UMD Theses and Dissertations
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Item KINDERGARTEN TEACHERS’ VOCABULARY KNOWLEDGE, PRACTICES, AND INFLUENTIAL FACTORS: A MULTIPLE CASE STUDY(2023) Johnston, Tara Burke; Dreher, Mariam J; Curriculum and Instruction; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Early and explicit vocabulary instruction is one important way teachers can support early readers for later reading comprehension success (Duncan et al., 2007; Marulis & Neuman, 2010; Neuman & Dwyer, 2011; National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), 2000); however, some observations indicate that early childhood and early elementary teachers do not provide consistent and explicit vocabulary support (e.g., Dwyer & Harbaugh, 2020; Wright & Neuman, 2014; Donaldson, 2011) and that most teachers do not have much time to spend on vocabulary instruction generally (Baumann et al., 2003). To further explore why these phenomena may occur and to provide direction for future research and teacher education initiatives, this study examined the reported vocabulary knowledge, reported vocabulary practices, and reported influential factors on vocabulary instruction of seven kindergarten teachers in public school settings in the United States. Using a multiple case study design, I studied seven teachers to answer the following research questions: (1) What do kindergarten teachers report about their own knowledge related to vocabulary instruction? (2) What do kindergarten teachers report about how they implement and change their vocabulary instruction? (3) What factors do kindergarten teachers report as influencing their vocabulary instruction? Each case was bound as one teacher, and I framed my study using two main theories: Shavelson and Stern’s (1981) pedagogical decision making and Shulman’s (1986, 1987) pedagogical content knowledge as it relates to teacher professional knowledge. I collected data using a demographic survey, a knowledge screening survey, an initial interview about reported vocabulary practices, four pre- and post-vocabulary lesson interviews, and artifacts related to the vocabulary lessons. I used multiple rounds of coding for both individual case analysis and cross-case analysis. Individual case analysis yielded a profile for each teacher which describes in detail their reported vocabulary knowledge, practices, and influential factors. For example, one teacher’s profile (pseudonym Brenda) describes reported use of a consistent Tier 2 vocabulary routine for every lesson, whereas other teachers in the study did not report a consistent vocabulary instructional routine. Another teacher (pseudonym Joyce) frequently reported using hands on science lessons to teach vocabulary; she also frequently discussed how knowledge of her students’ needs impacted her vocabulary instruction. Cross-case analysis revealed that participants reported little knowledge of and wide variation in reported pedagogies to effectively support Multilingual Learners’ (MLLs) or students with reading difficulties’ oral vocabulary development. Participants frequently reported using explicit instruction to teach Tier 2 (Beck et al., 2002) vocabulary words before and during literacy read aloud lessons. However, participants did not often report teaching taxonomically or thematically connected words using informational texts; these pedagogies have proven to be particularly effective for increasing word knowledge and comprehension in young children (Neuman & Dwyer, 2011; Pinkham et al., 2014). Additionally, participants reported that they received very little professional development in how to effectively teach vocabulary, despite knowing that vocabulary instruction is important for young learners. Most of participants’ reported knowledge about vocabulary instruction was rooted in their knowledge of students’ perceived needs and knowledge they gained informally from other members of their teaching teams. These findings have implications for the professional development of both pre-service and in-service teachers, and for future research on early vocabulary practices in classroom contexts.Item Structured Literacy: Teacher Understanding and the Instructional Implications for Reading Achievement(2022) Taeschner, Brandi Marie; Neumerski, Christine M; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Literacy is a critical life skill which impacts individuals and society. Knowledge to practice gaps in the field of education have existed for many years, specifically while teaching all students to become proficient readers. The intention of this qualitative study is to explore teacher understanding and perspectives about early literacy components used while instructing students to read. In 2021, eight K-3 general education teachers from the focus school LEOES, a Targeted Assistance Title I elementary school in southern Maryland, were interviewed and asked to provide information about the current status of their literacy instruction. Teacher reported information about evidence-based literacy practices implemented were explored to identify and suggest future professional development needed to address low literacy achievement and comprehensive literacy planning. As the literacy coach for this school, teacher input was gathered about current early literacy instructional practices through individual interviews. The self-reported instructional approaches described by the participating teachers were then considered in relation to the six evidence-based components of Structured Literacy to determine teachers’ understanding of these components and the challenges teachers identify which impact foundational reading instruction. Participating teachers mostly named balanced literacy as the literacy approach implemented with an emphasis on the five areas of reading. The Structured Literacy components were not identified or described as critical components of daily literacy instruction implemented at LEOES. Teachers identified challenges related mostly to curricular weaknesses and student factors, rather than the daily instruction provided to students. Implications for LEOES