This thesis describes a longitudinal case study conducted in a secondary high school in the North West of Western Australia that was implementing an across the curriculum literacy strategy called Effective Reading in the Content Areas (ERICA). The study was conducted from an educational change management perspective where the adoption and implementation of ERICA was viewed against an educational change management framework. The impact of the adoption and implementation of ERICA on the teaching staff and student writing competence was investigated. The study has demonstrated that an educational change management framework is a useful tool for making the decision to adopt an innovation and for guiding the subsequent implementation. In addition, the study has highlighted the need to plan appropriately using tried and effective planning cycles and to recognize that the outcomes of any implementation of an innovation are unpredictable because of the complex interaction of change principles. Furthermore, the study has highlighted the complexity of the task of trying to improve student writing competence. Much effort was expended with little resultant improvement in student writing competence. This outcome can be rationalized, but considerable change is required in the way in which a traditional school operates before significant improvements in student writing competence will be seen.

Fifty-seven pre-fourth-graders from 14 private schools participated to determine (a) if teaching text structure with annotation produced higher comprehension scores than the method of teaching vocabulary, and (b) if the effect of instructional method on reading comprehension was the same for male and female students. Effects were measured by immediate posttest and follow-up test NCE scores of the Stanford Diagnostic Reading Test, Fourth Edition (SDRT4) containing components of Comprehension and Vocabulary. The design was a true experiment using a matched comparison-group format. Participants were placed in one of two independent 3-week reading workshop sessions, then randomly assigned to one of two conditions: (a) finding text structure when reading expository text and annotating (TSA group), and (b) extending vocabulary knowledge (VK group). The second session duplicated the first with different participants. Each group received five two-hour lessons.The hypothesis was t hat scores on the immediate posttest and follow-up test (two months later) on the Comprehension component of the SDRT4 would be higher for pre-fourth-graders in the TSA than in the VK group. The hypothesis was not supported by results of a two 2 (Method) X 2 (Gender) analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) with the pretest as the covariate. Analyses indicated:1. Reading comprehension and vocabulary scores on the immediate posttest and the follow-up test were not statistically significantly higher for TSA compared to VK students.2. Females scored significantly higher on the Vocabulary and Comprehension posttest.3. The interaction of Method X Gender was statistically significant on the Vocabulary follow-up test, males benefiting more from vocabulary instruction. Implications suggest: (a) teacher education courses address gender learning differences and schools should examine curricula for male- and female-friendly standards; (b) this study's vocabulary method of instruction inspired children to use new words in speaking and writing; and (c) identifying text structure and annotating are developmental, maturational skills. Maturity level and gender differences in learning raise questions: At what grade level should text structure with annotation be implemented? How can this method be taught to accommodate gender learning differences?

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A report from a 2015 descriptive study of the Alabama Reading Initiative (ARI) showed that 85% of the participants who were trained in strategies to address students’ reading difficulties in high school were not implementing them. Teachers’ implementation of ARI was the focus of this study. Pragmatism was the epistemological framework of the study, and Roger’s diffusion of innovation theory was the conceptual framework used to support the study. The purpose and corresponding research questions examined the extent of ARI implementation, reasons for not implementing those strategies, and ideas for future professional development in ARI. Six content-area teachers who taught Grade 9 participated in the study. A basic qualitative study was used to address research questions through individual interviews. Inductive and deductive coding was used to analyze data and identify themes. The results indicated that content area teachers who teach science and social studies implemented ARI strategies in their content to teach literacy. Math teachers did not implement ARI, citing time and a mismatch of ARI strategies with math content and ARI strategies. Strategies suggested to implement ARI were time with the literacy coach, embedded professional development, and collaboration among teachers. The results were used to create a 3-day teacher training project, which included these strategies. Results and project implementation can help administrators and teachers understand how to better implement school-wide reading initiatives in secondary schools, creating positive social change.

