Education Commons^™

Toward A Theory Of An Integrated Theoretical Approach Of Literacy For Black Boys, Aaron M. Johnson

Michigan Reading Journal

In the education landscape the literacy of Black boys is viewed from deficit framing. Often, educators, politicians, and laypeople point to scores on standardized assessments such as the MSTEP, NAEP, ACT, SAT, and NWEA, these tests only tell a part of the story. The part of the story that those assessments do tell is the abject failure of schools’ ability to engage Black boys in school-based literacy and catapult them into proficient and advanced proficient reading levels. The part of the story that those assessments do not tell is the literate lives that Black boys lead. Furthermore, schools do a …

“Sometimes I Do This Thing”: Exploring Preservice Teachers’ Knowledge And Beliefs About Reading Instruction, Sherridon Leigh Sweeney

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Prior research has established preservice literacy teachers’ beliefs about teaching and learning are often misguided and/or overly-simplistic, yet limited work has examined in what ways their in-the-moment teaching decisions align or misalign with what they believe. This qualitative study used deductive analysis methods to: (1) Identify three preservice teachers’ knowledge/beliefs about reading, reading instruction, and learning, as evidenced by their planning, reflecting, and in-the-moment teaching decisions, and (2) investigate if/how participants’ knowledge/beliefs manifested across multiple teaching experiences. Findings indicate that while participants made attempts to act on professional ideas they explored/practiced with the support of a university-based mentor, they taught …

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.

Teachers’ Perceptions Of Self-Regulated Learning In A Technology-Supported Collaborative Learning Environment, Sharon Davenport

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In a local school district, sixth- through eighth-grade students were reading and performing on reading tests below grade level, and teachers started using strategies to promote self-regulated learning (SRL) in their classrooms. However, students continued to struggle with reading comprehension when asked to read independently. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the instructional strategies teachers used to implement SRL for reading and to explore the perspectives of middle-school teachers regarding how an SRL environment could affect students’ learning outcomes. Winne’s conditions, operations, products, evaluations, and standards (COPES) theory provided the conceptual framework for the study. Data …

Culturally Responsive Pedagogy And Writing Achievement For Native High School Students, Angelia Christine Greiner

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study focuses on the effects of culturally responsive pedagogy as it is implemented in a high school classroom with Native American students. This mixed methods case study collects, analyzes and synthesizes both quantitative and qualitative data within an overall formative and experimental design approach to measure the effects of culturally responsive pedagogy on students’ writing and their attitudes about writing. The study identified specific approaches to literacy instruction that hold promise for engaging Native students. Furthermore, findings from the study reveal the use of visual art as a particularly powerful tool that extends students’ meaning-making skills, leading to more …

Discussing Race, Policing, And Privilege In A High School Classroom, Arianna Banack

Occasional Paper Series

This article describes a unit implemented in a ninth-grade English classroom using the young adult novel, All American Boys (Reynolds & Keily, 2015) to explore issues of police brutality, privilege, and racism. Pedagogical activities are offered alongside a critical reflection of the unit as the author explores difficult moments while teaching. Implications for English educators and currently practicing ELA teachers are provided with suggestions on how to revise the unit to center on exploring the systematic oppression of people of color.

Models Of Resistance: Novice Teachers Negotiating Barriers To Best Practice, Andrew P. Huddleston, Kathryn Ohle, Amy Mullins, Hannah Lowry, Denae Shake, Jordyn Arendse

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

The purpose of this study was to examine how graduates from three teacher education programs made decisions regarding literacy instruction and assessment as well as the extent to which they were able to implement practices learned in their education programs. Participants were interviewed and observed multiple times, and a variety of documents, such as lesson plans, assessments, and journal prompts, were collected. Data were analyzed using the constant comparative method and Bourdieu’s concepts of field, capital, and habitus. Although the participants initially accepted the existing practices of their schools, they later implemented concepts learned in their education programs. The ways …

Breaking Through The Noise: Literacy Teachers In The Face Of Accountability, Evaluation, And Reform, Catherine M. Kelly, Sara E. Miller, Karen Kleppe Graham, Chelsey M. Bahlmann Bollinger, Sherry Sanden, Michael Mcmanus

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

In an era of increased accountability, it is important to understand how exemplary teachers navigate the demands placed on them by their schools, districts, and states in order to support student learning aligned with their beliefs of effective instruction. To understand these negotiations, tensions facing exemplary literacy teachers were examined through a qualitative interview study. Participants included nineteen experienced PK-6th grade teachers from across the U.S. Results of the study indicate that teachers experience discrepancies between their beliefs and state and local mandates, and they discuss a variety of strategies for negotiating these discrepancies. Findings suggest that schools can support …

The Impact Of External Audience On Second Graders' Writing Quality, Meghan K. Block, Stephanie L. Strachan

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

The overarching purpose of writing is to communicate; as such, the intended audience is a critical consideration for writers. However, elementary school writing instruction commonly neglects the role of the audience. Typically, children are asked to compose a piece of text without a specific audience that is usually evaluated by the classroom teacher. Previous studies have found a relationship between audience specification and higher quality writing among older children; this study examines the impact of audience specification on young children’s writing. Using a within-subjects design, the study compared writing quality when second-grade students wrote for internal versus external audiences and …

Culturally Responsive Literacy Instruction, Kimberly M. Jones-Goods

Journal of Research Initiatives

This qualitative study examined the incorporation of culturally responsive literacy instruction. The purpose was to explore teachers’ perception of effective culturally responsive literacy and instruction and ways in which the participants implemented culturally responsive literacy instruction. This study identified and explored three themes affecting three ways in which the participants incorporated culturally responsive literacy into their classrooms. The findings of this qualitative study align with literature on culturally responsive literacy instruction.

