Digital Commons Network^™

Community School Hubs: A Path To Literacy For English Learners And Families, Elizabeth Ortiz-Wright

The Reading Professor

This qualitative narrative study examined the perceptions of community school hub members and Hispanic English learner parents at an elementary school in a suburban district. Eighty-four percent of the students at the study site were economically disadvantaged. The inquiry drew on sociocultural theory and Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory to explore how these hubs support families. Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews and field observations and analyzed using Quirkos software. The findings demonstrate the overall value of community school hubs in addressing basic needs, increasing the potential for academic success. However, a significant lack of clarity exists; many parents were unaware …

Beyond The Deficit Lens: Black Family Literacy As Social, Cultural, And Historical Practice: Implications For Literacy Teacher Education, Tasean D. Baldwin

The Reading Professor

Literacy education in the United States has long centered on standardized English and formal classroom instruction. While intended as a universal benchmark, this approach systematically overlooks and delegitimizes the rich literacy history and traditions rooted in Black families and communities. Through the application of frameworks such as New Literacy Studies, Gee's Theory of Discourse Communities, Yosso's Community  Cultural Wealth model, and Critical Race Theory, this article reframes Black family literacy through a social, cultural, and historical lens. It is forged and perpetuated by resistance to racial oppression, through the intergenerational exchange of knowledge, and oral traditions within the community. This …

Interrupting The Retention Cycle: The Impact Of Relationship-Centered One-To-One Literacy Tutoring On Affective And Cognitive Outcomes For At-Risk Third-Grade Readers, Amy Nussbaum

The Reading Professor

Third grade serves as a critical literacy benchmark in Indiana, where students who do not pass the Indiana Reading Evaluation and Determination (IREAD) assessment may face retention. The consequences of retention are particularly pronounced for students living in high-poverty communities, where inequitable access to literacy opportunities often compounds existing academic challenges. This article examines a six-week, relationship-centered literacy intervention implemented at an underserved Catholic school in South Bend, Indiana. Through a partnership with Tutor-ND, trained community tutors provided one-to-one, evidence-based literacy instruction to students at risk of retention following unsuccessful performance on IREAD. Drawing upon research related to high-impact tutoring, …

Beyond The Label: Investigating The Relationship Between Ell Placement And Teacher Expectations For Academic Rigor, Bruce A. Torff, Audrey Figueroa Murphy

The Reading Professor

Urban teachers (N=142) completed a survey assessing how placement of English learners in common pedagogical settings that vary in ESL models (self-contained, pull-out, push-in, bilingual, and dual language) was associated with teachers' beliefs about rigor of curriculum. Teachers significantly favored low-Critical Thinking (CT) curricular activities over high-CT ones consistent with "rigor gap" research showing that teachers tend to view ELLs in need of low-CT curriculum. Beliefs consistent with the rigor gap also emerged within the ELL population, based on placements. Teachers preferred curriculum tilted toward low-CT instruction for students with the greatest challenges--those given the most ESL-sequestered placements (self-contained and …

Resistance And Adaptation In Banyumas Traditional Gending: Musical Negotiation Between Cultural Preservation And Commercial Performance In Lengger And Ebeg, Darno Darno, Binarung Mahatmajangga

Bahasa dan Seni: Jurnal Bahasa, Sastra, Seni, dan Pengajarannya

This study investigates the musical dynamics of Banyumas-style traditional gending within the contestation of Lengger and Ebeg performances amid the demands of modern entertainment. Using a qualitative method combining ethnomusicological and cultural-sociology perspectives, the study examines changes in musical structure and the socio-cultural forces driving them, and asks specifically: what defines Banyumas gending musicality at the level of instrumental garap (working practice); what concrete forms of adaptation and resistance are observable in contemporary performance; and how these dynamics can be read through Merriam's concept of stability and change and Bourdieu's theory of capital and field. Data were collected through in-depth …

Children Second Dialect Acquisition In North America, Iqbal Nurul Azhar, Mohammad Halili

Bahasa dan Seni: Jurnal Bahasa, Sastra, Seni, dan Pengajarannya

This article aims to examine the causes, social contributing factors, and the linguistic consequences of Second Dialect Acquisition (SDA henceforth) in children in North America, drawing on relevant articles. For children growing up in a monolingual region but then must live in a new space, acquiring second dialect can pave them to improve their communication skills, adjust their social and identity belonging. Yet why, how, and the linguistic consequence of SDA require further studies. We used the thematic synthesis in reviewing the existing related literature based on three steps: article identification, selection, and analysis. Six causes of SDA were found: …

