Transactional contexts of literature-based reading : selection, readability, response PDF
Preview Transactional contexts of literature-based reading : selection, readability, response
TRANSACTIONAL CONTEXTS OF LITERATURE-BASED READING: SELECTION, READABILITY, RESPONSE BY JUDITH LEE AYMOND A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 1993 Copyright 1993 by Judith Lee Aymond ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Several people have been an integral part of not only my doctoral program but also my entire graduate studies at the University of Florida. First of all, I amdeeply appreciative of the support and direction that Dr. William R. Powell has provided me throughout the dissertation process. Without his help, I have no doubt that I would have been able to undertake and successfully complete such a massive project. Second, I want to thank Dr. Ginger Weade for the many hours that she has spent reading my rough drafts and offering guidance in how to integrate the data into a complex but harmonious blend of the methodologies and findings. I have learned from her much in the way of writing which I can, in turn, pass on to my future students. Third, I want to thank Dr. Clemens Hallman for his faith in me that I will sincerely work to help educate all people in our pluralistic society. I am very grateful for his endorsement of me as a recipient of a Multicultural/Bilingual Fellowship during my doctoral program. Fourth, I want to thank Dr. Mary Kantowski for her continued belief that I would indeed complete my doctoral program. She has always been there in subtle and supportive ways. iii Last, but certainly not least, is my first graduate advisor. Dr. Haig Der-Houssikian. He encouraged me to enter graduate school at the University of Florida in the very beginning of my master's degree program. It has been through his guidance that I have had a very rich program in linguistic and cultural diversity, something in which I believe very deeply. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii ABSTRACT vii CHAPTERS 1 INTRODUCTION 1 Statement of the Problem 7 Research Questions 8 Definition of Terms 11 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 14 Self-Selection Factors in Reading ... 16 Adult Viewpoints 16 CChhiillddrreenn''ss RPeraedfienrgencAebsiliitnyCon.t.en.t.. 2139 Contextual Influences 25 Perception of Difficulty Level 29 Text Readability 29 ResponTseexttoFoRremaadtiinogn and Organization . 4371 Reader Response Theory 42 Reader Response and Human Development 44 Reader Response and Comprehension . 47 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 52 Context of the Study 52 Participants 52 Entry and Access 53 Research Procedures 55 Data Collection 56 Data Analysis 61 4 RESEARCH FINDINGS 63 StatemDeonmtainofOnteh:e PSreolbelcetmion........ 6637 DDoommaaiinn TTwhor:ee:DifRefaidceurltyResLpeovnelse. 8849 V Domain Four: Algorithm for Selection 99 Summary 104 5 SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND IMPLICATIONS . . 110 Introduction 110 Summary of the Findings 117 Selection 117 Difficulty Level 120 Reader Response 121 Algorithm for Selection 125 Conclusions 128 Implications 129 APPENDICES A LETTER OF CONSENT 133 B CHILDREN'S BOOK SELECTIONS 135 REFERENCES 154 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 161 Vi Abstract of Dissertation Presented to the Graduate School of the University of Florida in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy TRANSACTIONAL CONTEXTS OF LITERATURE-BASED READING: SELECTION, READABILITY, RESPONSE By Judith Lee Aymond December, 1993 Chairperson: Dr. William R. Powell Major Department: Instruction and Curriculum The purpose of this study was to examine elementary school children's choices of and responsiveness to self- selected reading materials. Within these parameters, four areas were investigated. The domains involved the ways children select readings and the types of readings they select, the difficulty level of the material selected, the student's responsiveness to those selections, and an algorithm to aid students in the selection process. Quantitative and qualitative methodologies were used in an effort to yield accurate, authentic descriptions of readers as they engage in the selection and response processes. Data sources included school cumulative records for demographic and standardized test information; classroom records for informal reading inventory scores, reading logs for specific selections and responses, and reader response vii . rating forms; difficulty level of each book selected; student and teacher interviews; fieldnotes; and video and audiotaping. The following conclusions were derived from findings based on book selections having no genre or source specified beforehand. First, children tend to choose materials much in keeping with the interests of their gender and age group. Second, the expansion-contraction ratio bears evidence that, in selecting materials at their independent and instructional reading ability levels, children do strive to read at higher levels, that is, in a more expansive way when given freedom of choice. Third, the self-selection factor of this program encourages participants to self-regulate the reading process resulting in an expansion-contraction rhythm of growth in independent and instructional reading ability levels. Fourth, selection, reading, and response are cyclical in nature. Fifth, instructional cues play an integral role in leading students into meaningful ways of participation, even in this supportive framework. Sixth, higher ability readers serve as role models in reader response activities for less capable readers. Seventh, the nature of the algorithm enables the reader to engage in the expansion-contraction process at a conscious level of awareness viii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Literature-based reading and whole language programs have become a viable alternative to the use of traditional basal reader series for helping children learn to read. Although the more recent programs have been hailed for their appeal by students and teachers alike, little follow-up has been done to determine their actual effectiveness. For instance, scant research exists in matters such as how children make reading selections or what their response has been to those materials; needless to say, there has been little inquiry into how these two areas are related. Added to the factors of reader and text is context, in particular, that which bears both curricular and teacher influences (Beach and Hynds, 1991). The success of such programs, then, is contingent upon the dynamics of student self- selection of and responsiveness to reading materials within a supportive environment. Self-selection of reading materials has been advocated through the use of individualized reading programs since the 1950s (Veatch, 1959); however, little follow-up research has been conducted on the impact of this approach. Among the few early studies, some have investigated whether children select reading materials within a range of reading levels appropriate to their abilities (Fleming, 1967; Mork, 1973) or have compared students' recreational reading levels with reading levels of varying difficulty as identified by an informal reading inventory (Smith & Joyner, 1990). Since these studies primarily employed quantitative methodology, they yielded almost no information about the readers themselves other than their selection of materials for the task at hand. Reader choice and response to any printed text are influenced by motivation and by highly complex cognitive mechanisms of human behavior. A model of human behavior proposed to explore such mechanisms is transgressionism, a type of behavior in which a person engages in any purposeful action leading to an outcome that exceeds the boundaries of her or his past achievements (Kozielecki, 1986, p. 89). This model is predicated upon psychological decision theory described as "a system of general propositions on the resolution of decision tasks" (Kozielecki, 1981, p. 13). Another use for this model of human behavior is the identification of various types of transgressive action. One type of transgressive behavior is symbolic expansion in which the individual widens her or his knowledge of the world or of self through the assimilation and accommodation of information (Kozielecki, 1986, p. 91). In addition, this model can identify the underlying environmental and
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