Education Commons^™

Literacy Across The Disciplines: A Way To Re-Engage Secondary Students, Jenelle Williams

Michigan Reading Journal

In this article, the author describes the opportunities present with leveraging disciplinary literacy approaches, in terms of re-engaging teens with learning. The author also provides several cautions for literacy leaders to keep in mind.

The “Reading Wars” Are Back: What Are The Implications For Adolescent Literacy?, Jenelle Williams

Michigan Reading Journal

This article unpacks the current political and educational debates around the Science of Reading, Simple View of Reading, and Active View of Reading. In the article, the author describes evidence-based reading practices for adolescents and connects them to components of the Active View of Reading. Finally, the author provides a rationale for caution in over-applying research-based approaches for early literacy with adolescents.

Leveraging Student Voice And Technology Within An 8th-Grade Literacy Community, Shavonne M. Jacobson

Michigan Reading Journal

Rochester Community Schools Middle School Language Arts Curriculum Consultant Shavonne (Shevy) Jacobson shares the collective experience of literacy leaders and student researchers as they piloted the new Michigan Middle School Reading and Writing Information unit. In this unit, learners address the essential question: “How can we contribute to the sustainability of our planet?” While centering on student learning and intentionally focusing on the teaching of deep learning, these 8th-grade literacy communities engaged in a comprehensive reading and writing workshop experience to create a podcast to share with their peers and beyond. Jacobson delineates the foundational research-based practices and frameworks that …

Emergent Bilinguals’ Participation In Multilingual Engineering Learning Ecologies, Alberto Esquinca, Maria Teresa De La Piedra, Lidia Herrera-Rocha

Journal of Pre-College Engineering Education Research (J-PEER)

Students classified as English language learners (ELLs), many of whom are also Hispanic/Latine´/x, are at times excluded from opportunities to engage in engineering design experiences due to the emphasis on learning English. In dual language bilingual education, however, language policies that allow for the use and development of more than one language afford opportunities for ELLs that are not available in monolingual environments. We draw on a multilingual learning ecology theoretical framework to analyze data gathered from a two-year ethnographic study. During approximately 200 hours of field work, we gathered multiple forms of data through ethnographic methods, to include field …

Teachers' Conceptions And Enactment Of Disciplinary Literacy In Elementary Science Instruction: A Comparative Case Study, Melissa P. Mendenhall

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This case study explores elementary teachers’ conceptions and enactment of disciplinary literacy in elementary science instruction and the interaction between the two. Specifically, the purpose of this research was to describe how four fifth-grade teachers view literacy appropriate to science. Participants for this research were invited to participate by responding to an online survey and were selected based on criteria. Data sources include interviews, teacher artifacts, and observation. Qualitative data were coded, the codes compared to ideas in the field (overall themes), and global themes were generated as sense making tools to describe trends found in each case, case comparisons, …

Co-Realizing Covid Co-Teaching Concerns: Recognizing Present Challenges To Student Equity In Remote Instruction, Matt Albert, Chyllis Scott

Taboo: The Journal of Culture and Education

When the COVID-19 pandemic began to affect in-person schooling, teachers around the world expressed a balance of optimism for new possibilities in instruction along with trepidation at the challenges which lay ahead. Shortly after March 2020 and into the 2021 school year, remote instruction became the norm for several educators. As the pandemic persisted, the optimism teachers first exhibited began to wane considerably as several challenges to student access arose. These issues (e.g., Internet connectivity, crowded living spaces becoming workspaces, children and adults simultaneously working at home, etc.) pose significant threats to equity in education, and they ironically become troublesome …

Why Word Problems Are Hard For High School Math Students: Problem Formulation And Disciplinary Literacy, Emily Charlotte Elliott

Senior Theses

This thesis is an extensive literature review designed to better understand the obstacles high school math students encounter when solving word problems (WPs). While many high school students find math difficult in general, students especially struggle with WPs. Often they are unable to provide correct solutions to WPs even when they are successful in solving computational problems using the same mathematical concepts (Cummins, 1988). Data from the 2007 National Survey of Algebra Teachers suggests that solving WPs is one of the skills that students are most unprepared for when entering Algebra 1 (Hoffer et al.). Additionally, many students try to …

Centering Community In Disciplinary Literacy Implementation: One District’S Story, Jenelle Williams, Stacie Angel, Jennifer Wilcox, Angela Church

Michigan Reading Journal

In this article, the authors describe the various ways they have centered community while implementing disciplinary literacy in their district. They outline how the work began, the role of professional learning, and the systemic approaches that are effectively moving the work forward. This story offers an alternate approach to implementation--one that honors educators' expertise, differentiates approaches, and develops collective efficacy.

