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Running head: GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS TO BUILD COMPREHENSION 1
Teachers’ Perceptions of Using Graphic Organizers to Build Comprehension of
Struggling Readers
Jason L. Cotto
LIU Post
GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS TO BUILD COMPREHENSION 2
Abstract
Teachers across the country are experiencing various challenges as they strive to meet the
needs of all students within their classrooms. The use of graphic organizers is one
method of remediating the reading deficiencies of varying subgroups, specifically
students with special needs, English Language Learners (ELL), and struggling readers.
This study explores various researchers definitions of graphic organizers and summarizes
studies that include the use of graphic organizers to build reading comprehension. Two
studies included explored using graphic organizers to better understand cause and effect
and compare and contrast text structures with second and third grade students. Two
global studies are also included and explored the use of graphic organizers with middle
school students with learning disabilities in Ankara, Turkey and adult English as a
Foreign Learners (EFL) in Tehran, Iran. Seven New York City teachers were also
interviewed to gain insight into their experiences with graphic organizers while attending
Kindergarten through high school, completing their teacher education program, and after
entering the Department of Education. After interviewing teachers, I discovered the
participants had very little exposure to graphic organizers when completing their teacher
education program and some didn’t effectively use graphic organizers until their fifth
year teaching. Also, teachers’ perceive English Language Learners (ELL), special needs
students, elementary school students, and readers performing at the lower extremity of
the class as the groups of children who would most benefit from extensive instruction
with graphic organization to build comprehension.
Keywords: graphic organizers, visual displays, graphic displays, text structure,
teachers’ perceptions
Running head: GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS TO BUILD COMPREHENSION 3
Statement of Problem
In the 2013-2014 school year, The New York City Department of Education
(NYCDOE) implemented a new citywide reading curriculum created by Pearson entitled,
ReadyGen. This program was introduced as a comprehensive K-5 core curriculum of
topically related text sets and routines based instruction with the goal of equipping all
NYC teachers and students with the tools and practices necessary to meet the new
expectations of the Common Core Learning Standards. The lessons are designed with the
goal of building independent readers and aim to promote student thinking and
understanding through citation of text-based evidence (Pearson, 2013). However, some
educators might question if ReadyGen meets the needs of the diverse student population
of the NYCDOE.
Department of Education’s Student Population by Subgroup
According to the Office of English Language Learner 2013 Demographic Report,
English Language Learners (ELL’s) make up 14.4% of the entire NYCDOE student
population, as there are about 159, 162 ELL’s enrolled in the school system. The system
has slightly more male than female ELL’s, as 88,567 or 55.6% of ELL’s are male. In
addition, the largest portion of ELL’s move to the United States from: Dominican
Republic (30.8%, or 22,804 students), China (16.4%, or 12, 137 students), Mexico (6.8%,
or 5,041 students), Bangladesh (5.0%, or 3,719 students), Ecuador (4.7%, or 3, 471
students), and Haiti (4.7%, or 3,463 student).
The NYCDOE statistical summary for the 2014-2015 year also indicate that total
number of students enrolled in NYC public school is 985, 695. Of that number, 143, 931
students receive special education services. The services could be provided in a self-
GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS TO BUILD COMPREHENSION 4
contained classroom, integrative collaborative teaching (ICT) classroom, resource room
(SETTS), general education with related services, speech and language services,
occupational therapy, physical therapy, or counseling.
Given that nearly one third of the NYCDOE students receive ELL and/or IEP
services, a curriculum promoting that all children will be equipped with the tools needed
to tackle the CCLS seems a bit premature. Therefore, these subgroups might benefit
from a skilled teacher modifying the existing curriculum to better meet some of their
needs. One way to begin this process is to recognize and plan instruction aligned with
the different learning styles represented within a given classroom.
Multiple Intelligences Theory
Howard Gardner (1983), a professor at Harvard University, created the Multiple
Intelligences (MI) Theory, which stresses the importance of identifying each student’s
intelligences so teachers can accommodate different learners more successfully according
to their orientation to learning. The intelligences include: Visual/Spatial,
Verbal/Linguistic, Mathematical/Logical, Bodily/Kinesthetic, Musical/Rhythmic,
Intrapersonal, Interpersonal, Naturalist, and Existentialist (Gardner, 1983). For the
purpose of this study, the focus will be on Visual/Spatial learning, which incorporates
charts, diagrams, graphic organizers, and/or illustrations that aid students organize data in
some sort of visual representation that allows them to construct meaning.
The major problem of the present study is that the citywide curriculum does not
meet the needs of all children, thus causing teachers to constantly modify lessons
included in the existing curriculum to meet the needs of struggling readers. One tool
Running head: GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS TO BUILD COMPREHENSION 5
teachers can heavily emphasize is the use of graphic organizers to build comprehension
of complex texts.
Defining graphic organizers. As with most reading topics, such as using graphic
organizers, researchers have varying ways to define it. For example, graphic organizers
are defined as visual or graphic displays that show visual interrelationships of
superordinate and subordinate ideas using spatial relationships, geometric shapes, lines,
and arrows to portray the content structure and demonstrate key relationships between
concepts (Darch, C., Carnine, D., & Kameenui, E. J. et al., 1986). This appears to be a
detailed description of a graphic organizer and easily can be applied to many graphic
organizers used in classrooms such as: Semantic webs, Venn diagrams, sequence charts,
story maps, and tree diagrams.
However, a broader way to define a graphic organizer is that GO’s are “visual
representations of information in the text” (Jiang & Garbe, 2007, p. 34). This lends the
meaning and usage to be open for interpretation by researchers.
Regardless of the definition, the ultimate goal of using graphic organizers remains
consistent. Researchers intend to improve the comprehension and retention of concepts
for struggling learners readers by using a visual approach. This is supported by the
research in pedagogy and psychology demonstrating that visual learning is among the
most effective methods for teaching comprehension skills to students of all ages and
helping students organize the content helps them better comprehend texts for information
(Slavin, 2011).
Research question. The following question will be explored: What are the
effects of using graphic organizers to build comprehension of struggling readers? As a
GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS TO BUILD COMPREHENSION 6
result of this study, it is expected to gain an understanding of teacher’s perspectives on
using graphic organizers to help struggling readers. Results could be shared with various
constituencies of a school community and utilized to improve the instruction of all
children. It could also serve as a baseline to plan future professional development on
effectively using graphic organizers, modifying existing curriculum to include richer use
of graphic organizers, and creating graphic organizers in teacher teams.
Literature Review
The purpose of this literature review was to give an overview of current research
about using graphic organizers in classrooms around the world and shed light on the use
of graphic organizers to build comprehension at varying levels of education such as:
Elementary school students, middle school students, children with special needs, and
English Language Learners (ELLs) at all levels (Mahmoud, Nikko, & Bonyadi, 2013;
Fealy, 2012; Sam & Rajan, 2013; Snyder, 2012). The usefulness of graphic organizers
will also be discussed beyond education in professions like accounting and psychology
(Phillips & Nagy, 2014; Rieber & Noah, 2008).
Defining Graphic Organizers
Graphic organizers (GO’s) are defined as visual or graphic displays that show
visual interrelationships of superordinate and subordinate ideas using spatial
relationships, geometric shapes, lines, and arrows to portray the content structure and
demonstrate key relationships between concepts (Darch, C., Carnine, D., & Kameenui, E.
J., 1986). However, researchers have defined graphic organizers slightly differently in
recent years. Some of these variations include: (a) a powerful tool for visually
representing one’s understanding of information and content (Lapp, Wolsey, & Wood,
Running head: GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS TO BUILD COMPREHENSION 7
2015); (b) Graphic organizers are visual representations of overall related concepts and
can be used as one of the reading strategies in pre-reading, while reading, and post-
reading activities (Mahmood, Nikoo, & Bonyadi, 2013); (c) A graphic organizer is a
visual representation of knowledge. It is a way of structuring information, or arranging
important aspects of a concept of topic into a pattern using labels (Sam & Rajan, 2013);
and (d) A visual representation of information in the text (Jiang & Grabe, 2007).
