Meredith McKague

BBSc. (Hons), PhD, MAPS

Contact details:

I received my PhD from the University of Melbourne. My research has investigated the acquisition and development of memory codes for the spellings of newly encountered words using the masked priming technique as a probe of learning.  The work integrates cognitive theories of skilled visual word recognition with developmental accounts of learning to read, to provide a more dynamic understanding of visual word recognition processes over the lifespan. The ongoing development of this research encompasses both theoretical issues in the modeling of skilled reading and applied research questions relating to the development of reading and spelling ability.

Research Interests:

• Cognitive processes, especially those relating to language and particularly to literacy.

• Selected Publications:

  
  Peer reviewed journal articles:
  
  McKague, M., Davis, C.W., Pratt, C., & Johnston, M.B. (2008). The role of feedback from phonology to orthography in orthographic learning: An extension of item-based accounts. Journal of Research in Reading: Special Issue on Orthographic Processing (in press).
  
  Johnston, M.B.,  McKague, M. & Pratt, C. (2004). Evidence for an automatic orthographic code in the processing of visually novel word forms.  Language and Cognitive Processes, 19, 273-317.

McKague, M. Pratt, C., & Johnston, M.B. (2001). The role of oral vocabulary in reading visually novel words: A comparison of the Dual-route and Triangle models. Cognition, 80, 231-262.

Conference papers:
       
McKague,M., & Dunlop, S. (2006). Lexical and episodic contributions to orthographic learning. 4th International Conference of Memory.

McKague, M.,  Davis, C.W.,  Pratt, C., & Johnston M.B. (2005). Masked form priming and feedback consistency effects in orthographic learning. Paper presented at the 14th Australian Language and Speech Conference.

McKague, M., and Dunlop, S.(2005). The effect of orthographic neighbourhood density on the development of orthographic representations. Paper presented at the 14th Australian Language and Speech Conference.
           
McKague, M., Pratt, C., & Johnston, M.B. (2001). The role of consonants and vowels in the development of orthographic representations. Paper presented at the 12th Australian Language and Speech Conference.

McKague, M., Pratt, C., & Johnston, M.B. (2000). Oral instantiation of visually novel words. Paper presented at the 28th Annual Australasian Experimental Psychology Conference.

McKague, M., Pratt, C., & Johnston, M.B. (1999). The effect of oral vocabulary on reading visually novel words. Paper presented at the 11th Language and Speech Conference.