I; University Microfilms, a XEROX Company, Ann Arbor, Michigan R;

7 2 -4 4 9 6 GLAZER, Joan Irene, 1940- THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE GLAZER NARRATIVE COMPOSITION SCALE. The Ohio State University, Ph.D., 1971 Education, general i; University Microfilms, A XEROX Company, Ann Arbor, Michigan r; THIS DISSERTATION HAS BEEN MICROFILMED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE GLAZER NARRATIVE COMPOSITION SCALE DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillm ent of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University by Joan Irene Glazer, B.S., M.A. The Ohio State University 1S71 Approved by S. Adviser Early and Middle Childhood Education PLEASE NOTE: Some Pages have indistinct p rin t. Filmed as received. UNIVERSITY MICROFILMS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The w riter expresses sincere appreciation to Katy Gould, Chuck Greer, Renee Huettenmueller, Wes M iller, Ruth Moline, and Ann Terry - the graduate students who served as judges in this study. They gave of their time when they had l i t t l e time to give. The w riter also wishes to thank Charlotte Huck for her guidance in the writing of the study, for her help and encouragement when it was needed most, and above a ll, for her friendship. VITA July 19, 19^0 .... Born - Columbus, Ohio 1962 ........ B.S., Elementary Education The Ohio State University Columbus, Ohio 1962 -ISS0 ...................... Elementary teacher, Columbus Public Schools, Columbus, Ohio 1965 ............................... M.A., Elementary Education specializing in Children's Literature The Ohio State University Columbus, Ohio 1966, 19S7 Summers ........................... Instructor and Head Start Supervisor Ohio University Athens, Ohio 1969-1971 ...................... Teaching Associate The Ohio State University Columbus, Ohio Fields of Study Major Field: Early and Middle Childhood Education Studies in Children's Literature and Language Arts. Dr. Charlotte Huck Studies in Heading. Dr. Martha King Studies in Curriculum. Dr. Alexander Frazier TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS i i VITA i i i LIST OF TABLES vi Chapter INTRODUCTION The Nature of the Problem Statement of the Problem Importance of the Study Procedure Definitions of Terms Used Scope and Limitations of the Study Summary II . REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE 11 Introduction Value of Creative Writing Scales for Evaluating Creative Writing Factors Influencing Children's Writing Growth in Language and Writing Summary I I I . PROCEDURE 35 Introduction Collection and Preparation of Writing Samples Development of the General Impression 0,-Sort Development of the Glazer Marrati ve Composi tion Scale Selection and Training of the Judges Col lection of Data Treatment of Data Summary i v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Chapter IV. PRESENTATION AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA .... k9 Introduction R eliabi1j ty and V alid lty o f the Glazer Scale Ratings of Selected Compositions Topics Chosen by Pupils Relationship of Sex and Grade Level to Writing Score Summary V. SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS . 72 Summary Conclusions Recommendations for Further Research APPENDIX A •78 B GO C BIBLIOGRAPHY 113 v LIST OF TABLES Page TABLE 1 .......................................................................................................... 50 RATINGS ON THE GLAZER NARRATIVE COMPOSITION SCALE TABLE 2 ............................................................................................ 51 CORRELATION OF SCORES GIVEN DY THREE JUDGES GLAZER NARRATIVE COMPOSITION SCALE TABLE 3 .......................................................................................................... 52 RATINGS ON THE GENERAL IMPRESSION O.-SORT TABLE h .......................................................................................................... 53 CORRELATION OF SCORES GIVEN BY THREE JUDGES GENERAL IMPRESSION Q-SORT TABLE 5 .......................................................................................................... 5Li TEST-RETEST RATINGS ON THE GLAZER SCALE TABLE 6 .............................. 53 CORRELATION OF TEST-RETEST SCORES GLAZER SCALE TABLE 7 .......................................................................................................... 56 TEST-RETEST RATINGS ON THE GENERAL IMPRESSION Q.-SORT TABLE 3 .......................................................................................................... 55 CORRELATION OF TEST-RETEST SCORES GENERAL IMPRESSION Q-SORT TABLE 9 .......................................................................................................... 57 MEAN RATINGS 01! THE GLAZER NARRATIVE COMPOSITION SCALE AND THE GENERAL IMPRESSION Q-SORT TABLE 1 0 .......................................................................... 