For the purpose of this study, graphic organizers are defined as a visual tool to help
readers organize ideas from a text to build comprehension.
Importance of Graphic Organizers
According to Lapp, Wolsey, & Wood (2015), graphic organizers help learners
improve thinking processes such as: comparing and contrasting, predicting and planning,
organizing, and identifying important attributes. These are just some of the important
skills readers must utilize to navigate the complexity of texts embedded into Common
Core aligned curriculums.
Therefore, it is important to emphasize the use of graphic organizers when
reading expository texts. Some of the more common examples of expository texts are:
Sequence, compare and contrast, description, listing, problem solving, and cause and
effect (Özmen, 2011). This is commonly referred to as the text structure awareness
theory in which graphic organizers contain information in a text is presented sequentially
in a visual display before reading (Alvermann, 1981).
Schema theory. Another theory of relative importance to the use of graphic
organizers is the schema theory, which allows people to mold memories to fit information
GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS TO BUILD COMPREHENSION 8
that already exists in their minds. This process is guided by schemas, which are mental
frameworks that organize concepts and information. Santrock (2007) stated:
Schemas influence the way we encode, make inferences about, and retrieve
information. We reconstruct the past rather than take an exact photograph of it,
and the mind can distort an event as it encodes and stores impressions of it. Often
when we retrieve information, we fill in the gaps with fragmented memories. (pp.
203-204)
According to Dye (2000), the use of graphic organizers as a learning tool has
roots in schema theory and provide a link for the learner to create a connection between
new concepts and existing knowledge. This provides multiple avenues for learners to
organize important information and model relationships between concepts and more
specifically skills. The use of graphic organizers will serve as a scaffold for readers to
process and comprehend newly acquired content from varying texts. A reader will
demonstrate comprehension of texts and concepts when he or she has found a “mental
home” for this information in the text or has altered an existing one in order to
accommodate the new knowledge (Manoli & Papadopoulou, 2012).
Students who benefit from using graphic organizers. It is important that
teachers understand the different learning styles evident within their classroom because
all children do not learn using the same strategies. Most children are visual, auditory, or
kinesthetic learners (Willingham, 2008). Children who are visual learners process
information by looking, auditory learners retain information by listening, and kinesthetic
learners learn by touching and exploring things.
Running head: GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS TO BUILD COMPREHENSION 9
Graphic organizers are more beneficial to readers who are visual learners.
According to Slavin (2011), “Visual learning is among the most effective methods for
teaching comprehension skills to students of all ages. Helping students organize the
content helps them better comprehend texts for information such as main ideas, facts,
opinion, comparisons, and contradictions.” The use of multiple graphic organizers could
potentially be an entry point to begin working with children who struggle with
comprehension problems. This would begin to help readers comprehend chunks of
information or organize various ideas into visual organizers connected to a specific skill.
Using Graphic Organizers With Second Grade Students
Snyder (2012) explored the effects of graphic organizers on text structure
sensitivity and expository reading comprehension with second grade students.
Specifically, cause and effect text structure was explored and comprehension and recall
performance at two levels of cause and effect complexity structures: one cause directly
followed by one effect and one cause followed by multiple effects (Snyder, 2012).
The overall purpose of the study was to offer teachers and publishers information
about effectively using graphic organizers and to improve young readers’ comprehension
and structure awareness of cause and effect texts. Snyder (2012) also wanted to explore
content familiarity in conjunction with text structure. Text structure should be taught
with familiar texts to improve their comprehension because as children progress through
grades they will need to demonstrate understanding of these structures with unfamiliar
content, specifically on the New York State Common Core exam.
Participants of Second Grade Study
GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS TO BUILD COMPREHENSION 10
The participants were 80 second grade students from two middle-income schools
in a public school district in New Jersey. Participants were involved in the study for two
consecutive years during the second part of the academic school year. The school
enrollment included 90.5% Caucasian, 5.5% Asian, 2.5% Hispanic, and 1% African
American students. The students were randomly placed into one of the following groups:
(a) GO present, one cause-one effect level of cause/effect complexity; (b) GO absent, one
cause-one effect level; (c) GO present, one cause-multiple effects level; or (d) GO absent,
one cause-multiple effects level. The graphic organizer used throughout the study
horizontal flow chart, which was not embedded in the schools’ curriculum. Students in
all groups read four passages in one session and four in another to avoid restlessness.
Findings of using graphic organizers with second grade students. According
to Snyder (2012), there were some key findings to support the use of graphic organizers
between second graders in order to better comprehend cause and effect text structure.
Students who read the GO after each passage (M= 0.79, SD= 0.18) correctly answered a
greater number of structure questions than students who re-read each passage (M= 0.34,
SD= 0.20).
Students who read the one cause-one effect texts (M= 0.61, SD= 0.24) correctly
answered a greater proportion of structure questions than those who read the one cause-
multiple effects texts (M= 0.52, SD= 0.34).
Students who read texts with familiar material (M= 0.59, SD= 0.29) correctly
answered a greater number of structure questions than when reading unfamiliar material
(M= 0.54, SD= 0.33).
Using Graphic Organizers With Third Grade Students
Running head: GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS TO BUILD COMPREHENSION 11
Another study that explored the use of graphic organizers was a mixed methods study
conducted by Fealy (2010) at the elementary level just outside of the Metropolitan area.
The study focused on explicit instruction of graphic organizers as an informational text
reading comprehension strategy for third grade students and was a combination of a
qualitative and a case study. Two purposes of this study were to explore students’
perceptions and strategies of explicit instruction of graphic organizers to support
comprehension of informational text and to explore student’s perceptions of using
graphic organizers as a comprehension strategy.
Participants and assessment tools used. The researcher hand selected six students for
this study using pre-determined criteria. Participants were chosen based on assessments
that were administered and showed they were part of the average to high achievement
groups. In addition, students were assessed throughout the intervention period using
multiple assessment tools such as: The Woodcock John III Passage Comprehension (WJ
III), student interviews, rubrics, think-alouds, think-aloud checklists, student reflective
journals, and graphic organizer work centering around comparing and contrasting (Fealy,
2010).
Findings of qualitative case study. After the duration of the intervention, the
qualitative data tools, specifically reflective journals and interviews, were analyzed to
present the findings. One key finding was all of the participants perceived the compare
and contrast graphic organizer as a helpful reading comprehension tool as reflected in
their journals. Another important finding was participant’s experienced common barriers
such as: (a) understanding vocabulary, (b) confusion with comprehending tasks, and (c)
problems arising from using the compare and contrast graphic organizer (Fealy, 2010).
GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS TO BUILD COMPREHENSION 12
However, after analyzing the rubrics and student work, the researcher concluded
that all participants showed progression from the beginning, middle, and end of the
intervention. For instance, the beginning mean score for identifying characteristics of
comparison from a text was 1.65 out of four, the mean at the middle was 2.33 out of four,
and the final mean as 3.0 out of four. Furthermore, the beginning mean for identifying
similarities and difference between two or more concepts was 1.54 out of four, the mean
at the middle was 2.25 out of four, and the final mean was 2.95 out of four.
Finally, the beginning mean for selecting information appropriate for compare
and contrast graphic organizers was 1.79 out of four, followed by a middle mean of 2.45
out of four, and a final mean of 3.08 out of four (Fealy, 2010). Despite the challenges
children reflected on in their journal and shared during interviews, all children improved
their comprehension of informational texts by using compare and contrast graphic
organizers.
Limitations of study. Fealy (2010) noted a few obvious limitations to her case
study. First, the sample size was relatively low and included children performing at
average to high levels. Next, was the duration of the study, which was approximately six
weeks of 45 minutes session at the end of the school year, thus, affecting the reliability
and validity of the findings.
