Literacy & Learning
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/11274/15815
Browse
Browsing Literacy & Learning by Title
Now showing 1 - 20 of 78
- Results Per Page
- Sort Options
Item A qualitative descriptive study on leveraging multimodal systems for emergent bilinguals(May 2023) Koskina, Germaine 1969-; Anderson, Nancy; Stewart, Mary A; Torres, AnnetteAs the United States becomes more diverse, an increase in Spanish speaking emergent bilinguals (EBs) exists in classrooms. Despite the implementation of bilingual education where EBs are educated in their heritage language, English frequently becomes the dominant language in EB’s linguistic repertoires. Furthermore, the concept of literacy is changing in the 21st century, as new technologies evolve, and multiple semiotic modes are recognized as alternative affordances for communicating. Literacy is no longer relegated to oral and written forms for communicating. In this study, harnessing the power of various modes of communication offered a viable solution for EBs to develop their heritage language output (Spanish) with the goal of achieving bilingualism and biliteracy. This qualitative descriptive study chronicles how the features of multimodal instruction implemented in a two-way Spanish-English dual language bilingual classroom appeared to assist heritage Spanish speakers in developing bilingualism and biliteracy. Students engaged in multimodal activities, in a translanguaging classroom, leveraging the available modes and affordances to create meaning as the teacher/researcher documented the features of the instruction and student’s responses. Six themes were identified representing features that appeared to support heritage language development. Features included instruction that was responsive to language identities, explicit teaching, ensuring students had access to comprehensible input, building conceptual knowledge, ensuring customized creative paths for students, and building metalinguistic knowledge.Item A study of college developmental readers: Their history, practices, and perspectives(December 2022) Kelly, Lisa Faircloth 1969-; Stewart, Mary A; Burke, Amy; Watson, Patricia; Dunlap, KarenMany high school graduates begin college and quickly realize that there is a discrepancy between their high school reading experiences and the expectations of reading for college classes. These students are often placed into developmental reading courses, often based on standardized test scores, to improve their vocabulary, reading comprehension, and disciplinary literacies. There are a multitude of reasons that these students may not possess the reading skills that they need for college. This qualitative case study examines the influence of factors such as engagement, metacognition, and disciplinary literacies among four college students in developmental reading at a university in North Texas. The purpose was to analyze their literacy experiences, reading processes and strategies, and attitudes toward reading. Based on findings from this study, I provide suggestions for K-12 and college literacy education to promote success as students transition from high school reading to college reading.Item Adolescent newcomers’ literacy development through critical semiotic mediation: An interactive symbiotic model of agency and space(8/3/2020) Nunez, Mariannella D.; Stewart, Mary Amanda, 1979-The influx of immigrants has contributed significantly to the exponential diversification of culture and language represented in classrooms from preschool to high school (Ataiants et al., 2018). To ensure the academic success of culturally and linguistically diverse students, it is essential to meet their unique curricular needs within these multicultural contexts. A crucial component of academic success in the United States is the acquisition of English. Yet the ways schools have narrowly attempted to address this need, through English-only practices that are void of encompassing students’ full linguistic repertoires and cultural ways of knowing, continue to marginalize emergent bilinguals, particularly adolescent newcomers (Menken, 2013). This population faces more challenges compared to their younger counterparts because of their late entrance into U.S. schools, critical age in life, high academic demands, and limited time to acquire necessary credits for graduation (Fu & Graff, 2009). This qualitative case study illustrates the ways cultural and linguistic semiotic mediators support adolescent newcomer’ literacy development in school guided by a proposed conceptual framework, Critical Semiotic Mediation. The study took place in a North Texas high school where selection of participants came from courses designated for newcomers. Open and analytical coding was used to analyze data, discuss findings and significance (Dyson & Genishi, 2005). Two major findings in the ways that semiotic mediation supported students’ literacy development in school were the concepts of Semiotic Mediation Spaces and Agency Mobilizers. A model illustrated the symbiotic and interactive relationship of Agency Mobilizers within Semiotic Mediation Spaces. In discussing the Semiotic Mediation Spaces, the spaces that the students had contact with including Home, School, and Affinity spaces were identified. Then the Agency Mobilizers represented by gears that function within the spaces were discussed. Three gears; Future Self, School Literacies, and Social Identity were identified. This study contributes to the literature of Identity Theories, Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy and the diversity of adolescent