Date of Award
2004
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Department
Fischler Graduate School of Education and Human Services
Advisor
J. Michael Griffin
Committee Member
Dennis Triplett
Committee Member
Barbara Packer
Keywords
accelerated reader program, applied research, assessment tests, computer managed instruction, early reading, emergent literacy, home school connection, instructional practices, intervention strategies, kindergarten curriculum, kindergarten students, literacy development, literacy skills, parent involvement, parent workshops, paraprofessionals, reading achievement, reading instruction, reading readiness, reading readiness skills, remediation, school readiness tests, Sing, Spell, Read and Write Literacy Development Program, small group instruction, student achievement, targeted interventions, teacher collaboration, teaching methods, young children
Abstract
This applied research project was designed to increase the mastery of reading readiness skills of low-performing kindergarten students who were identified on the Initial Readiness Assessment Test that is administered after the 1st month of school. The kindergarten reading/language arts curriculum was not meeting the needs of students with deficiencies in reading readiness.
Fifteen students were selected to participate in intervention strategies to improve their mastery of reading readiness skills. To meet the diverse needs of the students, the writer selected an emergent literacy approach to remediation and incorporated the use of a computer-managed reading program. Ongoing meetings held with kindergarten teachers to review the progress of the targeted students and to discuss best practices in teaching reading. The writer also developed a home-school connection designed to create a link between the home and school and to provide parents and their children the opportunity to work together to improve literacy skills.
The writer employed the following methods to implement this applied research intervention: hiring of a paraprofessional to provide small-group instruction and purchasing of the Sing, Spell, Read and Write Literacy Development Program, the Accelerated Reader Program, parent workshops, and review of effective instructional practices in reading for kindergarten students.
Through the implementation of this applied dissertation, the students targeted for this study improved their reading readiness skills. The results indicated that all of the 15 students who participated in the applied dissertation made significant gains in reading readiness skills.