IES Funded Research

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"Examining the Processes and Outcomes of Reading Comprehension" Project

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Standardized reading tests are supposed to measure "comprehension", but these tests vary significantly in the types of skills that they assess. Additionally, while test-taking strategies are widely taught, little research has investigated the effectiveness of these strategies. It is important to understand more about what these tests measure and how to better help students succeed because so much emphasis is placed on standardized tests. This project helps to fill important gaps in the literature about different factors that can affect students' performance on standardized reading tests. 

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What would you do on this project?

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• Help clean and code eye-tracking data using DataViewer software

• Use Excel, G Suite, and SPSS to process and analyze data

• Conduct literature reviews with relevant research

• Practice writing reports in APA format

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Is this project currently accepting students?

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Yes! We will be accepting new students Fall 2021.

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NIH Funded Research

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Our NIH funded research explores the reading and writing abilities of adults with low literacy and how their literacy skills and development compare to those of children and college students. Almost a fifth of the adult population in the U.S. function at or below the lowest levels of literacy (NCES, 2017), but the implications of this are grossly underrepresented in the literature. In our research, we investigate how word complexity and context affect word recognition, reading behavior, and vocabulary acquisition, as well as which literacy components impact the quality of written compositions. 

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"Examining Vocabulary Acquisition Through Incidental Reading and a Morphological Awareness Intervention" Project

 

This project involves collecting reading and vocabulary data from MHC students to assess how they acquire new vocabulary while reading and how an intervention in morphology (how words can be broken down into smaller units of meaning) may impact their performance.

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What would you do on this project?

• Work independently and as part of a team within a research lab environment

• Guide participants through completing online reading and vocabulary assessments

• Gain experience with organizing and scoring data in Excel and G Suite

• Analyze data with SPSS, interpret implications, and report results in APA format

 

 

"Investigating Interactions Between Morphological Skill, Vocabulary Depth, and Writing Proficiency in Written Compositions" Project

 

This project will involve administering a small battery of writing and vocabulary assessments to MHC students to assess how vocabulary knowledge, morphological abilities, and writing proficiency may interact to impact writing quality.

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What would you do on this project?

• Work independently and as part of a team within a research lab environment

• Administer writing and vocabulary assessments directly to participants

• Manage and score large quantities of participant data while adhering to detailed rubrics

• Analyze data with SPSS, interpret implications, and report results in APA format

 

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"Assessing Writing Quality in Adult Learners’ Writing Samples" Project

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We are also working with adult literacy programs in the community to collect writing samples from their students. While this project will likely consist primarily of outreach to sites, organization of data, and development of assessment procedures to examine writing quality, there may also be opportunities to visit these sites and work with the adult learners, either to collect data or to serve as a classroom tutor. The goal of this project is to examine the features of ABE students’ writing and identify trends in their writing quality. These data will help guide recommendations for teaching practices in basic education classrooms.

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What would you do on this project?

• Work independently and as part of a team within a research lab environment

• Collect, organize, and code writing samples from different community sites

• Assist with the creation and implementation of a systematic scoring procedure

• Gain experience with organizing and scoring data in Excel and G Suite

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Are these projects currently accepting students?

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Yes! We will be accepting new students Fall 2021 for each of these projects.