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. / PROBLEM: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship of high school readers' attitudes and reading comprehension abilities to critical reading responses. The two topics of communism and Negro racism were chosen for the articles about which critical reading responses were to be made. PROCEDURE: Four articles were written on each topic to provide information upon which students could make judgments. A set of questions consisting of three types, fact-opinion, interpretation of conclusions, and evaluation of arguments, was constructed for each article. Attitude scales on each of the topics were also constructed. A test-retest procedure verified their reliability. Standardized tests administered to the population were: the NelsonDenny Reading Test, Revised, Form A; the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal, Revised, Form YM; the Otis Quick-Scoring Mental Ability Test: New Edition, Gamma Test. The experimental population comprised 270 students, 145 boys and 125 girls, in ten college preparatory English classes in grade eleven. The author administered the attitude scales and the standardized tests. After completion of the testing the classroom English teachers presented the articles and questions on alternate days over a period of three weeks. The topics were also alternated. Each student responded to every question [TRUNCATED] / 2031-01-01

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 purpose of this study was to determine the effect of metacognitive strategy reading instruction on sixth grade students' content reading comprehension. Forty-one students in two sixth grade social studies classes participated in the study. Twenty students in the treatment social studies class were taught the purpose and value, as well as the techniques of self-monitoring of the summarizing strategy to help them recall and organize key information from their social studies textbook. Twenty-one students in the control group were taught summarizing as a cognitive reading strategy without the metacognitive components of value, purpose, and selfmonitoring. The two social studies classes had no significant differences on pre-test measures of formal and informal reading comprehension. After a 1 0-week study period, the posttest results of the two groups were compared to determine the effects of the strategy instruction on the students' content reading comprehension. Significant differences were found on the posttest scores of metacognitive strategy knowledge and informal reading comprehension measures between the treatment and the control group that could be attributed to the metacognitive strategy instruction. Metacognitive strategy instruction was the most effective in increasing the reading comprehension of high-ability treatment students, although it also increased the content comprehension of the low and average ability readers. These findings suggest that metacognitive strategy instruction including the value, purpose, and self-monitoring of the summarizing strategy is more effective in increasing reading comprehension than the summarizing strategy alone. Students in the treatment group were observed beginning to use the summarizing strategy independently in their social studies class. Thirteen students in each class were interviewed about their use of reading strategies, their strengths and weaknesses as readers, and their opinion and approaches to the social studies textbook. These same students were observed reading the social studies textbook using a think-aloud procedure and in their social studies class, to better determine if there were any differences between strategies mentioned and those used in the process of reading. Students in both the control and treatment groups mentioned the use of more pre-reading strategies than they actually used while reading. These students used more during and after reading strategies while reading in their social studies class. / 2031-01-01

This study is a mixed methods analysis of reading processes and language experiences of deaf and hearing readers. The sample includes four groups each with fifteen adults—identified as: deaf/high-achieving readers, deaf/struggling/non-academic readers, hearing/high-achieving readers, and hearing/non-academic readers. The purpose of this study is to identify factors related to reading achievement and to explore themes that emerge in the language experience and reading behaviors. The quantitative measures of the study are: a background demographics form, reading comprehension assessment, phonological skills assessment, metacognition assessment and think-aloud discussion with a reading strategy checklist where readers are guided through the process of decoding and interpreting the scene from a play. Scores from the reading comprehension assessment are correlated with other assessments and demographic statistics to identify factors of achievement. Similarities and differences between groups of readers are tested with one-way ANOVAs to identify mean differences in scores according to achievement level (skilled/struggling) and hearing status (deaf/hearing). Qualitative data are measured by collecting, reviewing and identifying shared themes in the transcripts of reading background interview and think-aloud discussions (open coding), relating codes and categories (axial coding), and determining a central theme (selective category). Results shows that deaf high-achieving readers perform at similar levels as hearing high-achieving readers, and that for all participants, phonology and metacognition are related to reading achievement; there are similarities and differences in their conceptualization of language; and access to varied instructional strategies and meaningful language experiences is an overarching theme in effective reading.

Typescript, etc. / Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

Thesis (D.Min.)--Liberty Theological Seminary and Graduate School, 2007.

Thesis (M.A.)--Ohio State University, 1974. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 43-45). Available online via OhioLINK's ETD Center

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 1985. / Vita. Bibliography: leaves [155]-168.

Research supports that comprehension is a vital component of reading and life-long literacy, and there are many instructional approaches for teaching reading comprehension. Literature circles are a popular approach which are widely used but have not yet been studied empirically. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of participation in literature circles on the reading comprehension of middle school students. More specifically, the study examined whether there was a difference in the reading comprehension scores of students after participating in literature circles versus after participating in directed reading activity, and whether there were interactions of type of instruction and students' overall reading achievement levels. A mixed design using split-plot ANOVA was used to examine the within-subject variable of treatment, and the between-subject variables of class period, assessments (or passages used), and overall reading achievement levels, as well as determine interactions among the variables. Eighty six eighth-grade students (65% male, 35%female) in a suburban public middle school in the southeastern United States participated in the eight-week study. By class period, students were randomly placed in literature circle groups for four weeks and also participated in whole-class directed reading activity for four weeks. Students read one short story each week and comprehension was assessed with corresponding cloze passages. The reading scores indicated there were no significant differences between the two types of instruction. However, results were statistically significant for all interactions (treatment and passages, treatment and class period, and treatment and overall reading achievement). In addition, when the data were analyzed by overall reading ability it can be argued that the findings have practical significance. Evidence suggests that students with low overall reading achievement levels may not respond to literature circles as positively as other students, and that students with high overall reading achievement may respond more favorably. Overall, literature circles appear to have promise as an instructional approach to reading, especially for non-struggling readers. The discussion expands on the limitations of this study as well as focuses on the need for further scientifically-based research on this popular reading approach.

Thesis (M.Ed.)--Regis University, Denver, Colo., 2006. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on Feb. 14, 2007). Includes bibliographical references.

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