Education Commons^™

“They Always Make It Right. We Can Do That For Everybody”: Young Adolescents Considering (In)Justice When Reading, Caleb Chandler, Kaitlin Wegrzyn

Middle Grades Review

This paper draws on Bakhtin’s (1981) notions of discourse and ideological becoming to investigate how adolescents’ experiences with young adult literature and other texts might inform their thinking around issues of social justice. We engaged in a number of activities with the young adolescent participants: thought maps, illustrations of poignant scenes, written accounts of personal experiences, and focus group interviews. Using these activities as our data for this paper, we explain how the young adolescent participants called upon discourses of social justice to engage in the process of ideological becoming. Thus, the paper concludes that texts have the potential to …

Unlocking Passion And Setting Students Free: The Impact Of Culturally Relevant Writing Instruction In A Middle School English I Classroom, Adam Whitaker, Trina J. Davis, Mónica V. Neshyba

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

Culturally relevant writing instruction has the potential to validate the voices of students often not heard. Documented disparities in student writing proficiency in grades K-12 indicate a pressing need to employ more effective approaches in facilitating writing instruction. This paper presents the findings of a mixed methods research study that explored eighth grade English I students’ middle school reading and writing preferences, writing experiences, and the impact of culturally relevant writing instruction. Data were gathered from 63 students via reflective journals, writing interest forms, learning logs, and writing artifacts collected throughout a 3-week writing unit. Our findings reveal that writing …

Digital Curation And Complex Decision Making: A School District’S Literacy Initiative, Sue Ann Sharma, Mark Edward Deschaine

Journal of Media Literacy Education

Schools are in the process of incorporating professional development activities to prepare technology-proficient educators to utilize information and communication tools to meet the pedagogical needs of 21st-century students and learners. This research addresses the challenges of and preservation possibilities for the digital work of learning communities across instructional domains and levels. The digital curation efforts that support a school district’s literacy and curriculum initiatives are examined. We conclude with suggestions for future research, professional development, and practice.

To Be Young, Black, And In The Academy: A Collection Of Lessons, Yetunde Alabede, Jessica Reed, Blake Thompson

Michigan Reading Journal

Literacy, a foundational tool that unlocks opportunities, can be viewed in both narrow and confining lenses. We, doctoral students at Michigan State University, center our own experiences in order to redefine such narratives of what literacy means, can mean, and should mean for students of color throughout the African Diaspora. We explore methods to disrupt, experiences to resist, and questions to challenge the ways that students and educators engage with various concepts of literacy. Though we come from various backgrounds, this manuscript seeks to push forward a dialogue that allows for the multiple literacies that Black children have, language and …

Teachers' Lived Experiences Using Reading Strategies To Prepare For High-Stakes Exams In The Elementary, Middle, And High School Science Classroom: A Phenomenological Approach, Lishon Michelle Bryan

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of the transcendental phenomenological study was to describe science teachers' lived experiences using reading strategies to improve literacy skills and prepare elementary, middle, and high school students for high-stakes science exams in the Southeast Region of the United States. At this stage in the research, literacy skills are students' abilities to gain and create knowledge through reading, listening, speaking, and writing. The theory that guided this study was Bandura's social cognitive theory regarding self-efficacy, as it examined how teachers perceived their ability to implement reading strategies in the science classroom. This research study's central question asks, "What reading …

Cutting As A Literacy Practice: Exploring The Fractured Body, Desire And Rage Through Queer And Trans*+ Youth Embodiments, Bess Van Asselt

Taboo: The Journal of Culture and Education

By attending to the ways in which cutting manifests in the life histories of three queer and trans*+ youth of color, I argue that cutting is a literacy practice. I focus on the life histories of three youth, Jay, Harper and Sam, who have different experiences, reasons for, and reactions to their cutting. With each story, we learn something new about the act and how it pushes us to the brink of literacy pedagogy. Jay’s narrative forces us to reckon with youth who refuse to or cannot maintain their bodily integrity. Harper’s story brings to the fore the violence of …

Reading Through The Pause: How Superintendents Viewed Literacy For Middle Grade Learners During The Pandemic, Dana Evans, Paige Paquette, Dionne Rosser-Mims, Terry Oatts, Brenda Coley

The Journal of Advancing Education Practice

This paper highlights the voices of two superintendents' lived experiences guiding teachers, parents, and students in their districts during the pandemic shutdown. The emphasis of literacy education showcases the ways in which middle grades learners were able to continue discursive practices through online platforms to share and engage with texts. This reflective piece describes the process of perseverance in literacy education through the pandemic pause.

Using Visual Arts To Teach Beginning Literacy Skills, Stacy Phaxaysithideth

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the effect of using visual arts to teach rhyming words and word family words. Two interventions were used, both utilizing the use of visual arts to learn both literacy skills. The interventions were then assessed with a pre- and post-test to see the if the interventions were successful. A student attitude survey was also given at the end of the study to see how the students felt about the interventions. A semi-structured interview was done at the end of the interventions as well to collect the thoughts of my co-teacher on the interventions. Lastly, my teacher observations …

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 …

Book Review Letting Go Of Literary Whiteness: Antiracist Literature Instruction For White Students, Jeremy Hyler

Michigan Reading Journal

Race, racism, and literary whiteness are at the forefront of many conversations in education today. In Letting Go of Literary Whiteness: Antiracist Literature Instruction for White Students, authors Carlin Borsheim-Black and Sophia Tatiana Sarigianides highlight what should be addressed in our classroom today to address race and racism.

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 …

Factors Related To Teachers, Students, And Schools And Reading Achievement Of Middle School Students, India Danielle Elliott

Dissertations (2016-Present)

Low reading achievement is an issue that plagues school systems across the United States. It is well established that students, teachers, and school styles have an impact on students’ reading ability and performance. This study aims to determine whether student and teacher demographics along with school-related factors significantly predict reading achievement in middle school. Specifically, this study investigates student gender, student ethnicity, teacher gender, teacher ethnicity, school curriculum, and school schedule as it relates to middle school scores on the reading component of the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) test. To test whether or not three hypotheses …

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 …

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 …

Opportunities And Challenges For Rural Educators: A Mixed Methods Study Of Emergent Bilingual Studies In Rural Colorado, Andrea Johnson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Over nine million students in the United States attend school in rural school districts, with a growing percentage of these students identified as emergent bilingual. The purpose of this study is to examine the national emergent bilingual literacy trends and to determine how the opportunities and challenges that rural educators encounter, impact emergent bilingual education in rural schools. Utilizing a theoretical framework of culturally sustaining practices and funds of knowledge, this study uses a convergent mixed methods design to answer the following research questions: What are the national trends in emergent bilingual reading test scores? What opportunities and challenges do …

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, …

Increasing Oral Reading Fluency Rate Of Middle School Students With Learning Disabilities Through Cooperative Learning, Kristin Stuffick

Student Research Poster Presentations 2022

This study highlights the importance of focusing on student motivation and engagement to encourage an optimistic school and future education viewpoint. Student interest can be maintained by promoting student choice in their reading materials to align with individual interests and increase comprehension retention. The long-term implications of reading difficulties can affect individuals after middle school by lessening their chances of earning a high school diploma, leading to decreased annual income and increased reliance on government assistance throughout their lifetime.