2
12
29
-
https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/1909/archive/files/d7d5498c782ae5495df07e22b1b1c398.pdf?Expires=1712793600&Signature=Dr66ZmlQMU5gbMWPqJSznlDqiW5uLYmRYnP2UIQ2TAXv2-WC-oTqEiU8uuzdV2cFCNc8W2eCh4TmZr3V3tAmZD1QY1u9dwz81%7ECPqpo%7EtUN4zaWvruDnxXfyaw-IUFj9o-013f2O1p3ab2bRS743L941B6FKWLSSPIswKR4t5DhPvQKYZoSBvh%7Ew1JWm59iBIQef9%7E2Yr1t19eROBeGWOF8TeQaquu1RuCxNzQajXaURItNvqBQ%7E2ghyvTYQrg0yAlWniXFUcCuZbzNY-ofq8ri-5T30iaDIoFrjo2pl2%7EEe4X8yqcpKA8OXZ%7ENQLWt9%7EAjF8x5qXzoA0zVfWtMvxQ__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM
a9420afbf490541e71d28a818b8d0369
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Wagner College Electronic Thesis Collection
Description
An account of the resource
Full text access to Wagner College theses in PDF format.
Document
A resource containing textual data. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre text.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Exploring parents' goals for their children's preschool experience
Description
An account of the resource
MS Ed: Early Childhood/Special Education
Abstract
A summary of the resource.
Today's education requires that children attend a fitting preschool setting aligned with their parents' goals. Parents may take innumerable factors into consideration when choosing the right preschool for their child, such as the school's philosophy, their personal beliefs, instruction, location, and the school's reputation. Parents' own early educational experiences may also influence them in profound ways as they pursue their decision-making process.
This study aimed to explore parents' goals and own early childhood experiences in an effort to help teachers better understand and connect with parents. The study used interviews and an online questionnaire. The questions were both specific and open ended, as one of the goals was to learn about personal accounts and memorable experiences parents may have enjoyed in their earliest educational settings. Results indicate that parents do in fact place children in certain preschool settings based on their own early educational experiences, as they want them to either go through the same enjoyable occurrences or undergo better experiences. Implications suggest early childhood centers should understand parents' own experiences and goals in order to forge a deeper connection between educators and parents through a sharing of personal, early educational accounts. Such connections could result in a more comforting and enjoyable learning experience for children, since parents and teachers will be more able to work together toward the same goals.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Fazio, Paige
Date Accepted
Date of acceptance of the resource. Examples of resources to which a Date Accepted may be relevant are a thesis (accepted by a university department) or an article (accepted by a journal).
2013
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
DeMoss, Karen
Gonzalez, Katia
Frumkin, Rhoda
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
U.S. and international copyright laws may protect this work. It is provided by Wagner College for scholarly or research purposes only. Commercial use or distribution is not permitted without prior permission of the copyright holder.
Is Part Of
A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included.
Wagner College Electronic Thesis Collection
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
application/pdf
Extent
The size or duration of the resource.
60 pages
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Ed_2013_Fazio_Exploring
-
https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/1909/archive/files/079655e4a741c184b32f108b7e08e54f.pdf?Expires=1712793600&Signature=CRDpXd3qtbgXolj9XkE0sUs%7EZF%7EqcDM5eyRsdz8lqzhHZBJXpfWzjiDN2KSD5KHL%7EOs2lXYfQIHeO%7E7y4wenJGK%7EUZSL4g1%7E8TnPLHq-TH5teVXhIqDO00FmD%7EUactAvr0VkzuOen-GQoPhlK97XFtk9eDBW80UeJ5lh4MArm7ZqnjO4UYwbah2YvEfZLmyA1py9Y7fRAkWPpwEqUWQjgH9I9EXXwetkQZSWjqVzyhvVb39zmnImUFFtxdHC43%7EU1LhImv00zlTk9FKjsd9477sxoNmNcv5mf1vashwFMygR7OCoqoapMKER1xHUgQ1GNzXtQcTGH5X7Jyk-g2ZZXQ__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM
cc59718bd8332e21c3363721e81a2ad4
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Wagner College Electronic Thesis Collection
Description
An account of the resource
Full text access to Wagner College theses in PDF format.
Document
A resource containing textual data. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre text.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Addressing family diversity: creating a LGBTQ inclusive program for early childhood educators
Description
An account of the resource
MS Ed: Early Childhood/Special Education
Abstract
A summary of the resource.
Between I and 13 million children are being raised by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer (LGBTQ) parents in the United States. This means that in early childhood settings across the country, many students are coming to school with diverse family configurations. There has been much research done to show the importance of a positive relationship between school and home life, especially for children in early childhood classrooms. A positive bond formed between families and early childhood educators is a key factor in a child's development and leads to better social, behavioral, and academic outcomes. Students tend to perform better and have higher self-esteem. Therefore, it is imperative that children see their diverse families represented in materials and lessons in schools. LGBTQ diversity training is needed for both pre-service and in-service teachers so they can learn appropriate ways of creating an inclusive classroom.
The purpose of this study was to explore the idea of LGBTQ inclusion in early childhood settings. This study surveyed current early childhood teachers to learn what inclusive practices they are currently employing in their classrooms, as well as their background knowledge in LGBTQ issues. LGBTQ parents who have or have had children in early childhood classrooms were interviewed on their experiences in an effort to gain real life understanding and insight into the struggles LGBTQ families face. LGBTQ parents were also questioned about their hopes and expectations for inclusive schools. Finally, the information gathered from the parent focus group and teacher surveys was used to develop a framework for an LGBTQ inclusive workshop for teachers to learn more about family diversity and how to incorporate these issues into their classrooms.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Figuly, Jessica
Date Accepted
Date of acceptance of the resource. Examples of resources to which a Date Accepted may be relevant are a thesis (accepted by a university department) or an article (accepted by a journal).
2014
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Gazzard, Ann
Gonzalez, Katia
Gordon, David
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
U.S. and international copyright laws may protect this work. It is provided by Wagner College for scholarly or research purposes only. Commercial use or distribution is not permitted without prior permission of the copyright holder.
Is Part Of
A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included.
Wagner College Electronic Thesis Collection
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
application/pdf
Extent
The size or duration of the resource.
107 pages
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Ed_2014_Figuly_Addressing
-
https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/1909/archive/files/3c3e9c24d8ce49da1cefcdc84adbe406.pdf?Expires=1712793600&Signature=vRXiGYjSd1uSlyDTtBQy3AN9Ud996xnJ0DFUBNdOdHV7AP4bqTjjcFDSXVmAoAUTd%7E8GGrGaL3%7EzSJhh5uiSvPI42-F88Gdty8DmEg0Fa2bP8yjHBzzq9XJYne-87pz3eyX0byYW5rXcwdk6PInHS5gQmj5BbT4QUTSBI024do5ljkdgOU-MtKd2pLHg9yGh5vrI32OwRpQ3Co8u7FwhYJCx6I2E6mEsLEM0NaROqUBqdDSS-LC5cnzdH5rsuEc1nV%7EWkNufrkxRmh230WVW2Rvn4sEfSuxRWO8CILqPVyxQ7iRTcQmQvu-iusa6vHAVmxhug-r3RjFER1fc4ghk0w__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM
98341ffe4cf3b500e3a8cbbf8634d3c0
PDF Text
Text
Running head:
INFLUENCE OF CBRT ON SCIENCE CONTENT
INFLUENCE OF CURRICULUM BASED READER'S THEATER ON SCIENCE
STUDENTS' PERFORMANCE ON IN-CLASS ASSESSMENTS
By
Gina Giglia
Submitted in
fultillment
requirements for the degree of
Master of Science in Education
Education Department
Wagner College
May, 2014
�THE INFLUENCE OF CBRT ON SCIENCE CONTENT
2
Wagner College
Division of Graduate Studies
s Thesis
Gina Giglia
Influence of Curriculum Based Reader's Theater on
Title of thesis:
Students' Performance on In-Class Assessments
Degree:
MSED Teaching Literacy
Date of Graduation:
May, 2014
Thesis Review Committee:
Thesis Advisor:
Dr. Rhoda Frumkin
Date
Reader:
Date
Reader:
Dr. Ann Gazzard
Date
�THE INFLUENCE OF CBRT ON SCIENCE CONTENT
3
Abstract
This study explored the implementation of Cuniculum Based Reader's Theater in a 5th
grade science classroom. Traditional Reader's Theater is often used in classroom as an
engaging activity for students. The instructional purposes of traditional Reader's Theater
range from supporting story comprehension, increasing reading fluency, and boosting the
motivation to read. This study used a variation of Reader's Theater, known as Curriculum
Based Reader's Theater (CBRT), to introduce science students to new content
information. The participants of
study were 13 fifth grade students and a science
teacher from a Title I school located in New York City.
purpose of
study was to
measure the impact of Curriculum Based Reader's Theater on both students' acquisition
of new knowledge per in-class formative
summative assessments and their
motivation to learn science. Over the course of four lessons, students were introduced to
the topic of astronomy through teacher created scripts. On day five, the final day of the
unit, students were given a ten question quiz to assess the content learned. Results
suggested that Curriculum Based Reader's Theater is an effective teaching strategy
introducing new science content knowledge. Curriculum Based Reader's Theater also
supp0l1s students' acquisition of new science content knowledge, while increasing
students' levels of motivation and participation in science. The researcher suggests that
adaptations to the implementation of Curriculum Based Reader's Theater may increase
the ellectiveness of the strategy.
Keywords: Reader's Theater, Curriculum Based, CRRT, science, comprehension,
scripts
�THE INFLUENCE OF CBRT ON SCIENCE CONTENT
4
Table of Contcnts
Abstract...............................................................................................................................3
'fable of .Figurcs..................................................................................................................6
'fable of 'rabIes ................................................................................................................... 7
Chapter 1: Conceptual Framework .................................................................................8
What is Reader's Theater? ................... .
.......................... 9
Comprehension............................. .
.............................. 13
Fluency ......... .
............................. 15
Motivation ..... .
17
A Variation of Reader's Theater: Curriculum Based Reader's Theater (CBRT) .......... 19
Conclusion and Need for This Study ............................................................................ .22
Chapter 2: Literature Rcview .........................................................................................24
Repeated Readings
.24
Fluency ........................ ..
Assisted Reading and Non-Repetitive Strategies .................................... ..
.. ....... 27
Reader's Theater for Learning Disabled Students
...28
Curriculum Based Reader's Theater.
.. ..32
Chapter 3: Methods .........................................................................................................38
Participants .....................................................................................................................38
Procedure......
Context ...................... ..
Analysis
.. ................40
...43
..........................49
Chapter 4: Findings and Results ....................................................................................51
Acquisition of Knowledge ...
.. ................51
Formative Assessments in Curriculum Based Reader's Theater ...................................51
Summative Assessment in Traditional Instruction and Curriculum Based Reader's
Theater ....................................................................................................................... .
Participation and Motivation .....
.. ...............59
Chapter 5: Discussion and Implications ........................................................................66
Discussion and Conclusions ............................................................................................66
Limitations ............. ..
Implications for Future Practice ........... ..
. .... 69
....................................... 71
�INFLUENCE OF CBRT ON SCIENCE CONTENT
5
Implications for Future Research ...
.. ...........74
References .........................................................................................................................77
Appendix A: Consent Forms ..........................................................................................79
Appendix B: Curriculum Based Reader's Theater Week Breakdown.......................81
Appendix C: Pre-Curriculum Based Reader's Theater Survey ..................................83
Appendix
I):
Lesson 1: What Makes Up the Solar System? ........................................84
Appendix E: Astronomy Quiz ........................................................................................88
Appendix F: Post-Curriculum Based Reader's Theater Survey for Students ...........90
Appendix G: Post-Curriculum Based Reader's Theater Survey for Teacher ...........91
�THE INFLUENCE OF CBRT ON SCIENCE CONTENT
6
Table of Figures
Figure 1: Comparison of Quiz Scores without Extra Credit.. ......... .
Figure 2: Comparison of Quiz Scores to Show Range
Figure 2: Copernicus' Model
Figure 1: Ptolemy's Model
3:Kcpler's Model ........................................................... .
................ 53
............ 56
........ 87
87
�THE INFLUENCE OF CBRT ON SCIENCE CONTENT
7
Table of Tables
Table 1: Breakdown of Traditional Instruction Week ...................................................... 41
Table 2: Breakdown ofCBRT Week ................................................................................ 43
�THE INFLlJENCE
CBRT ON SCIENCE CONTENT
8
Chapter 1: Conceptual Framework
When we read a story or piece of informational text our main
is to read
comprehension. In order to read for comprehension, readers must acquire
reading
t1uency at the level
skill of
the text is written. From a very early age, even before
beginning their educational careers, children are asked questions that require them to recall
inf'Ormation from various parts within a story or in reference to the story as a whole.
Fluency of the reader often plays a large part \vhen determining if comprehension has
occurred. Reading fluency and comprehension operate together; if there is a lack 01 one,
presumably there will be a lack in the other (Kabilan & Kamaruddin, 2010).
From as early as Kindergarten, teachers teach their young readers how to read with
fluency and how to comprehend what they have read in the passage. Teachers provide their
students strategies that SUppOit reading for
main idea, supporting 11:1ets and details, the
author's purpose, cause and effect, sequence, and ultimately comprehension (Young &
Vardell, 1993). Students are taught how to highlight important information, annotate the
text, complete graphic organizers,
Teachers
write responses all to support the purpose ofreading.
commonly model for students how 10 complete
above successfully
order to benefit the students' comprehension and ability to read. While supporting the skills
and strategies through modeling
applied text, teachers are also indirectly modeling f'Or
students how to read with fluency.
There are a variety of strategies
comprehension
teachers can use in order to support students'
Hueney. The appropriateness of
strategy often depends on the
structure of the text and genre. One strategy f'Ound most effective across texts and genres
is known as Reader's Theater.
�THE INFLUENCE OF CBRT ON SCIENCE CONTENT
9
Whllt is Reader's Theater'!
Reader's Theater is an instructional method of teaching that requires students to
learn content through repeated readings. Reader's Theater focuses on
text with fluency
ability to
expression. Rehearsals and repeated readings ultimately lead the
students to comprehend the text. The first reading exposes the student to the vocabulary,
author's purpose of
text. Following readings allow the students to focus
on understanding the terms used in
script, the true meaning ofthe text how the text can
main idea,
be read with expression, and repeated exposure to
text as whole. Repeated exposure to
the text familiarizes the students with words and ideas that are placed throughout the
sections of
text. Soon students will begin to recall the information
words of each
section. When reading the text, students will be able to read the words accurately and
automatically. The students' need to decode the text will decrease as
text becomes a
natural part of reading (Kinniburgh & Shaw, 2(07).
Students are motivated to pa11icipate in Reader's Theater as reading is not viewed
as a chore,
a fun classroom activity. Reader's Theater enables students to create a new
world by exploring texts and stories more than just one time. Students arc able to step on
stage and take on the role of a different person, becoming someone other than themselves
for a short period of time. Since students are taking the reins of their learning they are
motivated every step of the process (Kinniburgh & Shaw, 2(07).
Reader's Theater can be used
any classroom as a remedial strategy or
instructional method to teach curriculum content. Often teachers hesitate to use Reader's
Theater as a remedial strategy or instructional method due to the lack of time in the
classroom in a given day (Flynn, 20(4).When introducing Reader's Theater it is best to
�,UENCE
CBRT ON SCIENCE CONTENT
10
start small; build
for carrying out Reader's Theater and expectations for behavior.
Beginning the process \vith modeling
and expressive reading is beneficial for the
students.
students through choral readings or informal
teacher can slowly involve
round robin readings. Depending on the judgment of the teacher and the abilities of the
students the teacher can continue in choral readings and informal
can begin introducing
script be created by the
robin readings, or
students to scripts and script writing. It is suggested that the
as a whole.
practice the students can be broken up into
groups, where each group receives a different script (Prescott, 1999).
Most
time Reader's Theater scripts are based on
books, especially ones that contain
pictures, are great resources
Reader's Theater scripts (Stewart, 2008). Non-fiction
material
personifying every element, bringing
turning text
provide a
met with the brilliant imaginations of the
any specialized content textbook
stories. Content
souree
Students can transiorm
the material on the pages
a script with ease by
text to life. By using textbooks to make a Reader's
Theater script the teacher and students are choosing grade level appropriate material.
Through
use of grade level appropriate text students
be able to analyze, acquire,
and comprehend the story or text information successfully.
In order to construct a script that the students
or a section of a book to their liking.
perform or create a script
should
enjoy, they must first pick a book
the passage should only take five minutes to
is between two to three pages. Books suited
adaptation
a lens
rich dialogue and exciting characters. Students should read
identifying a compelling storyline, steady pace,
and conflict (Prescott, 1999).
books from a series or by a particular author make the most of iami1
the students
�THE INFLUENCE OF CBRT ON SCIENCE CONTENT
11
\"lith
format authors use to write their stories, such as language
and character and
plot development. Poetry and speeches are written to be spoken aloud and allow the reader
to recite with natural ease as one
do in a conversation. Poetry and speeches often
convey meaningful text that students are able to analyze and make meaning of. Allowing
students to create their own poetry about content material or personify elements of the text
creates an opportunity for students to manipulate text according to their own understanding.
Texts are scripted by
teacher or groups of students. The original text can be kept
as written, or modified to meet the needs of the teacher, students, or lesson. The teacher
should focus on the parts
the text that will connect and remain
popUlation. It is acceptable to cut out material that
(Stewart, 20 10). Ideally the text is divided
the student
seem too advanced for the student
meaningful parIs, similar to acts and scenes
in a theatrical play. Students are assigned a part of
text
can be grouped based upon
how the experience will be beneficial to all students, for example by interest or reading
level. Lines can be given to students individually, in pairs, small groups, and whole group,
giving each student the opportunity to perform. Students focus on the words of
script
and the gestures they make to explain the content of the script, rather than focusing on
acting out
scenes of a play (Flynn, 2004). In Reader's Theater students are not solely
required to write scripts. Students can create poems, songs, or raps in order to present the
content material precisely. Students often create more pieces of
with heavier
imagination than pieces written by the teacher, resulting in highly engaged students and
audiences (WOlihy & Prater, 2002).
Rehearsal, or repeated readings, is an important part of Reader's Theater.
amount of times a student practices amplifies the final performance, tluency in reading,
�THE INFLUENCE OF CBRT ON SCIENCE CONTENT
12
and comprehension of the material. Struggling readers benefit from repeated readings
because it helps the students to understand and comprehend the material and vocabulary
when text is initially difficult (Prescott, 1999). Through repeated reading students learn the
text and text structure more fluently, but also revisit the content information multiple times.
