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Organized as a set of three manuscripts, this research draws attention to the academic learning experiences for adolescents with particular attention to adolescents with limited reading proficiency and the use of single case design research as a viable option for discovering solutions to a persisting research-to-practice gap in education. Data analyses included a systematic literature review with findings synthesized into themes using qualitative methods, a multiple probe single case design, a non-parametric statistical analysis, and effect size calculations. The first article is a systematic literature review on the relationship between oral reading fluency and reading comprehension for adolescent with limited reading proficiency (ALRP) in grades 6-12. The results of 22 studies were synthesized into five themes and results suggest that knowledge of an adolescent's ORF provides helpful information about his or her reading profile, but is not sufficient to evaluate instructional needs nor measure progress. The article concludes with a discussion on the envelopment of ORF within the Simple View of Reading specifically for adolescent readers as well as implications for practitioners, researchers, policymakers, and assessment developers. The second article presents the findings from a study on the influence of a word level intervention on multiple reading component skills. Six students in two different intervention classes in Virginia participated. The primary analysis was based on a single case design, specifically a multiple probe across participants and settings design. Visual analyses of baseline and intervention phase data indicated a functional relationship between the word level intervention and multiple reading component skills. Statistical analysis (Tau-U) supported this finding with aggregated small effect sizes (0.14 to 0.54) for word identification, accuracy, and automaticity, and one moderate effect size (.70) for prosody. Secondary analysis showed a significant effect for improved strategy knowledge and skill with a 0.90 effect size, but no statistically significant group effects for silent reading fluency and sentence comprehension. The third manuscript is a broad overview of adolescent literacy instructional recommendations and presents a vision for how all teachers contribute to the development of strategic learners when they support content learning through literacy-rich classroom environments. / Doctor of Philosophy / This research draws attention to the academic learning experiences for adolescents, with particular attention to adolescents with limited reading proficiency. The first article examines the relationship between oral reading fluency and reading comprehension for adolescent with limited reading proficiency (ALRP) in grades 6-12. Results suggest that knowledge of an adolescent's oral reading fluency (ORF) provides helpful information but is not sufficient to evaluate instructional needs nor measure progress. Discussion includes where ORF fits within the Simple View of Reading theory specifically for adolescent readers as well as implications for practitioners, researchers, policymakers, and assessment developers. The second article presents findings from a study on the influence of a reading intervention on multiple reading component skills of adolescents with limited reading proficiency. Six students in two different intervention classes in Virginia participated. Visual analyses of individual baseline and intervention phase data indicated a functional relationship between the reading intervention and multiple reading component skills. Additionally, there was a significant group effect for improved strategy knowledge and skill, but no statistically significant group effects for silent reading fluency nor sentence comprehension. Discussion includes limitations and implications for future research, intervention teacher practice and school improvement leaders. The third article gives a broad overview of adolescent literacy instructional recommendations and presents a vision for how all teachers contribute to the development of strategic learners when they support content learning through literacy-rich classroom environments.

The focus on this study was on improving the oral reading fluency of third grade students who struggle in reading. One third grade teacher and six of her students participated in this 4 week study that examined the effect on fluency of newspaper reading and various constructive reading and engagement activites. These six students were assigned to an Optimal Learning Model pull-out fluency instruction using the newspaper as text. Results from the Developmental Reading Assessment instrument reveal significantly improved effects in the number if miscues, correct words per minute, and prosody for the six students. From the results, it is evident that struggling readers benefit from high-quality fluency instruction.

The aim of the study was to investigate how teachers work with reading aloud. The aim also included examining their ideas about and motives for reading aloud. The study consisted of interviews with three teachers at the lower level of compulsory school along with observation of one of these teachers during a reading aloud session. The interviewed teachers work at three different schools in the same geographical area. The analytical tools chosen for the study were the theories of Rosenblatt. The three basic skills that Damber et al. showed children to develop through reading aloud were also used to interpret the result. The result showed that the teachers have two main purposes for the reading aloud sessions: relaxation and a structured occasion for learning. Two of the teachers use the project “A Reading Class”. The teachers say that the reading aloud creates a sense of community in the classroom when the children share the same reading experience. There are usually conversations during the sessions, but most conversations take place during the structured learning occasions. The teachers’ main motive for reading aloud is the ambition to develop an interest in books among the children, leading them into their own reading development. They want to give the children an entrance to the literary world.

