Date

12-2015

Department

School of Education

Degree

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Chair

Linda J. Holcomb, Scott Watson

Keywords

CCSS, Curriculum, Engagement, Informational Text, Motivation, Reading Achievement

Disciplines

Curriculum and Instruction | Education | Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research | Educational Methods | Educational Psychology | Other Education

Abstract

The purpose of this nonequivalent control-group design study was to determine if students had an increase in reading level and motivation to read when more informational text and instruction was added into the curriculum. The independent variables were the reading curriculum, with Success for All (SFA) used with the control group and SFA with additional instruction in informational text used with the study group. The dependent variables were reading level and levels of motivation determined by the Scholastic Reading Inventory (SRI) and the Elementary Reading Attitude Survey (ERAS) measured after eight weeks of instruction and again three months post-study. The research questions sought to determine if there was a two population case significance test of means difference in reading level and motivational gains between the group that received traditional reading instruction and the group that received additional instruction in reading informational text. The study also sought to determine if the academic reading and recreational reading gains differed between two instructional groups. Finally, the study also looked at immediate and three month post-study reading level gains. The sample included approximately sixty fifth graders from a mid-sized elementary school in the mid-west. Reading levels were measured with the Scholastic Reading Inventory (SRI), a quantitative assessment that is both valid and reliable, and attitude gains were measured with the Elementary Reading Attitude Survey (ERAS), also valid and reliable. After Levene’s tests were run, ANCOVA was used to compare means. Results showed that students in the study group scored significantly higher on the academic, recreational, and total score of the ERAS post-study but did not score significantly better on the SRI, neither eight weeks post-study nor three months post-study.

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