and District A were developed to build teachers’ awareness of the invaluable impact of the classroom teacher to implement a proactive approach to literacy instruction using the evidence-based components and guiding principles of Structured Literacy.Item Factors that Influence Preservice Teachers' Planning and Leading of Text-Based Discussions(2021) Hogan, Erin; Dreher, Mariam Jean; O'Flahavan, John; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Text-based discussions are defined as the process of collectively building high-level comprehension of text among a group of students who use each other and text as sources of meaning. Teachers’ role in this process is two-fold: first, they ask questions that require extended exploration of text ideas and go well beyond literal, surface level understandings. Second, they support students as they do the heavy lifting of engaging deeply with the text and with each other by helping students link their ideas and those conveyed in the text together. Nearly 40 years of empirical research offers support for text-based discussion as an instructional technique with the potential to break persistent patterns of basic-level student reading achievement (Applebee et al., 2003; Murphy et al., 2009; Nystrand, 1997; Soter et al., 2009). However, this same research identified text-based discussions as infrequently used in classrooms, which suggests there is something preventing more teachers from utilizing them in the classroom. This two-study dissertation sought to identify and intervene on factors that influenced preservice teachers’ learning about and ultimately using discussion. I identified three factors: the ability to analyze text (i.e., to determine main ideas of text as well as text features that potentially facilitate or hinder students’ understanding of the main ideas); experiential knowledge gained from repeated cycles of planning, leading, and reflecting on discussions; and epistemological beliefs. Study One was an exploratory multiple case study of seven senior preservice teachers all enrolled in their capstone literacy methods class and working in their field placements. This study took a holistic look at the ways in which epistemological beliefs, instruction in text analysis, and repeated cycles of planning, leading, and reflecting on text-based discussions affected PSTs’ leading of discussions with students in their field placements. Results indicated that PSTs’ epistemological beliefs affected both their learning about and leading text-based discussions, they lacked specialized knowledge needed to analyze text and use this information to help students negotiate text meaning in the text-based discussions, and some gained experiential knowledge in the form of specific moves they could make to shift interpretive authority to students. These findings informed the design of study two. This study was quasi-experimental and situated in two pre-existing sections of a reading methods course for first-semester senior preservice teachers. One section served as a business-as-usual control group while the other section received a semester-long intervention into text analysis. Participants in the intervention section received direct instruction on text analysis including text structures and their common features, how to evaluate text complexity, and how to decipher main and supporting ideas. They also received instruction on how to use this knowledge to support students in text-based discussions. Results of ANCOVA analysis suggests intervention led to statistically significant improvement in participants’ ability to analyze text. Exploratory analyses shed light into the mechanisms behind the intervention’s effect: participants’ ability to monitor and respond to students improved significantly. Taken together, the findings from these two studies have implications for teacher educators seeking to create learning experiences that lead to preservice teachers taking up text-based discussions.Item Reading Analyses with Chilean Children(2021) Cubillos Guzman, Montserrat; Turner, Jennifer; Galindo, Claudia; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Chilean data show that a large reading-proficiency gap exists between students with high and low socioeconomic status (SES), that most children do not see themselves as readers, and that half of adolescents read below grade level (Agencia de Calidad de la Educación, 2019; Consejo Nacional de la Cultura y las Artes, 2014). To understand the reasons behind these phenomena, I conducted three complementary studies on reading comprehension, motivation, and literacy-related home practices with over 800,000 Chilean students, using nation-wide secondary data analysis.In the first study, I examined the association between the frequency of early literacy parent-children interactions (e.g., reading together, reading labels and signs, singing songs, etc.) before they entered first grade and students’ reading scores in fourth grade, while accounting for their second-grade proficiency. I observed that parents frequently engaged in literacy interactions with their children, that those interactions significantly predicted students’ later reading proficiency, and that the effect was steeper for families with high SES than for those with low SES. In the second study, I explored the association between parents’ reading motivation and frequency and their children’s. I examined data of students from sixth, eight, and tenth grade. I found that adolescents were more likely to be motivated and frequent readers if their parents were also keen readers. I also found that SES was a powerful predictor of the likelihood of being a keen reader, and that the effect of having a keen-reading parent was more positively pronounced for adolescents with low SES than for those with high SES. In the third study, I explored whether tenth graders’ reading motivation and frequency was associated to their reading scores. I observed that a large percentage of students who were proficient readers in fourth grade failed to achieve proficiency in tenth grade and that the odds of achieving proficiency in tenth grade