What’S The Purpose?: A Mixed-Methods Exploration Of Purposes For Reading In Secondary Classrooms, Dianna Townsend, Hannah Carter, Rachel Knecht

Literacy, Language, and Culture Faculty Publications and Presentations

Supporting the wide range of readers in secondary disciplinary classrooms can involve a number of helpful scaffolds and instructional routines, and the role of reading purpose may be particularly important. Research suggests that reading purposes impact reading processes and outcomes, and also that disciplinary experts have discipline-specific purposes for reading. In this qualitative-dominant, mixed-methods study, five high school classrooms were studied to explore what kind of purposes teachers establish for reading in the disciplines and how students perceive those reading purposes. Teachers’ (n = 7) reading purposes and related instruction were explored via observations and interviews, and high school …

Disciplinary Literacy In Practice: Examining How English Teachers Read Literary Texts, Matt Cantrell

Literacy Practice and Research

This study investigates the viability of disciplinary literacy by (1) examining whether English teachers can use disciplinary methods to read a disciplinary text and (2) identifying possible relationships between teacher training and the use of disciplinary approaches. In total, 21 English instructors thought-aloud as they read an unfamiliar poem, and two independent raters evaluated each transcribed response as either “Disciplinary” or “General” depending on the types of reading strategies demonstrated using a rubric generated from previous expert-novice studies in literary reading. This study found that ten (10) of the 21 participants used at least one disciplinary method to make sense …

Putting Out Fires Through A Re-Grounded Critical Literacy: Slowing The Spread Of Misinformation Through Teacher Education, Noah Asher Golden, Breanna Couffer

Literacy Practice and Research

In this essay, we discuss the challenges teacher educators face when preparing secondary teachers to educate adolescent learners in an age of seemingly-ubiquitous online mis- and disinformation. Mis- and disinformation about COVID-19, the climate crisis, or even the shape of the planet Earth are abundant in our mediasphere, and teacher educators can play a central role in supporting secondary-level learners in navigating the multiple and conflicting claims they come across. We explore a literacy teacher education approach that marries discursive analysis with empirical investigations, and share an example of critical textual analysis bolstered by scientific investigation.

What Can We Learn From The Different Understandings Of Mathematical Literacy?, Svein Arne Sikko

Numeracy

Mathematical literacy, quantitative literacy, numeracy, matheracy, disciplinary literacy, and content-area literacy are among a plethora of terms used to link mathematics and literacy. In addition to this abundance of terms, the content of the terms is not precise, and in some cases the terms are used interchangeably. I delve into this landscape and dissect the meaning of each of them. From such an analysis of mathematical literacy, numeracy, and quantitative literacy, we learn about the importance of quantitative practices and elementary mathematics in society, including both how mathematics is necessary for everyday life but also how it can be used …

High School Biology Teachers' Integration Of Argumention In The Context Of Disciplinary Literacy Coaching, Ashley Strong

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Scientific argumentation is a core scientific practice. Although scientific argumentation has been linked to increased learning of scientific content, improved reading, writing, and critical thinking, traditional science classrooms have not included scientific argumentation. Teachers often have little experience learning or teaching science through argumentation and need support to integrate this complex practice of science into their classrooms. This study compared four high school biology teachers’ instruction of scientific argumentation as they worked with a literacy coach. Data were collected through interviews, audio recordings of classroom instruction and literacy coaching sessions, and artifacts. After analyzing the data, several key findings stood …

Taking Up The Work: Snapshots Of Disciplinary Literacy Instruction, Part I, Laura Gabrion, Jenelle Williams

Michigan Reading Journal

This article is part of a series devoted to unpacking disciplinary literacy instructional practices for educators at all levels. Here, we explore the role of disciplinary literacy instruction at all levels, in light of recent changes to Michigan's teacher certification grade bands. This article provides suggestions for getting started with addressing disciplinary literacy in instruction, as well as practical examples of what this might look like within English Language Arts classrooms.

