Mariam Jean Dreher received her Ph.D. from the University of California, Riverside. Before joining the faculty at University of Maryland, she was an elementary school teacher and a Title I reading specialist. She currently serves on several editorial advisory boards including those of Reading Research Quarterly and the Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy. Her research interests center on elementary reading instruction and include the effects of integrating informational texts into literacy instruction on students’ comprehension, vocabulary, and motivation. She is the co-author of Teaching Informational Text in K-3 Classrooms: Best Practices to Help Children Read, Write, and Learn From Nonfiction (Guilford), as well as co-editor of Engaging Young Readers: Promoting Achievement and Motivation (Guilford). She serves as a consultant to National Geographic Children’s Books on informational books in the National Geographic Readers Series. As a Fulbright Senior Specialist, Dr. Dreher worked with teachers in Finland to explore ways to use more diverse materials -- including informational text -- in young children's literacy instruction. In collaboration with Finnish colleagues, she has examined instruction in Finland as teachers seek to implement a curriculum which calls for diversified literacy practices including informational texts in both digital and print environments. Dr. Dreher was awarded the Artis Paedagogicae Doctor Honoris Causa (Honorary Doctor) by the University of Oulu, Finland. Other honors include receiving the University of Maryland College of Education Distinguished Service Award and the Outstanding Reviewer Award from the Journal of Literacy Research.
Books and Journals
Kuhn, M. & Dreher, M. J. (Eds.) (forthcoming). Developing conceptual knowledge through oral and written language. New York: Guilford Press.
Dreher, M. J., & Kletzien, S. B. (2015). Teaching informational text in K-3 classrooms: Best practices to help children read, write, and learn from nonfiction. New York: Guilford Press.
Kletzien, S. B., & Dreher, M. J. (2004). Informational text in K-3 classrooms: Helping children read and write. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.
Dreher, M. J., & Baker, L. (Eds.). (2003). Motivating struggling readers to succeed. Theme issue of Reading & Writing Quarterly, 19, Number 1.
Dreher, M. J., Davis, K.A., Waynant, P., & Clewell, S. F. (2000). Easy steps to writing fantastic research reports. New York: Scholastic.
Baker, L., Dreher, M. J., & Guthrie, J. T. (Eds.). (2000). Engaging young readers: Promoting achievement and motivation. New York: Guilford Press.
Dreher, M. J., & Guthrie, J. T. (Eds.). (l993). Locating Information. Special issue of Contemporary Educational Psychology, Volume 18 (2).
Dreher, M. J., & Slater, W. H. (Eds.). (l992). Elementary school literacy: Critical issues. Norwood, MA: Christopher-Gordon Publishers, Inc.
Selected Journal Articles
Tiainen, O., Korkeamäki, R.-L., & Dreher, M. J. (2018). Becoming reflective practitioners: A case study of three beginning pre-service teachers. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 62, 586-600. .
Kletzien, S. B., & Dreher, M. J. (2017). What experiences do expository books on recommended book lists offer to K-2 students? Reading Psychology, 38, 71-96.
Schugar, H. R., & Dreher, M. J. 2017). Fourth graders’ informational text comprehension: Indicators from NAEP. International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education, 9, 523-552.
Dreher, M. J., & Kletzien, S. B. (2016). Have recommended book lists changed to reflect current expectations for informational text in K-3 classrooms? Reading Psychology, 37, 371-391.
Scott, D. B. & Dreher, M. J. (2016). Student thinking processes while constructing graphic representations of textbook content: What insights do think-alouds provide? Reading Psychology, 37, 286-317.
Räisänen, S., Korkeamäki, R.-L., & Dreher, M. J. (2016). Changing literacy practices according to the Finnish core curriculum. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 24, 198-214.
Braxton, D. M., & Dreher, M. J. (2013). Teaching summarization strategies to intermediate-grade students in an urban, Title 1 school. Literacy Research Association Yearbook, 62, 104-122.
Baker, L., Dreher, M. J., Shiplet, K. A., Beall, L. C., Voelker, A., Garrett, A., Schugar, H. R., Finger-Elam, M. (2011). Children's comprehension of informational text: Reading, engaging, and learning. International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education, 4, 197-227.
Korkeamäki, R.-L., & Dreher, M. J. (2012). Implementing curricula that depend on teacher professionalism: Finnish preschool and early childhood core curricula and literacy-related practices. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 20(2), 217-232.
Korkeamski, R.-L., & Dreher, M. J. (2011). Early literacy practices and the Finnish national core curriculum. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 43(1), 109-137.
Dreher, M. J., & Gray, J. L. (2009). Compare, contrast, comprehend: Using compare-contrast text structures with ELLs in K-3 classrooms. The Reading Teacher, 63, 132-141
Artis Paedagogicae Doctor Honoris Causa (Honorary Doctor) awarded by the University of Oulu, Finland, 2013
Outstanding Reviewer Award, Journal of Literacy Research, 2011
Distinguished Terp Award, College of Education, University of Maryland, 2009
Global Awareness in Teacher Education (GATE) Fellow, College of Education/Longview Foundation, University of Maryland, 2009
Reading Faculty Award, presented by the doctoral students in the Reading Education, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, University of Maryland, 2008
Fulbright Senior Specialist Grant, posted to University of Oulu, Finland, 2006