This action research study was conducted with 7th grade life science students at a public middle school in central Florida. The author used Reciprocal Teaching (RT) as described by Annemarie Palincsar and Anne Brown (1984) to examine changes in student comprehension when reading their life science textbook and changes in how the students used the predicting, questioning, and summarizing strategies. The RT strategies ask students to employ 4 strategies: predict what they will read, generate questions about what was read, clarify any ideas that were not understood in the reading, and summarize the main idea of the reading. Students were given a pre and post reading comprehension test, they completed reading response worksheets to record their predictions, questions, clarifications, and summaries. Students were explicitly taught the 4 strategies prior to using them and the strategies were reinforced through teacher modeling (using think aloud teaching to show students how to use the strategies) and expert scaffolding (giving students the support needed while using the strategies). The teacher-researcher also examined if the students showed change in their level of proficiency when using the strategies after they had been taught them. Analysis of data revealed that student comprehension did increase after being taught the four reading strategies. Data also showed that students became increasingly more proficient when using the strategies as the study progressed. Data analysis also uncovered the unexpected pattern of increased student participation during whole-class and reading group discussions. Further research is needed to examine the effects of teaching highly proficient students specific reading strategies and to see how the explicit instruction of reading strategies affects student participation and achievement during inquiry-based laboratory investigations.

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The Rising Above the Gathering Storm report (National Academy of Sciences, 2007) emphasizes a need for improved science education in United States schools. Instruction, informed by assessment, has been repeatedly demonstrated to be effective for increasing students' performance. In particular, the use of curriculum-based measurement (CBM) to assist with making screening decisions has been shown to increase the likeliness of students meeting meaningful outcomes. While CBM tools for assisting with making screening decisions in reading, mathematics, and written language have been well examined, tools for use in content areas (e.g., science and social studies) remain in the beginning stages of research. In this study, two alternate forms of a new CBM tool, Statement Verification for Science (SV-S), for assisting with making screening decisions regarding students' science content knowledge is examined for technical adequacy. A total of 1,545 students across Grades 7 (N = 799) and 8 (N = 746) completed Forms A and B of SV-S the week prior to, and within two weeks after, a statewide high-stakes test of accountability including Science, Reading, and Mathematics. Obtained data were used in order to examine internal consistency, test-retest with alternate forms reliability, and evidence of criterion- and construct-related validity. Promising results were found for reliability, in particular internal consistency, while results related to evidence of criterion- and construct-related validity were less than desired. Such results, along with additional exploratory analyses, provide support for future research of SV-S as a CBM tool to assist teachers and other educators with making screening decisions.

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Students with significant disabilities are most at risk for exclusion from grade-aligned content due to the barriers imposed by traditional instruction. This presentation will provide special and general education teachers with effective, research-based strategies to increase comprehension in content areas, including math, science, ELA, and social studies. Learner outcomes: • Participants will learn about research-based strategies to increase comprehension in content areas, including math, science, ELA, and social studies; • Participants will learn about results from a recent review of the literature focused on comprehension strategies targeting Common Core content areas for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Intellectual Disability; and • Participants will be provided with specific comprehension strategies and ways to increase opportunities for comprehension in inclusive contexts for students across a variety of diverse backgrounds.

Researchers have shown that vocabulary development is a challenge for English Language Learners (ELLs) as they are less prepared to use contextual and linguistic clues to decode unfamiliar vocabulary. Beginning in the upper elementary grades, reading in content areas becomes lengthier and more complex. Technology-supported vocabulary instruction to teach social studies to ELLs is a relatively new concept in the 5th grade classroom. The purpose of this comparative study was to assess the vocabulary and reading comprehension outcomes of ELLs in the content area of 5th grade social studies when taught using technology-supported versus traditional textbook instruction. Mayer's cognitive theory of multimedia learning provided the theoretical foundation for the study. A quasi-­experimental approach with a nonequivalent pretest and posttest comparison group design was used. All 99 5th grade ELL students at an elementary school in the southeastern United States served as the study sample. Pre-existing classroom groups were taught using technology-supported or traditional textbook instruction. Instructional groups' vocabulary test scores were compared using ANCOVA with pretest social studies vocabulary scores serving as the covariate. Results revealed that 5th grade ELL students in the technology-supported instruction group scored significantly higher on the social studies vocabulary posttest as compared to the traditional textbook instruction group. The findings of this study suggest that technology-supported instruction in social studies is an effective teaching approach for ELL students at the 5th grade level. This study could be used to guide future research in the areas of ELL language acquisition, content area learning and comprehension, and equitable instruction for all students.