S. Jay Samuels

In 1953 S. Samuels graduated from Queens College in New York City with a degree in elementary education and taught for more than ten years in New York and California. During that time, I taught all grades except first grade. Samuels also did teacher training and taught gifted students. In 1965 he left California and took a position as an assistant professor of educational psychology at the University of Minnesota where he taught classes on the psychology of teaching and conducted research on the reading process. At the University, he collaborated on research with many superb faculty and graduate students. His research interests include the development of materials and methods for improving word recognition, fluency, and comprehension. Samuels also investigates how to facilitate the young reader's understanding of moral themes as well as measuring fluency.

In 1985, the National Reading Council gave Samuels its research award, and in 1987 the International Reading Association gave him its award for research on the reading process. He is a member of the Reading Hall of Fame. In 1986, he received the College of Education Distinguished Teaching Award. Samuels also received the International Reading Association William S. Gray Research Award and the National Reading Conference Oscar Causey Research Award. He is a member of the National Institutes of Child Health and Human Development National Reading Panel. Samuels spends time consulting with school districts, state departments of education, and with publishers on how to improve and measure reading fluency.