Date of Award
2003
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Department
Programs for Higher Education
Advisor
Karen Kimball
Committee Member
Lucille Beisner
Committee Member
Barbara Packer
Keywords
basal readers, center-based instruction, cooperative learning, curriculum change, early literacy, elementary schools, grouping techniques, hands-on learning, kindergarten, language arts, lesson plans, phonics, portfolio assessment, reading curriculum, second grade, standardized test scores, student-centered instruction, SAT 9, teacher training, teaching techniques, whole-language approach, worksheets
Abstract
This applied dissertation was designed to determine whether or not changes in curriculum, teacher selected activities, and grouping techniques have an impact on standardized test scores. Second-grade teaching techniques were limited to teacher driven activities including worksheets and lectures. Teachers were not familiar with student-centered instruction such as cooperative learning or center-based instruction. Teachers of second grade believed the reading series at their grade level was outdated and that there was a need to purchase a current curriculum that included the use of phonics in conjunction with the whole-language approach. Teachers in kindergarten, first, and third grades agreed to change curriculum to include a higher-level approach to instruction and to work together in perspective grade levels to plan and share ideas.
Seminars were conducted to teach teachers how to vary their teaching techniques to include hands-on learning activities, cooperative learning, portfolio formation, and phonics-based instruction. Small groups of teachers designed and built weekly lesson plans that documented the use of student-centered activities. A new reading series was chosen once the skills of the SAT 9 test were aligned with basal offerings. Implementation began in August, and standardized testing took place in March.
An analysis of the data revealed that language arts scores on the SAT 9 did increase. Teachers and students alike reported that not only did they feel more prepared for the test but that their enjoyment of the language arts curriculum increased as well.