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- Genre: Doctoral Dissertation
- Creators: Arizona State University
- Creators: Arter, Lisa Maxwell
Description
Gendered language has been a topic of study for centuries. The most recent efforts to promote inclusive language have been championed by parents, teachers, and social reformers over the last thirty years. Replicating in part a research study that was done over thirty years ago, this study examines what effects have taken place in children's perceptions of male and female roles in regards to specific activities and occupations and how their perceptions compare to the current work force, what role children's literature has played in these changes, and what children's natural speech in describing personified animals can tell us about their subconscious gender labeling. The results were remarkable in two ways: native language evidently exudes little emphasis on pronoun choice, and children are more readily acceptable of gender equality than that portrayed in either Caldecott winning children's books or real life as seen through current labor statistics.
ContributorsArter, Lisa Maxwell (Author) / Nilsen, Alleen (Thesis advisor) / Blasingame, James (Committee member) / Grace, Judy (Committee member) / Mathur, Sarup (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
This study examined the effects of an intensive remedial program, Wilson Reading System (WRS), on 43 struggling readers from second to twelfth grade. The students, who attended a large southwestern urban school district, were all at least two grade levels below their peers in reading. Participants received 20 hours of WRS instruction over the course of one month as part of a WRS teacher certification course. Using the Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Achievement, students were evaluated prior to and following their participation in the intensive summer program using five subtests (Letter-Word Identification, Reading Fluency, Spelling, Word Attack, and Spelling of Sounds) and two clusters (Basic Reading and Phoneme/Grapheme Knowledge) to assess gains in students' reading achievement. Since the intervention was delivered for such a brief period, this study was designed to provide a snapshot measure of initial reading skill gains. While a failure to perform significantly better was observed on the Letter-Word Identification, Reading Fluency, and Spelling subtests, students demonstrated significant improvement on Word Attack and Spelling of Sounds subtests following WRS instruction. Furthermore, students significantly improved on the Basic Reading and Phoneme/Grapheme Knowledge clusters. Study limitations and implications for future research and practice are discussed.
ContributorsAshby, Kristina (Author) / Caterino Kulhavy, Linda (Thesis advisor) / Gatt, Jennifer T (Committee member) / Mathur, Sarup (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
An unrelenting need exists to improve literacy instruction in secondary schools in the United States. Reading scores, especially among minority and language minority students, as well as the economically disadvantaged, have not produced significant gains in recent years. The problem of low level reading skills in secondary grades is complicated to address, however, as many secondary teachers find themselves ill-equipped to deal with the challenges they face. Improving student achievement by integrating reading comprehension strategies into the freshman English curriculum was the ultimate goal of this innovation. A total of 15 freshman English language arts teachers and 30 freshman students participated in this 14 week action research study, which involved teaching explicit pre-, during-, and post-reading strategies during daily lessons at a large, urban high school in the Southwestern United States. Data were collected using a reading diagnostic test, focus group interviews with teachers, individual interviews with teachers and students, and teacher observations. Findings from the data suggest that professional development designed to infuse comprehension strategies through collaborative inquiry among English language arts teachers contributed to assisting students to perform better on reading diagnostic measures. Furthermore, the findings suggest that this method of professional development served to raise teachers' self-efficacy regarding literacy instruction, which, in turn, improved students' efficacy and performance as readers.
ContributorsWilliams, Jeffrey (Author) / Roe, Mary (Thesis advisor) / Weber, Catherine (Committee member) / Allen, Althe (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
The federal No Child Left Behind Act has set the goal that all students in every state shall be proficient in reading by 2014. Arizona teachers face the challenge of having 100 percent of their students meeting or exceeding grade level reading standards assessed by Arizona's Instrument to Measure Standards (AIMS). One of my goals as a reading teacher is to widen the range of options my students will have. My goal every year is to have my students read at or above grade level. I also am committed to inspiring students to become motivated to love literacy because voluntary lifelong reading is important in peoples' lives. The purpose of this study was to investigate conducting brief, interactive, weekly reading conferences during daily Scaffolded Self-Selected Reading (ScS-SR) sessions while incorporating Transactional Strategy Instruction with a pair-share with a partner, and to see if it would improve my students' reading motivation and comprehension. Data were collected via the Motivation to Read Profile Survey and Interview, informal observations, Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills Oral Reading Fluency Test (DIBELS: ORF), and Oral Reading Records used by my school district. Findings concluded that students tended to become more willing readers, with several of them explicitly attributing their newfound willingness to read to my efforts. Most students became somewhat more aware of their reading experiences, explaining how different types of books in ScS-SR affected them. All students' reading comprehension performance improved, with measureable increases in students' instructional reading levels, retellings, and meaningful miscues that students attributed to leveled books, strategy instruction, and retellings.
