PHD, Kent State University, 2023, College of Education, Health and Human Services / School of Teaching, Learning and Curriculum Studies

The Science of Reading era has (re)ignited conversations about equitable literacy instruction. Conflicting literacy research and literacy media reports complicate matters further. Guided reading, a ubiquitous form of small group instruction designed to meet readers' needs through individualized conferring and independent reading with instructional-leveled texts, has been under scrutiny and needs more research. This case study investigated guided reading in a third-grade classroom and explored how the classroom community co-constructed reading and the reading process. Theoretically framed by social constructivism, psycholinguistics, socio-psycholinguistics, and sociolinguistics, this ethnographic-informed case study of n=1 third-grade teacher and n=17 students revealed adherences to and deviations from recommended guided reading instruction. The teacher's guided reading enactment was influenced by imperfect professional development and past reading experiences. This led to enacted adherences (schema building before reading, independent reading during reading, text discussions after reading) and deviations (round-robin reading and absence of conferring). These findings suggest value in identifying nonnegotiables of guided reading and possible negotiable elements in deference to teacher agency. Additionally, an examination of reading and the reading process as cultural constructions yielded a set of norms, such as “reading is about the words” and “reading is not an attention sustaining act” that revealed discrepancies between stated values and co-constructed culture. Implications for practice include shifting from expecting a teacher to be a master of reading to instead embracing a reading-in-process stance; and offering professional development that encourages the interrogation of literacy ideologies. Implications for researchers include the need for observational data to report nuanced (mis)understandings and illuminate the complexities of enacting guided r (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Timothy Rasinski (Committee Co-Chair); William Bintz (Committee Co-Chair); Xenia Hadjioannou (Committee Member); Janice Kroeger (Committee Member); Chase Young (Committee Member) Subjects: Early Childhood Education; Education; Elementary Education; Literacy

Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 1974, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects:

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 1959, Communication Studies

Committee: F. Lee Miesle (Advisor) Subjects: Communication

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 1959, Communication Studies

Committee: F. Lee Miesle (Advisor) Subjects: Communication

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2014, Womens Studies

This dissertation project theorizes the ability contract as a means for understanding the experience of women living with HIV in the United States. I understand the ability contract as the triad of labor-utility-predictability that is central to the construction of the liberal citizen-subject, extending the work of John Locke, Carol Pateman, Charles Mills and Shannon Winnubst. The theory of this project is rooted in my original field research; during the 2012-2013 academic year, I spent six months facilitating a reading group for women living with HIV. Together, we read popular memoirs written by women with what I have termed invisible episodic illness, such as lupus, early stage m.s., chronic depression and HIV. Participants in the reading group used these books as a catalyst for discussing their daily negotiations of labor, family and the medical industrial complex in relation to disability identity. I also conducted one-on-one preliminary and follow-up interviews. What I found was that my research participants all resisted a disability identification, despite many of them accessing disability resources. They also all closely connected their identity not to their current employment conditions, but to their prediction of how they will be able to work in the future. This prediction of becoming a wage-earner was the primary reason for their dis/identification with disability. What explains this close connection of disability with future labor? And what is the relationship between labor and disability at the intersection of gender, race, class, and (medical) citizenship? In order to address these questions, I developed a three-tier reading group research method; in my dissertation, I analyze life narratives of women living with HIV, both the narratives of the women in my group and published narratives; I also analyze the reading group reception to those life narratives; finally, I re-read social contract theory alongside American multiracial feminisms, disability the (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Wendy Smooth PhD (Committee Co-Chair); Brenda Brueggemann PhD (Committee Co-Chair); Shannon Winnubst PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Epistemology; Ethnic Studies; Gender Studies; Health; Womens Studies

EdD, University of Cincinnati, 2010, Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services: Urban Educational Leadership

