El Blog-o #4

Research Question: How do secondary Spanish teachers promote reading proficiency? What kinds of reading materials are used in the classroom, how is reading incorporated into grammar and writing lessons, what are reading strategies used during instruction, and how are proficiency and/or comprehension assessed? Subjects – 6-8 high school Spanish teachers in Winston-Salem; all who teach different levels of Spanish

Measures – Teachers will be interviewed using research-designed interview questions. Class periods of Spanish 1-AP will be observed to compare and contrast reading strategies and texts used in the classrooms.

Procedures – Interviews will be audio recorded. A focus group may be used. Questions will focus on areas such as: What types of reading materials do you use in the classroom? Do you incorporate pre-reading, reading, and post-reading techniques while instructing reading? How do you incorporate pre-reading, reading, and post-reading techniques? How do you teach grammar through reading passages? Do you use collaborative techniques to allow students time for cooperative learning while reading? How do you assess comprehension of texts? What level of comprehension do you look for? How do you stimulate students' schemas before beginning reading passages? Do you collaborate with teachers who teach higher/lower levels of Spanish to ensure that reading techniques are shared and built upon throughout students' careers?

Analysis – Interviews and field notes will be coded according to the Mac method. From the coding, general themes will be extracted and traced using Inspiration. Researcher is looking for common themes: techniques to teach reading, types of texts used, frequency of reading in the classroom, and proficiency and comprehension/assessment of such after completion of passages/texts.