Language and Literacy Education Commons^™

Teachers’ Perspectives On The Identification Of, And Provisions For, Gifted And Talented English As An Additional Language Students, Lucy Byramji Hands

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

In recent years, Western Australian State schools have seen a sharp rise in the number of students who use English as an Additional Language (EAL). Almost one-third of them have been identified as having culturally and linguistically diverse ancestry (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2016). Many are gifted and talented (GT). However, while it has been widely acknowledged that GT abilities can be found in all ethnic, cultural, and linguistic groups, barriers such as socioeconomic circumstances, stereotypes, political climate, language backgrounds and a myriad of factors can influence the recognition, identification and full participation of EAL students in gifted and talented …

Juxtaposing Primary- And Intermediate-Elementary Trade Books’ Historical Representation Of Amelia Earhart, Rachael A. Burkhardt

Masters Theses

Amelia Earhart can be used in the classroom not only to interest students but can also be used to cover Common Core State Standards (CCSS), National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) framework, and Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). When teaching Amelia Earhart, textbooks, trade books, and primary sources can be used, however one must be careful with the misrepresentations each resource can portray. To look at what is misrepresented, omitted, and included within primary and intermediate grade level trade books, 32 books were scrutinized. The trade books being analyzed were found to have some historically representative and misrepresentative elements …

Implementing Reading Strategies With Ell Elementary Students, Nelofar Khamisani

Masters Theses

This study shows the challenges the English Language Learners face in learning reading at the Elementary level; implementing reading strategies for them; and choosing effective strategies for the students to learn reading more easily. The findings of the study show that teachers use different strategies according to the language proficiency level of the students. ELL students face challenges in communication, pronunciation, sound recognition, and vocabulary. As a strategy to overcome these challenges, the teachers emphasize learning phonics and vocabulary. Observations of three teachers in three mainstream classrooms show that teachers implement nearly similar strategies for teaching phonics and vocabulary. The …

Supporting The Development Of Upper Elementary School Students’ Online Research And Comprehension Skills Through A Reframed Guided Reading Framework, Jennifer Van Allen, Vassiliki Zygouris-Coe

Publications and Research

Today’s students are increasingly required to use skills when conducting online research for academic purposes. However, students may be unable to transfer their reading skills with printed texts to reading online texts in upper grades and beyond. Strategic actions required for online research are extended to account for the unique, complex reading environment of the Internet as readers locate, navigate, evaluate, and synthesize information across multimodal sources. The guided reading framework, a popular instructional framework that is widely adopted in U.S. elementary schools, lends itself to supporting students’ use of strategic actions as they conduct online research. Informed by theory …

Writing Workshop And Creativity Despite Standardization: An Exploration Of Elementary Teachers' Practices, Darcie Kay Kress

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Writing instruction in today’s classrooms is often structured with “formulaic, sterile writing instruction” (Brown, Morrell, and Rowlands, 2011, p. 17). The focus on formulaic approaches can be problematic, for it may inadvertently cause the quality of students’ writing to decline (Brown, Morrell, & Rowlands, 2011; Gillespie, Olinghouse, & Graham, 2013). The National Writing Project (NWP) provides teachers with professional development to strengthen their own skills as writers, and also to learn how to effectively incorporate evidence-based practices into their writing instruction.

The aim of this study was to explore the practices of three elementary classroom teachers (second, fifth, and sixth …

Supporting Clinical Practice Through Rehearsals, Lubna Javeed

Northwest Journal of Teacher Education

Rehearsing is a form of pedagogy in teacher education to prepare pre-service teachers with instructional practices before live enactments in a classroom. This qualitative study used grounded theory to explore how rehearsals impacted five elementary literacy courses in a university teacher education program. Data comprised of prolonged observations, video recordings of rehearsals, and surveys. The process of coding and re-coding resulted in findings that reflect rehearsing provided Teacher Candidates with confidence with lesson presentation, improved understanding of literacy content, and understand how to make in-the-moment instructional decisions.

Student Engagement Within The Use Of Graphic Novels, Melissa Felsenthal

Graduate Research Papers

Student engagement in novels is a key factor in whether or not a student can be successful in reading. The purpose of this study was to analyze student engagement with graphic novels and traditional novels, and to describe any preferences students had when selecting novels to read independently. The study was centered around two questions: How does the reading of graphic novels impact the level of reading engagement? Do students prefer the use of graphic novels over traditional novels within their own independent reading? The study consisted of interviewing eleven sixth grade students about a graphic novel that they picked …

Does Waldorf Education Offer A Well-Rounded And Integrated Experience That Prepares Students For Higher Grades And Life In General?, Jacqueline A. Stratton

