How does geography play a role in student learning and teacher instruction? Limited research efforts reveal that the needs of students in rural areas are quite distinct from other settings (Muijs & Reynolds, 2003; Rice, 2003). It is not until exclusive qualities are determined in both rural and urban environments that instructional plans can be geared to each student body. Addressing these sociocultural issues is crucial with an increasingly diverse population of students nationwide. Spradleys (1980) Developmental Research Sequence and ethnographic interviews of four classroom teachers within rural and urban schools are the primary methods utilized throughout this inquiry. The participants are selected based on their school-wide reputation for being highly regarded literacy teachers. Several instructional techniques found are unique to rural and urban areas. Administrators, specialists, and classroom teachers should find the results of this investigation useful. Implications reach across grade levels as models of effective literacy instruction can be developed.

The formal instruction process of teaching reading to emergent and beginning readers needs to incorporate a much more multimodal approach. People today, not only in America but in many other countries as well, are more graphically oriented than any other generation has ever been. Children in our society expect to experience pictures and images in almost everything they encounter. This graphic orientation needs to be taken advantage of and incorporated into the educational process in ways that can be beneficial to the learning environments of children in our schools. Reading programs need to forego one-dimensional teaching methods and learn how to expand their methodologies by taking advantage of various approaches that prove to be advantageous to the development of children. This study observed emergent readers as they demonstrated comprehension and retelling skills both with and without the aid of illustrations that would normally accompany a story. Observations and informal, descriptive assessment of indirect vocabulary development in relation to the books used in the study were conducted. These observations and assessments were directly linked to whether the studentparticipant was shown or not shown the illustrations of a story that was read to him or her. The study also described the personal impact that picture book illustrations had on students as they related to the processes of learning how to read. The study showed that students who visually experienced the illustrations accompanying a picture book had greater overall story comprehension and retelling ability than those who did not see the pictures of the story. It showed, as well, that the students who saw the pictures as a story was read to them had greater indirect vocabulary development than did those students who did not see the illustrations as the story was read aloud to them.

A large number of entering college and university students are unable to derive meaning from print at age-expected levels. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR; Klingner, Vaughn, Dimino, Schumm, & Bryant, 2001) in improving the reading comprehension skills of underprepared college students. Sixteen (8 experimental and 8 control) first-time male college student athletes entering their freshman year at a research-intensive university in the southeastern United States participated in the study. An experimental design was implemented to address the following research question: What effects does a multistrategy reading comprehension intervention (i.e., CSR) have on the reading comprehension skills of academically underprepared students entering a postsecondary setting? Results showed there were statistically significant findings in favor of the experimental group for an informal dependent measure and non-significant results for a standardized measure. Study implications, limitations, and areas of future research are discussed.

This ten week study examined the impact of the teachers instructional strategies in teaching phonemic awareness to kindergarten and first grade students. Three questions were explored. These questions were: (a) How do teachers determine the appropriate instructional strategies to use in teaching phonemic awareness?, (b) What are the similarities and differences that each teacher demonstrates in implementing appropriate instructional strategies in teaching phonemic awareness?, and (c) How have the teachers efforts in implementing a Reading First program been rewarded? The participants in this study are two first grade teachers, two kindergarten teachers, and one kindergarten and first grade reading interventionist. Qualitative methods of single, cross case analysis were utilized for this study with data sources that included: field notes, responses from questionnaires, and the researchers observations. During the 90 minutes of uninterrupted reading instruction, the teachers were required to teach explicitly and systematic phonemic awareness from the prescribed method in the reading manual. The prescribed method consisted of verbatim scripts of: what the teachers should say, how the teachers should say it, and the answer for the students response. Data gathered showed that teachers used explicit and systematic instructional strategies when teaching phonemic awareness from the prescribed reading series; however, some teachers used additional instructional strategies to teach phonemic awareness. There were differences and similarities that were prevalent across grade levels. The differences of the instructional strategies consisted of utilization of hand motion and other techniques and using phonemic awareness in context. The similarities of the strategies utilized included sounding out individual phonemes, segmenting phonemes, phoneme counting, and adding, deleting, and substituting phonemes. The teachers were intrinsically motivated by their students progression. The teachers ability to impact phonemic awareness instruction is indirectly a result of their desire to be adequately prepared to deliver phonemic awareness instruction. The students satisfactory progress in attaining the appropriate reading level suggests that the teachers positively impacted instruction.

This case study explores the implementation of scaffolding in literacy learning in a first grade classroom setting. The complexities and nuisances of scaffolding present in the elementary school classroom context during reading and writing instruction are examined. Ten first graders, five from a pilot study an five from the case study, are followed in reading and writing in a public school classroom. Themes indicate that students in lower elementary grades benefit from reading and writing instruction that include the following strategic elements: 1) leveled predictable texts; 2) small group guided reading and writing instruction; 3) systematic, strategic instruction based upon performance-based observation of student's interaction with texts and self-generated writing; 4)integration of reading and writing lessons; and 5) teacher/student dialogues and conversations supporting language acquisition and development of student understandings.