ContributorsLehman, Melanie (Author) / Moore, David W. (Thesis advisor) / Moore, Sharon A. (Committee member) / Cheatham, Gregory (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
The focal educational problem of practice in this dissertation is how one special education teacher mediated reading comprehension with a diverse group of students, including English learners (EL) with learning disabilities (LD). I selected this problem of practice because of the documented difficulty and complexity of effective teaching to provide integrated EL and LD support. There is a lack of reading comprehension research that centers on the interactive processes between teachers and students who are EL with LD (ELsWLD) and students with LD in small group contexts and intermediate grades. To answer the research questions, I used observational research methods. I examined one teacher’s practices with 5th-grade ELsWLD and LD students in reading small-group instruction in an elementary school in a major city in the southwestern region of the United States. Data analysis procedures included systematic analysis of video-based recordings and instructional transcripts to map student and teacher participation. The analysis centered on teacher mediation of student learning and how the teacher’s talk varied with students. Findings: (1) The teacher mediated reading comprehension through instructional routines for comprehension strategy and vocabulary instruction using independent reading and guided reading of text. (2) Student practice opportunities included integrative, elaborative, and metacognitive processes when reading for connections to text, questioning the text, prediction, and imaging. (3) Throughout, the teacher maintained an authoritative stance and a position as an expert through the overuse of questions for all students, and the question density (number, frequency) which limited student practice opportunities. (4) The teacher’s talk with students varied concerning with whom she used Accountable and Assertive Talk and produced uneven engagement as the teacher primarily used Dialogic Questions for students she viewed as stronger readers.
This research has potential implications for scholars and practitioners as it raises questions requiring teachers and researchers to consider the questions used in small-group comprehension discussions, how teachers ask questions, and the density of questions. Other implications include methods to map teacher talk and the use of a critical dis/ability literacy teaching stance.
ContributorsSalinas, Sarah M (Author) / Artiles, Alfredo J. (Thesis advisor) / Dorn, Sherman J. (Thesis advisor) / O’Connor, Brendan (Committee member) / Ferrell, Amy (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
The purpose of this single case design study was to examine the efficacy of a graphic organizer for improving the reading comprehension of middle school Spanish-English bilingual middle school students with learning disabilities. Students included two females and one male student. Using a multiple baseline across participants design, students were taught to create a funnel map graphic organizer for 10 descriptive text passages. Students’ performance was assessed on their ability to correctly create the funnel map (criterion variable) and to comprehend the expository passages during baseline, intervention, and maintenance phases. Each participant learned to create an accurate funnel map for descriptive texts within four sessions. Reading comprehension scores began to increase within three intervention sessions for each participant. Results showed the positive effect of using the funnel map to improve reading comprehension of descriptive texts. Individual TAU effect sizes (.81 to .92) and overall TAU-U effect sizes (.86) and a Between Cases Standardized Mean Difference (BC-SMD) of 1.87 showed the intervention to be highly effective. Based on the effect sizes, the funnel map was effective for improving the reading comprehension of middle school Spanish-English bilingual students with learning disabilities.
ContributorsCalvin, Kristie (Author) / Gray, Shelley I (Thesis advisor) / Restrepo, Laida (Committee member) / Thompson, Marilyn (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
Within English supplementary tutoring centers in China, the professional development teachers are afforded is limited due to time constraints and the qualifications of teacher trainers within those centers. To facilitate a novel means of engaging teachers in their professional development related to guided reading, an innovation configurations map was introduced to teachers at two centers in southern China. This map is composed of six configurations that would foster teachers’ understanding of what comprised effective guided reading classes. They include a focus on prior knowledge, vocabulary, reading skills and strategies, reading comprehension, class discussion, and written expression. Implementing the innovation configurations map for guided reading at the two centers occurred with head teachers and key informants from both centers. Other teachers participated to varying degrees based on their interests and availability. Using a qualitative case study methodology as part of an action research project, six strands of data were collected to assess how teachers used the map and what lessons were learned. These strands are institutional documents, interviews with participants, participant observation of academic meetings, direct observation of key informants’ classes, and education journey maps detailing participants’ experiences in using the innovation configurations map. For roughly seven months, the participants worked on developing their understanding of how to use the map and apply it within their contexts. They built this awareness within their activity systems with guidance and support from their colleagues and me. The contingent and responsive help teachers received was crucial in ensuring they understood how to use the innovation configurations map and their willingness to do so. Without that support and guidance, teachers were ambivalent about the use of the map and used it minimally or not at all. The findings, thus, indicate that for teachers to be willing to develop themselves professionally and use the innovation configurations map, they require ongoing support and guidance based on their needs to ensure they may do so effectively.
