Research findings emphasize the need for programs for the gifted reader, particularly the need to determine which methods or programs best benefit the gifted student. The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of the Junior Great Books (JGB) literature program on reading comprehension achievement of gifted fifth grade students due to the factors of a) discussion/non-discussion and b) levels of students' experience in the JGB program. This study was replicated to determine if similar results in reading comprehension achievement occurred by using different JGB stories. In addition, the study explored methodological issues of cross-level inferences to determine if different results were obtained when applying the General Linear Model to individual-level and aggregate-level data. The research was experimental in design. Seventy-eight fifth grade gifted students were randomly assigned to eight groups in two schools, four treatment groups with discussion and four control groups without discussion. Students in one school had no prior JGB experience; students in the other school had a range of one to three years JGB experience. Two different JGB literature stories, randomly selected, were read by all groups. Reading comprehension was measured, pre and post, by an instrument that emerged from the JGB stories using the cloze procedure. Additional data to measure students' achievement in the form of responses to openended questions about the JGB literature stories were collected. Observations of groups featuring discussions/non-discussions were taped and rated to determine whether appropriate formats were followed by the leaders. Individual-level data and aggregate—level data were analyzed using a two—way ANOVA with nesting using the General Linear Model of the Statistical Analysis System (SAS). lt was found, and supported by study replication, that there were no significant differences between those fifth grade gifted students who participated in the JGB s program with discussion and those who did not. Nor were there differences due to level of experience in the JGB program. Similar results were obtained when applying the General Linear Model to individual—level and aggregate-level data. Further investigation of the JGB program and related methods and procedures involved in the study were suggested. / Ph. D.

The objective of this research is to investigate how transmedia storytelling (TS) can impact the reading proficiency of ESL students. The declining reading comprehension levels among 15-yearold students in Sweden has raised concerns, which is a trend observed in many other countries. This study explores whether TS can be an effective approach to support language development for reading comprehension during this critical stage of education. The research was conducted in two phases, using qualitative mixed methods. In Phase 1, sixteen ESL teachers from eight countries completed questionnaires, and in Phase 2, five ESL teachers in Sweden were interviewed. Both phases aimed to understand the challenges faced by teachers in teaching reading, the strategies they use to address these issues, and their use of multimedia tools. The study also investigates whether TS can improve reading comprehension and if ESL teachers are aware of this strategy. The study findings demonstrate that ESL teachers encounter various difficulties, such as managing diverse classroom dynamics, finding suitable reading materials for students with different comprehension levels, and motivating disinterested students. Teachers are using multimedia tools, including creative writing, film adaptations, trivia games, and role-playing to overcome these challenges. Despite their efforts, the decline in reading proficiency continues. Additionally, the research reveals that most ESL teachers are not familiar with TS as a method, but are interested in learning about its potential benefits. TS is an innovative approach that allows students to read a book and use digital tools they are familiar with to create their unique stories. Therefore, it has the potential to enhance reading comprehension and language skills among ESL students.

Abstract  In a more developed society, reading comprehension has become increasingly important, especially for students who are linguistically vulnerable. Students with language difficulties have more difficulty tackling both concrete and complex texts. This study aims to investigate structured strategy teaching to improve students’ reading comprehension in the context of a collaboration between a teacher and a special educator at a Swedish primary school. The main methodology used was action research during a four-week period when Reciprocal Teaching was used in combination with visual tools and a communicative approach to increase students’ reading comprehension.  The theoretical framework of the study was informed by the sociocultural perspective and Bakhtin’s theory of the importance of dialogue for a multi-vocal classroom. Four students in the fourth grade participated in the study at the beginning of spring of 2024 and underwent four weeks of special education in the use of reading comprehension strategies with the help of a variant of Reciprocal Teaching combined with visual tools. Additionally, an unstructured interview was conducted with a class teacher and a focus group interview with the four students. The empirical data was analyzed using a thematic analysis method that led to four categorizations: linguistic tools, multivocality accessible teaching, and interdisciplinary collaboration. The results showed that the students improved their reading comprehension by about 40-50% when comparing pre- and posttests in reading comprehension. In combination with a multivocal perspective and accessible teaching, teaching, the method had positive impacts on the students ́ participation in the classroom. The students described how they benefited from the visual tool in understanding what they read.  The study identified important aspects regarding how students with language difficulties adopt reading comprehension strategies as a tool to use in the classroom. Furthermore, the study highlights the role of collaboration between special educators and teachers in developing more accessible teaching in the classroom.