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

This thesis research focuses on the study of Waldorf education and how it benefits the whole child. It begins by looking at Rudolf Steiner’s Waldorf educational program and its foundational history and then takes an in depth look at the key elements of its rich philosophy and pedagogy. The literature review focuses on the key question, ‘Does this 100 year-old teaching philosophy encourage a more well-rounded and integrated educational experience than traditional public schools?’ The review highlights four broad topics in relationship to Waldorf education. These include: Educating the Whole Child; Education for the Three Stages of Childhood; Early Childhood …

Halliday’S View Of Child Language Learning: Has It Been Misinterpreted?, Anne Thwaite

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper gives a brief summary of Halliday’s theory of how children learn to talk, illustrating the development of children’s language from the microfunctions through the macrofunctions and into the metafunctions of adult language. The paper points to a possible source of the misinterpretation of Halliday’s theory in the work of Frank Smith (1983), which appears to have “trickled down” into some of the textbooks written for pre-service teachers in Australia. Links are made to teachers’ knowledge about language (KAL) and the current Australian Curriculum English (ACE). It is suggested that while any number of functions of the language of …

New Approaches To Literacy Problems: Multiliteracies And Inclusive Pedagogies, Rachel J. Drewry, Wendy M. Cumming-Potvin, Dorit Maor

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper is based on a qualitative study examining multiliteracies (New London Group, 1996, 2000) and inclusivity. Underpinned by a socio-cultural approach, the study examined ways to facilitate meaningful literacy learning for students experiencing challenges in print-based, classroom activities. Key to this research was an analysis of how scaffolding was used to bridge home and school communities. This paper focuses on one of the study’s students, Hannah, who exhibited extensive engagement with multiliteracies at home - driven through the Arts (e.g. graphic design, singing and music). In contrast, Hannah’s literacy experiences in the classroom were, at times, challenging and …

The Relationship Between Parental Involvement And Reading Achievement, Erin M. Schnell

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

This five week investigation determined a relationship exists between parental involvement and reading achievement. Students were separated into two groups, Group A and Group B. Group A contained students who received below the average amount of parental involvement points obtained and Group B contained students who received above the average amount of parental involvement points obtained. Students in Group B made a 1.14 text level gain above students in Group A. Group B also made a 6.34 sight word gain over Group A as well as a 5.57 oral reading fluency gain over students in Group A. The study included …

Helping Children Overcome Reading Difficulties Using Response To Intervention, Corinne M. Sannino

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to determine if Argryis and Schon's (1974) Theory-of-Action framework could be used as a viable professional development tool to improve teachers' professional practices when providing Tier II literacy interventions within the context of a Response to Intervention (RTI) program in an elementary school. This multicase study sought to understand more deeply the espoused beliefs and theories-in-use of four elementary literacy interventionists' when delivering intensive literacy interventions to students not reading on grade level within the context of the RTI program by using semi-structured interviews, collection of student work, and classroom observations. Discrepancies were …

Video Self-Modeling, Reading Aloud, Or Silent Reading: Effects Of Strategies On Fluency, Rebekah J. Vande Kamp

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

The purpose of this action research is to explore the most effective strategy for children to engage in during Read to Self to increase their fluency. Fluency is the ability to read with speed, accuracy, and expression; and is an important aspect of being a successful reader. In this study, three 2nd grade classes will engage in different Read to Self strategies. One class will be doing silent reading. Another class will be reading their books aloud to themselves. A third class will be using video self-modeling, which is recording themselves reading their books out loud on Chromebooks and watching …

Unmasking Whiteness: Progressing Toward Cultural Responsiveness Within A Rti Framework, Melinda F. Scheetz

Dissertations

Response to Intervention (RTI) developed out of educational policies and practices that comprise NCLB and IDEA. RTI is a system to ensure all students receive high-quality instruction that meets their needs, increases opportunities to learn, and prevents reading failure. A culturally relevant RTI framework offers the most promising pedagogical approach to quality instruction and educational equity. The purpose of this study was to understand, describe, and explore the intersection of culturally relevant practices and RTI. The research questions that guided this study were: What can be learned about a culturally responsive approach to RTI by listening to teachers’ perspectives and …

The Critical Need For Mental Health Education To Be Mandated In New Mexico's Public Schools, Bonnie L. Murphy

Shared Knowledge Conference

Based on a review of research and best practices in mental health awareness and skills, this inquiry project argues for state legislative policies that would require mental health awareness and skills in the K-12 curriculum. Mental health affects individual accomplishments in every stage of people’s lives beginning in early childhood and throughout the life cycle. Prevention and treatment of mental illness plays a key role in the ability of an individual to cope with loss and develop resiliency and perseverance in challenging times and to make better decisions that improve the individual’s life and the lives of those around them. …

