The Effectiveness of Graphic Organizers and Reading Comprehension
Melissa Coleman
Morningside College
Abstract
This experimental research will determine if the use of graphic organizers increases reading comprehension among tenth grade students enrolled in a Human Geography class. This research will investigate the use of graphic organizers with 16 participants during a four-week study. The groups will divided equally with one group receiving the intervention and other not. A reading inventory will be administered before and after intervention to assess comprehension skills. Data will be collected through a pre-test and post-test to determine if the use of graphic organizers increased reading comprehension skills
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among this group of participants. The Effects of Graphic Organizers and Increasing Reading Comprehension School districts and educators have been criticized for many years for not teaching students all of the skills needed to compete with higher achieving countries.
In the past 20 years, there has been a lot of debate over reforming education in the United States. With all the emphasis focusing on ways to raise academic standards and performance levels in schools throughout the United States, (Donalevy, 2007) higher expectations have been placed on educators to seek out and use research-validated instruction to ensure student learning. In 2000, President Bush signed into law the No Child Left Behind legislation. NCLB has placed mandates on school districts to increase student achievement by raising test scores in the area of reading and math. Reading comprehension has been identified as one of the major goals for reading instruction (Norton, 1997). One research-validated instructional method that may increase reading comprehension is the use graphic organizers. Graphic organizers are representations, pictures or models used for processing textual information (Pang, …show more content…
2013). Purpose Statement Comprehension is the ultimate goal for reading. There are many variables that influence students’ reading progress such as attitude towards reading, purpose of reading, prior knowledge on the subject or text, textual structure, knowledge of vocabulary; comprehension of the text is controlled by the student (Kamhi & Catts, 2008). A good reader can have automaticity in distinction and word recognition (Jitendra, Hoppes & Xin, 2000; Kamhi & Catts, 2008). Students that have difficulties with reading lack in the skills understanding the meaning, using strategies as well as being able to connect prior knowledge to new material (Moddy, Kennedy & Brady, 1997). Reading and having the ability to comprehend is crucial to students’ academic success. Sloat, Beswick, and Williams (2007) state that students that do not learn how to read and comprehend at the elementary level will probably never be great readers. Literature Review The use of graphic organizers is widely used in classrooms across that country. Research on the effectiveness of the use of graphic organizers and reading comprehension has been very minimal in the last few decades. David Ausubel was a psychologist who made significant contributions in educational psychology and researched advance organizers. Ausubel’s theory focuses on meaningful learning and the use of organizers as a tool that assists in linking new learning concepts to prior knowledge (OOOO). Ausubel (1963) also believes that the student must be able to process and understand information presented in the organizer to increase of the effectiveness of the tool. (Searls, 1983). Ausubel (1963) also believes that the method in which material is presented influences learning and is essential in forming relationship using prior information and new concepts. Research( Oliver, Inspiration.com, Marzano) has demonstrated some very positive information regarding strategies to increase reading comprehension. Inspiration Software, Inc. contracted with the Institute for the Advancement of Research in Education (IARE) to research sources of visual learning and the implementation of graphic organizers for increasing comprehension. A study was conducted using 29 scientifically researched based studies that were collected through databases to effectively research the effectiveness of using graphic organizers as an instructional tool and the relationship of increasing reading comprehension. The conclusions of the results were that reading comprehension enhanced student performance through the implementation of graphic organizers assessed through variety forms of assessment (observations, textbook, and standardized) across several content areas (reading, writing, math, science and social studies), across multiple grade levels (elementary through high school), and different student population (general education students and IEP students). The Institute of the Advancement of Research in Education (2003) also found that the process of developing and utilizing a graphic organizer enhances skills by increasing their ability to organize ideas, making connections as well as categorizing concepts. Introduction of the Problem There are many obstacles that students face at the secondary level. One of the largest challenges is the disparity between reading ability and the ability to read materials and comprehend at the secondary level. (Mastropieri, Scruggs &Gratez, 2003). Reading comprehension is a large component in being successful academically. Researchers have stated that, “the most important thing about reading is comprehension” (Gambrell, Block, & Pressley, 2002, p.3). In past research, (Polyxeni & Papadopoulou, 2012) in the area of effectiveness of graphic organizers and improving reading comprehension has been very limited. Research has targeted the effectiveness for learning disabled students (Singleton & Filce, 2015) ELL Ferlazzo & Hull, 2014) and elementary students (Ciullo, Falcomata, Vaughn, 2015) However, reading comprehension is an essential skill that secondary students need to internalize therefore many researchers in the past decade have started to perform more and more studies looking for connections. (Research). Improving reading comprehension has been discussed among educators for years (LNCE) There are many interventions that have been implemented in many schools throughout the United States. One popular comprehension technique is Directed Reading-Teaching Activity (DR-TA). DR-TA focuses on setting a purpose for reading, evaluate purpose and comprehending material, and making adjustments as they read (Lance). A random control study using the DR-TA was performed that consisted of 72 secondary males in Egypt. The students were administered a pre-test and post-test using reading passages and administered reading comprehension assessments. The results of the study concluded that the DR-TA stategy is an effective strategy for developing comprehension skills. However, these conclusions are limited by participants’ level, length of study and dependent and independent variables of the study (El-Koumy, 2006). Past research Sam (2013) supported the effectiveness of graphic organizer with a study in India This study consisted of 35 secondary students. The class was divided into two sections. One section was the control group that received the traditional reading approach. The other section was the experimental group that was trained using a graphic organizer to gain comprehension skills (Sam, 2013). The intervention lasted for two weeks. Researchers collected data from this report to determine that graphic organizers are effective tools. Sam (2013) stated that the results of the post-test shows that the experimental group students have improved in all the five types of reading questions compared to controlled group students. Results determined that using graphic organizers is effective in reading questions including (1) finding the main idea, (2) supporting details, (3) identifying vocabulary (4) fact and opinion & (5) having the ability to make inferences. In this study, the focus will be at the high school level. Students that participate in Human Geography sections at a southeast Iowa high school will take place in this study. Students will be placed into two groups. One will be the control group in which the unit will be presented in the tradition power point and lecture method. The experimental group will internalize a graphic organizers identifying main points and supporting details. The students will be given a reading comprehension test to determine their percentage accuracy on a 10-question assessment. The students will then receive that interventions assigned to their section. After the two-week intervention period, each section will be assessed. My findings in this study will demonstrate that when students are given a graphic organizer that their comprehension of the material will be increased. Method The purpose of this study is to determine if reading comprehension improves with the use of the graphic organizers. The study will take place in a rural high school in southeast Iowa. The current enrollment of the high school is 642 students. The entire school district consists of 4 elementary schools, a junior high school along with the high school. Sixty-two percent of the students in the district participate in the federal free-and –reduced lunch program. Special education students make up 25% of the student population district-wide. The school districts vision focuses on students that are making progress as well as meeting the expectations to meet the 21st century demands. By providing the students with the variety of tools such as graphic organizers to increase reading comprehension will assist in meeting this vision. Participants There will be 8 females and 8 males in this study. Students in this class range from 15-16 years of age and are classified as current 10th graders. Three males and two females are currently receiving specially designed instruction in the area of reading. One male in the study is currently receiving accommodations provided through a 504 plan. The remaining students in the study do not receive any accommodations or modifications. Five males are Caucasian and three males are African-American. The eight females are Caucasian. All of the participants in this study have been assigned randomly through a computer-generated section assignment. The participants were informed of the research study and have agreed to participate. The students will be assigned numbers instead of names to protect confidentiality. Setting This study will take place in a general education classroom at Panther High School in a Human Geography and the unit that will be used in the research covers a portion of World Religion. The section that will participate in the study is a co-taught class that consists of a Social Studies teacher as well as an Instructional Strategists I. Materials Students that are enrolled in Human Geography use materials that have been approved by the Panther Community School District Board of Directors. It is the expectation that all students will follow a curriculum map for all sections of this course. Students will be given an article discussing World Religion that supports student understanding the differences and similarities of Judism and Buddhism religions. The (number=n) students in the control group will be provided a Venn diagram (Appendix A) that will be provided in addition to the reading assignment. The (number =n) students in the experimental group will be provided the article only. The students that are participating in this study will also be given a Ekwell -Shanker reading inventory to assess reading abilities. Procedure and Data Analysis The research study will last for four weeks and will take place in the fall of the 2016-2017 school year.
