Education Commons^™

Supporting Multilingual Learners’ Reading Competence: A Multiple Case Study Of Teachers’ Instruction And Student Learning And Motivation, Melissa A. Gallagher, Jori S. Beck, Erin M. Ramirez, Ana Taboada Barber, Michelle M. Buehl

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

Supporting students’ reading competence (i.e., their comprehension and vocabulary) is complex, particularly when working with multilingual learners, and involves implementing instructional practices to support their behavioral engagement in reading as well as their reading motivation. The purpose of this mixed methods case study was to examine changes in multilingual learners’ reading comprehension, academic vocabulary, reading engagement, and reading motivation after participating in a 7-week intervention called United States History for Engaged Reading (USHER) and then examine qualitative data to explain why these changes may have occurred. We found changes in the reading comprehension of MLs across all four teachers’ classes, …

Focused On Freedom: Exploring The Potential Of Grading Contracts To Support Writers In The Secondary English Language Arts Classroom, Margaret Mcgregor Fluharty

English Theses & Dissertations

Drawing on qualitative methods, I engaged in a practitioner inquiry (Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 2009) to investigate the use of contract grading to promote educational freedom (hooks, 2009; Love, 2020) in the post-secondary writing classroom. In addition, I explored the potential of this practice in the secondary English language arts setting.

To better understand the perspectives of both post-secondary writing instructors and secondary English teachers on the use of grading contracts, I conducted focus groups and engaged in artifact analysis (Billups, 2019). Results showed that post-secondary instructors who utilized grading contracts in their classroom saw changes primarily in their students’ engagement …

Visual Literacies And Young Children’S Writing: Creating Spaces For Young Children’S Voices And Engaging In Authentic Writing Experiences, Elizabeth Presto

Teaching & Learning Theses & Dissertations

Young children engage in multimodal written expression. The research in this study explores the spaces that were created, and the stories created by children in an after-school comic club. The club utilized the Writer’s Workshop model to support the Being a Writer program that is used in the Ocean View School District (Ocean View School District is a pseudonym). I created a supplemental writing program that utilized visual literacy instruction and taught the lessons in the club. The theoretical framework incorporated developmentally appropriate writing instruction, visual literacy elements, and sociocultural theory. This study employed an action research methodology with multiple …

Silently Correcting Your Grammar: Responses To Feedback And Adult Learners' Rural Writing Ecosystems, Jessica Marie Kubiak

English Theses & Dissertations

Over a century ago, rhetoricians called on writing instructors in the U.S. to accept and even encourage language diversity among learners. Yet scholars of composition, rhetoric, and writing studies are still advocating for this via arguments for linguistic justice and translingualism, even referring to strict adherence to a single, mainstream standard for language use as a kind of violence. This disconnect between scholarship and practice is evident in the silences surrounding first-year composition language instruction. This dissertation charts that disciplinary disconnect and then describes how adult students at a rural, open-access community college experience first-year composition feedback, with special attention …

Building Academic Language Proficiency For English Learners, Abha Gupta

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

Academic language proficiency is essential for success in school, especially for English Learners (ELs). However, it is a skill which receives little attention. Many ELs frequently exit from language assistance programs because they perform well on social language tests and sound proficient in language interchange, due to strong basic interpersonal communication skills. However, they may still struggle in content areas due to poor academic language proficiency. This article’s main goals are to illustrate the value of academic language comprehension and offer teaching techniques that will help ELs develop this skill. These strategies, which play to English Learners’ strengths, incorporate cognates …

Information Literacy, Media Literacy, And The Attitudinal Positioning Of Wpas Combatting Mis/Disinformation, Joshua Nieubuurt

English Faculty Publications

Informational flow is paramount to the success of interpersonal communication as well as macro communication that allows for people to engage with the overarching sociopolitical apparatuses as a citizen. Chief among hindering informational flow are the obstacles of mis/disinformation. This research project is an exploratory study into the attitudinal positioning of a wide range of WPAs across R1 research institutions. Results found that WPA's perceptions are positively aligned in agreement with the value of IL and ML. Furthermore, WPAs are utilizing IL and ML within their programs both knowingly and serendipitously. Despite the positive attitudes toward interdisciplinary approaches to combating …

A Complicated Legacy Defines School Librarians As Teachers, Mary Keeling

STEMPS Faculty Publications

The article analyzes how the legacy of school librarianship inform the future of school librarians as teachers. Topics discussed include lower test scores and fewer opportunities to develop critical thinking and digital literacy skills among students, need for the federal government to recognize the importance of school libraries and how well-staffed school library with a qualified librarian can provide essential services and resources.

Translanguaging, Multiliteracy, And Sociocultural Dynamics: Exploring Diasporic Identity And Belonging, Seongryeong Yu

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

This ethnographic study delves into the language and literacy practices of immigrant children in a public elementary school setting. The purpose of the study is to understand the role of multiliteracy in their learning, their ability to connect with the curriculum and instruction, and their sense of belonging within their peer groups, classrooms, and home countries. To explore how these children utilized their linguistic and cultural repertoires to engage in language and literacy activities in different contexts (Kwon, 2019), the study focused on 10-year-old students from various linguistic backgrounds, including Korean and Chinese students in a United States classroom. Through …