Education Commons^™

The Impact Of Shared Reading On 1st Graders’ Writing Using Author’S Craft, Kelsey Bolin

Masters Theses

This study was conducted in a first grade classroom with twenty participants. This study took place over five and a half weeks, where students were introduced to three mentor texts in a shared reading setting. The students asked and answered questions about the texts and participated in extension writing activities. Students were given opportunities to engage with the mentor texts and writing in whole group settings as well as individual settings. Students were expected to write a final assignment using the form of author craft portrayed in the final mentor text, which students were able to complete successfully.

Students practiced ...

Determining Support Needed For Implementation Of The Balanced Literacy Framework In High School English Classrooms, Emily Kimpton

Theses and Dissertations

This study used Action Research methods to explore how an English language arts coordinator housed at the district office could employ an administrative model of coaching. The purpose of this study was to discover what a coaching model of administrative support reveals about high school English teachers' beliefs and practices and what support teachers needed in order to implement a balanced literacy framework of instruction. Teachers engaged in this study over the course of one semester. Semesters in this context encompass an entire course of English literature. Cycles of coaching were initiated that began with a pre-conference followed by observation ...

An Elementary Perspective Of The Value-Added Model, Pat Mccoy

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In a small, rural school district in the southeastern United States, elementary school teachers were receiving positive evaluation ratings while student proficiency on state assessments was below the state average. Due to changes in federal and state laws, school personnel evaluate methods have undergone significant reform. The purpose of this study was to answer the guiding research questions of teachers and administrators perceptions toward the value-added model (VAM) of evaluation and how those perceptions affect teacher performance. Taylor's scientific management theory, which suggests examining human productivity through the lens of applied science served as the conceptual framework. Data were ...

A Comprehensive Evaluation Of The Teacher’S College Reading And Writing Project Balanced Literacy Instructional Framework And The Reading Proficiency Of Economically Disadvantaged Students, Latonya Elise Gaines-Montgomery

Education Dissertations and Projects

This dissertation was designed to provide a comprehensive evaluation of the Teacher’s College Reading and Writing Project (TCRWP) and its impact on the reading achievement of economically disadvantaged students. TCRWP was implemented at two high poverty schools (over 80% economically disadvantaged students) in southeastern North Carolina. Stufflebeam’s (2003) revised CIPP evaluation model was used to evaluate the program along with a convergent mixed-methods design. The data analysis revealed that TCRWP as well as the schools’ strategic plans were aligned to the schools’ assessed needs. Additionally, the analysis showed that implementation of TCRWP aligned to the schools’ initial implementation ...

Third-Grade Teachers' Perceptions Of Balanced Literacy, Kimberly S. Harrison

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In response to fourth grade students' performance on the National Assessment of Education Progress reading test, states across the nation have enacted laws which stipulate third-grade students achieve reading proficiency in order to be promoted. With the passage of the South Carolina Read to Succeed Act 2014, school leaders in an urban school district implemented a balanced literacy framework to address 3rd grade students' low reading achievement. Approached from a constructivist framework, the purpose of this qualitative case study was to present 3rd grade teachers' perceptions of the balanced literacy framework with regard to students' reading achievement. Vygotsky's theories ...

Balanced Literacy Activities In Ontario Jk - Grade 8 Comprehensive Literacy Classrooms: Examining Self-Reported Frequency Of Classroom Activities, Elizabeth Louise Pearsall

Wayne State University Dissertations

Balanced Literacy Activities in Ontario JK – Grade 8

Comprehensive Literacy Classrooms:

Examining Self-Reported Frequency of Classroom Activities

By

Elizabeth Louise Pearsall

August 2015

Advisor: Dr. G. Oglan

Major: Reading, Language & Literature

Degree: Doctor of Education

The purpose of this study was to discover the Frequency of Use rates for balanced/ comprehensive literacy activities as described in 46 survey statements across the four Ontario elementary school divisions (Early Years, JK/SK; Primary Division, Grades 1, 2, & 3; Junior Division, Grades 4, 5, & 6; and Intermediate Division, Grades 7 & 8). In addition another purpose of this study was to discover any similarities or differences of sources of balanced literacy instruction information when considering teachers’ ages. The research questions were:

Q #1: To what extent are activities of balanced literacy instruction used in elementary divisions (Early Years: Junior Kindergarten & Senior Kindergarten; Primary: Grades 1, 2, & 3; Junior Grades 4, 5, & 6; and Intermediate: Grades 7 & 8)?

