The Effects of Expository Text Structure Instruction on the Reading Outcomes of 4th and 5th Graders Experiencing Reading Difficulties

Authors

Janet J. Bohaty, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow

Date of this Version

5-2015

Document Type

Article

Citation

Bohaty, J. J. (2015). The effects of expository text structure instruction on the reading outcomes of 4^th and 5^th graders experiencing reading difficulties. Doctoral Dissertation. University of Nebraska, Lincoln.

Comments

A DISSERTATION Presented to the Faculty of The Graduate College at the University of Nebraska In Partial Fulfillment of Requirements For the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Major: Educational Studies (Special Education), Under the Supervision of Professor J. Ron Nelson. Lincoln, Nebraska: May, 2015

Copyright (c) 2015 Janet J. Bohaty

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of a standard protocol supplemental expository text structure intervention (i.e., Structures) on 45 4^th and 5^th graders experiencing reading difficulties. Students were enrolled in six K-8 parochial schools located in a Midwestern suburban city. Within classrooms, students were randomly assigned to Structures intervention or a business-as-usual control condition. Students in the Structures condition were taught to identify and discriminate among the five text structures used by authors of expository text (Meyer, 1975, 1985): description, sequence, cause/effect, compare/contrast, and problem/solution. Students in the business-as-usual control condition participated in the same activities or instruction provided by their respective classroom teachers. At post-test, experimental students (n = 24) in the experimental condition significantly outperformed control students (n = 21) on a proximal (i.e., linked directly with the instructional focus of the intervention) researcher-created measure assessing the ability of students to identify text structures (d = 0.94). Experimental students did not significantly outperform controls on a distal (i.e., not linked directly with the instructional focus of the intervention) researcher-created measure assessing expository reading comprehension (d = 0.14) or on a delayed distal norm-referenced measure of expository reading comprehension (d = -0.11). The results, practical implications, and limitations are discussed.

Adviser: J Ron Nelson