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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 …

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 …

A Multi-Case Study Examining The Practices Of Fourth-And Fifth-Grade Teachers In Title 1 Schools Who Use Specific Reading Strategies To Teach The Comprehension Of Informational Text, Candice Maureen Smith

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this multi-case study was to examine the practices of fourth- and fifth-grade teachers in Title 1 schools who use specific reading strategies to teach the comprehension of informational text. One theory that guided this study was Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory focusing on the zone of proximal development as it applies to what a learner can do with and without help, and his concept of learning and development, whereby a child does not develop independently of his or her environment. In addition, Bandura’s social cognitive theory served as a guiding theory for this study. The design was a multiple …

Uniting In A Reading Education Course To Support Mental Health Awareness During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Latasha Holt, Teesha Finkbeiner

New Jersey English Journal

This article discusses a unique attempt to support pre-service teachers in a reading course as they grappled with abrupt changes during the COVID-19 pandemic. A partnership raised awareness of mental health impacting pre-service teachers in the present and serving students in the future improving academic success.

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, …

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. …

Causal-Comparative Study Of The Effects Of Classworks As A Tier Ii Intervention On Middle School Struggling Readers, Tammy Kamerik Small

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this causal-comparative study was to investigate the effects of ClassworksTM as a Tier II intervention on middle school struggling readers as part of a Response to Intervention system. This study sought to determine whether the ClassworksTM intervention administered in a small group twice per week during a supplemental reading class would improve reading skills as measured by the MAP Growth Test after 12 weeks. Two groups of students (Grades 6–8) from four middle schools in a suburban, South Carolina school district were used in the study. Archival data were analyzed with a Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) …

Successful Instructional Reading Practices For African American Male Third-Grade Students, Kimberly D. Whaley, Steve Wells, Nancy Williams

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

African American male third graders in U.S Title I schools frequently fail to read on grade level. However, in three Title I schools in East Texas, this demographic demonstrated exceptionally high reading ability. This explanatory case study investigated the instructional strategies and practices linked to high reading achievement for these students. The study is grounded in Ladson-Billings’s theory of culturally relevant pedagogy and supported by Vygotsky’s theory of social and cognitive constructivism. The research questions were used to examine the instructional strategies and practices used on each campus that may have resulted in such high reading achievement. This study engenders …

The Effectiveness Of Cooperative Learning In The Reading Classroom, Amelia Tankersley, Joshua A. Cuevas

Perspectives In Learning

This research examined the effectiveness of specific methods of cooperative learning on reading comprehension, motivation, and attitudes. The study implemented Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR) and the Jigsaw method in a rural public elementary school and included 60 participants from 3rd grade reading classes. One group used the CSR method to read information on four different topics while the other group read information on the same topics using the Jigsaw method. After controlling for initial attitudes, motivation, and global reading comprehension, the results indicated that neither of these methods led to greater gains in these areas than the other. However, when …

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, …

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, …

The Effect Of Social Skills Instruction On Seventh-Grade Students Taking A Language Arts Class, Donna Smith

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

mplementing programs in social skills development will affect academic achievement among children who are Grade 7 students. A quantitative study was conducted using a quasi-experimental, pretest-posttest, nonequivalent control-group design to determine if direct instruction in social skills has an impact upon academic achievement and social skills development. Participants were 128 students drawn from six intact classes of seventh grade students from a rural middle school in West Georgia. Participants completed a pretest and posttests, the Social Skills Improvement System- Rating Scale. During the treatment period, the treatment group received social skills instruction through stories from William J. Bennett’s The Book …

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 …

Book Review - Teaching African American Learners To Read, Tiffany A. Flowers

Journal of Research Initiatives

No abstract provided.

Probing The Enactment Of Reading Miscues: A Study Examining Reading Fluency, Edward Lehner

Publications and Research

Subsequent to the National Reading Panel’s (2000) report, more researchers have been examining the role that reading fluency plays in the development of a child’s reading skills. This study investigated the efficacy of the National Reading Panel’s research claim that a child learns reading fluency skills mainly through phonics and decoding instruction. Using a methodology to track the source of reading miscues, this paper demonstrates that a student’s cultural and semantic knowledge of text vitally influences the development of reading fluency skills. Specifically, the findings suggest that a child culturally enacts reading fluency both through graphophonic and semantic knowledge of …

Employing Cueing Systems To Decode Text And Negotiate Text-Meaning In A Second Language, Timothy A. Rodriquez, Laureen Fregeau, Mary Kay Moskal, Robert Leier

ECTESOL Review

Many educators state that teaching English-Language Learners (ELLs) is just a matter of good teaching. While effective teaching is something that all children deserve, there are some differences between the approach a teacher may have to take with ELLs and with other students. One aspect of this difference is the fact that, while children go through the same stages of language development, ELLs may be at stages typically not found in other students. Based on a case study of an EL and his teacher, this article explains cueing systems and their role in literacy for ELs.

