Language and Literacy Education Commons^™

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 …

The Importance Of Teaching Vocabulary: The Whys And Hows, Ashley G. Cummings, Rebekah E. Piper, Ramona T. Pittman

Reading Faculty Publications (Archived)

This article focuses on providing teachers with the whys and hows to implement tier-two vocabulary instruction in PK-12 grade classrooms. The article examines what is meant by tier-two vocabulary words and the need for increased vocabulary instruction to gain word knowledge. It also offers teachers applicable texts and activities to be used when they become teachers and ways to incorporate a school-to-home connection in support of students' learning of new vocabulary words. The texts and activities are divided into three grade levels: K-2, 3-5, and 6-12. In addition, the article is divided into two sections which outlines the whys and …

Teacher Perceptions On The Use Of Technology With English Language Learners, Holly Harvil

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to understand general education teachers’ perceptions regarding their use of technology with students who qualify for English Language Learner services in an urban Georgia school district. The self-efficacy theory originated by Bandura was used to examine 17 teachers’ experiences of using technology as possible personal preference or as being influenced by environmental factors. The following three research questions were used: (1) How do teachers describe their use of technology in a classroom setting? (2) What are the participants’ understandings of instructional technology in relation to ELL students? (3) How do teachers of …

Smuggling In Creativity: My Process Of Creating Spaces In The Hierarchical School System Of The Republic Of Korea To Stash The Seeds Of Creative Thinking, Ray Symonds

Critical and Creative Thinking Capstones Collection

I began the CCT program several years into a teaching career in South Korea. My goal at the time was to better understand creativity so as to better support my own students’ creative development. This synthesis discusses some of the challenges I faced in bring CCT into my own classroom and some of the ways I tried to implement what I learned through the program in my own classes. My role as a Guest English Teacher is explored in how it enabled me to use my classroom as a testing ground for CCT concepts. The application of these CCT concepts …

Dialogicity In Written Specialised Genres, Editado Por Luz Gil-Salom Y Carmen Soler-Monreal (2014)., David Sánchez-Jiménez

Publications and Research

Review of Dialogicity in Written Specialised Genres, edited by Luz Gil-Salom and Carmen Soler-Monreal.

The Effects Of A Leveled Literacy Intervention (Lli) On Elementary-Age Students Reading Below Grade Level, Jennifer Majewski

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to evaluate students who were having reading and writing difficulties and who were also below grade level by using Fountas and Pinnell's Leveled Literacy Intervention as a supplemental program to show that change occurs after treatment. I found that there was a third of the students who were seven years old were below grade level in their reading. I am hopeful that with using the LLI program as a supplemental to their regular reading program, the students will improve their reading performance levels. The method that is the most appropriate is the two group, …

Peer Tutoring For Vocabulary For Students With Disabilities, Martin P. Kavanagh

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the effects of peer tutoring on the vocabulary acquisition of students with disabilities in a middle school setting. This study included twelve 8th grade students in co-taught classes. The participants included two Hispanic students, six Caucasian students, and 4 African American students. All participating students are 13 or 14 years of age. The 12 students in this study are classified as learning disabled, multiply disabled, or autistic.

Participating students worked in pairs for twelve weeks. The participants are from three separate classes, each class containing four participating students. Each class also included non-disabled students, who received instruction …

Effect Of Mnemonics On The Vocabulary Acquisition And Retention Of High School Students With Learning Disabilities, Erin L. Whitescarver

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of mnemonic devices on the acquisition and retention of social studies vocabulary by high school students with learning disabilities. Six students, four male and two female, from a pull-out U.S. history I resource class participated in the study. The research was conducted using a single-subject ABAB design. During baseline, students were evaluated on their acquisition of vocabulary taught using traditional methods. During intervention, students were evaluated on their retention of vocabulary taught using teacher created mnemonic devices. Results show that the use of mnemonic devices increased the acquisition and retention …

The Effectiveness Of Close Reading Strategies On The Expository Text Comprehension Of Students With Learning Disabilities, Michelle Giambrone

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of close reading using Achieve3000 on the text comprehension and use of text evidence by students with learning disabilities in grades 4-5. In addition, student satisfaction with close reading was evaluated for social validity. Two fourth grade students and one fifth grade student, both female, participated in the study. Two students were classified with specific learning disability, and one was classified as communication impaired. A single-subject methodology with an ABAB design was used. During the Baseline phase, students independently read the expository text. They answered comprehension questions, and wrote their …

From Teaching To The Best Seller List: How The Educational System Drives The Publishing Market And Vice Versa, Kai D. Alexander

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Certain outdated canonical texts have played a huge part in the oppression of minorities and women (Platt), and within the last 20 years or so, research has shown that these “difficult” texts do nothing to help foster a healthy thirst for knowledge outside of the classroom. My purpose is to demonstrate how the educational system – in particular, how reading and writing are taught from elementary school up until college – drives the publishing market, and thus, causes texts like Twilight to sit alongside the best seller list with To Kill a MockingBird. I will argue that there is …