In addition to the limitations stated by the researcher, there are other limitations
that should be of particular interest to readers. One is that all of the participants came
from a two-parent household with a solid family structure. Secondly, four out of six
participants came from households with middle class to upper middle class incomes.
Lastly, the study was conducted in a suburban community with all Caucasian
Running head: GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS TO BUILD COMPREHENSION 13
participants. One could wonder what the findings would reveal if conducted with six
African American or Hispanic students from an urban school, a low-income household,
and a single parent home.
Using Graphic Organizers With Middle School ESL Students
Graphic organizers are particularly useful in teaching English Language Learners
(ELLs). Sam and Rajan (2013) explored the use of graphic organizers to improve
reading comprehension skills for middle school English as a Second Language (ESL)
students. The participants consisted of 70 students who attended a school in the western
part of Tamil Nadu, India where students are taught reading skills to improve their
reading alongside ESL instruction. Participants were placed in two groups of 35 and
intervention was applied for about two weeks.
The experimental group consisted of children who were trained in using graphic
organizers with reading materials from a reader published by the Tamil Nadu Textbook
Corporation. The researchers introduced learners to different types of graphic organizers,
how to use them effectively, and which organizers could best be used with different types
of reading passages. Graphic organizers were also used before, during, and after reading
instruction. However, the control group received the same materials, but did not have
any instruction on how to use graphic organizers as a tool to understand reading material.
Students in this group continued to use traditional methods such as reading the passage
multiple times to build comprehension (Sam & Rajan, 2013).
Pre-test and post-test administration and findings. A pre-test and post-test was
administered to both groups to assess the level of comprehension before and after the
intervention was applied. It included two passages consisting of 20 questions that
GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS TO BUILD COMPREHENSION 14
focused on the following reading skills: main idea, supporting details, vocabulary, fact
and opinion, and making inferences.
The pre-test showed similar comprehension levels of both groups of learners. The
average pre-test score for the control group was 38%, but the post-test scores were
39.2%, thus indicating there weren’t significant gains for this group of students.
However, the experimental group showed significant gains in comprehension after
receiving intervention in the form of using graphic organizers. The average pre-test for
the experimental group was 39.43%, but the post-test results were 56.23%, which shows
an improvement of +17% (Sam & Rajan, 2013).
Schema and Activation of Background Knowledge With Graphic Organizers
Another global study was conducted in Tehran, Iran with intermediate English as
a Foreign Language (EFL) students. The purpose of this study was to “Use graphic
organizers and schema or background activation knowledge to determine its effectiveness
on increasing Iranian EFL learners reading comprehension” (Mahmood, Nikko, &
Bonyadi, 2013). The researchers specifically wanted to expose students to different
genres other than an essay, improve vocabulary, and activate prior knowledge in the
target culture.
Participants of EFL Study and Methodology
The participants consisted of 63 female students studying English ranging from
ages 18 to 24 who were randomly divided into three groups: control, graphic organizer,
and schema. The control group did not receive any treatment, the graphic organizer
group was taught using graphic organizers, and the schema group was taught by focusing
on activating their prior knowledge (Mahmood, Nikko, & Bonyadi, 2013).
Running head: GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS TO BUILD COMPREHENSION 15
All participants were given a reading comprehension pre-test and post-test assess
gains in reading comprehension. Students were also administered the Nelson Proficiency
test to assess their level of English Proficiency. In addition, the graphic organizers used
during seven subtasks were evaluated to measure growth in effectively using visuals to
comprehend texts at a better level. Finally, students received short passages connected to
main ides of texts included in the study as a support to build background knowledge on
the topic.
Findings of EFL study. Mahmood, Nikko, & Bonyadi (2013) reported graphic
organizers played an important part in improving reading comprehension. This was
determined by comparing the mean score on the pre-test (11.89) and the mean score on
the post-test (15.37). Students exhibited greater comprehension when they were given
activities designed to build their prior knowledge on the post-test (M=13.00). However,
they were not exposed to these activities during the pre-test (M-1.11).
There is also a significant difference with the graphic organizer, schema, and
control groups. The Post hoc Scheffe Test found that students in the graphic organizer
group (N=19) outperformed the other groups and the schemata group (N=18) performed
better than the control group (N=17).
Graphic Organizers With Special Needs Students
Özmen (2011) compared the effectiveness of two different compare and contrast
graphic organizers using expository texts with children classified as intellectually
disabled in Ankara, Turkey. The researcher had participants fill out the first graphic
organizer before reading a text and the second one upon completion of the text.
GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS TO BUILD COMPREHENSION 16
The participants included in this study had to meet a specific criterion. Students
had to be diagnosed with mild intellectual disabilities, be able to read without syllabicate,
be in the 6th, 7th, or 8th grade, and able to recall maximum one similarity and difference
after reading a compare/contrast text (Özmen, 2011). Five male participants were
selected and all of their native language was Turkish. The researcher used a Turkish
textbook at the students’ level to better understand their reading levels.
Methodology Used With Special Needs Children
Students were exposed to 13 content area texts at different parts of the study that
lasted over a period of four weeks. Three texts were used during the baseline, five were
used before lessons and required the use of a graphic organizer, and five were used after
reading the texts and also required to use of a graphic organizer. The concepts for the
compare and contrast graphic organizers were identified after previewing expository texts
and had a similar text structure which consisted of an introduction, comparison
paragraph, contrast paragraph, and a conclusion. All of the texts provided multiple
opportunities for participants to show how concepts were similar and different because
there were at least four to six examples in each of the passages. As a support, the
researcher provided a scaffolded graphic organizer with a picture of a comparison topic,
one box to write a similarity, and two boxes to show differences.
In addition, students received prompting in the form of questioning if they were
unable to identify a similarity and difference between two concepts. After receiving
intervention for four weeks, a post-assessment was administered to measure the
effectiveness of using the compare and contrast graphic organizer.
Running head: GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS TO BUILD COMPREHENSION 17
Findings for using graphic organizers with special needs students. According
to Özmen (2011), there were a few findings that helped evaluate the success of his study.
One is four out of five participants completed the comparison portion of graphic
organizers more effectively after reading the texts as opposed to before reading the texts.
Another is four participants completed the contrasting portion of graphic organizers more
effectively after reading the texts as opposed to before reading the texts and one
participant completed the comparison and contrasting portions of the graphic organizer
more effectively before reading the texts.
Graphic Organizers in the Field of Accounting
Although educators in classrooms around the world use graphic organizers, there
are also other fields that utilize them for varying purposes. Phillips and Nagy (2014)
conducted a study with accounting students focusing on the effectiveness of reading case
studies using graphic organizers. The researchers intended to discover if using graphic
organizers will enhance students case analysis skills, specifically their ability to identify
arguments and counterarguments of financial policy choices.
Participants and Purpose. This study was conducted in Canada and included 77
undergraduate students, 63.6 percent being female, that were selected based on a criteria
determined by the researchers. Participants had completed a course introducing them to
accounting concepts and completed a case analysis without receiving any formal training
on how to structure case analyses (Phillips & Nagy, 2014). The purpose of this criterion
was because their limited experiences with writing case study analyses will most likely
improve participant’s ability to evaluate case studies.
GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS TO BUILD COMPREHENSION 18
Accounting experiments. Each student was randomly assigned into the case
response condition, control condition, and graphic organizer condition. “The case study
condition read a revenue recognition issue and a proposed, a summary of applicable
revenue recognition standards followed by a one-page exemplar response that provided a
balance of supporting arguments and opposing counterarguments for the issue” (Phillips
& Nagy, 2014). The graphic organizer condition read the same case study, but did not
receive an exemplar response. Instead, they received complete V-shaped graphic
organizers with the following labels: Arguments, counterarguments, relevant discussion
criteria, weight, conclude, and explain. Participants in the control group did not receive
the case study, proposal, or graphic organizer. However, they were asked open-ended
filler questions about their experiences with previous accounting cases such as: “Have
cases enhanced your technical knowledge?”; “Do you believe video cases enhance your
learning?”; and “Are cases more helpful in accounting courses of other areas?” (Phillips
& Nagy, 2014).
