Education Commons^™

Literacy Instructional Coaching Practices In Writing And Writing Instruction: An Exploration Of K–6 Teachers' Perspectives, Jadelyn Abbott, Katherine Landau Wright, Hannah Carter

Literacy, Language, and Culture Faculty Publications and Presentations

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to identify if and how K–6 teachers perceive that their literacy instructional coaches influence their writing teaching.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors employed a parallel convergent mixed-methods design with survey data. The authors used thematic analysis to identify patterns within short-answer responses.

Findings

K–6 teachers receive little literacy coaching specific to writing. However, when they do receive coaching, they believe it benefits their writing instruction. Sustained coaching through the coaching cycle, frequent collaborations, and support with writing instructional resources and strategies were reported as the most influential writing coaching practices.

Research limitations/implications

Sample size was …

A Meta-Analysis And Quality Review Of Mathematics Interventions Conducted In Informal Learning Environments With Caregivers And Children, Gena Nelson, Hannah Carter, Peter Boedeker, Emma Knowles, Claire Buckmiller, Jessica Eames

Literacy, Language, and Culture Faculty Publications and Presentations

The purposes of this study included conducting a meta-analysis and reviewing the study reporting quality of math interventions implemented in informal learning environments (e.g., the home) by children’s caregivers. This meta-analysis included 25 preschool to third-grade math interventions with 83 effect sizes that yielded a statistically significant summary effect (g = 0.26, 95% CI [0.07, 0.45) on children’s math achievement. Significant moderators of the treatment effect included the intensity of caregiver training and type of outcome measure. There were larger average effects for interventions with caregiver training that included follow-up support and for outcomes that were comprehensive early numeracy measures. …

Preservice Teachers’ Preparedness To Teach Writing: Looking Closely At A Semester Of Structured Literacy Tutoring, Hannah Carter, Jadelyn Abbott, Katherine Landau Wright

Literacy, Language, and Culture Faculty Publications and Presentations

Preparing preservice teachers (PSTs) as teachers of writing has gained attention in recent years, but little is known about their preparedness when engaging with student writers over extended periods. We examine PSTs’ preparedness to teach writing within a structured literacy tutoring experience to better understand the skills and knowledge of PSTs related to teaching writing. Results indicate PSTs contextualized writing instruction, considered clients’ affect around writing, and used data to inform writing lessons. PSTs were also grappling with specific pedagogical considerations related to writing instruction, offering implications for teacher educators and researchers.

Coding Protocol: Early Math Interventions In Informal Learning Settings: Attention To Literacy, Hannah Carter, Gena Nelson, Peter Boedeker

Literacy, Language, and Culture Faculty Publications and Presentations

The purpose of this document is to provide readers with the coding protocol that authors used to code 51 studies that met inclusion criteria for a systematic review. This systematic review focused on how literacy is incorporated into informal math intervention studies for children in preschool to third grade. We investigated what types of literacy activities were integrated, how literacy was a part of data sources collected, and in what ways literacy was mentioned explicitly by authors in research reports. We coded studies in this systematic review to answer the following research questions: (1) How is literacy incorporated? (2) What …

A Rationale For Integrating Writing Into Secondary Content Area Classrooms: Perspectives From Teachers Who Experience The Benefits Of Integrating Writing Frequently, Hannah Carter, Dianna Townsend

Literacy, Language, and Culture Faculty Publications and Presentations

Teachers navigate ongoing accountability pressures that target writing in each content area, yet little is understood about their experiences with or their rationales for integrating writing into content area lessons. While previous research describes writing in U.S. secondary classrooms and explains barriers to writing integration, this study investigates teacher decision making to determine why teachers in various content areas are integrating writing. Using a multicase study design, we explored teacher reflections to discern the reasons why teachers chose to integrate writing frequently. Four teachers, one from each primary content area (mathematics, English language arts, science, social studies), reflected on their …

Examining Pre-Service Teachers' Perceptions And Understanding Of Visual Literacy Instruction, Lin Gou, Daibao Guo, Eun Hye Son

Literacy, Language, and Culture Faculty Publications and Presentations

Despite the importance of promoting visual literacy in content instruction, there is scant research investigating pre-service teachers’ perceptions and understandings of visual literacy instruction. To fill these research gaps, we developed a unit in a literacy methods course that integrated visual literacy and social studies instruction for preservice teachers. In this qualitative study, we analyzed 65 elementary and secondary pre-service teachers’ reflections after the unit. Findings revealed that a majority of pre-service teachers developed a positive attitude toward visual literacy (instruction), demonstrated better understanding of visual displays (ViDis) and visual literacy skills, and recognized the advantages of using ViDis for …

