Search Results

open access

A Philosophical Study of the Holistic Paradigm with Heuristic Implications for Written Language

Description: The problem of this study was to investigate the philosophical assumptions underlying the holistic paradigm. These underlying philosophical assumptions include beliefs about the nature of being (ontology), goals (axiology), and knowledge (epistemology). The interdependence of these assumptions, as well as how they translate into different research processes, is noted in this study.
Date: December 1993
Creator: Campbell, Carol L. (Carol Louise)
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

How Computer Use Functions as an Aspect of Literacy Development : A Qualitative Description of a Second-grade Classroom

Description: In this study, the researcher investigated how computer use functions as an aspect of literacy development within a second-grade classroom. The researcher sought to gather data to help define the role that computer use plays in the literacy development of elementary school students by concentrating on how computers are actually used in the classroom being studied, and by looking for relationships revealed by students' and teacher's beliefs about computer use in the classroom.
Date: December 1993
Creator: Kostelnik, Joyce L.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

The Effect of Creative Dramatics Activities on the Story Retellings of Kindergartners

Description: The study was designed to determine the effect a dramatic play activity had on the content of a story retelling of kindergarten students. Approximately 35 students were randomly sampled to form experimental and control groups. Both groups engaged in a read aloud activity, followed by brief discussion, and an independent illustration of the story. The experimental group participated in a creative reenactment of the story prior to the illustration activity. Students in both groups then retold the… more
Date: May 1993
Creator: Weidner, Deborah Fowler
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Reader-Reported Influences on a Fifth Grader's Transaction With Extended Text

Description: This study was designed to investigate the question of what goes on in a reader's mind as she transacts with extended text. It was a case study with one respondent, a ten year old girl. She reported, in writing, her thoughts during teacher read aloud, subsequent silent reading of the same text, and group discussions about the text. The findings support and flesh out Rosenblatt.s transactional theory, Vygotsky.s Zone of Proximal Development theory, and Lipman.s Philosophy for Children theory. Co… more
Date: December 2001
Creator: Hubble, Winona Gaye
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

The Nature of Reading Instruction in a Literature-based Reading Program

Description: The purpose of this study was to describe the nature of reading instruction in a program using children's trade books instead of basal readers, and to identify patterns resulting in hypotheses regarding the nature of instruction. The study informs practitioners by providing descriptions of actual instruction, enabling readers to envision how reading instruction is accomplished using children's trade books, and it informs the research community by developing grounded theory concerning the nature… more
Date: August 1992
Creator: Canavan, Diane D.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

The Characteristics of a Community of Practice in a National Writing Project Invitational Summer Institute

Description: This qualitative naturalistic descriptive case study provides an understanding of the characteristics of a community of practice within a National Writing Project Invitational Summer Institute. This study utilized naturalistic, descriptive case study methodology to answer the research question: What characteristics of a community of practice are revealed by the perceptions and experiences of the fellows of a National Writing Project Invitational Summer Institute? Data were gathered in the form… more
Date: May 2010
Creator: Pearce, Terisa Ronette
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Perceptions of agency: Beliefs of four adolescent girls in high school as revealed through literature discussions.

Description: Published research suggests that cultural practices and institutional structures influence adolescent girls' engagement and achievement in school. This study was an attempt to further investigate that claim by describing the perceptions of agency held by four adolescent girls in high school. Members of the same English class, the girls volunteered to participate in three lunchtime meetings to discuss Evelyn Coleman's (2001) Born In Sin. Analysis of classroom observations, transcripts of audio r… more
Date: August 2008
Creator: Curtis, Joan Scott
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Struggling Middle School Readers Learning To Make Intertextual Connections With Texts

Description: When people read, they often make connections to their lives, the world, and other texts. Often, these connections are not overt, but are a thinking process invisible to observers. The purpose of this study was to explore the intertextual connections struggling middle school students made as they read multiple topically-related texts to build knowledge, through observation of discussions, surveys, and interviews with students. The students received 30 lessons based on the constructivist model o… more
Date: December 2011
Creator: Johnson, Sunni
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Effects of Teaching Reading Through Discussion of Text Structures.

