Faculty Profiles: Rollanda O'Connor
Professor Rollanda O’Connor
Bachelor's Degree, major
B.A., English, University of Washington
Master’s Degree, major
M.Ed., Special Education, High Incidence Disabilities, University of Washington
Doctoral Degree, research area, conferring institution
Ph.D., Education, Special Education and Reading, University of Washington
Favorite Quote:
“Everything takes longer than it does.”
Area of research:
Reading development for children with disabilities. Reading acquisition and reading development regarding who is likely to struggle with reading and how early you can intervene to improve this trajectory. You can put some students in a rich environment and they will thrive. Others need early assistance. For example, I have found that you can identify by January of a child’s kindergarten year who is going to have trouble reading without intensive support.
Selected publications:
Books:
O’Connor, R.E. (2007). Teaching word recognition: Strategies for students with learning difficulties. Guilford Press.
Vadasy, P.F., Wayne, S.K., O’Connor, R.E., Jenkins, J.R., Pool, K., Firebaugh, M. & Peyton, J. (2005) Sounds Partners: A tutoring program in phonics-based early reading. Longmont, CO: Sopris West.
O’Connor, R.E. Notari-Syverson, A.,& Vadasy, P.F. (2005). Ladders to literacy: A kindergarten activity book, 2nd ed., Paul Brookes.
Research Articles:
O’Connor, R.E., White, A., & Swanson, H.L. (2007). Repeated reading versus continuous reading: Influences on reading fluency and comprehension. Exceptional Children.
O’Connor, R.E., Harty, K., & Fulmer, D. (2005). Tiers of Intervention in Kindergarten Through Third Grade. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 38, 532-538.
O’Connor, R.E., Fulmer, D., Harty, K., & Bell, K. (2005). Layers of Reading Intervention in Kindergarten through Third Grade: Changes in Teaching and Child Outcomes. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 38, 440-455.
O’Connor, R.E., Bell, K.M., Harty, K.R., Larkin, L.K., Sackor, S., & Zigmond, N. (2002). Teaching Reading to Poor Readers in the Intermediate Grades: A Comparison of Text Difficulty. Journal of Educational Psychology, 94, 474-485.
O'Connor, R.E. & Padeliadu, S. (2000). Blending versus whole word approaches in first grade remedial reading: Short-term and delayed effects on reading and spelling words. Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 13, 159-182.
O’Connor, R.E. (2000). Increasing the Intensity of Intervention in Kindergarten and First Grade. Learning Disabilities Research and Practice, 15, 43-54.
O’Connor, R.E., & Jenkins, J.R. (1999). The prediction of reading disabilities in kindergarten and first grade. Scientific Studies of Reading, 3, 159-197.
How I discovered my professional passion:
My first teaching assignment was teaching language arts and mathematics in middle school. Two of my students were virtual nonreaders. It was time to go back to school for a master’s degree to learn how to teach students to read!
Only at UCR’s GSOE do you find:
Such a high proportion of faculty involved in the important educational issues of the Inland Empire.
What I like about being at GSOE:
The faculty here is amazing. It’s night and day in terms of productivity from other institutions where I have worked.
What reading do you keep on your nightstand?
Gertrude Bell: Queen of the Desert, Shaper of Nations by Georgina Howell
How my students have influenced – and inspired – me:
They bring a wealth of experience. They know things I don’t know in terms of what is happening in the schools.
A favorite book from childhood?
Mio, My Son
Leisure activities:
I’m making an alphabet quilt of embroidered sea creatures for my first grandchild. My husband and I are outdoors people. We go to Joshua Tree, Anza-Borrego. I sing traditional Irish music.