Study of Teacher Preparation in Early Reading Instruction Survey

Study of Teacher Preparation in Early Reading Instruction

Teacher Preparation Program Survey

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Survey Background Information

1. University Name: _________________________________

2. Gender: M F

3. Age:

___20 to 21

___22 to 23

___24 to 25

___26 to 29

___30 +

4. a. Are you Hispanic or Latino?

___Yes

___No

b. Which of the following best describes you? Please select one or more.

___American Indian or Alaska Native

___Asian

___Black or African American

___Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander

___White

5. What is your overall GPA?

___3.7-4.0 (A or 90-100)

___3.3-3.6 (B+ or 87-89)

___3.0-3.2 (B or 83-86)

___2.7-2.9 (B- or 80-82)

___2.3-2.6 (C+ or 77-79)

___2.0-2.2 (C or 73-76)

___1.7-1.9 (C- or 70-72)

___1.6 or below (D-F or 0-69)

___I do not recall my overall GPA.

6. What is GPA for only the courses taken in the field of Education?

___3.7-4.0 (A or 90-100)

___3.3-3.6 (B+ or 87-89)

___3.0-3.2 (B or 83-86)

___2.7-2.9 (B- or 80-82)

___2.3-2.6 (C+ or 77-79)

___2.0-2.2 (C or 73-76)

___1.7-1.9 (C- or 70-72)

___1.6 or below (D-F or 0-69)

___I do not recall my Education GPA.

7. What was your combined SAT score (verbal and math)?

___1400 or higher

___1300-1390

___1200-1290

___1100-1190

___1000-1090

___900-990

___800-890

___790 or lower

___I do not recall my score.

___I did not take the SAT.

8. What was your ACT score?

___32+

___29-31

___26-28

___24-25

___21-23

___19-20

___16-18

___15 or lower

___I do not recall my score.

___I did not take the ACT.

9. What was your combined GRE score (verbal and quantitative)?

___1400 or higher

___1300-1399

___1200-1299

___1100-1199

___1000-1099

___900-999

___800-899

___799 or lower

___I do not recall my score.

___I did not take the GRE.

10. How many times have you taken each of the following Praxis tests?

    1. Praxis I: Pre-Professional Skills Assessments (PPST) 0 1 2 3+

2. Praxis II: Subject Assessments, Principles of Learning and Teaching (PLT) Tests and/or Teaching Foundations Tests 0 1 2 3+

3. Praxis III: Classroom Performance Assessments 0 1 2 3+

11. Have you passed any of the following Praxis tests?

    1. Praxis I: Pre-Professional Skills Assessments (PPST)

___ have not taken the test Y N

2. Praxis II: Subject Assessments, Principles of Learning and Teaching (PLT) Tests and/or Teaching Foundations Tests

___ have not taken the test Y N

3. Praxis III: Classroom Performance Assessments

___ have not taken the test Y N

12. I took a different and/or additional test for certification or licensure. Y N

13. In what year will you graduate from your current program?

___ 2007

___ 2008 or later

13. Select the degree type that is closest to the one you are currently working toward:

___BA/BS Elementary Education

___BA/BS Early Childhood Education

___BA/BS Combined Early Childhood/Elementary Education

___MA/MS/MEd Elementary Education or Curriculum and Instruction

___MA/MS/MEd Early Childhood Education

___MA/MS/MEd Combined Early Childhood/Elementary Education

13. Do you have another college degree, other than the one you’re working toward? Y N

1. If yes, indicate which one/s below:

___AA/AS

___BA/BS

___MA/MS/MEd

b. Is your other degree in Education?  Y  N  not applicable

13. Prior to entering your current degree program, were you already certified or endorsed in any of these areas? (check all that apply)

___Not currently certified

___Reading specialist

___7^th grade & up

___Speech/language therapy

___ESL, ESOL, ELL, or LEP

___Elementary education

___Early childhood education

___Special education

13. If you are already a certified teacher, how many years of teaching experience do you have?

___Not currently certified

___Less than 1 school year

___1

___2

___3

___4 or more

13. How many “methods for teaching reading” and/or “foundations of reading development” courses, not counting courses such as children’s literature or teaching language arts, have you completed? Please count completed courses and those you are currently taking.