Flexibility In Javanese Folk Performing Arts: Adaptation, Creation, And Innovation, Kiswanto Kiswanto, Paimin Paimin, Wahyu Prihatin

Bahasa dan Seni: Jurnal Bahasa, Sastra, Seni, dan Pengajarannya

This study aims to uncover and explain the concept and model of flexibility as a mechanism for the sustainability of folk performing arts amidst conditions of social and cultural change. The study was conducted using an ethnographic approach, based on participatory and collaborative activities within the Turonggo Seto Boyolali group, and supported by data collection techniques including observation, interviews, documentation, and literature review. The results of this study indicate that flexibility is a principle and approach applied through the process of adaptation, creation, and innovation. This process is carried out to preserve and develop traditional performing arts, ensuring they continue …

Teaching Writing With Confidence: A Professional Learning Series To Build Special Education Teachers' Knowledge And Self-Efficacy For Explicit Writing Instruction, Lindsay E. Bowen

Masters Projects

Writing is an essential skill used to communicate ideas effectively, assess understanding, and demonstrate critical thinking across educational and workplace settings. Yet, research demonstrates that a majority of special education teacher preparation programs do not offer standalone courses in writing instruction methods, leaving many special education teachers to enter the profession with limited knowledge of effective writing instruction for students with high-incidence disabilities. This project explores current research on effective sentence-level writing instruction for students with high-incidence disabilities, as well as a research-based approach for applying these practices in a systematic yet adaptable manner to meet the needs of individual …

Preparing Newly-Hired Elementary Teachers For Evidence-Based Reading Instruction Through Professional Development, Sierra Rose Anthony

Masters Projects

There is a growing need to equip teachers with the knowledge and support necessary to foster student growth in reading. The problem addressed in this project is that many newly-hired teachers lack the knowledge, confidence, and instructional coaching needed to effectively implement evidence-based literacy practices in conjunction with high-leverage teaching practices. Newly-hired teachers include teachers who are new to a district, both those who have transferred from another school and those who are just beginning their teaching careers. This project proposes a year-long professional development program that equips newly-hired teachers with evidence-based literacy practices and high-leverage teaching practices through explicit …

Evaluating Gender Equity In The Berenstain Bears Picture Books, Christy Tisnawijaya, Geni Kurniati

Bahasa dan Seni: Jurnal Bahasa, Sastra, Seni, dan Pengajarannya

Picture books serve as a foundational medium in early childhood education, utilizing interrelated visual and verbal elements to foster linguistic, cognitive, and social development. Despite their pedagogical utility, certain literary works inadvertently perpetuate traditional gender roles, constraining children's conceptualizations of identity. This study evaluates gender representation within eleven selected titles of The Berenstain Bears series. Employing a qualitative multimodal content analysis, the study integrates Butler's gender performativity framework (1990), Callow's multimodal narrative approach (2020), and Adam and Harper's evaluative criteria (2021) to examine how domestic, social, and recreational roles are constructed. This study offers novelty by establishing a dual-lens multimodal …

Developing Confidence And Motivation In Writing Through Authentic And Collaborative Writing Approaches, Sara J. Weeks

Masters Projects

Writing is an expressive and complex process that takes time to develop, yet writing in middle school classrooms is primarily used as a way to demonstrate mastery of content rather than develop writers. Writing instruction is limited or used inefficiently in today’s classrooms, which gives students fewer opportunities to engage in authentic writing experiences. As a consequence, middle school students report a lack of confidence and motivation to write. These conditions contribute to stagnant writing achievement for middle school students. Research suggests that improving student writing outcomes requires writing environments that provide authentic, collaborative, and process-oriented writing experiences. However, these …

Persepsi Mahasiswa Terhadap Penggunaan Tiktok Sebagai Media Pembelajaran Kosakata Bahasa Mandarin Secara Mandiri, Agnes Meliana, Lukluk Ul Muyassaroh, Sawitri Retnantiti

