Abha Gupta

Improving Reading Comprehension through Holistic Intervening and Tutoring During After-School with High Risk Minority Elementary School Students

The current study took a quasi-experimental approach investigating the effect of a holistic after-school intervention, on reading comprehension measured by the Gray Oral Reading Test (GORT)-4 on at-risk students in Grade 2 through Grade 5. Analysis of Variance was used to investigate the relationship between pre- and post-intervention scores. The study showed encouraging results. The 91 student participants showed gains in their GORT-4 total scores after the intervention. Results of after-school tutoring lend support to the use of peer-tutoring in afterschool in the elementary schools. Due to the exploratory nature of the study in a single school, there are constraints on generalizability and utility of findings to other schools across the board.

Reading Tutor Checklist: A Guide for Supplemental Reading Support for Volunteer Tutors

The authors recommend a reading tutoring lesson framework, in a checklist format, to guide volunteer tutors during tutoring sessions for children in elementary grades 1-3. The reading tutor checklist is intended to be used by literacy coaches, reading specialists, and classroom teachers to train literacy volunteers in schools. The checklist consists of 7 main components, with each section listing specific instructional strategies including (a) guided reading, (b) phonological awareness, (c) phonics, (d) word study and vocabulary development, (e) word recognition, (f) fluency and (g) writing. Additionally, the checklist allows for introduction of a new book in each session with review or rereading of a book from the previous session. Specific strategies listed under each component provide tutors a structure for teaching respective skills. The authors discuss the use of the checklist during tutor training, parent workshops, and reflection meetings. The tutor checklist provides a systematic framework for volunteers to assist children with a wide range of reading activities. The checklist also offers instructional guidelines for tutors to help at-risk learners to expand their literacy potential.

Issues of competence and performance in language assessment

Abstract A specific standardized test of language proficiency called “Grammatical Analysis of Elicited Language (GAEL) for hearing-impaired children was used to examine language usage between the tester and the child. In order to capture language discourse, communication—verbal/nonverbal, and the language context, the entire test-taking sessions were videotaped for three out of the ten children selected for the study. These children primarily used oral language. The test consisted of two partsimitated and prompted. On the imitated component of the test, the study showed that “imitation” does not seem to facilitate grammatical development. “Functional readiness” (Bates & MacWhinney, 1987) was found to be an important factor in the production of a specific linguistic form. It was found that imitated speech was not grammatically more advanced than non-imitated spontaneous speech. On the prompted component of the test, the responses of the children were pragmatically appropriate in many instances yet not conforming to the expected responses on the test. It was shown that the communicative competence needs to be incorporated into the test as part of language proficiency assessment.

Dynamics of No Child Left Behind Policy Impacting Reading Education Practices in Kindergarten in the United States of America

The Commonwealth of Virginia is used as a representative case to illustrate the implication of federal policy on reading education practices in kindergarten in the United States of America. While Virginia follows the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) policy, it allows local school districts to create innovative instructional and assessment practices that can match the needs of each child. Teachers in Virginia experience a wide range of emergent reading skills in kindergarten inclusive classrooms filled with children of diverse backgrounds and abilities. However, highly qualified teachers try to meet the state Standards of Learning through working side-by-side with children. These kindergarten teachers use student-supportive practices to help them successfully progress from emergent to conventional reading, often with the support of parents and reading specialists. Topics addressed are the implication of the NCLB on reading education policy in Virginia, the Virginia Standards of Learning, practices of teaching reading, and assessment of kindergarten students’ reading ability.

Effect of a Mindful Breathing Intervention on Community College Students’ Writing Apprehension and Writing Performance

ABSTRACT Mindful breathing has been linked to changes in physiology, but we took the practice further by examining whether a mindfulness breathing intervention, a three-minute breathing exercise marked by focused attention on the sensations of breath, affected writing anxiety, and writing performance measures. In addition, we examined mindful breathing as an intervention for community college students—some of the most at risk and underprepared students in higher education in the United States. We compared Daly Miller Writing Apprehension surveys and narrative writing samples from 277 students enrolled in a freshman composition course at a southeastern community college, half of the class sections were randomly assigned to practice a mindful-breathing technique at the beginning of class sessions. Students in the class sections that practiced mindful-breathing group experienced a statistically significant decrease in writing apprehension and mechanical error scores from pre- to post-test when compared to students in the comparison class sections.