Thesis (Ed.D.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / This randomized, blinded study addressed whether and to what extent the methodology by which information-literacy skills instruction occurred impacted on first-year medical students' information-retrieval skills, perceptions regarding the use of library and information resources, and performance outcomes on a MEDLINE searching exercise. A group of 128 first year medical students enrolled in a problem-based learning (PBL) course participated in information-retrieval skills training. Students were randomly assigned to one of two experimental groups. The control group participated in a traditional, instructor-lead information-retrieval training session, while the intervention group participated in identical instruction via a Web-based tutorial. Data were gathered from several sources including: a) a pre-instruction survey and pre-test, b) the evaluation of students' MEDLINE searches, c) a post-instruction survey and post-test, and d) a three month follow-up survey measuring students' use of information resources in support of PBL activities during the previous semester. MEDLINE searching assignments directly linked to the PBL patient cases were electronically captured, blinded, and independently evaluated and scored by three reference librarians, allowing for a comprehensive analysis of students' searching skills. Results provided a picture of students' MEDLINE skills, information usage behaviors, and attitudes. Statistical tests showed that intervention group students scored an average of 2.84 out of a possible 4 points on the MEDLINE exercise, and control group students scored an average of 2.60 (P = .065). Follow-up data collected three months post-training examined students' MEDLINE searching behaviors. Results indicated that 55% of control group students performed six or more MEDLINE searches during the semester, while 38% of intervention group students used MEDLINE six or more times. The corresponding P value of .053 approached statistical significance. Librarians can use this information in designing and implementing more effective learning modules for both on-campus and off-campus learners, appropriately incorporating the use of Web-based tutorials into existing educational programs, and expanding programming opportunities to include the integrated use of Web-based and traditional learning modules. / 2031-01-01

This study builds on research conducted in classrooms by proposing that literacy happens in a range of school spaces that educational research has traditionally left unattended, such as lunchrooms, hallways, and libraries. Libraries are one space, of many, in schools where literacy “happens,” despite the paucity of information about this complex space. This study explored the library as situated within a disagreement about how libraries should be utilized—either as democratic sites that provide access to a range of texts, or as sites of direct instruction in standards-aligned informational literacy. Informed by a spatial framework, this study investigated one school library to trace which literacy practices circulated in the space through observations, spatial maps, semi-structured interviews, and artifact analysis. Findings included the library functioning as a liminal space, where competing ideas about literacy circulated. Focal students demonstrated dominant notions of what “counted” as literacy, in that they engaged in discourses that were privileged within established conceptions of schooling. However, there were also pockets of playfulness, where the space began to “crack” and gave way to a construction that was fluid, interrupting expected literacy practices. In a context where classrooms continue to become constrained, alongside reduced funding for library programs, the diversity of literacy experiences that students can encounter decreases. Discovering what is possible in one space can offer fruitful discussion around the potential of school libraries, and other spaces for literacy, to strengthen literacy experiences in schools for our students who are most implicated by narrow definitions of literacy.

This study explores how a small group of adult literacy facilitators (ALFs) working on a pilot literacy project in a municipality in the Western Highlands of Guatemala, develop their practice. Although many reports have discussed the problems of adult literacy work in the Global South and the shortcomings of available training, very little research has been carried out directly with ALFs, examining the processes through which they develop their educational practice. The thesis reports on a pilot programme which took a dialogic approach inspired by the work of Paulo Freire and with an emphasis on context, meaning and social practice drawn from New Literacy Studies. Learning activities focussed on personal expression and writing as the communication of meaning. Texts for reading were produced from participant writing. The ALFs were trained and supported in implementing the new programme. The research uses Systematisation of Experiences, a Latin American methodology linked to popular education which involves project participants in a collective process of reflection on their experiences, leading to the generation of new knowledge both of the internal dynamics of the programme and the work of the project in relation to the wider context. Bourdieu's concepts of field, habitus, capital and doxa are used to analyse the socio-political setting in which the pilot programme was situated, observing the positions of the research participants within the field of adult literacy in Guatemala. ALFs operate at the margins of the field, subjected to the power structure of the national literacy programme while having no influence on decisions affecting their work. The thesis traces the trajectories of the individual ALFs through the pilot programme and reports on the collaborative work which enabled the growth of trust and a joint sense of purpose. The narrative form attempts to present the multiple voices of participants in dialogue, emphasising the collective processes of knowledge generation. In spite of the difficulties of working with a radically different approach, ALFs supported each other to make important changes in their practice. They observed how participants in their groups responded to the pilot activities and began to question the traditional methods endorsed by the organisation they worked for. Offered the space to design and develop new activities, they demonstrated the ability to make innovative interventions. However, the ALFs felt unsupported by the national adult literacy programme they work for, which has no policy or strategy to develop a professional approach to adult literacy by investing in the training and retention of ALFs. The thesis concludes with the ALFs' views of how the organisation is failing them and what is needed to improve the provision.