Revisiting the text multiple times supports the acquisition of new knowledge. By the end
of the process, students are able to provide clear, fl uent, and thorough explanations of the
text, communicating the text to the rest of the class in a way that is comprehensible and
pleasurable.
In the middle school grades, students are developing independent literacy skills that
they will use for the rest of their lives, especially in high school and college years. Middle
school grades are crucial for academic development (Worthy & Prater, 2002). Similar to
Reader's Theater in the elementary grades, Reader's Theater in the middle school grades
focuses more on the analysis and ability to convey meaning through their interpretive
readings. Reader's Theater is an opportunity for middle school students to rewrite their
textbooks into exciting, comprehensible, and even hilarious material. Due to the higher
levels of reading and writing skills of students in the middle school grades, Reader's
Theater can be used as a common instructional activity in order to acquire and comprehend
new knowledge. Reader's Theater allows students to take control of the dense material that
fills their textbooks and bring it to life. Why read numerous amounts of pages, tilled with
content that is complex, followed by an activity that is just as dryas the text, when you can
become the text and perform the text with expression, excitement, and comprehension?
Many habits developed in rehearsing for Reader's Theater carryover to any style of reading
the student may pmiake in. Reader's Theater is based upon the theory of effectively
�CBRT ON SCIENCE CONTENT
13
addressing and increasing reading fluency,
&
('(\In)'..,.p
Prater, 2002).
extensive preparation of a play, such as costumes, props, sets, and
memorization, Reader's
the teacher and the
IS
students. Students can explore the world, battle dragons,
seas,
cI
to
the highest peak in the world all without leaving the four walls ofthe classroom and their
very own seats
& Vardell, 1993). When students are able to perform the text with
intonation, expression, and
create a
of information that the audience
members can be a part of (Young & Vardcll, 1993).
Comprehension
some readers may occur when the reader spends
too much time trying to decode the words
text
to comprehend
what is being read, individuals must bc able to decode words accurately and
readers are able to do just that. Fluent readers are able to decode words accurately
and
the
Fluent readers are able to process meaning at
the opportunity to comprehend the text.
same
are
to decode
words. The mastery of any skill depends on the ability to perfcmn multiple tasks at a given
the brain to carryon with other functions. Mastery of skills also requires the
brain to focus consciously on a
Ultimately, if two or more tasks are being performed at
executing other functions.
same
one or more or
the tasks are being performed automatically (Homan, Klesius, & Hite, 1993).
Reader's
performing, which can
also requires students to move around while practicing and
Movement and gestures make
�JNFLUENCE OF CBRT ON SCJENCE CONTENT
14
Reader's Theater more interesting to perform and watch when the readers accentuate the
dialogue with appropriate movements and gestures to support the text and further explain
content. Gestures
increased retention
are relevant and significant to the script content promote
material. It is said by researchers, observed by educators, and
most importantly defined in Howard Gardner's (1983) mUltiple intelligences, learning that
incorporates a physical process is more likely to be recalled (Flynn, 2004).
Repeated reading supports students in retention of
material. Through repeated
reading students are reading, reciting, repeating, and revievving the material,
retention, critical thinking,
aiding
making meaningful connections with the text. Being able
to retain information supports the students in many situations. With standardized testing
being one of the many focuses of edueation, being able to retain inlormation only supports
the students during times of testing. Being able to retain information largely requires the
use of semantic memory; semantic memory requires the brain to remember words, such as
names, facts, figures, dates, locations,
other textbook information. Unfortunately
semantic memory is the weakest of the human's retrieval systems (Bullion-Mears,
McCauley, & McWhorter, 2007). By dramatizing the information ofthe textbook and using
Curriculum Based Reader's Theater to rehearse and perform curriculum content material
students are strengthening their semantic memory. Curriculum Based Reader's Theater
ideally takes the content material that has been seripted
rehearsed numerous times and
enters it into the students' long term memory, in turn being available when it comes to
perform
be assessed.
Through vvriting their own scripts, students eome in contact with the content of the
textbook first hand. Through the process of writing students begin Reader's Theater with
�THE INFLUENCE OF CBRT ON SCIENCE CONTENT
15
a familiarity of the content. In addition, writing often supp0l1s the learning process through
the movements our hands make as we write, creating opportunities of success for the
students when the time comes to perform v./fitten assessments (Flynn, 2004).
Fluency
Repeated reading, as llsed in Reader's Theater, plays a role in increasing tlueney.
Repeated reading provides students
multiple exposures to a text, allowing for tluency
to develop over a short period of
The National Reading Panel defines fluency as
reading a text with speed, accuracy, and proper expression (Stewart, 2010). Other
definitions of fluency refer to oral reading ability, but neglect the idea of comprehension
when in fact comprehension is equally a goal
reading. Pikulski and Chard (2005)
synthesized a definition from the Report (?f the National Reading Panel (NICHD) and
Literacy Dictionm:v (Kinniburgh & Shaw, 2007) that includes comprehension:
Reading fluency refers to the efficient, effective word recognition skills that permit
a reader to construct the meaning of text. Fluency is manifested in accurate, rapid,
expressive oral reading and is applied during, and makes possible, silent reading
comprehension. (p. 17)
Most definitions of f1uency focus on
student's ability to read
accuracy,
automaticity, and prosody. When determining if a student is reading with accuracy teachers
are looking for repeated moments of reading where
student is able to recognize words
in the text without any error in pronunciation. Accuracy also refers to the ability to decode
words properly and pronounce each letter
the correct letter sound. Automaticity refers
to the student's ability to read words in a given text correctly and effortlessly. By reading
with automaticity
student's brain is able to function and apply cognitive resources
�THE INFLUENCE OF CBRT ON SCIENCE CONTENT
16
simultaneously while reading. Prosody is the ability to analyze a text for emotion and
expreSSIOn
semantic
reading and portray it orally. The student's phrasing
reflect the
syntactic content of the passage (Young & Rasinski, 2009).
Although reading with speed is an aspect of reading that students try to increase,
teachers must be aware of the
for speed is not a means
speed plays on the student's comprehension. Reading
seeing how fast a student can read. When students read
speed they should focus on how
they speak, as fluency is modeled after natural speech:
if one is speaking too fast it is diflicult to understand what he or she has
a listener who is unable to comprehend the speaker.
speaker speaks too slowly and is dragging out
and attention, unable to comprehend the
resulting in
exact opposite applies
or her words;
a
listener may lose focus
of the speaker's message.
same theory
applies to fluency in reading. If students read with an emphasis on speed, comprehension
the text will
lost; students pay minimal attention to
content, reading without
meaningful expression (Young & Rasinski, 2009).
Repeated
is a valuable strategy teachers use in order to support fluency and
comprehension simultaneously. Repeated reading of the same passage, orally, is an
effective strategy for developing fluency in reading by providing students vvith the practice
needed to increase automaticity. Students receive the practice
practicing
script over
over in preparation of the
Fourth grade teacher Lorraine Griffith
repeated reading by
performance
2004).
Reader's Theater with her students to improve
their reading abilities. After ten weeks of implementing Reader's Theater, every child in
Lorraine Griffith's class gained a full grade level in reading. By the end of the year
students' gains had totaled up to three years of growth (Prescott, 1999).
�OF CBRT ON SCIENCE CONTENT
17
The student's ability to read
demonstrates more than just the ability to
sound good when he or she reads. Reading with
students are
IS
reading with comprehension. Many researchers debate that fluency
related.
comprehension are
lead to comprehension? Does comprehension lead to fluency?
Through repeated reading
are
control of the text and recalling how they
read the text the previous time, in addition to
a new
correcting errors
they had made and recalling the information the comes next (Worthy & Prater.
Motivation
Reader's Theater creates oooortunities for struggling or less skilled readers to
receive support from classmates \vho are more advanced
By listening to classmates
read aloud, the more advanced readers model for struggling readers
hOW
a
reads and what a fluent reader sounds like to listeners. Struggling readers can practice
reading
or
text
more advanced readers simultaneously in order to hear
how the words are supposed to be spoken and how the text is supposed to sound. Through
group practice, struggling students practice the skills of correct
and expression. In addition. teamwork stimulates focused reading, as the students must
group lines, cues, gestures, and the script overall (Flynn, 2(04).
to
close
Reader's Theater is
all students, including students
to
who have minimal to no interest in reading at
When a
IS
to
,-,uvv",-,
or
her own role based upon interest he or she is often eager to participate in other scripts,
on as
Theater
roles as possible. Sixth grade teacher Rick Swallow used Reader's
C'Cl"AnrY"l
to
the
Things Are. Even the most reluctant
�THE INFLUENCE
CONTENT
18
reader eagerly awaited
performance
the role of Max. The
student quickly became an avid reader (Prescott, 1999).
Rick Swallow used Reader's Theater particularly to focus on
academic success to boost their self-esteem and confidence. Reader's Theater etTectively
changed
soon
students' outlooks on reading, emerging into lively readers. Reader's Theater
a contest between students who could read the role more convincingly.
one reader in particular who was hindered by extreme shyness. This young
girl was
too
to even raise
the young girl became a new
class. After receiving the role of Mrs. Clause
to
could not wait to receive
future roles in every script. In the end,
reading. Third grade teacher Risa Sterns recalled a voun!:!
shyness
bOV
mastered
m one
was emotionally disturbed and a non-reader. The student otten sat
himself, refusing to participate or take part in any of the activities
other students
his class. By the following year the student would edge closer and closer to the stage,
to participate. By the time the student reached fifth grade he beeame a full and
Reader's Theater. A once reluctant reader began to develop a love for
active
reading.
at
session the young boy looked up to her with a smile,
a smile that had
and was proud of his
achievements (Prescott, 1999).
Reader's Theater provides the teacher
developing interpersonal, social, and collaborative
for
members
These skills will be later carried throughout life with the students. Developing the above
skills particularly supports struggling students. Reader's Theater supports the needs of
�THE INFLUENCE OF CBRT ON SCIENCE CONTENT
19
every student, enabling the students to express their knowledge creatively in a manner that
best suits his or her needs. Reader's Theater indirectly boosts the students' self-esteem and
can affect the students' behavior in and outside the classroom. In boosting the students'
self-esteem, Reader's Theater reaches out to students
are particularly shy or have
anxiety. Without the pressures of a true theatrical performance students are able to relax
and perform with ease and confidence (Young & Vardell, 1993).
Drama, and 1110st of the arts, is not commonly found in many schools anymore.
loss of the arts is unfortunate due to the
through participation. Drama is a
created and the many skills that are learned
activity for children that can foster emotional growth,
motivation, and engagement. Reader's Theater not only fosters reading fluency, listening
and speaking skills, but
emotional growth, motivation, engagement, confidence, and
transforms reluctant readers into book lovers (Prescott, 1999).
A Variation of Reader's Theater: Curriculum Based Reader's Theater (CBRT)
playwrights can take pieces of information, historical episodes, or narratives
adapt them as scripts with lines of dialogue, couldn't teachers and students do
something similar with the contents of a textbook, a novel, or a collection of facts?
If playwrights create lines of dialogue for a given number of characters, couldn't
teachers and students write lines so that every member of their group- or even the
entire c1ass- has a speaking role?" (p. 360)
Curriculum Based Reader's Theater, also known as CBRT, is a variation of
Reader's Theater that, as Flynn (2004) suggests, uses the topics and content material of the
curriculum to develop teacher and student created scripts. Curriculum Based Reader's
Theater activities require students to demonstrate comprehension, paraphrasing,
�THE INFLUENCE OF CBRT ON SCIENCE CONTENT
20
summarizing, synthesizing information,
communicating ideas and information orally
(Flynn, 2004). CBRT scripts are written to address a variety
local, state,
national
standards of the curriculum content.
Teaching through Curriculum Based Reader's Theater begins
on curriculum content material. The teacher must examine
addressed and met once the lesson or
text,
teachers may
standards that need to be
is completed. Textbooks are a form of appropriate
provide the students with
can be derived from, such as a
resources
students
develop the
and group
individual
can be created from
of characters and a narrator(s), in addition to
Students must remember
playwrights create a script
information
sheet, piece of literature, or set of instructions. Students
review the information while simultaneously thinking about roles
the
a script based
they are playvvTights and
delivers material in an energetic way that grasps the
attention of the audience. Students can use humor, contemporary references, expressions,
sarcasm,
other uses
will depend on
mastered the skill of
own or
the help of group mates, once
writing. Younger or less capable students
on their own,
a variety of ideas
rather support
teacher
to write
have grasped and
not be able to
script writing by offering
2004).
Students are assigned parts
rehearsal t()Cuses on reading
Rehearsals to
scripts to seize the audience. Script writing
ability of the student. Older, more capable students may be
entire script on
write the
language in
focus on
are directed to highlight their lines. The
lines correctly, listening
cues, and unison speaking.
volume and expression. Rehearsals and perfonnances
increase the students' abilities to read a given text
fluency. Reading with f1uency
�THE INFLUENCE OF CBRT ON SCIENCE CONTENT
21
.
.
In expressIng
the
content
understanding the content, and reading
connection between fluency
script, recognizing words accurately,
expression
at the same
Due to the
comprehension, students are gaInIng knowledge and
comprehension of the content, supporting higher achievement (Flynn,
Curriculum Based Reader's Theater
many benefits that affeet students
throughout the eourse of the learning process. Due to the limitless amount of opportunity
student involvement,
student in
has a part
the performance of a
Curriculum Based Reader's Theater script. Students are simultaneously engaged
attentive throughout the process. There is never a group
is too large or small to
accommodate the script and purpose of Curriculum Based Reader's Theater (Flynn,
Curriculum Based Reader's Theater is
as students
being involved in their
own lea111ing, solving problems, and creating something of their very own. During
process students partake in interesting creations, collaborate
others, meet challenges,
move around, and make discoveries on their own. Curriculum Based Reader's Theater is
especially exciting to use in content areas
to create your own
brings new
the material is dense and dry. Being able
on numbers in math class, or
to the material. Students
animal kingdoms in science class
to acquire
a manner that is more appealing than solely reading
textbook or
Ultimately, Curriculum Based Reader's Theater improves
arts
learning at
the curriculum in a more feasible manner,
every student a sllccessful star performer
students' abi
a worksheet.
to read
revising, increases retention of
with fluency and motivation to write, as well as it
content information, addresses the standards
learn new information in
levels, integrates the
incorporates theater skills, making
2(04).
�TIIE IN FLU
OF CBRT ON SCIENCE CONTENT
22
Conclusion and Need for This Study
Research shows the many benefits Reader's Theater possesses for readers of all
grades and reading levels. Reader's Theater increases rcader's flucncy
repeated
exposure to the same text multiples times a day over the course of week. Students become
f~1l11il iar
the words
tcxt and are soon able to read the words in thc text
accuracy and automaticity. Through repeated exposure and repeated readings students gam
a clearer understanding of the concepts
ideas of text. Each time
student reads
text new ideas and vocabulary become clearer in understanding, developing meaningful
comprehension of
text. Reader's Theater puts
students in
of their learning,
motivating students to practice something they have created and work
towards a
successful final piece. Students are supported every step of the way, receiving modeling
peers. In addition, Reader's Theater is a
from the teacher and
terms of making complex texts more comprehensible and
At
middle school
teaching tool
for students of all ages.
science becomes increasingly difficult, as it often requires the
application of more complex and abstract thinking in order to master a variety of concepts.
Much research shows the benefits of using Reader's Theater with fiction books to
support students' story comprehension
reading
fluency, in addition to boost
motivation towards reading. Curriculum Based Reader's Theater is a variation of Reader's
Theater
found in a classroom. Through this
is not
I will explore the
use of Curriculum Based Reader's Theater to teach new content in a science classroom. I
will
explore
students
Based Reader's Theater.
study will
new knowledge through
use of Curriculum
on the inlluence Cuniculum Based Reader's
Theater has on science students' performance on in-class assessments:
�THE INFLUENCE OF CBRT ON SCIENCE CONTENT
23
a. How does Curriculum Based Reader's Theater (CBRT) impact science students'
acquisition of new knowledge, per in-class formative and summative assessments?
b. How does CBRT impact in-class assessment scores?
c. In what ways does CBRT impact student motivation towards learning SCIence
content?
�INFLUENCE
CBRT ON SCIENCE CONTENT
Chapter 2: Literature Review
Reader's Theater is commonly implemented to enhance, support, and advance
students in the comprehension of text, reading
Research has shown
implementing Reader's Theater
strategy for accomplishing
published data
and the rnotivation to read.
classroom is an effective
common above three goals. Teachers and researchers have
supports Reader's Theater as an effective strategy, meeting the needs
of all students from
who thrive to
who strive.
Repeated Readings and Fluency
In 1979, Samuels studied the effectiveness of repeated readings on the fluency of
average
poor readers, including mentally retarded students. The results of the study
number ofrepetitions needed to master t1uency decreased over a period of
showed that
as the students repeatedly read a passage. In
it was also
reading of one passage transferred to the reading of new
the name
Knupp carried out a similar
that repeated
Another researcher by
in 1988. The students in Knupp's study
practiced repeated readings four days a week, for one
each day,
pretest scores showed an average rate of 69 words correct
eleven weeks.
minute. The posttest scores
showed an average rate of 91 words correct per minute. Five of the eight students in
Knupp's study reduced their error scores by 50 percent. Six of the eight students improved
by seventeen percent or more on the comprehension posttest (Hite,
& Klesius,
1993).
Young
Reader's Theater
Rasinski
a study
2007-2008 school year, incorporating
daily instruction of Chase Young's class. The
contained
general education, Title I students in second grade. The students' reading levels at the
beginning of the study ranged
early kindergarten to midyear
grade; the average
�INFLUENCE OF CBRT
SCIENCE CONTENT
25
reading level was end of first grade. Young delivered the Developmental Reading
Assessment (DRA) at
beginning and end of the year to assess each student's reading
word recognition accuracy
level based
comprehension. In addition, the students
were tested using the Texas Primary Reading Inventory (TPRI) to assess their reading rate
and prosody. Both assessments were delivered at the end of the
, after the
implementation of Reader's Theater, to assess the improvements in reading rate, prosody,
comprehension, and word recognition (Young & Rasinski, 2009).
The students were tested
prosody and reading in September through
use of
Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA) and Texas Primary Reading Inventory (TPRJ).
