Curriculum and Instruction Commons^™

Effectiveness Of Reading Strategies On Middle School Students' Independent Reading Habits, Kara A. Helms

Master of Education Program Theses

This study explored the effects of specific reading strategies on sixth-grade students’ independent reading engagement. Students were taught a series of independent reading engagement strategies and asked to utilize and reflect on each strategy over the course of six weeks. Results of the study were mixed, with some students benefiting from reading engagement strategies while others did not.

Creating Space For Pleasure: The Effects Of Alternative Reading Environments On Secondary Students' Reading Attitudes, Kari Rushmer

Master of Education Program Theses

This study examined how dedicated, free-choice reading time influenced student perceptions of and enjoyment of reading in a 10th-grade classroom. The purpose of the study was to determine whether providing weekly free-choice reading time within a comfortable, book-rich, library/café-style environment influenced reading enjoyment among 10th-grade students. Results indicated modest positive shifts in students’ comfort in the reading environment and their desire for in-class reading time, with qualitative data suggesting an increase in students’ enjoyment of reading. These findings suggest that environmental factors and dedicated reading time may support increased student engagement, even over a short intervention period.

Preservice Teachers’ Knowledge, Skills, And Perceptions Related To Data-Based Decision Making In Elementary Reading Instruction, Erin K. Washburn, Samantha A. Gesel, Miranda S. Fitzgerald, Corinne R. Kingsbery

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Teachers’ knowledge of and ability to use reading assessments and assessment data to inform instruction has long been recognized as a core teaching competency. Data-based decision making (DBDM) is a process by which educators examine assessment data to identify student strengths and needs and apply those findings to their practice. DBDM has been linked to student achievement/engagement and positive teacher self-efficacy. However, DBDM, specifically in reading, is a complex process for teachers. Preservice teacher preparation has been deemed a space for the introduction of DBDM in reading. However, few studies have explored how targeted instruction in reading-related DBDM may impact …

Student Choice And Strategy: Reviving Reading In The Language Arts Lab, Elin Petersen, Phu Vu

Journal of Curriculum, Teaching, Learning and Leadership in Education

This action research study examined how student-centered reading strategies influenced engagement, motivation, and comprehension among high school students enrolled in a Language Arts Lab course. Over six weeks, eleven students participated in a collaboratively selected novel study supported by Readers’ Theater, teacher read-alouds with think-alouds, vocabulary activities, reading logs, and opportunities to analyze their own performance data. Data sources included standardized reading assessments, biweekly comprehension quizzes, student surveys, reading logs, informal interviews, and classroom observations. Classroom quizzes showed clear improvement over the course of the unit, while students’ survey responses and reflections indicated more frequent use of strategies such as …

Teachers' Perceptions Of The Use Of The Language Essentials For Teachers Of Reading And Spelling (Letrs) Professional Development Training, Colette Burgess

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling (LETRS) professional development course has been participated in by educators across the United States. The LETRS training focuses on research-based methods and the science of reading. The five components of the science of reading guide the LETRS course. These components include phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. The purpose of this study was to examine the perspectives and experiences of teachers from West Virginia schools who participated in the LETRS professional development course as a cohort. This study examined the questions: What are the perceptions of K-5 educators in implementing …

Exploring Lessons In Research: A Survey On Parental Perceptions Of Reading Opportunities, Laura Kettlehut

Dissertations

Problem

This exploratory study examines how parents’ past reading experiences relate to their perceptions of their children’s current reading opportunities across home and school contexts. Grounded in longstanding literacy research, the study explores how parent‑led, educator‑led, and child‑initiated reading experiences collectively shape children’s literacy development.

Method

Two research questions guided the inquiry: (1) How do parents perceive their own past reading opportunities? and (2) How do they perceive their children’s reading opportunities at home and in school? To address these questions, a 41‑item survey was developed and administered to parents of children enrolled in K–8 schools. The instrument measured two …

Letting Students Amaze Us: Teaching For Success In A 4th Grade Classroom, William D. Smyth

Virginia English Journal

A look back at a year in a 4th grade classroom with highly motivated students that came about when a former student, now 48 years old, returned home to visit his 4th grade teacher. According to this student, this was the seminal year that launched his engineering career that he now enjoys in Portland, Oregon. And, speaking for others, this was the turning point in his classmates' educational journeys too.

