Literacy & Learning
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Item How does creative drama instruction increase the reading engagement of eighth grade students with learning disabilities?(1/1/2013) Kirkland, Janice L; Albright, Lettie K.; White, Nora; Vardell, Sylvia M.Students with learning disabilities may experience difficulty engaging in literacy activities, as they risk being hindered by negative attitudes and doubt of their intellectual abilities, reduced effort, lower self-efficacy, and failure (Klassen, 2007; Litcht & Kirstner, 1986; Oldfather, 2002; Roberts, Torgesen, Boardman, & Scammacca, 2008). Motivating these adolescents to read critically from an engaged stance is an indispensable requirement of literacy instruction because adolescent readers face increasingly complex material, may risk aliteracy (Brinda, 2007), need to develop a positive reader identity to facilitate life-long reading (Strommen & Mates, 2004), and live in a world with increased literacy demands (Allington, 2001). Hearing the adolescents voices concerning reading engagement is of value (Brinda, 2007: Mizzelle, 1997; Oldfather, 2002) when addressing the literacy needs of these students. Once teachers can understand how their students feel about reading, they can help students to engage in successful learning (Vlach & Burcie, 2010). This study explores if creative drama instruction increases reading engagement of eighth grade students with learning disabilities. Using narrative inquiry, I gathered, analyzed, and interpreted the stories told by the participants through observation, conversation, and interviews using descriptive questions to discover what the students say and do that reveal their experiences and observations of engaged readers, particularly when participating in creative drama activities. I also used student created artifacts, along with student reflections following each drama enactment. Researcher observations, the researcher s reflective journal, and audio and video recordings contributed to the data sources. Themes clustered into the following categories: engaged readers are focused, interact with others, demonstrate their thinking, take an aesthetic stance, do not give up, desire to select good books, and abandon boring books. Data was portrayed using the participants words, where possible, to capture the students voices, personal meanings, and stories.Item Middle School English Second Language (ESL) Teachers' Usage of Technology for Literacy Instruction and Their English Language Learners'(ELL) Responses(Texas Woman s University, 1/1/2013) Hoki, Chieko; White, Nora; Haag, Claudia; Cowart, Melinda; Wickstrom, Carol; Briggs, ConnieDigital technologies surround our lives today and many adolescent students are actively engaged in reading and writing through multimodal digital technologies. The omnipresence of digital technologies in today’s society inevitably influences students’ literacy practices. Thus, there is an imminent need on the teacher’s part to infuse technologies as instructional tools in the classroom in order to connect with students’ lives. Recent research evidences teachers’ and researchers’ responses to this need. English language learners (ELLs) are included in this generation of youths actively engaged in digital technologies outside the classroom. However, little is known about ESL teachers’ use of technologies for literacy instruction in the classroom and their ELLs’ responses to these technologies. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine middle school teachers’ use of technologies for literacy instruction and their ELL student’s responses. Two middle school ESL teachers and four ELL students (two student members of each teacher's classroom) attending a middle school located in a suburban city in north Texas participated in this study. Data gathered and analyzed over a five-month period included digitally recorded interviews, field notes of classroom observations, digital and/or handwritten participant journals, teachers’ lesson plans, students’ written work, and impromptu conversations. The ESL teacher participants made literacy instruction accessible and comprehensible for students through the use of technologies. Instruction became multimodal; a variety of technologies scaffolded the language and literacy needs of middle school ELL students. The unique socio-cultural interactions and classroom contexts constructed by the teachers and students were mediated through technologies. Students used a variety of semiotics to complete their work. In a classroom where instruction took place in a small group setting, the students interacted with group members in the completion of instructional work and supported each other in their groups by sharing ideas, negotiating with their ideas, engaging in shared writing, taking turns reading, and sharing the use of technologies. In a classroom where instruction took place in an individual instructional setting, the students collaborated with the teacher by sharing and negotiating their ideas. All the student participants were interested in literacy activities mediated by technologies, and their engagement with literacy learning was active, interactive, collaborative, and negotiated.Item The nature of students' efferent or