In the spring DRA was tested in April and
was tested in May. In the
began with a strong word recognition accuracy
remained strong throughout the year
99.2%. Based on a scale of 1-4,
a class average of 98.9%. Students
increased by
four being
students
raising the class average to
max, students began in the
with a
class average of 2.2 in prosody. The class average increased by 0.8, or 20%, raising
average to 3.0. The increase in prosody resulted in students reading higher
greater prosody.
texts with
tinal DRA test in
Fall the class DRA average was 19.4. After
April the class average rose 11.8, increasing the average to 31.2; Chase's students scored
above the goal
second grade by 3.2. The students made the largest gains in automatieity.
At the beginning of the school year the class averaged 62.7 words correct per minute. By
the end of the year the class growth was 64.9, an increase of almost 65 words. The class
average rose to 127.6 words correct
out of the
minute.
and 75 th percentiles and into
(Y oung & Rasinski, 2009).
tremendous
75 th and
pushed the students
percentiles
second graders
�THE INFLUENCE OF CBRT ON SCIENCE CONTENT
26
qualitative
showed
as significant
as the quantitative results.
Reader's Theater had many positive and motivational e1Tects on the students as well.
Students highly enjoyed the opportunities to practice and perform
Reader's Theater
scripts. Young recalls one student's response, "Mr. Young, Reader's Theater rules!" Many
students found Reader's Theater to be challenging because it required more reading
(repeated readings),
it was "flm reading" and required the
Struggling readers enthusiastically
observed that
"Fluency Friday." Young and Rasinski
struggl ing readers often chose
they loved the task
rehearsing
to learn more.
longest or most difficult
because
final performance. Students were exposed to a
oftext due to the ability of incorporating all genres into Reader's Theater.
very wide
Student feedback led Young and Rasinski to accomplish the goal successfully of
implementing Reader's Theater into the classroom: "creating a fun and creative means to
1l1crease
to build
reading, to promote repeated readings to foster reading
confidence, and to make meaning." (Young & Rasinski, 2009)
2006 Casey
Theater
Chamberlain had students practice and perform a new Reader's
every week
enjoyed scripts
the J 2-week study. The
were adapted fi'om books that they had been exposed to previously.
Teachers observed that within two
Theater to
found that students most
reading activities and
students transferred skills learned in Reader's
texts. Over two thirds
improved their reading rate with an average of eighteen more
correctly. From 43% to 52% percent
and pace (Clementi, 2010).
students
per minutes read
students increased their phrasing, smoothness,
�TIlE INFLUENCE OF CBRT ON SCIENCE CONTENT
27
Hollingsworth, Sherman and Zaugra (2007)
(2008) conducted action research studies that
Neumann, Ross, and Siaboch
that students responded best towards
activities that included elements of Reader's Theater: repeated readings and performances.
Reader's Theater was a forerunner in the
comprehension
of methods used to improve student
text and motivation to read.
researchers found that student
comprehension increased due to repeated readings until the students obtained a thorough
understanding of
text. Reader's Theater increased the students' academic success,
enthusiasm, and motivation (Clementi, 201
Assisted Reading and Non-Repetitive Strategies
1987 Dowhower and in 1990 Rasinski studied the comparisons of assisted
reading with repeated reading.
and repeated reading
researchers found in their data that assisted reading
resulted
substantial improvements
reading rate
accuracy. Even below average readers increased in their reading rate and comprehension,
decreasing in the amount of word errors made. Stoddard added, after her study in 1988,
that students were trained to segment sentences scored higher when tested for
comprehension (l lite, Homan, & Klesius, 1993).
A
reading and
conducted
Hite, Homan, and Klesius examined the
nonrepetitive strategies
of repeated
as echo reading, c10ze reading, and
unison reading on reading rate, error rate, and comprehension. The purpose of the
examined two research questions: do the instructional methods of repeated reading and
assisted nonrepetitive reading strategies have an effect on sixth grade Chapter I students'
reading performances? And, is the dIect
repeated reading instruction significantly
greater than that of assisted nonrepetitive reading methods on the reading performance of
sixth grade Chapter I students? Participants in the study were 26 sixth graders who were
�OF CBRT ON SCIENCE CONTENT
28
part
01
a
I
two
centers of a metropolitan area. The 26 sixth
Homan, & Klesills, 1993).
graders were below
The students were gi ven
and post- tests
passages that were
selected from a commercially prepared informal
or
Burdett and
Ginn Basal Series workbook. The reading passages were narratives
between fOUlih and seventh grade. Two forms of the tests were
A and
B. The two treatments were executed by three teachers, three times a week, 20 minute
seven weeks (I rite, Homan, & Klesius, 1993).
were noteworthy improvements between the pre- and
post- test scores. Students who participated in repeated reading and assisted non-repetitive
reading
made significant gains in comprehension. The results demonstrated that
there are no additional benefits of one strategy over
discussion the
researchers made connections between the increase of ron,",,,.. ,.a.h£O,,..
amount
time focused on connected reading. In both repeated reading and assisted non-repetitive
reading strategies are great remedial strategies, even if used for short periods oftime (Hite,
& Klesills, 1993).
Reader's Theater for Learning Disabled Students
studv conducted bv Carol Corcoran was designed to assess the effectiveness of
12 learning disabled students in
Reader's
a combined second
third grade excenli
tests were previously given to the start of the study
Oral reading fluency
at
of the
study. After eaeh oral reading fluency text was given, students received a survey in regards
to reading attitude (Coreoran, 2005).
�THE INFLUENCE OF CBRT ON SCIENCE CONTENT
29
The pre and post surveys were designed so that the first six questions would elicit
the students' comfort levels with reading in different contexts and situations. The students
scored their answers on a scale from one to four. After the post survey results were analyzed
the students comfortability levels increased by 2 to 16 percent. Students' comfOli level
jumped 14% from 81 % to 95% in regards to how Reader's Theater made the students feel.
Previous to Reader's Theater 52% of students felt comfortable reading out loud in school.
After Reader's Theater 68% of students felt comfortable reading aloud in school, an
increase of 16% (Corcoran, 2005).
Fluency scores were tested at the end of January and beginning of April. Overall
the class average for words read correct per minute increased by 17 additional words
correct from the initial text given in January. Students' gains led them to approach on grade
level quartiles (Corcoran, 2005).
Although the data showed gains for the students who participated, it is difficult to
hold much of the data with high value due to the fact that the group of participants was a
small number. In addition only a short period of time passed between pre and post oral
reading fluency tests. Unfortunately in this study there was no control group to compare
findings. Further research would need to be conducted in order to measure the effects of
Reader's Theater on reading and fluency achievements for students with learning
disabilities (Corcoran, 2005).
In the study of Mraz, Nicholas, Caldwell, Beisley, Sargent, and Rupley (2013), a
third grade teacher implemented Reader's Theater to improve fluency levels of the
struggling readers in her class. Like many teachers' first thought, the classroom teacher
agreed that Reader's Theater is a great instructional method in theory, but "will it work in
�my classroom?" Nineteen third graders participated in the study, ranging in age from seven
to nine. Three of the nineteen students were repeating the third grade, as an additional three
students received special services four days a week due to learning disabilities. At the
beginning ofthe study none of the students were on grade level (Mraz, Nichols, Caldwell
&
13).
Basic Reading Invcntorv was
10 detemline
""·pt",,,j
scores
students. Scores ranged from 81 words conect per minute to 9 words read correct per
minute; the class average was 55 words read correct per minute. The suggested district goal
set for all second graders by the end of the year was 90 words read correct per minute. The
students' prosody was also tested using Rasinski's Multidimensional Fluency Scale,
graaea on a
scale
to seven,
the
a
score
average
01
a 16.
5.
scores
scored in terms of
measuring comprehension was 49%. All scores were based upon reading the same third
grade passage (Mraz, Nichols, CaldwelL Beisley, Sargent, & Rupley, 2013).
The teacher chose six Reader's Theater scripts that were at the students'
challenging instructional level. The scripts were read and practiced for the fIrst 30 minutes
two
practiced
to
five days.
read
was
a
For example, on day one students read the script through shared reading, day two through
echo reading, day three through paired/partner reading, and day four through
choral/expressive reading (Mraz, Nichols, Caldwell, Beisley, Sargent, & Rupley, 2013).
When analyzing the results of the study, the teacher f()cused on the effects Reader's
on
reading
accuracy,
�THE INFLUENCE OF CBRT ON SCIENCE CONTENT
31
recognition automaticity, and prosody; automaticity was measured by reading rate and
prosody was measured using Rasinski's Multidimensional Fluency Scale. Post-test scores
showed that students' word recognition accuracy
ranged from 21 words correct per
minute to 64 words correct per minute. Scores showed that all students improved beyond
the approximate yearly gain of 17 words correct per minute; the highest scores were 47
words above the yearly gain. The class as whole raised their average of 55 words correct
per minute from to 93 words correct per minute at the end
showed
the study. Pretest scores
the students had an average of 6.7 errors made when reading. Post-test scores
showed much improvement as errors dropped down to a class average of 1.2 errors (Mraz,
Nichols, Caldwell, Beis\ey, Sargent, & Rupley, 2013).
When given Rasinski's Multidimensional Fluency exam at the beginning of the
study, each student scored an 8, indicating much difficulty when reading with prosody.
Due to
low scores, it can provide a possible explanation of misinterpreted and
misunderstood text, in addition to a lack of meaningful reading. Before Reader's Theater
the class average for prosody and comprehension was 49%. At the end of the six \veek
study the class average rose to 86%. The class average rose fi'om a 5 to an lion Rasinski's
Multidimensional Fluency Scale. Students showed signs
increased understanding
phrasing and syntax, overall increasing the understanding and interpretation of the text.
Ultimately over the six week period the class as whole went from a level of frustration
readers to almost independent readers
comprehension (Mraz, Nichols, Caldwell,
Beisley, Sargent, & Rupley, 2013).
Griffith
Rasinski conducted an action research project in 2004 surrounded by
method of Reader's Theater. The study observed four Title I students who struggled
�THE INFLUENCE OF CBRT
SCIENCE CONTENT
32
mostly with word recognition. After implementing Reader's Theater over
year
students increased their si
reading comprehension by 2.5 years. The students
increased their word recognition by 1.25 years. The remaining students in
observed to have tremendous gains
participation,
course of a
class were
independent reading levels. Due to full class
study showed that all students had an increase in motivation and
enjoyment in reading. Gains in reading enjoyment are critical for struggling readers who
tend to view reading as a chore
avoid reading because it may be too difficult (Clementi,
2010).
Corcoran conducted a study in 2005 that focused on the effects of Reader's Theater
on me attitudes of second and third grade students in a self-contained class. After the eight
week study students were found to be more comfortable reading aloud. Almost all students
recognized
gam
need to practice reading the scripts multiple times. The class averaged a
17 words read correctly
minute. Reader's Theater soon became
most
favorite part of the day as 97% of students stated that Reader's Theater made them feel
positive about their reading (Clementi, 2010).
Curriculum Based Reader's Theater
Reader's Theater is a technique often f()tmd
would you
Language Arts classrooms, but
to find this method of teaching in a Science classroom? Brooks' class used
the book Search lor the Golden Moon Bear: Science and Adventure in
by Sy Montgomery to reinforce the topic
creating a script
using genetics to identify species. Through
Reader's Theater, Brooks ended the
perfOllnance. In addition, the book chosen
Asian Tropics
on genetics with a
supported the current unit on geography
Social Studies. As part of the school's state mandated curriculum standards, each content
area is required to follow the read-across-the-curriculum standard, requiring the students
�THE INFLUENCE OF CBRT ON SCIENCE CONTENT
"''''
.J.J
to read books that support all their school subjects and spark engaging discussions (Brooks
& Nahmias, 2009).
students manipulated the text of the book, creating scripts developed on their
own for
purpose of
assignment. Heterogeneous groups of three were created based
upon the data collected from the Falll'eading assessments in order to ensure that each group
had at least one strong reader. The strongest reader was delegated the role of doing a read
aloud of the chapter
the group while others followed along and took notes. After each
chapter was completed the group discussed
notes It needed. In
six
notes written down and added additional
minute class periods were spent on creating a Reader's
Theater for science content; the first 5 days were spent on developing the scripts and the
last day was designated for final performances (Brooks & Nahmias, 2009).
The students showed a very high level
engagement throughout the week
completing their scripts. The students were very successful in script writing and were very
focused on creating quality scripts. ]n their self-assessments, students were very honest
about their levels of engagement. Rubric scores showed the majority of students achieved
mastery of the learning objectives. Multiple exposures to vocabulary words in context
yielded a high level of science vocabulary learning (Brooks & Nahmias, 2009).
Kabilan and Kamaruddin conducted a study over the course of six months,
involving 20 form Two learners of different ages and grade levels; the average student was
age 14. Students were selected at random from two advanced level classes. Based upon
previous text scores,
students were considered average to good English language
learners. English was not the students' first language, or favorite study subject, but
second/third/foreign language (Kabilan & Kamaruddin, 201
�E INFLUENCE OF CBRT ON SCIENCE CONTENT
34
The study was conducted in two stages. Stage one consisted of
students reading
a selected text class wide. Students were given a week to read and understand the text on
their own; the text chosen was Potato People by Angela Wright. Literature lessons were
condueted as normal without any exposure to Reader's Theater. An interview and
questionnaire was delivered between the initial reading and implementation
Reader's
Theater (Kabilan & Kamaruddin, 201
Stage two was carried out over the course
four phases. Throughout the four
phases students were broken up into groups and given two chapters of the book to read.
Based upon the readings the groups were to create scripts on their assigned chapters.
Students developed scripts, often hlcilitated
the teacher, practiced the self-created
scripts, and ended the sessions with a final performance.
final performances were
videotaped for class wide feedback and self/group reflection. At the end the same
questionnaire and interview were delivered (Kabilan & Kamaruddin, 201
The questionnaire consisted of 10 questions, scored on a five point scale, one being
the lowest, five being
students' perceptions
highest. The purpose of the questionnaire was to explore the
the comprehension level
the text read and their interest and
motivation to learn literature. The researchers administered the questionnaire two times
order to explore the ditlerences in the students' answers after experiencing
participating in Reader's Theater.
The findings showed that questionnaire scores nearly doubled after participating in
Reader's Theater. Before Reader's Theater the scores to the 10 questions averaged between
2.40 to 3.80. After Reader's Theater the average scores for the same 10 questions ranged
from 3.45 to 4.50. Before Reader's Theater students scored understanding the literary text
�THE INFLUENCE OF CBRT ON SCIENCE CONTENT
35
easily with an average score of 2AO. After Reader's Theater the average score rose lAO
points, resulting in a
Students rated literature lessons based upon stimulating their
creativity with an average score of2.65. After Reader's Theaterthe score increased to 4.30
points. Similar results were shown when rating literature lessons as enjoyable. Before
Reader's Theater students gave an average score of2.85. After Reader's Theater the score
averaged at 4A5 points. Students' motivation to learn literature increased by 1.35 points,
resulting in an average score of 3.85 (Kabilan & Kamaruddin, 2(10).
Previous to Reader's Theater students admitted in their interviews that they were
not happy with
texts that the teacher selected because they could not understand the
text and would often not finish the text independently. Questionnaire scores showed the
average score of motivation was 2.50. After Reader's Theater the students stated in their
interviews that they were able to visualize the scenes easily and relate to the characters in
the novel when they read
acted out the text at the same time; Reader's Theater better
supported the students' comprehension of the text, better than when the teacher was
sole outlet
explanation. The teacher noted an obviolls increase in student motivation
initiative to understand the text. Overall the final performances supported both
performers and audience members
understanding and comprehension
audience members who were not part of
the text;
class expressed high interest in Reader's
Theater (Kabilan & Kamaruddin, 2(10).
In addition to increased comprehension of text and motivation to learn literature
students also gained highly important personal skills. Due to group work, students were
placed in situations that promoted collaboration. Students would delegate a group leader
who would aid in delegating scripts' roles. Delegations had to be done in a timely fashion
�INFLUENCE OF CBRT
SCIENCE
36
order to be
to take full advantage of
arose where the
rehearsing,
writing and rehearsal timc. Situations
were rcquired to problem
performing, often resulting
section
the script,
improvisations. Students even faced an
occasion where the issue of morality arose in the text
the issue be included
while
students
it was important
play in order to convey a message to the
received supp0l1 from the teacher in order to come to a
audience;
decision
(Kabilan & Kamaruddin, 2010).
learners benefited from participating in Reader's Theater
development
construction
to intensive
the characters, scenes, narrations, dialogue,
plot,
experiencing the text through performance, and the process of evaluation and reflection
(Kabilan & Kamaruddin, 201
students experience Reader's Theater multiple times and each of its
multiple
elements, enhancing
bendited
of
Since Reader's Theater was performed more than once
experience
benefits of Reader's Theater. Students highly
Reader's Theater due to high
process all
of involvement from the very beginning
way to end beyond the final performance. At
level of the process
students demonstrated critical thinking. Students made connections between learning
literature and
they perceived and valued learning. Student growth proved
students
were better able to understand and critically analyze literature, in addition to improving
their comprehension of the text and better remembering numerous elements of the text.
students were better able to understand the
through repeated readings
writing
of the script ft'om their own perspective and understanding. The continuous revisiting
the text and
script encouraged the
the text (Kabilan & Kamaruddin, 2010).
to make meaningful connections between
��INFLUENCE OF CBRT ON SCIENCE CONTENT
38
Chapter 3: Methods
The DlifOose of this study was to measure
impact ofClIrrieulum Based Reader's
Theater on both students' acquisition of new knowledge per in-class formative
summative assessments and their motivation to learn science. This
ways
111
questioned the
which students can successfully acquire new knowledge of science content when
the content material is indirectly taught through a theatrical performance. This study
observed
measured
extent of students' acquisition of new knowledge, motivation,
and performance on in-class assessments.