This study investigated whether East Asian learners of English (n=8) studying in the US acquired more accurate intonation patterns (compared to native-speaker norms) after receiving five weeks of tutoring focusing on four basic intonation patterns (definite statements, wh-questions, yes/no questions, and tag questions) and using oral reading as the primary practice technique. The study also assessed the students' affective reaction to the teaching method through interviews. The study found that the learners significantly improved their intonational accuracy (based on the judgments of three native speakers who listened to single-sentence recordings [n=868] from questionnaires, exit interviews, and pre- and post-tests) and that they were generally amenable to the teaching technique.

The purpose of this study was to examine whether or not the method of reading (either aloud or silently) would affect the reading comprehension performance of left hemispheredamaged (LHD) and non-brain-damaged (NBD) subjects across inference levels using the Nelson Reading Skills Test (NRST) (Hanna, Schell, & Schreiner, 1977). The experimental group was comprised of fifteen subjects who had suffered a cerebrovascular accident (CVA) to the left hemisphere of the brain. Subjects were selected after they had demonstrated an adequate level of function on the Short Porch Index of Conununicative Ability (SPICA) (DiSimoni, Keith, & Darley, 1980), to perform the tasks required in this study. Subjects were then randomly assigned to either "left hemispheredamaged aloud reading" or "left hemisphere-damaged silent reading" subgroups. The non-brain-damaged (NBD) control group consisted of fifteen individuals with no known history of neurological impairment. Control group subjects were also randomly assigned to either the "non-brain damaged aloud reading" subgroup or the "non-brain damaged silent reading" subgroup. All subjects were administered the revised version of the Nelson Reading Skills Test (NRST) (1977), Form 4 of Level B. NRST test questions can be grouped into three categories representing literal, translational, and high levels of inference. Subjects were required to read five paragraphs and answer thirty-three questions pertaining to the reading material by pointing to the correct answer from a list of four choices. Subjects were allowed to refer back to the paragraph when attempting to answer test questions. Results revealed total NRST performance to be significantly better for NBD subjects. Within both experimental and control groups, no significant difference was found to exist between the test scores of the oral and silent reading subgroups. The research data did not reflect the expected error pattern of most errors occurring on high inference level questions and fewest errors on literal inferences for either group of subjects.

The ability to read is highly valued in American society and important for social and economic advancement. One of the best strategies to prevent reading difficulties is to build basic literacy skills, thereby ensuring that all children are readers early in their educational careers. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between third-grade students' oral reading rate and scores on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test. The present study examined the relationship between the independent variables of Curriculum-Based Measurement Reading (R-CBM), ethnicity and socioeconomic status and the dependent variable of performance on the reading portion of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) in 215 third-grade students. The data presented in this study were collected by the Florida Center for Reading Research (FCRR) as part of a larger assessment battery across three school districts and nine elementary schools in Florida. Student demographic variables as well as performance on three different types of oral reading probes (generic, content, and FCAT passages) were investigated in relation to each student's performance on the reading portion of the FCAT. Results of the current study were similar to investigations in other states; the correlations among the R-CBM probes and between all R-CBM probes and FCAT scores were high and statistically significant. These results indicate that student performance on any or all R-CBM probe types can be used to predict FCAT score. Ethnicity and SES were not significant predictors of FCAT score above R-CBM score. Implications for educators and specifically school psychologists are discussed including opportunities for school psychologists to train educational personnel in the use of R-CBM. As evidenced by the current study, R-CBM may help identify students who are at-risk for reading failure and FCAT failure so that intensive interventions can be implemented early and student progress frequently monitored.

English-language learners (ELLs) demonstrate lower levels of English reading proficiency than do native English-speaking students. Oral reading fluency (ORF), the number of words read correctly in 1 min, is one indicator of reading proficiency. Within second language (L2) reading research, there have been few studies of L2 ORF development. The purposes of this study were to: (a) model the trajectory (i.e., initial status and growth) of English ORF in Grades 2 and 3 for Spanish-speaking ELLs in bilingual education programs, and (b) determine the effect of a 4-year structured intervention in English language and reading on L2 ORF development. Data were archived from Project ELLA, a longitudinal, randomized study documenting ELLs' acquisition of English language and reading from kindergarten through third grade. Data included 1,470 observations of English ORF from 283 ELLs at 17 schools. Schools were randomly assigned to the intervention (n=8) or control (n=9) condition. In intervention schools, a one-way dual language program and a comprehensive ESL intervention were implemented. The intervention emphasized L2 oral language development in kindergarten and first grades, basic L2 reading skills in second grade, and content-area reading skills in third grade. In the control schools, the district's typical transitional bilingual education program and ESL curricula were implemented. L2 ORF was measured using DIBELS ORF on six occasions. Piecewise multilevel growth models were used for data analysis. In Grades 2 and 3, ELLs followed a two-stage linear growth trajectory in English ORF, with a large decrease in level between grades. Slope parameters were positive in both grades but decreased slightly in third grade. Participating in Project ELLA added 1.52 wcpm per month to students? ORF scores in Grade 2. Both intervention and control groups improved at the same rate in Grade 3; however, intervention students maintained the higher level of ORF that was attained during second grade. Therefore, the ELLA intervention accelerated L2 ORF growth in second grade, such that intervention students read with greater fluency compared to control students throughout second and third grades.