Journal of Language, Literature, and Arts

This study aims to describe students' perceptions of using TikTok videos as a medium for independent Mandarin vocabulary learning, including the types of accounts used, the benefits obtained, and the challenges encountered. This study employed a descriptive qualitative approach involving 27 students from the 2023 cohort of the Undergraduate Mandarin Language Education Program at Universitas Negeri Malang. Data were collected through semi-structured questionnaires and analysed using the Miles and Huberman interactive model, consisting of data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing. The findings indicate that students generally hold positive perceptions of TikTok as a medium for Mandarin vocabulary learning. The …

Speakin’ Southern: A Phenomenological Exploration Of The Lived Experiences Of College Students With A Southern Dialect, Michael J. Farmer

All Dissertations

Southern dialects are often stereotyped, and southern speakers are often negatively perceived.  The prejudice they may face is perpetuated by Standard Language Ideology (SLI) in which linguistic discrimination is intentionally or unintentionally perpetuated through power structures. While scholarship exists regarding southern dialectal speakers facing SLI in settings such as K-12 classrooms, the workforce, and dialectally unique communities, research into southern dialectal college students navigating the power structure of higher education is sparse. What research does exist in this space often utilizes a mixture of quantitative and qualitative methods to track linguistic variables in light of these experiences. This dissertation, however, …

Unlocking Potential: How High-Fidelity Plcs Protect First Graders From Over-Identification In Tiered Placement, Tomeka D. Love

All Dissertations

Nationally, the demand for special education services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) has reached an unprecedented peak, serving 7.5 million students (representing 15% of all public school students) in the 2022–23 school year. While national academic discussions regarding socioeconomic hurdles and systemic inequities frequently center on urban environments, minoritized students in rural communities face a persistent and disproportionate over-representation in special education. This trend is driven by complex intersections of geographic isolation, systemic resource allocation issues, and cultural misalignments in assessment practices.

At the local level, Love and Logic Elementary School [pseudonym], a rural K-5 institution, faces …

Student Motivation In Writing, Technology Integration, And Middle Grade Pedagogy, Carol M. Edge

Dissertations

This qualitative case study explored how seventh-grade students experienced three-dimensional (3D) holographic technology during writing instruction. Grounded in Self-Determination Theory (SDT) and Multimodality Theory, the study examined how students’ intrinsic motivation processes were influenced by immersive learning environments that incorporated multiple modes of communication. A qualitative case study design was employed with 15 seventh-grade students. Data were triangulated through classroom observations, semi-structured interviews, focus groups, and artifact analysis.

Findings indicated that the 3D holographic environment supported students’ experiences of autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Students engaged with diverse modes of expression, including textual, visual, spatial, and gestural forms, which enhanced their …

Bridging The Gap: A Qualitative Case Study Of Pre-K Teachers' Literacy Professional Development Needs In The Context Of Georgia's Early Literacy Act (Hb 538), Deborah Lissimore

Dissertations

Abstract

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore how school-based pre-K teachers in Georgia perceived their literacy professional development needs within the context of the Georgia Early Literacy Act, House Bill 538, and to examine the role of teacher leadership in supporting their professional learning. Although the Act established evidence-based literacy requirements and professional learning expectations for kindergarten through third grade educators, comparable supports for school-based pre-K teachers were not clearly defined. Participants included five certified pre-K teachers employed in a Georgia public school district. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and researcher field notes, with member …

A Focus On Student Needs In German Instruction, Elisa E. Remund

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

This portfolio serves as documentation of the author’s professional progress throughout the Master of Science of Second Language Teaching (MSSLT) program at Utah State University, shown through teaching philosophy, hands-on teaching experience and practice, and demonstrates the author’s use of pedagogical strategies and theory, including but not exclusive to comprehensible input, the sociocultural method, dynamic assessment, and the output hypothesis. It details the usage of current research-based strategies to increase classroom engagement and student proficiency, such as the IMAGE Model for teaching culture and language, collaborative learning, and dynamic assessment strategies. Furthermore, the portfolio includes a reflection on the benefits …

Voices From The Classroom: A Multiple Case Study Of Early Childhood Educators Implementing Science Of Reading Curriculum With Multilingual Learners, Alecia Clamp

All Dissertations

This multiple case study examined how first-grade teachers implemented Science of Reading (SoR) aligned literacy instruction with MLs in two Title I elementary schools. As SoR-aligned curriculum and policies continue to expand across the United States, questions remain regarding how these approaches address the linguistic and literacy needs of MLs. This study explored teachers’ perceptions of SoR-aligned curriculum, the instructional adaptations they made to support MLs, and the challenges and successes they experienced during implementation.