Enacting Disciplinary Literacy Instruction: Essential Practices In Action, Darin B. Stockdill, Stacie B. Woodward

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

In this paper, we will explore elements of the Essential Instructional Practices for Disciplinary Literacy: Grades 6-12 , a statewide initiative in Michigan designed to support exactly this kind of teaching. In particular, we will discuss key instructional implications of the Essential Practices for both social studies and ELA instruction and highlight important commonalities and distinctions across these two content areas. We provide concrete examples of these practices in action as we share activities and reflections from a curricular project we undertook with US History and ELA teachers called Equitable Futures. In this initiative, teachers engaged their students in inquiry-driven …

Teacher Of Literature And Literacy: Rethinking Secondary English Language Arts, Jenelle Williams, Laura Gabrion

Michigan Reading Journal

This article aims to explore the complexity of instruction in secondary English Language Arts (ELA) classes, addressing the role of teacher identity, educator preparation programs, equity and access, and the role of the Essential Instructional Practices for Disciplinary Literacy in the Secondary Classroom. We suggest that there is a possibility to attend to both teaching literature and literacy within middle- and high-school ELA classrooms and provide a vision for working toward this balance.

Reading And Writing Like A Scientist: Implementation Of Disciplinary Literacy Strategies In A Middle School Science Classroom, Cameron K. Boyette

Masters of Education in Teaching and Learning

This study examined what happened when disciplinary literacy strategies were implemented in a middle school science class along with the students’ and teachers’ perceptions of these strategies. The researcher implemented disciplinary literacy strategies that went along with the scope and sequence for seventh-grade science at the time of implementation of the study. She collected data through surveys, observations, and interviews with students and teachers. Data were analyzed through the constant comparative method and coding. When disciplinary literacy strategies were implemented, students showed compartmentalization of reading and writing to their ELAR classes. Teachers showed negative perceptions of their students’ literacy abilities. …

The Critically Reflective Practicum, Aaron Stoller

Honors in Practice Online Archive

A defining feature of honors education is meaningful engagement within and across disciplines, yet significant challenges for creating and sustaining meaningful transdisciplinary research remain. One such challenge involves a nuanced understanding of a discipline, or what educational researchers call “disciplinary literacy.” This article introduces critically reflective practicum (CRP) as a pedagogy for developing disciplinary literacy among honors students. CRP acknowledges forms of inquiry as design situations and seeks to simulate instructional scaffolding so that students both experience and reflect on their questioning. Through the practicum, students begin to understand, engage with, and critique the methods and sociocultural standards of one …

Lift Every (Student) Voice With The Essential Instructional Practices For Disciplinary Literacy, Jenelle Williams, Laura Gabrion

Michigan Reading Journal

In this article, the authors make the case for re-engaging students in learning during the 2021-2022 school year by prioritizing social emotional learning and whole child principles, along with student voice and discourse. The Essential Instructional Practices for Disciplinary Literacy in the Secondary Classroom: Grades 6 to 12 are one tool to define instructional practices that align to these efforts.

Grey Clouds And Silver Linings: Professional Learning For Secondary Educators During Covid-19, Jenelle Williams

Michigan Reading Journal

No abstract provided.

Social Studies Literacy, Justin Hingst

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

The field of education is constantly evolving. It is the role of professionals in education to provide students with the best opportunity to be successful learners. One major element of modern American Education, literacy instruction in the content areas, has become a key point in the discussion of how to best educate students. For the better part of one hundred years, the notion that every teacher is a teacher of literacy has been considered best practice. Within the last thirty years, alternative methodologies for literacy instruction within the content areas have become more prevalent as the literacy scores of American …

The Power And Promise Of Scaffolded Reading Instruction For Teaching Civic Literacy. A Response To "Supporting Students To Read Complex Texts On Civic Issues: The Role Of Scaffolded Reading Instruction In Democratic Education", Melanie M. Mccormick, Anne-Lise Halvorsen

Democracy and Education

In this response, we make the case for the power and promise of scaffolded reading instruction for teaching civic literacy—civic content knowledge and skills needed to both comprehend and take a stand on civic issues at a local, national, or global level. We argue the following: (a) Now, more than ever, students need to develop the skills and will to critically consume and analyze media sources; (b) the Reading Apprenticeship model is a promising approach for teaching students the knowledge and skills to navigate and analyze complex text; and (c) intentional collaboration between literacy and social studies educators (K–12 teachers, …

Implementing Content Literacy And Disciplinary Literacy: A Mixed Methods Study Of Middle School Teachers' Pedagogical Dispositions, Madison Weary

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

Researchers uphold that teachers' beliefs toward reading influence their planning and implementation, and that content area teachers are often reluctant to implement literacy strategies and skills within their instruction (Ness, 2009; Nourie & Lenski, 1998; Richardson et al., 1991). Much of this reluctance stems from teachers’ lack of familiarity with content area and disciplinary literacy or misconceptions surrounding instruction that supports literacy implementation (O’Byrne et al., 2020). However, within the field of literacy, there are tensions between the implementation of content area versus disciplinary literacy (Graham et al., 2017).

