Education Commons^™

A Study Of Preservice Teachers' Preparedness To Teach Reading, Kelli Williams-Page

Teacher Education, Educational Leadership & Policy ETDs

Only 35% of fourth graders in the United States can read at the proficient level, and only 34% of eighth graders can read proficiently (National Assessment of Educational Progress [NAEP], 2022). The purpose of this study was to determine how preservice teachers (PSTs) describe their experience of the methodology of teaching reading in their literacy courses. In addition, what specific strategies for teaching reading do PSTs describe as the focus for their teaching reading preparation, and how do PSTs describe the potential of the strategies learned in their coursework to help them teach reading in their future positions? This study …

Reading Strategies: Impact On Fifth Grade African American Males’ Reading Comprehension And Motivation To Read, Patrice Antoinette Barrett

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this action research was to implement four close reading strategies (Aha moment, Hmm moment, B.U.R.N. strategy, and R.A.P.) and evaluate its impact on fifth grade African American male students’ reading comprehension skills and their experiences with reading at Wisteria Lane Elementary. This intervention study focused on two research questions: how does the implementation of close reading strategies impact the reading comprehension skills of fifth grade male students, and in what ways does the implementation of close reading strategies influence fifth grade male students’ motivation to read in other classes? Nationally, African American boys suffer with weak reading …

Boys, Reading, And Video Games: A Mixed-Methods Case Study Examining The Effects Of Using A Recreational Video Game To Improve Reading Comprehension Performance At An Elementary School In Texas, Donald Wayne Meyer Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

The fifth-grade boys at an elementary school in Texas consistently perform lower than girls on the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) reading portion. The gender gap in reading is not exclusive to this school. Boys score lower than girls on state-administered reading assessments each year in the United States (U.S.) and have done so for decades (Bozack & Salvaggio, 2013; Clinton et al., 2014; Schwabe et al., 2015; Schwanenflugel & Knapp, 2018). This study explored the effects of using a recreational video game on fifth-grade boys struggling with reading comprehension in a six-week-long reading intervention program.

This …

Perceptions Of Out-Of-School Reading Motivation For Female Middle School Students, Danielle Porch

Dissertations

Literacy engagement and motivation to read is lacking in middle school reading classrooms. Educators struggle with the challenge of motivating students to read and actively engage with text both inside and outside of school. Research indicates that female and male middle school students have unique characteristics and habits as readers. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the perspectives of female middle school students regarding their out-of-school recreational reading time, their attitudes towards reading, and their reading habits. The themes derived from this study indicated the students’ desires to have their reading instruction personalized and have their reading …

The Effects Of Guided Reading In A Primary Montessori Classroom, Taylor Bates, Mary Brocklesby, Katie Mcgarrigle

Masters of Arts in Education Action Research Papers

The purpose of this action research was to decide if conducting guided reading instruction three times a week in a primary Montessori classroom would make an impact on reading levels among kindergarten students. The research took place over six weeks in a public Montessori school. The school is a Title One school located in a rural area of South Carolina. The population who participated in the study were 26 kindergarten students aged five to six from three different classrooms. Our intervention included using a variety of reading strategies such as pointing to each word, using picture clues, sounding out words, …

Young Adult Literature In The Classroom: A Tool To Inspire Students And Encourage Reading Both Inside And Outside Of The Classroom, Naomi Nagy

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This paper examines the potential of incorporating more young adult literature into high school English and language arts classrooms. Drawing on past research of others and the thoughts and opinions of a handful of current high school students, this paper will focus on what young adult literature is, why more teens and young adults should read it, and how it can be incorporated and taught in the average high school English classroom. These studies, along with the thoughts and experiences provided by high school students surveyed for this paper, may not reflect the thoughts and opinions of every high school …

Front-End-Connective Phonics Effectiveness In Reading And Spelling In Fifth Through Seventh Grade Students, Bridget Weber

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

This 2021 study experimentally investigated the impact five front-end-connective phonics had on the academic performance of middle school students in reading and spelling DIBELS nonsense words. In the upper grades, students depend on whole-word instruction instead of phoneme awareness. My focus was on whether or not front-end-connective phonics instruction played a significant role in the outcome of students’ scores on reading and spelling tests. Participants were assessed twice in both reading and spelling. The participants took an assessment at the beginning of the study and then a final assessment at the end of the study. The research took place in …

Closing The English Language Proficiency Gap In Post-Secondary Education In Canada, Priscilla Lothian-Hendrix

