Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons^™

Sped 874: Language Arts And Literacy For Students Who Are Deaf/Hard Of Hearing, Anne E. Thomas

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

This portfolio documents the process I used to critically analyze the structure, teaching methods, assessment, and students learning in SPED 874 Language Arts and Literacy for Children who are Dear/Hard of Hearing. This is a course that students in the Deaf Education Program at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) take while pursuing a master’s degree and/or graduate endorsement in Deaf Education. This portfolio documents how I aligned the course objectives, content, and activities to the Council for Exceptional Children - Initial Specialty Set for Teachers of the Deaf/Hard of Hearing (CEC-DHH). I share the results of one method I use …

7 Hands-On Strategies For Struggling Readers, Elise Murray, Stacey Murray

Kentucky Teacher Education Journal: The Journal of the Teacher Education Division of the Kentucky Council for Exceptional Children

Struggling readers are found in almost every classroom across the world. With differing learning styles and abilities, teachers are encouraged now, more than ever, to be innovative when teaching foundational reading strategies. Within this article, readers are provided with a literature review of research and educational literature that discusses how multisensory, hands-on activities promote engagement and active learning for all students. The recommended seven hands-on learning strategies that can promote learning and support for struggling readers during literacy instruction include Build the Words, Feel the Words, Whole Body Letters, Five Finger Retell, Sight Word BINGO, …

Teaching With The Genius In Mind: Enacting Literacy As A Civil Right, Katie Glupker, Pam Gower, Angela Knight

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

Because literacy is a civil right, educators are responsible for designing and implementing literacy education that is designed with the excellence of all students in mind. In order to learn about ways to ensure that literary practices are equitable for all students, the authors joined an educators’ book club to read Cultivating Genius: An Equity Framework for Culturally and Historically Responsive Literacy by Gholdy Muhammad. Muhammad describes the Black literary societies of the past and challenges educators of today to enhance classrooms by upholding equity and excellence through a five-layered framework: Identity, Skills, Intellect, Criticality, and Joy.

We studied Muhammad’s …

Responsible Classrooms: Unfinalizability, Responsibility, And Participatory Literacy In Secondary English Language Arts, Emma Jamilah Gist

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study examines participatory literacy practice in secondary English language arts classrooms. While literacy achievement in this context is often measured according to a student’s ability to receive and repeat predetermined information within the scope of mandated curricula and standardized tests, this study attends specifically to classroom literacy practice that centers authentic, unanticipated, dialogic student response. Within its consideration of literacy practice, this study applies the Bakhtinian notion of unfinalizability to consider those conditions that allow for learning experiences that are not predetermined but are rather uniquely, unpredictably, and unrepeatably co-constructed by individual students, student groups, and teachers. These unfinalizable …

Virtual Free-Writing Journal Portfolios In An Intensive English Program In Iraq, Charles Mckinney

MA TESOL Collection

Middle-Eastern English language learners (ELLs), specifically Iraqi students, are often not well equipped to succeed in university settings where English is the medium of instruction (EMI) for their intended graduate and undergraduate studies. Oftentimes, they are weaker in their academic literacy skills, when compared to listening and speaking, and need extra scaffolding and/or remedial instruction to develop their reading and writing dexterity for overall academic success. One way to support their writing development is to implement free-writing journal projects that will enable them to cultivate an original writer voice, to think quickly and critically in the L2, and to integrate …

Student Centered Language Teaching: A Focus On Student Identity, Rachel Mano

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

This portfolio is a compilation of essays that describe what the writer has come to see as essential topics in second language acquisition. It begins with a professional environment piece, and then a teaching philosophy statement focused on student identity and interaction in the classroom. This is followed by an essay on observations of teaching. The next two sections focus on pragmatic resistance among advanced learners and the importance of preparing learners for peer interaction. The portfolio concludes with an annotated bibliography outlining the main concepts associated with Communicative Language Teaching, a method that is commonly employed in second language …

"I Felt Scared The Whole Time": On Emotional Responses To Sexual Assault Narratives, Amber Moore

Feminist Pedagogy

No abstract provided.

