Browsing by Subject "Third grade (Education) -- Research"
Now showing 1 - 14 of 14
Results Per Page
Sort Options
Item The Effect of ClassDojo and Go Noodle on the Behavioral and Off-Task Disruptions of Third Grade Students(2015-05) Ward, Jernelle J.The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of ClassDojo and Go Noodle exercises on off-task and behavioral disruptions in a third grade classroom. This study utilized a pre/post quasi-experimental design that compared data from November, 2014, to data from March, 2015. The measurement tool was a computer program called ClassDojo that allowed instructors to record student behavioral and off-task disruptions. Analysis of the results revealed that Go Noodle and ClassDojo did not affect the behavioral and off-task disruptions of students in a third grade classroom. In conclusion, more research needs to be conducted to determine whether these interventions could have a positive impact on the behavioral and off-task disruptions of students.Item The Effect of Instruction in Vocabulary Development on the The Reading Comprehension of Third Graders(2011-05) McLendon, Melissa; Masters of EducationThis study examined the effect of instruction in vocabulary development on student comprehension. In this study, third grade students received the vocabulary intervention of semantic mapping to improve their reading comprehension. The researcher hypothesized that the overall reading comprehension skills of third grade students who received instruction in semantic mapping would improve as a result of receiving this instruction. Results from the study supported the hypothesis that the students’ vocabulary development would increase from pre test to the post test. The results indicated a slightly greater increase in vocabulary acquisition among male student participants when compared to results for female students. The scores revealed that the majority of the third graders within the study began the school year achieving below grade level in vocabulary. However, after receiving the intervention of semantic mapping, the majority of the students’ scores significantly increased significantly.Item The Effect of Thinking Maps During the Planning Stage of Writing(2014-05) Gallagher, Lindsay Lanton; Masters of EducationThe purpose of this study was to determine if after explicit teaching of thinking maps, there will be no difference in the writing grades for an on-demand writing prompt using a specific rubric for third graders who use thinking maps during the planning stage of writing, compared to the writing grades of third graders before they were exposed to explicit teaching of the appropriate thinking maps for a narrative on an on-demand writing prompt. The measurement tool was a ten-point writing rubric. This study involved the use of a pretest/posttest design to compare data from February of 2014 (before explicit thinking map teaching for a narrative writing prompt) to data from April of 2014 (after the teaching was complete). Achievement gains were significant, though results could be attributable to a number of intervening factors. Research in the area of thinking maps on writing should continue given the multitude of thinking maps that can be used and the many genres of writing that exist.Item The Effects of Brain-Based Instructional Strategies on Third Grade Vocabulary Retention(2011-05) Burns, Meaghan; Masters of EducationThe purpose of this study was to determine whether the use of brain-based instructional strategies would positively impact third graders’ vocabulary acquisition. Brain-theorists propose that using physical movement during instruction engages the brain and allows for optimal learning to occur. Although this theory is widely supported in the field of brain-based education, there is little empirical evidence to support the use of movement to improve vocabulary retention. To examine the effectiveness of the brain-based strategy of movement, this study utilized a pre-test/post-test design. A sample of 9 third-grade students received traditional vocabulary instruction and was pre-tested. The same group of students then participated in a Brain Gym exercise prior to vocabulary instruction and was post-tested. The t-test results revealed a statistically significant difference between student performance on the pre-test and the post-test. This indicates that incorporating movement prior to vocabulary instruction is beneficial in improving student vocabulary acquisition. Therefore, the researcher concluded that brain-based instructional strategies have a positive impact on vocabulary learning.Item The Effects of Readers Theater Intervention on Fluency Scores of Third Graders(2014-05) Jenkins, Jane; Masters of EducationThe purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a Readers Theater intervention on the fluency scores of third graders. This quasi-experimental study measured the reading fluency scores of participants using a pre-assessment and a post-assessment from the oral reading fluency portion of Dynamic Indicators of Basic Literacy Skills Assessment (DIBELS). There were fourteen participants in the study which included seven Caucasian males, four Caucasian females, one Caucasian male with an IEP, one Hispanic male and one African American female. The study took place over a ten week period and hypothesized that there would be no significant difference in fluency scores for students after participation in a reading intervention, as measured by the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Literacy Skills (DIBELS) assessment, of students who received repeated Readers