Education Commons^™

Improving Students’ Confidence And Competence Using Critical Media Literacy Skills In A Secondary English Language Arts Class, Leeanne Kline

Doctor of Education in Secondary and Middle Grades Education Dissertations

This is a dissertation for a six-week action research study that investigated how self-regulated learning strategies can affect students’ perceived and demonstrated critical abilities in discussing informational media texts in the secondary ELA classroom. This dissertation examines topical research, gaps in the literature, and theoretical frameworks to justify the study. The qualitative action research study implemented a version of the Article of the Week program alongside self-regulated learning (SRL) and student-led discussion strategies to collect data on students’ self-reported levels and observed critical media literacy (CML) skills. The purpose of this study was to build upon existing research on SRL, …

Reflective Practice Through Dialogic Interactions: Togetherness And Belonging Within A Collective Of Efl Teachers In Mexico, Patricia Marie Anne Houde

The Qualitative Report

This study tackles the lack of collective models to analyze teaching practices by employing a bottom-up and collaborative approach for engaging in Reflective Practice (RP) for English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers in a Mexican context. The Collective Accompaniment Model (CAM; Guillemette, 2014) served to develop reflection with peers at the same hierarchical level, allowing for reflection to evolve over time. The research question was “What are the contributions of other colleagues’ interactions to support reflective practice via collective accompaniment with EFL teachers in Mexico”? The methodology employed during the inquiry was action research (AR) with nine EFL teachers …

The Art Of Audiencing: Visual Journaling As A Media Education Practice, Theresa Redmond

Journal of Media Literacy Education

Using qualitative methods with an action research design, the author investigates uses of visual journaling as a media production opportunity in an undergraduate media literacy class. Through visual journaling as an arts-based inquiry process, students engaged in production, creating and sharing graphical representations of their emerging media literacy knowledge and perspectives. Findings illuminate visual journaling as a way of audiencing that cultivates agentive knowledge building, active negotiation of learning, and student-centered expression in the context of media literacy education. Visual journaling as a method of production results in a manageable and creative maker experience that augments learning, inviting students to …

Redesigning Literacy: Our Story, Johannah D. Baugher, Victoria Seeger

Educational Considerations

This manuscript details efforts to redesign a graduate literacy program guided by two, full-time faculty members to better meet candidates’ needs in an online learning environment supported with relevant and current curricula. Through professional literature, intentional curriculum, and authentic field experiences, program coursework is closely linked, easily allowing candidates to see and experience relationships across course content, better aligning with K-12 instructional practices. As a result of candidates’ completion of this program, they are steeped in best literacy practices and interventions, which equip them to celebrate their autonomy in philosophical beliefs as it relates to their identity as a literacy …

"For Me, For Us, For Them": The Impact Of Wise Feedback On Ninth Grade Ela Students, Teachers, And Classrooms, Mary L. Newton

Doctor of Education Dissertations

Feedback from teachers is critical for student academic success, but is all feedback created equal? Within this critical participatory action research study, a teacher and her students in ninth-grade English language arts (ELA) classes in a suburban high school endeavored to transform their mindsets and practices related to giving, receiving, and implementing feedback through a culturally responsive approach known as wise feedback. Through effective, targeted feedback of wise feedback, all students can build their self-efficacy by knowing how to improve their work through the guidance and support of their teachers. Building teacher self-efficacy in providing wise feedback was critical to …

The Impact Of Station Rotations In 2nd Grade Reading, Rebecca Draayer

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

Selecting a classroom approach which engages students and prepares them for success can be challenging for teachers. Educators have to take into account resources available for instruction as well as the demographics of their classroom. This action research study followed second grade students over a four-month period in a reading classroom that utilized the station rotation approach of blended learning. The reason for selecting the station rotation model of blended learning was to improve students' reading scores. It was a goal of this action research to see if a more active approach to teaching would help improve student reading skills. …

Educating For Global Competence: Co-Constructing Outcomes In The Field: An Action Research Project, Kristina A. Van Winkle

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

Capacity building for globally competent educators is a 21st Century imperative to address contemporary complex and constantly changing challenges. This action research project is grounded in positive psychology, positive organizational scholarship, relational cultural theory, and relational leadership practices. It sought to identify adaptive challenges educators face as they try to integrate globally competent teaching practices into their curricula, demonstrate learning and growth experienced by the educators in this project, and provide guidance and solutions to the challenges globally competent educators face. Six educators participated in this three-phase project, which included focus groups, reflective journal entries, and an exit interview. Data …

