Carol McDonald Connor

Carol McDonald Connor (February 21, 1953 – May 14, 2020) was an educational psychologist known for her research contributions to the field of early literacy development in diverse learners, in particular for work on individualized student instruction interventions and the lattice model of reading development. She held the position of Chancellor's Faculty and Equity Advisor in the School of Education at the University of California, Irvine.

Connor was the editor of The Cognitive Development of Reading and Reading Comprehension (2016), a text on theories of reading comprehension development. She also co-edited Advances in Reading Interventions: Research to Practice to Research (2015) and co-authored Improving Literacy in America: Guidelines from Research (Current Perspectives in Psychology) (2005).

Biography Carol McDonald was born on February 21, 1953, in Chicago. She began her career in speech-language pathology. After receiving B.S. and M.S. degrees in Speech-Language Pathology from Northwestern University, she spent over ten years working as an ASHA certified speech-language pathologist in Utah, Massachusetts, and Illinois.

She received her PhD in language, Literacy, and Culture from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor in 2002, under the supervision of Holly K. Craig. She did her post-doctoral work with Frederick J. Morrison at the University of Michigan.

Since 2002, Connor worked as a research scientist and professor around the country, including at the University of California, Irvine, Arizona State University, Florida State University, and the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Connor died May 14, 2020, of ovarian cancer.

Research Individualized Student Instruction and Child-by-Instruction Interaction Effects

Much of Connor's research has been fostered by a conviction that individual differences matter when it comes to reading instruction.

The Lattice Model of Reading Comprehension

Connor borrowed the concept of a Lattice Model from the field of Economics and applied it to the development of reading comprehension. Her model describes the process of learning to understand reading as nonlinear, wherein "language, literacy, cognitive, social, and other environmental factors" develop in a mutual feedback process over time.

Recent work

In 2017, Connor received a four-year IES grant to develop electronic-books intended to provide adaptive support to improve reading comprehension, including strategies such as word learning, question generation, and summarization. She was the project's Principal Investigator, with co-investigator Danielle McNamara.

Connor was also the Principal Investigator of the Assessment Team of the Early Learning Research Network, which seeks to develop tools and policies that positively impact early learning outcomes through third grade. Connor's team is developing a technology-supported classroom observation system, the Optimizing Learning Opportunities for Students (OLOS) Early Learning Observation System. The Network describes it as "an innovative, multidimensional assessment system" that will "generate reports to match effective recommended instructional practices with observed learning opportunities." The work is supported by a five-year grant from the IES that began in 2016.

In 2007, the American Psychological Association (APA) awarded Connor with the Richard Snow Award for "significant contributions to the field of educational psychology."

Connor was named a 2015 fellow of the American Education Research Association (AERA) and a 2016 fellow of the APA.

Other awards include:

Innovators Award, Florida State University (2013) Developing Scholar, Florida State University (2010) Early Career Contribution Award, Society for Research in Child Development (2009) (2006)

Representative publications

Connor, C.M., Alberto, P.A., Compton, D.L., O'Connor, R.E. (2014). Improving reading outcomes for students with or at risk for reading disabilities: A synthesis of the contributions from the Institute of Education Sciences Research Centers (NCSER 2014–3000). Washington, DC: National Center for Special Education Research, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. Connor, C.M., & Craig, H.K. (2006). African American preschoolers' language, emergent literacy skills, and use of African American English: A complex relation. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 49, 771–792. Connor, C.M., Craig, H.K., Raudenbush, S.W., Heavner, K., & Zwolan, T.A. (2006). The age at which young deaf children receive cochlear implants and their vocabulary and speech-production growth: Is there an added value for early implantation? Ear & Hearing, 27(6), 628–644 Connor, C.M., Piasta, S.B., Fishman, B., Glasney, S., Schatschneider, C., Crowe, E., Underwood, P., & Morrison, F.J. (2009). Individualizing student instruction precisely: effects of Child x Instruction interactions on first graders' literacy development. Child Development, 80(1), 77–100. Connor, C.M., Son, S.-H., Hindman, A.H., and Morrison, F.J. (2005). Teacher Qualifications, Classroom Practices, Family Characteristics, and Preschool Experience: Complex Effects on First Graders' Vocabulary and Early Reading Outcomes. Journal of School Psychology, 43, 343–375.