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The Effects of Culturally and Linguistically Relevant Texts and Bilingual Discussions on Bilingual Students
Get PDFAs the Latino population grows in the 21st century, teachers have to be up to date with the best practices to meet the needs of Latino students. The purpose of this study is to determine if culturally relevant texts and bilingual instructional conversations will help Latino students make literacy gains. The fifth grade Latino participants of this study met with the researcher four times a week for 45 minutes for six weeks. During these sessions the students read texts with Latino protagonists and themes and engaged in instructional conversations about the texts. The participants were allowed to use Spanish or English. Comprehension assessments demonstrated the participants\u27 growth and may direct research to replicating this study with a larger sample
Explicit code-switching instruction in writing for young adolescents speaking African American English
Get PDFThis study examined the effects of explicit and systematic code-switching or dialect-shifting instruction on a writing performance of a sixth grade student speaking African American English. Intervention included code-switching or teaching when a certain language variety is appropriate, a side-by-side contrasting of the features of African American English(AAE) and Standard American English, and sentence “translations” from one dialect into another one (Wheeler & Swords, 2008). The intervention was delivered to the subject over the course of nine 60-minute sessions. Writing samples were collected throughout the sessions and were analyzed for the number of features of African American English to monitor the subject\u27s progress. The findings of the study indicated that explicit code-switching instruction in subject-verb agreement made a positive effect on the student\u27s writing. While other features of AAE were present in her post-intervention writing sample, they were not sufficiently addressed in the intervention and can serve as a starting point for future studies
Explicit instruction on the text structures cause-and-effect and compare-and-contrast to improve fifth grade students\u27 comprehension of expository texts on social studies
Get PDFIn an extension of research on the effectiveness of explicit instruction to increase student comprehension (Williams, 2005), the present study examined the role of text structure awareness in the recall of content related information of two expository text types: cause-and-effect and compare-and-contrast. The researcher hypothesized that explicit instruction on text structure awareness would increase fifth grade students\u27 comprehension of social studies texts. Twenty-seven fifth graders participated in this study. Data collection and analysis focused on the participants\u27 main idea summaries of social studies text, content area quizzes, and informal reading inventory. The results revealed that explicit modeling of text structure awareness, the use of visual representations, and a release of responsibility, increased students\u27 recall of information within a social studies text. However, the results did not indicate a significant difference in overall comprehension of expository texts with other types of text structures. Finally, recommendations for further research were presented
Improving students\u27 comprehension through the use of read-alouds
Get PDFThis is a study conducted in a Kindergarten classroom to see if reading aloud does increase student comprehension. The study was administered for eight weeks to a group of seventeen students during the 2011-2012 academic school year in Cambridge, Wisconsin. The researcher found a correlation between reading aloud and increased comprehension scores. The data collected concluded that as the number of read-alouds increased, so did students\u27 overall comprehension
Visualization and Drama-Based Techniques to Impact Reading Comprehension of a Fourth-Grade Student with a Cognitive Disability
Get PDFThis case study explores the impact of visualization and drama-based techniques on the reading comprehension of a fourth-grade student with a cognitive disability. Existing literature has indicated that reading comprehension is an area of struggle for many students and that visualizing and using drama can be highly effective in improving understanding of a text. Eighteen interventions were designed to work on three strategies, using a graphic organizer to document sensory information, drawing a scene from a story, and finally acting out a scene using props over the course of 6 weeks. This case study found that visualization and drama-based strategies are highly effective in improving reading comprehension and other areas of reading for students with cognitive disabilities improving recalling and fluency skills
The Effects of Repeated Reading Strategy On Oral Reading Fluency and Reading Comprehension of Middle School Students
Get PDFThe purpose of this action project was to explore the effect repeated reading strategy has on oral reading fluency and reading comprehension of middle school students. The repeated reading strategy supplemented the reading instruction of middle school students in a parental choice school. The 5-phase study included school and parental approval, student interest interview and teacher questionnaire; the administration of the Qualitative Reading Inventory - 5th edition for pre-test and post-test; repeated reading strategy training and intervention strategy implementation. Students paired together and trained on the intervention process received fluency-comprehension instruction 60 to 90 minutes twice a week. Growth was determined from the Pre-test and Post-test. The findings concluded an overall effect of the repeated reading strategy on fluency and comprehension of middle school students
The relationship between eating disorders and obsessive compulsive characteristics in a residential eating disorder program