After being exposed to the initial case study, all participants were required to read
and prepare their own analysis case using a different study involving costs of a
professional sports team to contract with an athlete. Participants were given two blank
pages after the case study and were not given any direction on how to organize their
thoughts or how to write their final analyses.
Findings of using graphic organizers with accounting students. The
researchers discovered that participants who studied an exemplar case response did a
better job of supporting arguments in their analysis as opposed to the graphic organizer
and control groups. However, the participants who utilized the graphic organizers to
Running head: GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS TO BUILD COMPREHENSION 19
visualize the case response were better able to identify the absence of counterarguments,
which provide support for alternative accounting choices, in a subsequent case analysis
(Phillips & Nagy, 2014).
Graphic Organizers and Gaming
Rieber and Noah (2008) explored the use of graphic organizers and visual
metaphors infused into a computer based simulation to potentially improve adult
learning. The quantitative part of the study consisted of 70 undergraduate students
enrolled in an introductory computer course. Participants were given one of four visual
metaphors as graphic organizers to complete one of four versions of a computerized
simulation about the science concepts acceleration and velocity. Prior to beginning the
tasks, all participants were administered a 12 question test to measure their understanding
of acceleration and velocity.
Gaming Tasks and Assessment
Participants were administered one of four tasks by computer and had to rate their
frustration level after completing each. This was done because the researchers felt many
participants are often unfamiliar with the demands placed on them during open-ended
learning environments (Rieber & Noah, 2008). The four tasks are outlined below:
• Version one: Participants did not have any instructional or organizational
elements;
• Version two: Participants simulation was embedded in the game with the goal of
changing the ball’s direction inside an area indicated on a number line;
GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS TO BUILD COMPREHENSION 20
• Version three: Participants received a visual metaphor to understand the
relationship between acceleration and velocity and had to tilt a table to and
manipulate the ball’s acceleration; and
• Version four: Participants received both the game context and visual metaphor.
In addition to the four tasks, participants were administered a post-test and required to
rate their confidence level after each question and predict their overall score. This was
followed by a tacit learning game that required them to move a ball to a certain segment
of a number line and keep it there for ten seconds. In order to determine the tacit score,
the total time taken for each participant to complete the task five times was considered.
Last, the qualitative part of the study was carried out by interviewing four participants
with the intent of understanding their thoughts and feelings as they interacted with the
simulation.
Results of gaming tasks. Rieber and Noah (2008) concluded the following results
from their study of visual metaphors as graphic organizers: (a) A significant effect was
found for Game (p<.01) and participants were less confident in their post-test answers
(mean=4.98) than participants that were not given the game context (mean=6.92); (b)
Participants’ predictions of their post-test scores were lower when given the game
(mean=46.6%) than when not (mean=56.6%); (c) There was significant interaction
between Game and Metaphor (p<.5). These participants scored better than all other
participants; and (d) No significant effects were found in terms of frustration while
completing the tasks.
Summary of Research
Running head: GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS TO BUILD COMPREHENSION 21
The use of graphic organizers is extremely beneficial to students of different
reading abilities (Sam & Rajan, 2013). Children as early as second grade are being
exposed to using graphic organizers to build comprehension of various text structures
(Synder, 2012). Teachers are also making informed decisions about which subgroups
might benefit from receiving graphic organizers as a scaffold to build reading
comprehension, specifically students with special needs and ESL/EFL learners (Fealy,
2010; Sam & Rajan, 2013; Bonyadi, Nikko, & Mohmood, 2013).
The use of graphic organizers has been proven to be beneficial to fields other than
education. Graphic organizers have been used in computerized gaming simulation to
improve the comprehension of adult learners (Reiber & Noah, 2008). In addition,
graphic organizers have been used to improve accounting students ability to analyze case
studies and generate strong analyses of the data (Phillips & Nagy, 2014).
Methodology
This section includes information about the research site and how the participants
were selected and detailed information about each participant’s education, certification,
and teaching experience will also be organized into a table. It will also include questions
that will be carried out during the interview process, how responses will be coded, and
how data will be analyzed and reported.
Site
The participants in this study work in an urban NYC public school located in the
Bushwick section of Brooklyn and services approximately 350 students from Pre-
Kindergarten through Grade 5. The school population consists of 52% African American
and 48% Hispanic students. The student body includes 16% English Language Learners
GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS TO BUILD COMPREHENSION 22
and 26% Special Education students. Boys make up 48% off the student body and girls
account for 52%. In addition, about 10% of the student population are homeless and
travel from various shelters throughout New York City.
Demographics
This study includes seven teachers in an urban NYC public school. The
participants are classroom teachers of grades two to five.
Gender. In this study there were six females and one male.
Ethnicity. In this study there were three Hispanics and four Blacks.
Teaching experience. In this study five teachers had 13 to 16 years of teaching
experience at the current school and two teachers had over 20 years of teaching
experience at the current school.
Teaching Credentials. In this study three teachers have a second master’s degree
and certification in literacy. Four teachers also have a master’s degree and certification
in childhood education and a second master’s in another area of education.
Research Design
This is a qualitative study exploring teachers’ perceptions of using graphic
organizers to build comprehension of struggling readers. According to Creswell (2010):
Qualitative research begins with assumption and the use of interpretive/theoretical
frameworks that inform the study of research problems addressing the meaning of
individuals or groups ascribe to a social or human problem. To study this
problem, qualitative researchers use an emerging qualitative approach to inquiry,
the collection of data in a natural setting sensitive to the people and places under
Running head: GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS TO BUILD COMPREHENSION 23
the study, and data analysis that is both inductive and deductive and establishes
patterns or themes. (p. 44)
This is of particular relevance to the study at hand because the interviews will be
carried out in the school setting of the researcher. Also, the findings will be reported in
themes and used to draw conclusions and suggest implications for teachers, teacher
education programs, and administrators. In addition, the data will be used to identify
areas of future research.
Instrument
Some of the questions include:
1. What was your experience with the use of graphic organizers when completing
your teacher education program?
• Were the emphasized in every methods course?
• Which course(s) emphasized them most?
• Which course(s) didn’t include them?
2. When do you recall first learning about effectively using graphic organizers in
your daily instruction?
• What subject was it in?
• What was most rewarding about it?
• What year were you in your teaching career?
3. Think of a time when you used graphic organizers during a reading lesson?. Tell
me about that experience.
• Do you think it was effective?
• What challenges did the children face?
• What were the results?
Analysis
GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS TO BUILD COMPREHENSION 24
In addition to the interview questions, a Likert scale will be included to gain an
understanding of what subgroups teachers perceive using graphic organizers is best. The
following in an example of the Likert scale:
• Think about the use of graphic organizers within the classroom. On a 1-6 scale (1
being least suited; 6 being best suited), what is your opinion as to which is best
suited for graphic organizers? Circle the number that best represents your opinion:
Running head: GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS TO BUILD COMPREHENSION 25
Table 1
Likert Scale for Teachers’ Perceptions of Groups Using Graphic Organizers
ELL ? (Beginner, Intermediate,
Advanced)
1 2 3 4 5 6
IEP? (SETTS, self-contained, ICT) 1 2 3 4 5 6
Bottom Third? 1 2 3 4 5 6
Boys? 1 2 3 4 5 6
Girls? 1 2 3 4 5 6
Advanced/Gifted? 1 2 3 4 5 6
Elementary Grades? 1 2 3 4 5 6
Middle School? 1 2 3 4 5 6
High School? 1 2 3 4 5 6
Data collection. Data will be collected by conducting interviews with participants and
having them answer a question using a Likert scale (see Appendix A). Data will also be
analyzed and reported using multiple methods outlined below. The overall goal is to
report the findings of teachers’ perceptions about the use of graphic organizers and if they
think graphic organizers benefits different subgroups of students.