Writing Through The Senses In The Basic Writing Classroom, Danielle M. Schull

MSU Graduate Theses

This study attempts to determine the impact and effectiveness of sensory writing strategies in the initial drafting stages of narrative writing when used in the Basic Writing classroom. Inspired originally by my work with English As a Second Language (ESL) students at a middle eastern international school and the works of feminist theorists, such as Hélène Cixous and Gloria Anzaldua, students use sensory experiences as the foundation for the generation of narrative content. This early draft is then quantitatively and qualitatively compared to previous work completed by the student. I found that certain populations of students, based on gender, classroom …

Place-Based Education: People, Places, And Spaces For Interdisciplinary Literacy Learning, Melissa Reed, Courtney (Weber) Klassen

The Reading Professor

Abstract

Place-based education (PBE) encourages teachers to create authentic learning communities of real-world experts outside of the regular classroom setting. Literacy strategies were used to support understanding of content. This article will explore the results of teacher action research in creating interdisciplinary literacy opportunities in the real world using a PBE model. What impact does PBE have on motivation and interest of learning in this interdisciplinary setting? The advantages and challenges are examined through the use of interviews, exit slips, and antidotal records during a summer camp experience with students in grades 4-6. The findings from a research project involving …

Promoting Learner Agency Through Critical Pedagogy In The English Language Classroom, Susan Zyphur

School of Leadership and Education Sciences: Student Projects

In this self-study action research project, I explored how students exercised agency and how it may be affected by a critical pedagogy approach in a community college English as a Second Language (ESL) setting. The participants were adults enrolled in an advanced ESL course in a community college in the greater San Diego area. Students engaged in three dialogic circles as part of a needs assessment dialogue and two successive critical pedagogy dialogues. Data were collected using a classroom observation protocol (supported by audio recordings of the dialogues), student writings in response to journal prompts, and an analytic journal which …

Supporting English Learners Through Practice-Based Research, Catherine Lammert, Erica B. Steinitz Holyoke

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Learning to use critical practice-based research as part of teaching is an important goal for preservice teachers, especially for those who plan to teach English learners in linguistically diverse settings. In this study, we examine the experiences of preservice teachers who were introduced to a framework for enacting iterative, transformative action research, and used the framework to study their own teaching in a one-on-one writing partnership with young English learners. Using an established self-efficacy survey instrument, as well as qualitative measures such as course artifacts and observations of teaching, we conducted a mixed-methods study to examine the impact of research …

Impacts Of Parental Involvement On Early Literacy Skills, Sara Harlan

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

This action research was conducted to identify a correlation in high literacy skills with parental involvement and support. Baseline data was gathered from kindergarten student's winter FAST screener scores. Parental involvement began by sending homework for my students to work on with an adult in their home. A spreadsheet was kept tracking which students returned their parent signature sheet weekly and which students did not. All students were progress monitored on letter sounds weekly. The spring FAST screener data was then used to gather ending data. Growth was compared from the winter to spring data with the amount of parental …

Video Self-Modeling, Reading Aloud, Or Silent Reading: Effects Of Strategies On Fluency, Rebekah J. Vande Kamp

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

The purpose of this action research is to explore the most effective strategy for children to engage in during Read to Self to increase their fluency. Fluency is the ability to read with speed, accuracy, and expression; and is an important aspect of being a successful reader. In this study, three 2nd grade classes will engage in different Read to Self strategies. One class will be doing silent reading. Another class will be reading their books aloud to themselves. A third class will be using video self-modeling, which is recording themselves reading their books out loud on Chromebooks and watching …

The Impact Of Technology Selection On Student Literacy Achievement, Elizabeth Daggett

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

The purpose of this action research project was to determine if prekindergarten students could increase literacy achievement and motivation when the educator selects the technology based on learning goals and the Iowa Early Learning Standards. High quality technology applications were provided during whole group, small group, and learning centers. Data was collected through quantitative means using Teaching Strategies GOLD and the Individual Growth and Development Indicators (IGDI) test scores. Analysis of the data collected suggests that the prekindergarten student’s GOLD and IGDI scores increased as specific technology integration was implemented in the classroom.

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 …

Collaborative Action Research To Implement Social-Emotional Learning In A Rural Elementary School: Helping Students Become "Little Kids With Big Words", Donna M. San Antonio Dr.

