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    The effectiveness of a small group intervention for struggling readers in Year 4 : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Educational Psychology, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2015) Bisset, Arthur Gardner
    The purpose of the current study was to examine the effectiveness of a small group literacy intervention for low-achieving readers in Year 4. The present study set out to determine if an explicit and systematic reading programme will show accelerated gains in word reading skills that is superior to the conventional school approach to reading instruction based on the multiple-cues method. The teacher delivered this intervention as part of the group’s weekly reading instruction over a ten-week school term. The study employed a modified version of a five-step instructional programme originally designed by Blachman et al. (2004) during their intensive reading remediation study with second and third graders with a one year follow up. The intervention programme focused on the phonological and orthographic connections in words and text-based reading. The design of the study involved a whole class screening process using the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills 6th Edition (Good & Kaminski, 2007). The intention of the screening process was to select the ten participants with the highest requirements for strategic teacher support. A pre-test-intervention-post-test design was used to compare the effects of the intervention programme using a set of word reading skills. Due to the small sample size of the present study a non-parametric test (The Mann-Whitney –U Test) and sets of pre-test and post-test difference scores were used to report statistically significant gains made by the intervention group. The key findings from the present study suggest that the intervention group gained significantly better results in terms of word reading measures in addition to some generalised word reading skills not included in the programme. The findings highlight the importance of differentiating reading instruction and using explicit teaching in word reading skills for older struggling readers.
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    What effect does teaching a generic planning strategy have on student writing? : a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Educational Psychology at Massey University, Manawatu, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2014) Salisbury, Andrew Raymond
    Writing is viewed as applied metacognition. Metacognition is conceptualised as a conscious use of strategies to carry out a process. By using planning as a central metacognitive tool, the researcher has examined the link between the quality of student writing and the use of a generic planning strategy. Participants were 11-year-old students in mainstream classes at an intermediate school in New Zealand. Results indicate that there is a link. This link is discussed in terms of the cognitive construct of conditional knowledge. Conditional knowledge is defined as knowing why, when and where an action is necessary or useful. It is also explored as a social construct of roles and interactions between hypothetical selves. Recommendations are made for further exploration of generic planning instruction. Keywords: metacognition, writing, e-asTTle, planning, primary
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    Student perspectives and roles in an inquiry mathematics classroom : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2013) Leach, Generosa
    This study examines the perspectives and roles of students aged 9-10 years old learning mathematics in an inquiry classroom. It builds on previous work which has advocated students learning mathematics through collaborative interaction as opposed to passive transmission of knowledge and skills. In this study the students’ beliefs about what they consider to be important in learning mathematics is compared to the ways in which they engage in mathematics activity. The varying roles students assume while learning mathematics and how this affects their agency are considered. This investigation is situated in an inquiry classroom. A sociocultural perspective provides the framework for the classroom context. Relevant literature is examined to provide a rationale for how students engaged in mathematical reasoning within this environment. The pedagogic approach of the teacher in developing effective student participation in mathematical reasoning by facilitating the even distribution of authority in the classroom is offered as an alternate to customary practice. Active student engagement in mathematical discussion and debate are all viewed as highly important for the enhancement of mathematical understanding. A qualitative research approach was implemented. The case study supported a classroom based investigation. Data were collected through individual interviews, participant and video-recorded observations and classroom artefacts. To develop the findings as one classroom case study, on-going and retrospective analyses of data were made. Significant changes were revealed in the relationship between the students’ espoused beliefs about learning mathematics and their enacted beliefs. The investigation illustrated that students were able to develop positive positional identities through active engagement in mathematical reasoning. The interaction patterns created in the classroom explicitly affected the construction of mathematical knowledge. From these findings insights are made into the type of environment which supports enhanced mathematics learning.
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    Children's responses to a picturebook during a small group, co-constructed read-aloud : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2012) Braid, Christine L
    This study investigated the responses that 21 nine and ten year old children gave to a picturebook read-aloud in small groups within their classroom. The group sessions involved a co-constructed approach based on the children's interactions with the book and each other. The research questions focused on the ways the children responded to the narrative as well as on how they built on each other's ideas to co-construct meaning. The study looked at these questions in the context of the small group and co-constructed nature of the event. The picturebook Luke’s Way of Looking by Nadia Wheatley and Matt Ottley (1999) was read aloud to each group and the responses and discussion from these sessions were recorded. The sessions produced rich data, both in quantity and quality. A framework of analysis based on and adapted from the extensive work of Lawrence Sipe (2008) allowed the data to be categorised, analysed, and discussed. The framework was adapted by considering aspects of the SOLO taxonomy (Biggs & Collis, 1982) as well as the picturebook elements that the children used for their response. The results are presented in relation to this framework. The findings revealed that the children engaged with the picturebook in ways that enhanced their literary understandings and their thinking about a book. Using the framework of analysis showed that the children's responses fitted into all the categories that Sipe (2008) established for literary understanding and in a spread that was similar to the responses from his study. The children interpreted the messages from the picturebook by using both the words and the pictures and they achieved complex levels of thought by interacting with each other and with the book. The picturebook enabled them to make inferences and draw conclusions based on how the illustrator used different elements to convey a message. In particular, the children used colour, light, and symbol to explore ideas about possible meanings in the illustrations. The small group setting enabled them to engage with the book and with each other with ease. The co-constructed approach meant children shared their ideas as they formed them and they built on each other's ideas to a complex level of thinking. The findings provide evidence that carefully selected picturebooks are an appropriate resource for nine and ten year old children. The findings also show that the small group and the co-constructed approach are important considerations for developing discussions that value the child's voice in the classroom context. These results have implications for school wide literacy policy and classroom practice.