Orientador: Maria Regina Guarnieri / Banca: Alda Junqueira Marin / Banca: Dirce Charara Monteiro / Banca: Marieta Gouvêa de Oliveira Penna / Banca: Edson do Carmo Inforsato / Resumo: O objetivo desta tese consiste na organização, análise e síntese dos conhecimentos produzidos pelas pesquisas em relação às práticas e aos saberes dos professores alfabetizadores, na perspectiva de que a experiência na docência representa uma das fontes de constituição dessas práticas e saberes, ao lado das trajetórias pessoais de vida e de formação para a profissão, e são, portanto, capazes de gerar subsídios para uma reflexão acerca da alfabetização. Esta tese busca, desse modo, responder aos seguintes questionamentos: a partir das pesquisas é possível conhecer quais as práticas e os saberes que fazem parte da cultura alfabetizadora dos professores? As pesquisas revelam elementos que influenciam a constituição dessas práticas e saberes? A partir das pesquisas é possível identificar aspectos de reprodução e inovação nas práticas e saberes dos alfabetizadores? As pesquisas evidenciam o papel das práticas pedagógicas no processo de consolidação dos saberes docentes? Verifica-se a existência de uma produção constante de pesquisas sobre as práticas e os saberes na alfabetização, cujo conhecimento produzido merece ser organizado, identificando-se não só as tendências teóricas e metodológicas dessas pesquisas na área da educação, mas também ressaltando suas contribuições para as reflexões sobre a alfabetização das crianças nos anos iniciais do Ensino Fundamental. Realiza-se uma pesquisa bibliográfica, na qual são analisadas teses e dissertações produzidas entre 2005 a 2009 nos programas de Pós-Graduação em Educação do Estado de São Paulo com foco nas práticas e saberes de professores alfabetizadores. A análise das pesquisas foi feita a partir de autores que tratam das práticas e saberes docentes, entre eles destacam-se Gimeno Sacristán, Jackson, Charthier... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: The aim of this thesis is to organize, synthesize and analyze some results of academic researches concerning to both literacy teacher's practices and knowledge. The experience in teaching constitutes a source of practices and knowledge, beside teacher's individual way of life and profissional education, therefore, those are elements that can together provide important clues to thinking about literacy. Seeking this objective, the study presents a survey in what are under analysis MS Theses and PhD Dissertations focusing literacy teacher's practices and knowledge produced from 2005 to 2009 in Education Graduate Programs of Sao Paulo state. After the reading of those works, the thesis seeks to answer the following questions: is it possible to recognize what practices and knowledge belong to the teacher's literacy culture? Do the researches contain elements that are able to influence the establishing of those practices and knowledge? Do the researches show the role of educational practices in the consolidating process of teaching knowledge? In the period from 2005 to 2009 there is a very large academic production about literacy practices and knowledge, whose acknowledge might be organized, looking for both to identify theoretical and methodological tendencies and to stand out their contribution to the thought about children literacy in the early years of Elementary School,. The analysis of researches was done by the thought of some authors who approach teacher's practices and knowledge, such as Gimeno Sacristán, Jackson, Charthier, Mercado, Tardif, Borges, Gauthier, et al, among others. The acquired results, that wereanalyzed and organized in frames, tables and illustrations, confirm the hypothesis that have led this thesis according to the literacy teacher's practices and knowledge, already identified by the... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Doutor