No full textRelationships between eating disorders and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) have been found in several studies (Garcia, Houy-Durand, Thibaut, & Dechelotte, 2009; Roberts, 2006). Commonalities that have been found include: personality traits and common neurobiological and genetic features (Garcia et al., 2009; Halmi, 2005). Many experts in the field suggest a continuum between eating disorders and obsessive compulsive disorders (Garcia et al., 2009). Given the strong interaction between OCD and eating disorders, it is reasonable to suppose that many people with an eating disorder may have OCD characteristics, but do not meet the criteria for an actual OCD diagnosis. Regardless, the degree to which a person has OCD characteristics may have an impact on the severity of the eating disorder and the effectiveness for treatment. If this were found, the treatment for the eating disorder might be more effective if it routinely addressed both the eating disorder and OCD in therapy in order to help the person as a whole. The aim of the present study was to explore the relationship and response to treatment between severity of eating disorders and the degree of OCD characteristics. It was hypothesized that the severity of eating disorder diagnosis and OCD characteristics would have a positive correlation and when treated simultaneously treatment outcomes would be more effective. Nine hundred and seventy two individuals diagnosed with anorexia, bulimia or eating disorder not otherwise specified (NOS) from Rogers Memorial Hospital Residential Eating Disorders Center were assessed for obsessive compulsive characteristics using archival data. All participants completed multiple self-report inventories within the first 48 to 72 hours of their admission and again prior to discharge. Of relevance to this study were the Maudsley Obsessional Compulsive Inventory (MOCI) and the Eating Disorder Examination-Questionnaire (EDE-Q). After conducting analysis, a positive correlation was found between eating disorders and the presence of obsessive compulsive characteristics on admission (r = .385, n = 724, p \u3c .005) and discharge (r = .454, n = 600, p \u3c .005). There was also a positive relationship between obsessive compulsive characteristics at admission and improvement in eating disorder symptomatology (r = .133, n= 507, p \u3c .005). The relationship in pre-post eating disorder severity and obsessive compulsive symptom severity was also investigated and a positive correlation between the two variables, (r = .237, n = 476, p \u3c .005) was found. A one way ANOVA that compared the 4 diagnostic groups on the MOCI at discharge was significant (F=3.10, p=.030) and post-hoc comparisons using the Tukey HSD test indicated differences between the mean score for bulimia nervosa (M = 8.03, SD = 5.80) and eating disorder NOS (M = 8.41, SD = 5.90). The comparison between anorexia restricting subtype and eating disorder NOS appeared to be approaching significance as well (p = 0.69). There may be several applications of the current findings. The current study is yet another illustration of the link between eating disorders and obsessive compulsive characteristics. This link has implications for treatment measures. Results of the study show that not only are obsessive compulsive characteristics elevated among many individuals with eating disorders, but that many of them should also be diagnosed with OCD due to the high elevations of obsessive compulsive characteristics. To ensure effective treatment among individuals diagnosed with an eating disorder, OCD should be assessed, so that these obsessive compulsive characteristics are not overlooked
Treatment timing of PTSD after a traumatic experience
No full textObjective: To investigate when PTSD symptoms are highest after a traumatic event and how the symptom clusters differ during recovery using a four factor model of symptoms. Also, to examine the influence depression has on PTSD symptom clusters and symptom trajectories. Method: This was a retrospective analysis of a prospective longitudinal study which included 67 injured trauma survivors from a level 1 trauma center. Participants were interviewed during hospitalization and at 6 weeks post trauma. PTSD was measured at both timepoints using the PTSD Symptom Scale, Interview Version (PSS-I). Depression was measured at the 6 weeks using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, Revised (CESD-R). Results: There was a significant increase of overall PSS-I score from Time1 to Time2. When evaluating the symptom clusters, hyper arousal and numbing significantly increased, while re-experiencing and avoidance symptoms did not. The results specified that PSS-I scores were significantly different between depressed and not depressed groups of participants, with those being depressed having a higher PSS-I total score. There were significantly higher numbing symptoms in those that were depressed compared to those that were not depressed. Lastly, the data identified that there was a difference in depression scores for the four PTSD trajectory groups. Conclusion: These data show that depression and PTSD are highly comorbid, with PTSD symptoms increasing over time, and both should be considered when assessing patients with mental health concerns after a traumatic event
What effects do nurse residency programs have on the transition of newly licensed nurses into the practice environment during the first year of practice?
Get PDFPurpose: The purpose of this review is to compare current research on nurse residency programs and determine to what degree they assist the positive transition of new graduate nurses during the first year of practice. Design: An integrative literature review was conducted of research studies on nurse residency programs in acute care settings. Kramer\u27s Reality Shock Theory guided this review. Methods: Research published in the U.S. between 2007-2013, was obtained from electronic data searches using the key works new graduate nurses , novice nurse , reality shock , and nurse residency programs. Outcomes were compared and synthesized into major themes. Findings: Major themes include an increase in competency, satisfaction, peer support, confidence, commitment to the profession, and retention of nurses who completed yearlong residency programs. Organizational cost savings was also found. Conclusions/Relevance: The findings support previous research recommendations that the ideal length of nurse residency programs is one year; and the essential program components include preceptors or mentors and didactic education. This study findings show advance evidence of the important effects that nurse residency programs have on new graduate nurses\u27 transition into practice, including a reduction in reality shock
Improving reading comprehension by considering culture and effective interventions for a struggling reader
Get PDFThe purpose of the action research study was to address the topic: Improving Reading Comprehension by Considering Culture and Effective Interventions for a Struggling Reader. The participant is a fifth grade African American female student named Sarah Brown (pseudonym). The intervention took place over a three week period. Each intervention session was 60 minutes. The first and third week incorporated partner reading with short narrative and expository stories for the first thirty minutes of each day. The remaining thirty minutes of each session during the entire intervention was dedicated to teaching comprehension strategies and introducing literary terms. The second week incorporated of sustained silent reading. The results were that Sarah showed improvement in her recall task and her overall explicit and implicit comprehension of narrative and expository literature