aesthetic responses to nonfiction texts in small, peer-led literature discussion groups(1/1/2014) Khieu, Tema Leah; Anderson, Nancy L.; Rodriguez, Yvonne; Briggs, Connie; Anderson, Nancy L.; Rodriguez, Yvonne; Briggs, ConnieThe purpose of this study was to provide an in-depth exploration and describe the nature of fourth graders' responses to nonfiction text in the context of small, peer-led literature discussion groups. This study took place in the teacher researcher's daily, forty-five minute, pull-out intervention time. The participants for this study consisted of a group four fourth grade students from the teacher-researcher's READ 180 class. They were in a reading intervention program because they were considered to be struggling readers. This group of students discussed six nonfiction texts during their forty-minute discussion sessions across twelve weeks. Aesthetic and efferent coding categories were developed prior to the study (Bogdan & Biklen, 1998). This scale was loosely based on Cox and Many's (1992) Instrument for Measuring Reader on an Efferent to Aesthetic Continuum, which was designed for narrative text. However, for this study, adaptations and modifications were made to accommodate reader response to nonfiction text. The teacher researcher recorded field notes, transcribed tapes, and wrote up findings. The teacher researcher acknowledged that students would take an aesthetic and/or efferent stance; however the type of stance was not predetermined. The focus of the study was to deepen an understanding of the responses made in the peer-led discussion groups by closely examining the data and allowing the findings to inform the next decisions. The data from this study revealed that the participants' responses to nonfiction trade books were predominantly in the primarily efferent category with their attention based on the information from the text. Moreover, all students had aesthetic responses in all six peer-led discussion groups. The data also revealed that the small group peer-led discussion groups provided a low risk forum to begin to personally respond to nonfiction by asking questions and making comments freely. In addition, students responded to nonfiction in many, varied, and often unique and individual ways. They expressed their personal evocations of the text in different ways. During these evocations, they made personal connections to past events, family members, other texts, and shows/movies. They continuously shifted from efferent to aesthetic and aesthetic to efferent stances throughout the discussions. Many of the aesthetic responses mirrored interactive read-alouds modeled by the Reading Intervention Teacher. This study suggests that children will respond efferently and aesthetically to nonfiction texts and exhibit diversity within their responses. Nonfiction literature offers readers windows and pathways that lead into the world. Responding to nonfiction can open windows and illuminate the pathways for venturing out into and enjoying the world. When honored and invited to personally engage with nonfiction, each reader can find her unique path that can lead to exploration, fulfillment and enjoyment.Item Disciplinary literacy: The role of the principal and improving content area knowledge through literacy and the collaborative work of teachers(Texas Woman s University, 1/1/2014) Lee, Yassmin Caram; Albright, Lettie; Briggs, Connie; Patterson, Leslie; Starrett, TeresaCurrent research in secondary literacy suggests students in high school academic programs continue to need additional support in major content areas, such as Math, Science and English. Apart from solely supporting critical skills in literacy in the English/Language Arts classrooms, traditional content area instruction without embedded content literacy has not proven to be successful for many students. Many researchers argue this is because literacy tasks and texts are more complex than earlier grades. The purpose of this research is to examine the implementation of disciplinary literacy in the content areas using writing. This study describes the work that takes place involving me, the principal, and the literacy coaches who collaborate with the content area teachers to improve content knowledge. This study examines the principal's point of view and the literacy coaches' reflections on beliefs and process in a reflective methodological approach. The study involves five participants; the data collection includes meeting agendas, work-related notes on professional development, notes on meetings with literacy coaches, interviews with participants, and my research journal. Interviews with participants are audio-recorded and transcribed. In addition to this my advisor, as well as the qualitative lab assistants, contribute to the data analysis. The study reveals my beliefs about improving student performance through disciplinary literacy by 1) shared responsibility, 2) collaboration, and 3) teamwork. My findings also reveal that the structures support the school-wide vision through 1) professional development, 2) infrastructure and process, and 3) reflection and discussion. This study offers one perspective on the how-to steps of the implementation of school-wide disciplinary literacy from the ground up and five lessons