Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Critical reading skills'

This paper will examine what research has revealed about reading and learning in the areas of word recognition, scaffolding to develop understanding, metacognition and application of new knowledge in real world situations. The study then will go on to link what is known about learning to strategies that have already been developed by secondary teachers to increase critical reading skills.

This thesis reports on a responsive action research case study undertaken to teach student teachers to read critically. I undertook this research to gain a basic knowledge about critical reading as well as to form a knowledge base that would enable me to teach it effectively. First, I gave students a diagnostic assessment activity, analyzed the result and established the students’ ability to read a text critically. After I had established the students’ strengths, weaknesses, and the requirements to move students from their existing critical reading competency to an improved one, I reviewed the literature to provide me with a theory of teaching critical reading. The lessons were then planned and taught. The lessons; focus group interviews; researcher’s diary; students’ reflections and non-participant observer comments formed the data of the study. The data were analyzed using the framework of “what went well”, “what did not go well” and “what needs to be improved if the lessons were to be repeated”. The main purpose was to address the goals of the research, which were to find effective ways of teaching critical reading, appropriate critical reading materials, and to identify any pedagogic shortcomings. The 30 students who took part in this research were third-year students studying English Second language and Mother tongue pedagogies to become specialists in the teaching of both at Junior Secondary level (grades 8 – 10). The study was guided by constructivist theory, which underpins learner-centred education, which continues to inform and shape the development of curricula in Namibia.

This thesis investigates the lack of critical reading and thinking skills amongst undergraduate students of English in Libya, and produces a new programme which can be used to develop their skills. It develops students' critical reading comprehension skills through an innovative Critical Reading Programme (CR Programme). It further examines students' perceptions of the programme with the intention of adapting and amending the original programme accordingly. It is intended that the completed work would be disseminated on a wider scale, beyond the particular institution where the study was undertaken, to the rest of Libya and possibly to other Arabic-speaking countries. The need was identified for a programme to enhance critical reading and thinking skills amongst undergraduate students of English at Sebha University in Libya. Therefore, an initial design of a CR Programme that would enable the students to achieve these skills was developed. Using the literature review to inform its development, I piloted the programme, using it within the appropriate context, and gathered data from the participants to see if it had served its purpose. From the results of the pilot study, I contacted a random sample of 60 students from Sebha University. The student sample was divided equally into two groups (control and research). Students in the research group studied the CR Programme which I initially developed, while the control group participants were not taught critical reading, but were taught reading comprehension using a teacher-centred approach and a grammar translation method, which is the current pedagogy in Libya. Relevant literature was reviewed so as to be aware of empirical studies carried out by others. This was to enable me to situate my own contribution to the field. For example, Thistlethwaite (1990) emphasises the importance of critical reading; Davis (1992) highlights a variety of learning and teaching methods; Yopp (2001) suggests a model for the process involved in reading comprehension; and Alyousef (2006) discusses the role of cognition and reading, as well as the methods used for teaching and learning. To answer the research questions and meet the aims of my study, qualitative and quantitative methods were adopted to analyse the collected data. The former method was important for understanding and appreciating the subjective aspect of the participants' issues and problems relevant to their learning English as a foreign language (EFL) and for gaining their trust. The latter was used to quantify the data collected. The methods were further used to measure the progress of the students on the Ck Programme, thus, verifying the programme's importance. The thesis explores pedagogical tools in teaching reading comprehension to EFL undergraduate students in Libya. The data collection and subsequent research findings show that using innovative pedagogy can improve reading comprehension skills in the Libyan context. The study was conducted in four phases, namely: 1) a pre-intervention strategy (pre-measurement of skills, and a questionnaire relating to students' prior perceptions); 2) a during-intervention strategy (the eR Programme); 3) a post-intervention strategy (post-measurement of skills, and questionnaire on students' later perceptions); and, 4) a teacher questionnaire designed to investigate teachers' views and knowledge of critical reading and thinking skills. The findings of the study recognise that critical reading and thinking skills are of utmost importance for EFL students and their teachers. They reveal that critical reading and thinking skills have close links to EFL students' competence in reading comprehension. The findings further suggest that the intervention study (Ck Programme) can help EFL students develop their reading comprehension abilities. Recommendations for further research are also made. The findings will be useful to teachers and EFL curriculum designers, particularly in their development of suitable learning and teaching resources for reading comprehension at the higher education level. No less importantly, the findings are expected to provide Libyan education policy makers with insights into perceptions and practices of teaching reading comprehension skills, so as to inform the future design of EFL reading materials and the structure of new EFL courses.