Dissertations

The proposed research employed a mixed-method approach to investigate why the linguistic standards of the Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) (levels 5–8) are deemed satisfactory for English as a second language (ESL) learners at the college level. An examination of the Canadian English Language Proficiency Index Program (CELPIP) identified why an ESL learner with a CLB level of 5–8 requires English support services in post-secondary education to achieve academic success in Canada. The CLB levels of six female participants were analyzed using a questionnaire in reading, writing, listening, and speaking to explore their English levels in articulating the language, pronouncing words, …

Motivation In Male Adolescent Readers, Rachel Dockter

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

The purpose of this study was to determine if weekly one on one conferring with male students was effective in increasing motivation in adolescent male readers. The study began by collecting data on individual reading habits by having students complete a comprehensive questionnaire on their habits and attitudes towards reading. Male students then meet with their instructor on a weekly basis to orally outline their past reading habits, discuss current reading habits, and make goals for future reading habits. The study concluded by having students take the questionnaire a second time to determine if conferring had any impact on their …

Motivating The Unmotivated: How Are We Supporting Struggling Readers In Upper Elementary Classrooms?, Maci V. Wood

Honors College Theses

Motivating struggling students to read is a question considered by many general education reading teachers and special education teachers alike. Since student classroom experiences today differ greatly from classrooms of the past in terms of instructional practices and learning supports, scripted materials that seldom cater to student interest have often been promoted due to the pressure of standardized assessment. With little to no student engagement present in the classroom, it is up to the student to find the will to read or to the teacher to utilize alternative strategies in increasing student motivation (Cambria & Gunthrie, 2008). However, there is …

Incidencia De Las Habilidades Lectoras Y Las Operaciones Del Pensamiento Sobre La Calidad De La Educación En Los Estudiantes Del Curso 203 Del Colegio San Agustín I.E.D: Desde Las Perspectivas De Las Docentes, Andrea Adelayda Navarrete Forero, Yerly Viviana Roa Cortés

Maestría en Docencia

El objetivo de esta investigación es identificar la incidencia que tienen las habilidades lectoras y las operaciones del pensamiento sobre la calidad de la educación de los estudiantes del curso 203 del Colegio San Agustín I.E.D., con base en las perspectivas de las docentes. Para esto se llevó a cabo una investigación de tipo descriptiva con un enfoque cualitativo, mediante el método de estudio de caso. Se utilizó la entrevista como técnica de recolección de la información, mediante la cual se entrevistaron las seis (6) docentes que estaban vinculadas directamente con este curso en las áreas de español, matemáticas, inglés, …

Teacher Perspectives Of Their Implementation Of Guided Reading Instruction, Kristi Presley

Ed.D. Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the use of guided reading in the classroom and the perception teachers had related to their own self-efficacy in their implementation of guided reading instruction. Using an interpretative qualitative methodology, this researcher interviewed twelve teachers in Tennessee concerning their implementation of guided reading instruction in their classrooms. This researcher designed and utilized a Guided Reading Fidelity Checklist for the purpose of analyzing the collected data. This researcher identified misalignments regarding the fidelity of the implementation of guided reading instruction. The findings of this study demonstrate a need for teachers to have further …

Seeing Reading In First-Year Composition, Matthew Felumlee

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation focuses on a study of reading-into-writing strategies employed by students in two sections of first-year-composition (FYC) that were paired with a support course as part of an accelerated learning program (ALP) at a community college. Each FYC course was comprised of 11 students whom the college had deemed college-ready without the ALP course, and 11 students who were deemed at remedial levels in reading and / or writing and who were subsequently required to enroll in the ALP course. The study employs grounded theory methodology to identify and consider the many factors that influenced how reading was portrayed, …

Impact Of Literacy On Student Readiness In Math And Science Classroom, Mackenzie Alexandra Rittner

Honors Projects

Lack of literacy, specifically disciplinary literacy, is an epidemic in education today. Here, I will illustrate how this problem presents itself in our student’s reading every day in every class. Within a literature review, many accounts are detailed about the impact literacy has on a student’s educational career. From the outset, literacy is a key factor in a student’s success in school. A research study was conducted that asked students to give varied definitions of the word ‘volume’ based on prior experience. These results showed that direct instruction in how a word can change based on its context had an …

The Art Of Reading, Laura Rose Lindquist

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The product of this literature review with application emphasis is an Art of Reading class which addresses reading comprehension and the role that art teachers can play in contributing to achievement. The class is based on research findings and integrates eight strategies to improve reading comprehension. The strategies include: 1) promote self-efficacy, 2) set goals, 3) provide choice, 4) build relationships, 5) ease anxiety 6) teach reading comprehension strategies, 7) spend time reading, and 8) spend time reflecting. The Art of Reading class also includes mindfulness practices, self-selected reading material, and artwork projects based on the text.

