AN ANALYSIS OF THE IMPACT TWO TEACHING STRATEGIES HAD FOR READING IMPROVEMENT OF HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS
Abstract
The problem under investigation was based on the improvement of reading ability through the use of special units on eleventh grade students of average ability. The study attempted to determine whether students using a reading method which combined tape recordings, workbook exercises, and a series of five paperback books produced significantly higher scores than either a reading method which emphasized a single text and a wide variety of paperback literature, or a control method having no special reading unit. The population for this study included all students enrolled in Phase II eleventh grade English at Lowell High School, Lowell, Indiana, during the first semester of the 1982-83 school year. Phase II students had been identified as students of average ability. The sample used in this study was almost the entire population, using one hundred forty-one out of one hundred fifty students. The experiment involved all six sections of Phase II eleventh grade English. Two teachers taught one section of each experimental method and control group for a twelve week period. A pre-test post-test control group 3 x 2 factorial design was established and analysis of variance was used to test for significant differences. The null hypothesis for this study, no significant difference in student achievement between experimental method #1, experimental method #2, and the control group, was examined by using analysis of covariance administered to the pre-test and post-test data. This hypothesis could not be rejected. Being unable to reject the null hypothesis suggests that all methods were equally effective. Analysis of covariance showed clearly that there was no significant difference between groups nor between teachers. Therefore, it appears that the selection of method can rest with factors outside of those controlled in this study. Total reading scores for each method showed acceptable gains from pre-test to post-test. The control method, or either experimental method, were equally acceptable in producing gains in reading achievement. However, if larger gains are desired, the search for a reading method which would be more effective at Lowell High School must continue.
Degree
Ph.D.
Subject Area
Literacy|Reading instruction
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