Reflections From A Summer Literacy Intervention: Unlocking A Love Of Literacy In Struggling Readers, Rory K. Cantwell, Jenny M. Martin

Virginia English Journal

Summer literacy interventions offer a solution to the devastating impacts that summer literacy loss can have on struggling readers and writers. However, these interventions should consider the impact of student attitudes towards literacy on their learning and strive to develop positive associations between literacy and enjoyment. Camp Curious, a summer literacy intervention developed as a collaboration between the Virginia Association of Teachers of English and Shrine Mont, a retreat and conference center, embodies this idea. The intervention, in the form of a week-long camp experience, strives to provide third through sixth graders with positive and varied experiences related to literacy. …

Implementing A Questioning Strategy In Teaching Reading Texts In Efl Classes: A Qualitative Study, Mohammed A. Alzahrani Dr.

The Qualitative Report

Developed by Beck and McKeown in the 1980s, Questioning the Author (QtA) emphasises active engagement with texts to construct meaning rather than passive information extraction. Despite numerous studies attempting to solve challenges in the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context, there is a lack of interpretive studies that investigate this issue from the actual field. This exploratory study investigated how EFL teachers' implementation of QtA and their perspectives toward the use of the QtA strategy in teaching reading comprehension in Saudi secondary schools through nine interviews and eighteen classroom observations, analysed thematically. Findings showed that effective QtA use requires …

How Do Homeschool Parents In South Carolina Select Curriculum And Make Pedagogical Choices To Support Their Children’S Early Reading Development?, Lauretta O. Osho

All Dissertations

Early Childhood Education (ECE) is a period of growth and development for young children as they begin their educational journey. The need for a high-quality early childhood learning experience is necessary for the child’s holistic development, without which children may grow up with learning challenges that could negatively impact their adult life. Each child's early learning experience must begin with a good and deliberate reading foundation. Therefore, understanding the best methods of instilling strong reading skills in children from an early age sets the foundation for lifelong learning and success.

Homeschooling is the practice of educating, instructing, and tutoring children …

Reading Through The Eyes Of Faith: Introducing A Catholic Literary Lens To The English Language Arts Classroom, Julia French, Michael Macaluso

Journal of Catholic Education

Despite the proliferation and use of literary lenses in English Language Arts classrooms, one lens still seems to be missing from theorization, formulation, and thus practical implementation: religion. This absence is well-noted in the field, as positive depictions of Christian themes in books are rare and religion is rarely discussed as an identity marker that fosters growth and development. This article attempts to address that absence in two ways: first by conceptualizing and developing a Catholic literary lens that could be used in middle and secondary classrooms and second by offering practical suggestions for using this Catholic lens in ELA …

The Shifting The Balance Duology: A Book Critique From A Teacher Education Perspective, David Wolff

Essays in Education

Reading instruction has become a critical focus in many states in the country. Both in-service and pre-service teachers are adopting innovative approaches in reading instruction embedded in the Science of Reading. However, the transition to these new methods require a shift in practice that should be differentiated for both groups. In-service teachers have a wealth of knowledge and experience to draw upon, while pre-service teachers because of the lack of prior knowledge of past practices in literacy that include the Balanced Literacy approach. This book critique examines the Shifted the Balance duology, offering insights to its implications to Teacher Education.

New Reader Response: An Examination Of Three High-Achieving High School Readers And Their Literacies, Minkyu Kim

Essays in Education

Since its inception, reader response theory has battled misrepresentations. It was reduced to discursive anarchy, perceived as not rigorous, and set apart from important scholarship movements like critical theory. This research argues that by expanding the definition of “reader” in “reader response” to include digital (aka “new”) literacies, the reader-text transaction can be much more inclusive, dynamic, and most importantly, true to our students’ everyday literacies. This article also includes a discussion of why it is so important for teachers to include digital platforms as sites of interrogation in a safe educative setting. By studying the out-of-school literacy behaviors of …

Effectiveness Of A Three-Step Decoding Strategy With Constant Time-Delay To Teach Word Reading To Students With Mild And Moderate Intellectual Disability, Amjad F. Almawash, Norah Aldosiry

International Journal for Research in Education

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a three-step decoding strategy with constant time delay on teaching and acquisition of decoding and word reading skills to four students with mild and moderate intellectual disability and to measure the generalization of those skills to untaught words. A multiple probe design across participants was used to examine the percentage of sounds correctly decoded and words correctly read. The results indicate that all four participants learned to decode and read words using the two strategies. Furthermore, all participants showed an increased learning efficiency in decoding and reading when teaching …

