Education Commons^™

A Generic Qualitative Study Of District, School, And Teacher Leader Experiences With Increasing Reading And Writing Achievement, Jennifer Fowler

Theses and Dissertations

English Language Arts (ELA) test scores have declined since the 2020 COVID-19 virus caused schools and districts in the United States and around the world to shut down for substantial periods of time. School and district leaders and teachers across the country are working to increase ELA achievement.

In this generic qualitative research study, local district, school, and teacher leaders were interviewed and asked questions about their experiences with increasing reading and writing achievement using semi-structured interview protocols.

Four research questions were addressed. They concerned the challenges, successes, supports, guidance, mandates, and advice offered by district, school, and teacher leaders …

Novice Teacher Experiences Of Online Reading Instruction During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Deyanira M. Echevarria Candales

Theses and Dissertations

This applied dissertation documented novice teacher experiences providing online reading instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, the researcher captured educators’ first-hand accounts of their experiences shifting to fully online reading instruction, adapting instructional materials that were designed for in-person instruction for online learning, confronting challenges and successes during this period of uncertainty, and transitioning back to in-person instruction amidst the then ongoing pandemic.

The following research questions were posed: 1. How do novice elementary reading teachers, in a large public school district in South Florida, describe their experiences teaching reading online during a global pandemic? 2. How do novice elementary …

My Journey As An Emergent Bilingual, Cynthia Villarreal Cantu

The Qualitative Report

This autoethnography was conducted at an elementary school not far from the South Texas border. I documented how my journey as a kindergarten, first-grade, and second-grade student has impacted me to become a better educator. Through this qualitative study, I planned to determine if my childhood experiences as an emergent bilingual learner have made an impact in my teaching and the connections I have formed with my students. I analyzed observations of my current teaching practices and my elementary report cards and test scores. After observing my students’ interactions among their peers and my reaction towards their conversations, I found …

Understanding The Language Experiences And Motivations Of Deaf Adolescent Latino Struggling Readers, Melissa Herzig

JADARA

Current American methods for educating Deaf adolescent Latino struggling readers need to change in order to maximize learning opportunities. This begins with identifying student strengths and building on them to help students gain new and productive skills. It is imperative to understand Deaf students’ socio-cultural backgrounds, interests, needs, and values through ethnographic research in order to identify what motivates these Latino Deaf adolescents to read. This information could guide teachers and specialists in redesigning and tailoring instruction for these students.

Implementing A Research-Based Reading Intervention Focused Upon Increasing Reading Comprehension Amongst Third-Grade Students, Kamaria Dalila Mcnair

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the qualitative study was to determine if and how the strategy instruction model Reciprocal Teaching helped low-level readers comprehend what they read. The study also was conducted to measure if and how the Reciprocal Teaching strategies motivated the participants to read and if and how they used the strategies after their exposure to them. Lastly, the study measured the instructional strategies that were currently being used to help third-grade participants. The subjects involved in this study were 10 third-grade students who displayed a need for comprehension development. The sample size was determined by the reading benchmark test …

Assessing Reading And Mathematics Achievement Of Students With Disabilities In A Suburban Middle School, Terri Melissa Toomer

Theses and Dissertations

Co-teaching classrooms consist of general and special education teachers working together to benefit students with disabilities (SWDs). Many parents and teachers believe the content knowledge provided by general educators in the regular education setting, combined with the instructional service delivery model (SDM) expertise of special educators, will result in the greatest academic growth for SWDs. However, it is not known if SWDs served in one SDM progress at a faster rate than SWDs served in another SWD. Therefore, the focus of this study was to compare the reading and mathematics achievement of male and female middle school SDWs in two …

Translanguaging Supports Reading With Deaf Adult Bilinguals: A Qualitative Approach, Dan Hoffman, Ju-Lee Wolsey, Jean Andrews, Diane Clark

The Qualitative Report

Translanguaging is a pedagogical theory and an approach to teaching language. It conceptualizes the dynamic ways in which bilinguals use their linguistic repertoire and language practices in both languages for learning, meaning-making, reading, and writing. This study reports on the results of a qualitative study using Grounded Theory. The research question posed was, “what insights do bilingual Deaf readers provide regarding their metalinguistic processes and reading strategies used during translanguaging? To answer this question, responses were gathered from Deaf adults who were interviewed on their language and literacy histories. Further, they were queried about their reading comprehension practices using translanguaging. …

Oooh, It’S Sooo Good!!!: Black Adolescent Females Experiencing The Delicacy Of Reading, Jacqueline B. Koonce

The Qualitative Report

Black adolescent females have largely been neglected in the research literature on their avid reading. While Gibson (2010) explained that Black girls are often portrayed in the literature as struggling and even “remedial” readers, those Black adolescent females who are avid readers receive even less attention. The purpose of this study, then, was to investigate the voracious reading proclivities of this population in order to provide a balanced view of Black adolescent females’ reading lives. The findings of this phenomenological study indicate that these five participants go beyond loving reading; they crave it. The meaning of reading for these participants …

Middle School Reading Clubs: A First Step Toward Increasing Pleasure-Reading Time, James Fazzone

Theses and Dissertations

This report describes the plans for, implementation of, and results of a reading club program conducted at a middle school. This program was a modification of an unsuccessful one that was criticized by the staff and students for lack of structure and meaning. The literature supported the need for students taking time out of the school day for pleasure reading. Krashen (1993), Atwell (1998), and Irvin (1998) all have recommended that students should be permitted to read appropriate reading materials of their choice and that they should be provided with a wide range of materials from which to choose. Therefore, …

Enhancing Vocabulary Acquisition And Retention Skills Through Multiple Comprehension-Based Strategies, Phyllis M. Hayes

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

Test scores, surveys, and student performance indicated that the target group of 62 honors sophomore students was not acquiring substantive vocabulary skills. A program incorporating the elements of an effective comprehension-based strategy involving definition knowledge with context, writing, student-generated vocabulary choices, and multiple exposures to the words was developed to improve vocabulary acquisition and retention. The results indicated a considerable gain in vocabulary acquisition, a good rate of retention, and positive student attitude toward the use of the varied strategies. Appendices include surveys, the pre and post-teat, strategy guidelines, parent information letter, analysis of scores, a examples assignment, and student …

Improving Reading Skills Of Chapter I Third Grade Students Through The Infusion Of Daily Narrative And Expository Composition Into The Reading Program, Flora S Joiner

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

Based on a study of valuable literature, this writer decided to improve reading skills of 16 third grade Chapter 1 students, who had a reading deficiency of one and two years below grade level, through the infusion of creative narrative and expository writing into the reading curriculum. A review of available literature and the writer's own observation indicated that meaningful, correlated writing activities would improve comprehension of the written word. A ten week curriculum was planned and implemented, consisting of instructional strategies with an emphasis on creative writing, oral reading and listening skills. The students were posttested and their scores …

Improving Inferential Comprehension Through Semantic Webbing, Virginia P. Hines

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

The author identified a key strategy for teaching inferential comprehension as implemented in a 7th grade classroom of students who were, at least, one year below grade in reading. The purpose was to improve the students' inferential comprehension skills. The implementation began with a diagnostic reading test followed by several weeks of introducing different forms of semantic webbing to help clarify basal reader stories and other activities. After a mid-point teacher-made exam showed good results, the author implemented a few more weeks of webbing before a final diagnostic reading test was given to monitor progress. A comparison of the beginning …