Title: “The letters jump”- to struggle with decoding and still understand what you are reading.Author: Maria EkUniversity of UmeåDepartment of EducationSupervisor: Asbjörg WestumExaminer: Fredrik KarlssonKeywords: Poor readers, Structured text talks, Reading strategies, Reading comprehension, Commitment and Motivation.During the past decades, Swedish studies show that reading comprehension and skills in reading strategies have decreased. In secondary school for individuals with learning disabilities there has been a focus on care-taking rather than on comprehension in general, and on reading comprehension in particular.The purpose of this study was to investigate whether Reciprocal Teaching would increase reading comprehension and motivation among upper secondary school for individuals with learning disabilities. The study presents how three 17-year-old pupils and their teacher, discussed expository fact texts during twelve lessons using the reciprocal method combined with power point-presentations to get the students to read more actively with interferences and reflections. The ambition was to make the structured text talks as interesting as possible with texts easy to read, technical aids, structure to make the students feel security when reading and to get committed pupils with an increased interest in reading.The results show an increase in motivation in reading, and the students were more prone to take an active part in discussions.

Sammanfattning Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur några lärare, speciallärare och specialpedagoger organiserar läsförståelseundervisning för elever med autismspektrumtillstånd för att identifiera framgångsfaktorer. Studien har utgått från forskningsfrågorna: 1.  Hur kan läsförståelseundervisning organiseras för att barn med AST i åldrarna 6-10 år ska få tillgång till en gynnsam undervisning och utveckla sin läsförståelse?  2. Hur kan grundlärare samverka med speciallärare och specialpedagoger på svenska grundskolor för att erbjuda elever med AST i åldrarna 6-10 år en gynnsam läsförståelseundervisning?  Studien har en kvalitativ ansats med semistrukturerade intervjuer med 2 specialpedagoger, 2 speciallärare och 2 klasslärare på grundskolor i södra Sverige. Intentionen är att bidra med kunskaper kring framgångsfaktorer som framkommit i lärares och speciallärares/specialpedagogers berättelser. Materialet analyserades utifrån en tematisk analys. Analysen har en deduktiv ansats och utgick från ett sociokulturellt perspektiv där lärande sker genom samspel och kommunikation med andra. Resultatet visar att samtliga lärare belyser vikten av att vara tydlig och explicit i sin undervisning för att hantera utmaningar med de exekutiva förmågorna. Resultatet visar även att flera respondenter beskriver samlärandet som en gynnsam metod för att hantera svårigheter med att koppla läsningen till egna erfarenheter, där eleverna kan lära av varandra och ta del av varandras erfarenheter. Vikten av en god samverkan mellan klasslärare, specialpedagog och speciallärare framkommer även av studiens resultat. / Abstract The purpose of this study is to examine how some teachers, special teachers and special educators organize their teaching regarding reading comprehension for students with Autism spectrum disorder in order to identify success factors. The study is based on the following research questions:  1. How do we organize reading comprehension teaching for students with ASD aged 6-10 in order to generate the most favourable conditions to develop their reading comprehension? 2. How can the collaboration between teachers, special teachers and special educators look like at Swedish schools in order to offer students with ASD aged 6-10 a favourable teaching in reading comprehension? The study has a qualitative approach with semi-structured interviews with 2 special educators, 2 special teachers and 2 teachers at elementary schools in the south part of Sweden. The intention is to contribute with knowledge of success factors which the respondents have pointed out in their answers. Thematic analysis was used during analyzing the data. The analysis has a deductive approach and is based on a sociocultural perspective in which learning takes place through interaction and communication with others. The results showed that all teachers described the importance of being explicit in their teaching in order to handle challenges with the executive abilities. Another similarity was that several respondents described co-learning as a beneficial method for dealing with difficulties in connecting the reading to their own experiences, in which students can learn from each other and take part in each other’s experiences. Moreover, the result also indicated the importance of a well-functioning collaboration between teachers and teachers with special pedagogical knowledge.

Determination of gains made in reading comprehension and the relationship of these gains to the academic success of 545 college freshmen of North Texas State Teachers College is the main consideration of this study.

The problem for consideration in this thesis is a comparison of comprehension in pre-directed informational reading and in non-directed informational reading at the primary level, based upon a survey of professional literature in the field.

