Elementary Education Commons^™

A Program For Teacher Induction, Patricia Lager 7701725, Katherine Bertolini

Empowering Research for Educators

Even though many novice teachers are prepared academically to deal with subject matter, many of them enter the teaching field unprepared for many of the other aspects of teaching such as dealing with grading programs, insurance claims, inventory and various other matters that differ from school-to-school. Often these new teachers feel isolated and unsupported and possibly do not realize what they do not know or the proper questions to ask. This results in nearly 29% of them leaving the field within their first three years and around 39% leaving within their first five years. This project proposes creating a teacher …

Environmental Print: From Context To Comprehension, Alexandra E. Hinkel

Lewis Honors College Capstone Collection

The purpose of this research is to further our understanding of the role played by environmental print in the literacy development of emergent readers. Environmental print is defined as any print that can be seen in public such as logos, signs, products names and billboards. One of the main things we already know about environmental print is that it helps young children understand that the words in print mean something, or that some message is communicated through them. This connection is crucial to developing early literacy skills. This research identifies young readers’ abilities to recognize these words out of context …

Critical Coaching: Approaching Literacy Coaching Through A Critical Lens, Melissa Wells

Education Faculty Articles

Based in critical theory, this qualitative case study explored how a new genre of literacy coaching, called critical coaching, developed and what outcomes it produced. The researcher (a literacy coach) built a critical coaching partnership with an early childhood teacher, and two findings emerged: (1) self-reflection occurred through defining educators’ identities as cultural beings, as well as by naming and challenging assumptions; and (2) taking action occurred through critical networks, advocacy in public spaces, and planning culturally relevant pedagogy. Implications include seven essential conditions for building critical coaching partnerships.

The Influence Of Participation In The Leveled Literacy Intervention Program On The Sustained Literacy Achievement For Students In Grades One Through Threev, Veronica Anne Glover

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

This study evaluated the efficacy of Fountas & Pinnell’s Leveled Literacy Intervention (LLI) program and its effect on struggling readers in the first grade, as well as the sustaining effects of the intervention over a two-year period. The students in the study attended an elementary school in a Central New Jersey public school district and received the LLI supplemental pull out reading program five days a week for 30 to 45 minutes per session as prescribed. The study hypothesized that the LLI program would have a significant effect on the reading progress of struggling first-grade students in the districts’ first …

Pirls 2016: Reporting Australia's Results, Sue Thomson, Kylie Hillman, Marina Schmid, Sima Rodrigues, Jessica Fullarton

Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS)

The Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) is an international comparative study of student achievement directed by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA). PIRLS 2016 represents the fourth such study since PIRLS was first conducted in 2001. Australia has participated in the two most recent cycles – PIRLS 2011 and 2016. In Australia, PIRLS is managed by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) and is jointly funded by the Australian Government and the state and territory governments. The goal of PIRLS is to provide the best policy-relevant information about how to improve teaching and …

Highlights From Pirls 2016: Australia's Perspective, Sue Thomson, Kylie Hillman, Marina Schmid, Sima Rodrigues, Jessica Fullarton

Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS)

The Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) is an international study of reading literacy directed by the IEA (International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement). In Australia, PIRLS is implemented by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER), which is Australia’s representative to the IEA. In Australia, PIRLS is part of the National Assessment Program. PIRLS has been conducted internationally at Year 4 on a five-year cycle since 2001, however, Australia participated for the first time in 2011. The main goal of PIRLS is to assist countries to monitor and evaluate their teaching of reading across time. Year …

Literacy Tutoring Strategies Of America Reads University-Level Tutors, Mauricio Cadavid

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore, study, outline and describe tutoring strategies applied by American Reads (AR) tutors and non-America Reads (nAR) tutors helping young tutees develop early literacy skills. There is limited research on the implementation of effective tutoring strategies during one-on-one tutoring with elementary school children in terms of early literacy development. Most of the literature is split between peer tutoring and program tutoring. This lack of research presents a particular challenge when it comes to identifying an effective tutor and effective tutoring methodologies. Using a qualitative approach, this study utilizes survey data, session recordings, and …

Critical Thinking In The Upper Elementary Grades: A Program Evaluation Of Write From The Beginning And Beyond: Response To Literature, Ginger C. Black

