Active Learning Strategies and First Grade Reading Achievement Using the TAKE 10! Program and Istation Assessment Tool: A Correlation Study

As accountability standards rise with the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (United States Department of Education, 2010), teachers and school districts are challenged to find effective strategies to teach reading successfully. This study investigated the correlation of active learning to reading achievement in first grade students in a Title I, rural elementary school in East Texas. The relationship between active learning strategies and reading scores when using the TAKE 10! program and Istation assessment tool were investigated during a six-week time span. Using the TAKE 10! program allowed the teachers to implement active learning strategies without taking away from their regular reading curriculum. Data collection consisted of classroom observations and Istation assessments. Use of the Istation allowed for pre- and post- study results of the overall classroom reading scores. The SPSS software instrument was used to produce the data using the correlation coefficient r, scatter plots and regression lines. Analysis of the results revealed a positive correlation for English speakers, but a negative correlation for English Language Learners (ELL's). Despite the negative correlation for ELL students, an increase in reading scores from prestudy to poststudy was revealed. The limitations of the study consisted of one elementary school and only four teachers were chosen to implement the active learning strategies.