Grounded in constructivist and sociocultural perspectives, this study employed aholistic multiple case study design situated within a mixed concurrent dominant status framework. Five first-grade teachers …

Shaping Writers, Shaping Pedagogy: Elementary Teachers’ Writing Identities And Instructional Change Within Literacy Coaching Contexts, Elizabeth T. Besch

All Dissertations

Despite the central role of writing in literacy development, many elementary teachers report limited preparation in writing instruction and uncertainty in how they understood themselves as writers. Increasingly, literacy coaching has been positioned as a form of job-embedded professional learning that supports instructional change; however, less is known about how coaching contexts shape teachers’ identities as writers and how those identities relate to instructional practice.

This qualitative multiple-case study examined how elementary teachers’ writer identities were constructed and enacted within a literacy coaching context. The study addressed the following research questions: (1) How do literacy coaching contexts, as figured worlds, …

Exploring Literacy Preparedness And Academic Experiences Of First-Year Community College Students, Alexandra Ranieri

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

Community colleges enroll students with diverse levels of academic preparation, yet placement into college-level coursework often relies heavily on high school grade point average (GPA), which may not fully reflect students' literacy preparedness. Although research has linked literacy proficiency to academic success, little is known about how first-year community college students experience literacy preparedness during the transition to college. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine the literacy preparedness of first-year community college students and explore how their reading abilities aligned with their early academic experiences. Guided by the Reading Systems Framework (Perfetti & Stafura, 2014), the …

Back Matter

The Writing Center Journal

Back Matter for Writing Center Journal 44.1.(2026)

Convenience And Communication: Students’ Experiences In Synchronous Online, In-Person, And Asynchronous Consultations, Carolyn Wisniewski

The Writing Center Journal

Writing center tutorial modalities have proliferated in recent years, yet research has not kept pace. Students’ experiences in online writing tutorials remain understudied (Denton, 2017; Hewett & DePew, 2015). Better understanding students’ experiences across session modalities is critical to achieving an inclusive and accessible writing center (Martinez & Olsen, 2015). This study used a mixed-methods, comparative design to determine how students selected, experienced, and perceived the accessibility of synchronous online, in-person, and asynchronous modalities. Qualitative and quantitative analysis of 138 surveys and 22 interviews indicated students perceived each modality to provide effective writing support. They report selecting tutorial modality based …

“Like Learning To Play Chess”: Relationality And The Development Of Interpersonal Communication Skills In Writing Center Consultants, Kara Poe Alexander

The Writing Center Journal

This study explores how writing center consultants develop interpersonal communication (IPC) skills through relational interactions during peer tutoring sessions. Grounded in the theoretical framework of relationality, which views learning as emerging through relationships, I analyze interviews with undergraduate and graduate consultants at a private R1 university. The findings demonstrate that one-on- one conferences foster a broad spectrum of IPC skills, including adaptability, listening, intercultural communication, asking questions, building rapport, giving constructive criticism, setting boundaries, empathizing, and patience. The development of these knowledge and skills is cultivated through collaborative, meaning-making interactions with writers. As such, writing centers emerge as dynamic, relationship-driven …

A Literature Study On Collaborative Art Learning In Tasikmalaya Based On Paulo Freire's Pedagogy Of The Oppressed, Wan Ridwan Husen, M. Fahmi Nugraha

Bahasa dan Seni: Jurnal Bahasa, Sastra, Seni, dan Pengajarannya

This study examines collaborative dialogical learning in art education based on Paulo Freire's critical pedagogy. It aims to explore how the concept of collaboration can be integrated into school-based art learning by utilizing the cultural assets of Tasikmalaya as a contextual framework. This research employs a literature study method by analyzing primary sources, particularly Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed, along with secondary literature from academic journals related to critical pedagogy and art education. The analysis focuses on identifying key principles of dialogical learning and their relevance to collaborative practices in art education. The findings indicate that Freire's concept of …

Batik Motifs For The Distinctive Jarik Of The Samin Community In Reinterpreting The Essence Of Samin Surosentiko Pitutur Luhur, Sugeng Wardoyo, Aryo Anggorojati, Tri Wulandari