Participants
The participants in this
were thirteen students currently enrolled in 5th grade
at a private Title I school located in Nev,l York City The participants ranged from ten to
eleven years old. Of
thirteen participants, five were
participants identified as African American,
the
and one as Hispanic. Twelve of the thirteen students
attendance in the whole class study; one of
days during
consented to
and eight were girls. Eight
as Caucasian, one as Asian,
class participated with full
young boys was absent three out of the five
week of Curriculum Based Reader's Theater. Ofthc students whose parents
child's participation in the
the small
all were selected to participate because
size. The teacher has taught science to grades 5 through 8 for seven
years, all of which
In this study,
been spent at
Title I
teacher was given a permission form to sign allowing
researcher to conduct the study with his students. Consent
the purpose of the study
(See Appendix A), stating
the option to discontinue participation in the
at any point
in time, were sent home to parents and returned to the researcher with signatures indicating
�THE INFLUENCE OF CBRT
SCIENCE CONTENT
39
consent to allow
child(ren) to participate in
that participation in this
would not
study. The consent forms also
their student's grade for the class. Consent
forms were signed and returned before the start
remove their names
study. Participants were
to
assignments completed and returned to the researcher. The
grades from Week One's quiz were given to
researcher
a spreadsheet
students' names attached to the quiz score. Grades were released through signed permission
of the teacher
school principal.
study began
a week-long formal observation of how the teacher introduces
and teaches ne\v science content. The study continued with one week of instruction using
Curriculum Based Reader's Theater. Before each session, the researcher presented the
teacher with a Curriculum Based Reader's Theater script created by the researcher. During
each lesson, the teacher and students read and acted out
day's script. At the end of each
performance students were given time to identify science content knowledge. At the end
week the students were given a quiz to assess the information introduced
acquired
the week.
Each script was based
content material that the
the next topic
were
the current Astronomy unit.
to learn was taken from the grade level
science textbook provided by the teacher and was embedded within a fictional story created
by the researcher. The content of each script was based upon each lesson within the chapter,
resulting in
scripts with a
Real people, especially
plays; instead
topic related to the overarching topic of astronomy.
participants
were based
the study, were not used as characters in the
realistic and science fiction characters.
�THE INFLUENCE OF CBRT ON SCIENCE CONTENT
40
Procedure
During Week One,
researcher observed students' motivation, as shown by their
interest, participation and engagement in the traditional lessons.
this study, multiple
behaviors were included under the broad heading of "motivation." A checklist was used
behaviors
each day to observe specific
as 011 topic engagement in discussions,
hands to ask or answer questions, eyes focused on the speaker, participating
individual or partner work, appropriate body placement and seating, type of conversation
involvement, the attention to distractions, and remaining on task.
observed if students sat
their feet on the
11001'
or answer a question; asked relevant questions
the spcaker when listening; focused on
latter could
and faced forward; raised
hands to
gave topic-related answers; tracked
task requirements and content
working
independently or in a group; and avoided off topic conversations or distractions.
addition to observing student behavior, the researcher observed the teacher
instructional proccdures, the styles of teaching, instructional methods, and tools used
during traditional lessons. The impact ofthese procedures on student learning and behavior
were also
At the end of Week One, the students' summative quizzes were collected.
quizzes were used to identify evidence of
through traditional instruction.
~WU,"l1l"
acquisition
new knowledge
�THE INFLUENCE OF CBRT ON SCIENCE CONTENT
41
------
Procedure
• Journal question and
•
•
•
reVIew
Introduction to speed and
velocity lecture notes
Speed and velocity
practice problems and
reVIew
Mousetrap cars speed
experiment
Materials
Student behavior
checklist
Data Collected
Background
knowledge of
i speed
Journal question
Speed and
velocity lecture
notes
Field notes about
students' levels of
participation,
interaction, and
motivation
Mousetrap cars
• Mousetrap cars speed
•
•
experiment
Data calculations
Presentation of data
iPads
Student behavior
checklist
MOllsetrap cars
Field notes about
students' levcls of
participation,
interaction, and
motivation
iPads
• Introduction to Newton's
3
I·
I
•
Laws of Motion notes
Whole class discussion of
Law #1
Demonstrations of Law # 1
Student behavior
checklist
Newton's Laws of
Motion notes
• Review of
•
4
•
•
•
•
Student behavior
Newton's
checklist
Laws of Motion
Whole class discussion of .
N ewton's Laws of
Law
Motion notes
Demonstrations of Law
Whole class discussion of
Law #2
Demonstrations of Law #2
---110 question,
Summative Quiz
teacher created
content quiz
I
Table 1: Breakdown of Traditional Instruction Week
Recall of speed
and calculating
Jeed
Field notes about
students' levels
participation,
interaction, and
motivation
Recall of speed
and
Field notes about
students' levels of
participation,
interaction, and
motivation
I Recall of Law #1
Students' content
knowledge about
speed, velocity,
and Newton's
Laws of Motion
�THE INFLUENCE OF CBRT ON SCIENCE CONTENT
42
During Week Two, the researcher observed the students' interest, participation, and
engagement throughout the Curriculum Based Reader's Theater lessons. The student
behavior checklist used in Week Onc was also used in Week Two. The data collected from
the researeher's observations of the students was later used to identify a relationship
between the levels of interest, participation, and engagement and the types of activities that
took place during the lessons. Researcher observations of the teacher were also conducted
to gather data on how the teacher delivered each lesson, motivated and engaged
students, sustained participation, answered questions,
followed the structure of the
Curriculum Based Reader's Theater lesson plans. At the end of Week Two, students'
sllmmative quizzes were collected to identify evidenee of students' acquisition
01
new
knowledge through Curriculum Based Reader's Theater instruction.
I CBRT
Procedure
Day
• Student Survey
• Journal question and
I
I
I
1
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
reVIew
Introduction to CBRT
Initial reading
Role assignment
Reading #1
Script annotation and
reVIew
Reading #2
Exit Ticket
Materials
Data Collected
Students' interest
towards learning
Science content and
Pre CBRT Student I Science class
Survey (Appendix
C)
Background
knowledge
Journal question
astronomy
(Appendix B)
Field notes about
Script #1
stud.e~ts' ,levels
(Appendix D)
partIcIpatlOn,
interaction,
Exit Ticket
motivation, and
content learned
(Appendix B)
Student behavior
checklist
I
I
I
I
•
•
2
..
I·
I.
Initial reading
Role assignment
Reading
Script annotation and
reVIeW
Exit Ticket
Student behavior
checklist
Script #2
I Content recalled
I Field no~es about,
students' levels of
�IE INFLUENCE OF CBRT ON SCIENCE CONTENT
43
-
--
---
•
•
•
•
~
•
•
•
•
•
Initial reading
Role assignment
Reading il]
Script annotation and
reVIew
Exit Ticket
•
•
•
•
J
Initial reading
Role assignment
Reading #1
Script annotation and
review
Exit Ticket
Summative Quiz
Post Student Survey
Post Teacher Survey
Exit Ticket
(Appendix B)
Student behavi or
, checklist
Script #3
Exit Ticket
(Appendix B)
Student behavi or
checklist
Table 2: Breakdown of CBRT Week
Field notes about
students' levels of
participation,
interaction,
motivation,
content learned
I Content recalled
i Field
Script #4
Exit Ticket
(Appendix B)
1() question,
researcher crea ed
content quiz
(Appendix E)
Post CBRT Stl dent
Survey (Appen dix
F)
l
motivation, and
content learned
I Content recalled
Post CBRT
Teacher Surve~
(Appendix G) -
notes about
students' levels of
participation,
interaction,
motivation, and
content learned
Students' content
I knowledge of
astronomy
I
Students' interest in
learning Science
through eBRT
Teacher's interest
planning and
teaching through
CBRT
Context
During
first week of
study, the researcher observed five days of traditional
instruction. The researcher noted how
teacher and students interacted with one another,
how the teacher introduced new material, and how the students acquired new knowledge
all centered around a science topic. Throughout the observation week, the teacher
introduced to the topics of velocity and speed, and Newton's Laws of Motion. During each
lesson the teacher engaged the students in clarification discussions to assess their
�THE INFLUENCE OF CBRT ON SCIENCE CONTENT
44
comprehension of
content material before they participated in the application portion
of the lesson. The clarification discussions served as a formative assessment. At
end of
the week the students completed a ten question quiz as a fonn of summative assessment.
The first lesson began
a journal question regarding the topic of speed. The
teacher orally provided the students with real life examples of how fast different forms of
transportation move on average per hour. Using the information given, the students were
asked to explain how they would feel when driving down a small street at two different
speeds: an average speed and an extremely fast speed. Three students were chosen to share
their explanations to the journal question.
The teacher presented a definition
"speed" through lecture notes. Then, he
explained the concept in detail and added a drawing of a speeding car as a visual example.
Next, he provided the formula for computing the speed
a moving object and guided
students in using the formula to solve a story problem step by step. Students independently
completed three more problems about speed. Then, they collaborativcly reviewed each step
of how they solved the problems to arrive at an answer. Next, velocity was defined
explained in the same manner as speed. A visual was drawn on the board as a transition
into the f()f!nula
the students to
velocity. Based on
formula given, the example was presented to
and solve independently before being reviewed as a class. Multiple
students were called on to solve the answer. The student who correctly solved the question
was asked to explain to
teacher explained
class how she derived at the answer. Together, the student and
more detail
meaning of velocity. The teacher provided the
students with three examples of velocity that would be reviewed by the class, step by step.
The lecture notes were concluded with five mixed examples of speed and velocity for the
�THE INFLUENCE OF CBRT ON SCIENCE CONTENT
45
students to solve. Each question was reviewed and students explained step-by-step how
they solved the question correctly. After using the procedure for solving problems about
speed, the teacher and students followed the same steps for solving problems about
velocity.
During the remainder of day one students completed an experiment using cars they
made the previous week. The cars were constructed from Legos, one spring mouse trap per
car, and rubber bands. With their partners, the students marked off an area in the classroom
that was five feet long. Using iPads, the students recorded how long it took their cars to
travel five feet. The students collected data for ten successful trials and kept records in their
notebooks; successful trials were indicated by
car crossing over the finish
without
any obstructions or mishaps.
Students began day two began by completing
previous day's expcriment and
continuing with their initial ten trials. If the ten trials were completed the students were
instructed to run another ten trials before time was up. Once all
data was collected, the
groups returned to their seats to review the formula for spced. In pairs,
calculated
average speed of their cars
the first ten
students
and the average speed of all
their trials. Each group revealed their car's average speed for ten trials and the average
speed for all trials completed.
On days three
four the teacher used an educational video connected to the
Science Channel to introduce Newton's Laws of Motion, one law at a time. The tcacher
read each law aloud and explained it simply. Based upon class conversation, the studcnts
derived an explanation of each law and wrote in their notebooks. They watched a short,
animated clip that provided a visual to accompany the law. Additional visuals, including
�THE INFLUENCE OF CBR'!' ON SCIENCE CONTENT
46
drawings, pictures, video clips, and student/teacher demonstrations provided the students
additional
life examples to show how each law of motion is used in everyday life.
Day five was quiz day. The students were given 45 minutes to complete a ten
question quiz comprised of short answer, true or false, multiple choice, and math (solve for
speed
velocity) questions. Each question was worth ten points and a bonus question
about Newton
his scientific work was worth an additional five points.
following week, Curriculum Based Reader's Theater was used for instruction
on four ofihe five days. The schedule and lesson plans for the week were developed by the
researcher and the lessons were taught by the teacher (See Appendix B). Prior to Week
Two,
teacher and researcher discussed
upcoming topic
the content
the
assessment, and created a list of ideas and facts for the Curriculum Based Reader's Theater
lessons. Exit ticket questions lor students to answer at the end of each lesson and review
discussion topics to use before starting a new topic were also developed. Both served as
formative assessments and enabled
teacher to monitor student understanding. The
researcher developed four scripts with the following topics: the solar system, the phases of
the moon, how a telescope works,
the sun and stars.
teachcr planned to practice
one script each day with the students and anticipated making on the spot changes as needed,
such as rearranging roles to match the number of students.
Before beginning Curriculum Based Reader's Theater instruction, students
completed a survey that gathered information about the students' current interest and
motivation towards traditionally taught science (See Appendix D). Students were asked to
complete the survey anonymously. The information gathered through the survey would
enable the researcher to understand the students' views towards the subject ofscience, their
�THE INFLUENCE OF CBRT ON SCIENCE CONTENT
47
science class, the clements of the class they enjoy, and changes to the class to better meet
their learning needs.
Day one was a double period of science for 90 minutes. Before the scripts were
handed out, the students were introduced to the teaching method of CUlTiculum Based
Reader's Theater. The teacher explained that they would be learning astronomy over the
next four days through four different Curriculum Based Reader's Theater scripts. Each day
they would receive a script with a different topic as the main idea; each lesson in the class
textbook provided the content material for the scripts.
The lesson began with the following journal question: List as many things you
know about space. The students were given 30 seconds to complete their list. Then, the
students picked one or more items from their list and compared and contrasted what
scientists know about this topic currently with
what scientists in the past knew and
studied. Three volunteers shared their answers aloud to the journal question and activity.
Next, the students and the teacher choral read the script one time completely through
chorus (See Appendix D). After, the teacher assigned each student a role by naming the
part and having students raise their hands. Eaeh student was able to have his or her own
role. Once all roles were assigned the students and the teacher read through the play role
by role. At the end of the reading, the teacher assessed students' understanding of the script
content by eliciting questions. This served as a formative assessment. Then the teacher
answered
student questions. As an additional review, the students were given three
minutes to review and annotate the entire script for content; students were allowed to
highlight important information and write notes for comprehension purposes. Students
were asked to annotate with a "quiz lens;" this means they were to annotate the script in a
�THE INFLUENCE OF CBRT ON SCIENCE CONTENT
48
way that highlights the important information that could be assessed on a quiz. By starting
on the first page
reading aloud page
page, students reviewed important content.
This step ended when students successfully identified all embedded content. The students
then acted out the script a second time using props tJ:om around
room and the classroom
as their stage. The lesson concluded with the f()llowing exit ticket: name one thing you
learned about spaee
you did not know previous to today's lesson.
Day two through four were conducted in a similar manner to day one. The days
began with the students
teacher reading the day's script chorally one time completely.
Students were assigned roles to act during the play. The students and teacher acted out the
play role by role. The teacher checked for understanding and clarified content as needed
before allotting the students three minutes to annotate their scripts. During those three
minutes, students highlighted important content material and wTote notes in order to record
new information.
students were advised to usc their "quiz lens" when annotating,
thinking about how the information could be turned into a quiz question. Together the class
reviewed all highlighted and annotated information to ensure that each student was
correctly identifying
important content material. On these days, class time did not
allow for a second reading of
scripts. At
end of each lesson, the students were given
an exit ticket question to answer; the students were not allowed to look back in their notes
for the answer, but had to answer
question based upon what they remembered from the
lesson.
On the final day, the students used the 45 minute class period to eomplete a ten
question quiz (See Appendix E). The quiz eontained sholi answers, multiple choice, and
true or false questions, eaeh worth ten points, and two bonus questions, totaling an
�THE INFLUENCE OF CBRT ON SCIENCE CONTENT
49
additional five points. Once
students were finished with the quiz, they completed a
post-Curriculum Based Reader's Theater survey anonymously (See Appendix F)' This
survey gathered information about how the students
about learning through Curriculum
Based Reader's Theater, and students' advice to the teacher
researcher to make
learning through Curriculum Based Reader's Theater easier and more fun. The teacher also
received a post-Curriculum Based Reader's Theater survey to complete to gather
information about
planning, implementation,
overall method of Curriculum Based
Reader's Theater (See Appendix G).
Analysis
Various assessment techniques were used throughout each method of teaching to
measure student acquisition ol'new knowledge. During the week of traditional methods of
teaching the teacher engaged the students in clarification discussions as a way of formative
assessment. The clarification discussions monitored the students'
learning and
comprehension of the content material before moving forward and engaging in the
application portion of the lessons. The clarification discussions allowed the teacher to
answer any questions the students may have had in regards to
content information and
how it was taught, improving student comprehension. At the end of week a ten question
quiz was given as a form of summative assessment. The quizzes evaluated
students'
overall learnings and comprehension of the content material. The quiz answers suggested
that the students fully mastered, partially mastered, or did not master the content material.
Four assessment techniques were used during the week
Reader's Theater. Clarification discussions and the end of
Curriculum Based
week quiz were used in the
same manner as in Week One. Two additional formative assessment techniques were used
�THE INFLUENCE
CBRT ON SCIENCE CONTENT
50
during Week Two. Exit
were used at the end of lessons one through tc)tlr to assess
the content information learned and the level at which
students comprehended: fully,
partially, or minimally. Review discussions were held at the beginning of lessons two
through four to assess
lesson.
students comprehended
key concepts
previous day's
�THE INFLUENCE OF CBRT ON SCIENCE CONTENT
51
Chapter 4: Findings and Results
This study f()cused on three questions: How does Curriculum Based Reader's
Theater impact science students' acquisition of new knowledge, per in-class formative and
summative assessments; How does Curriculum Based Reader's Theater impact in-class
assessment scores; and In what ways does Curriculum Based Reader's Theater impact
student motivation towards learning science content? To address these questions, the
researcher compared instructional methods and components, students' formative and
summative scores, and students' participation and motivation for traditional instruction and
instruction through Curriculum Based Reader's Theater.
Acquisition of Knowledge
The first purpose of this study was to measure whether students comprehended and
acquired new knowledge through the use of Curriculum Based Reader's Theater scripts.
Pour sources of data were used to determine this. Comprehension
acquisition 01 new
knowledge of each day's content was assessed and measured through three formative
assessments: end of the lesson exit tickets, clarification discussion, and review discussion.
The summative assessment a quiz at the end of lesson five, checked for overalI
comprehension and acquisition of the content from each of the four lessons.
Formative Assessments in Curriculum Based Reader's Theater
The first type of formative assessment, exit tickets, was given to the students at the
end of lessons one through four. The students were required to answer the question using
the knowledge they had acquired during the lesson
could recall without looking back
the script. Exit tickets were handed in at the end of the lesson to assess each student's level
of mastery. Students' answers were rated as showing full, partial, or minimal to no mastery.
�THE INFLUENCE OF CBRT ON SCIENCE CONTENT
52
The teacher and researcher used students' levels of mastery to determine the direction of
the following day's review discussion.
The second type
formative assessment, clarification discussions, was
implemented in lessons one through four to check for student understanding of
script's
content. The discussion was led by the students based upon the questions they had about
the script's content. The teacher would often respond by stating the content information in
a clearer manner. The discussions allowed the teacher to monitor student learning on the
spot, in addition to providing the students with explanations that would support their
comprehension and acquisition. Clarification discussions helped students answer exit ticket
questions and provided additional information for them to contribute to the review
discussion at the beginning of the following lesson.
The third type of formative assessment, review discussions, was held at the
beginning oflessons two through four. The purpose of review discussions was for students
to recall the infol1nation they had learned from the previous day's script. The discussions
were led mostly by the students with minimal teacher support; the teacher provided
minimal prompting to keep the pace lively and the focus of the discussion on task. When
recalling content information from the previous day, students' answers were rated by the
teacher and researcher as indieative of
mastery, partial mastery, or minimal to no
mastery.