The purpose of this study was to examine middle school content …

A Case Study On The Implementation Of Disciplinary Literacy With Multimodal Design In Social Studies, John J. Castaldo

Theses and Dissertations

Social studies education provides education researchers with a less common opportunity to discover multimodal instructional methods for disciplinary literacy. During a 12-week period in 2021, four social studies teachers with at least one history course in a large suburban Mercer County, New Jersey school district participated in a case study to showcase how disciplinary literacy can be implemented using multimodal design. Given the existing lack of research on instructional literacy design for secondary grades, this study provides researchers and practitioners with multiple perspectives on how to maximize teaching practices in underrepresented areas of education. Significantly, social studies teachers will thus …

Teachers’ Perspectives About Students’ Productive Textual Engagement In Social Studies, Jacquelynn S. Popp, Paula Di Domenico, Joanna Makhlouf

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Because close reading and critical analysis of multiple sources is central to social studies, understanding teachers’ perspectives about productive textual engagement is imperative. This comparative study explored twelve 5ththrough 11th-grade social studies teachers’ perspectives about supporting students’ textual engagement via think-aloud interviews. Teacher-participants read hypothetical vignettes representing four paradigms of instruction with texts in social studies classrooms. Participants ranked the vignettes, provided reasoning about their value, and reflected on their own practices in relation to the paradigms. Participants placed higher value on fostering students’ historical literacies and civic literacies than on supporting students’ content-area literacies or traditional content acquisition. There …

Defining Disciplinary Literacy In History, Christina Zendzian

OUR Journal: ODU Undergraduate Research Journal

History is the complement of several factors that intertwine with one another. Disciplinary literacy in history is complex because it requires the disciple to draw meaning from multiple aspects such as social, cultural, economic, and political. By understanding those factors can one become literate in history. This paper will discuss what it means to be literate in history while formulating an inquiry-based project for students.

Essential Practices For Disciplinary Literacy Instruction In Secondary Classrooms, Laura Gabrion, Michelle Renna, Megan Schrauben, Jenelle Williams

Michigan Reading Journal

In response to the call for increased literacy and more equitable learning opportunities across the state of Michigan, the 6-12 Disciplinary Literacy Task Force formed. The group’s first charge was to revise and publish the Essential Practices for Disciplinary Literacy Instruction in the Secondary Classroom: Grades 6 to 12, based on the work of lead researchers from the University of Michigan, Drs. Elizabeth Moje and Darin Stockdill. During the 2019-2020 school year, education consultants and educators from around Michigan participated in the Regional One-Day Institute, which served as an introduction to the Essential Practices for Disciplinary Literacy Instruction in …

The Relationship Between The Next Generation Content Area Reading Professional Development Program On The Effectiveness Of Teaching Literacy Strategies In High School Biology Classes, Tia Pridgen Brown

Dissertations

The need for effective content area reading teachers have continued to increase since the introduction of one public school districts’ Content Area Reading Professional Development (CAR-PD) in 2006. In 2011, modifications were made to improve the program, and it became known as the Next Generation Content Area Reading Professional Development (NGCAR-PD). The purpose of this program evaluation is to investigate the relationship between NGCAR-PD certified Biology teachers and their ability to implement reading strategies with science content effectively. The context of this inquiry is a mid-sized public school district that has implemented the program since 2006 at the middle and …

Teacher Perceptions And Implementation Of A Content-Area Literacy Professional Development Program, Osha Lynette Smith, Rebecca Robinson

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

The Common Core State Standards recommend that all educators equip students with the literacy skills needed for college and careers. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine middle-level content-area teachers’ perspectives on a district-led literacy professional development program and their implementation of the literacy strategies they learned. The conceptual framework included Bruner’s constructivist, Bandura’s self-efficacy, and Knowles’s andragogy theories. These theories informed the investigation of adult learners’ perspectives regarding the way they learn and gain confidence in providing literacy instruction. Eleven English, math, science, and social studies teachers participated in the study through individual interviews. Data were …

Peer Review In Online Professional Communities To Support Elementary Disciplinary Literacy Planning, Jaime Colwell, Valerie Taylor

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

This chapter reports the results of a qualitative case study focused on elementary pre-service teachers' perspectives on planning for disciplinary literacy using peer review in an online professional community (OPC). Seven pre-service teachers enrolled in an eight-week asynchronous, online content literacy course served as participants. Results indicated pre-service teachers' valued extended opportunities for reflection in the OPC and appreciated diverse backgrounds and experiences offered by their OPC colleagues. However, perceived challenges remained that are important to consider when incorporating peer review cycles into online asynchronous coursework. This study considers these perspectives in light of designing and planning online coursework in …