learned.Item Reflections of the heart: An autoethnography of a literacy leader's online identity construction and change(10/3/2018) Dollar, Tamra R.; Watson, Patricia A., 1954-Educational blogs, or edublogs, are ubiquitous in today’s society. National literacy organizations such as International Literacy Association (ILA) and National Council of Teachers of English Language Arts (NCTELA) post literacy resources and teaching tips on a daily basis. In 2013, the researcher became a contributor to this growing body of literacy knowledge with the creation of an edublog, Confessions of a Literacy Coach. In 2018, Google analytics confirmed Confessions of a Literacy Coach was visited by over 100,000 people from every continent, in over seventy-eight countries, and was routinely accessed by teachers, administrators, and other professionals. This qualitative study explored the researcher’s online identity construction and change as reflected in the edublog. Using autoethnography methodology, the researcher gave a highly personalized account to describe the insights gained from this journey. Through systematic analyzing, reflexive journaling, and support by artifacts, the researcher identified ways childhood experiences and beliefs shaped the message and tone of edublog entries, or posts. Furthermore, the researcher unexpectedly discovered how the social media site, Twitter, created a Community of Practice (CoP) among educators, curriculum directors, and district administrators when edublog posts became the topic of Twitter chats. Insights gleaned from the autoethnography will contribute to ongoing conversations about identity construction among veteran and novice teacher bloggers.Item Exploring how third-grade African American children leverage academic discourse to engage in literate behaviors(11/14/2018) Loewenstein, Melanie R.; Watson, Patricia A., 1954-The purpose of this qualitative embedded multiple case study (Yin, 2003) was to explore the written and literate language structures, or the academic discourse features, of eight African American students in order to gain insight into the influences of their knowledge of academic discourse on their literate behaviors such as their abilities to decode, anticipate, retell text and answer comprehension questions. Select third-grade African American students participating within this study represented three reading proficiency levels (on-level, above-level and below-level). These levels were chosen to more fully reveal the influences of students’ knowledge of academic discourse on their literacy abilities. Additionally, this study explored students’ literate identities. It focused on their values, beliefs, and practices as well as their metalingustic knowledge or their knowledge of their own linguistic understandings. These linguistic understandings were manifested within their reading processes. The dual purposes of this dissertation reflect key concepts of James Gee’s discourse analysis theory, which examines discourse at the d/discourse and the D/discourse levels (2014). The concept of D/discourse captures the ways in which people identify with the beliefs, values, and behaviors of a group, while d/discourse involves language that people use which links them to a particular discourse. Study participants engaged in five research tasks: the Burke Reading Interview, a wordless picture book story construction, leveled reading, combined comprehension tasks (retelling and answering comprehension questions) and a Cloze reading task. The first two tasks were intended to reveal students’ levels of academic language knowledge (d/discourse) and their identity (D/discourse) as readers. The students’ performances on the other tasks were studied through the lenses of the first two tasks. Multiple analysis procedures used to analyze the data including theoretical thematic analysis, discourse analysis, miscue analysis, Kucer’s comprehension taxonomy analysis, and inductive thematic analysis. Also, frequency charts and analysis tables were used to examine the data resulting from some of the tasks more closely. The results indicated that students’ knowledge of academic language acts as clues, tools, and mental blueprints, aiding them in making sense of text, creating stories and reconstructing authors’ messages. The results also indicated that students use their knowledge of these structures in various ways as they engage in literate behaviors. Additionally, the results showed that most of the students within this study took on a test-taking identity, as most of their responses showed that they had adopted test taking values, beliefs, and practices. However, students who identified less with the culture of test-taking were more likely to have stronger academic language and to use that language in more complex ways. This study revealed the need for educators to be more aware of students’ academic language development, especially that of culturally and linguistically diverse students and students who are approaching the critical fourth grade level, where there is an increase in the academic language demand. This research also showed that educators must be mindful of the messages that are being sent to students within the context of literacy learning. These messages greatly affect their