Bahasa dan Seni: Jurnal Bahasa, Sastra, Seni, dan Pengajarannya

The Samin community (Sedulur Sikep) in Margomulyo, Bojonegoro, has the value of Pitutur Luhur inherited by Samin Surosentiko, but it has not been represented in the batik jarik motif as a communal identity. This creation-based research aims to explore this value, realize it in the design of written batik, and examine its philosophical meaning as an effort to preserve intangible cultural heritage. The method used is practice-based research with a qualitative approach through literature study (ethical data), participatory observation, and in-depth interviews with elders (emic data). The creation process refers to the stages of experimentation, manekung, and the formation of …

``Is That What It Means?'' Performative Storytelling In Early Childhood Education: Meaning-Making Through Interaction, Fathia Anggriani Pradina, Untung Yuwono, Bernadette Kushartanti

Bahasa dan Seni: Jurnal Bahasa, Sastra, Seni, dan Pengajarannya

Early childhood education is inextricably linked to the role of adults in every aspect of its process. In addition to formal classroom learning, storytelling with a storyteller is another activity that involves adults. The dialogic interaction between storyteller and children fosters the creation of meaning. This study examines how storytelling, as an interactional practice, can dynamically construct meaning together between storyteller and children. Sixty-one kindergarten children participated in this study during a one and half hour storytelling activity. The qualitative and interactional approach used in this study focused on moment-to-moment exchanges during the naturally occurring storytelling event. The findings indicate …

Negotiating Poetic And Musical Structure: The Adaptation Of Pupuh Sinom In Tembang Sunda Cianjuran, Mustika Iman Zakaria Sudrajat, Yosep Nurdjaman Alamsyah

Bahasa dan Seni: Jurnal Bahasa, Sastra, Seni, dan Pengajarannya

In the context of Sundanese culture, pupuh is a literary form that has static rules. As a literary form, pupuh is often used as a guide for composing song lyrics in Sundanese traditional vocal art, thereby leading to interactions with musical elements. In this case, this interaction happens to the pupuh Sinom, as mentioned in the lyrics of the tembang Sunda cianjuran song entitled Sinom Degung and Gawil Tarik. In this context, a negotiation occurs between the conventions of the pupuh Sinom and the song's melody, ultimately leading to the pupuh Sinom's adaptation. Using a descriptive analysis approach, …

Vocabulary Acquisition Through Developmental Play, Amy Storlie

Graduate Teacher Education

As the population of English learners in the United States grew, there was a greater need for linguistically and developmentally appropriate instructional approaches for young learners. The question that guided this research on appropriate instructional approaches was: How does developmental play support the acquisition of academic vocabulary among early-emergent multilingual students in kindergarten and first grade? The research review examined peer-reviewed research across three interconnected bodies of literature: play-based learning, interactions in developmental play, and vocabulary instruction. The findings indicated that purposeful, guided play strengthened executive function, expressive language, and academic growth. In addition, collaborative practices such as translanguaging supported …

Automated Scoring Of Prosody In Oral Reading Fluency: Integrating Acoustic And Sentence/Chunk-Level Silence Features With Machine Learning, Kuo Wang

Education Policy and Leadership Theses and Dissertations

Prosody, the ability to read with appropriate variation in pitch, duration, pausing, and stress, is an important (and challenging to measure) dimension of oral reading fluency (ORF) and comprehension. ORF prosody is currently measured through human raters and rubric-based scoring systems (e.g., the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) or the Multidimensional Fluency Scale (MDFS scales). The rating process is labor and resource-intensive and introduces rater bias. Recent work has shown acoustic features to predict prosody ratings; however, their models had low generalization performance on cross-domain data (unseen passages and student samples).

The present study investigated the automated assessment of …

Inspiring Multilingual Children To Explore The Natural World Using Nature-Based Literature, Jennifer Hill, Deborah Wheeler

Journal of English Learner Education

Nature-based learning has become more popular in the United States since COVID-19, and incorporating nature-based learning including books about the natural world aligns with children’s natural curiosity, and desire to actively explore through play. Indeed, nature-based learning has many benefits ranging from supporting child development, promoting social-emotional well-being, and creating an inclusive learning environment for multilingual students. Reading nature-based literature and providing access to nature-based literature is a holistic methodology teachers should include in their classroom. This paper highlights the benefits of nature-based learning and provides a variety of topics and resources teacher can utilize.