Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons^™

K-12 Writing Teachers’ Careerspan Development: Participatory Pedagogical Content Knowledge Of Writing, Sarah J. Donovan, Jenn Sanders, Danielle L. Defauw, Joy Myers

Literacy Practice and Research

This narrative grounded theory study examines 19 US K–12 teachers’ development of pedagogical content knowledge of writing (PCKW) across their careers. Building on writing pedagogies and career cycle theories, we invited writing teachers to tell stories of critical experiences that contributed to their development. Findings indicate that teachers’ understanding of writing, being writers, and teaching writers were propelled by various critical experiences--both personal and professional. Our model shows that these experiences prompted teachers to engage in participatory PCKW to cultivate development. Implications are that writing teachers need communities of practice, mentors, and ongoing participatory engagements to sustain process pedagogies.

Opening The Circle To Support Dyslexia Policy Success: Learning From The Voices Of Literacy Teacher Educators, Kathleen S. Howe, Teddy D. Roop

Literacy Practice and Research

An authoritative discourse surrounds the current dyslexia legislation and science of reading movement that largely silenced literacy teacher educators’ voices and participation in this important policy initiative. This study was designed to include the voices of literacy teacher educators from four Midwestern states (Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska). The study was conducted across two phases. This article focuses on Phase II, which involved one-on-one interviews with participants. The interview responses were qualitatively analyzed using a priori and inductive analysis. Three major themes emerged that inform how literacy teacher educators negotiated sense-making of a historically confusing construct (dyslexia) and related policy initiative.

Ungifted: Teacher Candidates’ Understanding Of Giftedness Through Literature Circles, Sharryn Larsen Walker, Wendie Lappin Castillo

Literacy Practice and Research

The purpose of this qualitative study was to analyze the reflective comments made by teacher candidates (TCs) after they participated in weekly discussions about the tween novel Ungifted by Korman (2012). The TCs attended at a regional Pacific Northwest university, majoring or minoring in various educational fields. After reading and discussing the topic of giftedness as it related to their engagement with the novel, the TCs wrote a reflective essay about their new understandings of teaching the gifted. Using the constant-comparative method, the essays from three sections of the course over a three-year period were read and reread for identifiable …

What Are The Disciplinary Literacy Complex Texts And Comprehension Habits Of Mind In Elementary (K-6)?, Stephanie Buelow, Charlotte Frambaugh-Kritzer

Literacy Practice and Research

This article spotlights complex texts and the comprehension habits of mind that elementary students may encounter across the disciplines of visual arts, performing arts, science, social studies, and mathematics.

Teacher Educators' Beliefs, Self-Efficacy, And Perceptions Related To Dyslexia: Phase I, Teddy D. Roop, Kathleen S. Howe

Literacy Practice and Research

Educators are often blamed by dyslexia organizations and advocates for failing to provide appropriate reading instruction for students, including the identification and instruction of student with dyslexia. As a results, states are responding with legislation for how reading should be taught. This study focuses on including the voices of teacher educators, who largely were not included in the process of informing legislation. It sought to understand their: (a) beliefs about dyslexia; (b) self-efficacy for working with students with dyslexia and other reading challenges; and (c) perceptions about their programs and dyslexia legislation.

Contemporary Children’S Literature In Education Courses: Diverse, Complex, And Critical, Jennifer Graff, Lauren Aimonette Liang, Miriam G. Martinez, Amy Mcclure, Deanna Day, Mary-Kate Sableski, Jackie M. Arnold

Literacy Practice and Research

Contemporary Children’s Literature in Education Courses:

Diverse, Complex, and Critical

While research has established the importance of children’s literature in classrooms, the inclusion of children’s literature courses in teacher preparation programs increasingly faces resistance. A team of children’s literature and literacy education scholars conducted a national survey of children’s literature courses in P-8 teacher certification programs to better understand the role these courses currently serve. Survey questions centered on course types, formats, descriptions, goals/objectives, readings, and assignments. Initial analysis focused on a comparison of undergraduate and dual-degree programs, and further analysis of a subset of undergraduate courses involved cross-data comparison …

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.

Literacy Faculty Perspectives During Covid: What Did We Learn?, Xiufang Chen, Shuling Yang, Tala Karkar Esperat, Chelsey M. Bahlmann Bollinger, Ann Van Wige, Nance S. Wilson, Kathryn Pole

Literacy Practice and Research

This multi-institutional collaborative survey research investigated graduate literacy faculty’s experiences and perceptions of teaching online during Covid-19 in the U.S.A. Results indicate faculty did not perceive limitations in these online learning environments. However, they encountered various challenges, and handling field experiences became the greatest challenge. Also reported were their mental and physical health concerns. Faculty participants realized they needed to be more student-centered with their online teaching. As faculty move toward post-pandemic course design and teaching, lessons learned during the pandemic can help build stronger and more equitable graduate literacy education programs.

