Thesis (M.Ed.)--Regis University, Denver, Colo., 2006. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on Nov. 20, 2006).

Thesis (M. Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 93-100) Also available in print.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2009. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 347-390).

Thesis (M.Ed.)--Bowling Green State University, 2007. / Document formatted into pages; contains vii, 87 p. Includes bibliographical references.

The current study evaluated the implementation of evidence-based reading interventions using a multifaceted implementation measurement approach. Multilevel modeling was used to examine how three direct measures of implementation related to each other and to student academic outcomes and to examine patterns of implementation across time. Eight instructional groups were video taped weekly for nine weeks, and pre- and post-test assessments were given to 31 at-risk kindergartners from two schools using established evidence-based practices. Each implementation measure represented a different measurement approach (i.e., discrete behavioral measurement, global ratings) and focused on different aspects of implementation (e.g., structural, process, or multicomponent elements). Overall, results of this analysis indicated that (a) the implementation tools were highly correlated with each other, (b) only the multicomponent tool independently accounted for group differences, (c) together the multicomponent and process-oriented measures appear to account for additional variance in group differences, and (d) there were no significant trends in implementation across time as measured by any of the tools, however there were significant differences in trends over time between groups when using the structural measure. Implications for research and practice are discussed, including the importance of taking a multifaceted approach to measuring implementation and aligning implementation measures with program theory.

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

abstract: How hard should the books be in elementary small-group reading? This study explored text difficulty for bilingual students reading below grade level in third grade. Using a convergent parallel mixed methods design, I used qualitative methods to analyze students’ engagement and discussion during small groups and single case design to evaluate students’ fluency and reading comprehension after reading and discussing texts in small groups. Six Spanish-English bilingual students, split into two groups of three, participated in twelve, 30-minute, small-group reading sessions. Students in Group 1 read approximately one year below grade level, and students in Group 2 read approximately a year and a half below grade level. In six of the twelve sessions, students read and discussed texts matched to their reading levels, and in the other six they read and discussed texts one year ahead of their reading levels. I assigned matched and difficult texts across the twelve days by blocked randomization. I analyzed video transcripts of each session to understand students’ engagement (focus of engagement, strategies, and interaction) and discussion (inferential vs. literal responses, instances of verbal participation). At the end of each session, students reread and retold the book the group had read and discussed that day to produce a fluency (words correct per minute) and comprehension (ideas correctly retold) score. Findings were complex and revealed that different levels of texts have both advantages and drawbacks. Key findings included: For fluency, half of the students benefited from matched texts. The other half read difficult texts with similar fluency to matched texts. For comprehension, text difficulty did not matter for anyone except one student, and for him it only had an effect on 3 of 12 days. Group 2 engaged much more with texts and ideas in difficult books and with pictures in matched books. Group 1 had more inferential/interpretive responses with matched texts, and Group 2 had more inferential and interpretive responses with difficult texts. Most students participated evenly regardless of the difficulty of the text under discussion. However, two students talked more when discussing matched texts. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Learning, Literacies and Technologies 2018

