Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Rasch Measures Of Number Discrimination And Reversal, And Numbers In Calculations For Young Children., Janet Richmond, Russell Waugh, Deslea Konza

Janet E Richmond PhD

Number literacy is a very important topic and the Australian Government runs numeracy and literacy tests, administered through the State Education Departments, for all Year 3 (8 years old), Year 5 (10 years old) and Year 7 (12 years old) students. Results of these tests are reported to schools and parents with a view to ensuring that all children meet certain numeracy standards and that children who are ‘falling behind’ are detected early so that remedial work can be given. Rasch measures were created with the RUMM2020 computer program for Visual Discrimination of Numbers (VDN) and Figure Ground Numbers in …

The Role Of The Phonological Syllable In English Word Recognition, Daniel Trinh

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Three ERP experiments examined the role of syllables during English visual word recognition. A colour congruency paradigm (Carreiras, Vergara, & Barber, 2005) was used in which disyllabic words were presented in two colours that divided each item either at the syllable boundary (congruent condition), or one letter away from the syllable boundary (incongruent condition). Experiment 1 investigated syllable congruency effects for words that either were presented with an orthotactically illegal segment in the incongruent condition (e.g., whi-mper, comr-ade), or were presented with orthotactically legal segments in the incongruent condition (e.g., whi-sper, cont-act). A syllable congruency effect was observed in the …

Self-Reported Practices Of And Attitudes Toward Reading Among Elementary-Aged English Language Learners, Sarah M. Akers

Educational Specialist, 2009-2019

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of self-reported attitudes toward and practices of at-home reading on English reading abilities in English Language Learners in 3rd through 5th grade. Students' English reading abilities were measured in terms of fluency, vocabulary/background knowledge, and comprehension. Scores from the school district's reading benchmarks and English language mastery test were also obtained. Attitudes toward both academic and recreational reading were assessed, and a survey was administered to obtain information regarding students' self-reported at-home practices of reading and access to reading materials. Data was collected in early spring and again in late …

Effects Of Licensed And Unlicensed Negation On The Activation Of Negated Concepts, Kevin Autry

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Research on the activation of negated concepts has demonstrated situations in which negated concepts are less active than non-negated concepts (e.g., MacDonald & Just, 1989) as well as situations where negated and non-negated concepts are equally active (e.g., Autry & Levine, 2012, in press). Based on the pragmatic inference hypothesis (Levine & Hagaman, 2008), the present experiments tested the hypothesis that the activation level of negated concepts is a function of the context in which they occur. In two experiments, the activation level of target concepts was measured following licensing or non-licensing contexts using lexical decision and reading times. Although …

Cognitive Differences Between High And Low Responders Of A Tier Ii Reading Intervention, Jillian Cohen

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study evaluated a population of young students with potential reading disabilities who participated in a large western school district's Reading Skills Development project from October 2012 to May 2013. The following questions were addressed: Are there cognitive differences between students who respond well to an intense Tier II reading intervention and those who make little progress? If so, which cognitive skills best discriminate between high and low responders? De-identified data was collected from 171 struggling readers in 1st through 3rd grade who participated in the Reading Skills project. After controlling for English proficiency level, high and low responders were …

Investigating The Effects Of Header Display Formats On Reading Webpages, Matthew J. Hennessy

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis investigated the influence of format (static vs. dynamic) and relevance (relevant vs. not relevant) on the creation of effective Web site header displays. Through evaluation of current trends in header display design, the aim of this research was to offer plausible explanatory mechanisms within the perceptual and visual systems, along with practical recommendations for both users and designers alike. While presenting 100 undergraduate students with simplified Web page interfaces containing only a header and paragraph text, looking time was measured followed by score on a set of text-comprehension questions. Score was then considered as a function of header …

Investigating The Effects Of Header Display Formats On Reading Webpages, Matthew J. Hennessy

Undergraduate Honors Posters

This thesis investigated the influence of format (static vs. dynamic) and relevance (relevant vs. not relevant) on the creation of effective Web site header displays. Through evaluation of current trends in header display design, the aim of this research was to offer plausible explanatory mechanisms within the perceptual and visual systems, along with practical recommendations for both users and designers alike. While presenting 100 undergraduate students with simplified Web page interfaces containing only a header and paragraph text, looking time was measured followed by score on a set of text-comprehension questions. Score was then considered as a function of header …

