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With the implementation of more rigorous reading standards nationwide, teachers are feeling less secure about their abilities to teach students to become proficient readers. Utilizing Bandura's theory of self-efficacy as the conceptual framework, the purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore how teachers perceived their self-efficacy to teach complex reading standards to struggling readers. Seven middle school English language arts teachers from 2 schools in a southern school district participated in this study. The research questions addressed teachers' understanding of the recent Common Core literacy standards and perceptions of their own self-efficacy to teach mastery of these standards to struggling readers. Semi-structured interviews with teacher study participants were recorded, transcribed, coded, and then analyzed in search of common themes. Findings showed that teachers perceived themselves to be knowledgeable about the literacy standards but, believed themselves unprepared to teach mastery of the standards to students who read significantly below grade level. Middle school teachers in this study claimed they had received no training that emphasized effective strategies for struggling readers and believed that training in such strategies and more collaboration with colleagues would increase their self-efficacy to enhance reading skills of struggling students. The resulting project created from the findings was a series of professional development sessions for middle school teachers to explain reading strategies that support the reading development of struggling readers. This study could affect positive social change by identifying ways in which middle school teachers may become more empowered to teach struggling readers. When teachers are empowered, their confidence and self-efficacy levels increase, and students benefit from effective instruction.

Previous research provides support for the use of Readers Theater as a way to teach literacy and improve reading comprehension. Readers Theater involves listening to a story, engaging in repeated readings of the story, and performing the story using vocal intonation, reading rate, facial expressions, and body movements to accurately portray the meaning of each line. An empirical demonstration of the effect of Readers Theater on reader self-efficacy has yet to occur. Further, previous research rarely evaluated the magnitude of improvements associated with Readers Theater with the magnitude of improvements associated with maturation and traditional classroom instruction. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy of a Readers Theater intervention on improving reading comprehension and reader self-efficacy in elementary students, beyond that related to maturation or traditional classroom instruction. It was expected that participants receiving the Readers Theater intervention would exhibit greater improvements in reading comprehension and reader self-efficacy when compared to a control group. It was also anticipated that when the second group received the intervention, the findings would be replicated. Participants were 24 fourth, fifth, and sixth graders. Results support the use of Readers Theater as a supplemental technique for reading instruction. Participants displayed some improvements in reading comprehension and various aspects of reader self-efficacy. Further research is needed to extend the findings to a larger population and refine techniques to maximize benefits.

The Master's thesis deals with the didactic adaptation of the book Das doppelte Lottchen (Luisa and Lotka) using its simplified version. The introductory part is dedicated to the important stages of the life and work of its author Erich Kästner, especially the period of the Second World War, specifically the years 1943-1949 and the post-war period in which the novel Luisa and Lotka was written. The interpretative part deals with a comparative analysis of the original version of the text and its simplified version Easy Readers published by Klett. Emphasis is placed on the storyline, the characteristics of the main characters, their language and the language of the narrator. The aim is to describe the changes that have been made to the text in order to make it accessible to Readers who are learning German. The didactic adaptation is based on a simplified version of the novel and is intended for teaching in primary school. It offers suggestions for using this simplified text not only in German language classes, but also focuses on various cross-curricular relationships. The aim of the thesis is to present the text Das doppelte Lottchen in a simplified version and to outline for teachers the broad possibilities of working with a foreign language text not only in German language classes. KEYWORDS Erich...

<p>The study investigates the user experience of visually impaired people using screen readers, concentrating on their accessibility and usability when navigating digital content. Screen readers are indispensable instruments for the blind and visually impaired, facilitating the completion of online tasks and access to information. While screen readers offer benefits such as customization and accessibility, they also present users with challenges such as cognitive burden, sequential navigation, and limitations with multimedia content.</p><p>The research takes a user-centric approach, taking into account the particular requirements and preferences of visually impaired users. By conducting empirical research, the study gains valuable insights into the experiences, requirements, and pain points of screen reader users. The objective is to identify areas for enhancement and create solutions that enhance the user's efficiency and satisfaction.</p><p>Recognizing the diverse subcategories within the visually impaired population, the thesis argues for design approaches that are tailored to specific needs. In addition, the incorporation of existing artificial intelligence systems, such as image caption generation and text extraction, is investigated to improve the functionality and usability of screen readers.</p><p>Through this research, the thesis emphasizes the significance of creating digital content that is both functional and accessible. By embracing the curb cut effect and incorporating empirical research findings, developers can cultivate a more inclusive and equitable online environment for all users, thereby promoting inclusivity and ensuring that visually impaired users can effectively interact with digital content.</p>

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Reading is not an easily learned skill for most students. I chose to look at the methodology being used by teachers in East Tennessee to instruct emerging readers. Through my review of literature, I researched reading approaches implemented in American classrooms in the last 150 years. I compared and contrasted data to determine current researchers' findings concerning the most effective techniques for teaching reading and how teachers have implemented this knowledge base into their teaching strategies. Teachers cannot teach what they do not know. Therefore, I also researched literature addressing the growing concern among educators with teachers' preparation and professional development opportunities as well as the amount of specific preparation teachers received regarding the reading methods they are using. After compiling the data from my interviews with 30 East Tennessee first-grade teachers, I found that most said they did not feel adequately prepared to teach emergent readers. These teachers reported they had not had instruction that provided foundations in a wide range of research-based approaches to reading. The professional development offerings for teachers already in the classroom were often sporadic and did not compensate for their lack of preparation in college. There is a need for colleges and universities to re-evaluate the current teacher preparation programs. School systems should strive to provide quality inservice opportunities for instructors of emergent readers as well as hiring reading coaches or specialists to assist the reading instructors.

In the current educational climate of federally mandated assessments of student learning, the survival of the elementary social studies curriculum may depend on interdisciplinary instructional methods to link social studies to the accountability-favored discipline of literacy. The purpose of this content analysis study was to examine and identify social studies content embedded within a second grade and a fifth grade basal reader from the 2008 Houghton Mifflin Reading Series. Each of the basals were read and coded using the Utah State Office of Education Social Studies Standards indicators and the National Council for the Social Studies Standards as a priori categories. Data from both basal readers provided some encouragement that social studies learning opportunities for students are available within the texts. While some of the social studies concepts are explicitly presented, the majority of the learning opportunities are implicit in nature, requiring additional teaching beyond what is included in basal texts. To take advantage of these explicit and implicit social studies learning opportunities, teachers need to be aware of them and be prepared to teach social studies content and standards as part of the daily literacy routine. In spite of opportunities available for teachers to integrate social studies in the literacy curriculum, these opportunities will not replace the independent teaching of social studies content within the elementary curriculum.

This report describes the design, development, and evaluation of a computer-based diglot reader of the Book of Mormon Stories of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Di means two and glot means language, thus a diglot reader combines two languages into one reader in order to teach a person to read in a new language. The program, which runs on both Macintosh and Windows computer platforms, contains fifteen chapters of the Book of Mormon Stories and introduces about four hundred Spanish words. This report includes a literature review on the diglot method and related materials, a description of the program and its features, and an evaluation of the program including eight one-to-one evaluations and a small-group evaluation. The small-group evaluation volunteers completed a pretest, studied the reader, completed a posttest, and filled out a questionnaire for their evaluation of the product. Finally, the report examines the strengths and weaknesses of the program and suggests some general guidelines for future diglot reader computer programs in general.