literacy identity, which may be linked to their literacy growth and academic discourse development.Item In-school and out-of-school adolescent identities in high school English Language Arts classrooms(11/18/2021) Thaggard, Kimberly; Anderson, NancyABSTRACT KIMBERLY VILLARREAL THAGGARD IN-SCHOOL AND OUT-OF-SCHOOL ADOLESCENT IDENTITIES IN HIGH SCHOOL ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS CLASSROOMS DECEMBER 2021 Adolescents’ in-school- identities, out-of-school identities, and literacy practices are intertwined and connected. This research project aimed to explore the development of adolescent identities and out-of-school literacy practices in students’ English Language Arts classes. As a high school teacher and administrator, the researcher adopted a constructivist approach and conducted a cross-case analysis of six ninth-grade students from classroom observations, interviews, and an identity-centered word sort activity created for the study. The researcher’s analyses revealed the students’ out-of-school identities, preferred literacy practices, and personal affinities were underrepresented in their English Language Arts class. The key findings in the study support a multi-faceted definition of literacy for adolescents and that identity-centered approaches in classrooms may be conducive to increasing their interest in English Language Arts skills and content. These findings support the argument that adolescents’ in-school- identities and out-of-school identities need to be incorporated into classroom literacy practices.Item Coaching a teacher to use dialogic inquiry: fostering students' talk about texts(11/19/2014) Northcutt, Kathryn L.; Watson, Patricia; Briggs, Connie; Dunlap, KarenThe purpose of this descriptive case study was to investigate, from a constructivist paradigm, the extent to which coaching a teacher in the use of dialogic inquiry fostered students' conversations about texts. One 3rd grade teacher and 15 of her students participated in this project that spanned the course of one semester of school. I video recorded the teacher's and students' conversations about texts bi-weekly for a total of six observations. After transcribing the recordings using Wells's (1999; 2001) discourse analysis coding protocol, I coached the teacher, on alternating weeks, toward adopting a more dialogic stance in her conversations with students. One final observation took place at the end of the semester as a means of determining the extent to which dialogic conversations were sustained. The teacher's level of adaptive expertise (Hatano & Inagaki, 1986) in dialogic inquiry was of primary importance in planning coaching sessions, and I used several tools to assist me. First, I considered how the teacher's knowledge base about dialogic inquiry increased over time, using a continuum developed by Snow, Griffin, and Burns (2005). A complementary scale by Joyce and Showers (2002) provided insight into how the teacher's knowledge and training was transferred to her practice (2002). The Dialogic Inquiry Tool (Reznitskaya, Glina, & Oyler, 2011) was a continuum both the teacher and I used to establish the degree to which the teacher's and students' stances shifted along several indicators toward dialogic conversations. Findings suggest that coaching a teacher to use dialogic inquiry influences students' dialogic conversations about texts. As the teacher was supported in developing theoretical understandings, her knowledge base increased and transfer of knowledge and training occurred. Consequently, she progressed from novice to being a more adaptive expert in her dialogic stance with students. Findings also indicate that students practiced more dialogic conversations in direct relationship to the teacher's shifting stance toward an inquiry approach. As the teacher extended conversations, students talked more with her and with each other. As their thinking was expanded, students began to participate in conversations in more sophisticated and dialogic ways.Item Writing teacher professional development: A photo elicitation of teacher change(12/17/2018) Leininger, Katrena; Anderson, Nancy L., Ph. D.Writing development is a complex and continuous process that is acquired within social environments. Process-oriented writing instruction allows for complex writer-directed work, however studies that examine how teachers talk about the change to process-oriented writing instruction are sparse. In this study, the researcher examined how teachers made changes to their writing instruction and their expectations of their students’ writing development. The backdrop of the study was an in-depth, sustained, and collaborative professional development on literacy learning and teaching. The teachers’ descriptions of learning and change were examined through autodriven photo elicitation interviews. The photo elicitation interview data revealed the transformation in the teachers’ writing instruction practices from teacher-directed, product-oriented to more writer-directed, process-oriented which resulted in the teachers noticing more development in their young writers. Moreover, the teachers’ interview data revealed the aspects of the professional development that influenced changes in their writing instruction. This study adds