Date of Award
2012
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Department
Abraham S. Fischler College of Education
Advisor
Judy Shoemaker
Committee Member
Susan Kabot
Committee Member
Ronald P. Kern
Keywords
academic development, active participation, Adventure Island Intervention Reading Program, classroom behavior, class discussions, comprehension, content-specialist teachers, disabilities, fluency, grades 3–8, homework completion, interviews, New York State English Language Arts Assessment, observational checklist, paired-sample t test, peer tutoring, phonemic awareness, positive behavior, reading comprehension, reading difficulties, reading instruction, reading performance, respect for class rules, special education, special-education teachers, students with disabilities, vocabulary, vocabulary development, Word Meaning Test Form A
Abstract
This applied dissertation was designed (a) to address the target school’s failure to make adequate yearly progress (AYP) for the 2007–2008 academic year due to its declining performance on the New York State English Language Arts Assessment (NYSELA) and (b) to investigate the impact of the Adventure Island Intervention Reading Program (AIIRP) on the reading performance of students with disabilities in Grades 3–8. Results on the NYSELA showed that special-education students had failed to meet standards for 3 consecutive years.
Participants were 70 students with disabilities, 6 special-education teachers, and 6 content-specialist teachers. Quantitative and qualitative measures consisted of (a) the Word Meaning Test Form A (WMT-A), (b) Observational Checklist of teachers, and (c) interviews with special-education and content-specialist teachers.
Paired-sample t tests showed significant improvements in vocabulary and comprehension on the WMT-A after the implementation of the AIIRP. Vocabulary development, reading comprehension, and phonemic awareness were cited by the teachers as the most effective components of the AIIRP. Fluency was considered the least effective component. The positive benefits of the program were further supported by the observations of the special-education and content-specialist teachers. Teachers reported positive changes in the students’ classroom behaviors and academic development, including substantial improvements in homework completion and respect for class rules. The most notable finding was the impact of the program on the students’ active participation in class discussions.