An Evaluation Of Educator Preparedness In Content Area And Disciplinary Literacies In The High School Classroom, Lauren E. Bernat

Dissertations

A secondary education debate that currently exists between the content area and disciplinary literacy is how content area and disciplinary literacy strategies and educator preparedness to teach those components to fit together to further student achievement. The purpose of my study was to evaluate if educators are prepared to teach content area and disciplinary literacy in high school content area classrooms. The context of this evaluation was to seek information from teachers and administrators about how literacy is integrated within high school classrooms in various communities across the United States. My study demonstrated both quantitative and qualitative data that reflect …

Infographic: School Funding – What Are Educators Seeking Support For?, Dominique Russell

Teacher infographics

Philanthropic funding is one way school leaders can access support to implement and enhance initiatives and projects. Australian charity Schools Plus recently published details of applications for its latest round of grants. The requests from schools provide a snapshot of the initiatives and projects educators are seeking funding for.

Connecting Inquiry, Research, And Technology: The Multigenre Digital Inquiry Project, Marla K. Robertson, Amy Piotrowski, Jennifer M. Smith

Teacher Education and Leadership Faculty Publications

This article describes research on a Multigenre Digital Inquiry Project (MDIP), a technology-infused project designed to provide an opportunity for students to inquire about a topic of interest and share their research using 21st century technologies. Instead of composing a research paper or literature review, students designed a website with pieces written in multiple genres to share their learning, including at least two pieces created using digital tools. In this article, the authors share the design of the MDIP and how it was implemented in three teacher education courses. Data analysis aimed to understand how pre-service teachers engaged in this …

Exploring The Changing Nature Of Teachers’ Pedagogic Identities During The Delivery Of Online Literacy Teaching, Deb L. Brosseuk, Lynn Downes

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper explores the interconnectedness between Australian teachers’ literacy practices and their pedagogic identity during the global pandemic. In doing so, the paper presents pedagogic identity as a dynamic, ever-evolving construct involving teachers and their teaching environment. Findings are reported from a case study of early years and primary teachers. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to collect qualitative data. From teachers’ self-reported teaching experiences, we identify three orientations to pedagogic identity: The Driver; The Collaborator; and The Apprentice. Drawing on analytic work, the paper finds that the online delivery of literacy teaching brought opportunities for teachers to shift between pedagogic identities, …

Linguistic Awareness And Dyslexia Beliefs Among Teachers Of Students Who Are Blind Or Visually Impaired., Nosheen Gul, Lindsay N. Harris, Alicia Larouech, Gracie Strohm

CISLL Publications

US students who are blind or have visual impairments do not read at the level of a third-grader with typical sight until, on average, halfway through the seventh grade. As a first step toward narrowing that gap, we investigated levels of linguistic awareness among teachers of students who are blind or visually impaired (TSBVIs) because research with general education teachers has demonstrated a link between teacher linguistic awareness and student literacy outcomes. We also examined the accuracy of dyslexia beliefs among TSBVIs and whether TSBVI linguistic aware- ness and dyslexia beliefs are associated with training and experience variables. A survey …

Culturally Relevant Teaching For The 21st Century: The Success And Challenges Of Pre-Service Teachers When Using Technology In Critical Ways, Virginie Jackson, Stacy Delacruz, Dominique Harry

Georgia Journal of Literacy

This case study examined pre-service teachers' use of technology as they implemented culturally relevant literacy lessons while tutoring elementary students in their field placement sites. As we enter a new decade, we want our students to be future-ready with technology skills. Here, we present an examination of how pre-service teachers integrated culturally relevant teaching with technology along with a discussion of the tools and devices their students used. Findings provided evidence that as pre-service teachers experienced authentic and engaging learning experiences within a supportive space, they emerged equipped to teach in culturally responsive ways that supported student learning and deeper …

Integrating Mathematics, Science, And Literacy Into A Culturally Responsive Stem After-School Program, Shelli L. Casler-Failing, Alma D. Stevenson, Beverly A. King Miller

Current Issues in Middle Level Education

This manuscript shares the implementation of an after-school literacy in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) program designed for middle grade students to increase their interest in science and mathematics learning. This program was conducted at our local Boys and Girls Club facilities where students learned about four science topics (renewable energy, water cycle, Newton’s laws, and natural disasters). Students participated in culturally responsive reading and writing activities incorporating culturally relevant books, journal writing, hands-on projects, and a culminating science fair presentation on a topic of their choice. The authors determined that using literature, particularly culturally responsive picture books and …

We Are Each Other’S Breath: Tracing Interdependency Through Critical Poetic Inquiry, Karen Zaino, Jordan Bell