Faculty Scholarship

Research has shown that social and emotional learning (SEL) can benefit students in affective, interpersonal, communicative, and academic realms. However, teachers integrating SEL face a variety of logistical, pedagogical, and skill development challenges, including how to effectively facilitate classroom conversations on social justice and personal loss. This article draws from classroom observations, teacher conversations, interactive journals, and field notes to describe a seven-month-long university-school partnership to carry out an action research project in a high-poverty rural elementary school in the US. Teachers grappled with how to address race, immigration, and gender discrimination in a predominantly White community. Classroom vignettes, and …

Re-Reading, Re-Writing, And Re-Imagining Texts: Critical Literacy In A Kindergarten Classroom, Meredith Labadie

Dissertations

This qualitative action research study focuses on the integration of critical literacy practices in a kindergarten classroom. Critical literacy recognizes that no texts are neutral, and that authors position their readers in particular ways. Thus critical literacy practices are those concerned with positioning readers to inquire into issues of language and power, and to disrupt, critique, and challenge texts. In this study, critical literacy was brought to life through a curriculum of rereading and revisiting texts over time. The study took place in the researcher’s kindergarten classroom, and follows students’ discussion, written responses, and dramatizations around texts read aloud in …

Choice And Its Effects On Motivation To Read, Kayla Cantu

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

The purpose of this action research study was to determine if there is a connection between the implementation of choice in the classroom and students' motivation to read. Research-based literacy framework and a choice model were used over an eight week period of time. Qualitative data was collected at the beginning and the end of the study in the form of surveys. Analysis of the data concluded that kindergarten students when given opportunities for choice in the classroom their motivation to read increased.

Implementing The Stars Program To Improve Reading Comprehension, Nathan Fischer

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

The purpose of this action research project was to determine if there is a correlation between the implementation of specific reading comprehension strategies and analysis and practice of specific aspects of reading passages with scores in reading comprehension. The curriculum Strategies To Achieve Reading Success (STARS) was Implemented over an eight week period. To gather baseline data and to assess student progress over the course of the study, the researcher used the Comprehensive Assessment of Reading Strategies (CARS). Analysis of the data collected suggests that the students who were put through the STARS program showed greater gains in reading comprehension …

Boosting Reading Scores By Adding In Technology Based Interventions, Kelsey A. Till

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

The purpose of this action research project was to determine if adding a technology based literacy apps in a general education second grade classroom could increase the reading scores of the Informal Decoding Inventory that was given to second grade students, throughout a four month period to check personal growth. It will also look at other reading assessments in reading throughout the time frame, but for the purpose and time of this project the researcher will strictly be looking at growth through the inventory. Technology enriched phonemic awareness with a focus on decoding words, recognizing word patterns and fluency interventions …

The Effect Of Take Home Literacy Bags On Parents’ Feelings Towards School, Lisa Fernstrum

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

The purpose of this action research was to determine by what method take home literacy bags have an impact on parents’ feelings towards school. Parents completed a short survey early in the school year, prior to literacy bags being sent home. Literacy bags were sent home weekly for six weeks before parents were asked to complete the same survey for a second time. Analysis of the collected data suggests take home literacy bags have a positive impact on families' feelings towards school.

Can You Improve Phonological Awareness With Skill Boxes Through A Five-Minute Daily Routine?, Lisa Holland

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

Phonological awareness is a necessary component in order to learn how to read. These skills have to be taught to children. Children who have deficits in phonological awareness are at risk for a learning disability such as dyslexia. This is why explicit instruction in phonological awareness is crucial for development. Due to this, it is important to start assessing children on these skills in preschool and start interventions if they are needed. The purpose of this action research was to shed light on how crucial phonological awareness skills are for development and how if a child is deficient in this …

(Re)Storying Ferguson: Youth Voices And Literate Lives, Katherine O'Daniels

Dissertations

This dissertation reports on a collaborative action research study conducted with Sioux Roslawski, a third-grade teacher in a Ferguson, Missouri elementary school. Sioux and I wondered how students might use words, images, and actions to shape a vision of their community space and its future in the aftermath of the Michael Brown shooting. Situated within a critical-spatial and sociocultural paradigm, placemaking stems from understandings of place as culturally produced and interpreted, and, thus, capable of being re-designed in the interest of equity and social justice. The research methodology was guided by a critical qualitative and ethnographic approach, coupled with critical …