Lawrence L. Smith

INTERACTIVE COMPUTER SOFTWARE: THE EFFECTS ON YOUNG CHILDREN'S READING ACHIEVEMENT

Abstract The intention of this study was to investigate the effects on reading comprehension when reading shorter and easier narrative text and longer and more difficult narrative texts on the printed page as compared to reading the same narrative texts using interactive CD‐ROM software displayed by the computer. Specifically, the ability of two classes of above‐average fourth‐grade children to answer comprehension questions about seven narrative stories was compared. One class of fourth‐grade children read each narrative from the actual book and answered six multiple‐choice questions about the story, while the second class of fourth‐grade children read the same narratives from interactive CD‐ROM software displayed on the computer and answered six multiple‐choice questions about the story. A three‐way analysis of variance on comprehension scores revealed that reading from computers increased comprehension scores when subjects were reading longer and more difficult narratives. Results indicated no differen...

The Impact of a Reading-Focused Integrated Learning System on Phonological Awareness in Kindergarten

Children with and without access to a reading-focused Integrated Learning System (ILS) in their daily reading instruction were compared at three points (beginning, middle, end) through their kindergarten year on phonological awareness and concepts about print. The results demonstrated no significant differences in learning print concepts. However, repeated measures analysis of variance demonstrated that the children with access to the ILS in their classroom significantly outperformed the comparison group at the second and third testing sessions on phonological awareness, despite no group differences at baseline. The results are interpreted to support the assertion that ILSs can improve the emergent literacy process for young children, provided they are embedded in a sound reading curriculum that is directed by a committed and active reading teacher. Finally, differences between the present study and related investigations are discussed.

Choosing to Teach: Perceptions of Male Preservice Teachers in Early Childhood and Elementary Education

Despite documentation of shortages of male teachers and numerous efforts by school officials to recruit more male teachers [Cohen, 1992; Wood and Hoag, 1993], the percent of men teaching in American public schools [elementary and secondary] has declined during the past twenty‐five years. [NCES, 1997]. This is widely seen as a problem, especially given assumptions and research findings about the importance of positive male role models for children, particularly those from single‐female‐parent families and inner‐city boys [Holland, 1991; Griffith, 1991; McCarthy, 1995; Vroegh, 1976; Canada, 1998]. The reluctance of men to choose teaching as a career has been ascribed to low salaries, stereotypes of male and female roles, perceived lack of status of teachers, and highly publicized sex‐abuse cases [Cohen, 1992; Banas, 1992; Banas, 1993; Wood and Hoag, 1993]. Recent informal surveys indicate that enrollment of men in collegiate early childhood and elementary education programs is on the rise. This is a welcome indicator of growing interest among males in pursuing teaching as a career. Further exploration of this interest can help us understand how to recruit more men into the profession. The authors report the findings of interviews with male preservice teachers, exploring reasons for their choice of early childhood and elementary education and their attitudes toward the traditional reasons cited for male avoidance of teaching careers. Finally, they present recommendations for recruitment strategies for male teachers.

ACQUISITION OF BLENDING SKILLS: COMPARISONS AMONG BODY-CODA, ONSET-RIME, AND PHONEME BLENDING TASKS

Following research on phonological awareness development, this study explores childrens acquisition of blending skills using three types of stimuli: body-coda, onset-rime, and phonemes. The results demonstrated that kindergarten children consistently gained proficiency for blending body-coda stimuli prior to onset-rime stimuli and phonemes. The results are interpreted to support an instructional process where blending is treated as a generalizable skill, and children work with the simplest material first. Thus, our proposition is that children be trained to blend body-codas first, then progress to more phonologically difficult blending tasks such as onset-rimes and phonemes.

Phonological Awareness Development as a Discrete Process: Evidence for an Integrative Model

The theoretical and practical implications of examining young childrens acquisitions of phonological awareness skills with specific and differentiated processing tasks are explored in this study. The study presents data from 269 kindergarten children completing a phonological awareness protocol that provided information on 14 discrete phonological awareness skills. The data supported the assertion that phonological awareness develops in a gradual and continuous fashion and illustrated the importance of measuring phonological awareness while controlling for the effects of task difficulty, linguistic complexity, and phoneme position within syllables. In addition, three general patterns of literacy development were confirmed in these analyses that frame the integrated model of phonological awareness development.

Promoting Change Through Professional Development: The Place of Teacher Intentionality in Reading Instruction

The current educational spotlight on accountability has helped create a focus on teacher practices and their subsequent effects on student achievement. Professional development has been shown to be an effective vehicle to impact practices; however, research has only recently begun to provide an understanding of its impact in literacy instruction (Anders, Hoffman, & Duffy, 2000). The Intentional Teaching Model (INTENT) was created to provide a method of professional development aimed at promoting change in the instructional practices of reading teachers. This article outlines the phases of the model and provides research-validated evidence of its effectiveness in promoting teacher change and increasing student achievement. Implications for practices of several levels of educational stakeholders are presented as a context for using INTENT.

Kindergarten literacy achievement: The effects of the Plato integrated learning system

Abstract This study examined the efficacy of using an integrated learning system (ILS) to augment kindergarten emergent reading skills. This quasi‐experimental design used repeated measures. Change scores were calculated to run analyses. Effect sizes were calculated using Cohen, with large effect sizes noted for phonological awareness and knowledge of print concepts and a moderate effect size for listening comprehension. Conclusions from this study indicate that an ILS can positively impact kindergarten emergent reading skills.