Publications and Research

In this paper, we utilize poetic methods that seek to surface, but not overdetermine, the unanticipated relational excess produced through literacy practices. Karen, a queer white woman, and Jordan, a cis-gendered heterosexual Black man, wrote a series of letters to one another throughout the Spring 2020 semester. We turned to critical poetic inquiry to analyze the letters, interested in poetry’s capacity to highlight literacy’s critical power and its emergent potential. We found ourselves implicated in each other’s lives in new ways; we found our relationship both strengthened and tested. Such relational indeterminacy creates methodological challenges in literacy research. We found …

Online Training On Formative Assessment For Early Language, Literacy, And Numeracy (Elln) In The Philippines: Final Report, Rti International

Teacher education

This report describes findings and lessons learned from an online teacher training course in the Philippines. "Becoming a Learning Detective" is a 5-day online course that focuses on the design and use of formative assessment to improve literacy and numeracy outcomes in Kindergarten to Grade 3 (K–3) classrooms. The emphasis is on classroom-based assessment strategies that are embedded within daily teaching and learning experiences, involving an active partnership between teacher and students. The course brings together asynchronous and synchronous elements, as well as whole group, small group, and individual learning experiences. The course was implemented for the first time among …

“The Hidden Door That Leads To Several Moments More”: Finding Context For The Literacy Narrative In First Year Writing, Denise Goldman

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

The literacy narrative has emerged as a useful genre in composition pedagogy because of the perceived bridge it provides between personal narrative and academic literacy. Although there remains disagreement among practitioners with regard to its purpose and efficacy, it continues to be a staple in the writing classroom because it has the potential to help students learn analytical skills while fostering investment through the features of a personal narrative. Recent efforts in the field, especially with regard to questions of transfer of writing, have focused on the benefits of genre and community discourse analysis as a means to help students …

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 …

Elementary School Library Collections: A Content Analysis Of Science Trade Books, Sandra W. Watson, Sheila F. Baker

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

In this study, science trade books from the libraries of 10 elementary schools across the United States were evaluated using the modified Hunsader rubric for their overall quality pertaining to science content, literacy, and critical literacy criteria. Findings indicate that 62% of the books met the overall science content criterion, 99% met the overall literacy criterion, and 41% met the overall critical literacy criterion. The majority of science trade books in each school were life science books, and the majority of books across all schools were 18–23 years old, with many being much older. Implications and recommendations are provided.

Meeting The Needs Of Adult Language Learners: A Focus On Communication And Literacy, Jessica Hercules

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

This portfolio is a compilation of the author’s perspectives and reflections about teaching and language acquisition during her time in the Master of Second Language Teaching (MSLT) program at Utah State University. The portfolio includes samples of writing on a variety of topics surrounding second language teaching and acquisition developed through study and teaching experience.

This collection of papers begins with the author’s perspectives on teaching, including a description of her desired professional environment, a reflection on her experiences observing other language teachers, and the author’s teaching philosophy statement. In the second section, the author presents two research papers and …

Policies, Practices, Places, And People: How Elementary Preservice Teachers Learned Literacy Teaching, Chad H. Waldron

Michigan Reading Journal

This article features cases of how elementary education preservice teachers made sense of teaching literacy. Their contexts for teaching varied in policies, curricula, and demands for their literacy teaching, shaped their learning and understanding of literacy instruction and assessment as beginning teachers. The research featured in this article pushes upon conceptualizations of "good" literacy teaching and how mentor teachers serve a critical role in preparing the next generation of elementary literacy teachers. Recommendations are made on how to best support elementary preservice teachers in literacy instruction and assessment.

Foregrounding The Margins: A Dialogue About Literacy, Learning, And Social Annotation, Lauren Zucker, Jeremiah H. Kalir, Michelle L. Sprouse, Jeremy Dean

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

Annotation, or the addition of a note to a text, enables readers-as-writers to make their thinking visible. This article, which is structured as a dialogue among four literacy educators, discusses the potential for social annotation to transform literacy learning, assessment, and teacher education. Collectively, the authors argue for social annotation as a vital and transformative practice in hybrid and post-pandemic education. The authors reflect on their personal and pedagogical uses of annotation, sharing related resources for educators across K-12 and higher education contexts.