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 …

Understanding The Language Learning Strategies Of English Language Learners In The Community College System, Steven Kean

Theses

This study focused on English language teaching and learning through the lens of language-learning strategies, and how strategies-based instruction is implemented within the community college system. The intent of this study was to determine the extent to which language-learning strategies are taught to second-language learners in a community college district, the specific strategies that language-learners use, and whether improvements to strategies-based instruction in the community college system are needed. This research used a customized version of Rebecca Oxford’s Strategies Inventory for Language Learners. It also queried instructors who teach English as a Second Language (ESL), and it analyzed ESL course …

A Handbook For Teaching English To Afghan Women Refugees, Deborah De Lambert

Master's Projects and Capstones

There are now millions of refugees worldwide, people forced from their homes seeking refuge from violence or persecution in other countries. These people face different challenges to resettlement and acculturation than voluntary immigrants. They may arrive after witnessing or experiencing horrific events and they carry that trauma with them. Moreover, as involuntary immigrants they still long for a home they can no longer return to. To make matters worse, many of these refugees find themselves the target of hatred or hostility in their new homes. Helping them to achieve a successful adjustment to their new homes and new lives is …

An Intensive Esl Camp Curriculum And Excursion Activities For International High School Graduated / College Students, Ying Chen

Master's Projects and Capstones

There are many factors for students’ poor command of English among international students in the native language institutions. One of the factors is the students’ negative attitude and low motivation in English learning. Another aspect to lower students’ English learning motivation is the inappropriate use of the learning materials. Moreover, learners still lack a chance to immerse in the real language environment and the authentic cultural background to improve their comprehensively intercultural and communicative competence. For the sake that the second language instruction provided in regular schools is limited in time, many students even do not have enough time to …

The Stress Management Handbook: The High-Stakes Test Takers Of International Students, Shiying Sun

Master's Projects and Capstones

This article provides a brief overview of the current situation that high-stakes test takers are facing. A common problem the high-stakes test taker is experiencing is that they have to deal with tremendous pressure by themselves which could be caused by the test, the preparation process, the teachers and the parents. In results, their test performance could be affected, the decline of their mental health condition associated with the increasing stress level, and those issues could eventually escalate into suicide and physical violence. To shed light on those issues, the author developed a stress management handbook by choosing one of …

Understanding The Body Paragraph: A Handbook For Efl Teachers & Students, Terpsithea P. Papadopoulos

Master's Projects and Capstones

English learners have a significant gap in their English language learning in that they have difficulty writing paragraphs. This difficulty appears to be the result of a combination of factors: foreign English language teachers’ lack of training and support to teach writing, the manner in which English is taught abroad, and students not learning or understanding the logical flow of a paragraph in English academic writing. This project aims to reduce the gap in students’ inability to write effective body paragraphs and foreign English language teachers’ knowledge of paragraph writing. The handbook created in this field project provides supplementary materials …

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 …

Effective Teaching Techniques And Study Strategies For English Language Learners In Esl Community College Classes, Dorothy M. Steiner

Master's Projects and Capstones

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this field project, Effective Teaching Techniques and Study Strategies for English Language Learners in ESL Community College Classes, is to provide guidance to the busy instructors who work with adult ESL students, particularly in non-credit programs. This field project can also be used by instructors of credit community college ESL classes, Adult schools, or (Community Based Organizations) CBOs. The handbook is designed to be a resource on the many areas that present common challenges in the ESL classroom such as diverse needs, low literacy levels, building academic rigor and vocabulary, communicative language teaching, increasing engagement and …

Empowering Students To Develop L2 Identity - Supplemental Online Lessons, Laura Espino

Master's Projects and Capstones

As an immigrant, learning English is part of acculturating to the new culture. From this process, a new identity emerges in the context of the new language and culture. Currently, identity issues and intercultural competence are explicit objectives in language learning. The implications of neglecting identity formation in second language acquisition include vulnerability to culture shock, mental health issues, and the inability to thrive. The unique set of needs, motivations, and strengths of immigrant English language learners should inform language instruction design in order to achieve sustainable and equitable successful language learning and acculturation. Explicitly designing instruction that incorporates issues …

A Phenomenological Case Study Of Teacher And Student Descriptions Of The Use Of Read-Alouds In Middle School, Alyson A. Theriot

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

It has been common for elementary teachers to read aloud to their students; however, it has not been so common in the middle school. The purpose of this phenomenological case study was to examine how middle school teachers and their students describe the use of read-alouds, including the teachers’ reasons for conducting read-alouds and the students’ descriptions of their experiences with them. Individual interviews and observations were conducted with two teachers and six students to gain the essence of their experiences with read-alouds. Results from this study indicated that what students gained from read-alouds matched the reasons their teachers utilized …

How Language Policies And Practices Affect Classrooms In Schools And Colleges, Gwendolyn F. Stanley

