University of South Carolina Scholar Commons Theses and Dissertations 2017 Improving Scientific Literacy through Reading Strategies: An Action Research Study Myra L. Finneran University of South Carolina Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd Part of the Curriculum and Instruction Commons Recommended Citation Finneran, M. L.(2017). Improving Scientific itL eracy through Reading Strategies: An Action Research Study. (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd/4346 This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you by Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. IMPROVING SCIENTIFIC LITERACY THROUGH READING STRATEGIES: AN ACTION RESEARCH STUDY by Myra L. Finneran Bachelor of Science Marshall University, 2004 Master of Education Marshall University, 2009 Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Doctor of Education in Curriculum and Instruction College of Education University of South Carolina 2017 Accepted by: Susan Schramm-Pate, Major Professor Richard Lussier, Committee Member Russell Conrath, Committee Member Kenneth Vogler, Committee Member Cheryl L. Addy, Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School © Copyright by Myra L. Finneran, 2017 All Rights Reserved. ii DEDICATION This dissertation and all of my academic achievements are dedicated to the memory of my mother, Beverly S. Dailey. She was a beautiful courageous soul who faced her death too early. Her faith and strength through her most difficult times is what continues to inspire me today. Being an educator herself, she taught me the love of learning and instilled in me a desire to help others. To my mother: May I continue to grow so that I may be a true reflection of you. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation was possible due to the encouragement and support of several individuals I would like to thank. First, to Dr. Susan Schramm-Patte, thank you for your continued guidance, belief in me, and your efforts to talk me off the ledge from my frustrations. Without your help, I would not be where I am today. To my committee, I am extremely grateful for your assistance and suggestions for improvement. I am especially thankful for Dr. Lussier whose course work and teaching style has challenged me to be a more critical thinker and understand the importance of dialoging across difference. I am also thankful for Mrs. Brown, her willingness and desire to be a part of my action research study, and our shared love and passion for science education. Last, but not least, to my husband Patrick Finneran, thank you for your love, patience, and support over the last three years. Without you, I could not have achieved this success. iv ABSTRACT The purpose of this quantitative action research study is to examine a Scientific Reading Intervention Model (SRIM) with students enrolled in Honors Chemistry at a private high school in South Carolina. Students were given a pre-test prior to the intervention. The research took place over a six-week period in the spring of 2017. A teacher-participant worked with the researcher-participant to implement the intervention that consisted of three reading activities—pre-reading, during-reading, and post-reading. These three activities were designed to enable the low-level science readers to better comprehend their chemistry texts by activating prior knowledge with an anticipation guide, identifying key concepts through coding and connecting facts to comprehend a big picture by constructing concept maps. Students were given a post-test at the end of the unit and a simple t-test was used to analyze the pre-test and post-test data. Other data collection included semi-structured interviews with the teacher-participant and the student-participants as well as classroom observations during the implementation of the unit. Findings include reading strategies for chemistry students. An action plan includes teacher in-service for science faculty that focuses on the need and importance of implementing scientific reading strategies to improve comprehension. Keywords: constructivism, disciplinary literacy, multimodal text, scientific literacy v TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION ................................................................................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... iv ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................ v LIST OF TABLES .............................................................................................................. x LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................... xi CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................... 1 Problem of Practice ......................................................................................................... 3 Research Question ........................................................................................................... 4 Statement of Purpose ....................................................................................................... 4 Scholarly Literature ......................................................................................................... 4 Participant and Site Selection .......................................................................................... 9 Research Setting .............................................................................................................. 9 Sources of Data Collection ............................................................................................ 10 Assumptions .................................................................................................................. 10 Delimitations ................................................................................................................. 11 Limitations .................................................................................................................... 11 Scope ............................................................................................................................. 12 Significance of the Study .............................................................................................. 12 Professional Application ............................................................................................... 13 vi Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 13 Glossary ......................................................................................................................... 14 CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW ......................................................................... 16 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 16 Importance of the Literature Review............................................................................. 18 Action Research ............................................................................................................ 19 Constructivism .............................................................................................................. 21 History ........................................................................................................................... 22 Disciplinary Literacy ..................................................................................................... 23 Scientific Literacy ......................................................................................................... 28 Reading Comprehension as Scientific Practice ............................................................. 33 Literacy Strategies ......................................................................................................... 36 Transitioning Beyond High School ............................................................................... 42 Gender and Science: Socially Constructed Norms........................................................ 44 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 47 CHAPTER 3. METHODOLOGY FOR QUANTITATIVE STUDIES ........................... 49 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 49 Research Design ............................................................................................................ 51 Researcher ..................................................................................................................... 52 Sample ........................................................................................................................... 54 Reciprocity .................................................................................................................... 57 Instrumentation and Materials ....................................................................................... 59 Data Collection .............................................................................................................. 65 vii Data