Family Literacy And Engagement: A Framework, Hannah Wells

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

The purpose of this project was to construct a framework for a family literacy program that would inform parents of Native English Speakers and English Learners on literacy practices and allow time for families to practice literacy together. The family literacy program consists of three sessions, each comprised of a 20-minute presentation to parents and a 30-minute parent-child literacy activity. Each session covered a different topic: early literacy practices, technology and literacy, and advocating for student success. The program was implemented in an adult literacy center, where parents who attended classes at the center and parents in the …

P.S. 25, South Bronx: Bilingual Education And Community Control, Laura J. Kaplan

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Through a methodology of oral history interviews with primary subjects and archival research, this dissertation explores the creation and evolution of P.S. 25, The Bilingual School, the first Spanish-English bilingual elementary school in New York City, as well as the entire Northeast. The Bilingual School, founded in 1968, was a product of the civil rights movement in the United States and one key manifestation of that movement in New York City, the struggle for community control of schools.

Latinos in general and Puerto Ricans in particular have been written out of the official narrative of the educational civil rights movement …

Making A Difference In Learning Through Arts-Rich Pedagogy, Robyn Ewing Am

2009 - 2019 ACER Research Conferences

There is unequivocal evidence that arts-rich pedagogies enhance student social and emotional wellbeing and, consequently, academic learning outcomes across the curriculum. Yet many primary teachers report they lack the expertise and/or confidence to embed quality arts processes and experiences in what is increasingly described as an overcrowded curriculum. This presentation reviews the research findings about the impact and sustainability of School Drama, an initiative developed through a partnership between the Sydney Theatre Company and The University of Sydney. An innovative co-mentoring teacher professional learning program and drama-based intervention, the program aims to develop primary teachers’ professional knowledge of and expertise …

What Counts As Common Core Aligned? An Examination Of A Reading Program's Agreement With The Common Core State Standards, Kim Skinner, Alecia Tate, Emily France, Gina Stocks

The Journal of Balanced Literacy Research and Instruction

Passage and implementation of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) created numerous difficulties for educational stakeholders. One such difficulty, determining the alignment of previously utilized curricula to the CCSS, forced many states, districts, and schools into purchasing “new” curricular resources marketed as “Common Core Aligned” without any available auditing process to validate the claims made by publishers. Since initial implementation of CCSS, measures for determining alignment have been developed. This study examined the alignment of a widely used reading program, Adventures Common Core (pseudonym), to the Common Core State Standards using a modified version of the Educators Evaluating the Quality …

Pre-Kindergarten And Kindergarten Teachers' Perceptions Of The Student Growth Portfolio Model In Tennessee, Amanda Pickens

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The focus of this quantitative study was to discover perceptions of pre-K and kindergarten teachers within public schools in Tennessee regarding the appropriateness of the student growth portfolio model. This study explored teachers’ perceptions of the appropriateness of the math standards, English language arts standards, and the scoring guide included within the SGPM. A quantitative survey was used to understand pre-K and kindergarten teachers’ perceptions of the appropriateness of the 2017-2018 student growth portfolio model. There were 16 pre-K teachers and 51 kindergarten teachers who participated in the survey. Single sample t-tests were used to analyze responses. Research indicated that …

School Climate: A Comparison Of Teachers, Students, And Parents, James A. Jacobs

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study was designed to examine the benefits of positive school climate and to measure the perceptions of school climate for intermediate grades in a Northeast Tennessee School district. An online school climate survey was used to collect responses from participants in intermediate grades and focused on the 3 major components of school climate: school engagement, school environment, and school safety. Data were collected for 2 consecutive years in 2016-2017 and 2017-2018. Response totals included 1,955 student responses, 116 teacher responses, and 210 parent responses that were analyzed and used for this study. Of the student totals, some students that …

Effects Of An Elementary Immersion Program On Academic Achievement In Core Subject Areas, Marlee Schmidt

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

This study sought to find out if students who became bilingual score

higher, lower, or the same on standardized tests as their monolingual peers across

multiple disciplines. An answer was obtained by comparing the Minnesota

Comprehensive Assessment scores of Spanish language immersion students to

scores of non-immersion students for the following subject areas: reading in

grades 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 10; math in grades 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 11; and science

in 5, 8, and high school. The scores used came from a graduating class of 2018

with approximately 342 students. Data was analyzed …

Effects Of Direct Instruction Flashcards And Reading Racetracks On Sight Word Acquisition And Maintenance For A Student With Autism, Chelsea Burton

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

A student’s abilities in literacy can be indicative of his/her ability to live successfully in our society (Rinaldi, Sells, & McLaughlin, 1997). The ability to read is an area of difficulty, particularly for many students with autism spectrum disorders. Two fundamental cognitive processes required for skilled reading are word recognition and reading comprehension (Spector, 2010). Struggles with word recognition hamper the ability of students with ASD to work towards the goal of literacy (Spector, 2010). Browder and Xin (1998) argued that sight word instruction is important because that knowledge provides a foundation for other functional academic skills. The purpose of …

