Educational Methods Commons^™

Teacher Experiences In Elementary Word Study Instruction: A Phenomenological Study, Gregory Mihalik

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe the experience of integrating word study spelling programs for second grade teachers across six elementary schools in Northern Virginia. Word study is a developmental spelling approach that can be used by teachers to differentiate instruction and meet student needs. Despite the growing popularity of the program and increased classroom application, many schools nationwide continue to use memory-based traditional methods. Based on a review of the word study literature, the study sought to describe the experience of second grade teachers implementing word study spelling instruction in their classrooms. This study explored the …

Using Superheroes To Visually And Critically Analyze Comics, Stereotypes, And Society, Mike P. Cook, Ryle Frey

SANE journal: Sequential Art Narrative in Education

The purpose of this article is to provide teachers and students useful methods for utilizing the power of comic books as literacy sponsors in ELA classrooms. Given the continued boom in the popularity of comics in popular culture, this provides a relevant way to introduce students to visual and critical analysis. Engaging in meaningful analysis of comic superheroes can help students develop the skills required to critically analyze the stereotypes and social issues both within comics and within the world that surrounds them. Through the study of traditional and contemporary comic book heroes, students can critique society and begin to …

Using The News To Enhance Critical Thinking And Engagement In Middle And High School Students, Jessica Walters

Journal of Catholic Education

This article describes the author’s adaptation of Gallagher’s (2009) Article of the Week approach to teaching students literacy skills using current events. The use of this unique instructional routine within the context of a Catholic middle school language arts classroom has proven successful for supporting students in developing critical literacy and an understanding of moral leadership by examining world events from a Catholic worldview.

Differentiating Instruction Through Math Stations And Literacy Centers, Olivia Bates

Faculty Curated Undergraduate Works

Differentiating instruction based on students’ readiness, interests, and learning profiles is essential for creating effective and meaningful learning activities. Identifying these characteristics allows teachers to meet students’ needs and engage them in learning. By differentiating instruction, educators target specific students’ strengths and challenges in developing lessons to support their understanding of content. Two useful strategies for differentiating math and literacy instruction include stations and centers. In stations and centers, students work on specific skills catered to their educational needs while rotating activities in flexible groups. This guide supports teachers in identifying strategies and understanding the benefits of differentiating math and …

The Effects Of Implementing Close Reading In A Third, Fourth, And Fifth Grade Public School Setting To Improve Student Achievement, Cory Valentine

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this ex-post facto, causal-comparative study is to determine the effects of close reading on student achievement. Close reading is a strategy developed through literary criticism and the influences of I. A. Richards and the New Critics. This study analyzes close reading to determine the most efficient practice to help students develop critical reading, thinking, and written communication skills. The researcher examined 2013 to 2015 New York State English Language Arts Exam data from 10 school districts located in the Broome-Tioga BOCES Region. For the study, 6,040 student exams in Grades 3, 4, and 5 were analyzed. Using …

Poetry Is Powerful: High School Students And Pre-Service Teachers Develop Literacy Relationships Through Poetry, Susanne L. Nobles, Amy Price Azano

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

Teaching poetry can serve as a roadblock for many English teachers who lack confidence with the genre. Likewise, high school students struggle reading poetry and creating their own poetic works. In an effort to provide an authentic learning experience for our students, we created a semester-long, collaborative poetry project between our high school and college students. This manuscript provides details about the goals, processes, and takeaways for both groups of participants. The high school students were two classes of freshman-level English students who practiced developing critical literacy skills while reading, reciting, and writing poetry. The college students were pre-service English …

Ireach Blended Learning Model And Reading Lexile Growth Of Freshmen In Maryville City Schools, Whitney Ann Schmidt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Maryville City School system has implemented the first year of the iReach blended learning model for which all students in the school district have access to either a laptop or an iPad to support their learning every day. The availability of research on the impact of iReach is limited because the blended learning instructional model is relatively new and has not yet been subjected to numerous research studies. The purpose of this ex post facto quasi-experimental quantitative study was to compare student reading Lexile growth data collected through the use of the Reading Comprehension Assessment before and after iReach …