The purpose of this research was to examine teachers perspectives on transitioning from a predominately whole to small-group delivery method during reading instruction. This study used a qualitative approach and nested itself in an epistemology of constructivism. The research operated under the umbrella of practice ethnography as it closely examined a reading framework that incorporated small-group instruction. Research was conducted in a large urban school district. There were four teachers who participated in the study. All four teachers were implementing a small-group delivery method. Pre-observational surveys, classroom observations and post-observational interviews were used to gain insight into their practice. Using a theoretical perspective of symbolic interactionism, the researcher presented case studies to reveal each teachers reaction as she transitioned from a whole to small-group delivery method. A cross-case analysis was conducted to capture their responses regarding the challenges and benefits of implementing this type of delivery method. The researcher found that although teachers felt that the theory of using a small-group delivery method is pedagogically sound, the process of implementation may be overwhelming. The study found that this delivery method promoted students‟ discourse, social skill development, student-teacher relationships and increased the opportunities for students to respond and actively engage in the learning process. The study also found that one key benefit to using a small-group delivery method is that teachers are able to provide differentiated and individualized instruction according to students academic needs. A list of clearly-identified patterns of effective classroom management strategies and behaviors that are needed when utilizing this delivery method emerged from the study. A primary conclusion from the study is that using a small-group delivery method is not only an academically sound practice for urban schools, but st (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Lanthan Camblin PhD (Committee Chair); Roger Collins PhD (Committee Member); Lionel Brown EdD (Committee Member); Annette Hemmings PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Elementary Education

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2007, Education : School Psychology

This study investigated the effects of small group peer-mediated repeated reading practice on reading fluency and comprehension for students at risk for reading failure. Previous research has investigated the efficacy of peer-mediated repeated reading interventions carried out by student dyads. This research extends the existing research by further investigating the impact of repeated reading on oral reading fluency and comprehension when carried out in a small group format with students in a fourth grade classroom. Results indicated that repeated reading practice in a small group format was effective in improving levels of reading fluency and reading comprehension skills of four targeted students, but there did not appear to be enough data to interpret trend (Christ, 2006). Evidence also indicated immediate class-wide changes in fluency and comprehension but these effects were diminished in follow-up. Acceptability ratings showed that the format was easy to implement and acceptable to stakeholders.

Committee: Dr. David Barnett (Advisor) Subjects:

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2009, ED Teaching and Learning (Columbus campus)

Many students are being taught by teachers who have little background in the children's culture and language. This study explored how authentic ethnic literature could supplement core curriculum in the classroom in an effort to help teachers and students connect across their cultural and linguistic differences. This was a study of fifth-grade students' responses to two different types of text. The two White (not Hispanic or Latino) fifth-grade teachers read aloud all stories to their classes of predominantly Mexican-American students. Following each whole-group read-aloud lesson, each teacher gave six students in their respective classes an opportunity to meet as a small group. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of the basal reading program on the teacher-led whole group discussions and the differences between whole group and peer group literature discussions of two different types of text. The eight-month research process revealed answers to these questions that can be contextualized in the light of the influence of laws, district mandates, and scripted curriculum.Both fifth-grade teachers relied on core curriculum directives when reading aloud and leading whole class literature discussions around multicultural stories included in the basal. Pacing demands eclipsed expansion of literary understanding negotiated between teachers and students during class discussions. However, implementation of the core curriculum varied significantly between the two classrooms. Latino picture book read-alouds and discussion reflected a transfer of core curriculum directives. Peer group discussions demonstrated similarities to whole class discussions with regard to topics of discussion. Significant differences between peer group discussions and whole class discussions included negotiation of meaning among students, sophisticated critique of illustrations and sustained reading for enjoyment. Peer group discussions of Latino picture books were characterized by enth (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Patricia Scharer PhD (Advisor); David Bloome PhD (Committee Member); Barbara Kiefer PhD (Committee Member); Patricia Enciso PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Curricula; Education; Elementary Education; Language Arts; Literacy; Literature; Multicultural Education; Reading Instruction; Teaching