___0

___1

___2

___3

___4 or more

13. Have you had any education course or courses on any of the following topics?

(check all that apply):

___Teaching early reading, emergent literacy, teaching reading in grades PreK-3 or K-3

___Teaching reading in the middle grades, teaching intermediate reading, teaching reading in grades 3-6

___Teaching reading in grades K-6 or 1-6

___Teaching reading in the content areas

___Children’s literature

___Assessment, diagnosis, and/or evaluation of children’s reading

___Remediation of children’s reading problems

___Teaching reading using technology

___Foundations of oral language, oral language development, linguistics

___Teaching language arts

___Teaching writing

___Teaching reading to English language learners

13. In how many of your education courses did you have assignments that you completed in an elementary classroom (e.g., observing a class, teaching a lesson, leading a small group activity, etc.)?

___0

___1

___2

___3

___4 or more

13. Were classroom observations a required part of your program? Y N

13. How long does your student teaching experience last? (This is when you completed all of the planning and taught all subject areas.)

___ half year or 1 semester

___ full year or 2 semesters

___ more than 2 semesters

In what grade(s) did you complete the following field experiences? Please check all that apply.

		Grade Levels
		PreK	K - 2	3 - 4	5 - 6
23.	Before you completed your student teaching, did you observe in classrooms, teach small groups, tutor students, or teach for part of a day?
24.	Have you completed or are you in the process of completing your student teaching placement?

25. a. Do you intend to teach as an elementary school teacher next year?

___Yes

___No

b. If you answered YES to question 25a, what grade do you intend to teach?

1. K

2. 1

3. 2

4. 3

5. 4

6. 5

7. other (please specify__________________)

PRE-SERVICE TEACHER SURVEY

Exposure/Emphasis

There are many components of learning to read and a variety of strategies for teaching reading. We would like to find out what you have learned about teaching reading from your coursework and your field experiences.

Part I: Early Reading Instruction Concepts

First, please think about your coursework and field experiences in general. Then, please read the following questions and circle the most appropriate response.

1. Have you learned about what students must know and be able to do in order to:

a. Focus on and manipulate phonemes in spoken words? Yes No

b. Associate letters and the sounds they make to identify words? Yes No

c. Read orally with appropriate speed, accuracy, and expression? Yes No

d. Understand the meanings of words and learn new words? Yes No

e. Understand what they read? Yes No

Part II: Coursework

Next think about courses you took in your current degree program that focused specifically on reading and literacy. Please rate the degree of emphasis that your program placed on the strategies listed below. Keep in mind that you will have the opportunity to rate the emphasis on these strategies in your Field Experiences next. The following is a guide for rating emphasis in your coursework:

Coursework: Degree of Emphasis Scale
None	This was not addressed in any of my courses.
Little	This was addressed briefly in one course.
Moderate	This was addressed over several class periods in one or two of my courses.
Considerable	I took a course entirely devoted to this topic.

	None	Little	Moderate	Considerable
Teaching children how to isolate, identify, separate, and blend sounds in spoken words.
Teaching children to use phonics skills to figure out how to pronounce unfamiliar words.
Teaching children to monitor how well they understand what they read and to correct problems as they occur.
Using a variety of methods to teach children the meanings of words, including direct and indirect (conversational) instruction, and multiple exposures and repetition.
Identifying the words in a text that your children do not know and using their background knowledge to help them figure out the words’ meanings.
Making instructional decisions based on evaluations of children’s oral reading fluency.
Teaching children a variety of strategies for understanding the text they read, such as using graphic organizers, predicting, question asking and answering, and identifying the main ideas.
Teaching phonics to children in a systematic way, with a series of skills and activities.
Teaching children to recognize and name letters.
	None	Little	Moderate	Considerable
Having children repeatedly read the same text aloud to improve their speed, accuracy, and expression.
Teaching reading with both fiction and nonfiction reading materials.
Relationships between elements of reading and oral language.
Relationships among elements of reading or different types of reading skills.
Examined materials and/or participated in class discussions about using core reading programs (or basals), such as Harcourt Brace, Houghton Mifflin, McGraw Hill, Open Court, Scott Foresman, or SRA Reading Mastery
Examined materials and/or participated in class discussions about using literature-based programs, such as Fountas and Pinnell’s Guided Reading, Rigby materials, Scholastic Guided Reading, or the Wright Group materials
Examined materials and/or participated in class discussions about using supplemental programs, such as Corrective Reading, Great Leaps, LiPS, Saxon Phonics, or Voyager
Examined materials and/or participated in class discussions about using school-wide literacy models, such as First Steps, Literacy Collaborative, or Success for All