Summative Assessment in Traditional Instruction and Curriculum Based Reader's
Theater
For both traditional instruetion and Curriculum Based Reader's Theater, an end of
the week quiz was used as a summative assessment to evaluate the student learning and
�THE INFLUENCE OF CBRT ON SCIENCE CONTENT
53
acquisition ofnew knowledge ofthe content material across
data
four lessons.
average of
the results of a comparison of quiz scores. The
instruction quiz was 78%.
traditional
class average of the Curriculum Based Reader's Theater
quiz was 53%. The two averages show a difference of 25
Week One ranged from the lowest score of
showing a range of 50 points.
score of 34
following
The quiz scores from
points to the highest score of 100 points
quiz scores
Week Two ranged from the lowest
to the highest score of 76
showing a range of 42 points. The
median score from Week One was 80 and the median score from Week Two was 50. The
median scores showed a difterence of 30 points.
-
Number of
Students
Assessed
13
Class
Average
(in percent)
78
12
53
r~~
Traditional
Method
CBRT Method
----
Range of
Median
Scores
Score
)n points) ,__~~
100
--~~
34-76
50
I
Figure 1: Comparison of Quiz Scores without Extra Credit
An analysis
the summative assessments
traditional (Week One)
Curriculum Based Reader's Theater (Week Two) instruction pointed to important
differences in two key areas:
the quizzes themselves and the learning experiences
involved.
Analysis of the quizzes includes a focus on the construction of the quizzes in terms
the type of questions asked
the levels
thinking required to answer the questions,
the content knowledge assessed by the quizzes. An analysis of both quizzes suggested
that the questions emphasized different levels of thinking. Even though both quizzes
required the students to answer
application students needed to recall different
amounts of content information in order to answer the questions correctly. The traditional
�THE INFLUENCE OF CBRT ON SCIENCE CONTENT
54
style quiz supplied the students with the content knowledge needed in order to answer the
questions. For example, the formulas needed to calculate velocity and speed were given at
Since the students received
the top of the
questions, they
not need to
formulas
content.
how to plug the information from the question into
addition, Ne\vton's laws
velocity
students needed to understand
given formulas
solve. In
were stated within two questions that asked the students
to provide examples that supported the laws. Although most of the
the students to apply
specd
information,
were not
to recall
questions
necessary content
information prior to answering the question. Only one or two questions required the
students to recall the dcfinition of a mathematical concept used during the experiment. In
contrast the questions on the Curriculum Based Reader's Theatcr quiz required the
to recall content information with little to no support from
questions.
order to answer the Curriculum Based Reader's Theater
words of the
questions
successfully, students needed to recall the terms, definitions, and concepts learned
throughout the week. In addition, one of the questions required the students to first recall
the information learned and then
information there was a
limited chance
content.
students
not recall the
they could answer the question completely
and gain full credit.
Next, the teacher's use of different modalities and intelligences in the traditional
lessons may have helped students to comprehend more deeply and make more meaningful
connections with the content. By varying
types of activities during the lessons, the
teacher dilTercntiatcd the lessons to support visual, auditory, verbal, and kinesthetic
learners. In contrast, the Curriculum Based Reader's Theater lessons
not address
�THE INFLUENCE OF CBRT ON SCIENCE CONTENT
55
varied learning styles of diverse learners. The only activities to take place during the
Curriculum Based Reader's Theater lessons were repeated readings of the scripts, limited
content discussions, and the annotation of the scripts. Including additional activities may
have supported the learning styles of the students, enabling fUliher comprehension of the
content. Additionally, the lack of discussion within the Curriculum Based Reader's Theater
lessons may have impeded students' abilities to further comprehend the content and acquire
new knowledge. Whole class discussion and partner discussion may have increased the
acquisition of new knowledge thereby improving the students' ability to recall information
and answer quiz questions correctly. Lastly, collaboration through partner discussion was
observed in the traditional method lessons, but not in the Curriculum Based Reader's
Theater lessons. Collaboration enables students to increase their knowledge by building
upon the knowledge of their peers, working with one another to expand their content
knowledge and comprehension. As observed in the traditional method lessons, students
who worked together were able to generate answers and explanations that targeted the
questions more clearly and accurately. By working together, studcnts were able to combine
their knowledge of the contcnt to correctly answer questions and create a deeper meaning
of the content.
�THE INFLUENCE OF CBRT ON SCIENCE CONTENT
56
on
C
': t-
70
~
GO
01
so
.~
(5
~
N
40
'5
(1
1 so
30
_
..
34
20
10
o
Figure 2: Comparison of Quiz Scores to Show Range
The amount of the content taught and assessed in each the unit may have
contributed to the difference in students ' scores.
The traditionally-taught unit about
velocity and speed required the students to comprehend and acquire the following
knowledge: the definitions for speed and velocity, the mathematical formulas for speed and
velocity, the difference between speed and velocity, the meaning of Newton ' s three laws
of motion, and examples of Newton's three laws of motion. In contrast, the CBRT unit
about astronomy required the students to comprehend and understand the models of the
solar system and who created them, what objects make up the solar system and how it
operates, the roles each object in the solar system plays, the phases ofthe moon, the various
types of telescopes and how they operate. Clearly, the amount of content taught in the
astronomy unit exceeded the amount of content taught in velocity and speed unit.
Differences in overall instruction may have influenced students' scores. First,
differences in the amount of content included in each unit impacted the amount of
instructional time allocated to each topic within the unit.
In tum, the amount of time
�THE INFLUENCE OF CBRT ON SCIENCE CONTENT
57
available for instruction for each topic impacted the extcnt of application and/or
review/clarification activities.
During traditional instruction, the students spent more time covering fewer topics
the velocity and speed unit. This allowed for more instructional time to be spent on
discussing
meanings of each topic and how the topics playa role in our daily lives.
more instructional time spent on a smaller amount of topics allows the content information
to become more comprehensible to the students, resulting in larger possibilities of
acquisition. The
of astronomy providcd
students
a large amount of new
information. However, the Curriculum Based Reader's Thcater lessons
not provide
students with opportunities for application. The students covered a large amount of material
in a given timc with little to no discussion of the contcnt. Even if the students did not
comprehend the material through two or three readings, future lessons did not include a
return to the script's content for fhrther explanation. Students were only given· the
instructional time of one lesson to gain comprehcnsion of the material.
Another instructional factor that may have impacted students' scores is
variation
in instructional modalities used in the two units. The lessons taught through the teacher's
traditional method of teaching contained activities that supported visual, auditory, or
kinesthetic learners. Students were given the opportunity to listen to
teacher rely the
content information while simultaneously copying notes and explanations from
Within the notes, students were given pictures, charts,
board.
diagrams to support the
verbiage. After the lecture portions were completed the students participated in a form of
application, whether it was participating in an experiment or a kinesthetic demonstration
of the content. For example, students participated in calculating speed of a given distance
�THE INFLUENCE OF CBRT ON SCIENCE CONTENT
58
of the mousetrap cars. Students also participated in demonstrations ofNewton's three laws
or motion, in addition to coming up
of motion. On
their own examples to prove Newton's three laws
contrary, Curriculum Based Reader's Theater lessons only supported
verbal and auditory learners. The Curriculum Based Reader's Theater lessons were carried
out strictly by reading the scripts and annotating the scripts for content. Verbal and auditory
learners received limited, additional support due to the lack of conversation and discussion
surrounding the content information. There was only a small portion of time, within in each
lesson, where the students could ask questions in order to clarify the concepts within the
scripts. Students were required to comprehend independently without further explanations
of the content, besides what was written in the scripts. If the students were unable to do so,
minimal comprehension was most likely obtained.
In particular, the use of discussion in the Curriculum Based Reader's Theater
lessons did not allow for extensive discussions to further explain of the content information
the scripts. During Curriculum Based Reader's Theater whole class discussion was
minimal and took place only if the students requested clarification on a topic within the
scripts. The whole class discussion was either initiated by
examined the pictures at
teacher while students
end of the scripts or by the students to ask clarification
questions. If the students did not ask any questions after the second reading then there was
no discussion during the lesson. For
most part, students learned the content of the
chapter indirectly through the lines of the script. While this may have been an acceptable
fonn of learning for some students, others may have needed more extensive discllssions to
make clear connections with the content material. For students who are verbal and auditory
leamers, the discussion portions of lessons are
where they make meaningful
�THE INFLUENCE OF CBRT ON SCIENCE CONTENT
59
connections with the content and gain an understanding. Lack of discussion interfered with
Any length of discussion time may have increased the student's ability to comprehend
the content within
scripts and increase their acquisition of new content knowledge.
On the other hand, the traditional method included both whole class and partner
discussion. Whole class discussion,
by the teacher, took place during most
each
lesson where he asked a variety of questions and built upon the students' answers to explain
content information further. The students participated in partner discussion in segments
lesson in which they worked together closely to conduct
experiments and calculate
their results. During these times students discussed how their cars performed and why, how
to calculate their results, and what their results meant. The teacher provided minimal
support during partner discussions,
would otTer a prompting thought or question when
needed.
Participation and Motivation
In addition to measuring students' comprehension and acquisition of new
knowledge,
study explored students' participation, and motivation when learning
through Curriculum Based Reader's Theater
contrast to learning through traditional
instruction. Through informal researcher observations, students'
motivation and
participation in class were noted based upon the following criteria: on-topic engagement
discussions, raising hands to ask or answer questions, eyes focused on
speaker, on
task, appropriate individual or partner work, body placement in seat, type of conversation,
and attention to distractions. Students were considered heing on task if they sat in their
seats with their feet on the floor and faeing forward; raised their hands to ask or answer a
question; asked relevant questions and gave topic-related answers; tracked the speaker
�THE INFLUENCE OF CBRT ON SCIENCE CONTENT
60
when listening; focused on thc task requirements and content when working independently
and in a group; and avoided
topic conversations or distractions.
Participation fluctuated during traditional lessons
Curriculum Based Reader's
Theater lessons. On Monday of Week One, students' participation levels were high at the
beginning of the lesson: pat1ially related to being introduced to the researcher
about the plans
the upcoming weeks. Despite the fact that less than half of
prepared for the journal portion of
learning
class was
lesson, the students were highly engaged
the
journal question; many of the students volunteered to read their answers to the journal.
During the lecture portion of the lesson, students were active in answering topic-related
questions and copying the notes from the board.
particular, this class is known for calling out, speaking over one another, and off
topic comments or stories. As the lesson content activated prior knowledge, students began
calling out and raising their hands to telJ stories that were slightly related to the content of
the lesson,
mostly off topic. At this moment the teacher reminded the students of the
rules of the classroom and reinforced their good behavior with a previously established
rewards system.
the remainder of the lesson 75% of the students were on task,
occasionally a student would busy him or herself with an off-topic task or conversation
during lag time. OfTtask behavior was almost immediately recognized by the teacher who
reinforced the rules of the classroom and rewards system.
For the second half of the lesson, the students participated in an experiment
involving speed of previously built mouse trao cars. All students showed 100%
participation and were involved in the timing
trials of their cars. Within
groups,
each student was given a role to complete in order to achieve success in the experiment.
�THE INFLUENCE OF CBRT ON SCIENCE CONTENT
61
Students actively participated in their role, often switehing on and
taking turns at each role.
with their partners,
students were fully focused on the task, and their behavior
was rewarded at the end of the lesson.
The students' behavior and motivation continued in the same manner during
second lesson
Week One. The students continued with additional trial runs of their
mouse trap cars in order to calculate the speed. Students actively participated in their role
within their groups in order to accomplish the goal of the experiment. Student motivation
and pmiicipation remained high as they returned to their seats to calculate the average speed
of their cars per number of trial runs. Due to the excitement of an in-class contest, the
students began to call out and speak over one another, dismissing
teacher's instruction.
Immediately the students were reminded of the classroom rules and the rewards system
was strictly reinforced. Students remained on task for the completion of the lesson.
The pattern of behavior and participation observed during lessons one and two
continued during lessons three and four. Particularly with this class, as a charaeteristic of
their behavior, the students often remained motivated and activcly participated in the
lessons, questions, discussions, and experiments. Oeeasionally one or two students would
be distracted by side conversations or personal disturbances. Unacceptable behavior,
according to the teacher's standards, was almost immediately addressed on the individual
or class level. With the rules of the classroom frequently reinforced, student behavior was
easily redirected to the appropriate location. While observing during Week One there were
no instances of behavior or participation that would be labeled as "extreme", "uncalled
for", or "out of hand." Overall the class behaved in a respectful manner, participatcd, and
remained motivated.
�THE INFLUENCE OF CBRT ON SCIENCE CONTENT
62
Student behavior and participation varied considerably during Week Two in
comparison to Week One, throughout each lesson, each day. At the beginning of Week
Two, the students were reintroduced to the idea
learning through Curriculum Based
Reader's Theater during the upcoming week. Due to being on school break for 10 days,
the students were excited to be back in the classroom and to participate
Curriculum
Based Reader's Theater. Students met the journal question with high levels of participation
and motivation as they raced the clock to create a list
words and phrases they knew
relating to space. The students were very eager 10 share their journal answers.
During the first half of the initial read aloud of the script the students were very
enthusiastic and read with much expression. Students began the script reading in near
perfect unison, sharing the same levels of prosody. Towards the end of page two the
students began to read at different rates and volume Ievc1s, lessening the unison between
one another. From this point forward, students were paused and redirected at the script
order to regain focus and unison when reading aloud. The students never quite reached the
level they began at and finished the initial read with lower levels of motivation and
participation. Of the twelve students present for the lesson, two students stopped reading
aloud with the class altogether, while an additional two to three students began to read
111
a
monotone voice without any pausing, causing them to reach lines within the script bcf()re
the other students. Despite the pause in the read aloud and redirection, those Who were
further along in the script would follow directions for four to five lines before returning to
their previous levels of motivation and participation.
The above motivation and participation patterns repeated for each of the four lesson
plans. In order to increase the levels of motivation and decrease the fade of motivation
�THE INFLUENCE OF CBRT ON SCIENCE CONTENT
63
during the initial reading, the researcher divided the students into groups for each of the
remaining three lessons. Students were broken
into groups based upon their seating
arrangements, counting by tours, and boys versus girls for the following three lessons.
Despite the anangement in which students were to participate in the initial script reading,
the patterns of motivation and participation exhibited in lesson one continued for lessons
two through four.
The same pattern
motivation and participation was seen during the second
reading, after the students were assigned their roles. During the first page to page and a
half, students' levels of participation and motivation were high. Over 75% of the students
read their roles with great levels of prosody. The remaining percentage of students began
reading their roles with little to no motivation and expression. Thcse students continued
reading the remainder of the script at the same levels of prosody. The students' lack of
motivation and expression was addressed by the teachcr and resulted in pausing the reading
of the script to have the students retry their lines with higher levels of prosody. Often the
students reread the specific line with a higher level of prosody, but continued with their
previous motivation and expression for the remainder of their lines. In attempt to increase
the levels of prosody, the students were given larger roles in upcoming scripts in order to
vary the size of a student's role and allow all students to have participated in equally sized
roles.
Students ended each lesson with high levels of motivation and participation as they
annotated the scripts for content information. The high levels of motivation are believed to
be related to the timer that was set, giving the students three minutes to complete the
assignment. Students were eager to beat the clock and complete the assignment before the
�INFLUENCE OF CBRT ON SCIENCE CONTENT
64
buzzer rang
Once the timer was completed, students were eager to share the content
information they discovered within the scripts.
Overall the
of motivation. participation, and prosody can be explained by
the high increase at the beginning of a new activity. The cause of the increase at the
beginning of each activity can be explained
students' curiosity of what was to
happen next in each lesson. Students were eager to participate in new scripts resulting
their wonder of what
day's script was going to be
going to take with the twists and turns of
to receive their
script's plot. Students were also enthusiastic
for the script and preview
motivated by the
to complete
Several factors may have
and the adventure they werc
annotation of
spcaking lines. Lastly, students wcre
notes before
buzzer rang.
a role in decreasing the students' levels of
motivation, participation, and prosody. First, the students participated in the Math
Statewide Exam during the morning of days three, four, and five.
students' motivation to continue
factor may be the .:>LUU'-11l
school work
may have impacted
afternoon. Another contributing
inability to sustain attention on an ongoing task, such as reading
the Curriculum Based Reader's Theater scriDts. Alternate tasks, such as conducting science
experiments, would have broken the routine of each Curriculum Based Reader's Theater
lesson. Also, as they expressed
the pre-Curriculum Based Reader's Theater survey,
many of the students enjoyed conducting experiments during class.
provided the students
experiments
hands on activities for applying learned lesson content to real
life situations; this also enabled students to get out of their seats and move about the
classroom. Lastly, the students were often motivated by the rewards system typically used
�THE INFLUENCE OF CBRT ON SCIENCE CONTENT
65
on a aaIlY basis. During the week of Curriculum Based Reader's Theater students did not
participate in the rewards system to
�THE INFLUENCE OF CBRT ON SCIENCE CONTENT
66
Chapter 5: Discussion and Implications
Discussion and Conclusions
This study was conducted to understand better the impacts of using Curriculum
Based Reader's Theater when introducing new science content. This study explored
science students' levels of participation during multi pIe lessons, their levels of motivation
to participate, their acquisition of new knowledge, and their ability to complete an in-class
assessment. Even though the results of the study are limited, there were several
unanticipated findings.
When determining which curriculum topic should be taught though the use of
Curriculum Based Reader's Theater the researcher and teacher chose a topic that was
similarly weighted to the topic of week one, in terms ofthe amount of content contained
the topic; how much infonnation there was to be taught. Comparing the quiz scores
required looking back at both quiz assessments to examine the types of questions written
and what the students needed to recall in order to answer the questions. The quiz given
during the week of traditional instruction required the students to apply the content learned
throughout the week with limited use of memory or recalling information. Many of the
questions gave the students the necessary content infonnation needed in order to answer
the question. In contrast, the quiz given during the week of Curriculum Based Reader's
Theater required the students to use a high level of memory in order to recall the content
learned throughout the week. The quiz questions required the students to use very little
application. If application was required to answer the question, students needed to recall
the necessary infonnation first and then proceed to answer the question through
application.