Education Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact the integration of critical thinking through Write from the Beginning and Beyond: Response to Literature had on planning, instruction, and assessment. Based on the school’s end-of-grade reading tests scores, educators determined students struggled in reading and designed an action plan using a logic model. The teachers at the intermediate school in the piedmont of North Carolina were previously trained to use the program and determined the program was being implemented as intended. The logic model guided this study to meet medium-term goals. The impact of the program was measured qualitatively …

Navigating The Complex Practices Of Specialized Literacy Professionals In Formalized Teacher Leadership Positions, Thea Anne Yurkewecz

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This dissertation reports on how one school community engaged in a professional development grant initiative that incorporated teacher leadership. Teacher leaders may have numerous roles and responsibilities that support the professional learning and instructional practices of school communities. This study examined the experiences of three specialized literacy professionals as teacher leaders and professional development facilitators. Case study methodology (Merriam, 1998; Stake, 2005; Yin, 2009) and the six principles of adult learning (Knowles, Holton, & Swanson, 2005) provided a framework to capture the contextual and descriptive practices of how these teacher leaders navigated their roles and responsibilities. Three important findings emerged …

The Impact Literacy Coaches Have On Mississippi's Lower-Performing Schools, Barbara Ann Trivelli-Bowen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the impact literacy coaches had on Mississippi’s lower-performing schools. To guide the study, the researcher developed four research questions and four null hypotheses. The population of this study was derived from a sample of Mississippi students in Grades K-3 who were administered the Early Literacy STAR assessment for kindergartners and the STAR assessment for first through third-graders. This assessment was administered twice during the 2015-2016 school year. The pretest was given in August; the posttest was given in April/May. These students came from four different schools; two schools had literacy coaches and …

The Impact Of Word-Study Intervention Strategies On Students' Measures Of Reading Comprehension And Fluency, Trenisha Weekley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Despite the existing research regarding effective word-study interventions for struggling adolescent readers, various researchers propose a need for additional research on effective reading interventions to confirm and extend existing knowledge. The current study specifically investigates the impact of the overt/covert and outside-in word-study instructional intervention strategies on struggling adolescent readers’ fluency and comprehension measures. Paired samples t-tests revealed a significant difference in the pretest and posttest fluency scores of participants receiving either overt/covert or outside-in word-study strategy instruction. However, no significant difference occurred between participants’ pretest and posttest comprehension scores. Additionally, ANCOVA statistical analyses revealed no significant differences between the …

Engaging Readers, Engaging Families : How Can Current Research And Thinking About Reading Engagement And Motivation Translate To The Family Context?, Erin Gordon

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This paper will provide a review of the research that pertains to reading engagement and motivation in general and offer some ways of considering the research through the lens of the family as a part of the larger educational community. The author also introduces readers to a website for families called "Engaging Readers." This website aims to empower families with resources, information, and opportunities for conversation and collaboration so that they can support their young readers with enthusiasm, confidence, and heart.

An Exploration Into The Gender-Based Achievement Gap In Literacy: Deficiency, Difference, And Teacher, Researcher And Measurement Bias, Theresa Orlandi

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This paper provides a review of the research pertaining to various explanations and causes for boys' underachievement in literacy.

The Processes Of Change On Learning Literacy And Numeracy In South Australian Primary Schools, I Gusti Ngurah Darmawan, Carol Aldous

Shannon Research Press

Success in science and mathematics is predicated on successful literacy and numeracy learning. Yet schools and communities across the country struggle to negotiate factors that both impede and facilitate such learning - particularly factors over which they have some control. Working with data more comprehensive than that used previously and applying statistical methods only recently developed, researchers from the South Australian hub of the centre for Science, Information and Communication Technology and Mathematics Education for Rural and Regional Australia (SiMERR-SA) seek answers to three basic questions. What factors influence performance in Literacy and Numeracy? Does living in a rural and …

Current Reading Methodologies Used In Classrooms: Grades K-6, Brett Ott

Theses and Graduate Projects

The purpose of my research is to examine what reading strategies k-6 general education teachers use in their classrooms to support balanced literacy instruction. In its relevancy to leadership, this research is specific to the current body of knowledge on how to teach children to read. I surveyed 35 k-6 teachers' literacy practices and compared their choices with the methods promoted by leading advocates in the field of literacy.

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.

