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Senate Faculty
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Penny Collins
Associate Professor
Department of Education
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Biography
Penny (Chiappe) Collins received her Ph.D. in Applied Human Development from
the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education - University
of Toronto in 1997. She held a post-doctoral fellowship with
Dr. Linda Siegel at the University of British Columbia.
A cognitive psychologist by training, her work focuses on the
cognitive and linguistic processes involved in reading and
mathematics development for normally achieving and learning
disabled children from diverse linguistic backgrounds. Dr.
Collins teaches courses on reading instruction in elementary
schools, assessment, and educational psychology.
Research
Dr. Collins' primary research interest lies in the areas of learning
disabilities and the development of proficiency in reading
and mathematics. She is interested in the
cognitive processes which underlie learning disabilities and
the basic cognitive and linguistic processes involved in academic
development for children from diverse linguistic backgrounds.
As part of her ongoing research, Dr. Collins is investigating the suitability
of different theories of reading development as they apply
to children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
Most recently she has been investigating the development of a variety
of language processing skills such as speech perception,
phonological processing and vocabulary. She is also focussing on the development of important literacy skills such as decoding and reading
comprehension for native English speakers and Korean-speaking
children through the primary grades.
Dr. Collins' research tests the suitability of different models of the stages of reading development for skilled readers and reading disabled students. She has been studying the appropriateness of these stages for children from linguistically diverse backgrounds when learning to read in English.
Dr. Collins is also interested in how best to identify young children who are at risk for academic difficulties. Studies show these children benefit greatly if they receive intervention before they experience significant school failure. In one study, Dr. Collins has been examining whether it is more appropriate to assess young English learners' beginning reading and math skills in English or in their home language. Preliminary findings suggest that the English reading and math measures are equally sensitive in identifying native English speakers and English learners who are at-risk for academic difficulties. Furthermore, when instruction is in English, assessing English learners in their home language may underestimate their skills in reading and math.
Finally, her interests in the cognitive and linguistic processes involved in reading is not restricted to the study of children. She is also interested in the cognitive processes that underlie individual differences in reading skill among adults. In one example, she has studied the role of inhibitory control in the decline associated with aging in working memory performance. In this collaborative study with Drs. Linda Siegel and Lynn Hasher, it was found that proactive interference may play a key role in the decline in working memory between the ages of 30 to 50. In contrast, proactive interference did not account for the depressed working memory performance of participants with reading disabilities.
Courses Taught
- Ed 173: Learning Theory and Classroom Practice
Theories of development, learning, personality, and motivation
are applied to understanding children and adolescents of
all cultural, linguistic, and socioeconomic backgrounds;
formulation of teaching and learning strategies, including
those using the Internet and World Wide Web; performance-based
assessment; classroom management.
- Ed 202: Outcomes of Schooling and Student Assessment
Focuses on establishment of learning goals and assessment
tools that are valid for all students, inform educational
decisions, and promote educational success. Provides critical
examination of different forms of assessment used in K-12
schools, including developmental assessments and appropriate
interventions.
- Ed 326: Curriculum and Methods for Elementary School
Reading
Teaching an integrated reading/language arts program in
the elementary classroom. Implementing theories, principles,
and methods which are research and reality-based. Creating
a child-centered, language-rich program to meet needs of
children in multicultural/multilingual settings.
Publications
Selected publications include:
- Chiappe, P., Chiappe, D. L., & Gottardo, A. (2004).
Vocabulary, context and speech perception among good and
poor readers. Educational Psychology, 6, 825-843.
- Chiappe, P., Siegel, L. S., & Wade-Woolley, L. (2002).
Linguistic diversity and the development of reading skills:
A longitudinal study. Scientific Studies of Reading, 6,
369-400.
- Chiappe, P., Siegel, L. S., & Gottardo, A. (2002).
Reading-related skills of kindergartners from diverse linguistic
backgrounds. Applied Psycholinguistics, 23, 95-116.
- Chiappe, P., Stringer, R., Siegel, L. S., & Stanovich,
K. E. (2002). Why the timing deficit hypothesis does not
explain reading disability in adults. Reading and Writing:
An Interdisciplinary Journal, 15, 73-107.
- Chiappe, P., Chiappe, D. L., & Siegel, L. S. (2001).
Speech perception, lexicality, and reading disability. Journal
of Experimental Child Psychology, 80, 58-74.
- Chiappe, P., Hasher, L., & Siegel, L. S. (2000).
Working memory, inhibitory control and reading disability.
Memory & Cognition, 28, 8-17.
- Chiappe, P., & Siegel, L. S. (1999). Phonological
awareness and reading acquisition in English and Punjabi-speaking
Canadian children. Journal of Educational Psychology, 91,
20-28.
- Chiappe, P., & Siegel, L. S. (in press). A longitudinal
study of reading development of Canadian children from diverse
linguistic backgrounds. Elementary School Journal.
- Gottardo, P., Chiappe, P., Yan, B., Siegel, L. S., &
Gu., Y. (2006). Relationships between first and second language
phonological processing skills and reading in Chinese-English
speakers living in English-speaking contexts. Educational
Psychology, 26, 367-393.
- Chiappe, P. (2005). How reading research can inform mathematics
difficulties: The search for the core deficit. Journal of
Learning Disabilities, 38, 313-317.
Professional Affiliations
- Society for the Scientific Study of Reading
- Society for Research in Child Development
- International Reading Association
- Research on Special Education, Disabilities and Developmental
Risk
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