�TI IE INFLUENCE OF CBRT ON SCIENCE CONTENT
67
Although the class averages for each quiz were very difTerent in number, the scores
reflect upon the methods of teaching
the types of questions asked on each quiz. This
does not reflect on the study as a whole, or the method of teaching, but only indicates areas
of adaptation for fi.lture study. Curriculum Based Reader's Theater is still an effective
method of teaching when introducing new content material. The students' scores reflect
the knowledge they acquired throughout the four lessons and their ability to perfonn on an
assessment. The quiz was not
only form
assessment, as both summative and
formative assessments were given throughout the five lessons. Aside from the
students were able to answer end of the lesson exit ticket questions based upon
content
of the day's script. In order to complete this activity, students were expected to recall the
information
had learned without looking back in the scripts for the answers. Lastly,
students were able to recall the content discussed and learned from the previous day's
lesson when they revicwed it at the beginning of thc lesson. This reinforced the material
that had been highlighted at
The way the lessons
end of the previous day's lesson.
the week of Curriculum Based Reader's Theater were
designed did not provide students with a variety of activities to participate in that would
touch upon the many learning styles of the students. Although the mcthod of Curriculum
Based Reader's Theatcr required the students to do lots of talking with the scripts and the
content of the scripts, therc was very limited discussion about
content ofthc scripts and
what the content meant. This hindered studcnts' learning, particularly that of vcrbal
students who would learn best through conversations. The addition of a discussion
component would provide the teacher and students
the opportunity to clarify and
expand content as well as to synthesize understandings across the entire unit.
�OF CBRT ON SCIENCE CONTENT
68
learn best through visuals.
students
The
students were
With the scripts being the only source
not given many visuals to support the content of the scripts. Students were given
for the more complex topics within the scripts that may be harder to visualize. For
students who learn best with the support of visuals, they had to rely on the words of the
scripts to create mental images. If the students were unable to comprehend the words, the
mental images created would not have matched the content of the script, resulting in further
of the content. Students received visuals only when asked for, during the
lessons. These visuals were from the textbook and supported
to answer
the content
questions.
Lastly, the lessons did not plan for exnerimcnts which often SUDDort those
who are kinesthetic learners. The lessons required very little application of the content
hindering the students from using the information they have learned. Although the content
of this particular unit would most likely not allow for various experiments, conducting any
type of an experiment may have supported the students' learning.
As Reader's Theater often supports the performance of the script, the design of the
lessons, and
constraints, did not allow for the students to act out the scripts. Acting
lesson
out
script two times
point
a third reading
have supported all styles of learners. At this
content
content
addition to
have
been highlighted in the script, pinpointing exact locations of
those students who are verbal learners, this portion of the lesson \vould have given
students and the teacher the opportunity to ask questions and further explain the content of
�THE INFLUENCE OF CBRT ON SCIENCE CONTENT
69
the script at any given point. Acting out the script would have provided visual learners with
the ability both to watch their peers and create their own demonstrations of the meaning of
the content. In order to create demonstrations and visuals, students must first understand
the content. If students are unable to comprehend the text and create understanding,
watching their peers act out a portion of the text would support the process of
comprehension. Lastly, the students who learn best through kinesthetic would be given the
opportunity to move about the classroom and act out their lines. This is a form of
application as students determine the moves they want to make related to their lines in
order to relay the content to their peers. When acting out the script, students are to create
actions that match the words within their lines in order to support the comprehension of
their audience. In order to create appropriate actions, students themselves must first
comprehend their lines. The actions in turn would aid in the acquisition of new knowledge
as they recall the actions of their peers and their own actions during the various scenes in
the script.
In order to support all learners when implementing Curriculum Based Reader's
Theater, educators should consider designing only one or two lessons within a unit. This
will allow for more time to explore the content of the script and provide the students with
the types of activities they need in order to gain full comprehension of the content and
acquire new knowledge.
Limitations
This study assessed the impact of Curriculum Based Reader's Theater on student
performance when used to introduce and acquire new science content material. However,
there were several limitations that held the study back. Limited time for the study was one
�THE INFLUENCE OF CBRT ON SCIENCE CONTENT
70
was conducted over a four week
factor inhibiting the gathering of more data. This
period, two of which were
three sessions were
to the school's spring recess. Of the ten sessions conducted,
in the aftemoon after the state wide math exam. This time frame
only allowed one week for observing the teacher and one week to deliver Curriculum Based
Reader's Theater, which was not enough time to gather an appropriate amount of data for
a true comparison of instructional practices. In order to assess if an instructional practice
has an impact
is beneficial to student learning, a comparison of more than week would
need to be implemented. The students have been exposed to the teacher's style of teaching
for over eight months, whereas the one week of Curriculum Based Reader's Theater was
students' first exposure and participation in the method of teaching. One week is not
a new method of teaching.
enough time to show any sort of progression of learning
In addition to limited time allotment, class
There was only one
grade class
were the participants in this
was another limitation of this study.
school and
13 students in that class; they
This did not allow for a true comparison of instructional
methods on the same science content topic. With
one fifth grade class available for
participation, the same students participated in two ditlerent instructional methods on two
different science content topics. Additional fifth grade classes
have allowed for a
true comparison of instructional methods on the same science content topic.
Difficulty in matching the science content taught was another limitation. Working
with
one fifth grade class meant
methods and
content
through the teacher's regular
content taught through Curriculum Based Reader's Theater needed to be
different in order to meet the purpose of the study.
decided upon by the weight
content chosen to be taught was
content material; the two science topics needed to have
�THE INFLUENCE OF CBRT ON SCIENCE CONTENT
71
amount of content, in addition to presenting
a
students
a similar challenge.
Moreover, the content had to be chosen from topics remaining in the curriculum. Since the
study took place towards the
areas based upon the amount of content
match two
students
of the school year, the teacher and researcher tried to
could be presented to the
the complexity of the topic.
There were also several unexpected difficulties encountered with the study_ One
challenge was the timing of the study. It was initially planned to be conducted earlier in
the second half of the school year. Due to scheduling conflicts, the study began at the
beginning of April followed by a two
spring recess. Upon returning to school,
students took the state wide math portion of the exam the final three days of the
Aner testing for
morning hours, the students' levels of motivation were
low,
reducing their interest in and enthusiasm for participating in science class. Low student
interest and motivation directly impacted one of the factors assessed
the study.
addition to measuring students' acquisition of new knowledge, the study also observed
students' interest and motivation to learn and acquire new science content knowledge.
Students' attitudes were onen depleted in the afternoon sessions ofthe final three days aner
returning from testing in the morning sessions. Through
expressions and level of
participation, it was clear to see that the students were exhausted from testing for three
consecutive hours.
Implications for Future Practice
Based on the research presented and
study, implementing Curriculum Based
Reader's Theater in a science setting may impact the way students are introduced
acquire new content knowledge. Implementing Curriculum Based Reader's Theater m a
�THE INFLUENCE OF CBRT ON SCIENCE CONTENT
72
science setting may also impact student performance on in-class assessments. Educators
can implement Curriculum Based Reader's Theater at various times throughout the
curriculum with content material that can easily be manipulated and transformed into a
fiction or non-fiction
Curriculum Based Reader's Theater can be implemented for one
lesson or a unit.
By implementing Curriculum Based Reader's Theater, educators are providing
their students with an alternative method f()r learning.
Curriculum Based Reader's
Theater to introduce new contcnt is a way to break from the teacher's traditional methods
of teaching and put a twist on
content. Curriculum Based Reader's Theater is used to
engage students in their learning because ofthe high levels of participation needed in order
to delIver the script. When using Curriculum Based Reader's Theater to introduce new
content knowledge, students are required to separate the different elements of the script to
uncover the content material. This action requires the students to utilize critical and higher
order thinking skills.
Suggestions f()l' implementing Curriculum Based Reader's Theater differently in
the classroom include: the variation of resources, how the content is developed,
of developed content,
tOlmat
Curriculum Based Reader's Theater is implemented, and the
variation of content areas. Curriculum Based Reader's Theater can
a variety ot non
fiction resources when gathering content material. Although this study used the grade level
class textbook, additional non-fiction resources can be used as the sole source
int()fmation or as supplemental materials. Educators and students can gather content
material from articles, journals, websites, non-fiction books, and a variety of other sources.
�THE INFLUENCE OF CBRT ON SCIENCE CONTENT
73
Educators must ensure the content information and material gathered is grade level
appropriate and, more importantly, accurate.
Content can be developed by almost anyone involved
the im plementation of
Curriculum Based Reader's Theater. For the purpose of this study, and the knowledge of
the researcher, the content for the Curriculum Based Reader's Theater unit was developed
by the researcher. The development ofthe content should relate to the amount oftime spent
implementing Curriculum Based Reader's Theater and the purpose behind the
implementation. A teacher can develop the content by his or her self or with the assistance
of the students. If
students are to participate in the development of the content it is
important that the educator previously checks for content understanding and
comprehension. Students can develop the content individually or in groups depending on
the purpose for implementing Curriculum Based Reader's Theater.
Curriculum Based Reader's Theater can be created in many different formats. As
mentioned in the research, Curriculum Based Reader's Theater does not have to take the
form of a script in order to be considered Curriculum Based Reader's Theater. It is most
commonly created in the form of a play in order to engage and involve as many students
in the lesson at a given time. Educators and students can utilize as much information as
desired to develop a form of Curriculum Based Reader's Theater;
of the content cannot
always be incorporated at a given time. If desired, Curriculum Dased Reader's Theater can
take the form of a song, poem, riddle, story, or any other format that requires the students
to present the material through a performance.
Curriculum Based Reader's Theater can be implemcnted for any amount of time
deemed necessary for the implementation purpose. For the purpose of this study,
�THE INFLUENCE OF CBRT ON SCIENCE CONTENT
74
CUlTiculum Based Reader's Theater was implemented for the length of a unit in order to
meet the purpose of using Curriculum Based Reader's Theater to introduce new science
content. Educators can implement Curriculum Based Reader's Theater as a portion of their
lesson for one day or various whole lessons throughout the curriculum. Since not all content
can easily be manipulated into the form of a script, some lessons may not be beneficial to
the comprehension of the students.
Lastly, Curriculum Based Reader's Theater can be used within any content area.
Ideally Curriculum Based Reader's Theater is to be used with content areas that contain
dense information, such as Social Studies or Science. Curriculum Based Reader's Theater
can also be uscd with Math to act out equations and word problems. English Language Al1s
and Literature commonly uses the traditional method of Reader's Theater to act out
fictional stories and practice literacy skills.
Implications for Future Research
Implications for future research include adapting Curriculum Based Reader's
Theater and extending the implementation to further develop findings. Most importantly,
future researchers should extend the duration of the study to make a wider comparison of
teaching methods and inf1uences on students' acquisition
new knowledge and
performance on in-class assessments.
If the study were to be replicated, it is suggested that more than one class on the
same grade level be asked to participate. With the addition of a second class of fifth grade
students, the researcher will be able to compare two classes learning the same content
material. Week one of the study should be replicated, as the teacher uses traditional
methods of teaching to introduce new content material to both classes. Minor changes
�THE INFLUENCE OF CBRT ON SCIENCE CONTENT
75
should be made during week two when the implementation of Curriculum Based Reader's
Theater begins. During week two, class "A" will continue to acquire new knowledge
through the teacher's traditional instruction methods and strategies. Class "B" will be
introduced to Curriculum Based Reader's Theater as their instructional method. Since class
"B" is being exposed to Curriculum Based Reader's Theater for the first time, week two
should be proceeded by multiple weeks of traditional instruction methods of the teacher
and instruction in Curriculum Based Reader's Theater. MUltiple weeks of both
instructional methods will provide more reliable data to either support or refute the use of
Curriculum Based Reader's Theater as an instructional method to introduce new content
material.
Additional studies can be designed and conducted using the same procedure, but
varying the content area being taught. Future researchers should consider
implementation of Curriculum Based Reader's Theater in Social Studies and Math
classrooms. Based on the research presented, traditional Reader's Theater is an
instructional tool that is successfully used in English Language Arts and Literature.
Research, however, does not provide much an explanation for the implementation
Curriculum Based Reader's Theater in Social Studies and Math classrooms.
Although there were several limitations and suggestions for improvement, this
study offered a valuable perspective on using Curriculum Based Reader's Theater to
introduce and acquire new science content knowledge. This study is one of the few
observing the influence of Curriculum Based Reader's Theater in a science classroom on
the introduction and acquisition of new content material. In addition, it offered the teacher
an additional teaching method to be used with any science content throughout the
�THE INFLUENCE OF CBRT ON SCIENCE CONTENT
76
curriculum. Curriculum Based Reader's Theater provided the students opportunities to
utilize and strengthen their higher order thinking skills when acquiring new content
material. Content is often embedded
Curriculum Based Reader's Theater scripts
requiring students to unwrap new material. Curriculum Based Reader's Theater is an
instructional method that can bring excitement into the classroom for both the students and
teacher while creating a very unique learning experience. ror future research, the
suggestions discussed previously should be addressed in order to conduct a meaningful
study and gather significant data. Replications of the study could be made with the
recommendation as previously outlined above. However, further studies are also needed
with different populations of students, as well as studies using larger ample sizes. Hence
reliability of these results would increase. For future research, it would be interesting to
see how a longer duration and variety ofcontent topics influence students' ability to acquire
new content knowledge and their perfonnance on in-class assessments. This study has
shown that Curriculum Based Reader's Theater is an instructional method that can be used
to introduce new content knowledge,
addition to students acquiring new content
knowledge and successfully perfonning on in-class assessments.
�THE INFLUENCE OF CBRT ON SCIENCE CONTENT
77
References
Brooks, S., & Nahmias, C. K. (2009). Search for the Golden Moon Bear. Science Scope,
33(3),29-33.
Bullion-Mears, A., McCauley, J. K., & McWhorter, J. Y. (2007). Erupting with Great
Force: Pertorming Text to Enhance Reading Comprehension. Science Scope, 31(1),
16-21.
Corcoran, C. A. (200S). A Study of the Effects of Readers' Theater on Second and Third
Grade Special Education Students' fluency Growth. Reading Improvement, 42(2),
lOS-II].
Flynn, R. M. (2004). Curriculum-Based Readers Theatre: Setting the stage for reading and
retention. Reading Teacher, 58(4), 360-36S. doi:l0.1S98/RT.S8.4.S
Garrett, T. D., & O'Connor, D. (2010). Readers' Theater: "Hold On, Let's Read It Again."
Teaching Exceptional Children, 43(1), 6-13.
Homan, S. P., Klesius, J. P., & Hite, C. (1993). Effects of Repeated Readings and
Nonrepetitive Strategies on Students' Fluency and Comprehension. Journal (~r
Educational Research, 87(2), 94.
Jennifer O. Prescott. (2003). The Power of Reader's Theater: An easy way to make
dramatic changes in kids' fluency, writing, listening, and social skills. Education
Periodicals, 122(S), 22-27.
Kabilan, M. K., & Kamaruddin, F. (2010). Engaging learners' comprehension, interest and
motivation to learn literature using the reader's theatre. English Teaching: Practice
& Critique, 9(3), 132-1S9.
Kennedy, J. (2011). Oral Interpretation of Literature: Readers' Theater. C~A Forum, 40(1),
71
�THE INFLUENCE OF CBRT ON SCIENCE CONTENT
78
Kinniburgh,
& Shaw,
(2007). Building Reading Fluency in Elementary Science
Readers' Theatre. Science Activities,
1), 16-20.
Mraz, M., Nichols, W., Caldwell, S., lleisley, R, Sargent, S., & Rupley, W. (2013).
Improving Oral Reading Fluency through Readers Theatre. Reading Horizons,
52(2), 163-180.
SCHOLASTIC News Vol. 68, No.2, October 2011. (2011). Scholastic
-- Edition 1
(reacher's Edition), 68(2),1-14.
Stewart, M. (2008). The science of Readers Theatre. Reading Today, 26(3), 44-44.
Stewart, M. (2010). llringing Science to Life WITH READERS THEATER. Knrnvledge
Quest, 39(2), 80-82.
Worthy, .I., & Prater, K. (2002). "I thought about it
. Readers Theatre for reading
f1uency and motivation. Reading Teacher, 56(3), 294.
Young, C., & Rasinski, T. (2009). Implementing Readers Theatre as an approach to
classroom fluency instruction: Readers Theatre can create an academic avenue that
leads to increased reading fluency, regardless of whether students are striving or
thriving.(Report). The Reading Teacher, (1),4.
Young, T. A., & Vardell, S. (1993). Weaving Readers Theatre and Nonfiction into the
Cuniculum. Reading Teacher, 46(5), 396-406.
�THE INFLUENCE OF CBRT ON SCIENCE CONTENT
79
Appendix A: Consent Forms
Dear Parent(s) and/or Guardian(s):
As part of my master's degree requirements at Wagner College, I am conducting
research in your child's school on the use of Readers Theater to teach Science content. My
hope is that by conducting this study, we will be able to improve our understanding of the
methods and strategies that teachers can use to introduce new content information in
subject areas that often contain dense material, such as Science.
I am requesting your permission for your child to participate in the research. This
document will provide you with information that will help you decide whether or not you
wish to provide your permission. If you decide not to give permission, or if you or your
child decides at any point to discontinue participation in the study, there will be no penalties
for you or your child.
During the course of the project, I will work with the Science teacher to develop
lessons using the teaching method Readers Theater. The teacher and I will be delivering
upcoming Science lessons using the teaching method Readers Theater. First, I will be
observing how the Science teacher teaches Science content for the current unit. Next, I will
work with the Science teacher to conduct Reader's Theater lessons for the following unit.
I will be observing the effects of using Readers Theater to teach Science versus the
traditional method of lecture. Additional support will be given to the students for
comprehension purposes, as it is my ultimate goal that the students learn and comprehend
the content. If you were to grant permission for your child to participate, I would ask your
child to regularly attend class, participate in traditional class activities, read and perform
Reader's Theater Science scripts, participate in written surveys regarding their interests in
Science and Reader's Theater, and take quizzes to assess their knowledge using the Science
teacher's traditional quiz format. This study will take place over the next two weeks and I
ask that your student(s) comes prepared for class with all required books and materials.
The study will not interfere with your child's access to his or her regular educational
program.
All information gathered during the project will remain confidential and will not
be associated with your child's name. My analyses will also be cleared of any possible
identifying information in order to ensure your child's confidentiality.
The project does not carry any foreseeable risks for your child. However, if for any
reason you or your child felt uncomfortable, he or she could be removed from the study at
any time with no penalty, and any information gathered from your child during the study
would be destroyed.
�THE INFLUENCE OF CBRT ON SCIENCE CONTENT
80
If you have any questions concerning this study please feel free to contact me at
gina.giglia@wagner.edu or Dr. Advisor at rhoda.frumkin(iil,wagner.edu. Thank you for
considering being part of a study related to my research for a master's degree in Education
at Wagner College.