Applying sociocultural principles of mediation, collaboration and scaffolding as the underpinning theory, combined with the integrative teaching of reading and writing method, this study explored how L2 students’ thinking and reasoning abilities as manifested in their argumentative writing skills can be improved. Students’ creative and critical thinking skills and their ability to write logically and intelligently are part of English teaching objectives in the Sudan. However, there are no explicit guidelines on how they could be achieved. In this study therefore, argumentative/persuasive writing is considered to be a manifestation of critical thinking skills, since a writer needs to analyse, evaluate and counter arguments and present a logical text to convince the reader. Thirty, first year university students from the faculty of Medicine, Upper Nile University, Sudan were randomly selected. They were first pre-tested and then randomly assigned into experimental and comparison groups. A twelve-week intervention was conducted in which the experimental group were taught reasoning and critical thinking to enhance their argumentative writing abilities employing integrative teaching of reading and writing method in conjunction with sociocultural principles and Paul and Elder’s (2006, 2007) close reading strategies. After the intervention, the groups were post-tested and a month later after the completion of the study they were post-post-tested. The nature of the tests was argumentative written compositions. In addition, pre and post focus groups interviews were conducted with the experimental group to explore their perceptions and attitudes towards thinking skills before and after the intervention. These interviews were organised to enable the researcher to trace and monitor how students’ ideas and perceptions changed as a result of the intervention. The study found among others that students’ critical thinking, reasoning and argumentative writing skills improved dramatically after the intervention. In addition, there were improvements in their perceptions and attitudes towards thinking skills as well as in their understanding of the cognitive relationship between reading and writing. Moreover, a remarkable improvement in their spoken English was recorded as well as they developed positive attitudes towards learning English. The study concluded that critical thinking skills can be taught at post secondary school level. It recommended that future research should investigate the complexity of argumentative texts written by L2 students and how the complexity of their thinking may lead to the increasing sophistication of the language produced.

Developing critical thinking and mastering its skills has been a vital priority for the curriculum in Swedish upper-secondary school. The National Curriculum for upper-secondary school and the syllabus for the English subject emphasize the importance of implementing and enhancing the development of the students’ critical thinking which leads to having active learners who are able to think creatively and keeps them away from becoming narrow-minded. The purpose of this study is to explore the prospect of teaching critical thinking through reading literature. Guided by the critical thinking skills that are defined in The Delphi Report including (1) interpretation, (2) analysis, (3) evaluation, (4) inference, (5) explanation and (6) self-regulation, this study explores the possibility of promoting critical thinking skills through reading literature. The study also examines the efficacy of the reader-response approach in helping the students to be critical thinkers and active readers. Using qualitative data from conducting interviews, this study analyses teachers’ perspectives and considered the implications for teaching literature in terms of fostering the students’ critical thinking. The study showed that the teachers’ awareness of the significance of integrating literature in teaching English was found to play a great role in fostering the students as critical thinkers. The study also showed that teachers emphasized the importance of in-class discussions about literary works in order to expand the students’ thinking horizons and enhance their sense of self-confidence as contributors to the learning process. It also showed that the reader-response theory has a significant role in fostering the students’ critical thinking even though it is not clearly stated in the teachers’ perspectives on teaching literature.

Thesis (Ed.D.) -- Teachers College, Columbia University, 1990.
Typescript; issued also on microfilm. Sponsor: Carla Seal-Wanner. Dissertation Committee: Robert McClintock. Includes bibliographical references: (leaves 176-178).

The purpose of this study is to explain and compare the Suzuki and Colourstrings violin methods and their respective approaches to the teaching of notation reading skills to beginner violinists. A thorough literature review on the introduction of notation reading skills to the beginner violinist, as well as the Suzuki and Colourstrings violin methods in general was conducted. The biographies of the founders and a brief history of each method are given. A structured summary of the approach to notation reading skills, and the foundations and methodology of the respective methods are discussed. Based on these findings, an analysis of each method s pedagogical literature is made to identify and give a deeper understanding of the approach towards notation reading skills. These findings are compared and recommendations are made on how the respective methods can be used in support of the other.
Die doel van hierdie studie is om die Suzuki en Colourstrings vioolmetodes, asook elkeen se benadering tot die aanleer van notasielees vaardighede vir beginners, te ondersoek en verduidelik. n Deeglike literatuurstudie oor die inleiding tot notasie en die aanbieding van die onderskeie metodes in die algemeen is gedoen. Die biografieë van die stigters asook n kort geskiedenis van die onderskeie metodes word uiteengesit. n Gestruktureerde opsomming van die benadering tot notasielees en die onderskeie metodes se fondasies en metodologieë word bespreek. Die pedagogiese materiaal van elke metode word op grond van die bevindinge geanaliseer om sodoende elkeen se benadering tot die aanleer van notasielees te identifiseer en n dieper insig te verskaf. Die bevindinge word gebruik om n vergelyking te tref en aanbevelings te maak ten opsigte van die onderskeie metodes se benadering, met die doel om mekaar te ondersteun of aan te vul.
Dissertation (MMus)--University of Pretoria, 2016.
tm2016
Music
MMus
Unrestricted

