Text

theses

Reading is the foundation of all learning, but explicit reading instruction declines after fourth grade (Guthrie & Davis, 2003). A struggling reader will falter in grasping the content area curriculum, impeding yearly progress and widening the achievement gap (Dell et al., 2016; Edyburn, 2015). Therefore, preservice teachers need explicit guidance for improving struggling readers’ content literacy skills. Compensatory reading tools are available to assist struggling readers (Dell et al., 2016; MacArthur, Ferretti, Okolo, & Cavalier, 2001); however, little research examines general educators’ use of assistive technology to support diverse learners. The research is particularly weak in examining the intersection of general educators using assistive technology to support struggling readers.

To address this need, a self-guided online course module was developed incorporating the principles of universal design for learning and hosted on Nearpod with a companion website designed in Wix. Situated within the frameworks of transformational learning (Mezirow, 1997) and self-efficacy (Bandura, 1986) this design-based research study was designed to determine the extent to which engagement with a self-guided online course module increased preservice teachers’ sense of efficacy and competence at improving struggling readers’ skills using assistive technology. Using mixed methods, the study examined how the participants reported their sense of efficacy in assisting struggling readers’ access to the content area curriculum, how they expressed their knowledge and attitudes concerning use of assistive technology, and if they demonstrated competence using, integrating, and evaluating use of assistive technology to assist students who struggle with reading in the content areas.

Thirty-eight preservice teachers enrolled in an elementary education literacy methods course engaged with the course module over a four-week period. Key data collection methods included pre- and post-intervention surveys, open-ended journal responses, discussion board posts, section exit tickets, and a final course assessment. The overall findings demonstrate that study participants expressed an improved sense of efficacy towards working with struggling readers and demonstrated competence using and recommending a range of assistive technology tools to support diverse learners reading needs in the content area curriculum.

ETD_10768

Ed.D.

Includes bibliographical references

doi:10.7282/t3-k4dq-mz50

ETD doctoral

The author owns the copyright to this work.