Andrew Biemiller

Professor Emeritus

Dr. Eric Jackman Institute of Child Study
andyb1009@gmail.com

Keywords

vocabulary development, school instruction, preschool instruction

Research Interests

My main area at present is vocabulary and reading (language) comprehension. Having recently established the existence of a strong sequence in which children acquire specific words (Biemiller & Slonim, 2001), I have published a listing of some 11,000 word meanings for use with children in elementary grades (Biemiller, 2009). I am now working on vocabulary instruction needed before school. In addition, I have spent the 1988-1998 period working on self direction in schools, summarized in Meichenbaum and Biemiller (1998).

Applied/Clinical Interests

Practical aspects of vocabulary and teaching vocabulary, especially at elementary and preschool grades. Note that at primary and pre-primary grades, vocabulary must be introduced orally.

Representative Publications

Biemiller, A. (Winter, 2011). Vocabulary: What words should we teach?  Better: Evidence-based Education pp 10-11. PDF

Biemiller, A. (2010). Vocabulary development and implications for reading problems. In A. McGill-Franzen and R. Allington (Eds), Handbook of Reading Disabilities Research, pp 208-218. New York, NY: Routledge.

Kearns, G., & Biemiller, A. (2010/2011). Two-Questions Vocabulary Assessment: Developing a New Method for Group Testing in Kindergarten through Second Grade. Journal of Education, 190 (1/2), pp 31 – 42.

Biemiller, A. (2009). Vocabulary: Development in the First Sixty Months. in Linda Phillips (Ed.) Handbook of Language and Literacy (0-60 months). London, ON, Canada. Canadian Language and Literacy Research Network housed at Western. This is an on-line publication. Available at: http://www.theroadmap.ualberta.ca/vocabularies

Biemiller, A. (2009). Words Worth Teaching. Columbus, OH: SRA/McGraw-Hill.

Biemiller, A. (2006). Vocabulary Development and Instruction: A Prerequisite for School Learning. In S. Neuman and D. Dickinson (Eds.), Handbook of Early Literacy Research (Vol 2) (41-51). New York, NY: Guilford Press.

Biemiller, A. & Boote, Catherine, (2006). An effective method for building meaning vocabulary in primary grades. Journal of Educational Psychology. 98, 44-62.

Biemiller, A. & Slonim, N. (2001) Estimating root word vocabulary growth in normative and advantaged populations: Evidence for a common sequence of vocabulary acquisition. Journal of Educational Psychology, 93, 498-520. 
 

Contact Information

Andrew Biemiller
2 Toronto St., #1009
Barrie, ON L4N 9R2
CANADA
705-730-7566
andyb1009@gmail.com

External Affiliations

Associate Editor - Journal of Educational Psychology (2004-2007)

Consultant - Research groups, publishers, and federal (U.S.) and state agencies, mainly regarding vocabulary development and instruction.