Abstract This work studies how ninth grade students of Finnish secondary school interpret sentences using the tools offered by school grammar. My research maps out the ability of students to analyse the content and structure of the sentences. The study is also part of text skills research. Both reading and writing are part of text skills. In order to acquire these, knowledge of language and grammar are required. The material used for the research has been the written tests and interviews of ninth grade secondary school students. I have combined the material acquired by a written test and interviews and I will use them as complimentary forms of material. The written test was taken by hundred students and twenty students were interviewed. The analysis of the material shows that ninth grade secondary school students are able to analyse sentences both in a syntactic and semantic form. They are able to use the knowledge they have learned at school in their interpretations. They however base their interpretations on the general contextual knowledge of the world. Their natural sense of language is also clearly combined into thinking about the semantic and syntactic structure of the sentences. The study also reveals how different models of grammar and researchers have offered different kinds of solutions to sentence analysis and that there are no simple answers to these problems. This diversity and duality is also apparent in pedagogic grammar. The research puts an emphasis on the dialogic approach in teaching and learning of knowledge of language. In order for the student to be able to use the acquired knowledge of language, he or she should be able to use it by application and discussion. This way he or she would learn to analyse and separate texts and would be habituated into a critical reader
Tiivistelmä Tarkastelen tutkimuksessani sitä, miten peruskoulun yhdeksännen luokan oppilaat tulkitsevat lauseita koulukieliopin tarjoamien välineiden avulla. Tutkimukseni kartoittaa oppilaiden kykyä analysoida lauseiden sisältöjä ja rakenteita. Liitän aiheen myös osaksi tekstitaitojen tutkimusta. Tekstitaitoihin kuuluvat sekä hyvä kirjoitus- että lukutaito. Näiden saavuttaminen puolestaan edellyttää sekä kielen että kieliopin tuntemusta. Tutkimusaineistona ovat peruskoulun yhdeksäsluokkalaisten tekemät kirjalliset testit ja heidän haastattelut. Olen yhdistänyt kirjallisen testin ja haastattelun avulla kerätyn aineiston ja käytän niitä toisiaan täydentävinä aineistomuotoina. Kirjallisen testin on tehnyt 100 oppilasta ja haastatteluun on osallistunut 20 oppilasta. Aineistoni analyysi osoittaa, että peruskoulun yhdeksännen luokan oppilaat kykenevät analysoimaan lauseita sekä syntaktisesti että semanttisesti. He osaavat käyttää koulussa oppimaansa tietoa hyväksi tulkinnoissaan. Oppilaat kuitenkin nojautuvat tulkinnoissaan yleiseen kontekstuaaliseen tietoonsa maailmasta. Lisäksi heidän luontainen kielitajunsa yhdistyy selkeästi lauseiden semantiikasta ja syntaktisesta rakenteesta lähtevään pohdiskeluun. Tutkimukseni tuo esiin myös sen, miten eri kielioppimallit ja tutkijat ovat päätyneet erilaisiin ratkaisuihin lauseiden analyysissa ja miten yksiselitteisiä vastauksia lauseanalyysin ongelmiin ei ole. Tämä kirjavuus ja kaksijakoisuus näkyvät myös pedagogisessa kieliopissa. Tutkimuksessani korostuu keskusteleva ote kielitiedon opettamisessa ja oppimisessa. Jotta oppilas pystyisi parhaiten hyödyntämään oppimaansa kielitietoa, hänen pitäisi saada käyttää sitä soveltaen ja keskustellen. Näin hän itse oppisi analysoimaan ja erittelemään tekstejä ja harjaantuisi kriittiseksi lukijaksi

碩士
中原大學
教育研究所
107
Directions Governing for the 12-Year Basic Education Curricular put emphasis on the students’ reading literacy and the ability to think critically to solve problems. As an international language, English is also viewed as an important tool to connect the world and reflect on the global issues. Therefore, the study tries to explore the impact of “self-questioning strategy” on junior high students’ quality of self-questioning, English reading comprehension, and critical thinking skills. Two classes of ninth-graders took part in this quasi-experimental study: the experimental group learned to read by self-questioning strategy while the control group learned by questions asked by the teacher. The results show that the experimental group get significantly better performance than the control group on the quality of self-questioning post-test, but no significant difference on the delayed post-test. As for reading comprehension, though there’s no significant difference on post-test, the experimental group performs much better on the delayed post-test. Unfortunately, there’s no significant difference between two groups on either post-test or delayed post-test of critical thinking skills. On the further relevant analysis, in the experimental group (the self-questioning strategy group), positive correlation is found between critical thinking skills and the quality of self-questioning, and between critical skills and reading comprehension. Furthermore, reading comprehension is also found moderately or highly correlated to the quality of self-questioning. Based on the results, the implication and advices are given for the future study or teaching of “self-questioning strategy”.