In order to gain an understanding of teacher’s perspectives on the topic being
studied, interviews will be conducted on a one to one basis. Interviews will take place in
the researcher’s classroom and last for approximately 20 minutes. Prior to using the
questionnaire, participants will be given a pseudo name and information about the
number years teaching and teaching credentials will be discussed.
GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS TO BUILD COMPREHENSION 26
The researcher will read questions from a questionnaire and document the
responses of each participant. Upon completion of the interview, the researcher will
transcribe the interview so important information is not omitted (see Appendix B).
Data analysis. Upon completion of the interviews, the questions will be evaluated and
collapsed into categories, so patterns are potentially reported. Responses that do not fit a
category will be reported individually. If possible, the data will also be reported based on
number of years teaching and teaching credentials. Results of the Likert scale will be
reviewed and reported in a figure.
Responses to the qualitative questions will also be coded by question. This will
further allow the data to be organized into categories so themes could be identified
quicker. Creswell (2010) states, “Here researchers build detailed descriptions, develop
themes or dimensions, and provide an interpretation in light of their own views or view of
perspectives in literature” (p. 184).
Reliability and Credibility. The use of transcribed interviews and coding participant’s
responses adds to the reliability of the data.
The inclusiveness of multiple educators who were highly qualified and
experienced added to the validity of this study. By choosing participants with more than
ten years of teaching experience, multiple degrees in education, and multiple teaching
certifications, the responses during interviews will be more credible than a participants
with one to three years of experience and working on their teaching credentials.
According to Glaser and Strauss (1967):
When using the term credibility, it is meant to be “believable”, rather than
“valid”. The first is that there be sufficient detail and description so readers feel
Running head: GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS TO BUILD COMPREHENSION 27
they were vicariously in the field (thus able to judge for themselves). Second,
there should be sufficient evidence on how the data were gathered and how the
analysis was conducted (so that readers can assess how the researcher came to his
or her findings or conclusions). Third, there should be multiple comparison
groups, as this makes the credibility greater. Finally, the researcher should
specify the kinds of data upon which his or her interpretation rests. (pp. 223-235)
The responses offered by participants will be able to help summarize teacher’s
perceptions of using graphic organizers at the elementary level. However, the study at
end can easily be replicated at the middle and high school levels, thus making it
transferable. The interviews will also be used to identify specific groups of children who
could benefit from using graphic organizers.
Limitations of study. One limitation of the study is the time constraints. This study
should be conducted and completed in approximately a month and is a study of
convenience. Therefore, the sample size was very low and consisted of participants from
the researchers school, primarily due to easy accessibility. However, if there were more
time, the questionnaire could possibly be extended to a larger sample.
Another limitation is the researcher works in close proximity with all of the
participants, which might cause others to question the reliability and validity of the
questionnaires. If more time were permitted, it might be beneficial to conduct this study
with participants from another school.
The next limitation is the gender and experience levels of the participants. Six of
the subjects were female with 12 or more years of teaching experience and one was male.
In this particular school, there is limited mobility of teachers, thus limiting the
GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS TO BUILD COMPREHENSION 28
perspective of inexperienced teachers. If the study were conducted in one or more other
schools, data could be collected from teachers with less than five years of teaching
experience. Also, it might be possible to obtain additional data from the male teacher’s
perspective.
Findings This section presents the findings of interviews conducted with seven teachers of
grades two through five. It includes data about teacher’s experiences with graphic
organizers prior to entering college, while in college pursuing a teacher education
program approved by the state of New York, and throughout their teaching career.
Emphasis will also be placed on teacher’s perceptions about which subgroups of children
will most likely benefit from the use of graphic organizers to improve the comprehension
of struggling readers, which was measured by analyzing data compiled using a Likert
Scale.
Early Experiences With Using Graphic Organizers
The first question focused on obtaining information about participant’s
experiences while completing elementary, middle, and high school. Five participants
stated they did not have any memory of ever using graphic organizers at these levels,
whereas two shared varying memories.
Lana (P5) pondered for a few minutes and recalled using graphic organizers when
she was a third grader attending primary school in Jamaica. Lana stated, “I remember
writing my own lists and copied my teacher’s versions of graphic organizers. It was
particularly emphasized in my English class.” As Lana shared her recollection, her facial
expressions were difficult to interpret and she sort of rolled her eyes at one point.
Running head: GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS TO BUILD COMPREHENSION 29
When the same question was posed to Carlos (P7), he cut me off before
completing it and said:
Eighth grade and we hated them! Many of the students made fun of the science
teacher who used cluster or bubble maps. We were exposed to what graphic
organizers were, but not taught about their importance so we didn’t care. We
didn’t even understand some of them.
As Carlos shared this experience, his tone changed from passive to somewhat aggressive
and he reiterated how much he hated completing bubble maps a few times.
Table 2 Coding for Earliest Memory Using Graphic Organizer Participant
Case Number
Pseudo Name
Question 1: Think about a time when you were in elementary, middle, or high school. What was your earliest memory of using a graphic organizer?
001 (IE) Rebecca • Never 002 (DC) Penny • No memory 003 (MV) Sue • No recollection 004 (YR) Danielle • No memory 005 (LB) Lana Light • 3rd grade in Jamaica for essay writing
• Wrote lists or copied teacher’s graphic organizers
006 (SH) Chiggy • No recollection 007 (BC) Carlos • 8th grade science class
• Copying and creating cluster or bubble maps
• Everyone hated it because we didn’t understand the purpose
• No modeling was done, but teacher showed a completed sample
GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS TO BUILD COMPREHENSION 30
Graphic Organizers and Teacher Preparation Programs.
One commonality is four participants recalled being exposed to graphic
organizers in one graduate methods course. Of these four, two attended CUNY schools
and two attended private schools with two teachers completing a literacy master’s degree.
Rebecca’s (P1) experience was described as being inspirational primarily because
of the influence of her professor. She responded by sharing, “My professor inspired me
to use graphic organizers. He was an author of a newly published book on graphic
organizers and incorporated them into an author study.”
Sue (P3) described an experience with the use of graphic organizers while
engaged in her master’s degree in literacy at Long Island University. The course required
students to conduct fieldwork with struggling readers registered in a neighboring after
school program. Sue added:
My student was a struggling reader with excellent verbal capabilities. However,
his primary deficiency was a breakdown in comprehension. I was required to
plan lessons to improve his comprehension. I chose to use beginning, middle, and
end graphic organizers and main idea graphic organizers. By the end of the
semester, assessments showed an upward movement in reading level.
Carlos was also able to recall being exposed to using graphic organizers
when he was enrolled in a literacy course while completing his master’s
degree in childhood education at the City College of New York. He stated, “It was
presented as a model to organize thoughts, little did they know. It might be interesting for
you to interview a recent graduate. With changes over the years, I’m sure they’re used
more in teacher education programs.”
Running head: GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS TO BUILD COMPREHENSION 31
However, two participants did not have any recollection of learning about the use
of graphic organizers. Penny (P2) a 35-year veteran special teacher who graduated from
Hunter College in 1981 chuckled and stated, “I went to school in the dinosaur era. We
didn’t learn about using graphic organizers.” Similarly, Chiggy a 15-year veteran reading
specialist who graduated from Adelphi University in 2003 also indicated she wasn’t
exposed to graphic organizers while completing her master’s degree in literacy.
Table 3 Coding for Graphic Organizers in Teacher Education Programs
Case Number
Pseudo Name
College(s) Attended
Question 2: What was your experience with the use of graphic organizers when completing your teacher education program?
001 (IE) Rebecca Brooklyn College
• Methods course in grad school • Professor inspired me • Created and used graphic organizers in class
and incorporated into author study 002 (DC) Penny Hunter College • No recollection 003 (MV) Sue Long Island
University (Brooklyn)
• Methods course required us to work with kids in after school program. Lessons were planned using graphic organizers for one to one instruction. Assessment showed children improved reading levels
004 (YR) Danielle Touro College • Literacy Masters, emphasized in most courses • Focus was on using GO’s for children with
special needs 005 (LB) Lana
Light Touro College • Emphasized in 1 course (MS)
• I don’t think college prepared me to use graphic organizers, yet alone to teach. I felt very unprepared my 1st year.