Proceedings Of The Ursinus Colloquium On Liberal Education: Curriculum Matters, Paul Stern, Stephanie Mackler, Laura Desisto, Diane Skorina, Dini Metro-Roland, Dale Brown, Meghan Brodie, Tonya Krouse, Paul Stob, Gundolf Graml

Ursinus Colloquium on Liberal Education

Introduction • Opening remarks: Curriculum matters! • Curriculum matters: pedagogical considerations • Why should we read? To grapple with complexity • Why should we read? An experiential perspective • Why should we read? A view from prison education • What should the reading do for us? • Curriculum in a material world • The place of reading in a curriculum that matters • Concluding remarks • List of participants

Ursinus Colloquium On Liberal Education: Curriculum Matters, Paul Stern, Ursinus College

Ursinus Colloquium on Liberal Education

This program for Ursinus College's second Colloquium on Liberal Education provides an outline of the open questions, panel discussions and activities of the two-day event.

Shifting The Balance: 6 Ways To Bring The Science Of Reading Into The Upper Elementary Classroom- A Review, Mary-Jo Morse

The Language and Literacy Spectrum

In recent weeks, the New York State Governor Kathy Hochul unveiled her “Back to Basics” plan to improve reading achievement in New York State. As part of her plan, Governor Hochul has proposed that millions of dollars be allocated in the state’s budget to train “20 thousand teachers in Science of Reading Instructional best practices and announced an expansion of SUNY and CUNY’s microcredentialing programs for teachers focused on the Science of Reading.” (Hochul, 2024). With the Science of Reading becoming a major component in reading instruction, this new text, Shifting the Balance: 6 ways to Bring the Science of …

The Reading Rooms: Reading For Pleasure In The Literature Classroom, Kalila Bohsali

English Language and Literature ETDs

The act of reading is the primary thing the literature classroom is concerned with and that is what this project seeks to claim and to understand, specifically the practice and process of reading for pleasure. This dissertation seeks to understand reading as a process, and reading for pleasure and to propose that students and instructors would benefit from paying more attention to reading for pleasure in the literature classroom, and being more transparent in how reading for pleasure is communicated as a shared value. Through a grounded theory interview project and an in-depth exploration of the different "rooms" in which …

Lessons From The Bluest Eye: The Discovery Of Self, Shanda D. Boone-Hurdle

Virginia English Journal

This article will explore the profound impact of reading, utilizing Toni Morrison’s novel The Bluest Eye as a catalyst for students to create real-life connections that resonate with their own experiences. The love of reading is a transformative force that not only enriches the intellectual landscape but also serves as a powerful tool for fostering empathy and understanding. This article will demonstrate how reading empowers students and helps them find solace and strength in the realization that their struggles, dreams, and aspirations are not isolated but are woven into the fabric of a broader narrative in which students can reflect …

High School Students' Perceptions Of Banned Books, Carissa Hennen

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This research study consisted of interviews with twelve students ages 14-18 at a Northeastern Ohio high school to determine their opinions regarding banned books and content restrictions in schools. With book bans increasing and becoming a divisive topic, many adult figures such as parents, politicians, educators, and school administrators have made their opinions known, but student perspectives are often disregarded. This study seeks to further the research on opinions of book bans by extending these questions to students to fill this gap in research and gain deeper insight into the perception of high school students in regard to school curriculum. …

Revamped Socratic Seminars: Great Ideas, Morgan Taylor

New Jersey English Journal

Revamped Socratic Seminars called 'Great Ideas' encourage student ownership and active participation. Preparing with open-ended questions and online tools, the approach fosters a learner community and deepens subject understanding, assessed through a tracking system.

Toward A Theory Of An Integrated Theoretical Approach Of Literacy For Black Boys, Aaron M. Johnson

Michigan Reading Journal

In the education landscape the literacy of Black boys is viewed from deficit framing. Often, educators, politicians, and laypeople point to scores on standardized assessments such as the MSTEP, NAEP, ACT, SAT, and NWEA, these tests only tell a part of the story. The part of the story that those assessments do tell is the abject failure of schools’ ability to engage Black boys in school-based literacy and catapult them into proficient and advanced proficient reading levels. The part of the story that those assessments do not tell is the literate lives that Black boys lead. Furthermore, schools do a …

