State educational agencies are charged with following provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), and when components such as adequate yearly progress (AYP) are not met, consequences follow such as lack of school choice and loss of federal funding. A school district in the southeastern United States was found unable to meet the AYP reading requirement for 4 consecutive years. Research suggests that exposure to various forms of informational text is needed in order for students to develop into successful readers, achieve state requirements, and be successful on standardized tests. This qualitative phenomenological study was based on the premises of constructivism and theories of learning motivation that encourage interactive learning, exposure to a variety of reading forms, and opportunities for creating meanings and reflecting. The purpose of this study was to address the research question that involved understanding teachers' perceptions of what information and components of informational texts are needed to improve students' reading abilities. Interviews were conducted with 10 third-grade teachers at one particular school within the district. Emerging themes were identified through open coding of interview data. Results suggested that informational texts could be beneficial for increasing student achievement if student ability level, instructional content, and educational standards were taken into account. Based on past research and on the findings of the current study, a professional development plan and manual for utilizing informational texts in the classroom was developed. Implications for positive social change include improvements in professional development on informational texts for teachers in order to enhance student achievement and reading success.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:CHENGCHI/U0003450659 |
| Creators | Chaney, Shakeria L. |
| Publisher | Walden University. |
| Source Sets | National Chengchi University Libraries |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Rights | Copyright © nccu library on behalf of the copyright holders |
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