006 (SH) Chiggy
Williams Smith College and
Adelphi
• Don’t recall being taught about GO’s
007 (BC) Carlos City College • Grad course. Presented as a model to organize thoughts.
• It might be different if you interview recent graduates.
GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS TO BUILD COMPREHENSION 32
First experiences with graphic organizers in the classroom. In order to gain an
understanding of when participants felt they first learned about effectively using graphic
organizers in their daily instruction, they were asked to reflect on their practice during
their interview. Three participants felt they learned how to effectively use graphic
organizers during their first year of teaching and two participants felt they learned how to
effectively use graphic organizers around their fifth or sixth year teaching. Also, one
participant expressed she did not effectively use graphic organizers until her tenth year
teaching.
Another finding is five participants referred to effectively learning how to use
graphic organizers that were embedded into various curriculums experienced while
teaching. Rebecca (P1) recalled using many graphic organizers that were part of the
Reading First Program and Penny shared the inclusiveness of GO’s in the Scotts
Foresman curriculum, specifically semantic webs and t-charts. Additionally, Carlos (P7)
and Sue (P3) recalled effectively using various graphic organizers that were included or
supplemented when their school utilized the Teacher’s College Reading and Writing
Program (Calkins, 2000).
Danielle (P5) expressed a more reflective approach that led to her effectively
using graphic organizers with her second graders after nine years of teaching. During the
summer of 2009, she took home the portfolios of her students and spent some time
analyzing their weaknesses and brainstormed ways to improve the outcomes of children
who performed at the lower extremity of her class. Danielle offered the following:
The student work really did not meet my expectations and I spent a lot of time
revisiting my pedagogical approaches. I questioned my practice and what could
Running head: GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS TO BUILD COMPREHENSION 33
be done to enhance my teaching. This led me to researching various ways to
better incorporate graphic organizers during the 2010-2011 school year.
Graphic organizers during reading lessons. When asked to describe a specific
experience using graphic organizers during a reading lesson, five participants noted the
use of GO’s with their Tier Three readers. At this particular school, readers are placed
into tiered groups based on their reading level, fluency benchmarks, review of portfolios
at the completion of each module, and performance on benchmark assessments
administered by the New York City Department of Education. Tier One students are
typically on or above grade level; Tier Two students are approaching grade level and
sometimes on grade level; and Tier Three students are struggling readers that require
intensive instruction provided by the classroom teacher, special education teacher, and
ESL teacher.
Teachers also shared a common pedagogical approach when using graphic
organizers during mini-lessons, which is intense modeling of how to use close reading
strategies to locate textual evidence required to show mastery of the task presented. Five
of the participants expressed the importance of modeling during the mini-lesson or while
working with Tier Two or Tier Three students.
Targeting reading skills. Graphic organizers were also used to target and
remediate certain reading skills, whether during a reading lesson or reading in the content
areas. Two participants used a Venn diagram to compare and contrast two topics. One
required readers to compare and contrast two different text structures, whereas the other
required readers to compare and contrast two concepts within a text. Two participants
reflected on the use of a three-column graphic organizer from the ReadyGen reading
GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS TO BUILD COMPREHENSION 34
curriculum. Both visual aids included headings, but did not indicate any directions or
offer any supports for readers.
Two participants also shared the use of semantic webs, but the tasks and text
structures were different. One task required readers to recall details connected to an idea
from an expository text, whereas the other required readers to locate specific details to
describe a character’s actions using a narrative text.
Aside from teaching specific reading skills, three participants recalled students of
varying tiers struggling to comprehend the directions and headings included on the
graphic organizers, even after introducing the tasks prior to or during the lesson.
Another essential point shared during Carlos’ (Participant 7) interview is the need to
further differentiate graphic organizers and provide additional supports such as directions
indicating the close reading page or sections to focus, specific focus questions to establish
a clear purpose for reading, and a concrete example of how to effectively use the graphic
organizer. Carlos reflected on recently using tiered graphic organizers while remediating
the skill of making inferences during a guided reading lesson.
After conducting the mini-lesson and explicitly modeling how to use sections of a
text, he provided different students with variations of the graphic organizer presented
during instruction. Carlos stated:
One graphic organizer was designed for readers to work independently to read
portions of their text and make an inference using prior knowledge and text
evidence, whereas another graphic organizer included two examples of text
evidence and required readers to make a valid inference and locate additional
supporting details independently with the option of seeking teacher support if
Running head: GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS TO BUILD COMPREHENSION 35
needed. A third graphic organizer was used by the teacher with a couple of
readers and included two inferences. Students had to use close reading strategies
to locate text evidence to support the inferences included in the graphic organizer.
Table 4 Coding for Using Graphic Organizers in the Classroom
Case Number
Question 4: Think of a time when you used graphic organizers during a reading lesson? Tell me about that experience.
001 (IE) • Tiered groups • Two groups used GO’s (Web and Venn diagram) with modeling • Tier one didn’t require the use of a GO
002 (DC) • Third grade SETTS • Web for character’s actions. Modeled before independent work. • Had difficulty comprehending the directions of task
003 (MV) • Three- column chart part of ReadyGen curriculum • Headings and subheadings were abstract for kids to understand • Teacher modeling needed • A lot of prompting needed
004 (YR) • Tiered compare and contrast activities • Similarity and difference with text structures (Venn diagram, locate
evidence to support compare and contrast statement) 005 (LB) • Three column chart- locate evidence about Africa’s resources
• Tier Three- web outlining the resources. Extensive modeling needed • Six out of nice Tier Three kids mastered the task
006 (SH) • GO to locate evidence to support thoughts. Modeled during mini-lesson.
• Challenge- some kids included evidence not required of the task • Two out of 20 did not master task
007 (BC) • Guided reading lesson- inference- differentiated GO’s • 1- inference, details (independently); 2- 2 details from text provided
for child to determine inference and find more details; 3- two inferences provided for children to locate evidence.
• Challenges- no lines in GO, limited spacing in GO, fully understanding what supporting evidence to include in the GO.
Perceptions of students benefitting from graphic organizers. The use of a
Likert Scale was also used to gain an understanding of teachers’ perceptions of which
groups of children will most benefit from the use of graphic organizers. All participant’s
felt that English Language Learners (ELLs), students with Individualized Incentive Plans
GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS TO BUILD COMPREHENSION 36
(IEPs), and children performing at the lower extremity of a class or grade classified as the
bottom third would most benefit from using these visual aids.
Teachers’ perceptions of boys and girls benefiting from graphic organizers ranged
from somewhat likely (three to four) to most likely (five to six). Teachers also expressed
mixed opinions about whether or not they think gifted students would benefit from the
use of graphic organizers. Four participants felt they would less likely benefit, one
participant thought they would somewhat benefit, and two felt they could benefit.
Figure 1. Subgroups benefiting from the use of graphic organizers Summary There were several themes that emerged after analyzing the responses offered by
participants. First, most of the teachers interviewed did not have any recollection of
being exposed to the use of graphic organizers as they attended K to 12 schools. This
data spans over a few generations since the participants ranged from 35 to 57 in age.
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
1 2 3 4 5 6
ELL
IEP
Bottom Third
Boys
Girls
Gifted Num
ber of Participants
Running head: GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS TO BUILD COMPREHENSION 37
Next, most teachers recall learning about the importance and effectiveness of
using graphic organizers while completing their teacher education program at the
graduate level. More specifically, the teachers recalled them being emphasized in a
methods or literacy course. Another finding is two participants completed undergraduate
and graduate degrees in education yet could not recall being taught about graphic
organizers.
Teachers also had varying recollections about the point in their career where they
effectively knew how to utilize graphic organizers in their instruction. Responses ranged
from the first year teaching until the tenth year.
