Reporter's Notebook

New Orleans

IRA Attendees Flock to Sessions

On Applying Reading Research

The International Reading Association welcomed a record 20,000 teachers, administrators, researchers, teacher-educators, and policymakers here for its 46th annual convention, offering nearly 1,000 sessions, workshops, and institutes aimed at improving reading instruction for students in preschool through high school.

Similar to IRA conferences of the past, the sessions focused on reading theory, research, and classroom application. But underlying much of the discussion this year was the need for research-based strategies for the classroom, and the requisite teacher preparation and professional development to help...