Description: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of teaching reading through discussion of text structures on students' reading comprehension. The design of the study was a Pretest-Posttest Control-Group Design. One hundred twenty-six sophomore and senior Thai college students majoring in English and attending afternoon English classes participated in the 10-week study and were randomly assigned to an experimental group and a control group. The experimental group received reading… more
Date: December 2001
Creator: Piyanukool, Surachai
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Teacher Decision-Making: Cultural Mediation in Two High School English Language Arts Classrooms

Description: Although studies have addressed high school English language arts (ELA) instruction, little is known about the decision-making process of ELA teachers. How do teachers decide between the resources and instructional strategies at their disposal? This study focused on two monolingual teachers who were in different schools and grades. They were teaching mainstream students or English Language Learners. Both employed an approach to writing instruction that emphasized cultural mediation. Two questio… more
Date: August 2011
Creator: Araujo, Juan José
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

A Content Analysis of Reading Software Commercially Available for Pre-K to 3rd Grade Children.

Description: The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate the content and characteristics of the currently available commercial reading software for Pre-K through third grade children. The design of the study was a content analysis. Based on the evaluation rubric established by the researcher, ten commercial reading software were selected to be analyzed. By reviewing and transcribing, the data were obtained, and then coded, categorized, and interpreted. The findings from the analysis revealed th… more
Date: May 2002
Creator: Nakjan, Sutat
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Ninth-grade Students’ Negotiation Of Aesthetic, Efferent, And Critical Stances In Response To A Novel Set In Afghanistan

Description: This qualitative, action research study was guided by two primary research questions. First, how do students negotiate aesthetic, efferent, and critical stances when reading a novel set in Afghanistan? Second, how do aesthetic and efferent stances contribute to or hinder the adoption of a critical stance? A large body of research exists that examines student responses to literature, and much of that research is based on the transactional theory of reading. However, it remains unclear how critic… more
Date: December 2011
Creator: Taliaferro, Cheryl
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Critical Literacy Practices, Social Action Projects, and the Reader Who Struggles in School

Description: This study, conducted at an urban public school, explored the engagements of five, fourth grade, African American students who struggled with reading in school as they participated in critical literacy practices and social action projects with the assumption that critical analysis of written texts and concrete social actions were necessary for student empowerment. Using Discourse Analysis within a microethnographic framework, participants’ responses were analyzed. Early in the study, participan… more
Date: December 2011
Creator: Bauer, Courtney Marie
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Examining First-Graders' Construction of Knowledge of Graphophonemic and Orthographic Relationships: Reading and Writing Student-Selected Continuous Text

Description: The purpose of this study was to examine first-graders' construction of knowledge of graphophonemic and orthographic relationships. Three levels of treatment were assigned randomly to three groups of first-graders in their first semester of first grade. Treatment varied in student engagement with reading and writing texts based on student interests and in the amount of interaction students had with one another and the researcher as they read, wrote, and examined words, word patterns, and grapho… more
Date: May 1996
Creator: Frerichs, Linda C.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Home-based family literacy practices of an Hispanic family: A case study of activities, functions, and the interface with school-based literacy expectations.

Description: This study examined the home-based family literacy practices of one Hispanic family, especially focusing on the parents' memories of home-based and school-based literacy activities, current home-based literacy activities and functions, and the interface of home-based family literacy practices and school-based literacy expectations. Ethnographic data offered insight into the understanding that literacy acquisition begins in the home and is dependent and reflective of literacy experiences that ar… more
Date: August 2006
Creator: Page, Jim Larkin
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Identity Issues in Asian-American Children's and Adolescent Literature (1999-2007)

Description: Published research suggests that literature should transmit ethnic and societal values as well as reassure one's own confidence and self-respect. This study provides a model for examining Asian-American children's and adolescent literature critically from the perspective of identity issues. It examines fifteen award-winning Asian-American children's and adolescent titles written by writers of that culture and published in the United States from 1999 to 2007, with a focus on Chinese (Taiwanese) … more
Date: December 2009
Creator: Liu, Yi-chen
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