Reading The World, John M. Winslade

Journal of Critical Issues in Educational Practice

This is a review of: Ajayi, Lasisi & Collins-Parks, Tamara (2016). Teaching literacy across content areas: Effective strategies that reach all K-12 students in the era of the common core state standards. Newcastle upon Tyne, UK: Cambridge Scholars Press.

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 …

Reading And Math Strategies For Struggling Students, Tonya Hiers, Arlene Berry, Kim Trepanier

National Youth Advocacy and Resilience Conference

This presentation will provide Common Core based strategies for teachers to use with students at risk of failure. Participants will engage in tasks that will allow them to experience Close reading, constructed response, and math problem solving. These cross curricular strategies will address literary, informational, and problem solving standards.

Language Of Harry's Wizards: Authentic Vocabulary Instruction, Divonna M. Stebick, Constance N. Nichols

Education Faculty Publications

This study was the result of a year long action research project within a middle school language arts classroom. The students showed improvement in their vocabulary skills due to this instruction using Harry Potter as a context.

The Creation Of A Ninth Grade Literacy Course: One Teacher's Experiences In Teaching A Standards-Based Literacy Course, Katie Gray Keating

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This study examined one teacher’s experience with teaching a ninth grade literacy course. In response to consecutively low reading test scores, the administration in a rural high school in South Central Kentucky established a literacy course for all ninth grade students. This research illustrates the teacher’s implementation and instruction of that course. In addition, the research investigates how the results of a formal reading assessment might be used to improve the reading course in the future.

The Impact Of The Read 180 Program On Response To Intervention, Kimberly Roshell Rakestraw

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of the Read 180 program as a Response to Intervention reading strategy tool for middle school students. This study explored the effect of the RtI-designed technology-based reading program on seventh and eighth-grade students labeled as at-risk for reading failure. Data was analyzed using the standardized analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). Participants in this study were given pseudonyms to protect their identity and scores. In addition, pseudonyms for the county and school where research was conducted were provided. The results of the study indicated that the Read 180 program at the focus …

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. …

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 …

Program Evaluation Of Making Great Readers, Shelly Bullard

Education Dissertations and Projects

This study was conducted to evaluate the Making Great Readers program which was piloted in two small Title I elementary schools in western North Carolina during the 2009-2010 school year. The study was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of the program based on teacher perception and impact on student achievement.

A logic model was used to evaluate this pilot program with a focus on short-, intermediate-, and long-term outcomes. The research questions examined student reading achievement and teacher perspectives through a concurrent mixed methods approach. Quantitative analysis of phonemic awareness scores were taken from data gathered using the Dynamic Indicators …

The Power Of Visuals: Picture Books As Invitations To Literacy, Mary Jo Skillings

Journal of Critical Issues in Educational Practice

When young children are exposed to picture books, they are building important bridges to literacy. Picture books are sometimes defined as a storybook with a dual narrative. That is, the illustrations and text work interdependently, the integration of the visual and the verbal tell the story. The illustrations add a new dimension that extends beyond the words on the page; together, the text and pictures make the story stronger. A well crafted picture book is a feast for the eyes of a young child. The illustrations awaken and develop the child’s visual, mental, and verbal imagination.

Karaoke: A Tool For Promoting Reading, Abha Gupta

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

This article is a description of a teaching strategy that we have experimented with promising results as a motivational tool. The strategy uses Karaoke as a tool to build and enhance reading behaviors such as fluency and motivation as a twofold purpose for struggling readers. An audio and video sample of children engaged in reading and singing using Karaoke is enclosed. Some modified Karaoke instructional approaches are mentioned for a whole group/classroom use.

Development Of An Implementation Guide For Literature Circles From Teacher Led To Student Led In An Upper Elementary Classroom, Brandon C. Debritz

All Graduate Projects

The focus of this project was to review the available literature on the topic of literature circles from the framework of a balanced literacy program and to create materials to be used by intem1ediate elementary teachers for implementing student led literature circles into their reading curriculum. The results of the research show that through specific teacher guidance, children are empowered with choices and are provided with opportunities to dialog with classmates in a context of creating connections. The project includes an instrnctional framework to establish literature circles, a progression of teacher led to student led applications, and intermediate literature book …