newcomers. The findings imply the need for a Culturally Sustaining approach to pedagogy, policy and research.Item The aesthetic and efferent pedagogical stances and perspectives of high school English teachers during the study of literature(2001-08) Patton, Jo Ann; Griffin, Margaret; Allen, Diane; Zeek, CatherineLouise Rosenblatt's (1978, 1995b) transactional reading theory provided the framework for this qualitative study designed to explore the aesthetic and efferent pedagogical stances and perspectives of 10 high school English teachers during the study of literature. Research was conducted during the spring semester of the 1999–2000 school year in four high schools in a Texas public school district. Three questions guided the study focusing on the aesthetic and efferent stances the teachers manifested during classroom observations, their perspectives reported during interviews, and a comparison between their observed stances and reported perspectives. Two primary sources provided data: transcriptions of classroom observation field notes of each teacher's regular English class and transcriptions of an in-depth audiotaped interview with each teacher. Two secondary sources provided background and corroboration of the primary sources: instructional artifacts and the researcher's journal. Analyses of observation transcripts rendered identification of idea units and the emergence of 8 categories. Idea units in 2 of these categories, Aesthetic and Efferent, were then placed into 2 Aesthetic sub-categories and 10 Efferent sub-categories. Codes, definitions, examples, and explanations were developed for categories and sub-categories. Findings of the teachers' classroom oral communication overwhelmingly indicated the preponderance of an efferent stance within a traditional transmission classroom with limited attention given to an aesthetic stance. Analyses of interview transcripts rendered the teachers' reported aesthetic and efferent perspectives. Teachers discussed and ranked the priority of five dimensions of literary study, and most teachers indicated the aesthetic dimension of literature to be a higher priority than the efferent dimension. Teachers reported having minimal or no awareness of Rosenblatt's transactional reading theory and reader response. Findings from observation and interview transcripts were compared and revealed a distinct contradiction between the teachers' limited aesthetic oral communication in the classroom and their reporting the aesthetic dimension to be a high priority during interviews.Item Bilingual interventionist beliefs and roles: Working with teachers in dialogue, disruption, and transaction(2022-12-01T06:00:00.000Z) Parkerson, Paul 1969-; Kaye, Elizabeth; Anderson, Nancy; Anderson, Nancy; Anderson, Nancy; Torres, Annette; Snider, Sharla; Anderson, Nancy; Anderson, NancyLiteracy is an important tool for students to challenge education, themselves, and ultimately the world. Dialogue about books can effectively engage middle school and high school students in explicit dialogue, disruption, and transaction; however, educators seldom reach deeply enough to truly engage elementary students. More investigation is warranted to examine the complexities of the teacher’s role in facilitating these deep dialogues with upper elementary students. The purpose of this study was to explore my beliefs and roles as a bilingual interventionist committed to instruction through dialogue, disruption, and transaction, with translanguage. I researched to understand how these beliefs, roles, and interactive processes shaped my work with teachers. This analytic autoethnography centered on my conversations and interactions with third and fourth grade bilingual teachers as we planned and discussed lessons in a nine-week language arts unit that included read-alouds and character study of fictional texts. There were three primary data sources: the researcher's personal journal, field notes from unit planning sessions with two teachers, and field notes from a discussion with the administrator before and after the unit. I analyzed data using two-cycle coding (Saldaña, 2011) and thematic organization (Attride-Stirling, 2001) to arrive at three global themes. I intentionally triangulated data by using an autoethnographic lens to continuously return to personal journal entries and observations captured in field notes with the teachers and administrator, maintaining an interstitial structure to the data as a whole. Findings are presented as global themes reflecting my evolving belief in giving support and the primary role I played as advisor/consultant. The findings also highlight how my interactions with the teachers changed across the course of the study and influenced my perceptions and actions. Finally, this study revealed a commitment to interactive processes involved in ensuring language access/freedom in learning.Item Bolivian bilingual elementary teachers' beliefs about education, second language teaching, and theoretical orientations to reading(2010-05) Rios, Armando; Compton, Margaret; Patterson, Leslie; Cowart, Melinda; White, NoraThe purpose of this quantitative survey study was explore bilingual Bolivian elementary teachers' beliefs about education, their beliefs about second language teaching, and their theoretical orientations to reading instruction to assess the effectiveness of the Bolivian teachers' training in constructivist approaches. The literature review of educational philosophies, second language teaching, and theoretical orientations to reading provided the theoretical context for this study. Data were collected using