increased when students were motivated and frequent readers. Furthermore, students’ odds of being proficient readers increased when their classmates reported high levels of reading motivation and frequency of reading. I discuss the implications of this and my other two studies.Item PANCAKES, DUCKLINGS, THINKING IN YOUR BRAIN: MANIFESTATIONS OF 4-YEAR-OLDS’ EMERGING METACOGNITION DURING JOINT PICTURE BOOK READING(2019) Faust, Brecca Berman; Afflerbach, Peter; Curriculum and Instruction; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Developmental psychologist John Flavell (1979, 1981) used the term metacognition to encompass any form of thinking about one’s thinking. Flavell did not consider this second-level capacity to be a regular part of the thinking and learning of preschool children. However, research using developmentally-appropriate tasks, especially early literacy tasks, has suggested otherwise. Therefore, through this qualitative and exploratory study, I investigated whether and how seven 4-year-olds attending full-day preschool were metacognitive as they read narrative picture books with me in their classroom. Over the course of their pre-kindergarten school year, during free choice morning centers, I engaged the participants in three joint readings of commercially available, narrative picture books. Throughout the informal dialogue of each joint reading session, I posed questions meant to encourage metacognitive processing. I transcribed the dialogue from these sessions and coded each researcher and participant speech turn. I then utilized a constant-comparative process to analyze transcriptions throughout the data collection process while referring to Flavell’s (1979, 1981) conceptualization of metacognition and prior studies of metacognition with preschool participants. This process resulted in the articulation of seven categories of metacognition relevant to preschoolers’ joint reading processes: Feeling of Knowing Story Content, Judgment of Difficulty, Reflecting on Reading, Verbal Self-Revising, Expanding Storytelling, Task Planning, and Justifying Verbalizations. Participants engaged in a total of 219 instances of these forms of metacognition. Approximately 60% of these instances were prompted—occurring in response to a question that I posed within the joint reading dialogue. However, approximately 40% of recorded instances of metacognition occurred spontaneously. All seven participants were metacognitive in at least five of the seven categories, across all four books, and through both prompted and spontaneous verbalizations. Consistent with Flavell’s (1979) conceptualization, metacognition functioned as a transactionally-relevant resource for each joint reading participant, manifesting in ways that reflected varying efforts to participate in the task and construct meaning from the story. My results challenge the notion that metacognition has limited relevance before proficient or conventional print reading (Baker, 2005; Hacker, 1998; Pressley & Gaskins, 2006; Veenman, et al., 2006) and provide further support for Whitebread et al.’s (2009) conclusion that underappreciation of the metacognitive capabilities of preschoolers is becoming an “increasingly untenable” position (p. 64). Given my findings, I discuss implications for metacognitive theory and for future research on reading-relevant metacognition with preschool children.Item Prompting Rural Students' Use of Prior Knowledge and Experience to Support Comprehension of Unfamiliar Content(2018) Hattan, Courtney; Alexander, Patricia A; Human Development; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Prior knowledge activation is foundational to students’ text comprehension. Yet, pedagogical techniques that teachers can use to prompt students’ knowledge activation are limited and empirical data on the relative effectiveness of those techniques is scant. Thus, the purpose of this dissertation was to investigate the effectiveness of traditional and novel knowledge activation techniques for supporting rural students’ comprehension of texts covering unfamiliar content. In this quasi-experimental study, 149 rural middle-school students were assigned to one of three conditions: knowledge mobilization (traditional), relational reasoning (new), or text annotation (control). Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling with text comprehension as the outcome variable and condition, relational reasoning ability, prior topic knowledge, gender, ethnicity, and grade level as predictor variables. The results demonstrated a statistically significant difference for overall comprehension between students in the relational reasoning condition and students in both the mobilization (β = 5.15, p < .00) and control conditions (β = 3.10, p < .00). There were no significant differences between students in the mobilization versus control conditions (β = -1.85, p = .07). Further, there were no comprehension differences for ethnic background or grade level. However, female students outperformed male students, and prior topic knowledge and relational reasoning ability were significant covariates in analysis. Qualitative analysis of follow-up conversations revealed the utility of the relational reasoning condition, especially for low-performing students. The results indicate that not all prior knowledge activation techniques are equally effective for all students engaged in the processing unfamiliar textual content. Additionally, the novel activation technique of relational reasoning proved highly effective for promoting students’ text comprehension.Item TEACHER PERCEPTIONS OF ONLINE SIOP® PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT(2018) McCall, Aundrea; Fagan, Drew; McLaughlin, Margaret; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Educators are concerned with the academic attainment of English learners (ELs) in U.S schools, as this student population’s numbers continue to grow. In 2014-15, 4.6 million, or about 9%, of all public school students in the United States were ELs. The number of ELs in public schools is projected to represent 25% of all public school students