Science, an MLA in History, and an MEd in Curriculum and Instruction. She completed her Ph.D. in Literacy at St. John’s University in New York. Her dissertation and current research are centered on the link between the structured practice of oral language in the classroom and the development of third-grade student writing skills.

Sessions

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What is Oral Language? What does it look like in the classroom?

Oral language is a prerequisite to reading acquisition (Lawrence & Snow, 2010). Success in writing happens when students’ oral language is built up. The existing research shows that structured oral language skills in early literacy programs can lead to students having stronger literacy performance in later years. (Kim et al., 2015a; Kim et al., 2015b; Spencer & Peterson, 2018; Arfe et al., 2016). Lawrence & Snow (2010) state that having skills in the area of oral language is crucial to participating in instructional interactions that will then lead to effective learning of vocabulary and comprehension skills (p. 320). But how does it impact writing? Existing research spells out the relationship between oral language practice and vocabulary or comprehension (Dockrell et al., 2019; Lawrence & Snow, 2010; Fitzgerald & Shanahan, 2000; Kim et al. 2015a; Juel et al., 1986), but there is little connection between structured oral language practice and student writing. This study will help fill this gap with a quantitative study examining the relationship between daily structured oral language practice and the effects on third-grade student writing.

Allison Peck

Allison Peck
Chief Academic Officer