An Investigation of Struggling Learners' Motivation to Read

• Main Author: Whited, Jennifer E.
• Language: EN
• Published: University of Louisiana at Lafayette 2016
• Subjects: Language arts|Speech therapy|Special education
• Online Access: http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10003755

<p> This investigation explores the manifestation of motivation as well as the systematic strategies that speech-language pathology graduate students employ to facilitate motivation in struggling learners. A qualitative paradigm was utilized to study three participant dyads, each one consisting of a child with a language disorder and a speech-language pathology graduate student. The primary source of data was video transcript analysis of a total of 17 representative shared reading sessions. The findings of this study demonstrate that motivation to participate in shared reading is manifested in the continued willingness of the child to participate in shared reading and that motivation was facilitated by the graduate clinician via a variety of therapeutic strategies. </p><p> Eleven common patterns emerged. 1) motivation as sustained participation, 2) a distinct set of functional therapeutic strategies were employed, 3) a wide range of therapeutic strategies were employed, 4) variable but systematic application of the different strategies, 5) interweaving of bursts of mediation and singular episodes of mediation, 6) utilization of collaborative therapeutic strategies/culture of co-investigation, 7) a high level of support prior to turn allocation, 8) successful communicative and reading attempts, 9) responsive collaboration by participants, 10) engagement even in the presence of struggle, and 11) rare occurrence of avoidant behaviors. Results indicate that motivation to engage in learning to read was the result of a wide range of instructional, evaluative, and interactional strategies that worked together to promote motivation to read. In response to these strategies, each participant produced responses that were overwhelmingly successful and even expected. These key variables helped to facilitate therapeutic interaction that was characterized by motivation and success.</p><p> Ultimately, it is apparent that motivation to read is best facilitated by complex, multi-faceted strategy use led by instructional strategies with a significant presence of evaluative and interactional strategies. It can be concluded that the participant behaviors that indicate motivation include primarily successful, expected responses that were facilitated by meaningful, strategic interactional devices.</p>