ContributorsRobinette, Robby Lee (Author) / Baker, Dale (Thesis advisor) / Chapman, Amy (Committee member) / Feng, Siyuan (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023
Description
This educational case study looked at student engagement and motivation in a collaborative environment, one that provided students the freedom to be critical thinkers and problem solvers. In order to create this collaborative environment, students in a third-grade elementary classroom participated in a Project-Based Learning unit. The unit culminated in hands-on projects. Sociocultural theory and Self Determination theory were used to guide the development of the innovation and the formulation of the research design. The qualitative data collection tools that were used in this study consisted of observations through video and audio recordings, researcher's field notes, student interviews, and artifacts. The artifacts gathered consisted of student journal entries reflecting on their experiences within the innovation and their learning process throughout. Data were collected, transcribed, and analyzed using multiple rounds of both deductive and inductive coding. This research suggests that a Project-Based Learning environment positively impacts student participation both within a single lesson and throughout the unit by increasing students’ background and competence. Additionally, within a Project-Based Learning environment, students co-construct new meaning through goal-oriented group work designed by the teacher. The teacher also supports student thinking through clarifying and questioning statements designed to support students’ learning and development of ideas. Finally, this educational case study suggests that students demonstrate an increase in intrinsic motivation over time as demonstrated by an eagerness to apply their new learning beyond the Project-Based Learning lessons. Students applied the learning within their classroom, school, and even their homes.
ContributorsLund, Stephanie (Author) / Bertrand, Melanie (Thesis advisor) / Imel, Breck (Committee member) / Moses, Lindsey (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016
Description
Children with dyslexia have difficulty learning to read. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the use of simultaneous multisensory structured language (multisensory) instruction promoted better letter name and sound production, word reading, and word spelling for second grade children with typical development (TD; N=6) or with dyslexia (DYS; N=5) than structured language instruction alone. The use of non-English graphemes (letters) to represent two pretend languages were used to control for children’s lexical knowledge.
A multiple baseline, multiple probe across subjects single-case design, paired with an alternating treatments design, was used to compare the efficacy of multisensory and structure language interventions. Participant’s graphed data was visually analyzed and individual Tau-U and weighted Tau-U effect sizes were calculated for the outcome variables: letter name production, letter sound production, word reading, and word spelling.
Both interventions had an overall effect for participants with TD and DYS, though for individual participants intervention effects varied across outcome variables. However, the multisensory intervention did not provide a clear advantage over the structured intervention for participants with TD or DYS.
A multiple baseline, multiple probe across subjects single-case design, paired with an alternating treatments design, was used to compare the efficacy of multisensory and structure language interventions. Participant’s graphed data was visually analyzed and individual Tau-U and weighted Tau-U effect sizes were calculated for the outcome variables: letter name production, letter sound production, word reading, and word spelling.
Both interventions had an overall effect for participants with TD and DYS, though for individual participants intervention effects varied across outcome variables. However, the multisensory intervention did not provide a clear advantage over the structured intervention for participants with TD or DYS.
ContributorsSchlesinger, Nora Werich (Author) / Gray, Shelley I (Thesis advisor) / Graham, Stephen (Committee member) / Marley, Scott (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016
Description
Small-group literacy instruction is frequently used in schools in order to engage students in discussions around texts. Instructional settings vary and produce a range of results. They are complex social spaces in which students position one another and themselves as they enact different identities. These identities are associated with sets of literacy practices. This paper describes the results of a study examining the ways in which 3rd and 4th grade students and their teachers positioned themselves and one another in three different small-group literacy settings and the literacy practices that they used as they performed their identities. Using a multimodal discourse analysis (Kress, 2012) and D/discourse analysis (Gee, 2005, 2011), the form and function of language and gestures were used to look at the kinds of identities that the participants enacted and the literacy practices that the students engaged in the different settings. The results of the analysis suggested that the identities that the participants performed were related to the context in which interactions around texts took place. The identities themselves were connected to the use certain literacy practices. The literacy practices used by the participants were also related to the classroom context. The findings suggest that it is important for teachers to consider the figured worlds active in small-group settings, the identities performed within those worlds, and the literacy practices in which students engage.
ContributorsKrauter, David (Author) / Marsh, Josephine P (Thesis advisor) / Gee, James P (Committee member) / Serafini, Frank (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015