Theater intervention over a ten week period when their results are compared with their performance on the reading fluency portion of DIBELS assessment that was administered at the beginning of the study. The results suggested that there were statistically significant differences overall in the performance of students on the DIBELS Oral Reading Fluency assessment. This study supports previous research on the effectiveness of implementing a repeated reading program in the classroom.Item The Effects of Reading Strategies on Students’ Reading Levels(2014-07) Etienne, Alicia; Masters of EducationThe purpose of this study was to determine the impact of small reading groups, independent reading, and partner reading on students’ reading levels from on grade level to above grade level. The participants of this study were five third grade students enrolled at an elementary school in Baltimore County. The treatment students were provided instruction from Baltimore County Public School English Language Arts curriculum as designed to align with the Common Core State Standards. In addition to this curriculum, treatment students received small group instruction, were required to complete forty-five minutes of daily independent reading, and partner reading during independent work. The null hypothesis was supported based on the pre- and post-test data, which revealed slight, but non-significant reading level growth. Future research should continue in this area to determine methods of instructions to promote reading level growth to more complex text.Item The Effects of Repeated Reading on Struggling Third Grade Readers [sic] Reading Comprehension(2015-07) Roussey, LauraThe purpose of this study was to determine the impact of the strategy of repeated reading on the reading comprehension of struggling third grade students. This study was quasi-experimental with a pretest and posttest comparing the comprehension scores of the experimental group to the control group of third grade students. Students were randomly chosen based on their small group instructional groups, and their Fountas and Pinnell (F&P) comprehension score. Both groups used the same materials in small group and whole group instruction. The experimental group of 13 students were guided in small group instruction using the repeated reading strategy over the course of eight weeks. The control group of 12 students did not receive additional instruction. Comparison of the pretest and the posttest scores showed no significant difference to suggest that repeated reading is a strategy that would increase reading comprehension among struggling third grade readers. Although the scores did not show significant differences, observations of the experimental group and research suggest that teaching students through the repeated reading strategy can be beneficial to student’s motivation in reading.Item The Effects of the Program QuickReads on the Oral Reading Fluency of Third-Grade Students(2011-05) Christian, Lindsey; Masters of EducationThe purpose of this study was to determine if third-grade students would achieve higher oral reading fluency rates after additional instruction with the program QuickReads. The measurement tool was the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Literacy Skills (DIBELS). This study involved use of a pretest/posttest design to measure the data collected from the DIBELS oral reading fluency assessment. There was not a statistically significant difference between the treatment group and control group performance on the posttest. Achievement gains were demonstrated by both groups. Research in this area should continue as there is little information available regarding the most effective fluency instruction in urban, high-poverty elementary schools.Item The Effects Vocabulary Instruction has on Third Graders’ Reading Comprehension Skills(2014-06) Ishakis, Gittel; Masters of EducationThe purpose of this research was to examine whether direct vocabulary instruction affects the reading comprehension of third grade students. Study participants were 23 third grade reading students. The study took place over a five week period, during which all students completed one reading assessment under both the treatment and control conditions each week. To accomplish this, the first test of each week was given under the control condition, and the second was given under the treatment condition. In the treatment condition, direct instruction regarding new vocabulary was provided. The teacher used a five step plan to teach students new vocabulary words prior to completing a five item comprehension assessment. In the control condition, the students were given parallel passages to read and assessments which they completed independently without any teacher instruction .The scores earned in the treatment condition were significantly higher than those earned in the control condition. The study provides evidence that vocabulary instruction can have a positive effect on reading comprehension.Item The Impact of Instructional Technology on Phonics Instruction(2011-07) Schnepple (Gunneson), Jessica; Masters of EducationThe purpose of this study was to determine if students in third grade receiving special education services improved their overall phonics/decoding skills with the use of instructional technologies. The participants of this study were enrolled in third grade at Glen Burnie Park Elementary School in Anne Arundel County for the 2010- 2011 school year. All of the students received a multi-sensory phonics intervention in a small group setting in special education while the treatment