to the research on teacher change and teacher professional development. The teachers’ voices provide the teacher education community with understanding of what elements of professional development foster teacher change.Item Supplemental early literacy intervention for first grade English language learners in bilingual education: Development and outcomes(12/30/2007) Torres Elias, Annette Del C.; White, Nora; Anderson, Nancy L., Ph. D.; Rodriguez, Rodolfo; Compton-Hall, Margaret; Rodriguez, Yvonne; Rivera, HectorAcademic success is closely connected to early literacy development. The literature is replete with evidence that early intervention is an effective instructional response for students who struggle in learning to read and write. Current knowledge, however, is based primarily on research conducted with monolingual English language speaking student populations. We know very little about the effectiveness of early literacy interventions for English language learners (ELLs). This information is needed to provide the best start in reading and writing for all students. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the outcomes of supplemental early literacy intervention for first grade ELLs in bilingual education through the study of the Descubriendo la Lectura and the Accelerated Reading Instruction models. The research questions guiding this study were as follows: What are the outcomes of first grade supplemental early literacy intervention delivered in Spanish on the literacy development of bilingual students? What are the differences and/or similarities in the outcomes of two interventions: Accelerated Reading Instruction and Descubriendo la Lectura? In order to answer these questions, a post-hoc research approach was used to assess the pre-post outcomes of two interventions. Three independent school districts in the state of Texas provided a setting in which to gather information for 335 students. Archival data were collected on three outcome variable instruments for three intervention groups and a random sample group of students who did not receive an intervention. Data analysis included descriptive and inferential statistical techniques to examine and compare group and student outcomes. Results indicate that students who participated in supplemental reading intervention made significant gains. The students who were identified as struggling learners in need of intervention at the beginning of the school year made comparable or better progress than the students who did not need an intervention at the beginning of the year as measured by end of the year assessments. This information provides academicians and practitioners a better understanding of the outcomes of supplemental early literacy intervention in a bilingual education setting.Item Descubriendo la Lectura (DLL): A study of teacher-child interactions that support the development of writing composition(12/30/2015) Ramirez-Robertson, Juanita; Briggs, Connie; Haag, Claudia; Hansen-Thomas, HollyThe purpose of this study was to look at the nature of teacher-child conversations when composing messages for writing in a bilingual intervention. Research participants were four at-risk first grade students in a bilingual intervention, Descubriendo la Lectura (DLL), with their DLL teacher, the participant researcher. The study was qualitative in nature (Denzin & Lincoln, 1998) and was composed of four case studies. Each case study contained a teacher-child dyad with the focus being the child. A cross-case analysis was conducted after the cases were coded for themes. This study’s data set included student writing journals, lesson records and field notes, and audio recordings that were transcribed each night. The findings from the study indicate that conversations are key, and without conversations the teacher is unaware of the child’s thinking, especially a child who is at risk in his or her literacy development. Conversations prior to writing help the child co-construct and manipulate language for his or her message (Dyson, 1983). The time allotted before writing provides an opportunity for the teacher and the child to collaborate (Wells, 1986; Lindfors, 2008) in the negotiation of the child’s message. In this study each child was encouraged to select topics that were motivating and encouraging to him or her (Calkins, 1994; Clay, 1983, 2001; Graves, 1973, 1983). The child’s messages included personal language, his or her experiences, and prior knowledge (Clay, 1983). The co-construction of messages between teacher and child positively affected student participants as writers. The experiences with writing as co-constructors with the teacher revealed themes (child pride) and showed that what child writers learned in the intervention was transferrable to the classroom.Item "What if this really happened?" Using critical literacy practices and dystopian fiction to mediate self-efficacy with at-risk readers(12/30/2015) Wilcox, Sherri Kirkland; Watson, Patricia A., 1954-; Haag, Claudia; Vardell, Sylvia M.; Briggs, ConnieAt-risk students are oftenn unmotivated and disengaged from literacy activities. They are sometimes below grade level and feel inadequate to accomplish the complex reading tasks with which they are confronted in high school; therefore, they