by 2025 (National Center for Education Statistics, 2017; National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition, 2013). The purpose of this study was to examine non-ESOL elementary content area teachers’ perceptions of the online SIOP® professional development course regarding implementing the six features of lesson preparation and applying the eight components of SIOP® within their lesson preparation. The study was guided by three research questions and an online survey to obtain teacher perceptions regarding their implementation of the key SIOP® components in lesson preparation, application of the eight SIOP® components, and potential ways that SIOP® had positive effects on instructing ELs. Qualtrics (a web-based tool) was used to create the descriptive survey and generate reports from the participants’ responses. From the research findings, recommendations were made to contribute to the literature and for future study in general, for the school district, and the researcher. SIOP® as an online professional development tool has the potential to reach a growing audience of content teachers who require best practices and sound approaches to teaching ELs in their classrooms.Item BEYOND BENCHMARKS: ELEMENTARY EDUCATION PRESERVICE TEACHERS’ VISIONS FOR USING DIVERSE FAMILY LITERACY PRACTICES TO GUIDE CLASSROOM READING INSTRUCTION(2017) Albro, Jennifer; Turner, Jennifer D; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Many preservice teachers are entering the field of teaching feeling unprepared to to collaborate with families to foster the growth of students (Caspe, Lopez, Chu, & Weiss, 2011); further, they are less prepared to engage families from various cultural, linguistic, socioeconomic, and other diverse backgrounds (Patte, 2011). Given that using vision has been shown to help to prepare preservice teachers for their future classrooms (Duffy, 2002; Turner & Mercado, 2009), this study examined the visions of elementary preservice teachers and how they envisioned the role that families and their diverse literacy practices will play in their future reading instruction. Using qualitative research methods and a sociocultural lens, this dissertation investigated the visions of 34 elementary preservice teachers. Throughout the semester, the preservice teachers participated in two course assignments: a.) they attended a local family literacy event hosted by Ethiopian American parents who wanted their children to maintain their Ethiopian culture, and b.) the preservice teachers chose one family member of one of their students to interview to learn more about their family literacy practices. Seven of the 34 preservice teachers were selected to participate in individual interviews and one focus group to further examine their visions. Through the review of their vision statements, course assignments, interviews, and the focus group, I examined their visions through a “funds of knowledge” (Gonzalez, Moll, & Amanti, 2005) lens. Additionally, I created a Funds of Knowledge Rubric to assess whether their visions were “emerging,” “developing,” or “advancing” toward using diverse family literacy practices to guide their classroom reading instruction and to what extent that they held a “funds of knowledge” perspective. Findings illustrated that the majority of the preservice teachers envisioned families as supporters of the literacy learning that occurs in the classroom by extending the learning at home. Only five of the 34 preservice teachers had visions of using diverse family literacy practices to guide their classroom instruction. Suggestions for supporting preservice teachers’ vision development and strengthening teacher education initiatives around preparing teachers to learn about families and integrating their literacy practices into instruction are discussed.Item IDENTIFYING THE NATURE OF METACOGNITION INSTRUCTION IN READING CLASSROOMS(2017) Ozturk, Nesrin; Afflerbach, Peter; Curriculum and Instruction; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Metacognition helps control cognitions through the actions and interactions of metacognitive knowledge, experiences, and strategies. Since 1979, metacognition has been extensively studied and found to be an effective tool for learning. In reading, metacognition is associated with improved vocabulary, reading awareness, strategies, comprehension, and task performance. Research confirmed metacognition can be successfully taught. However, it has limited influence on mainstream classrooms; classroom instruction lacks pedagogies of metacognition. Paradoxically, teachers’ practices have been assessed inconsistently and independent of students’ metacognition. For these problems, this study developed a pedagogy of metacognition (PMR) and examined the structural validity of its measurement instrument (ITMR). Following a comprehensive literature review, a PMR consisted of fostering students’ metacognitive knowledge, adopting goal-directedness, integrating language of thinking, scaffolding students’ strategic reading, encouraging their independence with strategic reading, assessing metacognition, and prolonging instruction. Then, scale validation procedures were followed. After scale items were generated, QUAID examination, expert, cognitive, and focus-group interviews were conducted for content and construct validity. Following the ITMR’s initial simulation, the data were collected from reading teachers in the United States of America. The data were collected by a computer-assisted survey method and a non-probability sampling technique. Then, the data were analyzed by a factor analysis method, Welch’s, and Spearman’s tests. The ITMR at elementary school level was found to have a unidimensional model accounting for 60% of the total variance (α.97). There were no mean differences in teachers’ self-reported metacognition instruction practices at any grade levels. All dimensions of the ITMR were strongly and positively correlated. By these findings, the significance of this study was recognized and its contributions to the literature were summarized. Also, the discrepancy between the literature and