67 TITLES SELECTED FOR CREATIVE WRITING TABLE 11 69 WRITING SCORES BY GRADE LEVEL AND SEX GLAZER NARRATIVE COMPOSITION SCALE TABLE 1 2 ...................................................................................................... 70 MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE - GRADE LEVEL AND SEX SCORES FROM GLAZER NARRATIVE COMPOSITION SCALE vi CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION The Nature o f the Problem Traditionally, elementary teachers have worked to improve children's expository writing, but done little to raise the level of their imaginative writing. Part of the neglect of such writing is due to the d iffic u lty of making judgments about the quality o f children's imaginative writing. An evaluative instrument would enable teachers to determine a child's needs and provide him with appropriate help. Researchers in the language arts area also have need o f better ways to evaluate the imaginative writing of children in order.to determine the effectiveness of various methods of motivation, teaching, and evaluation. In this study an instrument has been developed for evaluating the narrative compositions o f intermediate grade children. The instrument provides for making judgments about the writing in terms of certain lite ra ry elements which are a part of narrative w riting. Plot, setting, characterization, theme, and style are emphasized. The mechanics of spelling, punctuation, and capitalization are not included. Several writing scales have been developed by other researchers, but the emphasis in these scales has not been on the lite ra ry quality 1 2 of the writing. The "Carlson Analytical Originality Scale"* was designed prim arily to measure c rea tiv ity and o rig in a lity , although * other factors were rated also. Betzner* analyzed the dictation of children from kindergarten to third grade for content and form, but did not use a writing scale as such. Wyatt's checklist^ for compo sitions requires a mark of either YES or NO, indicating only that an item is present or absent, and includes mechanical aspects of compo sition as well as content and form. Yamamoto** also used a binary marking system, with each item either poor (0 points) or good (1 point). The scale developed in this study, the Glazer Narrative Composition Scale, d iffe rs from the preceding scales in that each item relates to the lite ra ry quality o f the story, and each item is rated on a continuum. Statement o f the Problem The main purpose o f this study was to develop a rating scale for assessing the lite ra ry quality of narrative compositions written by pupils in grades four, fiv e , and six. A secondary purpose was to *Ruth K. Carlson, "An O rig in ality Story Scale," The Elementary School Journal. V (1965), 366-37^. ^Jean Betzner, Content and Form o f Original Compositions Dictated by Children From Five to Eight Years of Age (Contribution to Education, No. k k 2 ; New York: Teachers College, Columbia University, 1930). ^Nita Wyatt, "Evaluation of Children's Compositions," Speech presented at the NCTE Language Arts Conference, St. Louis, 1970. **Kaoru Yamamoto, Scoring Manual for Evaluating Imaginative Stories (University of Minnesota: Bureau of Educational Research, 1961). provide data on both the reliability and the validity of the scale. R e lia b ility was determined by a te st-retest situation, with the coefficient o f s ta b ility being computed on the basis of a time interval of three weeks. Inter-judge reliability was also computed. V alid ity was approached from both a logical and an empirical base. Logically, the scale was shown to have content validity; that is, it was directly related to the quality of the lite ra ry elements in narrative composition. Empirically, the scale was tested for concurrent v a lid ity . The scores of papers rated on the Glazer Narrative Composition Scale were compared with the scores of the same papers rated by means of a fiv e point general impression scale. The following hypotheses were tested: Hypothesis 1 - Inter-judge r e lia b ility on the entire sample w ill be .60 or above for the Glazer Narrative Composition Scale. Hypothesis 2 - Inter-judge r e lia b ility on the entire sample w ill be .60 or above for the general impression Q-sort. Hypothesis 3 - A test-retest using a three week interval, and a sample of twenty-five compositions, will show a positive correlation using the Glazer Narrative Composition Scale. Hypothesis k - A test-retest using a three week interval, and a sample of twenty-five compositions, will show a positive correlation using the general impression (1-sort. Hypothesis 5 - Ratings for the entire sample on the Glazer Narrative Compos 1tion Scale wi11 show a positive and sign!ficant correlation with the Q,-sort ratings for the entire sample. Importance of the Study The Glazer Narrative Composition Scale is of value for several reasons. F irst, i t provides a broader base for evaluation of compositions

Load more