The purpose of this research was to determine how dendrochronology can be used in an experiential unit to enhance high school students understanding of environmental change. Dendrochronology, the visual examination of tree ring cross sections provides opportunities to relate environmental change to growth patterns of trees and can be used to show the students both how scientists can investigate the past and how the environment can affect trees. Students engaged in a 10-day unit that employed a variety of constructivist learning activities to investigate environmental change, climate change, and tree growth. The culminating activity was student-created experiments that investigated various aspects of the relationship of trees to their environment. This research was a mixed method design and was conducted at a small public high school in the Deep South. The school is a Title One school on a four by four block schedule and is located in a rural area where forestry is one of the major industries. Twenty five juniors and seniors who were members of two environmental science classes were the participants in the research. As evaluated by the Wilcoxon matched-pair signed rank test, students scored significantly higher on the posttest (P < .01) than on the pretest with average scores of 9.52 on the pretest and 18.76 on the posttest. Most of these gains were in questions that evaluated the students understanding of climate change, tree anatomy and statistical analyses of tree growth data. The qualitative components of the research supported that these were the areas of greatest growth and revealed that the students greatly enjoyed participating in investigations of their own.

The focus of this study was to identify major conceptual difficulties that selected public high school physical science students encounter in understanding a standard electromagnetic spectrum diagram. A research-driven, modified version of that standard diagram was used in this study to determine the value added to student understanding of electromagnetic waves. A content analysis was performed on electromagnetic spectrum diagrams found in US textbooks from the 1950s through the present. A class of public high school physical science students participated in a study consisting of four activities conducted during a three-week unit. Students were given a pre- and post-achievement test and a pre- and post-survey on the regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. At the conclusion of each activity, selected students were interviewed and each co-constructed a concept map with the researcher. The Electromagnetic Spectrum Literacy Rubric (ESLR) was designed and used to assess students conceptual understanding periodically as they proceeded through the unit study. A mixed methods analysis was performed, employing both qualitative and quantitative data. A paired t- test determined that there was a statistically significant difference (p = 0.014) between the pre- and post-achievement test scores for the class of students participating in the unit study. Effect sizes also determined that students have difficulties with mathematical calculations and wave properties. These topics present conceptual challenges which must be overcome to understand and use an electromagnetic spectrum diagram effectively.

The purpose of this study was to determine if the use of molecular drawing software would improve student understanding of polyatomic ions. Using software designed for producing drawings of molecules, students developed drawings of polyatomic ions during a regular activity of the state mandated core curriculum on ions. The sample consisted of students enrolled in chemistry at a rural south Louisiana high school-both Honors and Regular. Pretest and posttest scores were analyzed with a number of covariants. The statistical analysis of test scores indicated that there was no significant difference in the improved test scores between the treatment and control groups. The lack of a significant improvement in test scores fails to mirror the results of other documented studies such as that performed by Wu, Krajcik, and Soloway (2001), which made use of similar representations and produced positive gains in the understanding of formulas. However, interviews that were conducted seemed to indicate that the treatment students did obtain a greater understanding of polyatomic ions than did the control group students. More sensitive test items may be needed to detect changes in understanding caused by the intervention. Despite learning this new computer visualization skill in addition to mastering the traditional content, statistical analysis showed the intervention did not have a detrimental effect on test performance. Through personal observation of student performance in later lessons, some transfer appears to have been achieved amongst the students in the treatment group. The possibility of transfer follows some of the findings of Haskell (2001). It was also observed that students that had the opportunity to utilize the computer software had improved inquiry skills. The average test scores for all groups increased with the greatest increases in the treatment group scores. Despite these gains, there was no significant increase in test scores for the treatment group. Analysis of the Birnie-Abraham-Renner Quick Attitude Differential (Williamson, 1992) scores indicated no correlation between student attitudes and the intervention. From the analysis of the interviews, there is an indication that an improved understanding of polyatomic ion structure resulted from the intervention.

The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of developmental students enrolled in a developmental reading course in a community college setting. A reading course questionnaire and interest/attitude inventory was completed by the students. In addition, individual interview were conducted. Eight students participated in the study that addressed more fully the impact of the developmental reading course on their achievement. Research questions sought to explore developmental students past reading experiences, past reading experiences, and perceptions of the developmental reading course. Results of the study suggest that classroom instruction focusing on comprehension and vocabulary activities presented in a developmental reading course in a community college setting was helpful. Some of the case study participants indicated they were able to write better papers in other subject areas and increased their vocabulary skills and comprehension.

This study is intended to examine the relationship between peer coaching skills and the improvement in instruction among preservice special educators. The study will examine: a) preservice teacher instructional skill before and after coaching, b) the effects of lesson planning activities by the preservice teacher on classroom instruction, and c) coaching methodologies and the use of systematic structured observation instruments during coaching. Qualitative and quantitative analysis of case studies were utilized to ascertain the effect of peer coaching and coaching on a preservice teacher's ability to plan and implement improved instruction to their students. This study is intended to assist the improvement of preservice special education teacher training by enhancing their ability to provide feedback regarding effective instructional skills to their teaching colleagues, and subsequently to improve classroom instruction.