Filling The Reading Void: Studying Reading Stamina In A Suburban High School Through Action Research: A Companion Research Study, Lindsey Weycker

Education Dissertations and Projects

A common practice in elementary schools is to allow students silent reading time during school. Experts agree this is best practice due to the benefits to students, especially in vocabulary development and reading stamina. As students age, however, this practice tends to decline in favor of activities that are meant to teach vocabulary in isolation and test preparation skills. In addition to these activities, English language arts classes typically read and study novels together as a class for the purpose of studying literary devices and literary analysis. Because of these practices, secondary students tend to read less, which in turn …

The Effects Of Academic Parent Teacher Teams On Latino Student Achievement, Barbara Dee Bench

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Decades of research have noted the importance of parent involvement in students' academic success. Less is known about parent engagement models that aim to increase Latino students' reading achievement. This project study examined the effectiveness of a 2-year parent engagement program implemented to address poor reading achievement of Latino elementary school students in a small urban district. The purpose of this study was to determine disparities in student scores between those parents who participated in the program and those parents who did not participate. The research questions examined parent engagement levels in comparison to increased summative reading scores. Based on …

Reading Across Different Orthographies: Urdu, Arabic, Hindi And English, Amna Mirza

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Research on relationships across literacy skills for multiple languages suggests the need for a complex framework that includes linguistic typology as well as cognitive and cultural variables (Schwartz, Geva, Share, & Leikin, 2007). Literature shows that bilinguals activate both languages they know for all linguistic tasks regardless of which language is being used at the time (Kroll & Bialystok, 2013). In that case, learning a third or any additional language is qualitatively different than second language (L2) acquisition. Findings for readers of Roman scripts demonstrate that L1 reading and L2 proficiency influences L2 reading (Cummins, 1979). The current research examined …

The Impacts Of Explicit Systematic Phonics Instruction On The Areas Of Decoding And Fluency For Students With A Specific Learning Disability In Reading, Marina Hingston

Capstones, Research Projects, and Curricula

The purpose of this embedded, mixed methods action research study was to examine the impacts of explicit, systematic phonics instruction on students with a specific learning disability in reading. A phonics intervention program, S.P.I.R.E., was implemented over the course of four weeks. The participants were two 4th graders and one 6th grader, all who had an identified specific learning disability in the area of reading. Data was collected on decoding accuracy pre and post intervention, as well as on reading fluency using timed one minute fluency drills. In addition, student perceptions of the S.P.I.R.E. program were also gathered using a …

An Evaluation Study Of Fifth-Grade Independent Reading And Reading Achievement, Kari Allen

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

Independent reading has been implemented in elementary classrooms for decades. However, what independent reading looks like, teacher expectations related to it, and student attitudes toward it differ greatly depending on the individual classroom. Increasing demands on teachers to improve student achievement has resulted in more time spent in teacher-directed instruction and teacher-selected text, and less time for students to read self-selected, engaging text, resulting in lack of interest and purpose for reading (Gran & DeVoogd, 2008). Effective implementation of independent reading is necessary to improve student achievement, increase reader stamina, and build positive attitudes toward reading in general (Lee, 2011). …

Moving To A District Balanced Literacy Program: A Change Leadership Plan, Cynthia A. Marks, Carol A. Benda

Dissertations

Based upon the requirements of the No Child Left Behind mandate, schools that failed to achieve the Annual Yearly Progress (AYP) designation for two consecutive years were required to implement a comprehensive school reform model. This change plan examined the movement from the comprehensive school reform model Success For All (SFA) to a balanced literacy framework within Harmony District 841. The framework advocated for balanced literacy instruction that supported the integration of authentic reading and writing experiences, application of literacy strategies and skills, implementation of a culturally relevant text, focus on professional development for teachers, and provision for effective instructional …

What Motivates Reluctant Male Readers?, Cheryl Ann Tartaglione

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research study was to better understand the role of reading motivation in a group of students at the Thomas E. Bowe School in southern New Jersey. I wanted to what motivates this group of boys to read and how typical they might be to other reluctant male readers. Qualitative inquiry strategies such as surveys, student interviews, interactive graphic organizers and a teacher interview were used. Upon analyzing the data, motivation for reading was poor. However, student book choice and commonalities in genre selection were consistent with current research. Struggling male readers look for teacher input and …

Exploring Effective Reading Strategies That Promote Higher Level Thinking And Comprehension For A Chinese-Speaking College Student, Panyang Wu

Masters Theses/Capstone Projects

The purpose of the case study was to explore some effective literacy strategies that prompt higher-level thinking abilities to help one Chinese English as Foreign Language (EFL) student who struggles with academic reading in college classes at a small, liberal arts college. Only one participant named Cathy was involved in the study. Cathy is a Chinese student who studied at college as a regular undergraduate student and had poor performance in her college level literacy class, as indicated by her professors and Cathy herself. Cathy was expected to improve reading comprehension by receiving an intensive one-month reading development intervention, which …

