Literacy in the 21st century includes multiple modes of communication that include culturally and linguistic diverse representation. It also includes multimodal texts that use visual, audio, and technological elements to create meaning. The new changing technologies have expanded literacy to more than print and written forms. Literacy instruction…

This qualitative teacher -- research study investigates how secondary students in English classes might use art materials and the construction of abstract artworks to explore, develop, and express their responses to and interpretations of literary works. The study was guided by the following research questions: 1. What happens when students are…

The aims of this qualitative study were (1) to understand the experiences of two middle school English Language Arts and Reading (ELAR) teachers as they planned and implemented critical literacy into a unit in their existing curriculum and (2) to understand the experiences of students as they engaged in a curriculum embedded with critical…

This classroom-based qualitative study examines a multiliteracies approach to teaching Young Adult Literature graphic novels and memoirs within a five-week book club study unit that took place within a twelfth-grade secondary English language arts classroom in an urban school in the Southwest. It explores the teaching and take up of several…

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore how general education teachers describe their training in the use of evidence-based practices to improve reading comprehension in students with ASD and how the teachers describe the ways they were supported when they implemented the evidence-based reading comprehension practices for…

The Rio Grande Valley, situated at the southernmost point of the United States, has grown to comprise a constellation of communities with shifting racial, ethnic, cultural, and linguistic demographics. While Rio Grande Valley communities have changed, the K-12 educational system where diverse students form the student body, does not always change…

Students may fall behind in their academic grade-level standards. Some students may be able to adjust to follow along with grade-level content; however, what happens when a student falls two or more grade levels behind? Those students are tested and based upon the results of the assessments, they may be assigned to Response to Intervention to…

At Community Leadership High School, a pseudonym, graduation rates have consistently ranged between 95% and 100%. However, 35% to 40% of graduates, who come from low income families of color, lack the college and career readiness skills required to succeed after high school. The aim of this improvement science study was to increase the percentage…

A qualitative case study explored teachers' perceptions and beliefs about a mandated literacy instruction program at a mid-western rural middle school. This study used the implementation of a mandated reading and writing program as a basis for learning how programs can be sustainable and provide teachers with self-efficacy. This study used…

The traditional textbook model is problematic for students who either buy expensive textbooks and add to their already considerable student debt, opt out of buying expensive textbooks, or opt out of enrolling in courses known to require expensive textbooks. Switching to open textbooks directly addresses these problems by decreasing costs, removing…

This study explored the self-efficacy of secondary general and special education teachers when teaching students with a specific learning disability in reading (SLDR) and using content area texts and resources. It investigated whether differences existed among high school general and special education teachers, between teachers of various content…

The purpose of this semester-long project was to redesign the ninth grade English language arts curriculum to include a literacy-based multicomponent intervention to meet the needs of developing readers, while simultaneously maintaining a rigorous curriculum challenging proficient readers in a general education classroom. I examined peer-reviewed…

Over 60 years of conflicting messaging about the usefulness and impact of grammar on writing has guided instructional practice in K-12 classrooms across the country. In Florida, like many other states, reading scores have continued to decline despite multiple efforts to identify the root causes of learning deficiencies. Even though research…

This study investigated non-proficient middle school readers enrolled in a reading intervention who transitioned to distance learning during quarter four of the 2019-2020 school year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The study examined archival pre-and-post comparison data using i-Ready diagnostic reading and state English Language Arts (ELA)…

Reading consists of many interconnected skills. Research recommends that beginning readers focus on a set of basic skills, specifically referred to as the "foundational skills" (National Governors Association Center for Best Practices [NGACBP], Council of Chief State School Officers [CCSSO], 2010). Essential to forming the base for…