THE EFFECTS OF TEACHING CRITICAL THINKING AND READING COMPREHENSION STRATEGIES ON STUDENTS? WRITING IN DEVELOPMENTAL ENGLISH IN A COMMUNITY COLLEGE Nancy Carolyn Gregory McLendon A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Auburn University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Auburn, Alabama May 10, 2008 iii THE EFFECTS OF TEACHING CRITICAL THINKING AND READING COMPREHENSION STRATEGIES ON STUDENTS? WRITING IN DEVELOPMENTAL ENGLISH IN A COMMUNITY COLLEGE Nancy Carolyn Gregory McLendon Permission is granted to Auburn University to make copies of this dissertation at its discretion, upon request of individuals or institutions and at their expense. The author reserves all publication rights. ______________________________ Signature of Author _______________________________ May 10, 2008 iv VITA Nancy C. G. McLendon was born in Dothan, Alabama, on November 27, 1944, to Marian Glover Gregory and Mack Gregory of Abbeville, Alabama. She graduated from Abbeville High School in 1963 and from Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1967 where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in English and Secondary Education. She then earned a Master of Education degree in reading from the University of South Alabama in Mobile, Alabama, in 1986. She has taught English and reading in public schools for over twenty-two years; eighteen of those are in the Alabama College System. v DISSERTATION ABSTRACT THE EFFECTS OF TEACHING CRITICAL THINKING AND READING COMPREHENSION STRATEGIES ON STUDENTS? WRITING IN DEVELOPMENTAL ENGLISH IN A COMMUNITY COLLEGE Nancy Carolyn Gregory McLendon Doctor of Philosophy, May 10, 2008 (M.Ed. University of South Alabama, 1986) (B.A. Samford University, 1967) 159 typed pages Directed by Bruce A. Murray The setting for this study was a community college in southeast Alabama, and the purpose was to determine whether the teaching of reading comprehension and critical thinking strategies along with English grammar and writing improved students? writing performance on a final in-class essay. Two intact classes of developmental English students were randomly assigned to a control group or treatment group. The control class received grammar and writing instruction, the same instruction as all English 093 students at the college. The treatment class also received grammar and writing instruction, but the instructor added reading comprehension and critical thinking vi instruction for the treatment group. Instruction time was the same for both groups; therefore, the control group received extra grammar exercises in lieu of the critical thinking and reading comprehension instruction. Data analyses revealed a statistically significant difference in the critical thinking scores for the treatment group; however, no statistically significant differences were noted between the two groups on the writing assessment. At posttest, a correlation was found to exist between the treatment group?s vocabulary scores on the Nelson-Denny Reading Test and the critical thinking scores. The results, although not statistically significant for reading and essay writing scores, did indicate differences, but the small sample sizes did not yield statistically significant differences for the two. The treatment group?s retention in the class was a noticeably higher percentage (63 % for control group and 83 % for the treatment group); however, these differences failed to yield a statistical significance. Further studies are needed in order to explore the possibilities of obtaining statistically significant results with larger sample sizes. viii Style manual used: American Psychological Association Style Manual, 5th Edition __________________________________________________________________ Computer software used: SPSS 11.5 for data analysis; Microsoft Word 2007 for word processing. ix TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................xii CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................1 Statement of the Problem ........................................................................................3 Rationale for the Study............................................................................................3 Research Questions .................................................................................................4 Brief History of the Problem ...................................................................................6 Current Issues in Developmental Education ...........................................................7 Definition of Terms ...............................................................................................10 Critical Thinking ...................................................................................................13 CHAPTER II. LITERATURE REVIEW ..........................................................................19 Basic Writing?1970s to Present .........................................................................19 Current Research in Developmental Education ...................................................32 Reading Comprehension Instruction ....................................................................34 Reading-Writing Integration and Developmental Education ...............................36 Reading-Writing Integration Literature Synthesis ...............................................39 Precautions for Reading-Writing Integration .......................................................42 Reading-Writing Integration: First Graders .........................................................42 Reading-Writing Integration: Third Graders........................................................44 x Reading-Writing Integration: 1st Middle School...................................................44 Reading-Writing Integration: 2nd Middle School..................................................46 Gleason Study #1?Reading-Writing....................................................................49 Gleason Study #2?Reading-Writing....................................................................51 Gleason Study #3?Reading Writing....................................................................52 CHAPTER III. METHODOLOGY...................................................................................55 Overview and Purpose of the Study ....................................................................55 Review of Research Questions...........................................................................56 Research Design .................................................................................................57 Setting and Participants ......................................................................................58 Description of Instruments .................................................................................60 Description of Intervention.................................................................................65 Data Collection and Analysis .............................................................................75 Data Analyses.....................................................................................................76 CHAPTER IV. DATA ANALYSIS and RESULTS.........................................................84 Review of Research Questions..........................................................................84 Data Analyses and Results ................................................................................86 CHAPTER V. SUMMARY, DISCUSSION, AND RECOMMENDATIONS .............101 Summary of Study..........................................................................................101 Review of Research Questions.......................................................................102 Discussion.......................................................................................................103 Implications ....................................................................................................112 Limitations......................................................................................................119 xi Conclusion......................................................................................................121 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................123 APPENDIX A. Critical Thinking Rubric........................................................................140 APPENDIX B Composition Quality Rubric. ..................................................................141 APPENDIX C. Revised IRB Consent Form for Participation ........................................142