UMD Theses and Dissertations

Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/3

New submissions to the thesis/dissertation collections are added automatically as they are received from the Graduate School. Currently, the Graduate School deposits all theses and dissertations from a given semester after the official graduation date. This means that there may be up to a 4 month delay in the appearance of a given thesis/dissertation in DRUM.

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    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.
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    INCREASING READING ACHIEVEMENT AND NARROWING THE READING ACHIEVEMENT GAP FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES THROUGH EFFECTIVE EVIDENCE-BASED CORE INSTRUCTION, EARLY IDENTIFICATION & PREVENTION AND TIERED INTERVENTIONS
    (2021) Harris, Christina Marie; McLaughlin, Margaret J; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    ABSTRACT Title of Dissertation: INCREASING READING ACHIEVEMENT AND NARROWING THE READING ACHIEVEMENT GAP FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES THROUGH EFFECTIVE EVIDENCE-BASED CORE INSTRUCTION, EARLY IDENTIFICATION & PREVENTION AND TIERED INTERVENTIONS Christina M. Harris, Doctorate of Education, 2021 Dissertation directed by: Dr. Margaret McLaughlin, College of Education Many students, especially students with disabilities are underachieving in reading. Early evidence-based literacy instruction implemented in kindergarten and first grade is critical for providing the necessary foundation for learning to read. The status of kindergarten and first grade literacy instruction impacts the goal of ensuring students are reading by grade three and sets the trajectory for future academic success. This study focused on determining the status of evidence-based early literacy instruction in K-1 classrooms in District C through surveying teachers regarding their knowledge and skills in teaching reading and their use of instructional practices. Observations during literacy instruction in a sampling of classrooms in the district focused on implementation of key practices aligned with structured literacy. The investigation of teacher knowledge of evidence-based literacy instructional practices and the status of implementation of evidence-based literacy instruction in K-1 classrooms will help to inform teacher professional development so that early evidence-based literacy instruction is implemented in core instruction in the most critical grades which will improve reading achievement for all students, including students with disabilities. The research study was guided by these questions: 1. To what extent do teachers in grade K-1 classrooms report having the knowledge and skills to teach all students using evidence-based early literacy practices in the five areas of reading? 2. What challenges to implementing evidence-based early literacy practices do K-1 teachers report? 3. To what extent do a sample of K-1 teachers demonstrate evidence-based literacy practices aligned with key principles of structured literacy? Based on the survey results, the majority of teachers rated having about average to high levels of knowledge with teaching the 5 areas of reading but rated lower teaching reading to struggling readers and students with disabilities. Teachers rated highest their knowledge/skills in teaching phonemic awareness and phonics and rated lowest for vocabulary. Teachers reported the most prevalent instructional practices used are teacher demonstrations/modeling and guided practice and the most prevalent grouping approach is whole class. Classroom observation results indicated that teachers are implementing evidence-based instructional practices, but with varying frequencies including high rates of teacher modeling and low practice opportunities for students.
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    READING COMPREHENSION STRATEGY INSTRUCTION IN UPPER-ELEMENTARY CLASSROOMS WITH ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS: A STUDY OF PRACTICES AND OUTCOMES
    (2015) Doyle, Candice Briece; Silverman, Rebecca D; Special Education; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    The goal of this study was to investigate the relationship between reading comprehension strategy instruction (explicit or skills-based) in general education settings and third through fifth grade students' reading comprehension outcomes. In addition, I was interested in whether relationships between instruction and outcomes differed for students from English only (EO) and English language learner (ELL) backgrounds. To address these goals I conducted a secondary data analysis of 59 Reading/Language Arts classroom observation transcripts. These represented observations of 19 teachers at three time points (fall, winter, spring). I analyzed transcripts by employing an iterative coding process including open, axial, and selective coding (Strauss & Corbin, 1990). I coded teacher talk at the utterance (Crookes, 1990) level for either explicit instruction (instruction that included all of the following: introduction, modeling, collaborative practice, guided practice, independent practice) or skills-based practice (teacher practice in which students were asked to apply a comprehension strategy absent of instruction of how to do so). In addition I coded for separate parts of the explicit instruction model (introduction, modeling, collaborative practice, guided practice, independent practice). Then, I quantitized (Tashakori & Tedlie, 1998) the instructional code data into average frequency counts across observations in order to conduct multiple regression analyses with student reading comprehension outcome measures. I found no statistically significant results related to the explicit instruction model (as a whole), or skills-based practice and students' outcomes. However, when analyzing separate parts of explicit instruction, results suggested that more guided practice was associated with higher scores on one outcome measure. In exploring interactions between language background and instructional codes, I found no differences in relationships between instructional codes and reading comprehension for EOs versus ELLs.