Review Of Think Big With Think Alouds: A Three-Step Planning Process That Develops Strategic Readers, Susan J. Chambre

The Language and Literacy Spectrum

In Think Big with Think Alouds: A Three-step Planning Process That Develops Strategic Readers (2017), Molly K. Ness provides classroom teachers with a detailed three-step process for developing think aloud procedures during classroom literacy instruction. The book assists teachers in identifying stopping points in narrative and expository text. Ness also includes multiple scripted think alouds with comprehensive explanations for both narrative and expository text. Additionally, practical tips for promoting student adoption of higher order thinking skills are provided in the form of sentence starters and strategy symbols. The procedures outline in Think Big with Think Alouds will empower classroom teachers …

How Teachers Can Guide Library Book Selection To Maximize The Value Of Independent Reading Time, Sherri Weber

The Language and Literacy Spectrum

This article shares a classroom application to support literacy development through a teacher-librarian guided book selection program. Twenty students participated in the program which demonstrated the importance of the relationship between the school librarian and classroom teacher. These professionals worked together to guide students to choose library books at their recreational level for independent reading time. The guidance program appeared to impact students' confidence in their reading and in their ability to choose appropriate books. Suggestions for teachers and librarians are discussed.

Mexican American Parents Of Elementary Students And Literacy Engagement: A Case Study Of A Bilingual (Spanish/English) Parent Book Club Using Children's Literature, Pablo Ochoa

Dissertations

This qualitative case study explored what occurred when seven Latinx parents and a bilingual coordinator engaged in a book club using the same historical fiction text as the school's fifth grade classroom. Research questions focused on Book Club participation, connections to the focal text(s), and new learning. Data included audiotapes of the sessions, parent written/artistic artifacts, participant interviews, retrospective field notes, and reflective journal entries.

Study findings suggest that positive partnerships between schools and parents can occur within familial text engagement opportunities built on existing relationships with school personnel; use of relevant literature, literacy activities that allow for parent choice …

Ten Elementary School Teachers’ Voices: How They Build Effective Literacy Learning In The Lives Of Their 2nd Grade Children, Merfat Ayesh Alsubaie

Dissertations

It is important to support teachers to adapt and apply effective literacy instruction strategies. Teachers may receive support from many sources, such as pre-service developers, principals, supervisors, literacy coaches, parents, colleagues and peer teachers. Perhaps most importantly, the teaching of literacy requires the support of the principal, literacy coach, and others who can collaborate with the classroom teacher to implement effective literacy instruction and strategies (Vallejo & Wren, 2009; Cole, 2008). All of these supports play a role in effectively achieving high literacy levels among students (Cole, 2008). Thus, teachers should work to maximize the benefit they receive from these …

Best Practices For The Development Of English Language In Rural Elementary Schools In Prevention Of Long Term English Learners, Heather Christine Gomez

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe the best practices of English language development programs in rural South San Joaquin Valley elementary schools in the targeted areas of reading, writing, listening and speaking and best practices in teacher professional development to prevent Long Term English Learners from the perspective of principals. An additional purpose was to identify and describe obstacles to the implementation of best practices of English language development in rural South San Joaquin Valley elementary schools from the perspective of principals.

Methodology: Through data analysis, rural elementary schools in South San Joaquin Valley were identified …

Mandarin Chinese Tone Identification Training: Developing Materials For Second And Third Grade Classes In Mandarin Chinese Immersion Programs, Xiaoyi Zhang

Master's Projects and Capstones

Among all the different perspectives of Mandarin teaching, Mandarin tone teaching and practicing has been largely ignored. The lack of attention and materials for Mandarin tone teaching is why many students speak, read and listen without the correct tone pronunciation, which leads to a lot of misunderstanding. This field project is a curriculum of Mandarin tone teaching. This project is for second grade and third grade teachers who teach Mandarin Chinese as a foreign language in immersion programs in the Bay Area. This curriculum will enable students to speak and read Mandarin with correct tone pronunciation and distinguish different tones …

Utilizing The Marriage Of Image And Text To Improve Narrative Writing In Urban Elementary Students, Sharon Sullivan-Rubin

Theses and Dissertations

Using action research with qualitative data collection methods, this study documents the leadership of the researcher's implementation of a collaborative arts integrative teaching model in the literacy and art classrooms of an urban elementary school for grades three, four, and five. Understanding by Design (UbD) (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005) was used as the unifying theoretical framework by which a constructivist pedagogical methodology was developed. Pedagogical techniques and methods used were adopted from Writing for Understanding (WU) (Hawkins, et al., 2008) with the Painted Essay (Leddy, 1999), Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) (Housen, 2000-2001, 2001-2002), and new media technology. Digital photographic techniques, …