Facilitating Literacy Acquisition In At-Risk Second-Grade Students Using A Rhythmic Intervention: A Case Study, Deborah Jones-Gensel

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this intrinsic, holistic case study was to describe and analyze the impact of a rhythmic intervention designed to support literacy skills in second-grade students at-risk of failure of state mandated reading assessment. The theories used to guide this study were Finkelstein (2001) and Hunt’s (1966) disability theory, and critical realism posited by Bhaskar and Danemark (2006). Critical realism, as applied to disability theory, reflects a unique combination of needs a person with disability faces: socio-economic, physical, biological, psycho-social and emotional, psychological, cultural, and normative. Research suggested musical instruction could be used to teach literacy skills as a …

Linguistics As The Basis For Phonological Instruction, Christen Johnson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this research study is to determine if teachers of emergent literate students have been trained in linguistics—the anatomy, air flow, and voice of phonology—as part of their literacy instruction and to what extent those strategies are employed while teaching. The basis for this inquiry lies in the understanding that phonology is a science conceived from linguistics which illustrates and explains how sounds are created and produced within the oral structure. This body of information lends itself to an extremely developmental and authentic scope and sequence for teaching phonetics to students. These teachers must be aware of and …

Literacy Achievement In Nongraded Classrooms, Anita Therese Kreide

LMU Theses and Dissertations

This longitudinal quantitative study compared literacy achievement of students from second through sixth grade based on two organizational systems: graded (traditional) and nongraded (multiage) classrooms. The California Standards Test (CST) scaled and proficiency scores for English-Language Arts (ELA) were used as the study’s independent variable to measure student performance. A matched control was utilized in which nongraded students were compared with graded students based on gender, ethnicity, and date of birth. Data analysis included independent samples t-test, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and effect size. Results showed that nongraded students had a significant advantage over their graded counterparts in literacy achievement …

Rigor Demystified, Now What?: Applying & Aligning Webb’S Depth Of Knowledge To Literacy & Math Instruction., Barbara Serianni, Kelly Brooksher

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

After exploring the four levels of cognitive rigor in Webb’s Depth of Knowledge (DOK) and the alignment to the Common Core. Participants will further engage in hands-on activities designed to model the application of DOK in the content areas of literacy and mathematics to improve instructional alignment, increase student engagement, and ensure appropriate rigor in classroom activities and assessment.

Creating A Lifeline Back To Books For Adolescent Boys Through Multimedia Enhanced Read-Alouds, Jana Wilkening Mcnally

Dissertations

Due to a growing concern regarding the reading motivation levels of adolescent males, educators have been encouraged to broaden their definition of literacy beyond the traditional fiction novel. This study sought to target the reading motivation levels of unmotivated adolescent boys through the use of a multimedia-enhanced read aloud (MERA). Research questions included: (a) How does the implementation of the MERA impact the reading motivation of adolescent male students? (b) How does the implementation of the MERA impact the reading motivation of unmotivated adolescent male students? (c) How does the implementation of the MERA impact the reading motivation of adolescent …

Cultivating Literacy And Relationships With Adolescent Scholars Of Color, Noah Asher Golden, Erica Womack

Education Faculty Articles and Research

The authors explore strength-based learning projects that value the lived realities and literacies of adolescent scholars of color, setting the stage for the powerful relationships through which meaningful learning happens.

