How to Formulate your Research Questions
Problem Statement
Purpose Statement
Research question 1 and how it aligns with your problem statement and purpose
Research question 2 and how it aligns with your problem statement and purpose
Research question 3 and how it aligns with your problem statement and purpose
Students are attending school primarily to be taught to read, in order to continue their education and be able to read to learn other subjects of interest. A good reading program has a clear mission, set goals and objectives and is effective. When children do not learn to read well, it leads to a lifetime of academic struggle. It leads to a lifetime of struggle, period. Struggling in school has these students gravitating toward the streets and the fluke possibility of earning a decent living without a formal education. There is clearly some correlation between academic struggle and living in poverty. This Alternate Academy is satiated with dropouts, criminals, addicts and unemployed alcoholics. They are relegated to a life of existing below the curve and surviving instead of thriving.
Parents of struggling readers are likely to struggle specifically with reading and learning in general. There have been studies done that show the parent’s’ reading disability to predict a higher than normal rate of reading disability in their children, nearly 6 times actually (Finucci et al., 1985; Fowler and Cross, 1986; Scarborough, 1990). These parents are most likely working at a low paying job for many hours a day. It is therefore unnecessary to further burden them with teaching a child to do something that is difficult for the parent (Fursman 2008). Therefore, this reading method needs to be something that the child can continue at home without assistance from their parents.
The United States has spent at least $10,000 a year on educating elementary students. (NCES 2018). According to the World FactBook, the United States has a literacy rate of 99 percent. Teachers in the classroom know this is far from the case. The National Center for Education Statistics says that 79% of the US adults have skills to sufficiently complete tasks requiring reading. The NCES also posted scores for K12 students from 1992 through 2019, which showed that high school seniors were reading their best in 1992, at a proficiency rate 58%. Grades 4 and 8 had their best year in 2013, with 44% and 53% proficiency, respectively. A study by the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies from 2011 to 2014 found that 21% of Americans were illiterate or possessed low-literacy skills, effectively a 79% literacy rate. So how is it possible for the World FactBook to claim that the United States has a literacy rate of f99 percent?
The majority of policy makers in education are middle-aged white men, with next to no experience in an urban classroom (US News October 24, 2017). These policymakers have passed the No Child Left Behind act, which requires that federal funding be spent on research based programs. The problem is that they did not require that research to be effective. The difference between research based and evidence based is that evidence based research actually shows that the program is effective and has a positive effect or outcome via this strategy. Previous policies are as ineffective as their best practices and will simply not help educate these newest scholars. Urban readers come to school with a different set of issues and criteria. They often have one parent households, where the head of household works long hours. Children in urban areas are the less affluent and perhaps their families struggle for food. Their parents also do not have the time or energy to read to them at night. These issues prevent them from becoming fluent readers that want to learn all that they can. They come to school with a host of other risk factors that have labeled them a ‘problem reader’. Some were not exposed to the type of literary experiences needed to become good readers. While we may not be able to assist with the problems at home, we are obligated to find the best way to teach these students so that they can continue to be productive citizens in our society.
What I really want to know:
The purpose of this study is to gain insight as to which method of color coding brings about the greatest effectiveness and accuracy in recognizing sight words and Dolch and Fry words for students in grades Kindergarten through second grade. Essentially, which color coding method is most effective in reading fluency in the primary grades.
First question:
What effect does color coding vowels and consonants have on fluency, sight word recognition and accuracy for elementary students? Many classrooms have letter sets in red and blue to differentiate vowels and consonants while working with students. Perhaps a different color combination would be more effective?
Sounds better:
How does color coding vowels and consonants relate to fluency and accuracy for KG to 2nd grade students in Southwest Florida?
What effect does color coding onset and rime have on fluency, sight word recognition and accuracy for elementary students? The Orton-Gillingham method color-codes digraphs, vowel pairs, onset and rime, as well as difficult letters. Is this effective?
The more academic version:
How does color coding using the Orton-Gillingham method relate to fluency and accuracy for KG to 2nd grade students in Southwest Florida?
What effect does color-coding the 44 sounds of the English language with 22 highly contrasting colors have on fluency, sight word recognition and accuracy for elementary students? When learning to read, we are focusing on all of the words. Perhaps a method that color-codes a majority of the sounds in the English language might be more effective.
Sounds smarter:
How does color coding the 44 sounds of the English language with 22 highly contrasting colors relate to fluency and accuracy for KG to 2nd grade students in Southwest Florida?