Master's Theses

To understand the origin of this documentation pertaining to How Language Policies and Practices Affect Classrooms in Schools and Colleges goes all the way back in time to the 1800s. The year of 1890 was the time, when the so-called minority generation in the United States came to realize that, injustice was going to be at a standstill unless some action would take place. This country was set on uncertain written standards that were bound to have been noted as constitutional. The constitution says this, and the constitution states that, “While the 13^th Amendment to the United States Constitution …

Reduing Hospital Readmissions: Ideal Discharge Planning For Heart Failure Management, Chun Mei Chen, Chun Mei Chen

Master's Projects and Capstones

Abstract

The objectives during this project were to achieve by the end of 2018 an overall reduction of 25% in HF readmissions within 30 days. By identifying root causes of readmissions and using needs assessment within the microsystem, literature highlights the elements defining interventions that can be used to improve transitions of care and reduce avoidable HF hospital readmissions. A plan was developed for integrating an evidence-based practice, IDEAL Discharge Planning, along with engaging patients and families at bedside from the first day of admission until discharge to more effectively assist staff in providing patient-centered education and self-care skills. The …

Self–Assessment In Efl Grammar Classroom: A Study Of Efl Learners At The Centre For Languages And Translation, Ibb University, Marwan Saeed Saif Moqbel

International Journal for Research in Education

The present study investigated the implementation of self-assessment in EFL grammar classroom to identify the attitudes of EFL learners at the Centre for Languages and Translation, Ibb University towards self-assessment, their perceptions of the advantages of self-assessment, and the problems or difficulties that EFL learners may face while carrying out self-assessment activities. To collect data, the researcher used three instruments: a questionnaire, a structured interview, and a focus group discussion. The questionnaire was administered to (85) EFL learners. Using the stratified sampling technique, the researcher selected randomly (14) learners for the interviews and (21) learners to participate in the focus …

Factors Affecting Teachers’ Implementation Of Communicative Language Teaching Curriculum In Secondary Schools In Bangladesh, Mohammad Mosiur Rahman, Ambigapathy Pandian, Manjet Kaur

The Qualitative Report

This study focuses on the selected factors affecting teachers’ implementation of the Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) curriculum in secondary schools in Bangladesh. The study is explorative, interpretivist, and qualitative in nature. A phenomenology approach, under qualitative method, was adopted to explore how teachers experience the phenomenon of CLT based curriculum change. Four schools were chosen, two from Dhaka (Urban), the capital of the country, and two from the villages in Chandpur (Rural). Eight selected participants were chosen from these schools based on a purposive sampling. Semi-structured interviews, classroom observation and document analysis of curriculum, assessment, and teaching materials were the …

Video Games And Virtual Reality As Classroom Literature: Thoughts, Experiences, And Learning With 8th Grade Middle School Students, Miles M. Harvey

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

This qualitative study utilized video games and virtual reality in an eighth-grade public middle school media literacy elective classroom in which the head researcher was also the official teacher for the students in the study. The nineteen students and their teacher used video games in small groups for five consecutive weeks. The teacher and nineteen students recorded data about their thoughts, experiences, and learning as they played in the classroom. Students responded to open-ended reader-response questions about their experiences after playing video games each day for forty-five minutes. Students reflected about their experiences in a thought journal. The teacher responded …

The Effects Of Computer Assisted Instruction For Students With Learning Disabilities In A Self-Contained Social Studies Setting, Ryan V. Keane

Theses and Dissertations

This study was designed to assess the effects of the Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI) program, Achieve3000, with students with disabilities. The focus of the study was to: (a) assess the effects of the program on the students' text-based reading comprehension, (b) critical thinking comprehension, and (c) how satisfied students were with the program. Seven students, two females and five males, participated in the study. All of the students receive special education services through an Individualized Education Program. A single subject ABAB design was utilized. In the baseline phase participants were asked to read expository text, presented to them on paper, …

Effects Of Quizlet On Vocabulary Mastery, Suzanne C. Baptist

Theses and Dissertations

This study aimed to answer three research questions: Do 11th grade students in an inclusion class (students with and without disabilities) that use Quizlet to master vocabulary words outperform students taught with a more traditional approach on vocabulary quizzes? Do the results differ for students with disabilities compared to typically developing students? And, Do students enjoy and benefit from completing the Quizlet treatment for mastering vocabulary? In a two group, counterbalanced design, students in each group received a different treatment. Group 1 used index cards and group 2 used Quizlet as a treatment for learning and mastering vocabulary; the groups …

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, …

Increasing Writing Skills For Students With Significant Multiple Disabilities, Heather Lyne Mcdermott

Theses and Dissertations

Students with severe disabilities struggle greatly in the area of writing. The purpose of this study is to discover how implementing a writing program created for students with disabilities can increase students' letter writing ability. The study used a single subject, repeated measures crossover design using 2 kindergarten aged students during a public school Extended School Year Program. Students were given the Sensible Pencil Pretest, 3 weeks of writing instruction and the same Sensible Pencil test after instruction. This 5-week model showed that students grew in their writing ability at different rates, but all in a positive manner. It was …