Date of Award
Spring 4-5-2019
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education (EdD)
Department
Education
First Advisor
Dr. Robyne Elder
Second Advisor
Dr. Graham Weir
Third Advisor
Dr. Keri Skeeters
Abstract
The workshop method of teaching in English Language Arts classrooms allowed teachers to be student-centered. Through the method, teachers taught for a specific amount of time and focused on one skill. Students always received independent reading time during the class period. In this mixed-methods study, the researcher investigated the use of the workshop method of teaching and growth in Lexile scores with middle school students. The study began January 2017 and took place in a suburban school district encompassing three middle schools. Thirteen middle school English Language Arts teachers chose to participate and 1,180 student scores were analyzed. The researcher utilized a teacher questionnaire to examine teacher confidence and knowledge of workshop teaching and SRI assessments, to gain the users’ perspective of the two variables examined in this study. Implementation was checked through the use of a classroom observation checklist, completed on each teacher twice, to ensure proper workshop teaching methods were taking place. Also, teachers answered a survey question determining how often they taught using the workshop method of teaching. Through qualitative data, the researcher found teachers positively regarded the workshop method of teaching; however, most teachers were not using all of the components of the workshop method of teaching in the classroom when observed. The quantitative data showed SRI student growth in every classroom. There was no significant difference between teachers who reported using the workshop method five days a week and those who reported using the method less than five days a week. The researcher recommends adding professional development for each teacher through book studies which will allow a focus on the individual needs of each educator. After the professional development iii occurs, a new study should take place for a longer duration of time and include more observations with teacher reflections.
Recommended Citation
Manning, Kelly, "A Mixed-Methods Investigation of the Workshop Model and SRI Scores in the Middle School Setting" (2019). Dissertations. 106.
https://digitalcommons.lindenwood.edu/dissertations/106
Rights
Copyright 2019