The purpose of this master’s thesis was to study literacy practices in a reading group of nine women discussing fiction in Swedish sign language. The following research questions were examined: What patterns of action have taken form in this practice and what meaning is attributed to these patterns? How can this reading group be understood in the light of Päivi Fredäng’s research on identity and cultural changes in the Swedish Deaf world? How do the participants handle using two different languages and modalities during the discussions, and to what extent can this be understood using Mary Louise Pratts concept contact zone? Finally, the last question aims to explore the reasons behind the very scarce number of reading groups in Sweden discussing fiction in sign language. An ethnographic study was conducted through one participant observation and three semi-structured interviews face to face recorded on camera, one email interview and one recorded phone interview. The interviews in sign language were translated into written Swedish. What Peplow terms a ‘mimetic’ reading practice was the most dominant way of discussing literature, whereas thematic or synthetic reading practices were less frequent.  The participants found that the reading group broadened their reading habits and that the discussions sometimes had bibliotherapeutic elements. They often discussed issues related to the oppression of women whereas questions related to Deaf people and sign language were not often discussed. The reading group could be understood in the light of the changes that the Swedish Deaf world, and society at large have gone through over the last decades. The collective Deaf identity is more frequently based on shared values concerning sign language rather than ideological standpoints. More individualized perspectives and interest-based networks based on sign language become more common. This falls under what Fredäng describes as co-culture where deafness loses its superior position in the identity. The participants’ audiological and linguistic backgrounds were diverse, only around half of them had Swedish sign language as their first language. The literacy practices were to a great extent influenced by the diversity concerning the participants’ backgrounds. Some of the informants said that one main reason for joining was to improve their skills in sign language. To others, the reading group seemed to strengthen their skills in written Swedish. One aspect of the literacy practices of this reading group was language preservation, where the participants helped each other to a more ‘pure’ sign language. Using the theoretical framework developed in New Literacy Studies, the lack of reading groups discussing fiction in sign language could be understood as a result of the literacy practices used in the Swedish Deaf education system that followed the Milan Conference that took place in 1880. The conference led to the banning of sign language in favour of oral methods. Contemporary literacy practices in the Swedish Deaf world can be traced back to these practices in the education system. Further research is needed to study literacy practices among Deaf people in Sweden, for example among younger generations that have taken part of a bi-lingual education. This is a two years master’s thesis in Library and Information Science.

This essay aims to examine how reading interventions are used  in Swedish elementary schools. The two initial questions examine how many schools that implement reading interventions individually and in small groups with students with reading difficulties and which teaching methods and reading programs that are being used for these interventions. The third question considers which reasons the special needs teachers and special education needs teachers states for choosing  methods and programs for students with reading difficulties.  To answer these questions a survey with special needs teachers and special education needs teachers was completed. The results indicate that 52,1% of the elementary schools in this survey use intensive reading interventions based on phonics. The result also indicates that decoding is the most frequent content in reading interventions and that many different methods and programs are used in reading interventions, both digital and analogue. Finally, there are different reasons for why a program or method has been chosen in the different schools.  The most common cause stated, is that the chosen method has shown good results in the past for students with reading difficulties. Some respondents stated research as a cause for their chosen method, but the majority did not.

Increased accountability in contemporary public elementary schools requires that teachers provide evidence they are using research-based strategies that reinforce skills assessed on standardized tests. There is a need to provide empirical evidence that literature circles can reinforce skills assessed on these tests. A literature circle is a research-based strategy that is common in language arts classrooms. This study investigates the connection between these skills and student discussion that takes place during literature circles. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of skill-focused minilessons on students' independent use of reading skills. The study investigated whether application of skill-focused minilessons prior to literature circles would have an effect on students' independent use of reading skills within student discussions during literature circles. Sixteen students participated in the study. The study also investigated the impact that minilessons prior to literature circles had on students' scores on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) in reading. Students were randomly assigned to the researcher's fifth grade class in the 2008/2009 school year. All students read the same material and received the same treatment. During the course of the study, students first took the FCAT diagnostic in reading and then engaged in five literature circle meetings, each preceded by a minilesson. Students then engaged in five literature circles with a different book and without skill-focused minilessons, followed by the administration of the reading FCAT. The data, which included content analyses of transcriptions of students' discussion and the collection of FCAT scores, yielded several findings. / The two skills most commonly used by students in independent literature circles were analyzing character and discussing plot. The two least commonly used skills were describing conflict and using context clues. Each skill within student discussion.The way in which students transferred the use of these skills to literature circles not preceded by skill focused minilessons varied. Multiple modes of transfer were identified for each skill. A dependent t-test for the FCAT scores did not indicate a statistically significant increase in the use of the five skills identified for this study when minilessons preceded literature circles. / by Gail Kennedy. / Abstract page (p. v) has author's name as Gail Sigelakis. / Thesis (Ed.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2010. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2010. Mode of access: World Wide Web.