Word Walls In Social Studies: One Solution To The "Vocabulary Conundrum", Dianna Townsend, Ashley Baxter, Annie Keller, Hannah Carter

Literacy, Language, and Culture Faculty Publications and Presentations

Julia Kearney and Lori Bingham (pseudonyms), two middle school social studies teachers in a large urban school, have a problem. They want to have their students asking and exploring important questions about American history, and they want them to have the vocabulary knowledge needed to do so. While Julia and Lori recognize the rich linguistic resources their students bring to their classrooms, they also recognize the intense vocabulary demands of social studies. Julia and Lori recently participated in a professional learning initiative to develop research-based approaches for building students’ academic vocabulary knowledge in social studies. They learned about the potential …

Self-Efficacy And Attitudes For Vocabulary Strategies Among English Learners And Native Speakers, Qizhen Deng, Guy Trainin

Literacy, Language, and Culture Faculty Publications and Presentations

This study examined university students’ self-efficacy and attitudes for employing vocabulary strategies in four learning contexts. The contexts are characterized by input modality (reading vs. listening) and purpose (academic vs. leisure). Another goal was to compare the self-efficacy and attitudes between English learners (ELs) and native speakers. A total of 112 participants responded to four short scenarios by rating their self-efficacy and attitudes toward employing vocabulary strategies under each scenario. Among the results, students reported higher self-efficacy using morphological analysis and dictionary use when reading and higher self-efficacy to seek help when learning for academic purpose. There were no differences …

Do You Get The Picture?: A Meta-Analysis Of The Effect Of Graphics On Reading Comprehension, Daibao Guo, Shuai Zhang, Katherine Landau Wright, Erin M. Mctigue

Literacy, Language, and Culture Faculty Publications and Presentations

Although convergent research demonstrates that well-designed graphics can facilitate readers’ understanding of text, there are select situations where graphics have been shown to have no effect on learners’ overall text comprehension. Therefore, the current meta-analytic study examined 39 experimental studies published between 1985 and 2018 measuring graphics’ effects on readers’ comprehension. We first quantified the overall effect on reading comprehension. Then, we considered interactions with learners’ characteristics, graphic types, and assessment formats. Our analysis revealed that the inclusion of graphics had a moderate overall positive effect (Hedges’s g = 0.39) on students’ reading comprehension, regardless of grade level. Regarding graphic …

Using Think-Alouds To Support And Enhance English Language Learners' Comprehension Of Multimodal Texts, Daibao Guo, Eun Hye Son, Katherine Landau Wright

Literacy, Language, and Culture Faculty Publications and Presentations

Research has demonstrated that elementary students may not be skilled interpreters of multimodal science texts (McTigue & Flowers, 2010). This challenge may be enhanced for English language learners (ELLs), whose language skills are still developing. Therefore, in this qualitative case study, we implement think-aloud protocols to understand three striving ELL readers’ comprehension processes and use of comprehension strategies. Then we collaborated with three pre-service teachers to design individualized comprehension instructions. After 7-weeks of intensive tutoring, findings show students were able to use a greater variety comprehension strategies. Classroom implications are discussed to provide best instructional practice for striving ELL readers.

A Validation Program For The Self-Beliefs, Writing-Beliefs, And Attitude Survey: A Measure Of Adolescents' Motivation Toward Writing, Katherine Landau Wright, Tracey S. Hodges, Erin M. Mctigue

Literacy, Language, and Culture Faculty Publications and Presentations

Recent findings reveal clear evidence that students’ low performance on writing tasks is often related to problems with motivation. Writing curriculum and interventions produce varying effects on adolescents’ writing outcomes, and such variations may be mediated by motivation. However, without a valid tool for measuring students’ motivation towards writing, these effects cannot be quantified. In this study we present the results of our multi-study validation program for the Self-Beliefs, Writing-Beliefs, and Attitude Survey (SWAS). This measure is designed for monitoring students' motivation towards writing, as well as identifying variables that mediate student achievement. We first addressed substantive validation through a …

Finding Our Place In The Third Space: The Authority Of Not Knowing As Becoming In School-University Partnership Work, Hannah Carter, Jennifer Snow, Sara Digrazia, Sherry Dismuke