Part III: Field Experience

Now, think about the various experiences you had in elementary classrooms during your current degree program: These experiences may be times in which you observed, did a practicum, or did your student teaching. Please try not to focus on classroom experiences you have had outside your current degree program. Using the scale below, mark the appropriate box that rates the emphasis of your experience of the following.

Field Experience: Degree of Emphasis Scale
None	I did not observe this while in elementary classrooms.
Little	This was observed one or two times while in elementary classrooms.
Moderate	This was observed many times (3 to 9 times) while in elementary classrooms.
Considerable	This was observed more than 10 times while in elementary classrooms.

	None	Little	Moderate	Considerable
Teaching children how to isolate, identify, separate, and blend sounds in spoken words
Teaching children to use phonics skills to figure out how to pronounce unfamiliar words.
Teaching children to monitor how well they understand what they read and to correct problems as they occur.
Using a variety of methods to teach children the meanings of words, including direct and indirect (conversational) instruction, and multiple exposures and repetition.
Identifying the words in a text that your children do not know and using their background knowledge to help them figure out the words’ meanings.
Making instructional decisions based on evaluations of children’ oral reading fluency.
Teaching children a variety of strategies for understanding the text they read, such as using graphic organizers, predicting, question asking and answering, and identifying the main ideas.
Teaching phonics to children in a systematic way, with a series of skills and activities.
Teaching children to recognize and name letters.

	None	Little	Moderate	Considerable
Having children repeatedly read the same text aloud to improve their speed, accuracy, and expression.
Teaching reading with both fiction and nonfiction reading materials.
Relationships between elements of reading and oral language.
Relationships among elements of reading or different types of reading skills.
Examined materials and/or participated in class discussions about using core reading programs (or basals), such as Harcourt Brace, Houghton Mifflin, McGraw Hill, Open Court, Scott Foresman, or SRA Reading Mastery
Examined materials and/or participated in class discussions about using literature-based programs, such as Fountas and Pinnell’s Guided Reading, Rigby materials, Scholastic Guided Reading, or the Wright Group materials
Examined materials and/or participated in class discussions about using supplemental programs, such as Corrective Reading, Great Leaps, LiPS, Saxon Phonics, or Voyager
Examined materials and/or participated in class discussions about using school-wide literacy models, such as First Steps, Literacy Collaborative, or Success for All

Feelings of Preparedness

New teachers enter their own classrooms for the first time feeling prepared about their abilities to teach in certain areas and less prepared in others. Please rate your feelings of preparedness to use the activities below in your own classroom for the first time.

	Not at all prepared	Somewhat prepared	Mostly prepared	Definitely prepared
Teaching children how to isolate, identify, separate, and/or blend sounds in spoken words
Teaching children to use phonics skills to figure out how to pronounce unfamiliar words.
Teaching children to monitor how well they understand what they read and to correct problems as they occur.
Using a variety of methods to teach children the meanings of words, including direct and indirect (conversational) instruction, and multiple exposures and repetition.
Identifying the words in a text that children do not know and using their background knowledge to help them figure out the words’ meanings.
Making instructional decisions based on evaluations of children’s oral reading fluency.
Teaching children a variety of strategies for understanding the text they read, such as using graphic organizers, predicting, question asking and answering, and identifying the main ideas.
Teaching phonics to children in a systematic way, with a series of skills and activities.
Teaching children to recognize and name letters.
Having children repeatedly read the same text aloud to improve their speed, accuracy, and expression.
Teaching reading with both fiction and nonfiction reading materials.
For the items below, rate your overall feelings of preparedness.
	Not at all prepared	Somewhat prepared	Mostly prepared	Definitely prepared
12. How prepared do you feel to teach Kindergartners and 1st graders the essential skills of reading?
13. How prepared do you feel to teach 2nd and 3rd graders the essential skills of reading?