Ryan P. Bowles 
Associate Professor of Department of Human Development and Family Studies | Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI, UNITED STATES
Measurement and Assessment of Early Childhood Language and Literacy.
Biography
Ryan P. Bowles, Associate Professor, Department of Human Development and Family Studies, received his doctorate in quantitative psychology from the University of Virginia. His research focuses on using advanced statistical methods for understanding the development of language and literacy in early childhood. He has a particular focus on the creation and analysis of assessments of language and literacy, especially for children with developmental disabilities.
Industry Expertise (4)
Areas of Expertise (4)
Accomplishments (1)
First place, Poster competition
2009
Michigan State University Undergraduate Research Fair
Education (2)
University of Virginia: Ph.D., Quantitative Psychology 2006
University of Virginia: M.A., Quantitative Psychology, 2003
Affiliations (1)
- 2017 – current Editorial Board, Psychological Assessment
Links (1)
News (3)
MSU Leads Effort to Boost Preschoolers’ Writing Skills
MSU Today
2018-01-04
Gerde’s co-investigators are Gary Bingham from Georgia State University and Ryan Bowles from MSU...
Why kids who have trouble behaving in preschool fall behind
The Conversation (US)
2016-12-12
The landscape of early schooling is drastically changing. More and more children are attending school at an earlier age. At the same time, early childhood and kindergarten programs are increasing focus on academic content.
But are these children ready for school?
Many Kindergartners Struggle With Self-Regulation
MSU Today
2016-10-25
“If you can help children to develop this fundamental skill of behavioral self-regulation, it will allow these students to get so much more out of education,” said Ryan Bowles, associate professor in MSU’s Department of Human Development and Family Studies. “Self-regulation is very predictive of academic success.”...
Research Focus (4)
Development and feasibility of an online training for paraeducators to improve communication supports for young children with complex communication needs
Institute of Education Sciences
Development of the Bilingual Assessment of Phonological Sensitivity
Institute of Education Sciences
Development of the Inventory of Phonological Awareness with Alternative Responses (IPAAR)
Institute of Education Sciences
Development of the Improving Writing Resources and Interactions in Teaching Environments through Professional Development (IWRITE-PD) for teachers of economically disadvantaged children
Institute of Education Sciences
Journal Articles (4)
2018
In exploratory item factor analysis (IFA), researchers may use model fit statistics and commonly invoked fit thresholds to help determine the dimensionality of an assessment. However, these indices and thresholds may mislead as they were developed in a confirmatory framework for models with continuous, not categorical, indicators.
2018
Previous research has established that higher levels of behavioral self-regulation are associated with higher levels of language and literacy. In this study, we take a more developmental perspective by considering how trajectories of self-regulation development (early, intermediate, late) predict the way literacy and language skills develop from preschool through second grade.
2017
A firm foundation in alphabet knowledge is critical for children learning to read. Under new literacy standards, letter name knowledge in preschool and kindergarten can function as a gatekeeper to the rest of the curriculum. Teachers need data about their students’ alphabet knowledge early and often to plan differentiated instruction that moves all students forward in their literacy development.
2013
Letter name knowledge in the preschool ages is a strong predictor of later reading ability, but little is known about the psychometric characteristics of uppercase and lowercase letters considered together. Data from 1,113 preschoolers from diverse backgrounds on both uppercase and lowercase letter name knowledge were analyzed using Item Response Theory.