a demographic data gathering form and three survey instruments: The Philosophy of Education Inventory (PEI), the Foreign Language Attitude Survey (FLAS), and the Theoretical Orientation to Reading Profile (TORP). These instruments were translated from English to Spanish. A convenience Sample of 90 Bolivian bilingual teacher from the rural area of Cochabamba, Bolivia completed the instruments. The information obtained from the PEI, the FLAS, and the TORP surveys was scored using each survey scoring systems. Then, the results were grouped by gender, age of the participants, years of experience, and level of participant's education. Next, the results were analyzed to determine the number of participants in each educational philosophy orientation (behaviorist, liberal, progressive, humanistic, and social change), each approach to second language teaching (grammar-translation, audiolingual, and communicative), and each theoretical orientation to reading (phonics, skills, and whole language). After that, a descriptive statistics was performed to get the frequencies, percents, means, and standard deviation of the data Finally, to determine if differences exist between different groups of participants (gender, age, years of experience, and level of education) a series of MANOVA, correlation, and Chi square with cross-tabulation procedures were performed. The results of the PEI and the TORP surveys showed that the majority of the teachers had a behavioral philosophy of education and a skills theoretical orientation to reading. These two findings suggested that the mandated goal of the Bolivian government to implement the constructivist approach to learning and the whole language approach to reading was not adopted by the majority of teachers. However, the finding of the FLAS survey that most teachers had a communicative approach to second language teaching was consistent with the goal of the Bolivian government to implement a bilingual education program using constructivist methods.Item Building scientific literacy/(IES): a cross-case analysis of how multimodal representations are used to make meaning during scientific inquiry(Texas Woman s University, 3/9/2014) Shannon, ChristaThis study used a Social Semiotic framework to describe the nature of multimodal textual representations created by fourth grade students in a small rural Texas school district south of Dallas in order to answer the question: What is the nature of the multimodal textual representations created by fourth grade students during the scientific inquiry process? Results of the cross case-analysis of the students' digitally recorded reflections, their multimodal representations, and my field notes and personal reflections as a teacher-researcher were indicative of five major themes. Representations created by the students: (a) were supported by scientific learning communities; (b) demonstrated varying abilities to collect both qualitative and quantitative observations; (c) utilized a variety of graphic organizers to communicate/represent scientific information; (d) were influenced by previous instruction and experience; and (e) showed development over time. These findings suggested the need for changes in the learning environment and pedagogy of science as teachers provide environments that support the development of learning communities; provide multiple opportunities for students to make both qualitative and quantitative observations during scientific inquiry; provide explicit instruction into the semiotic tools used by professional scientists to communicate/represent meaning; and allow students the opportunity to reflect, critique, and discuss their representations so that they can learn to be more competent and fluent representors of scientific knowledge. Recommendations for future research included: learning more about the way learning communities scaffold the learning process during scientific inquiry; understanding the best practices for helping students to learn how to make qualitative and quantitative observations of the world around them; describing the best practices for teaching students to be multimodal designers of scientific knowledge;examining the effect of previous instruction on the multimodal representations created by students; and learning more about how to best develop the students representational competency in science.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 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 Connecting home and school discourse(2/1/2021) Lang, Sherry M.; Anderson, NancyChildren’s first literacy experiences take place in homes embedded in families’ social practices and language interactions representing the primary Discourse system. Children’s home or primary Discourse significantly impacts literacy development. Teachers in schools the social represent a secondary Discourse system where literacy learning takes place. For some children, schools fail to build on their primary Discourse system, and as a result, struggle with literacy learning. This study focused on professional development for teachers aimed at supporting their understanding of Home and School Discourse. A qualitative descriptive design framed the inquiry into how teachers talk about Home and School Discourse in professional learning led by an Assistant Principal. Five teachers engaged in three one-hour school-based professional development after school and were interviewed by the Assistant Principal, who was also the researcher. The findings indicated three broad themes in their language around the Home and School Discourse. Teachers storied about their