Education Commons^™

The Role Of Elementary School Principals Supporting Teachers In The Instruction Of Reading For English Language Learners: A Dissertation, Nadene B. Stein

Educational Studies Dissertations

This study utilized data gleaned from on-line surveys of primary level teachers and elementary school principals to understand what principals need to know and be able to do to support teachers in their instruction of reading for English Language Learners (ELLs). A review of five areas of literature provided a theoretical foundation for this study. Twenty-six primary level teachers and four elementary school principals, from eight Massachusetts schools, participated in separate, three-part online questionnaires. Participants answered questions about licensure, experience, and professional development focused on teaching English Language Learners. In addition, participants responded to questions about their perceptions of (1) …

Student-Centered Literacy Instruction: An Examination Of An Elementary Teacher's Experience, Carolyn Marie Wiezorek

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

In this qualitative study, I examined and interpreted the literacy instruction of a fourth grade instructor who identified herself as a student-centered teacher. I sought to understand and interpret the beliefs and attitudes of my participant, Julie. Through seven unstructured interviews and five observations, I collected, and simultaneously interpreted, data. Julie freely shared her beliefs, successes, challenges, and frustrations regarding her literacy instruction.

Because of the contextual nature of the study I sought emerging themes through analysis and reflection. Four themes surfaced: attitude and philosophy, environment, instructional practices, and impact on students. Julie possessed an attitude that all students could …

The Effectiveness Of Etymological Elaboration As A Method Of Teaching Idioms To Adolescent English Language Learners, Julia L. Coryell

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The prevalence of idioms in both spoken and written English makes learning to comprehend and produce them important for English language learners. It may be particularly important for preadolescent and adolescent learners to become proficient with idioms because of their need to fit in with peers and the frequency with which idioms occur in classroom communication and academic texts. Idioms pose difficulties for non-native speakers because of their nature as both formulaic and figurative language, their cultural specificity, and the fact that their figurative meaning cannot necessarily be determined from the literal meanings of the constituent words.

La ProbléMatique Du Retour Dans Les Films Et Romans Africains : Analyse Comparative D'Œuvres Pré-IndéPendance Et Contemporaines, Anoumou Amekudji

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

L'évolution du monde de nos jours est à l'origine des migrations de plus en plus importantes entre les continents. Cet accroissement des flux migratoires fait que la thématique de l'immigration occupe depuis les années 1980 une grande place dans les oeuvres de cinéastes et écrivains africains francophones vivant en Afrique ou en Occident. Les oeuvres des années trente et soixante mettaient beaucoup plus l'accent sur le séjour des immigrés dans leurs pays hôtes, tandis que celles publiées à partir des années 1980 s'intéressent au retour dans leurs pays d'origine. L'objectif de cette thèse est d'étudier l'évolution de la problématique du …

The Viability Of Palestinian Efl Teachers To Effectively Apply Ict As An Educational Medium In Palestinian Basic Schools In The Gaza Strip : A Pedagogical Perspective, Wael A. S. Jebril

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The primary purpose of this research is to present a successful model of a Palestinian EFL ICT-using teacher; through investigating the viability of a Palestinian EFL teacher to effectively use ICT as a medium in the classroom in a basic school. The research presents a pioneering idea that focuses on the pedagogical ability of the teacher to design and teach governmental EFL material via technology in a developing, occupied and besieged area (The Gaza Strip: Palestine). The research is meant to present a successful demonstrative study that would address Palestinian EFL teachers, decision makers, school administrators and sponsors.