The students will be divided into equal groups. There will be 4 females and 4 males in the control group (Group A). There will be 4 females and 4 males in the experimental group (Group B). Each participant will start of with a reading conference with the researcher and complete a conference form (Appendix B). The student will also be given a reading comprehension assessment with an Ekwell-Shanker inventory to determine reading ability to comprehend material. The Ekwell-Shanker Reading Inventory is a highly successful, research-based, and clinically verified reading inventory designed to help educators effectively assist students in developing their reading ability (Bookstore. n.d). A 10-question comprehension assessment will given to each student using the passages and comprehension questions provided by the reading
inventory. During the four weeks of research, the students will be covering the two chapters of World Religion. During this time frame, the social studies teacher will model and demonstrate to the students how to effectively utilize the graphic organizers in class to Group A. The students will learn how to pick out the key points to include in the organizer to gain the 21st century skills needed to increase reading comprehension. The students in Group B will be instructed through lecture and be taught through the traditional method of reading and re-reading the passage for understanding. Group A will be given a graphic organizer that will be used is a Venn diagram. Dictionary.com states that a Venn diagram is an organizer that uses circles to represent sets and their relationships. During the first week, both groups will be given a pre-test over the material that will be covered in the unit. The intervention of consistently utilizing the graphic organizers with Group A will continue through the entire unit. Group B will continue to be taught through the lecture and the use of a power point. At the end of the unit, a post-test will be given to both groups to assess the effectiveness of the intervention. The data collected from the pre-test and the post-test will be compared. The students will also be assessed through the Ekwell-Shanker inventory to determine if comprehension and reading ability improved through the intervention. R
This is a reading intervention classroom of six 3rd grade students ages 9-10. This intervention group focuses on phonics, fluency, and comprehension. The students were placed in this group based on the results of the DIBELS Oral Reading Fluency assessment. Students in this class lack basic decoding skills.
Smith, J. J. (2002). The use of graphic organizers in vocabulary instruction. M.A ResearchProject:KearnUniversity http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/search/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=ED463556&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=ED463556
After, reviewing the vast amount of reading inventories that can be utilized to obtain a reading competency level for a student. I decided to utilize the Jennings Informal Reading Assessment, this assessment had all of the essential elements needed to analyze and evaluate the reading styles and comprehension level of a student. The unique qualities that assist me in selecting this strategy were that of the preprimary word list. The word list offers the student a chance to learn and observe terms that he/she may not have known prior to the assessment. This also provided me with a better understanding of the student usage of visual cues and ability to utilize prior knowledge to understand and recognize information. This is a cognitive ability
Assessments should guide instruction and material selection. Any likely manner, assessments should measure student progress, as well as help, identify deficiencies in reading (Afflerback, 2012). One important indicator of reading deficiencies is spelling. Morris (2014), advocated the importance of administering a spelling assessment in order to have a better understanding of a student’s reading abilities. My school uses the Words Their Way spelling inventory to assess students’ reading abilities at the beginning of the year and throughout the reading year.
...udents, more research is needed to determine if specific factor were noted in all participants that would support the increase in reading fluency.