Electronic Books: Educational Enhancement Or Novelty?, Felipe O. Reyes

Theses and Dissertations

The study’s purpose was to explore if there was a statistically significant difference in reading comprehension of non-Limited English Proficient students when reading eBooks compared to printed books. Second, it explored if there was a statistically significant difference in Limited English Proficient students. Third, it explored if there was a statistically significant difference between non-Limited English Proficient and Limited English Proficient students while reading in neither format. The research sample of the study drew from the population (N=8,100) of students at the middle school level within a district in south Texas who participated in the Accelerated Reader program during …

Using Emotion Regulation To Support Informed Literacy, Rachael A. Vandonkelaar

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

When it comes to fake news, no medium circulates and reaches more youth than social media. Social media can provide an opportunity for students to create and post with an authentic audience; however, social media can also perpetuate the danger of fake news. Youth across the globe emotionally engage with content several hours a day and can become vulnerable to the clickbait style of news. Therefore, although research has studied how critical literacy instruction supports informed reading, literacy instruction must also address students’ emotional regulation needs. This research-to-practice article describes the dangers of fake news on youth interactions and provides …

The Impact Of Cognitive Coaching On High School English Teachers’ Implementation Of Metacognitve Reading Strategies, Charrai Hunter

Theses and Dissertations

The problem that this action research study addressed was the ineffective facilitation strategies used in professional development for teachers. The purpose of the study was to determine whether reflective practices impact teachers’ instructional decisions. The study used Cognitive Coaching, a reflective coaching model, as its intervention. To gather data the study used classroom observations, coaching conversations, and an eight-question structured survey administered at the end of the study. This qualitative case study included three high school English teachers as its participants and the study was conducted at two different high schools in a suburban school district in the Southeast. The …

Student Engagement Action Research A Focus On Culturally Relevant Instructional Methods, Amia Dixon

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this action study was to determine the impact the use of culturally relevant instructional methods (researcher created term) would have on student achievement and student motivation. The use of culturally relevant teaching methods is rooted in culturally relevant pedagogy first introduced by Gloria Ladson-Billings and culturally responsive teaching practices first introduced by Geneva Gay. The study implemented an intervention cycle that modified the fourth-grade curriculum by differentiating lessons based on learning style, incorporating an “activator” that connects to the students’ culture and builds background knowledge, allowing student choice for instructional text, increasing the use of culturally relevant …

What Does The Current Research Say About Effective Strategies For Teaching Reading Fluency?, Talia E. Dewitte

Honors Thesis

Reading fluency, a person’s ability to read with speed, accuracy, and prosody, is one of the five major dimensions of reading instruction. Effective reading fluency instruction is crucial to the success of developing readers. The ability to read fluently directly impacts the ability to engage in other reading skills, as instruction with reading fluency is often integrated with skills such as reading comprehension and phonics. There are a plethora of evidence-based strategies for teaching reading instruction. While these strategies vary the delivery of instruction or materials needed, they all share a foundation of thorough research and continued efficacy in the …

Increasing Phonemic Awareness In Intellectually Impaired Students By Using Wilson’S Fundations Phonics Program In A Self-Contained Classroom, Theresa Lynne Garcia

Theses and Dissertations

This study aims to investigate if students who have been identified intellectually disabled are able to gain phonemic awareness by using Wilson’s Fundations in a self-contained setting. Most research has focused on students who are not identified as intellectually disabled. In this mixed method action research study, the students were given a first grade reading fluency test and a first grade word reading test for six weeks as the quantitative data. Both instruments were tested using a two-tail t-test, week one’s results were compared to week six’s results on both tests. All five the participants showed growth over the six …

From Read 2 Rap: Moving From Words On A Page To Standing On Stage, Nate Whitsett

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

Creativity will abound in your classroom as you tap into your students’ hidden talents. Learn how to use Rap, Rhyme & Poetry to teach Key vocabulary in Reading, Writing and Performance Arts Education. Teachers at all levels can benefit from seeing how enjoyable teaching is when students are actively engaged in the learning process.

Fourth Grade Teacher Perspectives Of Instructional Practices To Support Students With Reading Deficits, Juanita Carter Robbins

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem that was the focus of this study was that only 30% of fourth grade students in the United States read at or above grade-level proficiency. Lack of reading proficiency affects fourth-grade students’ ability to master content presented in subjects across the curriculum and may limit their educational attainment. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore fourth-grade teachers’ perspectives of instructional practices to support students with reading deficits, the challenges teachers encounter, and the resources teachers need to meet those challenges. The conceptual framework comprised Tomlinson’s model of differentiated instruction. Three research questions explored the instructional …