experiences, revealed deficit views or in some cases challenged deficit views, and asserted equity and access issues around curriculum, resources, and professional development. The findings shed light on how teachers talk about Home and School Discourse in focused professional development. Teachers mostly relied on stories and asserting equity and access to school district levels to curriculum and professional development rather than challenging deficit views and engaging in self-reflection.Item Cosmopolitanism in multicultural children’s texts and reader response(2022-08-01T05:00:00.000Z) Lopez, Jennifer M; Stewart, Mary Amanda; Anderson, Nancy; Burke, Amy; Snider, SharlaDiversification of student populations (Vespa et al., 2018) and the push for texts that portray characters from all cultures (Neary, 2015) shows the need in research for a continued exploration of students’ responses to multicultural texts. The current research involving multicultural texts describes how students may relate to characters that are culturally similar or dissimilar from themselves (Brooks, 2006). Adding a theoretical view of cosmopolitanism (Hull & Stornaiuolo, 2014) can show how students’ worldviews and stances are shaped through the inclusion of multicultural children's texts. This study is a qualitative practitioner inquiry that included 15 third-grade students. The questions included considerations of how texts reflected cosmopolitan stances, the instructional decisions a teacher makes to encourage development of cosmopolitan stances, and what cosmopolitan stances may be present in students' reader responses. The research included a three-part methodology: (1) text analysis and text set curation, (2) pedagogical approaches to incorporate multicultural texts in the curriculum, and (3) analysis of students’ reader responses to the selected texts. Text analysis included combination of the components of Critical Multicultural Analysis (Botelho & Rudman, 2009) and cosmopolitan stances. Pedagogical approaches were analyzed using field notes and remained dynamic. The readers' responses were analyzed using a combination of open coding and cosmopolitan stances. Text analysis results showed that the texts fell within two groups: written by a culturally authentic or a culturally adjacent author. The field notes demonstrated how teacher lines of questioning and reader response prompts affected students’ responses to multicultural texts. The readers’ response analysis indicated that students reflected all three of the cosmopolitan stances in their verbal and written responses. As the study progressed, students moved away from the reflexive stance and more into the proximal and reciprocal stances. Findings from this study can be used by publishers to understand how multicultural literature may prompt students to develop cosmopolitan stances. This study shows teachers how their pedagogy can affect students’ responses to multicultural texts and how they may reflect the various cosmopolitan stances. Researchers can use the study results to understand how a cosmopolitan lens can be applied to multicultural texts and readers’ responses.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 Developing adaptive practice in preservice teachers during a student teaching practicum(8/13/2018) The, Cheryl; Anderson, Nancy L., Ph. D.The purpose of this study was to understand how an instructional intervention with preservice teachers promoted adaptive teaching practices during a student teaching practicum. The study focused on teaching interactions during literacy instruction. The theoretical framework for this study included the following theoretical perspectives: Cultural-Historical Theory (Vygotsky, 1978), Reflective Practice (Dewey, 1933, 1939; Schon, 1983, 1987; Zeichner and Liston, 1996), and Adaptive Expertise and Adaptive Practice (Hatano & Inagaki, 1986; Hatano & Oura, 2003; Parsons, 2012). The participants were preservice teachers in their final semester of an undergraduate teacher preparation program. This qualitative study was designed as a formative experiment for the purpose of developing adaptive practice through the interactions of an instructional intervention designed to accomplish pedagogical goals (Reinking & Bradley, 2008). The six participants of the study were completing a fourteen-week student teaching practicum during the instructional intervention. The instructional intervention had multiple components including self- and peer-analysis of videotaped teaching episodes of each participant, participation in cohort sessions that included discussions and debriefing, observations by the researcher, debriefings with the researcher, written reflections, and participation in an exit interview and Google survey at the conclusion of the study. The findings from this study showed increased knowledge of reflective and adaptive practice as reported by the participants. They identified times when they made adaptations to their teaching, either before, during or after a teaching episode. The descriptions of teaching adaptations ranged in quality from minimally thoughtful to considerably thoughtful. Participants reported an increased use of reflective practice and attributed deeper thinking about their teaching to the written reflections, debriefings with the researcher and cohort session discussions. The participants demonstrated different levels of adaptive practice; however, all participants reported an increase in their ability to be reflective and adaptive in their thinking and their ability to analyze their teaching.Item Developing narrative language through the