Theoretical And Practical Implications Of Multicultural Music For Additional Language Learning In South Africa, Nolan Keven Krull

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The South African Department of Basic Education has outlined general goals for the country's education system as well as specific goals for each school subject in a Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) for Grades R to 12. This research focuses on how the use of multicultural South African music can support the goals and objectives of the curriculum for English as a First Additional Language in Grades 10 to 12. The proposed introduction of multicultural music creates a third culture that stems from the novel integration of cultural elements and takes advantage of learners' prior knowledge and cultural experiences. …

The Effects Of Interactive Strategies Approach On At-Risk Kindergarten Children's Spelling Development, Sun Hwa Lee

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This study involved secondary analyses of an existing kindergarten developmental spelling data set which was collected using the Developmental Spelling Test (DST; Tangel & Blachman, 1992, 1995) in Scanlon and her colleagues' 2005 study (Scanlon, Vellutino, Small, Fanuele, & Sweeney, 2005). The purpose of the current study is to examine whether the early literacy instruction/intervention approach called the Interactive Strategies Approach (ISA; Scanlon, Anderson, & Sweeney, 2010; Vellutino & Scanlon, 2002) is effective for improving at-risk children's spelling development.

Reading For Deep Understanding : Knowledge Building And Conceptual Artifacts In Secondary English, Marc Nachowitz

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The purpose of this design-based experiment is two-fold: to see if classroom pedagogies can be developed to improve student achievement in English literature as well as prepare them for 21st Century literacies. Applying Bereiter and Scardamalia's theory of Knowledge Building to English curricula, this experiment tracked the progress of a sixth grade Language Arts class as they engaged in creating theories of literary interpretation supported by Knowledge Forum, a computer-supported, on-line learning environment. The study revealed several key findings concerning how knowledge-building can support student's attainment of "high literacy" in the reading of literature, including maintaining idea diversity, the importance …

Anatomy Of Process-Based Writing Center Tutorials With Nnes Writers : What Writers Take Away, Jason C. Vickers

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Non-native English speaking (NNES) students in higher educational settings face difficulties writing academic papers and, in response to these difficulties, often seek assistance in understanding cultural, rhetorical, linguistic aspect of writing in English (Harris & Silva, 1993; Powers & Nelson, 1995). One resource available to them is writing centers, which Leki (2009) believes may be "ideal learning environments whose first or strongest language is not English" (p. 1). Writing centers in higher education contexts are places, usually operated by English departments, where students can go to receive assistance at all stages of writing their academic papers. Tutorials are typically collaborative …

Invented Spelling And Its Value In Kindergarten, Michelle J. Mcdonald

Graduate Research Papers

This review examined the purpose of invented spelling in kindergarten, and what invented spelling can tell us about a child's development of letter/sound knowledge, phonemic awareness skills, concepts of print, and language skills. Additional examination of literature on invented spelling in a comprehensive literacy program focused on the connection between reading and writing. Several studies included comparisons of writing instructional methods. Invented spelling has value as an assessment tool for various literacy skills. Criticisms and controversies were reviewed, as well as recommendations for the use of invented spelling to optimize its value in the kindergarten curriculum. Findings of the review …

Dialogic Conversations In An Embedded Literacy Assessment Field Experience, Lucy Spence, Amy Donnally, Amy Johnson Lachuk, Marcie Ellerbe

Faculty Publications

Preservice teachers often come into teacher education programs with a positivist view of assessment, which may have developed during their own schooling experiences. For this reason, purposefully constructed course work and field experiences must be offered to enable them reframe their conceptions of literacy assessment and to complicate the assessment practices that have become most familiar to them. This paper examines a course in which, the aim is to intentionally counter the positivist testing culture and invest in helping preservice teachers understand assessment as a multi-faceted, dynamic process of inquiry.

Implementing Electronic Storybooks And The Effects On Reading Achievement At The Elementary Level, Chelsey Heidemann

Graduate Research Papers

Electronic storybooks are an innovative way to support the reading needs of students today. This literature review discusses the positive and negative effects electronic storybooks have on students' reading abilities. It focuses specifically on word accuracy, word recognition, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. Examples and information were taken from published journal a1ticles found through online databases and books. The review concludes that electronic storybooks can have a positive effect on a student's reading ability when using an electronic storybook that meets the needs of the learner.

Book Review: Mcgraw-Hill's Chinese Dictionary & Guide To 20,000 Essential Words, Hong Zhan

Publications

Chinese Dictionary & Guide to 20,000 Essential Words is a concise dictionary specially designed for learners of Chinese as a foreign or a second language. This dictionary distinguishes itself from other Chinese language dictionaries by its unconventional character look-up system, a system that searches for a character by counting the total number of “broken marks” (not linked or unlinked strokes) of each character.

