Date of Award
2003
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Department
Programs for Higher Education
Advisor
Arlene Brett Gordon
Committee Member
Barbara Packer
Committee Member
Rochelle Green
Keywords
applied dissertation, Classroom Reading Inventory, comprehension, cooperative learning groups, emotional connection, fluency, learning activities, literacy skills, National Assessment of Educational Progress, poetry, proficiency exams, reading comprehension, reading fluency, reading remediation, reading strategies, small group instruction, standardized assessments, third grade students, transfer of learning, weekly lessons
Abstract
This applied dissertation provided third grade reading students an opportunity to develop reading fluency and comprehension skills. These students had poor literacy skills as evidenced by their scores on standardized reading proficiency exams, report card ratings and reports from their previous instructors. The fluency and comprehension instruction that students received was not effective. Students were not making an emotional connection to the material they read.
Third-grade students were taught ways to apply both comprehension and fluency enhancing strategies to their reading. This was accomplished through weekly lessons focused on the poetry genre that enabled students to practice these skills in small cooperative learning groups.
This intervention proved very effective. Two of three expected outcomes were met. Students increased their fluency skills as evidenced by their rating on the National Assessment of Educational Progress fluency standards. Students also improved their reading comprehension grade level as evidenced by their score on the Classroom Reading Inventory. Student scores did not differ significantly on the third grade reading portion of the state-mandated proficiency exam when compared with their second grade scores. In addition, students found the learning activities enjoyable and were able to transfer the skills learned to other subject areas.