Oregon Reading Instructional Materials And Practices Statewide Survey Executive Summary, Sue Lenski, Dot Mcelhone, Mindy Legard Larson, Maika Yeigh, Carol Lauritzen, Amanda Villagómez, Dennis Davis, Marie Lejeune, Melanie Landon-Hays

Faculty Publications

This study reports the results of a survey of a representative sample of 1,206 K-6 classroom and 7-12 English Language Arts teachers in Oregon to learn 1) what reading instructional materials are currently being used, 2) what reading instructional materials teachers would prefer, 3) what reading instructional materials teachers wanted to have included on the state approved materials list, and 4) what instructional practices teachers use. Results indicated that in grades K-6 basal/core reading programs were the predominant material in use, but that these teachers preferred to use trade books. The majority of grades 7-12 English Language Arts teachers reported …

Pim Pedagogy: Toward A Loosely Unified Model For Teaching And Studying Comics And Graphic Novels, James B. Carter

SANE journal: Sequential Art Narrative in Education

The article debuts and explains "PIM" pedagogy, a construct for teaching comics at the secondary- and post-secondary levels and for deep reading/studying comics. The PIM model for considering comics is actually based in major precepts of education studies, namely constructivist foundations of learning, and loosely unifies constructs inherent therein with other available frames and frameworks for studying comics. As such, the article fills a dire need in the scholarly literature on comics pedagogy and paves a way for those who seek to teach comics courses in the future but who need direction and for those who seek to study/read comics …

Assessing High School Science Students’ Abilities To Use Cross Cutting Literacy Skills And Scientific Argumentative Writing Skills In A Mid-Western School District, Ellen M. Karel

Masters Theses

This study sought to determine to what extent a centrally focused initiative concentrated on how to teach students to not just write, but how to think, read, and speak about real world problems in a persuasive manner based on multiple sets of data related to science concepts, increased scientific argumentative writing proficiencies among high school students. A secondary area this study attempted to explore was the correlation between the implemented processes in the initiative and high school students’ scientific argumentative writing proficiencies. The study was conducted in a mid-western high school, population 1,088, with a select group of students in …

Imparting Practical Wisdom And Resilience To Our Students, Charles (Derrick) Lawson

Journal of Critical Issues in Educational Practice

The powerful impact of communicating a teacher’s belief in a student is presented. By sharing trade books and novels with metaphoric messages, teachers can impart practical wisdom and enable students to develop resilience when facing challenges.

A Case Study Of The Impact Of Reading Intervention In Early Elementary School Grade Levels, Bonnie S. Smith

Education Dissertations and Projects

This case study examined the impact of small class size using small group instruction with ability grouping for early literacy intervention. In this study, data were analyzed to determine the impact small class size, paired with small group instruction for intervention, had on students in terms of attaining grade-level proficiency standards. DIBELS data and facilitator interviews were analyzed from first and second grade intervention and traditional classes to determine the effectiveness of small class size and ability grouping for students to achieve grade-level proficiency in literacy. Results show that using direct instruction in small groups with Title I inclusion helped …

An Investigation Of Teacher Librarians' Use Of Interactive Whiteboard Technology For Literacy Instruction, Judith Carroll Stanton

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Although school systems have made investments in technology with the intention of raising student scores on state and national tests, improvements in student achievement have not always followed. The purpose of this study was to investigate teacher librarians' use of interactive whiteboards to improve student literacy. This qualitative case study was guided by the theory of social constructivism, wherein individuals learn through interaction with peers and knowledgeable others. The research questions were focused on how teacher librarians integrated multi-literacies and technological skills into pedagogical goals. Data were collected from a 4-member focus group interview, a questionnaire delivered to a subset …

Teac 921b: Seminar In Literacy Studies (Special Topics: Schooling And The Multilingual Mind)—A Peer Review Of Teaching Project Benchmark Portfolio, Theresa Catalano

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

This portfolio will document the creation and implementation of a new doctoral seminar in my department. This introductory course to multilingualism and schooling (TEAC 921B) will cover topics related to teaching and learning in the multilingual classroom. The key goals for creating this portfolio are to aid me in creating this new doctoral seminar that reflects and builds on departmental goals for graduate students. In particular I would like to document and address the implementation of two new activities to my teaching ; a language study/journal, and the creation of a documentary film. I foresee using this course portfolio as …

Literacy Strategies Successfully Implemented By Secondary Social Studies Teachers, Kelly Killorn