Literacy, Language, and Culture Faculty Publications and Presentations

School-university partnerships have been a space for simultaneous renewal and teacher development for decades (Darling-Hammond, 1994; Goodlad, 1994; Teitel, 2003). As a case in point, this article takes a deeper look at how school- and university-based teacher educators experience professional growth and negotiation of partnership contexts, roles, and responsibilities. Recognizing the complexity of teacher development across the professional lifespan, and the tensions of school-university partnership work, we explore the diverse roles and positions from which we come to the work of clinical supervision and school partnership work. To highlight the varied levels of development and professional growth in these hybrid …

What Do Middle Grades Preservice Teachers Believe About Writing And Writing Instruction?, Tracey S. Hodges, Katherine Landau Wright, Erin Mctigue

Literacy, Language, and Culture Faculty Publications and Presentations

After third grade, students’ motivation and enjoyment of writing begins to wane, and this trend continues through most of their education. Middle grade students especially need high-quality writing instruction; however, many teachers report feeling inadequately prepared to teach writing. To combat these issues, teacher preparation programs should understand how their preservice teachers feel about writing and teaching writing. The present study surveyed 150 middle grade preservice teachers to determine their self-efficacy beliefs about writing and writing instruction. Results indicate that preservice teachers valued writing, but did not feel confident with many specific aspects of writing instruction.

A Content Analysis Of Visuals In Elementary School Textbooks, Daibao Guo, Katherine Landau Wright, Erin M. Mctigue

Literacy, Language, and Culture Faculty Publications and Presentations

Although visual complexity is increasing and graphics are essential to support readers’ comprehension of disciplinary texts, visual literacy receives scant attention. Research suggests that effectively instructing students to interpret discipline-specific graphics would yield better comprehension. However, before this line of inquiry can be enacted, we must determine the characteristics of graphics in contemporary content textbooks. Therefore, this content analysis evaluated graphics within third- and fifth-grade science and social studies textbooks. We coded 3,844 graphics by type and function and compared findings between disciplines using chi-square and post hoc comparison tests. Overall, graphics were coded into 9 major types (photographs being …

Priorities For Vocabulary Intervention Design Using Texting: Data To Examine The Critical Role Of Language Learners' Behaviors And Perceptions, Jia Li, Qizhen Deng

Literacy, Language, and Culture Faculty Publications and Presentations

We examined the role of university English language learners' (ELLs) behavior and perception of a texting-based instruction intervention on their academic vocabulary acquisition. This article reports on the data pertaining to 108 ELLs from six undergraduate classes taking two comparable undergraduate courses on content-based English for Academic Purpose (EAP). The data include (1) the performance of the control and intervention groups on pre-and post-intervention tests on target vocabulary and academic vocabulary, (2) a pre-intervention survey of participants' technology use, and (3) a post-intervention survey of participants on learning behavior during the intervention and their perception of the intervention. Data presented …

The Impact Of A Teacher Education Program Redesign On Technology Integration In Elementary Preservice Teachers, Guy Trainin, Laurie Friedrich, Qizhen Deng

Literacy, Language, and Culture Faculty Publications and Presentations

This 5-year multicohort study examined the growth of elementary preservice teachers’ technology integration in the context of a teacher preparation program redesign that made integrating technologies into instruction a major focus. The authors examined how the teacher education program impacted preservice teachers’ technology integration in the classroom by increasing their efficacy to integrate technology and subject areas (i.e., technology, pedagogy, and content knowledge [TPACK] efficacy ) and their technology knowledge. Survey data collected from 891 participants were analyzed using thematic coding, analyses of variance, and structural equation modeling. The full program redesign showed across-cohort growth in TPACK efficacy, technology knowledge, …

Beginning Readers’ Interest In Animal Books: An Analysis Of Data Collected From The Children’S Choices Project, Petros Panaou, Eun Hye Son, Maggie Chase, Stan Steiner

Literacy, Language, and Culture Faculty Publications and Presentations

This article describes a reading interest study, which analyzed 330 titles selected over a ten-year period by beginning readers (Grades K-2) across the United States (U.S). [sic] for ILA's Children's Choices project. Its aim was to determine if young children's reading interests have changed since earlier studies were conducted in the US. Specifically, a team of four researchers analyzed Children's Choices books selected by 5,000 beginning readers (K-2) every year, from 2005 to 2014. This article illuminates the study's methodology, its findings, and implications for understanding the reading interests of contemporary young children. By examining and comparing the books that …