Reading Skill In Adult Survivors Of Childhood Brain Tumor: A Theory-Based Neurocognitive Model, Kristen M. Smith, Tricia Z. King, Reema Jayakar, Robin Morris

Psychology Faculty Publications

Objective: This study investigated the relationship between word reading and white matter (WM) integrity within a neuroanatomical-based reading system comparing adult survivors of childhood brain tumors and controls. It was predicted that the association between WM integrity and word reading would be mediated by processing speed, and this indirect effect would be moderated by group.

Method: Thirty-seven adult survivors of childhood brain tumor and typically developing adults participated (age M=24.19±4.51 years, 62% female). DTI Tractography identified the WM tract for three of the reading system connections: inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus (IFOF), arcuate fasciculus (AF), and parietotemporal-occipitotemporal connection (PT-OT).

Results:Fractional anisotropy …

A Home Literacy Intervention To Improve Student Reading And Parental Self-Efficacy, Holly Bond Farrell

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Parental involvement is an important factor in student academic achievement. Parental involvement is strongly influenced by parental self-efficacy, a parent’s feeling that they can successfully help their child succeed. Parents with high self-efficacy are more involved; if parental self-efficacy can be increased, involvement should increase. Parent involvement has been shown to be most effective academically when tied to a specific intervention in a targeted academic skill, such as reading. It was hypothesized that teaching parents how to conduct simple literacy tutorial sessions at home would lead to an increase in both student reading scores and parental feelings of self-efficacy. An …

Visual Efficiency And The Relationship Between Reading And Behaviors Indicating Difficulties In The Classroom In Elementary School-Age Children, Patricia A. Broadbent

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to determine if there is a relationship between visual efficiency, reading levels and behaviors indicating difficulties in the classroom. The sample consisted of thirty–three school-aged children, from four elementary schools. Visual efficiency was measured through a multi-step vision screening process, the Visual Efficiency Rating (VERA) software program. Behaviors indicating difficulties in the classroom were measured using the Behavioral Indicator Checklist, Indicators of Visual Performance Difficulties. This behavior checklist is part of the VERA process and is completed by the classroom teachers. The students’ reading levels were reported by the participating schools. The students were …

Evaluating Teaching Efficiency In Reading And Spelling Instruction, Sarah Joanne Miller

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Reading and spelling are essential skills for a student’s educational success. The current literature on spelling instruction has examined a variety of spelling modalities, but has never directly compared written versus oral spelling. There are theoretical and empirical indications that either method may be superior to the other. Thus, study one directly compared written and oral spelling instruction for their rates of spelling acquisition as well as generalization to reading. The results of study 1 indicated that written spelling was superior to oral spelling in rates of acquisition of both spelling and reading accuracy. Previous research has also indicated that …

Proprioception And Literacy In The Digital Realm, Paul Michael Rappoccio

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Drawing on research in the fields of neuroscience, reading cognition, and the history of writing, the author explores the condition of reading today. Rather than accepting the apocalyptic pronouncements that the Internet is "dumbing down" current readers, the author argues for a more nuanced understanding of the effects of digital media. He argues that the literacies needed for the new digital realm are not new, but are literacies developed over thousands of years. The author argues for the need of more education and instruction in the use of digital media, and that the digital realm requires new proprioceptive (spatial awareness) …

Vocabulary And Reading Comprehension Intervention: A Focus On Students In The Late Elementary Grades, Melissa L. Dol

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Literacy skills are key to success in school, career, and everyday life. Despite school curricula being strongly focused on literacy development (Ministry of Education, 2006), many children continue to fall behind the expected literacy skill levels for their grade (Education Quality and Accountability Office, 2012a, 2012b; National Center for Education Statistics, 2011). The present study evaluated a literacy intervention, Better Reading for School Success (BRSS), accompanied by a parent/guardian literacy workshop and weekly tips regarding how parents and/or guardians can promote literacy skill development at home. The BRSS was also evaluated as a subsection of family literacy afterschool programs, ‘Get …