重複式閱讀法(repeated reading)最初在英語為母語的國家施行，藉由重複閱讀同一文章方式，達到認字自動化(automaticity)，用以提升閱讀的速度與理解度。多項實驗研究顯示，口語流暢度與閱讀能力有高度的正向相關，而重複式閱讀法能有效提升口語流暢度。此研究是為期十二週的同儕教導式閱讀教學法(peer-mediated repeated reading)運用於台灣北部一所國中英語課程中，參與者為二十八名八年級學生。以學校教科書內文章和學校採用的學習補充閱讀內容為學習教材。重複閱讀活動每週兩次，共二十四節活動。 此研究採個案研究法，選擇三組學習者作為觀察對象，以深入探討學習者於同儕教導式重複閱讀法中的學習過程，以及觀察探討關鍵事件(critical event)於學習的影響。資料蒐集包含質性資料：(1)課堂觀察記錄，(2)學生學習日誌，(3)四次個人訪談，以及(4)四次文章一分鐘口語閱讀正確字數(correct words read per minute)的量化資料。 根據三組個案研究得到的結果顯示，於國中英語課堂中實行同儕教導式閱讀教學法，對口語流暢度產生的學習機會為：(1)因累積的練習影響與斷句運用而導致口語速度的增加。(2)口語閱讀準確度的增加。同儕提供的口語錯誤糾正，學習者自身對於正確度的自覺提升，以及自我學習狀態監測對正確度提升有正向影響。(3)因閱讀速度增加的學習成果或指導同儕提高自我信心而提升的英語學習動機。而在運用同儕教導式閱讀教學法於課堂活動，可能遭遇到的挑戰為：(1)同儕無法提供糾正性回饋，導致口語錯誤一再重複。(2)因欲增加口語速度或因重複的過程無聊，而未清楚地唸出英文字彙的發音，隨意帶過。(3)過度依賴同伴提供的立即口語回饋，以及標示的中文注音符號來念出不會的單字。最後，依據本研究結果，針對此三項挑戰提出建議。並基於此研究中同儕教導式重複閱讀法對於口語流暢度產生正向的增進效果和提供的學習機會，建議於國中英語課堂中採用此學習法，有助於增進國中生口語能力。 / This study was conducted to determine affordances and challenges pertaining to peer-mediated repeated reading (RR) as a regular classroom activity in junior high schools. Although RR has been widely used in L1 countries as a method to develop oral reading fluency, it has only been studied by Taiwanese researchers in the last decade. However, limited research has been conducted regarding the implementation of RR in junior high school English classrooms. Therefore, this qualitative study was conducted to obtain further understanding of the impact of RR regarding the improvement of oral reading fluency among junior high school students. Changes in oral reading performance among 28 participants from a junior high school in Northern Taiwan were observed over the course of a 12-week peer-mediated RR program; furthermore, the learning processes among all participants, which featured three focused dyads, and the critical events experienced along with the impact of these events, were observed. The collected data included classroom observation notes and videos, students’ learning journals, four interviews, and quantitative oral reading rate data (correct words read per minute). The affordances of this method were determined as follows: (1) oral reading rates increased because of the effect of accumulated practice and more practice with sentence chunking; (2) oral reading accuracy was enhanced because participants were provided corrective feedback and developed a sense of accuracy; furthermore, some high achievers demonstrated an enhanced metacognitive ability; and (3) having a partner motivated the participants to learn and facilitated the development of a sense of self-competence during the RR sessions. The following challenges were also encountered: (1) repeated errors resulted from the lack of corrective feedback from partners, (2) careless oral reading owing to the pursuit of a higher oral reading rate or the boredom arising from repetition, and (3) overreliance on corrective feedback from partners and the use of Mandarin phonetic symbols to read out unknown words. Overall, the findings of this study suggested that the peer-mediated RR method could be effectively applied as a regular classroom activity in junior high schools to enhance the oral reading fluency of students.

Thesis (Ed. S.)--Miami University, Dept. of Educational Psychology, 2005. / Title from first page of PDF document. Document formatted into pages; contains [1], v, 61 p. Includes bibliographical references (p. 39-42).