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2007, Teaching and Learning

This dissertation examined the participation of eight lower-achieving readers in two intermediate-level elementary classrooms (one fourth- and one fifth-grade) during group discussions about literary texts. A multiple case study design was used in this investigation. Data were collected between October 2005 and May 2006. Data sources included: field notes collected from participant observation, transcripts and indices of student and teacher interviews, transcripts and indices of audiotaped and videotaped discussions and reading lessons, and students' writing assignments and other artifacts. The findings revealed focal students used the discourse of discussion as a tool to comprehend text in two ways. The students used the discourse about texts as intellectual scaffolds for their own thinking and transformation in understanding of the texts. In addition, the discussions created authentic opportunities for students to explore reading comprehension strategies (e.g., meanings of new words, visualizing the story). Regarding high-level thinking during discussions, the lower-achieving readers' discourse suggested that they thought in high-level ways about texts during discussions, and that they thought in high-level ways to the same extent or nearly the same extent as their peers did in the same discussions about texts. The one major difference in their talk about texts related to the instances of elaborated explanations. From a theoretical perspective, this investigation extends our understanding of lower-achieving readers' use of discursive practices that influence thinking and reasoning about text. From a pedagogical perspective, teachers might need to understand the discourse features that indicate high-level thinking to model and discuss the features in their work with lower-achieving readers during discussions about literary texts.

Committee: Ian Wilkinson (Advisor) Subjects:

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2004, Educational Theory and Practice

This study focused on reading as a mode of learning and mathematics as a way of knowing. Reading literature was interwoven into a mathematics geometry classroom over an entire school year. Two books, Flatland by Edwin A. Abbott and its sequel Sphereland by Dionys Burger, were selected and used because rich mathematics is interwoven throughout the stories. This study examined the effect interweaving had on students' beliefs about and attitudes towards mathematics as a discipline and their perceptions of their performance. The participants were all young women from a single-sex high school, primarily sophomores along with several freshmen. Both quantitative and qualitative approaches were used in this study. In order to gather data about their attitudes, beliefs and perceptions, a grounded survey was administered in September and May to two groups: a treatment and a non-treatment group. Various student documents available only for the treatment group were analyzed. The thrust of the study was to compare within the treatment group from September to May and to compare between groups. The students who experienced the interweaving of literature into their geometry class expanded their view of mathematics. Mathematics was now a process, a way of knowing. They saw an increase in the relevancy of mathematics to the real, everyday world. They felt an increase in value for their ideas in mathematics, more so than in English. Attitudes towards, beliefs about, and perceptions of mathematics became more positive as a result of the union of mathematics and English. There was a constant and continuing transaction taking place among the learner, the text, and the context. Each contributed to the other in an on-going process and none of them remained unchanged in the process. Through the transactions, students explored the nature of mathematics, mathematics as a process and mathematical concepts. The result was reading was a mode of learning and mathematics was a way of knowing in ge (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Douglas Owens (Advisor) Subjects: Education, Mathematics

Specialist in Education (Ed.S.), University of Dayton, 2012, School Psychology

The present study examines the use of story maps to improve reading comprehension skills of six fourth grade students diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Previous research has indicated story maps aid several of the reading deficits often associated with ADHD, yet limited research has investigated whether story mapping increases comprehension skills for this population. The present study also examines whether the effects of story mapping will be maintained after the intervention is discontinued. The participants' comprehension levels were evaluated using DIBELS Oral Reading Fluency and Story Retell measures and the AIMSweb Maze measure. An analysis of the data is expected to reveal that story mapping increases comprehension skills for students with ADHD and that this effect is maintained after the intervention is discontinued. Limitations of the results and implications for future research are discussed.

Committee: Sawyer Hunley PhD (Committee Chair); Susan Davies EdD (Committee Member); James Evans PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Educational Psychology