the ITMR and the congruence of metacognition instruction practices across elementary grades was discussed. Assessment practices were recognized as potential aids for classroom metacognition instruction. Future studies were recommended to improve the validity of the ITMR and understanding of classroom metacognition instruction. Educational implications aimed to support both in-service and pre-service teachers as possible. Finally, limitations with scale development, scale’s generalizability, data collection, and analyses were discussed.Item EIGHTH-GRADERS’ READING COMPREHENSION OF INFORMATIONAL TEXTS AND LITERARY TEXTS IN THE 2009 NATIONAL ASSESSMENT OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS(2016) YOU, WEI; Afflerbach, Peter; Curriculum and Instruction; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)National assessment results tell us that a large majority of American middle school students are not proficient readers. These assessment results indicate a dire situation. However, historically literacy research targeting this population is understudied. While we still do not have a complete picture of the situation, we do understand some aspects of it. The current literature has identified student and school characteristics that may explain why American middle school students are having literacy problems. In this study I analyzed the 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reading assessment with a particular focus on eighth graders, looking into both student and school characteristics. The goal of this study was to examine how these student and school characteristics were associated with eighth-grader’s reading comprehension of literary and informational texts. In particular, I explored student and school characteristics that contributed to the White-Black achievement gap and the White-Hispanic achievement gap. The student participants for the 2009 NAEP reading assessment contained a nationally representative sample of 160,900 eighth graders from 7030 schools. Responses to the 2009 NAEP student questionnaire and school questionnaire were analyzed to address my research questions. I used the hierarchical linear modeling approach (HLM) to model the nested data structure (students nested within schools) in NAEP assessment. At the first level, I examined the associations between student characteristics and reading comprehension of informational and literary texts. At the second level, I investigated the associations between school characteristics and reading comprehension of informational and literary texts. One important finding in this study was that after controlling student characteristics (e.g., gender, eligibility for the National School Lunch Program, home literacy resources, school reading amount, reading motivation), the White-Black achievement gap in literary and informational texts disappeared in the within-school model. In the present study the low family income and lack of literacy resources at home contributed to the White-Black achievement gap. This study showed that eighth-grade Black students were especially disadvantaged in terms of family income. In addition to family income, the present study indicated that Black students had significantly lower access to home literacy resources, such as newspapers, magazines, encyclopedias, and books, compared with White peers. Taken together, the low family income and lack of literacy resources at home contributed to the White-Black achievement gap. In addition to these student characteristics, this study also demonstrated that school type was significantly associated with the White-Black achievement gap. More specifically, in public schools Black students scored significantly lower in both informational and literary texts, compared to White students. In private schools, however, no significant difference was observed between White and Black students in literary or informational texts. In other words, Black students performed equally well as White students in private school settings. Another important finding was the performance of Hispanic students. More specifically, Hispanic students scored significantly higher than White students in both informational and literary texts, after controlling all the student variables in the model. The results of the present study indicated that a disproportionately high percentage of Hispanic students were disadvantaged in both family income and parental education, which contributed to the White-Hispanic achievement gap. This finding is consistent with the White-Hispanic achievement gap literature that demonstrates that Hispanic students are more likely to come from low-income families, compared with White students. In addition to socioeconomic status, this study also pinpointed other key student characteristics contributing to the White-Hispanic achievement gap, including home literacy resources, reading amount in school, and reading motivation. The results of the present study indicated that Hispanic students had significantly lower access to home literacy resources, were engaged in significantly less reading in school, and displayed significantly lower reading motivation, compared with their White peers. Thus, a plausible explanation for the White-Hispanic achievement gap among adolescent readers can be reasonably attributed to the differences between Hispanic and White students in these key variables. Above and beyond student characteristics, this study also indicated that school type was significantly associated with the White-Hispanic achievement gap. More specifically, in private schools Hispanic students outperformed White students in both informational and literary texts. However, in public schools Hispanic students scored significantly lower in both informational and literary texts compared to White students. Taken together, these findings indicate the complexity of reading development among Black students and Hispanic students. Both student characteristics and school characteristics contributed to the White-Black achievement gap and the White-Hispanic achievement gap.
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