Implementing Study Groups To Improve Reading Achievement Scores Of Jensen Elementary School Students
Date of Award
2003
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Department
Fischler Graduate School of Education and Human Services
Advisor
Carole Trueman
Committee Member
Victor Schumacher
Committee Member
Barbara Packer
Keywords
Elementary Education, Jensen Elementary School, professional development, reading improvement, reading skills, staff development, student achievement, teacher study groups, team learning, TAAS, Texas Assessment of Academic Skills, formative evaluation, summative evaluation, collegiality, intervention, implementation, in-service training, problem solving, professional staff development, reading study groups, school year 1997-1998, student achievement, teacher collaboration, teacher professional development
Abstract
This applied dissertation was conducted to provide an historical review and assessment of the implementation of teacher study groups at Jensen Elementary School for the purpose of improving student reading skills during the 1997-1998 school year. The reading study groups were grade level groups that met monthly to participate in team learning (Senge 1990) by obtaining new information, revisiting information from a 4-day district in-service session, discussing strategies, problem solving, sharing successes and supporting one another.
The evaluation of the initiative consisted of a formative evaluation to determine if the program was implemented and a summative evaluation to determine if the professional staff development program improved student achievement in reading. The TAAS (Texas Assessment of Academic Skills) reading results were analyzed for 1994 to 1997, before the intervention, and 1998 to 2002, after the intervention.
The formative evaluation revealed that the reading study groups were implemented during the 1997-1998 school year resulting in improved collegiality among teachers. The analysis of TAAS reading results from 1994 through 2002 did not reveal significant improvement beyond the initial year of implementation to support the conclusion that the reading study groups effectively improved student reading skills.