To investigate the interaction of bottom-up and top-town processing on prose comprehension across age, a three-way analysis of variance repeated-measures design investigating age (fourth grade vs. eighth grade), text structure (expository vs. story), and schema (prior knowledge vs. no prior knowledge) on the dependent variable immediate and delayed recall was conducted. The dependent variable recall was measured by propositional count (interrater reliability r =.94). Significant main effects were found for grade, prior knowledge, and recall. Significant first-order interactions were found for Grade x Recall (p =.0266) and Grade x Prior Knowledge (p =.0001) in the analysis of variance. Eighth graders had superior recall in all conditions, and did not rely on prior knowledge like fourth graders to facilitate recall. Immediate recall was superior to delayed recall in all conditions. Structure was not significant. The following conclusions were made. (1) Prior knowledge seems to have benefited fourth graders in facilitating recall, but not eighth graders, within the limits of ability to read and understand the passage. (2) Adjusting for general reading ability (ITBS) score did not affect interaction of Grade x Prior Knowledge as being significant, but eliminated grade effect. More experientially developed schemas assisted eighth graders to the point where the specific prior knowledge made no difference in recall like it did for fourth graders, regardless of general reading ability. (3) The methodology introduced successfully demonstrated establishment of prior knowledge without the mnemonic confound seen in the prior-passage paradigm typically used in prose research, and gave promise to the investigation of the hierarchical organization of cognitive structuring developmentally. (4) Adjusting for general reading ability, eighth graders' recall was not superior to fourth graders' recall in the prior-knowledge/delayed condition, suggesting that the facilitator of prior knowledge on immediate recall for fourth graders may have also benefited them in having less decay of information across time. Learning and reading process may be highly dependent on well-established, easily accessed schemas.

published_or_final_version / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

No description available.

Investigates the effects of a priming activity on the reading comprehension of a science topic for subjects with low prior knowledge about that topic and/or for subjects with misconceptions about the topic. The priming activity taught concepts that science experts identified as being prerequisite to understanding the reading passage. Theoretically, this study emanates from schema theory. That is, readers' comprehension is believed to be affected by inadequate or inappropriate background knowledge. 140 eighth grade science students were administered a 32 item researcher-developed multiple choice test to assess prior knowledge of the topic, photosynthesis. Of these, 99 were identified as having low prior knowledge of the topic and were thus selected as subjects for the study. The quality of their prior knowledge was also assessed by this instrument; the distractors to many of the items were misconceptions about the topic. Procedures included the pretest, a videotaped priming activity, an intervening task, a 920-word silent reading passage, and a posttest. The target priming activity and passage were about photosynthesis. A placebo priming activity and passage were about heredity. Subjects were randomly assigned into one of four treatment conditions: (1) target priming activity + target passage, (2) target priming activity + placebo passage, (3) placebo priming activity + target passage, or (4) placebo priming activity + placebo passage. The dependent variable was a 32 item multiple choice test (identical to the pretest) about photosynthesis. Three question types were included: (1) textually explicit, (2) textually implicit, and (3) scriptally implicit items. The data were analyzed using a hierarchical regression model. Separate analyses were performed with the total and component parts of the posttest as the dependent variable: total posttest score, textually explicit score, textually implicit score, and scriptally implicit score. Another descriptive analysis was performed on the questions containing misconception data. Results indicate that a lesson which teaches prerequisite concepts does not significantly affect the reading comprehension of students with low prior knowledge. Of the three question types, the priming activity had a significant effect on scriptally implicit questions. There was no effect due to priming activity on textually explicit or textually implicit questions. A problem with test items precluded any results about misconceptions.

No description available.

A seventh grade language arts class was observed to discover their responses to the literature they were reading. The classroom and instructional contexts that enhanced or limited these responses were examined, as well as the teacher's theoretical beliefs. Rosenblatt's transactional theory of reader response, especially the efferent and aesthetic aspects, guided this investigation. Findings included the importance of the teacher in the establishment of an environment that nurtures the aesthetic response as well as in the instruction she gives students immediately prior to or following reading. Many factors created an atmosphere enhancing aesthetic response in the observed class. The main difference in instructional context that determined either aesthetic or efferent response was whether students were given a specific assignment or not. Although a teacher may desire an efferent stance to fill certain "gaps" in knowledge before and after reading, it is suggested the gaps in schema be filled through student interaction, teacher discussion rather than questioning, and student inquiry.

<p> The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to discover the effectiveness of then-current teaching practices in fifth grade classrooms and to determine whether any of the strategies or practices observed yielded higher student achievement results than others. The researcher observed and recorded evidence of the use of the most effective practices, as identified by the Writing and Reading Observation Tool (WROT). Teachers&rsquo; scores obtained on the WROT were compared to the percentage of students reading at a proficient level, as measured by the Scholastic Reading Assessment. If high scores on the WROT indicated the use of effective teaching practices, then the level of reading should be proficient, as measured by the SRI. </p><p> A second measure to provide evidence to support the purpose of this study was to determine the effects of the beliefs and practices of teachers pertaining to reading instruction, as measured by the National Exemplary Literacy Teacher Assessment, the NELTA. The total score on the NELTA was a measure of the degree of grade level literacy expertise a teacher mastered and included sub-scores related to exemplary teacher practices. The researcher compared results to determine if there was a relationship between teacher scores on the WROT and the NELTA and student growth in reading, using a Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient (PPMCC) analysis. </p><p> While the data showed no statistically significant differences in academic achievement in the area of literacy regardless of scores on either tool used in the study, observations and qualitative data provided important information for future studies and professional development planning. Administrators and teachers can study, apply, and observe the strategies relevant to the reading achievement of fifth grade students in order to strengthen the teachers&rsquo; instructional practices.</p>

<p>The study presented in this dissertation emerged from a theoretical connection noted in the literature between the potential of postmodern picturebooks to affect change, the ways in which boys are socialized into literacy practices, and the problem of male disengagement from literacy. As such, this study adds a new voice to the extant literature on postmodern picturebooks and that of gender and literacy. This study is an initial exploration at the intersection between these two areas of inquiry focused on the experiences of one boy who self-identifies as disinclined toward reading, a boy whose history of reading difficulties throughout elementary school contributed to compelling insights. </p><p> A phenomenological approach was designed for this initial exploration to ensure a rich and comprehensive description of this boy&rsquo;s experiences to share in order to open and expand our understanding of the reading experience of individual boys and the role postmodern picturebooks might be able to play in disrupting the problem of male disengagement. This phenomenological exploration focused on three focal phenomena&mdash;the boy&rsquo;s experience of reading, his experience of reading traditional picture books, and his experience of reading postmodern picturebooks. Through examination of data collected during a book sort, think-aloud readings, and interviews with the participant and members of his family, along with historical data from school records and tutoring records, descriptive interpretations of each of the three focal phenomena were constructed then discussed in relation to each other and to theoretical connections noted above. </p><p> The experience of reading of the focal participant in this study is illuminating, pointing to not only gender influences but also pervasive influences from a concerted focus on learning to read proficiently. Differences between the experience of reading traditional picture books and the experience of reading postmodern picturebooks are evident for this boy. Subtle shifts in reading behavior were noted by the end of data collection suggesting that experiencing postmodern picturebooks with a focus on think-aloud commentary may have provoked a shift in his perspective about what it means to read. </p>

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Boston University

Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 40-09, Section: A, page: 4977. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1979.