A Multi Case Study Of Community College Discipline Faculty’S Participation In A Disciplinary Literacy Professional Learning Community, Kristen Howell Gregory

Teaching & Learning Theses & Dissertations

Many students enter college with inadequate reading, writing, and critical thinking skills to successfully navigate discipline-specific college-level coursework (Duff, 2010; Hyland, 2006; Lea & Street, 1998; Tsui, 2002). As such, college faculty, and specifically community college faculty, are challenged to meet the multiple literacy needs of their students while still maintaining high expectations within their discipline-specific courses. One option is for discipline faculty (e.g., history) to integrate disciplinary literacy instruction within their courses. As discipline faculty are deemed experts in their content area and often not trained in literacy, professional development focused on disciplinary literacy could provide the knowledge and …

"We're Not Going To Talk About That:" A Qualitative Case Study Of Three Elementary Teachers' Experiences Integrating Literacy And Social Studies, Rebecca L. Powell

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this interpretive, qualitative multi-case study (Merriam, 2001; Stake, 1995) was to describe the experiences of three elementary classroom teachers as they integrated literacy and social studies during their literacy instruction. This study was grounded in an interpretivist paradigm and a theoretical lens of symbolic interactionism. The guiding questions were: What are the experiences of three elementary teachers when integrating literacy and social studies instruction? What information do teachers use when making decisions about integrated instruction? How do teachers’ beliefs align with their practices? How do teachers organize, plan for, and provide integrated instruction, including how they use …

Pre-Service Teachers’ Use Of Multicultural Literature, Salika A. Lawrence, Tabora Johnson, Mirna Baptiste, Asfa Caleb, Camille Sieunarine, Clorene Similien

Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education

This qualitative study examines how pre-service teachers in urban elementary classrooms develop student literacy with multicultural literature. By evaluating the action research reports of three pre-service teacher candidates, the authors determine how reading experiences with texts align to Bloom’s Taxonomy and expectations for Common Core State Standards. Findings indicate that multicultural literature engages students with authentic connections to learning. Results also show that teachers relied on guided questioning to measure reading comprehension, though the types of questions varied. The implications of this study for teachers to consider are: how to incorporate multicultural texts into the curriculum to encourage critical thinking, …

Identifying Ebook Pedagogies For Literacy Instruction: A Qualitative Content Analysis, Jamey T. Herdelin

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Capstones

Students in K-6 support becoming digital learners but many lack the digital skills needed to engage with ICTs such as eBooks. Some educators lack the technological pedagogical knowledge (TPK) to adjust instruction and meet students’ needs. This study examined the extant body of research on the use of eBooks with K-6 literacy instruction to address the perceived lack of effective evidence based practices needed to build self-efficacy. The goal: identify effective TPK regarding when, how, and why to integrate eBooks with K-6 literacy instruction. The research questions: According to the extant literature, what types of K-6 literacy practices and engagements …

Incorporating Istation Into Early Childhood Classrooms To Improve Reading Comprehension, Tian Luo, Guang-Lea Lee, Cynthia Molina

STEMPS Faculty Publications

Aim/Purpose: IStation is an adaptive computer-based reading program that adapts to the learner's academic needs. This study investigates if the Istation computer-based reading program promotes reading improvement scores as shown on the STAR Reading test and the IStation test scaled scores for elementary school thirdgrade learners on different reading levels.

Background: Prior literature provided a limited evidence base for incorporating computer-adaptive learning technologies to improve reading comprehension in the context of early childhood education.

Methodology: Using a mixed-method case study research approach, this study purports to investigate the effects of IStation and examine the perspectives of teachers and students. Supported …

Creating In A Participatory Culture: Perceptions Of Digital Tools Among Teachers, Emily Howell, Rebecca Kaminski, Sarah Hunt-Barron

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

The following embedded case study examines teachers’ perceptions of using digital and Web 2.0 tools for literacy instruction. These perceptions are important if teachers hope to enact a more participatory culture of creation rather than consumption called for by scholars such as the New London Group and the New Media Literacies scholars. Case study participants were teachers involved in a NWP site’s Invitational Summer Institute (ISI), with embedded cases of rural teachers in a high-poverty school district. The findings suggest teachers still face extrinsic barriers to enacting a participatory culture, and professional development is needed to help teachers effectively use …

The Effectiveness Of Independent Reading And Self-Selected Texts On Adolescent Reading Comprehension: A Quantitative Study, Sarah Horne

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Striving adolescent readers often find themselves with little or no support once they enter high school. The success of independent reading programs that target students' reading levels and accommodate student interest at the elementary level is well-documented. As students progress throughout their school years, such freedom is traditionally replaced with a strict adherence to lists of canonical classics of literature, most of which are well above a struggling reader's independent reading level. This study explored the value of such an independent reading program that addresses both student interest as well as student reading ability at the secondary level and sought …

A Phenomenological Investigation Of Male At-Risk Sixth, Seventh And Eighth Grade Students' Perceptions Toward Reading, Jason Douma

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to investigate the perceptions that male at-risk sixth, seventh and eighth grade students' possess toward reading at a small rural public school district in Michigan. Male at-risk students was generally defined as students below grade level in reading based on their STAR reading assessment. Male students may have developed certain perceptions toward reading based their continual struggle with reading and teacher practices, such as grouping strategies, throughout their academic lifetime. To discover the essence of male at-risk sixth, seventh and eighth grade students' perceptions data collection was gathered through surveys, interviews and explanations …