<p> The purpose of this qualitative research project is to describe the scaffolding strategies used by a teacher to engage and support students as they work within the continua of biliterate development in the fifth-grade Spanish language immersion classroom. As language immersion programs and dual language schools continue to grow in popularity in Canada and the United States, this study seeks to illuminate and interpret a teacher&rsquo;s work with students in the Spanish Language Immersion Program (SLIP), a research site located in the urban Midwestern United States.</p><p> This instrumental case study employed the lens of Sociocultural Theory to explore the principal research question: How does the teacher scaffold student development of biliteracy within language and content instruction in the immersion school context? The research also explores pre-planned scaffolding versus interactional scaffolding, as well as the tensions and forces within the broader context that the teacher encounters while working with students in this bilingual educational environment. Classroom observations, teacher interviews, administration interviews, and artifacts were analyzed using methods borrowed from Grounded Theory.</p><p> Findings from this study highlight the characteristics of the Community of Practice created by the teacher in this classroom that include a focus upon encouragement, knowledge, organization, and literate habitus. Additionally, two visual models were created to present the data including: &ldquo;Scaffolding Episodes in the Development of Biliteracy,&rdquo; to illustrate the task-oriented support provided by the teacher, and &ldquo;Centripetal versus Centrifugal Forces,&rdquo; to present the forces and tensions that the teacher faced within the historical phases of the Spanish Language Immersion Program.</p><p>

<p> The purpose of this study was to investigate teacher&rsquo;s roles and children&rsquo;s responses during small group read aloud with fiction and nonfiction literature in one preschool classroom. This instrumental case study draws from three theoretical orientations: sociocultural theory, reader response theory, and the emergent literacy perspective. Two preschool teachers and 19 children were video and audio recorded as they participated in small group read aloud events that occurred during choice time in their classroom twice per day. Transcripts of interviews and small group read aloud sessions were analyzed. Analysis included open coding, axial coding, and constant-comparative techniques to reach data saturation.</p><p> Research findings suggest that teachers employed similar and different scaffolding and modeling strategies when reading fictional and nonfiction literature, differentiated instruction for younger and older children, as well as responded aesthetically to fictional stories and efferently to nonfiction texts. Children utilized a range of meaning making strategies and responded both aesthetically and efferently to both types of text. Older children served as peer models for their younger classmates.</p><p> This study has several implications. Future research should investigate read aloud with fiction and nonfiction literature with different populations of teachers and children, repeated readings of nonfiction literature, and large versus small group read aloud in preschool. Implications for preschool teachers include careful selection of fiction and nonfiction literature, employing additional reading strategies for nonfiction, differentiating instruction for younger and older preschoolers, and reading across the efferent-aesthetic continuum with both types of text. Preschool administrators should make reading instruction with fiction and nonfiction texts a priority. Early childhood teacher education faculty can support preservice teachers&rsquo; capacities to read fiction and nonfiction literature with children.</p><p>

<p> This was an evaluation of the pilot program Paws for Reading along with other children&rsquo;s programs ages 5&ndash;11 or Kindergarten through fifth grade, according to their mission in a Midwest public library setting. Public libraries were incorporating more programming into the schedules for the benefit of the patrons and growing communities. In this mixed- methods study, the researcher created instruments including a survey, questionnaire, and observation form to evaluate library programming. The library patrons, staff, and managers gave their opinions about the children&rsquo;s programs provided by the library and the Pilot Program Paws for Reading. Questions included preference in library schedule, program visitation, and if the programs were developed with the library&rsquo;s mission in mind. Growing concerns stemmed from understanding if the programs were following the Midwest public library&rsquo;s mission, and liked by both patrons and staff. Additional concerns were centered on finding best timing of presentations, whether that was time of year or day. Another concern was understanding how the patron received news and updates from the library. No distinct study has been done in regards to the evaluation of a pilot program and the evaluation of similar children&rsquo;s library programs. </p><p> To answer the researcher questions the investigator created evaluation tools for managers, staff, and patrons to respond to after attending the programs. A researcher created observation tool was used to examine the presentation, patrons, and staff during set up, program time, and clean up. The groups evaluated can help determine the usefulness, quality and longevity of the program presented. Multiple themes were represented during the evaluation and included the Midwest public library&rsquo;s mission for the community, convenience of the program, and if the respondents believed the program should continue or if there were changes needed. The program evaluation, according to the hypothesis, declared that participation rates for Paws for Reading was expected to significantly increase compared to the other programs implemented during the evaluation period. In addition, perceptions and perspectives of library programs from managers, staff, parents and caregivers were used to determine if the children&rsquo;s programs were successful and aligned with the library&rsquo;s mission. The results did not yield a significant increase in attendance, but positive and helpful reactions from patrons and staff resulted in an evaluation process that was beneficial for the library and community.</p><p>

