Date of Award

Spring 2005

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Curriculum, Instruction, and Leadership

First Advisor

David Gullatt

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to ascertain whether two instructional interventions in reading that utilize literature mapping within a story element frame, T-CaPS MaP via transparency mapping, or computer-designed mapping via Inspiration, would affect reading ability of leveled sixth grade groups. T-CaPS MaP, designed by the researcher, is a combination of well-known story grammars that was used to expand and enhance basal vocabulary instruction. T represents the title of the story, C represents characters in the story; arepresents and; P represents point of view of the author; S represents setting of the story; M represents the mood of the story; arepresents and; and P represents plot/theme. Fifth grade scores on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS ) were used to determine a high group, at or above the 60 th percentile, and a low group, at or below the 40th percentile. A quasi-experimental design utilizing the nonequivalent control-group design was used with six individual ANCOVAs to compare group mean test scores with the high and low groups among the three treatments: traditional, transparency, and Inspiration. Three schools with similar characteristics were randomly assigned to experimental and control conditions using the randomized, pretest-posttest control group design. The control school used traditional instruction as defined by the instructional practices of the classroom teacher. Six individual analyses of covariance were used to compare the three groups using pretest scores as a statistical means to remove preexisting academic elements. The level of statistical significance was set at p < .05. Five of the six ANCOVAS showed that Reading Level had a significant main effect on the dependent variable scores. A relationship between reading levels and methods of instruction was determined using student scores on the Gates-MacGinitie Reading Test, used to evaluate general vocabulary and comprehension, and the Harcourt Reading Skills Assessment, used to evaluate specific vocabulary and comprehension taught from the Harcourt Reading Series. The critical comparison was between the experimental and control groups on pretests and posttests evaluating the dependent variables of vocabulary and reading comprehension. There was one interaction effect with the instructional method of Inspiration, a computer software program that produces semantic maps, between the high and low groups measuring general comprehension skills on the Gates MacGinitie Reading Test. Students in the high group, those with scores at or above the 60th percentile, scored higher on the general comprehension posttest than the other tests, and students in the low group, those with scores at or below the 40th percentile, scored lower on the general comprehension posttest than the other tests. This unexpected interaction could imply that classroom teachers should be aware of the effect of various teaching styles in the area of reading and their impact on student achievement.

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