Anna-Mária Fall

Effects of Team-Based Learning on Social Studies Knowledge Acquisition in High School

Abstract This randomized control trial examined the efficacy of team-based learning implemented within 11th-grade social studies classes. A randomized blocked design was implemented with 26 classes randomly assigned to treatment or comparison. In the treatment classes teachers implemented team-based learning practices to support students in engaging in dialogue about course content, application of content to solve problems, and use of evidence to support responses. Significant differences in favor of the treatment group on content acquisition were noted (Hedgess g =.19). Examination of differences in response to the treatment indicated groups of students classified with high or moderate pretest scores benefitted from the treatment, whereas a group of students classified with low pretest scores did not benefit from the treatment.

Improving Content Knowledge and Comprehension for English Language Learners: Findings from a Randomized Control Trial.

Supporting the reading comprehension and content knowledge acquisition of English language learners (ELs) requires instructional practices that continue beyond developing the foundational skills of reading. In particular, the challenges ELs face highlight the importance of teaching reading comprehension practices in the middle grades through content acquisition. We conducted a randomized control trial to examine the efficacy of a content acquisition and reading comprehension intervention implemented in eighth-grade social studies classrooms with English language learners. Using a within-teacher design, in which 18 eighth-grade teachers’ social studies classes were randomly assigned to treatment or comparison conditions. Teachers taught the same instructional content to treatment and comparison classes, but the treatment classes used instructional practices that included comprehension canopy, essential words, knowledge acquisition, and team-based learning. Students in the treatment group (n = 845) outperformed students in the comparison group (n = 784) on measures of content knowledge acquisition and content reading comprehension but not general reading comprehension. Both ELs and non-ELs who received the treatment outperformed those assigned to the BAU comparison condition on measures of content knowledge acquisition (ES = 0.40) and content-related reading comprehension (ES = 0.20). In addition, the proportion of English language learners in classes moderated outcomes for content knowledge acquisition.

Improving Reading Comprehension and Social Studies Knowledge Among Middle School Students With Disabilities

This study aimed to determine the efficacy of a content knowledge and reading comprehension treatment implemented by eighth-grade general education social studies teachers among students with disabilities included in the classes. Data on students with disabilities across 2 years of study were combined for the analysis presented here. Students in the treatment conditions (n = 72) scored statistically higher than students in the comparison conditions (n = 58) on knowledge acquisition (effect size [ES] = .26) and content reading comprehension (ES = .34) but not standardized reading comprehension. Findings are interpreted as demonstrating support for the treatment in improving both knowledge acquisition and reading comprehension within content area instruction among students with disabilities served in the general education social studies classroom.

Integrating Content Knowledge-Building and Student-Regulated Comprehension Practices in Secondary English Language Arts Classes

Abstract In this experimental study we examined the effects of integrating teacher-directed knowledge-building and student-regulated comprehension practices in 7th- to 10th-grade English language arts classes. We also investigated the effect of instructional quality and whether integrating practices differentially benefitted students with lower entry-level reading comprehension. The study was conducted in 6 schools, involving 17 teachers and 921 students. Teachers’ English language arts classes were randomly assigned to intervention (n = 36) or typical practice comparison (n = 29) conditions, and all teachers taught in both conditions. Students in both conditions grew significantly from pretest to posttest on proximal measures of narrative (ES =.09) and expository comprehension (ES =.22), as well as a standardized distal comprehension measure (ES =.46); however, no statistically significant between-group differences were found. Although intervention fidelity did not significantly influence outcomes, observational data indicated that teachers increasingly incorporated comprehension practices in their typical instruction. Effect sizes indicated a differential influence of entry-level reading comprehension on proximal and distal comprehension with higher performing readers in the intervention condition benefiting more than their lower performing peers on expository comprehension.

English Learner and Non-English Learner Students With Disabilities: Content Acquisition and Comprehension

This study investigated the effects of Promoting Adolescent Comprehension Through Text (PACT), a content knowledge and comprehension treatment for English learner and non–English learner students with disabilities who were provided instruction in general education social studies classrooms. Eighth-grade students with disabilities in the treatment condition (n = 59) scored significantly higher than students with disabilities in the comparison condition (n = 89) on a measure of content knowledge (effect size = .51). Students with disabilities in both study groups scored similarly on measures of content reading comprehension and general reading comprehension. In addition, the effect of treatment did not differ between English learner and non–English learner students with disabilities. Overall, the findings support the use of the instructional practices for improving content acquisition in general education social studies classes for English learner and non–English learner students with disabilities.

