Purpose

• The purpose of this study is to investigate the efficacy of using arts-integrated programming as a way to teach and evaluate global reading comprehension strategies among less proficient readers.

Research Questions

• Can less proficient (grade three and four) readers improve their comprehension of written narratives by participating in a program that uses arts-integrated, global/interpretive reading comprehension strategies?
  
  
• Can arts-integration be used as an effective tool for both instructing and evaluating students' comprehension of narrative texts?

Theoretical Framework

• Schema theory
  e.g. Anderson & Pearson, 1984; Anderson, 1977; Bartlett, 1932; Rumelhart, 1980; Tierney & Cunningham, 1984
  
• Reader Response theory
  e.g. Benton, 1992; Iser, 1978; Fish, 1980; Purves, Rogers & Soter, 1995; Rosenblatt, 1978
  
• Socio-cognitive constructivist theory
  e.g. Piaget, 1983; Vygotsky, 1978
  
• Multiple literacies and Multiliteracies Pedagogies
  e.g. Cope & Kalantzis, 2000; Eisner, 1998; Kress, 2000; Kress & Jewitt, 2003; The New London Group, 2000;

Proficiency

• active meaning-makers
  
    e.g. Iser, 1978; Keene & Zimmerman, 1997; Pearson, 2003; Smith, 1994; Wells, 1986
  
  
• able to transact with texts
  
    e.g. Rosenblatt, 1978; Wilhelm, 1997
  
  
• able to read simultaneously at different levels
  
    e.g. Booth, 2001; Duffy, 2003; Paris, Wasik, & Turner,1991; Pressley, 1999; Wilhelm, 1997
  
  
• strategic
  
    e.g. Keene & Zimmerman, 1997; Pearson and Fielding, 1994; Pearson, 2003; Pressley, 2002

Global/Interpretive Comprehension Strategies

1. recognizing the setting portrayed
   
   
2. engaging with and visualizing the story narrative
   
   
3. bringing personal knowledge and experience to the text
   
   
4. sequencing story events
   
   
5. understanding the underlying themes or gist of the story.

Methodology

• qualitative multi-case methodology (Merriam, 1998)
  
  
• Evaluative
  
  
• Exploratory

1. Phase I
   
   • January - mid February, 2003
   • Observations, Discussions, Pre-progress interviews
     
     
2. Phase II
   
   • mid February - mid May, 2003
   • Instruction, Discussions, Post-progress interviews
     
     
3. Phase III
   
   • June, 2003
   • Presentation, Delayed-progress interviews, Reflections

Phase I (con't.)
Pre-progress Interviews

1. decoding and fluency
   
   
2. local/literal comprehension
   
   
3. global/interpretive comprehension.

Phase I (con't.)
Outline of the Progress Interview Stages

1. Decoding and Fluency
   
   
   • miscue analysis
   • fluency times
     
     
2. Local/Literal Comprehension
   
   
   • semantic sentence analysis
   • literal comprehension questions
     
     
3. Global/Interpretive Comprehension
   
   
   • collaboratively reading a story
   • artistically representing the story
   • putting what they know about the story back into words or writing

Global/Interpretive Comprehension Questionnaire (p. 1)

Global/Interpretive Comprehension Rubric (p. 1)

•  elaborately communicates (verbally or non-verbally) thoughts about the story's setting (including rich descriptions of the place and the time when the narrative happens)
•  offers (local/literal or beyond the story's narrative) reasoning that supports thoughts about the story's setting
•  demonstrates accuracy
•  provides evidence (verbally or non-verbally) about whether the places or the times change throughout the story
•  uses vocabulary and phrases from the story

•  communicates (verbally or non-verbally) thoughts about the story's setting (including some descriptions of the place and the time when the narrative happens)
•  demonstrates accuracy
•  acknowledges (verbally or non-verbally) when the places or the times change throughout the story

•  attempts to communicate (verbally or non-verbally) some thoughts about the story's setting (including listing the place and the time when the narrative happens)
•  demonstrates some accuracy and some misinterpretation

•  struggles to communicate (verbally or non-verbally) any thoughts about the story's setting
•  misinterprets setting places and times

Phase II

                 DRAW OVER 
 visual art  —>  PICTURE MAPPING COLLAGE 
                 VISUAL POETRY
			 
                 ROLE DRAMA 
    drama    —>  SEQUENCED TABLEAUX 
                 INSIDE/OUTSIDE CIRCLE
			 
                 MUSICAL GIST 
    music    —>  LYRIC DANCING/LYRIC DRAWING
                 SOUND EFFECTS

Phase III

• a presentation of the instructional sessions was performed for the grade 3 class
  
  
• because of timing issues the grade 4 class decided not to have a presentation

Phase III (con't.)
Delayed-Progress Interview

1. What did you like about my classes?
   
   
2. What was more difficult?
   
   
3. What reading comprehension strategies did we talk about during our time together?
   
   
4. Did you know about these strategies before I came?
   
   
5. Are you able to use these strategies? Did you learn to incorporate these strategies when you read?
   
   
6. Do you have any questions about how to use these strategies when you read?
   
   
7. What did you think of the arts-based activities?
   
   
8. Do you think that they helped you learn more about the comprehension strategies?
   
   
9. How many of you liked to read before the classes?
   
   
10. How many of you like to read now?
    
    
11. Do you think you are a good reader? Why?

Phase III (con't.)
Student Reflection Questionnaires

1. Something I liked about this class was . . .
   
   
2. Something I had difficulty with was . . .
   
   
3. I really remember . . .
   
   
4. I thought that using art, drama and music with reading was ________ because . . .
   
   
5. I learned about reading stories. Some of the things I learned were . . .

Findings

• All 12 students became better able to comprehend written narratives by participating in this arts-integrated program.
  
• Can arts-integration be used as an effective tool for instructing and evaluating students' comprehension of narrative texts?

• Arts-Integration Provides Opportunities to Collaborate and Discuss Texts
  
  
• Arts-Integration Provides Opportunities for Students to Become Active Meaning-Makers
  
  
• Arts-Integration Provides Opportunities for Multi-Modal Expression
  
  
• Arts-Integration Provides Opportunities for Students to Become Reflective