Oral Reading Performance and the Synergy of Fluency, Comprehension, and Motivation: a Case Study of a Sixth Grade Class

ORAL READING PERFORMANCE AND THE SYNERGY OF FLUENCY, COMPREHENSION, AND MOTIVATION: A CASE STUDY OF A SIXTH GRADE CLASS by Donna Cox, MA A Dissertation In CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Texas Tech University in Partial Fulfillment of The Requirements for The Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Approved Dr. Patricia Watson Dr. Mellinee Lesley Dr. Margaret Johnson Dr. Steven Crooks Fred Hartmeister Dean of the Graduate School December, 2007 Copyright 2007, Donna Lynn Holbrook Cox Texas Tech University, Donna Cox, December, 2007 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS As far as I am concerned, it takes a village to raise a Ph.D. I did not arrive at this place on my own. As I followed my doctoral path, I was nurtured, guided, counseled, cared for, encouraged, mentored and advised by many people. To all of my caretakers, I humbly offer my gratitude. First and foremost, I want to offer my loving thanks to my first and best teacher, my mother. For forty-two years, my mother was as a master teacher to hundreds of fortunate elementary school children. She is the reason I decided to become a teacher. She is my role model, my hero, and my best friend. My mom always believes in me, is always proud of me and has always been the wind beneath my wings. Thank you, Mama. To Karen Swisher, many thanks for starting me down this path. Karen was my advisor while I was working on my master’s degree. Since that time, Karen has become my mentor and dear, dear friend. I am so grateful that she agreed to be my peer reviewer. Had it not been for Karen’s encouragement I would never have believed I could become Dr. Cox. I so appreciate Rebecca. I could not have done my research project without her. She was so kind and generous to let me live in her classroom for a year and I will always be grateful for the opportunity she gave me. She and her students reminded me why I wanted to be a teacher in the first place. How can I say thank you enough to my family at UTPB? I am so blessed to work along side you. Thank you to Ed for every day that he walked by my office and said “Get to work Cox!” He is the greatest dean any lecturer could hope to work with and for. ii Texas Tech University, Donna Cox, December, 2007 Many thanks to my mother-in-law, Joan Cox. She cheered me on, brought “brain food” to my house and encouraged me when my spirits lagged. I have been sincerely touched by her loving kindness. I am very grateful to Dawn Jaramillo for transcribing my audio tapes. Even though it was a tedious job, she seemed to work at lightening speed. I so appreciate the wonderful job she did and the beautiful friend she has always been to me. To the members of my committee, Mellinee Lesley, Margaret Johnson and Steven Crooks, I am grateful. I value the feedback, advice and encouragement you have given me while I worked on my dissertation. I have had each of you as a professor and I feel so honored to have such distinguished professors on my committee. I cannot thank my advisor Pat Watson enough. I am grateful she agreed to take me on. She raised the bar high and did not let me give less than my best. She is the kind of professor I want to be, a wonderful friend and I look forward to collaborating with her in the future. Finally, I dedicate this dissertation to the men in my life. To my three sons, Chase, Spencer, and Tristan, no matter what I have accomplished in my life or what I will accomplish later on, nothing brings me greater pride than being your mom. Thank you for telling me I could do this and that you believed in me. To my beloved Blake, for the last thirty one years the only place I wanted to be was with you. Thank you for staying by my side, holding my hand, and giving me the courage to keep going on this journey. I will love you forever. iii Texas Tech University, Donna Cox, December, 2007 TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii ABSTRACT vii LIST OF FIGURES viii I. INTRODUCTION 1 Reading Fluency and Adolescent Readers 3 Fluency Practices that Foster Motivation and Promote Comprehension 7 Statement of the Problem 10 Approach to the Study 11 Definition of Terms 11 Scope and Limitations of the Study 14 Summary 15 II. REVIEW OF RELATED RESEARCH 16 Research on Fluency 16 Research on Fluency Instruction 20 Historical Background 20 Performance 22 Repeated Reading 22 Integrating Oral Reading with Social Studies Content 25 Research on Assessing Reading Fluency 29 Research on the Relationship between Fluency and Comprehension 30 Research on the Relationship between Fluency and Motivation 33 Summary 38 III. METHODOLOGY 40 Focus Participants and Site Selection Process 40 Demographic Data 41 Focus Participant Selection 42 Research Design 44 Intrinsic Case Study Research 45 The Constructivist Research Paradigm 46 Data Collection 47 Researcher’s Role 47 Data Collection Procedures 48 Observation 52 Observational Field Notes 53 Interviews 54 