The Path To Self-Authorship: The Pre-Service Teacher-Writer, Shari L. Daniels Dr., Pamela Beck

Literacy Practice and Research

This literature review examined the relationship between the development of a teacher who writes (teacher-writer) and the phases of self-authorship, “the internal capacity to define one's beliefs, identity and social relations” (Baxter Magolda, 2001, p. 269). The narratives of three teacher-writer-authors show a correlation to Magolda’s self-authorship phases. The purpose of this examination was to explore the question: How might a writing support teachers in personally and professionally? Research suggests new teachers are unprepared for today’s classrooms. Could this unpreparedness may be related to a lack of self-authorship? Might a consistent writing practice propel teachers through the phases of self-authorship …

"A Virtual Community Literacy Partnership: A Place-Based Reading And Writing Initiative Between College Of Education Students And Urban Middle School Students", Anne Katz Ph.D., Justin Hanson

Literacy Practice and Research

How can I reflect on my practice as a literacy teacher? “I want to be the type of teacher who inspires great writing from my students, and makes them yearn for more knowledge.”

As a reading professor, I am inspired by the words Justin wrote in the pre-project survey at the beginning of the semester. In the midst of a pandemic, how could I create a learning experience to facilitate a literacy collaboration with local middle school students? I planned the community literacy partnership in the context of a College of Education grant written the previous year. This format anticipated …

Critical Awareness For Literacy Teachers And Educators In Troubling Times, Patriann Smith, S. Joel Warrican

Literacy Practice and Research

The field of literacy remains assailed by a persisting discrepancy between an increasing body of literacy research that honors the diversity in students’ practices juxtaposed against a persistent system of schooling and high-stakes assessment that has not been designed to draw from underrepresented students’ literate assets. This discrepancy has created a situation where teachers often receive well-intentioned instruction from literacy educators about how to address diverse literacy needs, but then, struggle to enact this instruction in the high-stakes testing environment of classrooms and schools where they have little autonomy. We argue in this essay that critical multilingual, critical multicultural and …

Preparing Contemporary Reading/Literacy Specialists: Pairing Research And Standards, Allison Swan Dagen, Aimee Morewood, Susan Taylor, Christina Glance, Angela Curfman, Kimberly Goletz

Literacy Practice and Research

The evolving role of the school-based reading/literacy specialist and the shifts necessary for programs preparing candidates for this role are addressed in this paper. We begin by sharing a brief history of the role as implemented in preK-12 schools, with a focus on contemporary responsibilities. Then, we present a detailed account of the program level decisions aligned with the International Literacy Association Standards for Literacy Professionals 2017 (2018) and programmatic elements research (Lacina & Block, 2011). We conclude this paper with recommendations and next steps for programs who focus on reading/literacy specialist preparation and implementation of the role in preK-12 …

Expanding Representations For Historical Content In Literacy, Samuel Dejulio, James R. King, Norman A. Stahl

Literacy Practice and Research

In spite of the need for literacy educators to possess an understanding of the history of the field, such historical perspectives are often absent in current programs, even at the graduate level. Fortunately, embedding history in programs and courses can be done in a variety of meaningful, engaging, and simple ways. In this article we present and describe several approaches for instructors who want to embed or even expand history into current literacy courses. We organize these approaches into three areas: Inquiry-based learning, dramatic structures, and humanistic approaches.

Cultivating The Strategy Of Summarizing Sequential Expository Text: Scaffolds And Supports For The Intermediate Grades, Jennifer M. Green, Jennifer Holman

Literacy Practice and Research

Fourth-grade students in the United States have notoriously experienced a fourth-grade slump in reading. This persistent trend has led researchers, school leaders, and teachers to seek ways to improve comprehension of expository text. Summarizing is a complex strategy that requires students to analyze, condense, and express information in their own words. This action research project explored the impact of three techniques (cloze summaries, graphic organizers, and paraphrasing) on students’ ability to summarize sequential text in writing. Explicit instruction led to marked growth in students’ ability to write summaries of expository text.

Influencing Professional Practice Through Academic Service Learning (As-L):, Sharryn Larsen Walker, Anne Katz Ph.D.

Literacy Practice and Research

Findings related to the reflections of pre-service teachers in Family Literacy Events (FLE) as an Academic Service-Learning (AS-L) project are detailed. Pre-service teachers in the Southeast and Pacific Northwest were provided opportunities to bridge theory with practice and apply research-based approaches in community settings. Teacher candidates provided parents with language and literacy strategies and resources to assist them in creating high-quality home learning experiences. The teacher candidates’ reflections are categorized by basic tenets of AS-L, specifically Awareness, Engagement, Practice, Integration, and Reflection. Speculation as to how their reflections were affected by the prompts of their essays are discussed.

Some Suggestions For Volunteers Facilitating Literature Circles, Annmarie Alberton Gunn

Literacy Practice and Research

As a former elementary teacher and now a literacy teacher educator, I like to get back into elementary classrooms. This year, I asked my child’s teacher if I could volunteer one day a week for an hour in any way that could be helpful. She agreed, and I was particularly excited when this exemplary classroom teacher asked me to facilitate literature circles with a group of third grade students.

Transformations In Teacher Candidates’ Development As Literacy Teachers In A Summer Literacy Camp: A Sociocultural Perspective, Janet Richards

Literacy Practice and Research

In this inquiry I applied an innovative sociocultural framework to explore transformations in preservice teachers’ development as literacy teachers as they worked with children at-risk in a summer literacy camp. The camp incorporated a community of practice model in which teams of master’s and doctoral students mentored small groups of preservice teachers. In this study I explored preservice teachers ’ learning following Rogoff’s (1995,1997) notions of the personal, interpersonal, and community planes of analysis. I also employed a postmodernist crystallization imagery to capture multiple perspectives on the preservice teachers’ growth as literacy teachers. The study assigns importance to the contextual …