Many active learning practices highly depend on students' advance preparation for the class. However, reading Calculus can be a challenging task to students. We address this concern by assigning targeted pre-class readings in multiple Calculus courses. We report on our implementations, provide students' feedback, and discuss the lessons learned…

In this action research study, I designed, taught, and analyzed results of a unit in my eighth grade English language arts classroom. The unit focused on supporting students' critical reading of online texts. My research questions were: (1) Within a focal unit, how did I support my students' critical reading of online sources? (2) Within a focal…

In this dissertation I report findings from two studies of the literacy abilities of children with Williams syndrome (WS), a genetic disorder associated with intellectual disability. I had two overarching goals: 1) evaluate the applicability of theories of reading and spelling acquisition developed based on typically developing children to…

This ex post facto correlational study assessed the effectiveness of an ILS, i-Ready Instruction, on student growth in the elementary school setting. The existing limited independent research has not supported the claims that the creators of i-Ready Instruction have made regarding increasing student achievement or growth. Based on the results from…

In a West Texas oilfield school district of 33,000 students, many freshmen high school students continue to fail their English standardized test, the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness English I End of Course exam (STAAR EOC), at astounding rates. One cause of this unfortunate trend is that students choose not to bolster their reading…

This grounded theory research study investigated one active reading strategy, note taking, with a goal of creating student-centered, evidence-based curriculum for the developmental reading instructor. Sixteen students participated in a two-part session: a semi-structured interview and a think aloud of an assigned, academic text. The students were…

This dissertation recounts the history of some widely read texts and develops new ways of writing about the past; it is at once an investigation into the particulars of history and an account of the historiography needed of that investigation. As an historical account, it documents the development during the seventeenth century of the learned…

Children learn language through participating in language-rich activities such as book reading. This longitudinal qualitative study explored the perception of 11 teachers and 78 kindergartners regarding children's participation in book-reading in order to understand how it is experienced by those most involved in this activity. Each participant…

In 2016, the Alaska State Board of Education reviewed and accepted 13 recommendations bundled as Alaska's Education Challenge. In 2022, the Alaska Reads Act was signed into law. The Act addresses the number one priority of Alaska's Education Challenge, which is to support all students to read at grade level by the end of third grade. The…

In a highly multilingual country like India, challenges and opportunities arise in education and language policy. Although multilingualism is often associated with developmental advantages, Indian primary school children generally show low learning outcomes, specifically on literacy. Here we examine the influence of mother tongue education and…

Youth literature can be regarded as an important educational tool. However, controversial issues in youth literature become more prominent and the different opinions (internationally and individually) on such issues place the focus more on censorship. This article aims to provide an overview and analysis of the discourse on censorship in…

Background: Misconceptions are unjustified beliefs about a topic. Nonetheless, they are pervasive among educational practitioners. Although the internet can be a powerful tool to learn and debunk misconceptions, their use requires competencies like navigating through search engine results pages (SERPs), evaluating the reliability of content, and…

An audit was completed at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) based on the curriculum audit model developed by Armstrong, Stahl, and Kantner (2015). The audit examined text readiness and text expectations in UAF developmental reading courses and 100-level general-education and career-technical education courses, how well these text…

Background: Primary school children engage in a wide range of reading activities, yet we lack insights into why children choose to read different text types. Furthermore, recent studies of reading motivation have been dominated by quantitative research; however, qualitative research is necessary to ensure that children's voices are represented…

Beginning in the 1960s, the Isle of Wight studies were among the first to investigate developmental reading problems in representative, population-based samples, using the tools of epidemiology. In this paper, we provide an overview of the contribution of the Isle of Wight studies to research on reading disabilities. We begin with an account of…