Net Impact Analysis Of Reading Recovery® In Kalamazoo Public Schools: Concept And Preliminary Findings, Randall W. Eberts, Wei-Jang Huang

Presentations

This analysis estimated the net impact of Reading Recovery® as it was conducted in Kalamazoo Public Schools for first graders in the 2003/04 cohort. Results suggest that Reading Recovery® has helped students who demonstrated difficulties with literacy skills at the beginning of the year to perform at levels much closer to their peers by the end of the year. Three comparison groups were used in the analysis: RR students only, all other first graders, and matched first graders. Analysis using all three comparison groups found evidence that students in Reading Recovery® raised their test scores more than students that were …

Elementary Principals' Literacy Practices And Their Relationship To Student Achievement In Reading, Sandra Carper Cox

Teaching & Learning Theses & Dissertations

Principal behavior is under intense scrutiny, particularly in light of increased demands for higher and higher levels of student achievement. Reading achievement is the measure by which schools as well as principal leadership are judged. This study examined principals' literacy practices and their relationship to student achievement in reading. Measures used for analyses included a researcher-developed survey instrument, the Principal Quality Literacy Practices Survey, and results from the grade five Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) English: Reading test.

Survey data from 109 principals and 160 reading specialists from Southeastern Virginia were utilized. Principals and reading specialists reported that overall principals' …

Becoming Literate Through Art: Benefits Of A Literacy Infused Art Curriculum, Amy Wagner

Theses and Graduate Projects

The decline of literacy skills continues to be a crisis and a concern. It is important to emphasize that being literate goes beyond reading and writing. The definition of literacy can and should also include the ability to listen and speak. With this inclusion literacy becomes well defined as a form of communication. While art and writing are both forms of expression and thereby a means of communication, it is only natural that, because the two share the same goal, they should be studied jointly. The study and practice of art can enhance student's fine motor skills, cognitive learning development …

The Learning Of Numeracy And Literacy In South Australian Primary Schools: An Investigation Into The Performance Of Students And Schools In Numeracy And Literacy In Rural And Regional South Australia., Carol Aldous

Shannon Research Press

Success in science and mathematics is predicted on successful literacy and numeracy learning. Yet schools and communities across the country struggle to negotiate factors that both impede and facilitate such learning - particularly factors over which they have no control. Working with data more comprehensive than that used previously and applying statistical methods only recently developed, researchers from the South Australian hub of the National Centre for Science, Information and Communication Technology and Mathematics Education for Rural and Regional Australia (SiMERR-SA) seek answers to three basic questions. What factors influence performance in literacy and numeracy? Does living in a rural …

A Guide To Balanced Literacy—Pertaining To Reading—For The Intermediate Elementary Teacher, Meghann Finn Mcdonald Martin

All Graduate Projects

This project is a resource that offers information on how to implement, plan, and assess reading using the instructional strategies of balanced literacy. A review of the literature on all four instructional strategies of balance literacy is included. This guide will aid intermediate elementary teachers in planning effective instruction. The intent of this project is to provide a realistic and useful source for classroom teachers to utilize when planning and assessing reading instruction. Finally in addition to the sample lesson plans are examples of texts used for each lesson.

The Strategy Is At The Station: The Importance Of Connecting Literacy Stations To Reading Strategies In Developing Independent Readers, Angela Grace Williams

Theses and Dissertations

Guided reading groups and independent literacy stations are implemented in many elementary school classrooms... The present study looks at whether student literacy achievement is positively affected when guided reading strategies are connected to and used in independent literacy stations. Participants in this study included four first grade classrooms from an elementary school in the southeastern United States. Observational data were collected for eight weeks during the time in which guided reading and literacy stations were implemented. Literacy achievement was measured with the Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA). Results of a paired-samples t-test showed that one classroom had a statistically significant increase …

A Parent Handbook Of Reading And Writing Activities For Continued Literacy Development In The Home, Lisa Annette Bangs

All Graduate Projects

This project provides a handbook of reading and writing activities and strategies for parents of first grade students to use with their children in the home environment. Included is a review of research which: (1) discusses the importance of reading aloud to children at home and school, (2) examines how a child's early literacy experiences in the home affect overall reading achievement, (3) explains ways to increase communication between parents and teachers regarding a child's literacy development, and (4) describes activities to connect school and home literacy experiences.