often will not even attempt to do the work (Bandura, 1986). Students who are assigned to a Disciplinary Alternative Education Program (DAEP) are at-risk not only due to the commonly cited factors such as being a member of a minority culture, being Limited English Proficient, or having low socioeconomic status, but also for behavior issues which require their removal from their home campus. This action research study was conducted in order to determine what happens to these students’ self-efficacy for reading and their identity as readers when critical literacy practices were used in combination with dystopian fiction. Two published tools were used to gather information regarding students’ self-efficacy and identity as readers at the beginning of the study, student artifacts were collected and analyzed throughout the study, interviews with small groups were recorded and transcribed, and notes were collected during individual conversations with students. Field notes were kept of observations during the study. A reflexive research diary was kept during the planning of the research project and to maintain records of my thinking as a researcher. Also a daily journal was maintained during the classroom teaching phase of the research project. The data were coded using the elements of critical literacy as outlined by Lewison, Flint, and Van Sluys (2002) as well as for self-efficacy, identity, engagement, and motivation as readers. Open coding was used to identify additional trends and patterns. Themes of the findings are as follows: high school students who are at-risk in two or more areas are often behind in skill level from their peers, but want to feel like a successful part of a community of readers; these at-risk students need reading tasks that are relevant, interesting, and important in order for them to be motivated to attempt the tasks; and these students are motivated to try again once they have experienced real success at literacy tasks that are appropriate to their age and grade level.Item Examining teachers' instructional language and students' independence during response to intervention(Texas Woman's University, 12/31/2016) Wymer, Lacia KayResponse to Intervention (RtI) emphasizes early intervention for students who have difficulty learning to read (Allington, 2011; James, 2004). The purpose of this study is to analyze teachers’ instructional language and how it relates to first grade students’ independence in reading within three RtI intervention settings. The foundation of this study is grounded in research related to a transactional perspective and an instructional perspective on RtI (Clay, 1987, 2001, 2005a; Johnston, 2010; McEneaney, Lose, & Schwartz, 2006; Tackett, Roberts, Baker, & Scammaca, 2009). The data sources, including lesson plans from the intervention teachers and videotaped intervention lessons, will be used to complete a microethnographic discourse analysis (Bloome, Carter, Christian, Otto, & Schuart-Faris, 2005). The following question will guide the study: How does teachers’ instructional language relate to students’ development of independence in reading within RtI intervention settings? This study has a primary focus on how teachers use language within literacy events and therefore, aligns with a microethnographic discourse analysis approach. The turn taking exchanges from teachers to students within small moments of time during an intervention setting will be investigated to better understand students’ development of independence in reading. The theoretical tools described by Bloome et al. (2005) encompassing a microethnographic discourse analysis approach will be used to add depth to the search for meaning.Item Prestart/reading: an individualized audio approach(1971-05-31) Booker, Sara Elizabeth; Fearing, Joseph; Jackson, Alice; Lund, Micholas; Sparks, CliftonItem A multivariate analysis of beginning readers recognition of taught words in five contextual settings: A replication(1978-05) Brown, Mavis Hendricks; Spicola, Rose; Griffin, Margaret; Hammack, Barbara; Jongsma, Kathleen; Wood, MarthaItem Developmental observations of kindergarten children's understanding in regard to concepts about print, language development, and reading behavior(1978-05) Perkins, R. Kaaren Chandler; Spicola, Rose; Fagan, Patricia; Hollingsworth, Shirley; Mason, Betty; Griffin, MargaretItem The effects of pictures on first graders comprehension of written discourse(Texas Woman's University, 1980-08-30) Grinell, Paula; Griffin, Margaret; Hamilton, Basil; Spiclola, Rose; Jongsma, KathleenThe nature and extent of the effects of pictures on first-graders' comprehension of written discourse was studied. Sixty subjects, randomly chosen from three suburban schools, were randomly assigned to one of four treatments: (a) text with text-related pictures (RFT); (b) text alone (T); (c) text-related pictures alone (RP); and (d) text with text-unrelated pictures (URPT). Each subject read aloud and immediately retold a basal reader story in one of the four treatments. A structured interview on the function and usage of pictures was administered two weeks later. The retellings were scored for explicit and inferential information using modifications of Taylor's semantic analysis technique and Warren, Nicholas