Please sign below to indicate your understanding of the project and your consent to
for your child to participate. I have provided two copies so that you may keep a duplicate
for your records.
Signature of Parent/Guardian
Date
Child(ren)'s Name
�THE INFLUENCE OF CBRT ON SCIENCE CONTENT
81
Appendix B: Curriculum Based Reader's Theater Week Breakdown
Grade - Science
Chapter 4- Astronomy
Day 1:
• Students will complete a pre-Reader's Theater Science survey about their interest
in science and science class
• Journal Prompt: (A) In 30 seconds, list as many things you know about space.
After 30 seconds are up: (B) Pick one or more items from your list and
compare/contrast what we know about them today to what scientists from the past
knew or studied.
• Distribute the play.
• Explain Reader's Theater briefly.
• Introduce play.
• Students and teacher read through playas a whole one time.
• Assign ro les.
• Students read through play one time.
• Annotate play to find pieces of content ini()rmation that students should be
learning.
• Review information highlighted.
• Students act out play.
• Exit ticket: name one thing you learned about space today that you did not include
your journal entry.
Day 2:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Review content learned from Day 1.
Introduce play #2.
Students and teacher read through playas a whole one time.
Assign roles.
Students read through play one time.
Annotate play to find pieces of content information that students should be
learning.
• Review information highlighted.
• Exit ticket: mmle one way the Sun is like a star. Name one way the Sun is
different from a star.
Day 3:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Review content learned from Day
Introduce play
Students and teacher read through playas a whole one time.
Assign roles.
Students read through play one time.
Annotate play to find pieces of content information that students should be
learning.
• Review information highlighted.
�THE INFLUENCE OF CBRT ON SCIENCE CONTENT
82
• Exit ticket: describe
difference between reflection and refraction.
Day 4:
• Review content learned from Day 3.
• Introduce play #4.
• Students and teacher read through playas a whole one time.
• Assign roles.
• Students read through play one time.
• Annotate play to find pieces of content information that students should be
learning.
• Review information highlighted.
• Exit ticket: name 5 or more phases of the moon.
DayS:
• Students will use the class period to complete a ten question quiz about the
content learned during this week's Reader's Theater performances.
• After the students complete the quiz they will complete a post-Reader's Theater
Science survey about learning science through Reader's Theater.
�THE INFLUENCE OF CRRT ON SCIENCE CONTENT
83
Appendix C: Pre-Curriculum Based Reader's Theater Survey
Not at all
A little bit
A lot
Most of the time
1. I like science
I understand science lessons
3. I earn good grades in science class
4. I participate in science class
5. I am motivated to learn science
6. I can read science texts/textbooks
Pictures/graphs help me to understand
8. Experiments help me to understand
9. My favorite
about science class is
My least favorite thing about science class is
11. If J could change one thing about science class J would change
12. If I could add one thing to science class to help me be a better science student I would
�THE INFLUENCE OF CBRT ON SCIENCE CONTENT
84
Appendix D: Lesson 1: What Makes Up the Solar System?
Jeopardy: Scientists Week, Final Episode
Characters
Game Show Host # 1
Ptolemy
Copernicus
Johannes Kepler
Game Show Host #2
Audience Group A
Audience Group B
Audience Group C
Game Show Host #3
Game Show Hosts #1, 2, 3: Welcome to tonight's episode of...
Everyone: JEOPARDY!
Game Show Host #1: This week we have had some very special scientistsjoining us. Let's
bring out and meet tonight's scientists. First we have Ptolemy. Tell us a little bit about
yourself and what you have been working on lately.
Ptolemy: I lived in Greece during the A.D. lOOs. I have been working on a model of the
solar system for some time now. This means I have created a drawing to show how the
solar system works. My model shows the Sun and other space objects revolving around
Earth.
Game Show Host #2: Very interesting! Thank you for joining us. Up next is Copernicus.
Copernicus: I am Polish and published my most recent work in 1543. Unlike Ptolemy's
model, I have placed the Sun at the center of the solar system. All other planets and space
objects revolve in circles around the Sun.
Game Show Host #3: Thank you very much! Last but not least, our returning champion
Johannes Kepler.
Johannes Kepler: I am a German Astronomer. In the l600s I created a model of the solar
system that used Copernicus' idea of the Sun in the center of the solar system. The only
difference with my model is that planets and all other space objects revolve around the Sun
in elliptical motions. This means everything revolves in oval paths.
Game Show Host #1: Three scientists with three brilliant ideas! The winner of the final
episode of scientists week will have their model of the solar system published and used by
future scientists all over the world!
Game Show Host #2: Let's play ...
Everyone: JEOPARDY!
Game Show Host #3: What makes up the solar system?
�CBRT
85
Ptolemy:
sun, planets and
moons,
objects.
Audience Group A: CORRECT!
Game Show Host #1: Because distances between objects are too large to measure in
kilometers or miles, astronomers measure in?
Copernicus: Astronomical units, or AUs.
Audience Group B: CORRECT!
Game Show Host #2: For extra points Copernicus, how large is one AU on average?
Copernicus: One AU on average is the distance from the sun to Earth, or about 150
kilometers.
Audience Group B: CORRECT!
Game Show Host #3: What keeps the planets in their orbits as they revolve around the
Sun?
Johannes Kepler: Gravity! This was reasoned by Sir Isaac Newton in the 1600s.
Audience Group C: CORRECT!
Game Show Host #1:
do
shine?
Ptolemy: They reflect
Audience Group A: CORRECT!
1!
Game Show Host #2: So far we have a tie between Johannes Kepler and Ptolemy, with
Copernicus in the lead. Let's move on to round two. What revolves nearest to Earth than
any other object and is about a quarter of the size of Earth
Copernicus: The moon.
Audience Group B: CORRECT!
Game Show Host #3: The moon seems to change shape depending on?
Johannes Kepler: How much of the lighted side is facing Earth.
Audience Group C: CORRECT!
Game Show Host #1: What is like a small planet and orbits the Sun?
�THE INFLUENCE OF CBRT ON SCIENCE CONTENT
86
Ptolemy: An asteroid.
Game Show Host #2: For a two part bonus question, what area do they orbit in and where
is this area located?
Ptolemy:
the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.
an
Audience Group A: CORRECT!
Sun
Game Show Host #3: What is a small piecc of rock or metal
and when do they f(Jrm?
Johannes Kepler: Meteoroids and they form when asteroids collide or comets break up.
Audience Group C: CORRECT!
Game Show Host #1: Describc a meteor.
Copernicus: When a meteoroid passes through Earth's
particles rub against the meteoroid's surfacc making it extremely hot. The rock begins to
burn. The streak of light given otI by the burning surface is a meteor. Sometimes they are
shooting stars.
Audience Group H: CORRECT!
Game Show Host #2: What is a
long, narrow path?
of ice, dust,
gas
revolves around the sun in a
Ptolemy: A comet.
Audience Group A: CORRECT! End of Round2!
Game Show Host #3: We now have a tie between Ptolemy and Copernicus, with Johannes
Kepler trailing behind. Let's move on to our last round, the Lightening Round. All points
are worth triple in this round. What does energy from the sun provide?
Johannes Kepler: Heat and light. Without it Earth would be a
Ice.
Audience Group C: CORRECT!
Game Show Host #1: The sun is a glowing ball of hot gas. How is it different from other
stars and why?
Copernicus:
much closer to
bigger, and
than other stars because it is so
�THE INFLUENCE OF CBRT ON SCIENCE CONTENT
87
Audience Group B: CORRECT!
Game Show Host #2: Many objects that enter Earth ' s atmosphere burn up completely.
What does not burn up completely and can land on Earth ' s surface? For bonus points define
this object.
Johannes Kepler: Meteorites can pass through the Earth's atmosphere without burning
up. A meteorite is a piece of rock and metal that lands on Earth's surface.
Audience Group C: CORRECT!
Game Show Host #3: Where do meteorites come from and how do they affect Earth?
Ptolemy : Meteorites come from the asteroid belt or rocks from the moon or Mars. They
affect Earth ' s surface by creating large craters when they hit the ground.
Audience Group A: CORRECT!
Game Show Host #1: Explain how the sun and the moon affect Earth.
Johannes Kepler: The sun and the moon cause the rising and falling of the tides . Moon 's
gravity pulls ocean water toward the moon. The water piles up in a bulge on the side of the
Earth that is facing the moon. The water also bulges out on the opposite side of the Earth.
Low tides are formed in the area between the two bulges. When the sun and moon are lined
up with Earth, their pulls combine together and make very high tides.
Audience Group C: CORRECT! End of Round 3!
Game Show Host #1, 2, 3: Our winner tonight is ...
Audience Group A, B, C: Johannes Kepler!
Figure 3: Ptolemy's Model
Figure 5:Kepler's Model
�THE INFLUENCE OF CBRT ON SCIENCE CONTENT
88
Appendix E: Astronomy Quiz
5th Grade Science Quiz
Astronomy Chapter
Date: __~_ _ _ _ _ __
1. Describe the three models of the solar system and name the scientist that created
each model.
2. True or False: A meteoroid passes through the Earth's atmosphere and lands
on Earth's surface.
3. List the three things that make up a comet.
a.
b.
c.
4.
5.
The moon's orbit
a. Rotates
b. Rotates and revolves
c. Revolves
d. None of the above
A spectroscope is a tool that analyzes
6.
a. Color
Stars
c. Light
d. Heat
True or False: The sun is an average star in size, hotness, and brightness.
7. You are a scientist who just discovered a new star. Describe how you would
classify the star. What do these properties tell you about the star?
�THE INFLUENCE OF CBRT ON SCIENCE CONTENT
89
8.
Name and describe the three parts of the sun.
9.
Explain how telescopes work.
10. List 5 ofthe phases of the moon. For (+3) Bonus points, what is the difference
between Waxing and Waning?
Extra Credit: Explain how the saying "Once in a blue moon" is related to science.
(+2)
�THE INFLUENCE OF CBRT ON SCIENCE CONTENT
90
Appendix F: Post-Curriculum Based Reader's Theater Survey for Students
Did you enjoy learning Science through Readers Theater? Were you motivated to learn
Science? Why or why not?
What was your favorite pali about learning Science through Readers
What was your least favorite part about learning
Readers Theater?
What was
easiest
learning Science
What was
most
part of leal"ning Science through Readers Theater?
Readers Theater?
What did you learn from doing Science through Readers Theater?
Would you like to learn Science through Readers Theater again? Why or Why not?
Compared to using a textbook, was it easier or more difficult to read a script and learn
new science information? Why?
If you could give the teacher any suggestion about doing Readers Theater in
what would it be?
If you could change one thing about
it be? Why?
Do
on
we
Readers
u .........,_'-'
what
and will get a good grade? ___________
�THE INFLUENCE OF CBRT ON SCIENCE CONTENT
91
Appendix G: Post-Curriculum Based Reader's Theater Survey for Teacher
Did you enjoy the experience of teaching through Readers Theater? Why or why
What was the easiest part about planning for the Readers Theater lessons?
What was the most challenging part about planning for the Readers Theater lessons?
If you could change anything about the way you planned
what would you change
why? How would you change
the Readers Theater lessons
'N'hat was the easiest pa11 about delivering the Readers Theater lessons?
What was
most challenging pa11 about delivering the Readers Theater lessons?
you could change anything about the way the Readers Theater lessons were delivered
would you change and why? How would you change it?
Do you
experience was beneficial for your students? Why or Why not?
Were there any noticeable changes in the students' behavior or perfOnna11ce?
Would you do Readers Theater again to teach another unit with the same class? Why or
why not? What would you keep the same? What would you change?
�Wagner College
Graduate Thesis Copyright Release Form
Document Identification
Student Name:
Gina Giglia
Thesis Title: THE INFLUENCE OF CURRICULUM BASED READER'S THEATER ON
SCIENCE STUDENTS' PERFORMANCE ON IN-CLASS ASSESSNIENTS
Department:
Education
Author Agreement
to the Board of Trustees of Wagner College and its agents the non-exclusive license to
and make accessible, my thesis in whole or in part in all forms of
now or hereafter known.
I understand that Wagner College will make my work available to all patmns of its library, including
interlibrary sharing.
I agree to the unrestricted display oflhe bibliographic information and the abstract ofthe above title.
I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the work.
Signed
Date -"""~W9~/-,L~~·J
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Wagner College Electronic Thesis Collection
Description
An account of the resource
Full text access to Wagner College theses in PDF format.
Document
A resource containing textual data. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre text.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
The influence of Curriculum Based Reader's Theater on science students' performance on in-class assessments
Description
An account of the resource
MS Ed: Teaching Literacy
Abstract
A summary of the resource.
This study explored the implementation of Curriculum Based Reader's Theater in a 5th grade science classroom. Traditional Reader's Theater is often used in classroom as an engaging activity for students. The instructional purposes of traditional Reader's Theater range from supporting story comprehension, increasing reading fluency, and boosting the motivation to read. This study used a variation of Reader's Theater, known as Curriculum Based Reader's Theater (CBRT), to introduce science students to new content information. The participants of study were 13 fifth grade students and a science teacher from a Title I school located in New York City. The purpose of study was to measure the impact of Curriculum Based Reader's Theater on both students' acquisition of new knowledge per in-class formative summative assessments and their motivation to learn science. Over the course of four lessons, students were introduced to the topic of astronomy through teacher created scripts. On day five, the final day of the unit, students were given a ten question quiz to assess the content learned. Results suggested that Curriculum Based Reader's Theater is an effective teaching strategy introducing new science content knowledge. Curriculum Based Reader's Theater also supp0l1s students' acquisition of new science content knowledge, while increasing students' levels of motivation and participation in science. The researcher suggests that adaptations to the implementation of Curriculum Based Reader's Theater may increase the effectiveness of the strategy.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Giglia, Gina
Date Accepted
Date of acceptance of the resource. Examples of resources to which a Date Accepted may be relevant are a thesis (accepted by a university department) or an article (accepted by a journal).
2015
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
U.S. and international copyright laws may protect this work. It is provided by Wagner College for scholarly or research purposes only. Commercial use or distribution is not permitted without prior permission of the copyright holder.
Is Part Of
A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included.
Wagner College Electronic Thesis Collection
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
application/pdf
Extent
The size or duration of the resource.
92 pages
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Ed_2015_Giglia_Influence
-
https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/1909/archive/files/21e16ed902bd64a15c870b7cbf294102.pdf?Expires=1712793600&Signature=J0DK3uSeH6RLl64ID2kxpUBsG8n4zEVTpfevzGIpZs68AHjaGQu0tywn76waBBnNee6fxTfLEGv9Ek93JD4koHGEMbjV4Iry4%7EcLqQWvbmdHseYKMcrG%7E3xe3-0Ltqae8ZnUIxyv4ARAvCeSrjyefEcXYAcG8L5qNdck3rgVBGdyg5%7E3o2DzztEnkEq5qXNvSzPETUchewjmZS-5gB2NDXwz%7EN84E8K6D0SHUDkq0xNZFqDw6nYqkk-v9RRhYf%7EXFmmowafOoVNNq1ups8zG6P%7EUwex3JmvlchpyV4B1pH3%7EMpnUlALU-gkhkeYij30adrAOGId00Oav8evStcEpPg__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM
d767e0faba004e846f73a4dac36a065c
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Wagner College Electronic Thesis Collection
Description
An account of the resource
Full text access to Wagner College theses in PDF format.
Document
A resource containing textual data. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre text.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
How hispanic parent practices developed through an after school literacy program impact language development practices at home
Description
An account of the resource
MS Ed: Teaching Literacy
Abstract
A summary of the resource.
Children who come from non-English speaking households tend to suffer academically due to language barriers. Parents agree it is important for their child to receive a good education, but they are unsure how to engage academically with them. Parental involvement is imperative for a child to succeed in school, and these parents want to become involved in their child's educational career. To help foster engagement, schools often offer programs for English Language Learners including translators, after school programs, and ESL teachers. Schools usually do not have any programs to support language learning or school support for the families. This study will explore the effectiveness of an after school program focused on parental involvement in a child's early language development.
This study's aim is to explore through qualitative methods if an after school program helped parents acquire skills and techniques to increase literacy learning at home and school. The goal of this study is to meet with these parents and learn about how these strategies taught in the program may have become embedded into their home lives, helping them engage academically with their children. During the course of this program, parents should become more confident on ways to help their child and promote language development. The study will examine whether this was the case.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Gomez, Christine
Date Accepted
Date of acceptance of the resource. Examples of resources to which a Date Accepted may be relevant are a thesis (accepted by a university department) or an article (accepted by a journal).
2014
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Gonzalez, Katia
Frumkin, Rhoda
Gazzard, Ann
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
U.S. and international copyright laws may protect this work. It is provided by Wagner College for scholarly or research purposes only. Commercial use or distribution is not permitted without prior permission of the copyright holder.
Is Part Of
A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included.
Wagner College Electronic Thesis Collection
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
application/pdf
Extent
The size or duration of the resource.
53 pages
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Ed_2014_Gomez_How
-
https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/1909/archive/files/cd46277600543a486e52a5f3c996c26b.pdf?Expires=1712793600&Signature=cS88d0IJi00Gdv7MnGaCuCM1tfTSvJPbdk8LQeAf1cx5yhvhokhXLl4IJzt01obtxG-Gvlv2z6z2caKISp1Vsrq52a%7EgxpKEqK2QKiPcYp3%7En8LgC-U6-Sbtaw%7EaCoi%7EW64yQGs2fHSLkCNJEKYCVuWD9F2UhWCKgX3g8M7maf7sMiBNZY%7EszbZX7FRbj5-Sb-bKLtAiSpz4gUxnEdf9jMDxpQa4AD3xomhJ0Gh0SprNjEZ%7ELUrp54Ymxf9b1BPGS152oLPnp2JZhUa68DvZfLr3x46bCpzHAKharVR9IMD%7E0Tl1cZ33Am4I7jotFS1dRcTcb2MemSbjTFPPjTQVaQ__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM
5184a3b5c60844534934dc4aef58d0af
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Wagner College Electronic Thesis Collection
Description
An account of the resource
Full text access to Wagner College theses in PDF format.
Document
A resource containing textual data. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre text.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Developing reflective educators
Description
An account of the resource
MS Ed: Teaching Literacy
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Johnsen, Emilie
Date Accepted
Date of acceptance of the resource. Examples of resources to which a Date Accepted may be relevant are a thesis (accepted by a university department) or an article (accepted by a journal).
2014
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
DeMoss, Karen
Frumkin, Rhoda
Gonzalez, Katia
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
U.S. and international copyright laws may protect this work. It is provided by Wagner College for scholarly or research purposes only. Commercial use or distribution is not permitted without prior permission of the copyright holder.