group (technology) was allowed access to instructional technologies, such as the Smartboard, Airliner Slate, and/or Document Camera, during instruction. Both groups participated in 45 minute smallgroup instruction for 4 days per week. While the technology group increased their scores more than the non-technology group on the post-test, the outcome was not significant. Therefore, the hypothesis was not supported. Research in this area should continue to determine the effectiveness of phonics instruction with the use of instructional technologies and student motivation.Item The Impact of Repeated Reading on Fluency and Comprehension(2011-05) Maddox, Lisa; Masters of EducationThe purpose of this study was to examine whether repeated reading interventions improve third grade students’ fluency and reading comprehension. Third grade students with a rating of basic in comprehension as assessed with Anne Arundel County Language Arts Benchmark 1 and at risk according to the DIBELS oral reading fluency (ORF) and retell fluency (2002) used a strategy called repeated reading (RR) over the course of four weeks. This was done in order to determine whether the technique would increase students’ fluency and comprehension of text. Pretest and posttest scores from the County Language Arts benchmark 1 and 2 (comprehension) and from the third grade passages on DIBELS ORF were compared with these of other basic students in the group who did not receive the repeated reading strategy in order to determine whether the students who read the text more than once increased their fluency and comprehension scores. The data shows that repeated reading was successful in improving students’ comprehension scores based upon differences in their pretest versus posttest performance on the Anne Arundel County Language Arts Benchmark 1 and 2. Statistically significant results were obtained for African American students only when the pretest and posttest results from the DIBELS Oral Reading Fluency and Retell assessments were compared. Research into repeated reading should continue as there was some improvement in the performance of students on an individual basis, suggesting that additional time for implementation may influence reading comprehension and fluency growth.Item The Impact of Using Visualization with Third Grade Students Solving Multiplication Word Problems(2014-05) Mierzwa, Jaime; Masters of EducationThe purpose of this study was to determine whether improving reading skills, specifically through visualization, impacts the success of third grade students solving mathematical multiplication word problems. The participants of this study were third graders enrolled in an Anne Arundel County school for the 2013-2014 school year. Participants were given a multiplication word problems assessment to determine areas of weakness or errors made when solving word problems. For six weeks, from February to March of 2014, students received instruction three days a week on how to use the reading strategy, visualization, when solving mathematical problems. This study involved a posttest design to compare data after the interventions were completed to data from February 2014. The hypothesis was not supported for this study since there was a significant difference between the pretest and posttest data after the intervention was administered. The findings in this study validate the importance of improving students’ reading abilities and strategies such as through the use of visualization. This study also suggests that further research is needed in the area of using reading strategies when solving mathematical problems. Research should continue into the best methods to help provide struggling elementary students with additional assistance and strategies to improve their skills in interpreting and solving mathematical word problems.Item Physical Activity and Its Effect on the Classroom(2013-08) Murphy, Ryan J.; Masters of EducationThe purpose of this study was to determine if third grade students would achieve higher on math assignments and behave more orderly in the classroom when they receive more physical activity. The measurement tool was direct observations on classroom behavior and the math teacher’s grade book. This study was a quasi-experimental design. Ultimately, the amount of physical activity a student received did not impact academic achievement or student behavior. Research in this area should continue as there is minimal information on the correlation between physical activity and academic achievement. Future studies should be done at a longer duration and classroom schedules in regards to lessons and activities should be taken into account.Item The Relationship between Small Group Reciprocal Teaching and Reading Comprehension(2014-07) Szymanski, Jennifer; Masters of EducationReading comprehension is a complex process often made increasingly difficult as readers are faced with content oriented reading material. The purpose of this study was to determine whether reciprocal teaching in the small group setting has an effect on reading comprehension. It was predicted that small group reciprocal teaching will have no significant effect on third grade students’ reading comprehension. Over the six weeks, students received reciprocal reading instruction designed to help internalize reading strategies that according to research, enhance comprehension. Results suggested small group reciprocal teaching had a positive effect on reading comprehension. When reciprocal teaching was applied in the small group setting, these participants demonstrated an increase in their comprehension.