Thesis (M.Ed.)--Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, 1978. / Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 45-06, page: 2794.

No description available.

<p> The purpose of this correlational study was to determine whether a relationship existed between the physical and social elements of process quality within a preschool&rsquo;s language and early literacy environment and children&rsquo;s pre-reading and writing performance in the beginning of kindergarten in a rural school district. The study examined school readiness, quality preschool experiences, and early literacy development with theoretical concepts by Vygotsky providing the foundation for children&rsquo;s development. Four Keystone STAR preschools and ninety-seven kindergarten children participated in the study. Preschool observation data were collected utilizing the <i>Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale &ndash; Revised Edition (ECERS-R)</i> (Harms, Clifford, &amp; Cryer, 1998) and the <i>Early Language &amp; Literacy Classroom Observation (ELLCO) Pre-K </i>(Smith, Brady, &amp; Anastasopoulos, 2008). Assessment data pertaining to children&rsquo;s pre-reading and writing performance in the beginning of kindergarten were collected from the <i> Center for Improving the Readiness of Children for Learning and Education (CIRCLE)</i> (Landry, Assel, Williams, Zucker, Swank, &amp; Gunnewig, 2014), <i>Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) Next</i> (Good, Kaminski, Cummings et al., 2011), Concepts About Print tasks, and District Writing Samples scored using the <i>Conventions of Writing Developmental Scale</i> (Feldgus &amp; Cardonick, 1999). Demographic data were also collected about kindergarten participants to provide background information used for statistical analyses. Qualitative data were collected in the form of preschool observation notes and information reported on a <i> Response Survey for Participating Preschools.</i> Preschool observation data from the ECERS-R and ELLCO Pre-K revealed strengths and weaknesses in rating scores for elements of process quality related to language and literacy. Results of data analyses showed a significant relationship between the physical elements of process quality from the ELLCO Pre-K and children&rsquo;s performance on the <i>DIBELS Next.</i> Other factors that were found to have significant relationships included gender (female) with performance on the <i> CIRCLE</i> Rapid Letter Naming, gender (female) with performance on the <i>DIBELS Next,</i> and entry age to kindergarten with results from the <i>CIRCLE</i> PA Composite score. This study found the quality of preschool environments, among other factors, to contribute to children&rsquo;s early literacy development.</p>

No description available.

No description available.

<p> The overarching goal of this study was to obtain the perceptions of 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th grade English Language Arts teachers of their students&rsquo; reading skills, specifically comprehension and fluency, and those students&rsquo; readiness for high school English. The study proposed a comprehensive conceptual model of effective strategies reading teachers use and what prepared middle school students have in order to matriculate into high school. This research advanced the discussion of basic skills students need to matriculate into high school ELA and what hinders their matriculation. A mixed methods study with a threefold purpose was conducted. First, the study explored and described the perceptions of teachers of middle school students&rsquo; reading skills specifically those skills associated with comprehension and fluency. Second, it explored and discussed if middle school students exhibited sufficient basic skills associated with comprehension and fluency in ELA to matriculate into high school courses and succeed. Third, the study explored and described teachers&rsquo; perceptions of essential skills needed to transfer into high school ELA. Student readiness was explored in six focus groups with 25 teacher participants and three district supervisor interviews. Teachers and supervisors provided data on student readiness and skill deficiencies and proficiencies in comprehension and fluency. Data collection methods included teacher survey and district supervisor and teacher interviews. Findings indicated that student readiness for high school ELA is average; students&rsquo; basic skills in comprehension and fluency is also average; and students&rsquo; are lacking in basic skills needed to succeed in high school ELA courses. Narrative and descriptive statistics detailed students&rsquo; preparation, students&rsquo; reading skills, and students&rsquo; comprehension and fluency.</p>

When students are learning to read, the materials supplied typically will include extensive illustrations. The implicit assumption is that the inclusion of such illustrations will assist students in learning to read. Cognitive load theory suggests that this way of formatting learning materials may not be maximally effective as the inclusion of illustrations with written text constitutes redundant information that may interfere with learning. If working memory resources are devoted to the illustrations rather than the text, as is likely with young children, those resources will be unavailable to decipher the text. The elimination of redundant illustrations may thus enhance learning to read. Three experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of including illustrations in beginning reading materials. Experiment 1 compared reading materials consisting solely of simple prose passages with materials consisting of the same passages plus informative illustrations depicting the content of each passage. Reading proficiency improved more under the no illustrations condition. Experiment 2 compared the informative illustrations with uninformative illustrations. Reading proficiency improved more using uninformative illustrations. Experiment 3 compared uninformative illustrations with no illustrations and found no significant differences between these conditions. These results were interpreted within a cognitive load theory framework. It was concluded that informative illustrations are redundant and so impose an extraneous working memory load that interferes with learning to read.

When students are learning to read, the materials supplied typically will include extensive illustrations. The implicit assumption is that the inclusion of such illustrations will assist students in learning to read. Cognitive load theory suggests that this way of formatting learning materials may not be maximally effective as the inclusion of illustrations with written text constitutes redundant information that may interfere with learning. If working memory resources are devoted to the illustrations rather than the text, as is likely with young children, those resources will be unavailable to decipher the text. The elimination of redundant illustrations may thus enhance learning to read. Three experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of including illustrations in beginning reading materials. Experiment 1 compared reading materials consisting solely of simple prose passages with materials consisting of the same passages plus informative illustrations depicting the content of each passage. Reading proficiency improved more under the no illustrations condition. Experiment 2 compared the informative illustrations with uninformative illustrations. Reading proficiency improved more using uninformative illustrations. Experiment 3 compared uninformative illustrations with no illustrations and found no significant differences between these conditions. These results were interpreted within a cognitive load theory framework. It was concluded that informative illustrations are redundant and so impose an extraneous working memory load that interferes with learning to read.

Research paper (M.A.)--Cardinal Stritch College--Milwaukee, 1968. / A research paper submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Education (Reading Specialist). Includes bibliographical references (38-39).

Research paper (M.A.)--Cardinal Stritch College--Milwaukee, 1968. / A research paper submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Education (Reading Specialist). Includes bibliographical references (38-39).