Graduation Year

2007

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree

Ph.D.

Degree Granting Department

Childhood Education and Literacy Studies

Major Professor

Susan Homan, Ph.D.

Keywords

Multi-sensory, Teacher development, Primary education, Reading, Case studies

Abstract

This study investigated Accelerated Literacy Learning (ALL) trained teachers' implementation of sensory activities into their classroom instructional practice. There were 38 participants in Phase One that completed questionnaires using a 5-point response scale to indicate their frequency of use for each of 30 sensory activities. All but one participant reported a high use of sensory activities in their literacy lessons, although the grade level did influence the variety and frequency of their reported use. Most primary level teachers reported a high use on many of the activities. Seven teachers of the participants from Phase One participated in interviews for Phase Two, and four of the seven participated in Phase Three which included classroom observations. The major themes that were found in the written comments on the questionnaires and in the interviews were: teacher change, teacher empowerment, strategy talk, and student empowerment. Overall, the teachers reported that their ALL training made a difference in how they conducted their literacy lessons. Teachers' classroom use of sensory activities was compared to the teachers' reported use in the questionnaires. Although some items were over reported and a few under reported, a similar pattern of sensory activity use was found both in the reports and in classroom observations. The book level growth of struggling readers within the classrooms was compared with sensory activity use. The comparison between reading growth and sensory activity use proved to be inconclusive, as other factors such as the variety of activities and the amount of time and text were factors that would need to be taken into consideration.

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