Practices And Routines In Siwi Lessons That Develop Skills In Reading, Paulson A. Skerrit

Doctoral Dissertations

The average performance of Deaf and hard of hearing (D/hh) students on test of reading comprehension is several grade equivalents below their high school hearing peers. The reading-writing connection is one way to address the literacy challenges of D/hh learners. This study explored that connection in instruction that was driven with a high fidelity to the principles of Strategic Interactive Writing Instruction (SIWI). The data for this study came from two grade three classes involved in the second half of a Year II project that was part of a 3-year Institute of Education Sciences-funded project to develop SIWI for use …

The Effects Of Choice On Reading Comprehension In 2nd-3rd Grade, Julie P. Fraumeni-Mcbride

Masters of Arts in Education Action Research Papers

Poor literacy rates are the cause of low school performance for children across America. In particularly, low income schools continue to struggle with declining literacy rates. Issues with literacy are ultimately attributed to lack of comprehension during reading. This research tested the effects of choice on reading comprehension in 2nd and 3rd grade students at high and low income schools. In addition, students were monitored while reading silently and aloud to see if either had an effect on reading comprehension. Data was collected from 32 students from high and low income schools before, during and after reading in order to …

Profe, ¡No Quiero Leer! La Incidencia De Las Prácticas Evaluativas En El Placer De Leer En Estudiantes De Grado Sexto, Lucila Fuentes Espinosa, William Leonardo Ramírez Ortega, Diana Catalina Rozo Santana

Maestría en Docencia

Desde la experiencia de los investigadores, la revisión de los antecedentes y los resultados de las pruebas nacionales e internacionales sobre lectura, surgen preocupaciones respecto al nivel de lectura, las preferencias lectoras y el valor que los estudiantes le dan al proceso lector en diferentes ámbitos sociales y educativos. Ésta investigación se inscribe en el campo de la investigación cualitativa, en la cual los objetos de estudio son las acciones sociales y educativas realizadas por los sujetos (profesores - estudiantes), respecto a las prácticas evaluativas de la lectura y el placer por leer. Se llevó a cabo con base en …

The Effect Of Preschool On Reaching Achievement Among Kindergarten Students, Reisha Monique Mckinney

Dissertations

As early childhood education continues to move to the forefront of public policy debate, more attention is being paid to early literacy. Strickland and Riley-Ayers (2006) indicated that early literacy and early learning opportunities play a vital role in academic achievement. This study invested whether there were statistically significant relationships between preschool attendance based on the reading and language arts scores from the Georgia Kindergarten Inventory Developing Skills test.

The study also determined if there were differences in the reading and language arts for those who attended preschool and those who did not based on free/reduced and full paid lunch. …

Home-School Collaboration: Concurrent Home And School Reading Interventions Within A Response To Intervention System, Qi Zhou

Dissertations

The current study investigated the effectiveness of reading interventions in the form of home-school collaboration on increasing oral reading fluency in elementary students exhibiting reading fluency deficits. Specifically, student participants were receiving Tier II reading interventions at their school. Additionally, parents were trained to implement an individualized intervention identified by brief experimental analysis with each student at home. Home-school notes were used to facilitate support and communication between the home and school. Results demonstrated that three of four students’ oral reading fluency improved. Furthermore, parents rated the interventions as acceptable. Parent treatment integrity was found to be adequate.

Interactive Whiteboard Use: The Catalyst Of Student Achievement, Tenneille Terrell Lamberth

Dissertations

The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 forced school districts to become more accountable by requiring all students to read on grade level by the year 2014. However, President Obama’s educational policy shift is allowing states to develop their own accountability and improvement system. This study examined fourth and eighth grade math achievement on the Mississippi Curriculum Test, 2nd edition and interactive whiteboard use, attitudes and perceptions, and professional development. Data were collected from 21 participating Mississippi Gulf Coast area schools to determine if a correlation existed between fourth and eighth grade math achievement and interactive whiteboard use, …

Kindergarten Assessments As A Predictor For A Student’S Need For Intervention, Victoria Ellen Weinketz Hoover

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if the kindergarten assessment results from the three windows in reading, written communication, and mathematics were a valid predictor of a student’s need for intervention up until the conclusion of second grade. Reynolds (1992) suggested that a student’s overall school success is reflective of the approach taken early in kindergarten. With the demands of the No Child Left Behind Act (2001), districts have set in place strategies to meet the standard of all students reading on grade level at the conclusion of the third grade. If districts are to rise to the …