Q #2: To what extent do teachers in different elementary classrooms (Primary: Grade 1, 2, & 3 and Junior: Grades 4, 5, & 6) employ common balanced literacy activities?

Q#3: To what extent are the self-reported information source of balanced literacy instruction by teachers across age categories similar or dissimilar?

An email was sent out to Elementary School principals of one SW Ontario School Board asking them to forward a link to an on-line survey to the teachers on their staff. Data collection included: (1) demographic information; (2) quantifying the amount of information gained from 47 possible sources of balanced literacy instruction (None, Minimal Amount, Some Information, Substantial Information, and Does Not Apply); (3) quantifying the frequency of use of the classroom activities listed in 46 statements (Never, Rarely, Monthly ...

Good To Great: A Case Study Of An African American Literacy Coordinator’S Role In Transitioning A School From Dependence On A Scripted Reading Program To Balanced Literacy, Kimberly A. Chase

Dissertations

This study considers the change process and the impact of race on the implementation process as a Literacy Coordinator transitioned an elementary school from Open Court to balanced literacy. A retroactive case study was used to examine the Literacy Coordinator’s actions and decisions, teachers’ perspectives, and the effects of race on the implementation. Findings suggested that the roles of the Literacy Coordinator involved duties that pull from the specific responsibilities of a reading specialist, literacy coach, reading educator, and an administrator. Furthermore, teachers reported a change in their practices and beliefs due to participation in the implementation process. Finally ...

Teachers' Perceptions Of The Reading Achievement Gap Between High-Achieving Students And Below-Basic Students, Helen Anne Iaconelli

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Atlantic Avenue Elementary School (AAES) experienced reading achievement gaps between high-performing students and below-basic students within the school reading curriculum and balanced literacy framework. Vygotsky's theories of scaffolding and zone of proximal development served as the framework guiding this project, which used a qualitative case study design to explore reading teachers' perceptions of the ways in which they were addressing this reading achievement gap. Individual interviews, classroom observations, and lesson plans were the sources of the qualitative data collected from 6 reading teachers. The data were coded manually using emerging and constant-comparative strategies to identify common themes. The themes ...

An Exploration Of Reading Methods In First-Grade: Comparing The Basal Approach And Balanced Literacy, Richelle Leblanc Acosta

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Few topics in education have sparked as much interest and debate as the teaching of reading. Throughout the past century, instructional approaches have come and gone but one thing has remained constant: the teacher. Behind every effective classroom lies a teacher. It is ultimately the teacher’s decisions that drive daily instruction in the classroom. But what is the best way for teachers to teach children how to read? For decades, researchers have plagued studies seeking to find the best method for accomplishing this. Just as students’ physical characteristics are very diverse, so too are their academic abilities. Reading teachers ...

Balanced Literacy Versus Basal Reading Instruction For Urban African-American, Title I Third-Grade Students, Julie Ann Perkins

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

This study compared third-grade reading achievement of urban African-American, Title I students using a basal reading series with those using a balanced literacy program to determine whether the highly structured skills-based methods advocated by The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act actually foster or impede reading achievement in an urban school setting.

Two hundred forty-five third-grade African-American, Title I students from an urban elementary school in southeastern Virginia served as subjects for the study. Subjects were studied as intact groups to avoid disruption in the educational setting. Participants in the control group were third-grade classes of urban African-American, Title I ...