Documents 56 Data Analysis and Interpretation 57 iv Texas Tech University, Donna Cox, December, 2007 Trustworthiness 59 Credibility 59 Dependability 62 Summary 63 IV. PRESENTATION OF FINDINGS 64 Analysis of the Data 65 Description of the School and Classroom Setting 68 Professional Background of Ms. Young 70 Reading Instruction 70 The Role of the Researcher 72 Focus Participants’ Background 73 Adolescents’ Self-Perceptions as Readers 80 Awareness within the Reading Community 80 A Feeling for Fluency 83 Perceptions of Reading Orally 84 Perceptions of Instructional Practices Involving Oral Reading Performance by Students and their Teacher 87 Radio Reading Practices and Performances 101 Readers’ Theater Practices and Performances 119 Poetry Sharing Practices and Performances 128 Podcast Practices and Performances 142 Final Thoughts on Oral Reading Practices and Performances 148 Summary 157 V. DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS 161 The Problem of the Study 162 Procedures 162 Interpretation of Findings 163 Fluency, Comprehension, and Motivation in Relation to Repeated Oral Reading 165 The Relationship between Comprehension and Fluency 165 Self-Perception 167 Motivating Factor of Oral Performance with Peers 170 Potential Use of Repeated Oral Reading Performances as a Technique To Assist Adolescents in Improving Reading Fluency through Social Studies Content 171 Benefits 171 Support for Social Studies Knowledge, Acquisition, and Understanding 171 Focus on the Attributes of a Fluent Reader 173 Extended Reading Time 174 Expanded Curriculum 176 Barriers 179 Available Texts 179 Mandated Academic Schedules 181 Limited Planning Time 181 v Texas Tech University, Donna Cox, December, 2007 Support for Reading Fluency Development 181 Directions for Further Research 182 Summary 183 LIST OF REFERENCES 187 APPENDICES 204 Appendix A 205 Appendix B 206 Appendix C 207 Appendix D 209 Appendix E 211 Appendix F 213 Appendix G 214 Appendix H 215 Appendix I 216 Appendix J 217 Appendix K 219 Appendix L 221 Appendix M 222 Appendix N 223 Appendix O 224 Appendix P 225 Appendix Q 226 vi Texas Tech University, Donna Cox, December, 2007 ABSTRACT Demonstrations of, instruction on, and practice with oral reading can be a means of fostering active, independent, and self-aware readers. Possibly the most authentic use of oral rendition occurs when students are asked to practice reading texts that they will eventually perform for others. Radio reading, Readers’ Theater, and poetry are three such performance options. Currently, a few studies exist describing the fluency development of adolescent readers; however, no published study focuses on the use of oral reading performance to develop sixth grade students’ fluency through interdisciplinary contexts. The purpose of this study, consequently, was to examine and describe the reading fluency, comprehension and motivation of one class of sixth grade students. I collected data over the course of twelve weeks in a sixth grade, language arts/social studies classroom. Data sources included field observations, formal and informal interviews, an archive of student written responses to oral reading practices and performances and focus participants’ permanent records as they related to reading development. The findings for this study suggest that the use of oral performance texts related to social studies is a way for content area learning and reading fluency development to occur concurrently. When students read engaging texts orally for authentic purposes, their reading fluency and self-efficacy may be strengthened. Rich descriptions of students’ oral reading practices and performances provide authentic scripts that can assist teachers and researchers in identifying possibilities for using oral reading performance to enhance content area instruction and reading fluency. vii Texas Tech University, Donna Cox, December, 2007 LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 3.1 Data Collection Dates 50 3.2 Rationale for Data Collection 51 4.1 Analysis Categories and Definitions 67 5.1 Perceptions Associated with Oral Reading Practices 164 viii Texas Tech University, Donna Cox, December, 2007 CHAPTER I Introduction Reading is a purposeful, complex, cognitive and social process whereby readers simultaneously use their knowledge of spoken and written language, their knowledge of the subject matter of the text, and their knowledge of their culture to construct meaning. Further, reading is not a technical skill acquired once and for all in the elementary grades, but rather a developmental process. A reader’s competence continues to grow through wide reading and through engagement with various types of text for various purposes over a lifetime (NCTE, 2004). As students move to middle and high school, new challenges emerge that can affect their literacy achievement. Even for students who experience early reading and writing success, the literacy demands of middle school and high school can pose considerable challenges.

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