Course Redesign To New Paradigms: Exploring Humanizing Racial Literacies With Pre-Service Teachers, Becky Beucher, Tisha Ortega, Grant Souder, Kimberly Martin-Boyd, Katy Killian

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

Spring 2021, undergraduate students across the country were entering their second year of obligatory online learning. This moment in time correlated with an increased attention to the Black Lives Matter movement by white youth and the mainstream public. This study, guided by a team of teacher educators committed to realizing racial justice in Secondary literacy education, designed and examined the impact of humanizing racial literacies curriculum taught through forced on learning on undergraduate pre-service teacher’s perspectives about anti-racist curriculum design. This study builds upon a growing body of research on realizing humanizing racial literacies in teacher education pedagogy. The curriculum …

Learning From Experience: My Time With Swim And Read, Aleksandra Tosic

SASAH 4th Year Capstone and Other Projects: Publications

My experiences at SWIM and READ have led me through many challenges and earned me many successes and have helped me to gain a variety of hard skills and soft skills while letting me improve upon some that I already had. Here, I got the opportunities to work on a book project called “20 Stories of Hope” and to spend a year teaching a young child literacy skills, both of which have given me valuable chances to both find and pursue new passions and to develop my career pathway towards teaching.

Lao Pdr: Policy Insights From A Multi-Year Teaching And Learning Study Series, Debbie Wong, Hilary Hollingsworth

Education Analytics Service

The Australian Government is supporting significant education reforms in Lao PDR. This policy note summarises baseline findings on primary school teacher practice and student learning outcomes, at a point just prior to major curriculum changes. Key findings include the need for intensive action on Lao language literacy, targeted teacher training on the new curriculum with a special emphasis on second language learners, and deepened engagement with school communities to reduce student absenteeism and improve student readiness for school. Part of a multi-year study series, the Education Analytics Service is investigating how the Basic Education Quality and Access in Laos program …

Preservice Teachers’ Use Of The Technology Integration Planning Cycle: Lessons Learned, Kristi Tamte Bergeson, Beth Beschorner

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Preservice teachers (PSTs) often feel unprepared to utilize digital tools in meaningful ways that support learning in the elementary classroom. It is imperative that teacher preparation programs provide support in this area so that children can learn to use digital tools to communicate in the 21st century. Previous research suggests that the Technology Integration Planning Cycle (TIPC) can support teachers in making wise decisions related to the use of digital tools to support a literacy goal. In the present study, the authors examined how the TIPC can be used with PSTs as they develop technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge and …

Exploring Novice Elementary Teachers' Use Of Academic Language In Planning, Teaching, And Assessment, Lori Teegarden

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Academic language is the key that promotes disciplinary reading, writing, speaking, and thinking. The novice teacher may not be prepared with the knowledge, skills, and strategies to effectively plan, teach, and assess for academic language achievement. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to understand the novice teacher’s experiences and perspectives of academic language development. The research questions focused on the novice elementary teacher’s practice of addressing academic language demands in teaching. The conceptual framework that guided the study comprised Bruner’s education theory that places teaching and learning within the culture and society and Rumelhart’s theory focused on vocabulary …

Primary Grade Teachers’ Perspectives On Early Literacy Intervention Programs In Urban Title I Schools, Whitney L. Smith

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Developing a strong foundation in literacy is an essential component of students’ overall academic success. However, first through third grade students in urban Title I schools located in the southeastern region of the United States continued to show limited progress on state literacy assessments. The purpose of this basic qualitative study with interviews was to explore teachers’ perspectives on their experiences with literacy intervention programs. The conceptual framework was based on Senge’s learning organizations and systems thinking theory. Research questions explored literacy intervention program effectiveness and supports teachers needed for ongoing implementation with fidelity. Data from semistructured interviews with 13 …

Teachers’ Perceptions Of Literacy Instruction With Autistic Students During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Heather Ann Marzenski

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractFamilies and educators have voiced concerns about the literacy skills of students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and the COVID-19 pandemic has amplified the situation. Pandemic era studies have demonstrated the ramifications that students with ASD have faced, including regression of literacy skills, lower grades, lack of support services, and subpar instruction. Teachers' perceptions remained unexamined in the pandemic era studies. The purpose of this basic qualitative dissertation was to examine teachers’ perceptions about the materials and strategies used to deliver literacy instruction during the pandemic for students with ASD. The conceptual frameworks that underpinned this study were self-determination theory …

Embracing The New Normal: Infusing Academic Language And Technology To Empower Ells, Scott B. Freiberger

Journal of English Learner Education

This au courant, research-based article offers specific program ideas for teachers during this unprecedented time when supporting our ELLs is especially needed.