use of dramatic play in preschoolers(5/30/2007) Wilson, Christine Neir; Kinnison, Lloyd; Wiebe, Michael; Fritsch, Ronald; Marshall, DavidThe purpose of this study was to investigate the affect dramatic play had on language development. More specifically, the study sought to measure if the addition of a dramatic play center would stimulate both oral and written language. Therefore, four questions guided the study: (a) Does dramatic play positively influence overall language ability? (b) Does dramatic play increase the production of oral narratives? (c) Does dramatic play increase the complexity of the child's narrative? (d) Does dramatic play increase a child's written narrative? The study involved a mixed design that measured the participant's standardized scores both before and after intervention. A portion of the study utilized authentic writing samples to analysis growth using a qualitative approach. A matrix of story elements dictated or written in their journals was completed and then analyzed to determine common themes. The findings of this study reveal that oral language is improved through play. The receptive language of children receiving the intervention, as measured by the CELFPreschool, increased significantly within the time frame of the study. In addition, the complexity of the narratives written by the children increased. This was demonstrated in their journal entries through the mastery of story elements that were absent or sporadic at the beginning of the study. Most notable, the children's ability to provide a coherent, logical thought in relation to the literature improved.Item Developing young children’s biliteracy through translanguaging and multimodal instruction(May 2023) Borda, Juan Carlos 1971-; Stewart, Mary A; Hansen-Thomas, Holly; Torres, Annette; Figueroa, JorgeThe population of emergent bilinguals (EBs) in public schools is constantly increasing in the United States. According to 2019 statistics, EBs represented 10.4% of the total school population or 5.1 million students (NCES National Center for Education Statistics, 2022). The educational community needs to develop innovative practices that take into account EBs' linguistic and cultural strengths to provide them academic experiences that enrich their learning. Past research illustrates that pedagogical approaches based on translanguaging and multimodalities show much promise. This multiple case study aimed to develop an in-depth understanding (Yin, 2018) of how EBs utilize their linguistic repertoire (García & Wei, 2014) and various multimodalities to support and develop their biliteracy in Spanish and English. The early childhood participants were exposed to translanguaging spaces and multimodal pedagogies while they conducted individual investigations using traditional and digital expository text. A critical lens to instruction and language practices supports the theoretical framework of this study. Data analysis indicates that EBs can effectively use their linguistic repertoire to talk and read in English and Spanish. The results also show that EBs use both languages when sharing their research through speaking and writing. Regarding the use of multimodalities, three main findings emerged from the data. First, EBs use illustrations and voice commands to support comprehension and representation of the text. Second, EBs use digital modalities and resources to create bilingual digital texts. Finally, results suggest that EBs prefer to use digital modes over print or traditional modes when conducting and sharing their investigations. The results of this study should be considered to guide policy and instructional practices to promote biliteracy development through the use of innovative teaching translanguaging and multimodality practices.Item 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 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 The effect of a visual imagery method of vocabulary instruction on minimal competency test scores of low level reading students in an inner-city high school(1981-08-31) Smith, Ruth R.; Jongsma, Kathleen; Stephens, Carolyn; Stone, HowardItem 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.Item The effects of interspersed questions, advance organizers, and post organizers on good and poor comprehenders(1980-12-31) Korzenowski-Shahrokhi, Kathleen; Jackson, Karen; Marshall, David, Ph. D.; Amos, Iris; Janssen, Calvin; Stephens, CarolynThe effects of an advance organizer, interspersed questions, post organizer, and control conditions on comprehension were compared. Seventy-six students enrolled in undergraduate courses served as subjects. They were classified as good and poor comprehenders based on the Nelson-Denny Reading Test. An 800-word passage was used to compare immediate and delayed free recall of ideas, facts, and ideas and facts combined. Results were analyzed using analysis of variance, covariance, and repeated measures designs. Good comprehenders scored significantly higher than poor comprehenders on all measures. Imediate recall was greater than delayed recall. On immediate recall of ideas, the post organizer treatment was significantly better overall than the three other treatment groups. On the analysis of variance for delayed recall of ideas the post organizer treatment was significantly better for good comprehenders, while no one treatment proved to be significantly better than the others for poor comprehenders. There were no significant treatment effects on the analysis of covariance for ideas delayed. It was concluded that the post organizer proved most helpful in the immediate recall of ideas.