Professor Emerita
Contact Information:
Email: baker@umbc.edu
Educational Contexts of Development Lab
Education:
Ph.D. – Rutgers University
Area of Study:
Developmental Psychology
Research Interests:
I have conducted research in reading development, motivation for reading and learning, parents’ beliefs and practices that are associated with children’s school outcomes, students’ understanding and monitoring of their own cognitive processes (metacognition), and instructional interventions to foster reading development and to prevent reading difficulties. I have also conducted evaluations of school and community-based intervention programs for enhancing the academic achievement and engagement of children whose socio-cultural backgrounds place them at risk. I am currently examining the potential of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) for understanding differences in metacognition and academic success among college students.
Selected Publications:
Baker , L., Dreher, M. J., Shiplet, A. K., Beall, L. C., Voelker, A., Garrett, A. J., Schugar, H. R., & Finger-Elam, M. (2011). Children’s comprehension of informational text: Reading, engaging, and learning. International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education, 4, 197-228.
Baker, L., & Beall, L. C. (2008). Metacognitive processes in reading comprehension. In S. E. Israel & G. G. Duffy (Eds.), Handbook of research on reading comprehension (pp. 373-388). New York: Routledge.
Serpell, R., Baker, L., & Sonnenschein, S. (2005). Becoming literate in the city: The Baltimore Early Childhood Project. New York: Cambridge.
Baker, L. (2003). The role of parents in motivating struggling readers. Reading and Writing Quarterly: Overcoming learning difficulties, 19, 87-106.
Baker, L. & Scher, D. (2002). Beginning readers’ motivation for reading in relation to parental beliefs and home reading experiences. Reading Psychology, 23, 239-269.