碩士
國立臺中教育大學
教育學系教育行政與管理碩士在職專班
104
The main purpose of this study was to adopt the youth novels and explore the sixth-graders’ critical thinking skills on the concept of authority in campus. The researcher adopted action research and used the examples from the daily lives and youth novels by critical thinking teaching strategies. The action research process of curriculum design included two cycles. The researcher chose a sixth graders’ class in an elementary school in Taichung by purposive sampling approach. The researcher started the courses from December 2015 to March 2016, a total of 20 weeks. There were 29 students that participated in this research. The researcher collected the datas by interviews, observations, teaching reflection notes, and analyzed the data to understand the process of the implementation of action research. The researcher interpreted the pupils’ performance and attitudes as well as the researcher’s professional development and reflections. The main conclusions are as following: 1. The teacher as researcher used the youth novels and examples from the daily lives to guide and help the pupils to improve their critical thinking skills on the concept of authority in campus. 2. The researcher used the interactive dialogue teaching can improve both the teachers’ and pupils’ sills of critical thinking and concept clarification. 3. The researcher used effective cooperatice learning through group discussions to encourage pupils to think critically. 4. The researcher increased the pupils’ active exploring and curiosity for knowledge by teaching of reading youth novels. 5. While the teachers led students’ explorations, they should clarify the issues steps by steps. 6. Accoeding to the results, the participants had positive attitudes while the teacher taught the critical thinking by youth novels. Finally, the researcher discussed the findings and suggested some points for those who using the youth novels to improve the pupils’s critical thinking skills in the future studies.

Title: Reading as an Instrument for Education of Critical Reading at Lower Secondary School Level Author: Renata Bromová Department: Department of English language and ELT Methodology, Faculty of Arts, Charles University Supervisor: Prof., PhDr. Bohuslav Mánek, CSc. Abstract This thesis deals with the topic of reading as an instrument of critical reading; which enables training of critical reading within teaching English as a part of lower secondary education. Critical reading is consired to be an important part of general education due to the fact that critical reading and thinking as the highest form of work with information gathered from written texts are included in school curriculum and they work as key competences. Research of the thesis maps experience of teachers as well as students with critical reading within English language education and consequently verifies efficiency of systematic work with foreign language text as the means of critical reading. The research is divided into two parts. The quantitative part submits implementation rate of critical reading methods in the English lessons and the qualitative part introduces methodical materials prepared for practical realisation of critical reading practice including mentoring and evaluation of this methodical material. Data collection of both...

This thesis deals with the before-, during- and after- reading activities when working with text in teaching literature in grades 6-9. The first part describes results from testing the critical literacy of Czech students in the PISA 2009 international comparison, as well as levels of critical literacy and its place in the Framework Education Programme for Elementary Education. The reasons for using these activities and examples of them are also discussed. In the practical part, I carried out research using questionnaires to find out if and how often teachers use these types of activities and I have provided examples of those used. Next I wanted to find out which types of readers the teachers use and how these readers contribute to a student's reading literacy development.

This thesis deals with the use of innovative teaching methods and instructional strategies to support and develop literacy at the first grade of primary school. The theoretical part describes the changes in education related to curricular reform, also the change the objectives and the content of education towards the formation and development of key competencies, to prepare students for real life. This paper introduces the concept of contemporary Czech language and literature, its inclusion in the National Curriculum for Basic Education. The theoretical part focuses on the concept of literacy, reading literacy defined criteria. It also discusses the methods of critical thinking, which contribute to the development of reading skills. It also describes the course "Promoting literacy", which the author of the thesis completed in 2011. Research section presents action research, where the author verifies the theoretical knowledge of new specific methods and instructional strategies to promote literacy in practice. Research validates the effectiveness of innovative methods in terms of the development of key competencies for learning in terms of reading literacy criteria. It also examines whether these methods contribute to the education of students, whether helping to meet the objectives of cognitive...

The thesis is focused on the programme Reading and Writing for Critical Thinking (RWCT) and its influence on the pupil's communication skills. The theoretical part provides factual information relating to the topic. It describes communication, communication skills, the status of communication in the Framework Education Programme for Primary Education and summarizes the information about the programme RWCT, its objectives, content and methods. The practical part deals with the influence of methods RWCT on improvment of pupil's communicative skills. It compares lessons at two elementary schools in terms of time, which is spended with pupil's communication, at which they have to express their own thoughts and opinions.