<p> Knowing how to promote the literacy success of all students can be elusive to those aspiring to be school leaders and/or principals. The purpose of this study was to identify the perceived instructional leadership behaviors of principals in schools that experience success in reading on standardized tests. The researcher studied these behaviors by examining school principals&rsquo; instructional leadership as identified by the Professional Standards for Educational Leaders and the Principal Instructional Management Rating Scale. Student reading proficiency was measured using the ACT Aspire proficiency rating score. </p><p> Perceptions of principals were gathered from nine principals and 109 teachers in elementary schools in a district in the southeastern region of the United States. The study was a non-experimental, descriptive, mixed methods research design to identify principals&rsquo; leadership behaviors and to determine whether there was a relationship between leadership behavior and student reading proficiency. </p><p> A strong positive correlation was found between principal instructional leadership and reading performance on the ACT Aspire, <i>r</i> = 0.722, <i>p</i> = 0.018. Principals substantiated these findings with responses to interview questions that aligned to the leadership dimensions examined in the study. Their responses revealed that they implement research-based instructional leadership strategies on a regular basis. Findings also provide confirmation of the widely held assumption that principals are the &ldquo;difference-makers&rdquo; in reading achievement in their schools. Further, the findings from this study add to the literature by linking instructional leadership behaviors to student reading achievement. The researcher presents an implementation plan to provide principals with training on the instructional leadership behaviors needed to positively impact student reading achievement. The implementation plan may be customized to meet the needs of any organization. </p><p>

<p> Reading is a fundamental skill that is used throughout life and across various content areas as a means of attaining knowledge. Students struggle with the ability to understand written text. The purpose of this quantitative quasi-experimental study was to determine the degree of effectiveness of computer-assisted instruction on improving the reading achievement skills of eighth-grade students. The sample drawn from a South Florida middle school was randomly assigned to two groups of students and tested at the beginning and end of a nine-week period with the Diagnostic Assessment Test in order to assess growth. One group of students received computer-assisted instruction. The second group of students received traditional instruction. Reading achievement scores of students in the group that received the computer-assisted instruction were lower than those of their peers at pretest. The reading achievement score of both groups of students were the same at posttest. The use of computer-assisted instruction during reading instruction did not result in an increase of reading comprehension. Implications, limitations, and recommendations based on these findings are provided.</p><p>

The purposes of this investigation were to: (1) Determine the differences in the average performance of freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors at a predominantly Black institution in critical reading. (2) Determine if the instrument, Fallacies in Reading Test (FRT), is reliable and valid for freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors at a predominantly Black institution. / The data obtained from this study resulted from the administration of the Fallacies in Reading Test (FRT). The test questions dealt with seven reasoning fallacies: appealing to conformity, improper data, stereotyping, false authority, either-or, part-whole, and sexism. The test's readability is approximately on the fourth grade level. / The population for the study consisted of 501 students from a predominantly Black university with an approximately even distribution of students in each classification. / The results were analyzed by performing a factor analysis using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) (Nie, Hull, Jenkins, Steinbrenner, and Brent, 1975) and by using a One-Way Analysis of Variance Test (ANOVA) at the.05 level. / There are no significant differences among the mean scores of freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors. The Fallacies in Reading Test (FRT) is reliable and valid for freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors at a predominantly Black institution. / Since the Fallacies in Reading Test (FRT) was determined to be reliable and valid, it may possibly be useful as a diagnostic and instructional tool for colleges and universities. Because there were no significant differences in the critical reading ability among freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors, there appears to be a need for more emphasis on improving the critical reading skills of students attending traditionally Black colleges. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 48-12, Section: A, page: 3085. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1987.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Delaware, 2009. / Principal faculty advisor: Charles MacArthur, School of Education. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M. Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 80-88).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Dept. of History, 2008. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on Feb. 10, 2010). Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 70-06, Section: A, page: . Adviser: John Hanson.

Thesis (M.S. in Education)--Shenandoah University, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references.