An Exploratory Study of the Relationship Between Curiosity and Print Awareness of Four-Year-Old Children

Description: This study has five chapters, organized in the following manner: (1) Chapter I contains the introduction, statement of the problem, purpose of the study, questions, significance of the study, and definition of terms; (2) Chapter II is a review of the literature; (3) Chapter III is a description of subjects and tests and procedures for treating the data; (4) Chapter IV contains the statistical technique of the analysis and the findings related to the questions, and (5) Chapter V consists of the … more
Date: December 1988
Creator: Estrada, Anita
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

A Tagmemic Analysis of Coherence in the Writing of Descriptive Texts by College Students

Description: For this study an attempt was made to bridge the disciplines of linguistics and composition in order to examine factors contributing to textual coherence. Pairs of descriptive texts written by fifty college students were examined in order to identify the factors which differentiate quality and topic. Students were asked to compose a descriptive paragraph on the topic of fall. They were then encouraged to use their five senses, given leaves, and asked to compose a paragraph describing the leaves… more
Date: August 1988
Creator: Kent, Carolyn E. (Carolyn Elizabeth)
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

"I Like the Name but Not the Soup!": An Ethnographic Study of the Metalinguistic Sentience of Young Gifted Children, Its Reflection of Their Cognitive Ability and its Relationship to Their Literacy Acquisition and Literacy Learning

Description: Metalinguistic sentience refers to the conscious or unconscious apprehension of, sensitivity to, and attention to language as something with form and function that can be manipulated. This includes, but is not restricted to, conscious or unconscious apprehension of, sensitivity to, and attention to the following aspects of language and literacy: pragmatics, syntactics, semantics, phonology, orthography, morphology, figurative, metalanguage, print "carries" meaning, print conventions, book conve… more
Date: August 1988
Creator: McIntosh, Margaret E.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

The Effects of Cognitive Styles on Summarization of Expository Text

Description: The study investigated the relationship among three cognitive styles and summarization abilities. Both summarization products and processes were examined. Summarizing products were scored and a canonical correlation analysis was performed to determine their relationship with three cognitive styles. Summarizing processes were examined by videotaping students as they provided think aloud protocols. Their processes were recorded on composing style sheets and analyzed qualitatively. Subjects were s… more
Date: August 1988
Creator: Mast, Cynda Overton
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

The Nature of the Impact of a Reading Tutoring Program on Participating Students in the Classroom: A Qualitative Study

Description: The purpose of this qualitative multi-case study was to explore the nature of the impact that a tutoring program, which featured preservice teachers as tutors, had on participating fifth grade at-risk students’ literacy behaviors in the classroom.The researcher served in the role of passive participant observer during the scheduled language arts period three days per week in the participating students’ classroom for a period of twenty-three weeks. Field notes were made in the classroom and code… more
Date: August 2000
Creator: Arrowood, Dana R.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Examining the Nature of Interactions which Facilitate Learning and Impact Reading Achievement During a Reading Apprenticeship: A Case Study of At-risk Adolescent Readers

Description: The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the interactions that take place during a reading apprenticeship which facilitate the learning of reading strategies by adolescent students who are at the middle school level and are still at-risk for reading failure and to investigate how a reading apprenticeship affects reading achievement in the areas of fluency, vocabulary development, comprehension, and the self-perception of the reader. The case study was descriptive and interpreti… more
Date: December 1999
Creator: Arthur, Mary L.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

From inside the Arab family: What literacy practices occur when raising bilingual and biliterate children?

Description: Living in the United States creates unique challenges in biliteracy and bilingualism for the Arab family. While extant literature provides insight into the literacy interactions and experiences of families from many other cultures now living in the U.S. , there is next to nothing regarding the Arab family literacy experience. Thus, knowledge about the literacy activities Arab families engage in as they gain access to and knowledge of a new culture and language is important. The purpose … more
Date: December 2004
Creator: Alshaboul, Yousef Mohammad
Partner: UNT Libraries
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