and Trabasso's categorization of inferences. Inter-rater reliability at initial agreement was 83% for explicit information and 72% for inferential information. The following were studied: (a) the effect of pictures on first-graders' recall of explicit, inferential, and text-inconsistent story information; (b) the effect of pictures on the kind of inferences that first-graders make during recall; (c) the predispositions that first-graders have toward the function and usage of pictures that accompany a story; and (d) the effect that these predispositions have on the amount and kind of information recalled. Statistical analysis of the data was carried out using the nonparametric Kruskal-Wallis one way analysis of variance test (ANOVA). This more conservative procedure was chosen over a parametric one way ANOVA because the data were shown to violate two of the assumptions of the parametric procedure (p < .05), i.e., homogeneity of variance and normality of population. The Kruskal-Wallis showed significant differences (p < .05) for explicit information (free and total recall) and for text-inconsistent information (free and total recall), but not for inferential information. Further analysis was done using the nonparametric multiple comparisons test. For explicit information (free and total recall), there were significant differences (p < .05) favoring RP over T, T over URPT, and more importantly, RPT over URPT. Also for explicit free recall, RPT was significantly better than RP (p < .05). For text-inconsistent information (free and total recall), there were significant differences (p < .05) favoring each of the other treatments over RP. Descriptive techniques were utilized to determine the predispositions that first-graders have toward the function and usage of pictures that accompany a story. The results of the picture interview, the observational notes, and the story retellings indicated that all of the subjects used pictures to some degree. The most frequent usage was for word recognition and the least frequent usage was for comprehension. The following conclusions were drawn: (a) RPT do not assist nor hinder explicit, inferential, nor text-inconsistent comprehension; (b) URPT hinder explicit comprehension but not inferential comprehension; (c) neither RPT nor URPT influence the kind of inferences that are utilized by the subjects; (d) when pictures accompany text, they are utilized mainly to aid in word recognition; and (e) with RPT, those who use pictures to a relatively greater extent may have greater explicit comprehension than do those who use pictures to a relatively lesser extent. These conclusions imply that when materials are designed for teaching beginning reading, publishers should avoid using pictures which are too unrelated to the written discourse. Educational practices in the teaching of reading may influence picture usage. Also, at present it is unknown whether or not picture reading ability is a developmental process.Item How high school students of three levels of reading achievement perceive the reading process(1980-08-31) Elder, Janet Arden Renfro; Sparks, Clifton; Griffin, Margaret; Spicola, Rose; Jongsma, Kathleen; Hamilton, Basil; Teddlie, Jan;The purposes of this study were to investigate (a) how ninth graders of three levels of reading achievement perceive the reading process, (b) the within-group and within-subject consistency of the information elicited by the four data-gathering instruments, and (c) subjects' instructional models of reading. On the basis of a standardized reading test score and teacher judgment, five subjects were selected at each of three reading levels: low (3.5 to 4.9), middle (6.5 to 7.9), and high (8.5 to 10.9). All 15 subjects were enrolled in a large, urban high school, spoke English as their first language, and possessed normal or above-average intellectual ability, according to test scores in their cumulative records. Both sexes and three ethnic groups (Anglo, Black, and Mexican-American) were represented in the sample. Four instruments (an Open-Ended Interview, a Forced-Choice Questionnaire, Silent Reading Task Cards, and Oral Reading Task Cards) were used to gather data. The Interview and Questionnaire were developed from the Burke Reading Inventory, modified after pilot testing. The Questionnaire, a printed form of the Interview, contained a decoding-focused and meaning-focused response for each question. The subject, following along as the examiner read aloud, selected the response which better represented his/her beliefs. Two concrete tasks were also used to see if information consistent with stated perceptions was elicited. The Silent Reading Task Cards (SRTC) and Oral Reading Task Cards (ORTC) consisted, respectively, of an Intact or Corrected passage and four passages altered linguistically to reduce meaningfulness to varying degrees. Subjects were asked to decide whether each SRTC was "readable" and to explain why (not). They were asked to evaluate the taped oral reading of each ORTC (after following along on an unaltered, printed version), to explain their rating and tell whether the reader had comprehended what had been read. The SRTC was based on a task Canney and Winograd developed; the researcher developed the ORTC. Some data were analyzed