Fifth Graders' Discussions Of Graphic Novels Facilitated By De Bono Thinking Skills, Kimberly Ann Jennings

Graduate Research Papers

The effectiveness of graphic novels, heavily illustrated novels and traditional novels as a reading teaching tool has not been heavily researched. During the 5th grade school year of the 2011-2012, 24 students were required to read six novels, two in each format. During and after the reading, students were required to complete assigned assessments. The results of the study were graded based on a rubric system and by the number of responses per novel. The graphic novel received the highest scores in all categories. The graphic novel should be considered as an alternate method of teaching reading to 5th graders.

Digital Storytelling : Building 21st Century Literacy Skills In The Secondary Classroom, William P. Lammers

Graduate Research Papers

Digital storytelling has been a popular activity in technologically well-equipped classrooms, and is gaining popularity due to its ability to help build important 21st century skills for learners and engaging lessons for instructors. This paper reviewed twenty peer-evaluated investigations from 2001 to 2010, citing five original qualitative case studies, twelve research-based papers regarding digital narratives and the skills needed for the 21st century learner. Included in this review is a definition of digital storytelling via a detailed model, an explanation of the 21st century literacies, obstacles to integrating digital narratives, and discussion of related communication skills. Recommendations were made based …

Special Issues In Engaging And Collaborating With Families Of English Language Learners, Stephanie Allison Strouse

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Research demonstrates positive outcomes associated with family involvement (Fl), but little exists specific to English Language Learners' (ELLs) FI. Factors impacting FI are identified, but it is unclear which educators view as most significant and what practices are implemented to address them. This study utilized survey data to examine educators' attitudes within an Iowa Area Education Agency regarding FI of ELLs, current practices, perceptions of practices' effectiveness, and professional development (PD) related to ELLs. Participants reported positive relationships with families of ELLs and that ELL families value education, yet only moderate satisfaction with ELL FI. Results indicate incongruity between common …

Leadership Distinctions : The Impact Of Leadership On Teachers Of Second Chance Reading, Rebecca Sue Williams

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Second Chance Reading (SCR), an instructional framework that targets and supports struggling adolescent readers and determined to be a sound and viably researched framework, can assist teachers in building and supporting proficient and lifelong learners when implemented as intended. This study examined educators from five unique communities who recently implemented the program. Four key questions guided the research and became the focus during semi-structured purposive interviews. (1) What was the relationship between Second Chance Reading teachers and principal leadership? (2) What leadership qualities were necessary to support Second Chance Reading teachers? (3) What barriers were preventing teachers from accomplishing their …

Producing Memorable Cloth-Bound Books In The Classroom, Karin J. Keith, A. Horton, A. Roach, J. Temaj, Edward J. Dwyer

ETSU Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

Using Blogs To Promote Literary Response During Professional Development, Jaime Colwell, Amy Hutchison, David Reinking

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

(First paragraph) The blogging has, I don’t want to say forced, but kind of made me read books that I haven’t necessarily read before, and I don’t think I would have. I’ve read lots of children’s books just through student teaching and everything, but it makes me look outside the box and maybe at other genres that I wouldn’t look at necessarily. (Sam, a pre-service teacher, blogging in a children’s literature course)

A Mixed Methods Study Of Special Education Teachers' Knowledge Of Reading Instruction And Perceptions Concerning Their Preparation To Teach Reading, Cynthia Darden Blakeslee

Teaching & Learning Theses & Dissertations

Significant changes in requirements for reading instruction and special education teacher preparation have occurred in recent years due to provisions found in the No Child Left Behind legislation of 2001 and the 2004 Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act. This study examined the preparation for reading instruction that prospective special education teachers received during their teacher preparation and their beliefs concerning their preparation. Reading instruction preparation was examined in the context of the knowledge and skills associated with reading instruction acquired in two required university reading courses. Using a mixed methods sequential explanatory design-participant-selection model (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2010) …