Parker C. Fawson

READING INCENTIVE PROGRAMS: BELIEFS AND PRACTICES

Over the past several years, literacy scholars have devoted considerable attention to issues relating to the motivation of young readers (Gambrell, 1996; Guthrie & Alao, 1997; Guthrie & Wigfield, 1997; Turner, 1995; Turner & Paris, 1995; Wigfield, 1997). These combined works have added to our understanding of the conditions which should exist in literacy learning environments if children are to achieve high levels of interest, engagement, comprehension, and enjoyment in their reading tasks. A childs motivation toward learning tasks, including literacy, is especially relevant for educators and parents to consider since several of the major goals of early education are to develop interest in lifelong learning as well as self-regulation and autonomy (Reeve, 1996). In this article, we review the conditions that must be present to motivate behavior, with specific attention to literacy engagement. We then contrast information in these two areas (general motivation and literacy engagement) with the results ...

Developing and Validating the Classroom Literacy Environmental Profile (CLEP): A Tool for Examining the "Print Richness" of Early Childhood and Elementary Classrooms

In this report, the development, field testing, and validation of the Classroom Literacy Environment Profile (CLEP) are described. In the first phase, characteristics of print-rich classroom environments were identified, defined, and organized into categories through a review of the literature, classroom observations, and teacher focus groups. In the second phase of the project, categories and themes interpreted from phase one data were used to write and review the initial items of the instrument. In phase three, generalizability evidence for the CLEP instrument was examined using a G or generaliz-ability study. Classrooms and items evidenced large variance components indicating that the degree of implementation of print-rich classroom environments was reliably discriminated using the CLEP. Following the G study, three D or decision studies were conducted in which the numbers of raters and the number of rating occasions were varied to determine acceptable levels of generalizability and error.

Words to go!: Evaluating a first‐grade parent involvement program for “making” words at home

Abstract Parents make powerful contributions to their childrens early literacy learning in school. The purpose of this study was to design, implement, and evaluate the efficacy of the Words to Go parent involvement program as part of a larger effort to reach out to parents in early literacy. Quantitative data from surveys and qualitative data from focus group meetings were collected about the Words‐to‐Go program and demonstrated moderate to highly favorable perceptions among parents, teachers, and students. A pretest post test comparison of first‐graders’ word reading, word writing ability and criterion‐referenced reading test performance in two matched elementary schools showed significant effects favoring the Words‐to‐Go program participants.

Examining the Reliability of Running Records: Attaining Generalizable Results.

ABSTRACT The authors present results of a generalizability study of running record assessment. They conducted 2 decision studies to ascertain the number of raters and passages necessary to obtain a reliable estimate of a students reading ability on the basis of a running record assessment. Ten teachers completed running record assessments of 10 first-grade students on 2 leveled reading passages. Findings indicate that each student assessed with running records should read a minimum of 3 passages to produce a reliable score. Using a fully crossed design in which all students were rated by each rater on all passages did not provide sizable advantages over a nested design in which students were crossed with passages and nested in raters.

Conceptually and Methodologically Vexing Issues in Teacher Knowledge Assessment

The purpose of this article is to describe the vexing issues that arise as researchers try to define and assess the knowledge teachers need to teach reading and writing effectively in the primary grades. Over the past several years, the authors of this article have developed and tested an assessment system of teacher knowledge under a grant titled The Primary Grade Reading & Writing Teacher Knowledge Project. The research team developed and tested 2 subscales: a traditional multiple-choice test that measures the inert or “in the head” knowledge teachers possess about reading and writing instruction, and an accompanying classroom observation instrument that measures the enacted or “classroom teaching” knowledge teachers use to teach reading and writing to young students. This article reports on 6 conceptually and methodologically vexing issues that arose as the authors developed and tested the assessment system. Issues revolved around the specific knowledge to measure, the evidence needed by various stakeholders as convincing evidence of that knowledge, potential concerns related to the use of measures of teachers’ knowledge, queries about the best way to measure that knowledge, special problems the use of classroom observations present for measuring teacher knowledge, and the predictive validity of such knowledge measures.

READING ENVIRONMENTAL PRINT: WHAT IS THE ROLE OF CONCEPTS ABOUT PRINT IN DISCRIMINATING YOUNG READERS RESPONSES?

For nearly four decades reading educators, educational psychologists, experimental psychologists, applied linguists, and early childhood educators have investigated children s widely acclaimed ability to read print found in the ecology of their everyday environments. This study examined how concepts-about-print knowledge interacted with other traditional measures of print knowledge, to affect children s reading of environmental print in context and out. The participants in this study were 97 children ages 4-7. Eight selected environmental print items were systematically maniupulated across five presentation conditions gradually removing aspects such as logo, color, font, and so on. This study demonstrated the important role that word recognition and concepts-about-print and word recognition were the most reliable discriminators between children who could accurately and consistently read environmental print displays, and those children evidencing lesser levels of development and expertise.

The Influence of Differing the Paths to an Incentive on Third-Graders' Reading Achievement and Attitudes

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of four incentive paths on third graders’ reading vocabulary and comprehension achievement and recreational and academic reading attitude. One hundred and twenty third-grade students were assigned to one of four incentive path treatment conditions. Data were analyzed using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) with Fishers least significant difference (LSD) post hoc comparisons. An effect size of .09 was calculated using a partial η2 (eta squared) statistic. Findings indicated that the four incentive path treatment conditions did not differentially impact student vocabulary, comprehension, and recreational reading. A significant difference for students’ academic reading attitudes was identified across the four incentive path treatment conditions.

Exploration of the Consortium on Reading Excellence Phonics Survey

This article examines the Consortium on Reading Excellence–Phonics Survey (CORE-PS), an informal, inexpensive, and widely disseminated assessment tool that is used to determine primary-grade students’ knowledge of and abilities to apply key alphabetic and phonics understandings to decode a mix of real and pseudo-words. Evidence is reported of the extent to which the CORE-PS meets the following psychometric criteria: test retest, internal consistency, and interrater reliability and face, content, construct, consequential, and criterion validity. Findings suggest that the CORE-PS provides an inexpensive, acceptably reliable and valid assessment of primary-grade students’ decoding and reading phonics knowledge. Limitations for K–3 students on the alphabetic section of the CORE-PS are noted and discussed and future directions for research with the CORE-PS are presented.

Upper Elementary Students’ Motivation to Read Fiction and Nonfiction

This research explores upper elementary students’ motivation to read fiction and nonfiction. Using expectancy-value theory, the researchers developed separate surveys to measure motivation to read fiction and nonfiction. Researchers administered surveys to 1,104 upper elementary students (grades 3–6) in multiple locations across the United States and found the instruments to be psychometrically sound. Results corroborate previous research demonstrating students’ declining motivation to read across grade levels; in particular, students’ value for reading was declining. This research also corroborates previous research findings that girls are more motivated than boys to read fiction. Researchers found insignificant gender differences between girls’ and boys’ motivations to read nonfiction, indicating a need to further investigate students’ motivation to read nonfiction. Implications for classroom application of survey results and the need to enhance students’ value for reading are discussed.