Teaching Reading: Literature Review: A Review Of The Evidence-Based Research Literature On Approaches To The Teaching Of Literacy, Particularly Those That Are Effective In Assisting Students With Reading Difficulties, Ken Rowe, National Inquiry Into The Teaching Of Literacy (Australia)

School and system improvement

Underlying a key purpose of the present review is the conviction that claims about what constitute effective literacy teaching, and of reading in particular, should be grounded in findings from rigorous evidence-based research. To this end, the present review of the research literature on teaching practices for students, with and without reading difficulties, relies largely, though not exclusively, on well-designed meta analytic syntheses that: (a) partial out methodological artefacts from the effect sizes; and (b) base their analyses on the actual procedures and components of instruction used in the studies reviewed. Following a brief outline of the background and purposes …

The Effect Of Literature Mapping Of Basal Vocabulary On Word Knowledge And Comprehension, Andrea Lynn Morris

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to ascertain whether two instructional interventions in reading that utilize literature mapping within a story element frame, T-CaPS MaP via transparency mapping, or computer-designed mapping via Inspiration, would affect reading ability of leveled sixth grade groups. T-CaPS MaP, designed by the researcher, is a combination of well-known story grammars that was used to expand and enhance basal vocabulary instruction. T represents the title of the story, C represents characters in the story; arepresents and; P represents point of view of the author; S represents setting of the story; M represents the mood of …

Effect Of A Balanced Literary Program In Kindergarten, Holly Parker

The Corinthian

The purpose of this study was to show the effect of a balanced reading instruction on kindergartners. The subjects were students from 10 kindergarten classes in 2 consecutive school years. This was a causal-comparative study with 129 students in the control group and 151 students in the experimental group. Both the control group and the experimental group were pretested in the the fall and posttested in the spring, using the Lexia Comprehensive Reading Test. The posttest mean of the experimental group (M = 28.0, SD = 10.3) was higher than the mean of the control group (M = 24.1, SD …

The Effects Of Lexia Phonics Based Reading Software On First Graders' Lexia Comprehensive Reading Scores, Paula Snider

The Corinthian

The research conducted in this paper provides information about using computer software to remediate reading skills in first grade. The pre- and posttest is the Lexia Comprehensive Reading Test (2001). This research was conducted in a first grade classroom with 22 students of which half were in the experimental group. Students were matched using Lexia Comprehension Reading test scores and randomly divided into the two groups. The experimental group used the Lexia Phonics Based Reading Program (2004) for 30 minutes a day 3- 4 times a week to build upon individual needs. After one month, the posttest was administered. The …

Toolkit For Assistance With The Emergent Reader, Theresa Joanne Phelps

All Graduate Projects

Following the implementation of the No Child Left Behind Initiative in 2002, educators were faced with new obstacles never before experienced. Reading levels were at an all time low with nearly 70% of inner city fourth graders unable to read at a basic level on national reading tests. Because reading is the backbone of all academic areas, struggling readers need much more consideration and attention than they have needed before. The five main components of an effective reading program that are focused on in this project are vocabulary, phonics, phonemic awareness, comprehension and fluency. This toolkit contains assessments and strategies …

Meaningful, Motivating Library Lessons That Matter To Students In Grade Four, Karen Louise-Bjorling Felch

All Graduate Projects

The purpose of this project was to develop a meaningful, motivating library curriculum to increase student learning in literacy for students in grade four. Current literature and research on the roles of the teacher-librarian, information literacy instruction, reading advocacy, specifically literature guidance and appreciation, and motivation were explored. A yearlong library curriculum map was created addressing topics and methods found to be effective in the review of current research. The library curriculum was aligned with the Marysville School District Elementary Library Curriculum Guide for Grade Four, the Washington State Grade Level Expectations in Reading, the Washington State Essential Learnings in …

Using Music As A Classroom Tool, Gail Foreman

All Graduate Projects

The main focus of the project was to develop resources that will use music as a tool to improve literacy and support learning in third grade self contained classrooms. Research provides strong data connecting the relationship of music to academic achievement, language arts and improved test scores. This project provides prototype lesson plans that support grade level expectations and uses t4e Washington State Essential Academic Learning Requirements as a basis for the concepts being taught. A unit of lesson plans was developed that integrates music into the language arts. Worksheets, graphic organizers and a music book list were developed as …