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    THE EFFECTS OF DISCIPLINARY LITERACY INSTRUCTION ON READING COMPREHENSION AND HISTORICAL KNOWLEDGE
    (2015) Walker, Caroline Y.; De La Paz, Susan; Special Education; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    This study examined the effects of three Tier 2 summer reading interventions on struggling readers who were about to enter the sixth grade. Students were assigned to one of three reading conditions: The first condition provided students with a disciplinary reading strategy utilizing primary and secondary documents on the history of China (N = 35); the second condition provided a generic comprehension strategy utilizing the same history of China materials (N = 30); the third, business as usual comparison condition, provided students with multiple, ad hoc comprehension strategies and varied texts (N = 45). The study sought to test whether a history-specific reading strategy would lead to greater comprehension gains than a generic comprehension strategy and whether both interventions, based in history content, would lead to greater content learning outcomes than ad hoc strategies and unconnected texts. Results indicate that in comparison to students in the business as usual comparison condition, students in both the disciplinary and generic strategy conditions showed greater growth on a researcher-created content measure of history. Students in these two conditions also showed more growth than peers in the comparison condition on a researcher-developed disciplinary comprehension measure. Contrary to the author's expectations, students in the two treatment conditions performed similarly on the disciplinary comprehension measure. This finding may have been due to problems with fidelity of implementation, the similarity of the two interventions, or the greater familiarity students and staff had with the generic comprehension strategy. Students in all three interventions showed growth on a standardized reading comprehension measure, the Gates-MacGinitie. In addition, regardless of condition, students did not show growth on a measure of reading motivation. Students who were diagnosed with reading disabilities performed similarly to peers who were struggling readers but not identified as having a disability on all measures. These results, which differ from those with older middle school students, suggest a need for future research on the relative effectiveness of both discipline-specific and generic reading comprehension strategies on comprehending and learning history content.
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    Urban Fourth and Fifth Grade Teachers' Reading Attitudes and Efficacy Beliefs: Relationships to Reading Instruction and to Students' Attitudes and Efficacy Beliefs
    (2004-04-30) Baccus, Ayanna Asha; Chambliss, Marilyn; Curriculum and Instruction
    Research on children's attitudes toward reading and reader self-efficacy indicates that they both are aspects of reading motivation and relate to achievement in reading. Additional research suggests that teachers' attitudes and beliefs connect to classroom practice, student motivation, and student achievement. Grounded in these conceptual underpinnings, this study focused on relationships between urban elementary teachers' and students' attitudes and efficacy beliefs in reading. Participants included 77 teachers and 183 students from one large urban school district. Overall, teachers and students reported positive attitudes toward reading. Teachers' also expressed confidence in their ability to provide quality reading instruction and impact student achievement. However, students, were less efficacious in their reading skills and abilities. Results also demonstrated significant relationships between teachers' and students' reading attitudes and efficacy beliefs. Furthermore, teachers' beliefs varied according to their years of experience, class size, and educational training in reading, and reading habits. Relationships existed between teachers' attitudes and beliefs and the amount of instructional time spent on various aspects of reading instruction, including comprehension development and reading strategy instruction. Teachers' use of instructional materials, alternative assessment practices, and grouping structures for reading also related to their attitudes and sense of efficacy. In particular, teachers' efficacy beliefs in reading related to more instructional factors than teachers' attitudes. Teachers believed that they could use reading instruction to make a difference in students' lives and achievement regardless of poor student motivation and other challenges. Teachers in this study maintained a high sense of efficacy with regard to teaching reading. Believing that they could impact student learning, teachers' adopted new instructional practices, sought additional training and education, and worked with parents. Findings from this study support efforts to provide teachers with positive reading experiences and quality professional development in reading. Given the many challenges urban teachers face on a regular basis, it is necessary to help them feel confident in teaching reading and able to express enjoyment of reading to their students. Helping teachers to develop more positive attitudes and beliefs in reading may have a powerful influence on their instructional decisions and ultimately, on their students' motivation and achievement.