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The purpose of this study was to determine which literacy strategies were used by secondary social studies teachers who were identified by their principals as having strong literacy integration skills. In addition, teachers' beliefs and purposes for utilizing said literacy strategies were examined. It was hypothesized that participants would incorporate literacy strategies into their instruction, and would utilize explicit vocabulary instructional methods and graphic organizers most frequently. Using a mixed-methods approach, data were collected from five participants through three 50-minute behavioral observations apiece, followed by a 45-minute focus group discussion. Results indicated that these participants overwhelmingly utilized literacy strategies regularly …

Elementary Teachers' Sense Of Self Efficacy And Professional Development Experiences Of Teaching Informational Text, Mary Desiree Lee

Dissertations

According to the International Reading Association, becoming a successful citizen in one’s career and personal life requires the use of literacy skills (International Reading Association, 1999). However, students in the United States have scored low on the literacy portions of the National Assessment of Educational Progress and the ACT prompting the National Governor’s Association to author a set of standards with a goal of providing students a balance between narrative and informational text (National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, Council of Chief State School Officers, 2010). Scores were below the national average in the southeastern region of the United …

Integrating Art Education And Literacy Education: A Curriculum For The Secondary Level, Erin Moody-Zoet

Masters Theses

The purpose of this paper is to examine, through the design of a new curriculum, how the integration of reading and writing literacy into a visual arts curriculum can strengthen literacy skills as well as foster creative thinking at the middle school level. There is a growing demand for the integration of literacy in all core, and non-core curricula. By developing a curriculum that integrates literacy strategies in a visual arts program, as well as touches on the disconnect that I see between individuals and their own creative outlets, a curriculum is established that fosters and engages students in creative …

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.

Moving Toward Equitable, Accessible, And Relevant Mathematics For All. A Book Review Of Rethinking Mathematics: Teaching Social Justice By The Numbers, Lauren Provost

Democracy & Education

A book review of Rethinking Mathematics: Teaching Social Justice by the Numbers, edited by Eric Gutstein and Bob Peterson.

Using Shared Reading And Close Reading To Bridge Intervention And The Common Core, Karen C. Waters

Education Faculty Publications

While classroom teachers are grappling with the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and its implications for instruction in the core curriculum, designing effective intervention to meet the needs of diverse struggling readers poses another challenge, especially because Response to Intervention (RTI) as an instructional framework frequently emphasizes the teaching of discrete skills. Experts have concluded that intervention focusing primarily on foundational skills without instruction in comprehension is not only contrary to literacy research, but also antithetical to the shift to contextualized literacy instruction, resulting in fragmented instruction for those most in need. At the same time, inherent within both CCSS …

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. …

Promoting Stem Literacy In 21st Century Education, Emily V. Martin

Honors College Theses

This research paper focuses on the importance of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) Literacy in American Education. Specifically, the research paper focuses on different strategies that can be used to incorporate literacy into the science and math classrooms. There are five different strategies presented for each content area and they were all suggested by a variety of Educational Journals. Along with literacy strategies, there is another part of the research paper that focuses on the importance of innovative experiences in the science and math classrooms that incorporate principles of engineering and technology. The importance of this is not only to …

The Female Quixote As Promoter Of Social Literacy, Amy Hodges

ABO: Interactive Journal for Women in the Arts, 1640–1830

In Charlotte Lennox’s The Female Quixote, the unruly Arabella clashes with the eighteenth century’s conception of England as an orderly, unromantic site of commercial trade. Arabella’s romances prompt her to expect certain power structures from English society; she invites others to see her body as a spectacle and expects that her actions will solidify her status as a powerful woman. Yet Lennox reveals that English society sees Arabella’s body not as powerful, but as an object upon which they may construct their own potential site for the exchange of knowledge, an objectification that neither Arabella nor Lennox are prepared …

Women’S Literacy In Early Modern Spain And The New World, Ed. By Anne J. Cruz And Rosilie Hernández, Kirsten Schultz

ABO: Interactive Journal for Women in the Arts, 1640–1830

No abstract provided.