This program evaluation studied Effective Behavioral and Instructional Support Systems (EBISS), a Response to Intervention (RTI) initiative focused at changing district leadership behaviors to close the policy-research-practice gap and improve students' reading outcomes at third grade. A pre/post quasi-experimental comparison using a matched group design evaluated the four-year initiative. EBISS districts (n = 25) were matched to non-EBISS districts n = 25) by important district variables of: (a) size (small, medium, and large) and (b) region (coast, central, east, south, and valley), (c) students receiving Free and Reduced Meals (FARM), (d) students who were white and non-white, (e) students who were male and female, (f) years of teacher's experience, and (g) third grade Oregon Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (OAKS) scores. The aim of this research was to answer two questions. The first asked whether the performance of students in non-EBISS and EBISS districts were significantly different when measured by their percent of students passing the third grade reading OAKS in 2006-07 (EBISS pre-treatment year) and 2010-11 (EBISS post-treatment year). The second question analyzed whether EBISS districts with high implementation scores made statistically significantly different gains from EBISS districts with low implementation scores on their percent of students who passed the third grade OAKS reading assessment from 2006-07 to 2012-11. The results of the first research question indicated no significant differences for group (p = .312) or time (p = .488) between EBISS and non-EBISS districts scores on the OAKS reading test at third grade. Similarly, the second research question results indicated no significant differences (p = .452) between EBISS districts with high and low implementation scores on the OAKS reading scores at third grade. Findings are discussed in relation to: (a) the challenge when measuring administrator effectiveness based on distal outcomes, (b) confounding variables that affected internal and external validity, and (c) how this study informs the future design of evaluation research, in the pre-implementation year of an initiative, so variables that are know to be effective in improving student outcomes can be replicated.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / The focus of this study was to create a living portrait of the work life ofliteracy coaches, a new and evolving occupation for staff developers. Coaches with expertise in literacy curriculum, instruction, and assessment have been hired to work with teachers and administrators in urban elementary schools and help them to improve instruction for urban youth. Coaches, teachers, and principals in four northeastern cities participated in this study. Coaches were observed, interviews were conducted, and participants were asked to provide samples of student work, schedules, or other documents that were used to triangulate data obtained from observation and interviews. Of the five coaches in the study (three part-time, external coaches and two fulltime, internal coaches), reports indicate that two of the part-time coaches were most successful. Supervisory or administrative responsibilities, particularly identification and remediation of problematic teachers, created an obstacle for both of the full-time coaches. It created the perception among other members of the faculty that the coaches were forcing a top-down agenda for change. The effectiveness of the principal as an instructional leader, the coaches' ability to manage their daily work, the personality of individual coaches, and process by which they choose to engage teachers also had an effect on their ability to promote change. The successful coaches appealed to the intrinsic motivation of teachers to improve instruction by explicitly demonstrating how some practices are beneficial to students. Having gained the initial commitment of teachers, the successful coaches focused on helping teachers to internalize strategies that would allow them to become more reflective about their practice and better able to adapt instruction to the diverse needs of their students. The successful coaches were working in districts with organized reform initiatives, and were working in schools with principals who were knowledgeable about, and dedicated to literacy reform. Their principals had created time for teacher collaboration and professional development to be part of the teachers' workday. / 2031-01-01

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This study compared the sustained effects of the Reading Recovery (RR) Program through the fourth grade. The research compared the reading performance of 1991-92 RR students who were discontinued with 4th grade-age students who received Chapter I services. The accessible population included 16 RR students matched with 16 comparison students on six variables: age, gender, ethnic identity, grade, and first grade CogAT score.;The two groups were assessed on five variables: Text reading level; the ITBS vocabulary, comprehension, and spelling subtests; and frequency of placement in special education. Using a nonequivalent-comparison group design, data were analyzed by the t-test, the chi-square, and Mann-Whitney U test. Five hypotheses were tested at the.05 significance level. Several limitations should be considered when interpreting the results of this study. A small accessible population (n = 16) in one school system formed the experimental group. The post-test only design matched subjects to create a comparison group that was post-hoc, nonequivalent in nature.;Student achievement of the nonequivalent groups was compared on a number of variables that included reading comprehension, reading vocabulary, spelling, text reading level, and placement in special education. The standardized tests and oral reading test found no statistical significant differences between the two groups on any of the dependent variables. The findings suggest that future research should investigate the effect of continued support and monitoring of RR students beyond the first grade in sustaining learning gains.

My teaching experiences raised questions about the nature of literacy, especially about its relationship with education and schooling. Common sense, straightforward definitions of literacy failed to address those questions adequately, and that inadequacy led to the study which culminates in this thesis. In Pursuit of Literacy focuses on literacy in order to explore answers to those questions. It does so first by establishing a problematized understanding of literacy, then by examining research into the implications of such an understanding, and finally by analyzing the historical link between literacy and schooling in the United States with that understanding as a basis. This thesis arrives at its initial problematized understanding by considering historical and contemporary definitions of literacy and standards for measuring it, revealing that context plays a central role in these definitions and standards. This work then posits a literacy uncertainty principle, analogous to Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle in physics, emphasizing the definer's role and purpose as necessary elements in any understanding of literacy itself. A view of literacy as a contextualized human activity rather than an abstract and narrowly defined concept emerges from this problematization. This study then examines some implications of this view. Three metaphors commonly identified with literacy provide a basis for analyzing these implications. Finally, literacy as schooling, a fourth metaphor is considered in an historical context, tracing possible sources of confusion between the demands of schooling and those of literacy. The conclusions drawn here help clarify the relationship between schools and literacy. / Graduation date: 1995

Thesis (M.Ed.)--York University, 2003. Graduate Programme in Education. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 187-196). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL:http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url%5Fver=Z39.88-2004&res%5Fdat=xri:pqdiss&rft%5Fval%5Ffmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&rft%5Fdat=xri:pqdiss:MQ99297