Last, the teachers in this study share some common thoughts and pedagogical
approaches when using graphic organizers. Some of these include: (a) Using graphic
organizers alongside close reading strategies to build comprehension, (b) providing
graphic organizers as a support for struggling tier three readers, (c) explicitly modeling
how to use multiple strategies to locate relevant text evidence in support of tasks given,
and (d) emphasizing the use of multiple graphic organizers when teaching comprehension
skills such main idea, compare and contrast, and cause and effect.
Discussion
The purpose of this section is to summarize the research in support of using graphic
organizers to improve the comprehension of struggling readers. It will also explore perceptions’
teachers have about using graphic organizers and which subgroups of children might benefit from
this form of support.
Implications for Practice Graphic organizers are essential tools that could potentially improve the
comprehension of struggling readers. After speaking with seven teachers with 12 to 35
GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS TO BUILD COMPREHENSION 38
years of teaching experience, they believe ESL, children with special needs, and readers
performing at the lower extremity of the class most benefit from using graphic
organizers. However, when sharing their first experience with effectively using graphic
organizers in their daily instruction, one participant mentioned using this scaffold with
IEP children. Five teachers also shared using graphic organizers during a reading lesson
with Tier Three readers and SETTS students.
These findings are consistent with Sam and Rajan’s (2013) study on using graphic
organizers with ESL students in which middle school students showed significant gains
in comprehension. This is contributed to the extensive training on using graphic
organizers as a form of intervention to improve students understanding of various texts in
a basal reader.
Furthermore, Özmen (2011) concluded middle school students with special needs
demonstrated an improvement in the comprehension of expository texts. Readers also
showed significant gains using compare and contrast graphic organizers with passages of
a similar text structure.
The topic of graphic organizers could be a potential focus for teacher teams.
Teachers could engage in research and locate articles and studies that conclude graphic
organizers are an effective scaffold for various subgroups of children. Teams could
identify trends such as using graphic organizers to help readers navigate through complex
text structures in order to build comprehension (Snyder, 2012; Fealy, 2010). Once they
have identified research-based practices, teachers could engage in action research and
begin trying out different strategies, approaches, and explore the use of newly acquired
Running head: GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS TO BUILD COMPREHENSION 39
graphic organizers. Ultimately, teachers will be able to expand teaching and hopefully
meet the needs of more students through this process.
Teachers should focus on previewing tasks and activities and focus on evaluating
the directions. Also, educators should focus on stating the directions of task in language
that is comprehendible to the children on that grade. This emerged after coding the
interviews and discovering that three teachers recalled children having difficulty with
comprehending the task assigned.
Revisiting Teacher Education Programs
One of the more startling findings is the lack of emphasis placed on using graphic
organizers when the participants completed their teacher education programs. Four
teachers recalled learning about graphic organizers in one graduate course, two teachers
had no memory of learning about them, and one participant stated they were included in
most of her graduate courses. Additionally, two out of three teachers who earned a
second master’s degree and obtained permanent certification in literacy recall being
exposed to graphic organizer during one methods course.
It is imperative that teacher education programs begin to re-evaluate their course
requirements at the undergraduate and graduate levels to identify ways to better prepare
future graduates to provide effective reading instruction. Therefore, college students
should be exposed to many research based reading strategies and approaches at the
undergraduate level. According to the New York State Education, teachers can obtain
initial certification to teach in New York State if they hold a bachelor’s degree in an area
of education and demonstrate proficiency on the New York State Teaching Exams. This
GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS TO BUILD COMPREHENSION 40
further supports the need for colleges to begin exposing undergraduate students to
stronger reading instruction and remediation.
Hunter College’s teacher education requirements. During my interview with
Penny, she stated, “I have no memory of being exposed to graphic organizers at Hunter
College. I went to school in the dinosaur era.” When asked about using graphic
organizers during a reading lesson she recalled using a web with third graders to better
understand a character’s actions. She also recalled effectively using a semantic web and
t-chart with fourth and fifth grade students to build comprehension of a complex text
included in a previous basal reading program. Penny acquired her knowledge of graphic
organizers when entering the DOE and implementing a school based reading program.
However, her exposure to graphic organizers should have been obtained while studying
to be an educator in 1981.
According to the 2014-2015 bulletin at Hunter College, students completing a
master’s degree in childhood education are required to complete between 36 and 49
credits. The amount of credits varies based on the undergraduate degree and previous
coursework. Of the 36 credits, students are required to complete three “literacy” courses
totaling five credits. However, the course descriptions describe the integration of literacy
across the curriculum with a focus on social studies and technology. The course catalog
states:
Major attention is given to our common heritage of democracy and human rights;
an appreciation of the diverse tapestry that characterizes the nation; the study of
history within social studies; the use of literature and the arts to illuminate and
enrich understandings; the application of critical and analytical skills to interpret
Running head: GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS TO BUILD COMPREHENSION 41
primary documents and data; the integration of technology to acquire, process,
and organize knowledge.
While these skills are equally important, potential educators also need to have knowledge
of additional aspects of reading that could easily be integrated with content area subjects.
Potential areas of focus for teacher education programs. Harvey and Goudvis
(2000) state, “Reading encompasses both decoding and the making of meaning. It
involves cracking the alphabetic code to determine the words and thinking about those
words to construct meaning” (p. 5). Therefore, it is essential to prepare teachers how to
teach letters, sounds, diagraphs, blends, spelling patterns, word relationships, vocabulary,
and a variety of comprehension skills.
Caldwell (2002) stresses reading assessment and describes it as a four-step
process. Reading teachers must: (a) identify what to asses, (b) collect evidence, (c)
analyze the evidence, and (d) make decisions about the analysis (p.13). It is imperative
that teacher education programs teach students about various forms of assessment, their
purposes, and how to make adjustments to instruction based on the data, which is
somewhat different from assessments in social studies.
Another major part of reading instruction is differentiating instruction to meet the
needs of all readers. Robb (2008) suggests teachers consider a variety of practices to
differentiate reading instruction. Some of these include: (a) making read alouds a
common teaching text, (b) teaching with diverse materials, (c) organizing instruction to
meet all reading levels, (d) value the independent reading block, (e) tiering assignments
to match the needs of all reading levels, (f) modeling how to construct meaning while
GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS TO BUILD COMPREHENSION 42
reading, and (g) using ongoing assessment to support each students reading growth (pp.
18-19).
As a former graduate of City College of New York with a master’s degree in
childhood education, I cannot recall an emphasis ever being placed on differentiated
reading instruction. Therefore, colleges should also look at ways to infuse the idea of
differentiation into their undergraduate and graduate courses if they have not already
revised the course of study since 2002.
Recommendations for Future Research. The topics of using graphic organizers to
improve the comprehension of struggling readers and teacher’s perceptions of using
graphic organizers have the potential to be explored in other capacities. When asked
about using graphic organizers during his master’s degree, one of Carlos’ remarks was,
“One graduate course and it was presented as model to organize ideas. It might be
different if you interview recent grads.” This statement could spark a new study that
would examine recent graduates exposure to graphic organizers and first year teacher’s
perceptions of using graphic organizers to improve comprehension of struggling readers
and varying subgroups.
There is also a need to explore differentiating graphic organizers. Five
participants recalled some sort of differentiation when using graphic organizers during a
reading lesson, with one sharing differentiation with all three groups of readers. It is
important for teachers to understand that all children may not need to use graphic
organizers in order to comprehend texts. Lapp et al. (2015) describe varying graphic
organizers and how they could be utilized. Some include: (a) advance organizers that help
readers make connections before engaging in a new topic or text; (b) partially filled-out
Running head: GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS TO BUILD COMPREHENSION 43
organizers in which the teacher has provided some information for students; (c) blank
graphic organizers requiring students to do most of the work of making sense of material;
(d) student-created or modified organizers which promote choice based on readers
previous work with graphic organizers; or (d) no organizer at all. Although differentiating
graphic organizers is a relatively new concept, it could potentially be an effective way to
meet the needs of all readers.