...ding Panel. Teaching children to read: An evidence-based assessment of the scientific research literature on reading and its implications for reading instruction(NIH Publication No. 00-4769). Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
Informal Reading Inventories (IRIs) are a commercial test that teachers use to evaluate students’ reading performance. QRI-5’s are just one type of IRI that are available to teachers. These informal tests are often used as a screening instrument to determine whether or not a student is reading on or below grade level. Some of the other uses of IRIs are seeing where students are struggling in their reading; for example fluency versus comprehension, to help them recognize where students are showing signs of frustration, to help teachers set up reading groups or even help with picking out appropriate reading material for their students. While the information gained in these informal tests are vital sometimes the additional information gained
Nitko and Brookhart (2011) define interpretive exercises as "items or assessment tasks that require the student to use reading material, graphs, tables, pictures, or other material to answer the items" (p. 505). Using interpretive material such as graphs or pictures can help teachers to assess complex thinking skills such as as mathematical problem-solving ability, reading comprehension, writing skills (Haladyna, Downing, & Rodriguez, 2002). It is not hard for teachers to actually incorporate stimulus materials such as graphs or other visuals into existing assessment to assess students’ critical
... for teachers to choose materials that will hook students and motivate them to engage in their own learning. Teachers should provide multiple learning opportunities in which stu¬dents can experience success and can begin to build confidence in their ability to read, write, and think at higher level. By connecting strategies for learning, such as searching, compre¬hending, interpreting, composing, and teaching content knowledge, students are given the opportunity to succeed in their education. These elements include: fundamental skills such as phonemic awareness, phonemic decoding, and other word analysis skills that support word reading accuracy; text reading fluency; strategies for building vocabulary; strategies for understanding and using the specific textual features that distinguish different genres; and self-regulated use of reading comprehension strategies.
The state requires middle school students to not only read informational text, but also to apply higher order comprehension skills. Many middle school students are reluctant to read informational text for several reasons: boredom, lack of appropriate skills and the actual textbook. Middle school students are going to have to learn to be dedicated, positive, find the value of informational text, use social motivation appropriately and make good choices in their learning process. Textbooks are meant to be used in classrooms today to help deepen understanding and meaning. However, only using the textbook may cause a frustration due to the lack of skill the student is able to apply. Textbooks need to be supported with a variety of resources that
In classrooms around the Untied States students have a difficult time understanding the written material within a textbook, but comprehension instruction is a way to help both students and teachers with this problem. Learning and understanding from textbooks are part of every subject area and this type of instruction can be used in all areas. The problem is it does not occur enough in classrooms because teachers have little knowledge on how to incorporate comprehension instruction strategies into teaching due to not having the correct or any information on this type of instruction.
Comprehension is known as the heart of reading. It consists of several parts such as predicting, clarifying, questioning and summarizing, which play an important role in comprehension. Students who use multiple strategies when approaching a text are more likely to stop to look up a challenging word, reread and monitor their own comprehension. As opposed to the strategies that good readers use, many struggling readers do not approach a text with this frame of mind. Instead, struggling readers need to be taught comprehension strategies, through modeling, group work and using reciprocal teaching methods, such as picture walks. As stated in the Core “ A critical challenge in comprehension is that many students particularly struggling students not only fail to understand
comprehension instruction: A comparison of instruction for strategies and content approaches ―[Electronic version]. Reading Research Quarterly, 44(3), 218–253.
Many students have a hard time when it comes to reading. There are many reading inventions that can help students out. Reading inventions are strategies that help students who are having trouble reading. The interventions are techniques that can be used to assist in one on ones with students or working in small groups to help students become a better reader. Hannah is a student who seems to be struggling with many independent reading assignments. There can be many reasons that Hannah is struggling with the independent reading assignments. One of the reasons that Hannah can be struggling with is reading comprehension while she is reading on her on. Reading comprehension is when students are able to read something, they are able to process it and they are able to understand what the text is saying. According to article Evidence-based early reading practices within a response to intervention system, it was mentioned that research strategies that can use to help reading comprehension can include of activating the student’s background knowledge of the text, the teacher can have questions that the student answer while reading the text, having students draw conclusions from the text, having
Instructional material is another educational factor affecting students reading performance. Teachers have a lot of material to teach students to read, such as trade books, chapter books, basal readers, and technological material, but teacher’ role is to find a material that would fit students as well as advances students’ strengths, to find the material to match the reader (Cox, 2015). The teacher has consider students’ interest, their choice, size of the book, and their background knowledge using material, so students would be able to construct meaning while using their strengths.