L’intérêt porté au développement de la compréhension écrite et, par conséquent, aux facteurs qui affectent son succès ou son échec, ainsi qu’aux pratiques de classe permettant de l’améliorer, a donné lieu à une abondance de recherches. Notre recherche vise à contribuer à ces efforts en étudiant le rôle de « l’inférence », une composante de la compréhension de lecture d’ordre supérieur. À cette fin, notre recherche a consiste à examiner la génération d’inférences lors de la lecture en identifiant les types d’inférences produites ainsi que les stratégies utilisées pour leur production. La génération d’inférences et l’utilisation de stratégies par les participants sont aussi traitées, dans le cadre de cette thèse, des liens qu’elles entretiennent avec marqueurs de réussite en lecture, tels qu’évalués par les épreuves standardisées. Notre étude poursuit ces objectifs dans un contexte de langue seconde en étudiant les performances d’un échantillon de 28 élèves ayant l’arabe comme langue promière et le français comme langue seconde. Les participants devaient lire un texte informatif et un texte narratif en francais. Les données sur la génération d’inférences au moment de la lecture par les participants ont été recueillies à l’aide d’un protocol de réflexions introspectives à voix haute, tandis que les données sur l’utilisation de stratégies ont été recueillies à l’aide d’une combinaison de protocoles de réflexion à voix haute introspectifs et rétrospectifs. Les habilités liées aux facteurs de réussite en lecture ont été mesurées à l’aide du test WIAT. Enfin, grâce à un questionnaure administré à tous les participants, nous avons pu établir des corrélations entre les données ciblées par cette étude et des variables sociodémpgraphiques associées aux participants. Les résultats des analyses qualitatives ont permis de faire émerger une taxonomie composée de cinq catégories d'inférence : pronominale basée sur le texte, anaphorique basée sur le texte, logique basée sur le texte, logique basée sur les connaissances et informationnelle basée sur les connaissances. Les analyses ont également permis d’identifier les différents types d'inférences englobés dans chacune de ces cinq catégories. Pour générer ces inférences, les participants ont utilisé un ensemble de 14 stratégies : « utilisation des connaissances linguistiques », « utilisation de mots-indices », « utilisation du contexte », « liaison », « utilisation des connaissances du monde », « attribution de valeurs par défaut », « faire preuve d'empathie », « commenter », « analyser l'inférence », « suspendre le jugement », « analyser les alternatives », « utiliser l'inférence précédente », « activer l'introduction » et « comparer ». Les analyses quantitatives ont révélé une production d'inférences plus prononcée au cours de la lecture du texte narratif par rapport à la lecture du texte informatif, en particulier en ce qui concerne les inférences basées sur le texte par rapport aux inférences basées sur les connaissances antérieures. Il a été constaté que les compétences en compréhension écrite étaient liées à la génération d'inférences et à l'utilisation de stratégies lors en contexte de lecture d’un texte informatif, mais pas dans le contexte de la lecture du texte narratif. / Interest in understanding reading comprehension skill and, in consequence, the factors that affect its success or failure, as well as, ultimately, the viable practices to improve it have yielded an abundance of research. Our research has sought to contribute to these efforts through studying the role of ‘inferencing’, a higher-order reading comprehension skill. To this end, our research involved examining inference generation during reading by identifying the types of inferences produced as well as the strategies used for their production. Participants’ online inference generation and strategy use were, then, evaluated in relation to reading comprehension skill. Our study pursues these objectives in a second language context by involving the participation of a sample of 28 L1 Arabic primary-level students who speak French as a second language. Thus, the texts used were in French and targeted both narrative and informative comprehension. Data on participants’ online inference generation were gathered using introspective think-alouds, while data on strategy use were gathered using a combination of introspective and retrospective think-aloud protocols. Participants’ reading comprehension skill was measured using the WIAT test. Possible sociodemographic influencing factors were considered using a questionnaire. Results of qualitative analyses concluded a taxonomy comprised of five inference categories: text-based pronominal, text-based anaphoric, text-based logical, knowledge-based logical, and knowledge-based informational. Analyses also identified the different inference types encompassed in each of these five categories. To generate these inferences, participants employed a set of 14 strategies: ‘use of linguistic knowledge’, ‘use of clue words’, ‘use of context’, ‘binding’, ‘use of world knowledge’, ‘assigning default values’, ‘empathizing’, ‘commenting’, ‘analyzing the inference’, ‘suspending judgement’, ‘analyzing alternatives’, ‘using previous inference’, ‘activating introduction’ and ‘comparison’. Quantitative analyses revealed more pronounced inference performance during narrative compared to informative comprehension, particularly, in relation with text-based compared to knowledge-based inferences. Reading comprehension skill was found to relate to inference generation and strategy use during informative but not narrative comprehension.