Is Part Of
A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included.
Wagner College Electronic Thesis Collection
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
application/pdf
Extent
The size or duration of the resource.
56 pages
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Ed_2014_Johnsen_Building
-
https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/1909/archive/files/7f1513eaeddf4cd8d5fd14905cf76b59.pdf?Expires=1712793600&Signature=ZH5zIofq7mXLfpZZLk0MOaqVXmI2W8EPX8FTuZENBE5FaAL76fxJw67erDdl0XLZCHb8CyJeVuqCUrhh37DlQ%7Ep1Ocfh1uNieuc%7Ed06nVHt6bj4sH0Qgh5EWf-46UufVDbrMBSIAskBhMlmgU6Z10E8VOwxjCIxPNm5NMWlANqM3fZ%7EDgxEGob5C%7EW%7EMt%7EuGRqtSyifpf1oRo-bRv2N%7EFi226gd2SfifewKHM3tMIY-Xr72zI1lWZ77VekkPTFAKWrZi6U93LWphpqzFY3fR5G8d%7EsWbjivnap0o0Ys0thlE52h03LM4%7EVjuipLrWHyfs%7EotvlwHlPnvXWv--WXDEw__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM
422e011cc08df16e8fe59a6b197e4a38
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Wagner College Electronic Thesis Collection
Description
An account of the resource
Full text access to Wagner College theses in PDF format.
Document
A resource containing textual data. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre text.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Teacher attitudes towards inclusion in early childhood classroom settings
Description
An account of the resource
MS Ed: Early Childhood/Special Education
Abstract
A summary of the resource.
Despite federal mandates to educate students with disabilities in the general education setting, many teachers continue to have mixed feelings towards their ability to implement inclusive practices (Swain et aI., 2012). In this study, student teacher perceptions oftheir cooperating teachers'attitude toward inclusion and ways attitudes affected inclusionary practices was studied. In addition, the influence of cooperating teachers attitudes on student teachers' own perceptions about inclusion was evaluated in order to determine the right professional development needed. This study utilized a survey consisting of 32 Likert-type items ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree and 11 open-ended questions. Student teachers were placed into one ofthree settings, general education, integrated co-teaching and self-contained. Results indicate that all 10 student teachers hold positive experiences towards inclusion, even though some have had a negative experience with inclusion because they were placed with a cooperating teacher who had a negative attitude towards inclusion practices.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Kilgannon, Katie
Date Accepted
Date of acceptance of the resource. Examples of resources to which a Date Accepted may be relevant are a thesis (accepted by a university department) or an article (accepted by a journal).
2015
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Gonzalez, Katia
Frumkin, Rhoda
Gazzard, Ann
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
U.S. and international copyright laws may protect this work. It is provided by Wagner College for scholarly or research purposes only. Commercial use or distribution is not permitted without prior permission of the copyright holder.
Is Part Of
A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included.
Wagner College Electronic Thesis Collection
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
application/pdf
Extent
The size or duration of the resource.
74 pages
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Ed_2015_Kilgannon_Teacher
-
https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/1909/archive/files/93d0992de72d46d7b851b69b4d5a857c.pdf?Expires=1712793600&Signature=aB1akCCZiO%7E2ic-7rW%7E%7EHPeRpK-Ek6wAtkYPT%7E5-5LwKJb30HKk8u1YOtvpVy9d6JVh-A%7EAU%7EFMWT-a5difI8HGI5x%7EJ-CNasXrcFEmqkIGi%7EYLRTEjyuOrdwC%7EmRgYh49TtuWUS%7EbV-5E8jQjHZ7bDgsKMirCo9O0hsiD489XNKL4WGRaYqKQXbj3ijEitL9pPIVHOvPQW8oRNY58zKx%7Efcct0gr7D04SY7vrK4OWVwFDiwN11DvbpLDNcjY8SX2JwzH2HqY7ypSk1knHNExuFacOvo3oGIjCitnnCyuGroiWXLvEET%7EbT5jJ81uV0dLixSRARWufFkHp2zAvrDww__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM
4f95920811b9fc595404f976896ad27d
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Wagner College Electronic Thesis Collection
Description
An account of the resource
Full text access to Wagner College theses in PDF format.
Document
A resource containing textual data. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre text.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Children's transitions to new programs: a collaborative approach
Description
An account of the resource
MS Ed: Early Childhood/Special Education
Abstract
A summary of the resource.
The transition to Kindergarten is a milestone step for children and their families. Kindergarten today is so formal and demanding, with many standards to follow and high expectations of children. Families might experience stress and anxiety when engaging in transition activities and children might feel nervous when transitioning into Kindergarten. A collaborative approach is imperative for a smooth and effective transition. This study examined three questions focusing on families and school personnel collaborating to create meaningful transitions to Kindergarten for children, as well as their families. Interviews with school personnel were conducted and questionnaires were sent to families of children in a private preschool in Staten Island, NY. Results showed they supported the three questions and indicated that families and their children benefited from collaborating and communicating with school personnel for Kindergarten transition.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Kouretsos, Caroline
Date Accepted
Date of acceptance of the resource. Examples of resources to which a Date Accepted may be relevant are a thesis (accepted by a university department) or an article (accepted by a journal).
2014
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Gonzalez, Katia
Frumkin, Rhoda
Gazzard, Ann
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
U.S. and international copyright laws may protect this work. It is provided by Wagner College for scholarly or research purposes only. Commercial use or distribution is not permitted without prior permission of the copyright holder.
Is Part Of
A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included.
Wagner College Electronic Thesis Collection
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
application/pdf
Extent
The size or duration of the resource.
73 pages
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Ed_2014_Kouretsos_Childrens
-
https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/1909/archive/files/82833b0c765c2d147363f90b52219f26.pdf?Expires=1712793600&Signature=TBzVaO37GCYzto17OotJ6xZjs68j9CIeDM0mxHgRJ2VI%7EHbkfIK0zRNXKM1G8TdPQkfC6NZYWdWe9KyCaDhBxFrc2d0BjOIu1nlRqXyIlcWM92xjiLnO8KcrnqJXhse68uTBakv2yk1zs2tP%7EnjDN2bxFUuBUMGA1vF9uwsm1jgj109866vVfk7rj5wjdM9VfF6zqVUC1yquxp2Csjk38exB0h77xjYpYprYKdPookVHFUM1NnUotjTi%7EB4bvJ2cW6J2F1oaStDcgPsB5bu%7ESZc-U72UwuSpNNyFll%7EeGUiE6tEjovfJLrff04pKStEUPAsBDsvmT5FYCTezDiK%7Erg__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM
cb149f2bc459e0ab8ef148cb7077b837
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Wagner College Electronic Thesis Collection
Description
An account of the resource
Full text access to Wagner College theses in PDF format.
Document
A resource containing textual data. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre text.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
The effects of bullying on early childhood education students
Description
An account of the resource
MS Ed: Early Childhood/Special Education
Abstract
A summary of the resource.
Bullying has reached near-epidemic proportions in today's schools, but there is little agreement among educators about what to do about it. This study investigated how teachers and principals defined, viewed, and handled bullying within their classrooms or school settings. After interviewing principals and teachers from a variety of schools, it was confirmed that there is no consensus regarding how to address bullying, though a wide range of strategies and methods have been attempted to prevent it from proliferating. It does appear that bullying is less of a problem in schools that have clear, well-defined, and easily implemented policies for dealing with bullying. The researcher recommends that schools from a variety of settings work together to develop a coherent program for addressing this serious and growing problem.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Krawciw, Lisa
Date Accepted
Date of acceptance of the resource. Examples of resources to which a Date Accepted may be relevant are a thesis (accepted by a university department) or an article (accepted by a journal).
2012
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Preskill, Stephen
Gonzalez, Katia
Zanfini, Mary
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
U.S. and international copyright laws may protect this work. It is provided by Wagner College for scholarly or research purposes only. Commercial use or distribution is not permitted without prior permission of the copyright holder.
Is Part Of
A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included.
Wagner College Electronic Thesis Collection
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
application/pdf
Extent
The size or duration of the resource.
67 pages
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Ed_2012_Krawciw_Effects
-
https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/1909/archive/files/f92cf870d0b8efa277909aa011d628d9.pdf?Expires=1712793600&Signature=lcCl-1VFgYrOapdmEXxGNC78TEgBS07D5WY8Uq-LdySCnC0ZG1NtUw0LoR0zc09-JFVh1hf39kfg4EJjjtJCLN16pez9sUX188jymryoaXAvpHutbV5%7ENVYyhg4l0S9Cv1zy0nicZJCN2cnKU9KBULWc90A76JJ0BM8fZGCukp9kZ1v9tDdZ8Uh%7EXZlgvbZ5UhR-zYm8VIKOe1RUCaah%7EF53bDNorcuQMdwaBvN80lucAFJw4t00ZgNbWwD9uaXON1FcMHV0VQUSr-lfwABMMKV7TnPn5ZtzjHAfiLJE9RTAp8o6dq-YpXPId1vRLN0Z-hZDMAArs3JQnEHRtZ0ZoQ__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM
bce4d959ee7f19e823517db62ba3a2ab
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Wagner College Electronic Thesis Collection
Description
An account of the resource
Full text access to Wagner College theses in PDF format.
Document
A resource containing textual data. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre text.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Keeping your eyes on the prize : a study of the effects of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation on student engagement in reading
Description
An account of the resource
MS Ed: Teaching Literacy
Abstract
A summary of the resource.
There has been much research conducted on the effectiveness of using intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation in the classroom for reading engagement. Arguments have been made to demonstrate the benefits and disadvantages of using both approaches as a means to motivate students to read. This study, conducted with 16 students from a Staten Island elementary school, seeks to answer the question, “Which form of motivation –intrinsic or extrinsic- appears to be more effective in producing a greater engagement in reading among students?”. The study took place during a four-week period, with two two-week phases of instruction. Phase One of the study used extrinsic motivation for reading instruction as students participated in a “Book Challenge” and received prizes for every five books read independently. Phase Two implemented intrinsic motivation by incorporating various hands-on activities into instruction that were related to the independent reading. “Bookmark Slips” were collected and tallied for each book read independently by the students during Phases One and Two. The results showed that the students collectively read more than double the amount of books in Phase One than in Phase Two. The total, mean, and median number of books read independently were much higher when extrinsic rewards were used than intrinsic motivation. The students showed more excitement for reading during both phases of the study when compared to their initial feelings regarding reading prior to Phase One. Limitations to this study included a lack of time and controlled-environment due to a demanding rehearsal schedule for an upcoming Holiday Show.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Landolina, Francesca
Date Accepted
Date of acceptance of the resource. Examples of resources to which a Date Accepted may be relevant are a thesis (accepted by a university department) or an article (accepted by a journal).
2011
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Preskill, Stephen
Frumkin, Rhoda
Gazzard, Ann
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
U.S. and international copyright laws may protect this work. It is provided by Wagner College for scholarly or research purposes only. Commercial use or distribution is not permitted without prior permission of the copyright holder.
Is Part Of
A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included.
Wagner College Electronic Thesis Collection
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
application/pdf
Extent
The size or duration of the resource.
117 pages
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Ed_2011_Landolina_Keeping
-
https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/1909/archive/files/2e3d34b9d0d858dcea5f62270f85a1f3.pdf?Expires=1712793600&Signature=rdcXlt36iKcdcoCSP9TiSz-PxiFQFt9U0373cPBTGPkJgxcz%7E76tsB%7EP3DGw2D6-g3psGq3Bb880zYn6jEpENr%7EZg10pndQn6o-lfMsUGPSGoazJ%7E9KDUbBQ9fhb8opEqaC8JiEP%7Ezg17bmEXQit286HSSWKZkcWXzQ5ZNfCkjRR77KiCwF5VqH68TlgTncNEBv7Fqeq0ti%7EjHI9HjIQxtDSIMMVYa164lDiC6TAVIm1Qgz7EkwosVQX9vinlLorr5orvAt3gI6boOMJF8kb50t3mHRHdEi7r5Gx9viQceqXvh1Z7dMzshJkR7Vk6Kq9Fac6Tqw1a8qZ7LtlQu%7EVMA__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM
2ff1d713ea9a80c0e3b97162092401ea
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Wagner College Electronic Thesis Collection
Description
An account of the resource
Full text access to Wagner College theses in PDF format.
Document
A resource containing textual data. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre text.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Impact of single-sex floors vs. co-ed floors in residence halls on college campuses : in terms of damage billing and documented incidents
Description
An account of the resource
MS Ed: Adolescent Education
Abstract
A summary of the resource.
This study set out to find if there is a "best" practice in terms of housing arrangement style, either single-sex or co-ed, in terms of damage fines assigned to students and incidents involving students. Determining if one style or the other influences student behavior could allow for the determining of "best" practices; whether single-sex housing lends to lessening of alcohol incidents, or co-ed housing decreasing the likelihood of community space damages, would be useful information for any institution. The current literature leaves a gap on which style is better from damage fines and incident perspectives; different studies sight both styles as "best" for different reasons.
Permission to conduct this study at Wagner College allowed for data to be collected over five years in three first year residential student housing communities: all male, all female and co-ed floors in Harborview Hall. The study looked at the incidents occurring on each floor over that period of time, and which students were involved. It also examined the fines assigned to each floor; both fines for individual students and fines assigned the entire community for larger scale damages. These findings were analyzed for significance to answer the questions posed.
It was found that neither housing style can be awarded the title "best" in terms of lessening incidents or damage fines. Both housing styles have their merits, but there is not a style which lessened both incidents and damage fines in a consistent way. This outcome indicates that either style is a viable housing option for an institution.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Liss, Julie
Date Accepted
Date of acceptance of the resource. Examples of resources to which a Date Accepted may be relevant are a thesis (accepted by a university department) or an article (accepted by a journal).
2014
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Love, Anne
Gordon, David
Fitzgerald, Jason
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
U.S. and international copyright laws may protect this work. It is provided by Wagner College for scholarly or research purposes only. Commercial use or distribution is not permitted without prior permission of the copyright holder.
Is Part Of
A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included.
Wagner College Electronic Thesis Collection
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
application/pdf
Extent
The size or duration of the resource.
79 pages
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Ed_2014_Liss_Impact
-
https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/1909/archive/files/a6ae0daa4e37155ab05fb6f25a9d6416.pdf?Expires=1712793600&Signature=SPsW86-pNtjBgpAeICWyBWog8g9KDmWJNGauXdTrNhx1W2w2vX1gF8M7QNCU9mz4XKDPMMPCRl1E6l-UhLm8AgKAEIPFFSttZkf4AEUncJrWNIazyMCi0nxoV1qx%7ErCuw0J9U5BBfoeZwQCam7kmugklJQ9%7ESVJbKOyqM4nKXE-OtUwtqXTXO9GWCKMggNga0kAFTp8sIDL5S8InmB2jaAI90BoY9h8GVkYialv4nHnlHoPDb9mt7QP9p%7EtQr92UuQiEkDdrZNDzNs%7EKMwAWahZORRjF6R22XraOXQQTdXZuv%7EhlDoaPVjoEhzqILRKfKwETzp2QhtQwmSFXAvIDqg__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM
3dcbe4699876673926959446b8207aee
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Wagner College Electronic Thesis Collection
Description
An account of the resource
Full text access to Wagner College theses in PDF format.
Document
A resource containing textual data. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre text.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Helping students become diverse learners through Gardner's Multiple Intelligence Theory
Description
An account of the resource
MS Ed: Teaching Literacy
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
McComiskey, Elizabeth
Date Accepted
Date of acceptance of the resource. Examples of resources to which a Date Accepted may be relevant are a thesis (accepted by a university department) or an article (accepted by a journal).
2014
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Frumkin, Rhoda
Gonzalez, Katia
Gazzard, Ann
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
U.S. and international copyright laws may protect this work. It is provided by Wagner College for scholarly or research purposes only. Commercial use or distribution is not permitted without prior permission of the copyright holder.
Is Part Of
A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included.
Wagner College Electronic Thesis Collection
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
application/pdf
Extent
The size or duration of the resource.
52 pages
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Ed_2014_McComiskey_Helping
-
https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/1909/archive/files/6716cc2f3279ab3956b99e1df9173ffd.pdf?Expires=1712793600&Signature=X6yu8iYpaJqQOZwwjSi%7EVuybBijLUMdUExBiwUXJg7SCzqHD1mluZkfBUqDuzkq023KbeqaVBnl29G%7EpFHdHl9XF9eIPdJ44NZ%7Edyhez4hH4gtw1MAKR125EMVJ3dsqUkyGj810TpDaC4QXf1E9yd%7EeDVv7aoocgtD%7Erk40nzEUOzoOA5fQ8Wkces63JmLFpJ-kl7DAm%7EqQRQOraJejUPHL-obnwcHxqPzZAuWepNi-uayqJfxjxQ8zCo96Unk1Vn2Niri1r6kns715cEcTYHUu884Il4MnMwLN2LS2ojtteJxHz-rOwQgzD2pOT6N7dI8GPNnJoPT0IgeEDdGwUkg__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM
10973e055d6d54fe5eba0ab506e10022
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Wagner College Electronic Thesis Collection
Description
An account of the resource
Full text access to Wagner College theses in PDF format.
Document
A resource containing textual data. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre text.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Engaging families in language development
Description
An account of the resource
MS Ed: Teaching Literacy
Abstract
A summary of the resource.
This exploratory study examines how early career educators can develop their abilities to plan and implement instruction for English Language Learners (ELLs). Seven female Wagner College graduate students were observed working in an English language and literacy development program, and later interviewed about how they were prepared to work in the program, and their experiences in the program. Findings highlight the need for a basic knowledge base of students' native language in order to effectively plan and implement English language instruction. Furthermore, findings suggest that interactive activities, teachers' cultural competence, and the opportunities for reflection all positively impact ELLs instruction. Program and educational improvements are discussed.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
McGrath, Deirdre
Date Accepted
Date of acceptance of the resource. Examples of resources to which a Date Accepted may be relevant are a thesis (accepted by a university department) or an article (accepted by a journal).
2014
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
DeMoss, Karen
Gonzalez, Katia
Frumkin, Rhoda
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
U.S. and international copyright laws may protect this work. It is provided by Wagner College for scholarly or research purposes only. Commercial use or distribution is not permitted without prior permission of the copyright holder.
Is Part Of
A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included.
Wagner College Electronic Thesis Collection
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
application/pdf
Extent
The size or duration of the resource.
48 pages
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Ed_2014_McGrath_Engaging