Research Method & Data Collection

Study Structure

In preparation for this study, it was concluded that the best approach would be a mixed-methods approach incorporating numerical data and open-ended questions to enable participating OCTs to share their thoughts and feelings.

The study was granted ethical clearance from Brock University, SREB #25-134, and was conducted via an online survey posted to seven Facebook groups created for OCTs and focused on Literacy in the primary/junior age groups.

The only stipulations for participation in the survey, after informed consent, was that participants were current OCTs working in a publicly funded school and had taught for more than 4 years in grades 1-4.  

Survey

The survey consisted of 31 questions, with 27 multiple-choice and 4 open-ended or short-answer.

Other than the consent and survey qualification questions, participants had the opportunity to answer any questions they were comfortable with, and they could skip any they preferred not to answer.

Consent (multiple choice)
  1. CONSENT FORM I agree to participate in the study described above. I have made this decision based on the information I have read in the Information-Consent Letter. I have had the opportunity to receive any additional details I wanted about the study and understand that I may ask questions in the future. I understand that I may withdraw this consent at any time.

Survey Qualifications Questions & Current Placement (multiple choice)
  1. Are you an Ontario Certified Teacher (OCT)?
  2. Are you currently teaching in a publicly funded elementary school in Ontario?
  3. How many years have you been teaching in grades 1 to 4, not including this current school year?
  4. Which type of publicly funded school board do you currently teach in?
  5. How many years have you been teaching, not including this current school year?
  6. Which grade are you currently teaching?

Demographics & Prior Education (multiple choice)

  1. What is your age?
  2. What gender do you identify as?
  3. What additional education do you have, other than an undergraduate degree and Bachelor of Education?
  4. What is the primary language you teach?

Initial Feelings & Response (multiple choice)
  1. What was your initial reaction to the changes in the literacy curriculum?
  2. What is your level of understanding of the structured literacy approach?
  3. If you have a Special Education Resource Teacher (SERT), what is your level of support from them in strengthening literacy skills within your classroom?

Specific Literacy Programs within the Classroom View (multiple choice)
  1. How many days in a 5-day week do you teach literacy skills?
  2. How long is your literacy block? (including direct instruction, whole group activity, centers & small group instruction/activity)
  3. What time of day is your literacy block?
  4. What program(s) do you use as your primary teaching tool for your literacy block?
  5. What assessment program(s) do you use for progressing monitoring as it relates to reading, fluency and comprehension?
  6. What assessment program(s) do you use for assessing the benchmark of literacy development as it relates to reading, fluency and comprehension?
  7. What strategies do you use during small group instruction or one-on-one support? (Please select all that apply.)
  8. If any, which technology-based games do the students use during whole-group instruction, small-group activities, or independent activity time?
  9. How often are you supported by a literacy coach in the areas of learning, troubleshooting and implementing the structured literacy approach?
  10. What percentage of the students in your class are below grade level?
  11. With progress monitoring, what percentage have you seen that highlights the increased effectiveness of literacy skills development with the support of Tier 1 -3 interventions?
  12. For the students who are below grade level in your class, what percentage of these students are receiving Tier 2 interventions?
  13. For the students who are below grade level in your class, what percentage of these students are receiving Tier 3 interventions?

OCTs Perspective & Next Steps (open ended question)
  1. What resources do you feel are or would be vital to ensuring the effectiveness of the literacy program?
  2. Which strategies do you feel best support children’s development of literacy skills, for those not at grade level?
  3. Please provide any additional information, thoughts or feelings that you have regarding the effectiveness of the literacy program?
  4. What is missing from the curriculum or supports that you feel are essential in ensuring the effectiveness of delivery and support of the literacy curriculum?

Data Analysis

Quantitative Data (Numerical)

Most of the collected data was carefully analyzed using statistical methods, turning the information into helpful tables and graphs (Leavy, 2023).

This made it much easier to understand the responses and spot any patterns that might have emerged.

Qualitative Data (Observations, experiences, perspectives)

The data collected in the final four questions were analyzed using the reflective thematic analysis process (Saldaña, 2021; Braun et al., 2022).

This approach analyzes the words shared by participants and groups them into themes that reoccurred throughout the participants' responses.

Page References

Braun, V., Clarke, V., Hayfield, N., & Terry, G. (2024). ​ Thematic analysis. (2nd Ed.) Advanced research methods for applied psychology. (pp. ​238–248). Routledge.

https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003362715-21

Leavy, P. (2023). Research design: Quantitative, qualitative, mixed methods, arts-based, and community-based participatory research approaches (2nd ed.). ​ The Guilford Press.

Saldaña, J. (2021). The coding manual for qualitative researchers, 4th edition. Sage.