This quantitative action research explored the impact of instructional coaching on students' performance on middle school reading assessments. Students' performance was measured in this study by examining students' percentiles scores on pre and post-tests on standardized reading assessments. The study included a treatment group that consisted of…

The quantitative methods study examined and compared the knowledge of phonological awareness between preschool and kindergarten teachers. A multiple-choice knowledge survey was utilized to determine levels of understanding between the two groups of teachers. The knowledge survey consisted of questions pertaining to definitions of phonological…

This qualitative phenomenological dissertation in practice explored teacher perspectives of the Texas Reading Academies required by the state of Texas. Students at an elementary school in Texas were performing below grade level expectations in reading. Although teachers were required to complete the Texas Reading Academies, based on the data…

Research has been conducted on the science of reading and how students learn to read. This knowledge has not increased reading achievement in middle school. Reading scores in grades 6-8 across America are declining. The gap for students with disabilities is widening. Luhmann's Systems Theory provided a framework for understanding an organization…

Teachers play a large role in determining whether or not the classroom climate experienced by students is positive, especially through their visible emotional behaviors (i.e., neutral, positive, and negative emotional expressions). Research suggests that teachers make specific contributions to the classroom emotional climate in actions such as…

This action research study describes the influence of differentiation of reading instruction based on student choice and interest on the reading growth of seventh-grade special education students in the academic enrichment classroom. This research was grounded in the theoretical framework that involves differentiation of instruction (Tomlinson,…

Research has supported multiple reading strategies and interventions for students with Emotional and/or Behavioral Disorders (EBD). These include systematic and explicit instruction and multicomponent interventions that address phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, comprehension, and fluency. Some of these reading interventions also included…

This study analyzed the effectiveness of instructional time on rhythm-reading learning and retention. Second-grade students (N = 128) received either five-minutes or ten-minutes of rhythm-reading instruction using techniques from Feierabend's (2001) "Conversational Solfege" and practice during regularly scheduled weekly music class.…

The purpose of this two-phase mixed-methods study was to describe the relationship of the ratio of the number of minutes of instructional classroom time to the number of minutes of scheduled unstructured recess time and the reading scores of fourth- and fifth-grade students in Title I schools in the state of Texas. Further, the beliefs of teachers…

This qualitative study examined the amount of time that fourth and fifth grade teachers devoted to literacy instruction within the time allotted to them within the daily literacy block. Prior research of the literacy block focused largely on primary grades (Allington, McGill-Franzen et a1.,2010; Cunningham & Allington, 2003; Morrow, 1992);…

This dissertation study examined reading achievement among students enrolled in half-day kindergarten (HDK) and full-day kindergarten (FDK) programs. First, a review of the research on reading achievement in students in both HDK and FDK programs was presented. Next, the study, including the research questions, study design, and analysis plan, were…