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Adaptive Instruction Through Reflection: How Preservice Teachers Create And Implement Individualized Literacy Lessons In A University Reading Center, Jennifer Marie Lennon

Dissertations

Modern classrooms are increasingly diverse. Students vary in their academic abilities, personal interests, cultural and linguistic backgrounds, and previous experiences (Allen et al., 2013). To meet the varied needs of students, educators must adapt their instruction so all are able to find success. Modifying lesson plans and changing instruction based on student needs are forms of adaptive instruction (Hoffman & Duffy, 2016; Vaughn, 2019). This study explored the metacognitive processes of preservice teachers (PSTs) as they implemented adaptive instruction within their literacy lessons in a university reading center tutoring program. Adaptive instruction was examined through two lenses: first, as PSTs …

Navigating The Chasms Between Real And Ideal Literacy Professional Development, Poonam Arya, Kathryn L. Roberts

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

In this study, we examine the supportive and hindering factors that influenced 26 teachers’ implementation of pedagogy learned through a research-based, resource-intensive literacy PD initiative (100+ hours). Through post-intervention interviews, we explore the space between learning and enactment of new practices for literacy teaching and learning. Specifically, we ask, What are teachers’ perceptions of the contextual factors that support and hinder their moving from learning to implementation of literacy PD? Results indicate four primary supportive factors (PD facilitators, communities of practice, schools/administrators, and student affective responses) and three primary hindering factors (circumstantial factors, lack of resources, and mismatches between school …

Coaching High School English Teachers In Guided Reading For Struggling Readers, Tiffany L. Gallagher, Arlene Grierson, Catherine Susin

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Although small-group guided reading is traditionally an elementary school instructional practice, this study details how high school English teachers perceived its implementation in high school classrooms. As part of a larger, multiyear research project, this 2-year study examined a dual-level coaching professional learning program that included two school district literacy coaches, eight provincial literacy facilitators, and 21 high school teachers. Teachers were coached in the implementation of guided reading and small-group instruction to support students in Grades 9–10 who were struggling with reading. Qualitative methods were used to gather data including observations of the professional learning meetings and teachers’ instruction; …

Examining Guided Reading Practices In Kindergarten Classrooms, Erica Barnes, Kimberly L. Anderson, Thea Yurkewecz

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

This study investigated how 15 kindergarten teachers from one school district implemented small-group Guided Reading (GR). Analysis of video recordings indicates substantial differences in how GR was conducted, with none of the teachers fully implementing GR as conceptualized by Fountas and Pinnell (2012). Consistency across teachers was limited to reading a new book and using a picture walk as part of the book introduction. Differences were observed in how the books were read (choral, round robin, or independent reading) and in instructional activities before and after reading the new book, with word solving being the most prevalent focus of instruction. …

Editorial Review Board

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

No abstract provided.

Supporting Preservice Teacher Development Of Culturally Responsive Reading Instruction Through A Cross-Course Assignment, Brittany Adams, Annemarie Bazzo Kaczmarczyk

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

This article describes design-based research undertaken by two teacher educators to support elementary preservice teachers (PSTs) in integrating culturally responsive teaching practices with reading methods. The study described was motivated by calls for teacher preparation programs to be more intentional about supporting PSTs in synthesizing their learning across courses, especially when it comes to culturally responsive reading pedagogies. This article focuses on an activity that tasked PSTs to select culturally authentic children’s texts and design interactive read-alouds that engage elementary students in conversations around social justice topics while simultaneously meeting English language arts standards. Analysis of the lesson plans revealed …

“How Come There’S No Spelling?”: What Spontaneous Comments Teach Us About Student Thinking During Vocabulary Learning Tasks, Susan J. Chambrè

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Vocabulary development remains an active and robust research area, yet little is known about what students, particularly young students, think during vocabulary learning. A commonly held assumption is that young learners employ few, if any, cognitive and metacognitive strategies when engaged in literacy tasks. Conversely, decades of research confirms that older learners with active metacognitive tools are better equipped to make meaning from text, of which vocabulary is a crucial component. To better understand the strategies and metacognitive actions young students make when learning vocabulary, student comments (N = 35) spontaneously produced during two experimental vocabulary learning tasks were reviewed …

What Does Written Reflection Reveal About Novice Teachers’ Knowledge, Beliefs, And Skills Related To Literacy Assessment?, Erin K. Washburn, Abby Pierce, Chyllis E. Scott, Carly Waters

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Assessment of literacy learning has been a long-standing focus for future teachers in elementary education. Teacher educators use ongoing written reflection to promote learning before, during, and after coursework and field experiences. In this study, the researchers examined the effects of ongoing written reflection on two groups of novice teachers’ knowledge, beliefs, and skills about literacy assessment in a semester-long graduate-level literacy assessment course with embedded fieldwork. First, the researchers conducted qualitative and descriptive analyses to examine what novice teachers reflected about in their ongoing written reflections. Second, they conducted comparative analyses to examine the extent to which the two …

Editorial Review Board

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

No abstract provided.

