Language and Literacy Education Commons^™

Engaging Pre-Service Teachers In Interactive Social Justice-Themed Read-Alouds, Kayln Hoppe

Educational Considerations

This qualitative case study explored how pre-service teachers responded to social justice-themed picture book read-alouds in an undergraduate literacy course. Data were collected from personal observations, semi-structured focus group interviews, and student work, and were analyzed using inductive analysis. Findings indicate how reading multicultural literature aloud plays an important role in post-secondary students’ content understanding and preparation for a career in teaching. This case study may inspire teacher educators to incorporate multicultural read-alouds into higher education coursework.

Relationships, Learning, And Motivation For One Virtual Literacy Camp During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Caitlin Spears, Heather D. Young

Educational Considerations

This article focuses on one university literacy camp for kindergarten through sixth grade students that shifted from traditional in-person instruction to a virtual setting during the COVID-19 pandemic. The change from an in-person camp to a virtual camp setting created an opportunity for research in investigating students’ attitudes towards literacy, literacy learning, and participation within the newly formatted virtual literacy camp. Twenty-six kindergarten through sixth grade students were interviewed at the beginning and conclusion of a semester-long literacy camp regarding their attitudes toward learning and participation in the literacy camp. Throughout the data, researchers noted the theme of relationships as …

Red Flags, Red Herrings, And Common Ground: An Expert Study In Response To State Reading Policy, Vicki S. Collet, Jennifer Penaflorida, Seth French, Jonathan Allred, Angelia Greiner, Jingshu Chen

Educational Considerations

In many U.S. states, legislation seeks to define effective instruction for beginning readers, creating an urgent need to turn to scholars who are knowledgeable about ongoing reading research. This mixed-methods study considers the extent to which recognized literacy experts agreed with recommendations about instruction that were included on a state’s reading initiative website. Our purpose was to guide implementation and inform policy-makers. In alignment with the initiative, experts agreed reading aloud, comprehension, vocabulary, fluency, phonological awareness, and phonics all deserve a place in early literacy instruction. Additionally, they agreed some components not included on the website warranted attention, such as …

Latinx Teachers Advocating And Providing Support To Culturally And Linguistically Diverse Students And Their Families, Pedro S. Espinoza, Kay Ann Taylor

Educational Considerations

This study explores how Latinx teachers engage in social justice agendas for their Culturally and Linguistically Diverse students, specific barriers and support systems these Latinx teachers encounter in their social justice work, and the educational strategies Latinx teachers value in their role as advocates in their social justice work. The following three themes emerged from participant data: (a) Tesoros from students and families, (b) Advocacy for CLD students: High expectations of all students, (c) Support system as pre-service and in-service teachers: hechale ganas/work hard. We briefly formulate each of these themes, providing fragments from participant testimonios as examples. After formulation …

Teaching Literacy: A Puzzle-Based Approach, Johannah D. Baugher Dr., Robyn Akins

The Advocate

In an effort to achieve stronger, curricular alignment and establish a more concrete relationship between literacy theory and instructional practice, curricular redesign within an undergraduate, literacy methods course commenced. With a clear rationale for why course redesign was necessary, a collective vision rooted with intention and focused on student learning drove the redesign process. After much thought and critical reflection, instructional planning was complete and the Model of the Complete, Literate Student was born. This research-based model holistically identifies ten puzzle pieces critical to one’s literacy development and ultimately, became the framework that anchored all course content.

Course redesign was …

Teaching For Global Citizenship With Young Adult Literature In The Social Studies, Casey Holmes

Educational Considerations

The rapid increase in communicative and technological integration through the late 1990s and early 2000s has reanimated the discussion surrounding the need to prepare young people to be global citizens. While the exact definition of global citizenship is difficult to pinpoint, the global community has identified several competencies that comprise responsible global citizenship. Although this idea has not yet saturated the American educational system, it will now be tested on an international scale when the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation conducts the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) this year. When the 2018 results are published in 2019, “global competence” will …

Teachers’ Increased Use Of Informational Text: A Phenomenological Study Of Five Primary Classrooms, Heather D. Young, Christian Z. Goering

Educational Considerations

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explain how the Common Core State Standards may have influenced teachers' practices and philosophies regarding literacy instruction. Conducted in five kindergarten through second-grade classrooms within one elementary school, this research study collected semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, and teacher-reported lesson plans over fourteen weeks. We observed that one of the largest instructional shifts due to the implementation of new standards was in the area of informational text use. This change came about not due to the volume of empirical research stating the benefits of such texts, but rather because of an educational policy …