Implications for Practice As previously stated, teachers are entering the
teaching force lacking the skills to effectively deliver quality reading instruction. Three
participants could not even recall effectively using graphic organizers until their fifth
through tenth year of teaching. Therefore, the requirements for teachers existing teachers
should also be re-evaluated.
Currently the New York State Department of Education offers Gifted and
Talented, Special Education, and ESL extension licenses for teachers in possession of a
Permanent or Professional Certificate in Common Branches or Childhood Education.
The NYSED should also offer an Extension Certificate in Literacy and Mathematics.
This will enable many teachers to acquire 12 additional graduate credits and deepen their
understanding of teaching reading or math and better remediate reading and math
deficiencies.
The Department of Education could even require certain teachers to obtain an
Extension Certificate. Perhaps teachers rated Ineffective or Developing could receive
this option as part of their Teacher Improvement Plan. Also, this option might be offered
to teachers in consistently failing schools with full compensation.
GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS TO BUILD COMPREHENSION 44
In conclusion, graphic organizers are essential tools for teachers,
paraprofessionals, and parents to help build reading comprehension. It is important that
teachers entering the teaching profession receive greater exposure to the different types of
graphic organizers, the research behind effectively using them, and how to differentiate
them to meet the needs of diverse learners.
Running head: GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS TO BUILD COMPREHENSION 45
References
Alvermann, D. E. (1981). The compensatory effect of graphic organizers on descriptive
text. Journal of Educational Research, 75, 44-48.
Caldwell, J. (2002). Overview of Reading Process. In Reading Assessment: A Primer for
Teachers and Tutors (pp. 12-14). New York City, NY: The Guildford Press.
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Appendix A
Interview on Using Graphic Organizers
Pseudo Name: _____________________________________ Date of Interview: _________________
Number of years teaching: ________________________________________
Credentials (Degrees and licenses): ____________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Graphic organizers are defined as visual or graphic displays that show visual interrelationships of superordinate and subordinate ideas using spatial relationships, geometric shapes, lines, and arrows to portray the content structure and demonstrate key relationships between concepts. They are commonly used to help various learners improve their comprehension by visually seeing concepts and make connections. 1. What was your experience with the use of graphic organizers when completing your teacher education program?
• Were they emphasized in every methods course? • Which course(s) emphasized them most? • Which course(s) didn’t include them?
GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS TO BUILD COMPREHENSION 50
2. When do you recall first learning about effectively using graphic organizers in your daily instruction?
• What subject was it in? • What was most rewarding about it? • What year were you in your teaching career?
Running head: GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS TO BUILD COMPREHENSION 51
3. Think of a time when you used graphic organizers during a reading lesson?. Tell me about that experience.
• Do you think it was effective? • What challenges did the children face? • What were the results?
GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS TO BUILD COMPREHENSION 52
4. Think about when you were in elementary, middle, or high school. What was your earliest memory of using a graphic organizer? Describe that experience.
• What subject was it used in? • Was it useful? If so, explain.
Running head: GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS TO BUILD COMPREHENSION 53
5. Think about the use of graphic organizers within the classroom. On a 1-6 scale (1 being least suited; 6 being best suited), what is your opinion as to which is best suited for graphic organizers? Circle the number that best represents your opinion:
ELL ? (Beginner, Intermediate,
Advanced)
1 2 3 4 5 6
IEP? (SETTS, self-‐contained, ICT) 1 2 3 4 5 6
Bottom Third? 1 2 3 4 5 6
Boys? 1 2 3 4 5 6
Girls? 1 2 3 4 5 6
Advanced/Gifted? 1 2 3 4 5 6
Elementary Grades? 1 2 3 4 5 6
Middle School? 1 2 3 4 5 6
High School? 1 2 3 4 5 6
GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS TO BUILD COMPREHENSION 54
Appendix B
Interview on Using Graphic Organizers
Pseudo Name: Carlos (BC) Date of Interview: 2/28/15
Number of years teaching: 14 in DOE
Credentials:
Degree(s): BS Childhood Education; MS in Childhood Education; MS Admin Certification(s): Common Branch; Admin Graphic organizers are defined as visual or graphic displays that show visual interrelationships of superordinate and subordinate ideas using spatial relationships, geometric shapes, lines, and arrows to portray the content structure and demonstrate key relationships between concepts. They are commonly used to help various learners improve their comprehension by visually seeing concepts and make connections. 1. What was your experience with the use of graphic organizers when completing your teacher education program?
• Were the emphasized in every methods course? • Which course(s) emphasized them most? • Which course(s) didn’t include them?
-‐ While attending City College, I recall learning about using graphic organizers during my literacy courses.
-‐ It was presented as a model to organize thoughts. -‐ Wasn’t emphasized in the content areas. -‐ It might be different if you interview a recent grad.
With the changes in education over the years, I’m sure they’re used more in teacher education programs.
-‐
Running head: GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS TO BUILD COMPREHENSION 55
2. When do you recall first learning about effectively using graphic organizers in your daily instruction?
• What subject was it in? • What was most rewarding about it? • What year were you in your teaching career?
-‐ When I came to this school, I felt like I learned about effectively using graphic organizers. This was my 6th year teaching. I came from a school where curriculum and instruction was not focused on current practices, which is why I applied to other schools through the open market hiring system.
-‐ This school was using Lucy Calkins Teacher’s College Reading and Writing curriculum. Teachers here worked with me and together we learned about best ways to teach ALL of our children.
-‐ We also had ongoing literacy professional development and graphic organizers were used daily throughout lessons to gather ideas, specifically during writing.
-‐ The use of GO’s helped students who couldn’t write produce work that was relevant to what was being taught.
3. Think of a time when you used graphic organizers during a reading lesson?. Tell me about that experience.
• Do you think it was effective? • What challenges did the children face? • What were the results?
-‐ During a guided reading lesson. -‐ Graphic organizer was differentiated. -‐ The reading skill was inference. -‐ Tier One: Received a graphic organizer with the
subheadings: Inference and Supporting Details. They were required to complete the task independently.
-‐ Tier Two: Their graphic organizer received 2 details from the text. They had to create an inference and then use close reading strategies to locate additional supporting evidence.
-‐ Tier Three: Had a graphic organizer with two inferences. Children had to use close reading
GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS TO BUILD COMPREHENSION 56
strategies to locate evidence in support of the inferences.
-‐ Some challenges were: Limited spacing in the boxes provided, no lines on the graphic organizer, and fully understanding what supporting evidence to include in the graphic organizer.
-‐ Results: Most kids were able to give at least two solid inferences with relevant evidence from the text.
4. Think about when you were in elementary, middle, or high school. What was your earliest memory of using a graphic organizer? Describe that experience.
• What subject was it used in? • Was it useful? If so, explain.
-‐ 8th grade -‐ During a science class -‐ Clusters or bubble maps were used often -‐ We hated them and many of the students made fun of
the teacher who used them. -‐ We were exposed to what graphic organizers were
and were not taught about their importance, so we didn’t care.
-‐ We did not understand some of them. -‐ I don’t recall ever seeing the teacher model how to
complete this type of graphic organizer, but we were shown “samples” of what they looked like that were completed by other students.
Running head: GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS TO BUILD COMPREHENSION 57
5. Think about the use of graphic organizers within the classroom. On a 1-6 scale (1 being least suited; 6 being best suited), what is your opinion as to which is best suited for graphic organizers? Circle the number that best represents your opinion:
ELL ? (Beginner, Intermediate,
Advanced)
1 2 3 4 5 6
IEP? (SETTS, self-‐contained, ICT) 1 2 3 4 5 6
Bottom Third? 1 2 3 4 5 6
Boys? 1 2 3 4 5 6
Girls? 1 2 3 4 5 6
Advanced/Gifted? 1 2 3 4 5 6
Elementary Grades? 1 2 3 4 5 6
Middle School? 1 2 3 4 5 6
High School? 1 2 3 4 5 6
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