Benchmarks for Expected Annual Academic Growth for Students in the Bottom Quartile of the Normative Distribution

Effect sizes are commonly reported for the results of educational interventions. However, researchers struggle with interpreting their magnitude in a way that transcends generic guidelines. Effect sizes can be interpreted in a meaningful context by benchmarking them against typical growth for students in the normative distribution. Such benchmarks are not currently available for students in the bottom quartile. This report remedies this by providing a comparative context for interventions involving these students. Annual growth effect sizes for K–12 students were computed from nationally normed assessments and a longitudinal study of students in special education. They reveal declining growth over time, especially for reading and math. These results allow researchers to better interpret the effects of their interventions and help practitioners by quantifying typical growth for struggling students. More longitudinal research is needed to show growth trajectories for students in the bottom quartile.

Middle School Reading Comprehension and Content Learning Intervention for Below-Average Readers

ABSTRACT This study aimed to determine the efficacy of a content knowledge and reading comprehension treatment implemented by 8th-grade social studies teachers over the course of 1 school year. We randomly assigned 8th-grade students with reading difficulties to the intervention treatment condition (n = 45) or the business-as-usual comparison condition (n = 33). Students in the treatment condition scored statistically higher than students in the comparison condition on measures of knowledge acquisition (effect size [ES] = 0.35), content reading comprehension (ES = 0.59), and vocabulary recall (ES = 0.65). The small ES on standardized reading comprehension (ES = 0.10) favoring the treatment condition was not statistically significant.

Improving Reading Comprehension for High School Students With Disabilities Effects for Comprehension and School Retention

The authors examine the results for students with disabilities from a 2-year randomized controlled trial with students identified in ninth grade and followed through 10th grade in their allotted condition group. Prior to ninth grade, students with disabilities who met criteria for low reading comprehension (i.e., through failure on the state accountability test) were randomly assigned to one of three treatment conditions—reading without dropout prevention, reading with dropout prevention, dropout prevention without reading—or a business-as-usual condition. Students with disabilities in the reading treatments demonstrated significant gains on reading comprehension (Hedges’s g = .44) compared to students with disabilities in the business-as-usual and dropout-prevention-without-reading conditions. Results support extensive (2-year) interventions in reading for high school students with disabilities.

Text Reading Supports in Social Studies Content Instruction and Their Relationship to Student Knowledge Acquisition.

ABSTRACT We examined social studies teachers’ use of text and supports for reading text during their instruction as well as how their practices related to students’ content acquisition. A total of 37 social studies teachers and their students (n = 572) participated and recorded their instruction during 3 instructional units. We documented the amount of time teachers engaged in text reading and text reading support. We assessed students on social studies content knowledge. We noted text reading activities in about 10% of the class instruction. The total numbers of minutes spent in text reading and providing support in reading comprehension strategies were significantly related to student content acquisition. Examination of differences in this relationship by student pretest demonstrated that increases in text reading during instruction were associated with increased scores on content acquisition for lower level students. There were no significant associations between text reading practices and content acquisition for higher performing students.

Efficacy of a high school extensive reading intervention for English learners with reading difficulties.

This study examined the effects of Reading Intervention for Adolescents, a 2-year extensive reading intervention targeting current and former English learners identified as struggling readers based on their performance on the state accountability assessment. Students who enrolled at three participating urban high schools were randomly assigned to the Reading Intervention for Adolescents treatment condition (n = 175) or a business-as-usual comparison condition. Students assigned to the treatment condition participated in the intervention for approximately 50 min daily for 2 school years in lieu of a school-provided elective course, which business-as-usual students took consistent with typical scheduling. Findings revealed significant effects for the treatment condition on sentence-level fluency and comprehension (g = 0.18) and on a proximal measure of vocabulary learning (g = .41), but not on standardized measures of word reading, vocabulary, or reading comprehension (g range: −0.09 to 0.06). Post hoc moderation analyses investigated whether initial proficiency levels interacted with treatment effects. On sentence-level fluency and comprehension and on vocabulary learning, initial scores were significantly associated with treatment effects—however, in opposite directions. Students who scored low at baseline on sentence reading and comprehension scored relatively higher at posttest on that measure, whereas students who scored high at baseline on the proximal vocabulary measure scored relatively higher at posttest on that measure. The discussion focuses on the difficulty of remediating persistent reading difficulties in high school, particularly among English learners, who are often still in the process of acquiring academic proficiency in English.