At every educational level reading is a powerful tool for academic success because it provides students with access to information. Comprehension is crucial to reading. Many students at Lobatse College of Education, Botswana, have problems comprehending L2 reading materials and thus struggle academically because English is the medium of instruction. To some extent, methods of teaching L2 reading contribute to students’ reading failure. It is said that how we teach is as important as what we teach. Thus, how L2 reading is taught is important for improving students’ understanding of texts and their L2 academic performance. This study focuses on teaching reading as a process which involves an application of reading strategies in order to facilitate comprehension of texts. The overall aim of the research is concerned with the improvement of methods of teaching L2 reading comprehension in Botswana Colleges of Education. The specific objective was to implement reading strategy instruction programme (RSI) to see what effect it would have on (i) on L2 students’ use of strategies during reading (ii) on L2 students’ reading comprehension, and (iii) on L2 students’ English academic performance. Using a quasi-experimental pre-posttest design, an explicit RSI programme was implemented over six-week period in a Botswana College of Education. Two intact cohorts of second-year teacher trainees were randomly assigned to a control and intervention groups. A reading strategy questionnaire and a reading comprehension test were used to examine the relationship between strategy use and level of comprehension. A discrepancy emerged between the self-reports responses of the participants and their actual performance in reading text. Although they claimed to be strategic readers the results suggested that they were not in fact reading strategically.The Cohen’s d analysis yielded a large effect size. This corroborates the significant differences that emerged between the two cohorts in their posttest comprehension results. The intervention group showed significant gains in strategy use and reading comprehension after the six-week intervention period. This suggests that even a short period of intervention can be beneficial to L2 students. However, these effects did not manifest themselves in the students’ English academic performance. This suggests that students need more exposure and more opportunities to practice applying strategies to texts that they read before the effect spill over into academic performance in general. The findings from this study have important implications for the teaching reading in Botswana in both L1 and L2 context. This research also point to further avenues for reading research in Botswana, and cautions against a reliance on questionnaire data alone in reading research; the triangulation of data is important to gain an accurate and deeper understanding of reading practices and reading performance. / Linguistics / M.A. (Applied Linguistics)