statistically using one-way ANOVAs, Duncan Multiple Range tests, a t-test, and chi-square tests of independence. The remainder was analyzed and reported descriptively. Findings of the study revealed that (a) there was a relationship between subjects' reading levels and their perceptions of the reading process. The three groups conceptualized the reading process differently from each other: the low group perceived it primarily as a decoding process; the middle group viewed it as both a decoding and comprehending process; the high group conceptualized it as a meaning-getting process. The low readers indicated that they used fewer and less flexible strategies and were more dependent upon external help (from a teacher, parent, etc.) than did the other groups. The low readers believed that the main difference between them and "good" readers was that the good readers could decode more rapidly and/or accurately. The ability to evaluate accurately the comprehensibility of written material and to assess correctly an oral reader's comprehension of what had been read increased as the reading levels of the groups increased. (b) In general, the high group demonstrated the greatest within-group consistency in its responses, followed by the low and middle groups, respectively. The majority of subjects gave consistent responses across the instruments. (c) More low readers had experienced and adopted a decoding instructional model of reading; middle readers, a decoding and meaning model; and high readers, a comprehension-centered model. Two educational implications of this study are: (a) Teachers should be aware of their own theoretical orientations toward the reading process and that of students. (b) Teachers should employ materials and methodologies which stress meaning as the primary goal of reading. Direct teaching about the nature of the reading process may also be warranted.Item A comparison of two techniques of questioning for reading comprehension of high school students(1980-12) Pratt, Euna Pace; Jongsma, Kathleen; Kelly, Harry; Stephens, CarolynItem Effect of sentence-combining instruction on the reading and writing achievement of fifth-grade children in a suburban school district(1980-12-31) McAfee, Deurelle; Griffin, Margaret; Kobler, Turner; Jongsma, Kathleen; Hamilton, Basil; Spicola, RoseThis study investigated the effects of sentence-combining instruction on the reading comprehension and writing maturity of fifth-grade children. The treatment groups were comprised of 25 fifth-grade children in the experimental group and 25 fifth graders in the control group. The students were randomly assigned to treatment groups from two ability-grouped reading classes at approximate grade level. Answers to the following questions were sought: (1) Is there a significant difference between the reading comprehension scores of students receiving sentence-combining instruction and the reading comprehension scores of students receiving traditional language arts instruction as measured by the Test of Reading Comprehension, TORC? (2) Is there a significant difference between the written language scores of students receiving sentence-combining instruction and the written language scores of students receiving traditional language arts instruction as measured by the Test of Written Language, TOWL? (3) What differences are there in writing maturity over a 6-weeks period as measured by a qualitative analysis of two free-writing samples using TOWL procedures ? At the beginning of treatment a 30-minute free-writing sample was collected from both experimental and control groups by the researcher. This served as a pretest. For 6 weeks at the end of the spring semester, the experimental group received sentence-combining instruction for one-half of the language arts period (45 minutes) while the control group remained in the regular classroom for the second half (45 minutes) of the regularly scheduled language arts class. Sentence combining in this study in addition to manipulation of sentence pattern to produce more complex sentences included organization and writing of paragraphs and stories. In part materials used in the study were designed by the researcher from texts in use by both groups. Classroom teachers prepared lesson plans from manuals accompanying texts for traditional instruction. At the end of treatment both groups were tested for reading comprehension and writing maturity. The statistical analyses for this investigation included two analyses of covariance and a proportional comparison tested at the .05 level of significance. Total Reading battery scores on the Stanford Achievement Test served as covariate data for ANOVAs. The results were as follows: (1) Students who received sentence-combining instruction had significantly improved reading comprehension scores after treatment compared to students who received no sentence-combining instruction. (2) Students who received sentence-combining instruction had significantly improved written language scores after treatment compared to students who received no sentence-combining instruction. (3) Students who received sentence-combining instruction had scores which showed significant improvement in free writing after treatment compared to students who received no sentence-combining.