Scott, What I can tell you is that Michael Kischner and I have
had many many students tell us that after doing our grammar class, which includes
diagramming and sentence combining with a focus on syntax, students report
that they are much better readers than they were before. This would seem to
support your idea. But it isn’t real research!
Edith Wollin
From: Assembly for the
Teaching of English Grammar [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Scott
Woods
Sent: Wednesday, November 26, 2008 1:12 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Experimental design help
Dear List: I want to test a technique involving grammar for its
effectiveness in improving reading comprehension. Please let me know
what you think of my design and if you have any suggestions for related
research. I want to test the whether breaking prose into grammatical
chunks and arranging those chunks on the page to show their relationships
improves reading comprehension. The basic idea is that if students can
see the pattern of phrases and clauses in sentences, then they will better
understand the passage. Using brief passages with multiple choice questions, each
student will read some passages in normal prose and others in what I call
"graphic syntax," text with the phrase and clause structure made
clearer. Half the students will do one set, the odd numbers, say, in
normal text and the evens in graphic syntax; the other half will do the
evens in normal text and the odds in graphic syntax. Thus, every
passage and question will have a control group, but the students themselves
don't have to be controlled. I will compare the error rate on each set
to see if there is any large difference. The group would be 112 seventh graders whose median
reading percentile is 91 and median language arts percentile is 95. I did this experiment last year and found a slight
difference in favor of the experimental condition, but I let students take as
much time as they needed and refer back to the text. This time, I will
have them read the passage under timed conditions, then turn the page and
answer the questions under timed conditions. This should more closely
mimic the real conditions of normal reading, where one does not go back to
the text to find information to specific questions. Time pressure
highlights the difference between solid performance and superior performance. A related experiment would include a control group which
does not know much about formal grammar and a group which does, that is,
which has studied and can name and create the phrases and clauses into which
the text is divided. This condition would test the utility of teaching
students to name and create phrases and clauses as an aide to reading comprehension. Any suggestions for changes, clarification, sources? Thanks, |
To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at:
http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select "Join or leave
the list"
Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/