Thesis (MEd)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study focuses on the effect of a reading strategy instruction research intervention on Grade 8 isiXhosa-speaking learners‘ comprehension of English reading texts at a township high school. Throughout the years, South Africans have become increasingly aware of the poor literacy levels of the learners. Results from National Assessment Studies e.g., Annual National Assessments and Systemic Evaluation Assessment, performed annually by the Department of Education, as well as International Assessment Studies e.g., Southern African Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality (SACMEQ III, 2007 and Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS 2006), confirm that our learners cannot read for meaning and therefore reading comprehension, is a severe concern. The Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS, 2011) places reading under three phases (pre-reading, reading and post-reading), however, it fails to place explicit focus on training teachers to instruct reading comprehension. With English becoming increasingly the language of instruction for non-English first language speakers (as in the case of the isiXhosa-speaking learners at the research school), there is a growing need to provide learners with techniques that will equip them to construct meaning from texts. This study, therefore, addresses the need for reading comprehension through the use of pre-selected, research-based reading strategies, that can be taught to the learners to improve their meaning-making efforts during the reading process. The reading strategies together with selected reading instruction activities aim to provide learners and teachers alike with sufficient guidance for implementing reading strategies and in the case of teachers, to encourage a sustained change in their comprehension instruction. This study applies a mixed-method methodology for gathering both quantitative and qualitative data. The purpose of the quantitative data is firstly to provide baseline data of reading-related abilities for learners before the implementation of the intervention, and secondly, to provide comparative data of strategy transfer after the intervention. The qualitative data is gathered through observations of the implementation of the reading strategies during the intervention, participants‘ journals and through samples of participants‘ work. The data aim to provide rich, in-depth data about how the participants in the research took on reading strategy instruction and the factors that influenced them. This study identified a number of issues: [1] participants‘ understanding of the content of the presented English reading texts during the intervention, [2] participants‘ low literacy levels, [3] participants‘ uptake of the concept of dealing with the different strategies while engaging with a text and [4] the school as a research site that affect reading strategy instruction to Grade 8 isiXhosa-speaking learners in a multilingual environment, but also highlighted the importance of continued implementation of reading instruction as crucial to its success. The findings of this study created a platform for teachers to instruct reading comprehension in different content subjects and provide learners with a selection of reading strategies that they can apply in making meaning of texts they encounter in different subject areas. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die studie fokus op die uitwerking van 'n leesstrategie onderrigintervensie wat onderrig word aan Graad 8 isiXhosa-sprekende leerders ter verbetering van hulle begrip van Engelse tekste by 'n plaaslike hoërskool. Deur die jare het Suid Afrikaners al hoe meer bewus geword van die kommerwekkende lae geletterdheidsvlakke van die leerders. Resultate van nasionale evaluering studies, byvoorbeeld, die Jaarlikse Nasionale Assessering en Sistemiese Evalueringtoetse, wat jaarliks uitgevoer word deur die Departement van Onderwys, asook internasionale evaluering studies, byvoorbeeld, Suidelike Afrikaanse Konsortium vir Monitering Opvoedkundige Kwaliteit (SACMEQ III, 2007) en Progressie in Internasionale Lees Geletterdheidstudie (PIRLS, 2006), bevestig dat ons leerders nie sinvol kan lees nie en derhalwe het hulle bevind dat leesbegrip 'n ernstige bron van kommer is. Die Kurrikulum en Assessering Beleidsverklaring (KABV, 2011), plaas lees onder drie fases (voor-lees, lees en na-lees), maar dit laat na om eksplisiete fokus te plaas op die opleiding van onderwysers om leesbegrip te onderrig. Met Engels wat toenemend die taal van onderrig vir nie-Engelssprekende eerstetaalleerders word (soos in die geval van isiXhosa-sprekende leerders by die navorsingskool), is daar 'n toenemende behoefte om leerders toe te rus met tegnieke om betekenis uit tekste te skep. Hierdie studie maak gebruik van voorafgeselekteerde, navorsingsgebaseerde leesstrategieë waarin leerders onderrig kan word ter verbetering van hulle pogings om betekenis te maak tydens die leesproses. Beide die leesstrategieë en geselekteerde leesonderrigaktiwiteite poog daarin om voldoende leiding te verskaf aan leerders sowel as onderwysers om die leesstrategieë te implementeer. Dit poog ook verder om volgehoue verandering in leesbegrip onderrig by onderwysers aan te moedig. Die studie maak gebruik van 'n gemengde-metode metodologie vir die insameling van kwantitatiewe en kwalitatiewe data. Die doel van die kwantitatiewe data is eerstens om basisdata oor leesverwante vermoëns van leerders vóór die implementering van die intervensie te verskaf, en tweedens dien dit as vergelykbare data van strategie metingsoordrag ná die intervensie. Die kwalitatiewe data is versamel deur waarnemings gedurende die implementering van leesstrategieë tydens die intervensie, dagboek- inskrywings van navorsingsleerders asook voorbeelde van leerders se werk. Die data verskaf ryk, diepgaande data oor die manier waarop die deelnemers die onderrig van leesstrategieë aangeneem het en die faktore wat hulle beïnvloed het. Die studie het 'n aantal kwessies: [1] deelnemers se begrip van die inhoud van Engelse leestekste gedurende die intervensie, [2] deelnemers se lae geletterheidsvlakke, [3] aanvaarding van leesstrategie-onderrig deur die leerders en [4] die skool as navorsingsplek identifiseer wat leesstrategieonderrig aan Graad 8 isiXhosa-sprekende leerders in 'n meertalige omgewing beïnvloed, maar terselfdertyd het dit die belangrikheid van volgehoue implementering van leesonderrig beklemtoon as onontbeerlik vir die sukses daarvan. Die bevindings van die studie het 'n platform daargestel vir onderwysers om leesbegrip in verskillende inhoudsvakke te onderrig, asook 'n seleksie van leesstrategieë wat leerders kan toepas in hulle poging om betekenis te maak van tekste waarmee hulle in verskillende vakinhoude te doen kry.