Transformation Of Preservice Teacher Identities: The Effects Of Authentic Reading Experiences, Macie Kerbs, Heather Pule

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Preservice teachers (PSTs) come to teacher education programs after many years as students in the K–12 school system—a system that is focused on standardized testing and inauthentic literacy practices. These experiences have shaped PSTs’ personal literacy identities and their view of reading pedagogy, many times for the negative. In an effort to address this systemic issue, two university professors at different institutions conducted an action research study (N = 40) by redesigning their individual literacy methods courses around authentic literacy experiences with the intention of reshaping PSTs’ personal views of literacy and in turn their preconceived pedagogical ideas of literacy …

Interventions To Improve Teacher Self-Efficacy Beliefs About Writing And Writing Instruction: Lessons Learned And Areas For Exploration, Jadelyn Abbott, Tracey Hodges, Sherry Dismuke, Katherine Landau Wright, Claire Schweiker

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

The present study explores the findings of a systematic literature review of research about teachers’ self-efficacy for writing and writing instruction to demystify what is known and what remains unknown. We analyzed the pool of research on self-efficacy for writing and writing instruction from January 1992 to August 2020. Our final inclusion of articles resulted in 22 articles that examine teacher self-efficacy for writing and writing instruction while meeting our standards of examining changes in self-efficacy. We examined how shifts in self-efficacy are measured, specific interventions that increase teachers’ self-efficacy for writing and writing instruction as well as interventions that …

Unpacking Writer Identity: How Beliefs And Practices Inform Writing Instruction, David Premont

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

Although identity research is common in educational studies, little research explores the connections between identity and pedagogy, and far fewer specifically examine how writer identity influences writing pedagogy. Additional research exploring the connection between writer identity and writing pedagogy is necessary to offer nuanced teaching strategies to strengthen writing pedagogy. The present study explores the connections between writer identity and writing pedagogy for three preservice English teachers with strong writer identities during their respective student teaching experiences. Interview data were utilized to explore writer identity and analyse connections to writing pedagogy through In Vivo coding in this narrative inquiry. Findings …

Creating Communities Of Practice Focused On Writing Instruction, Katie Schrodt, Brandi Nunnery, Brian Kissel, Melissa Knapp

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

This article will share the literacy coaches' experiences of engaging in a literacy community of practice (Lave and Wenger, 1991). It will share the writing cohort process, topics discussed, books read, professional developments enacted, and materials generated during their time of study. The writing cohort enacted meaning and identity to the community to create learning and growth. Effective communities of practice promote innovation, spread knowledge, develop social capital, and facilitate existing knowledge (Lave and Wenger, 1991). These communities learn and grow through requesting information, problem solving, and reusing available assets. After a thorough description of the writing community and its …

Writing Without Audiences: A Comprehensive Survey Of State-Mandated Standards And Assessments, James E. Warren

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

Writing studies professionals agree that students must learn to write for specific audiences. Despite this professional consensus, there is reason to believe that this skill is not widely tested in state-mandated writing assessments. In this study, we survey the state content standards for English Language Arts and the state-mandated writing tests for high school students in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. While all states have adopted standards that require students to write for specific audiences, only a small percentage test this skill on state-mandated assessments. We argue that the consequences of this misalignment between standards and assessment …

A Pen, A Pencil, Or A Keyboard: Writing Center Tutors’ Perceptions, Mirta Ramirez-Espinola

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

A Pen, A Pencil, or a Keyboard: Online Writing Center Tutors’ Perceptions

Author, Adjunct Faculty, Grand Canyon University

Abstract

Writing can be challenging for some students, even those who have graduated high school and are moving forward to higher learning. Thus, an idea about students and writing support led to a study about writing centers and the individuals responsible for supporting struggling writers. This qualitative case study explored the tutors’ perceptions of online writing tutoring and investigated how tutors perceive their work using both asynchronous and synchronous online tutoring modes at a 4-year university. Though the writing center participating in …