Curriculum and Instruction Commons^™

Co-Teaching Strategies: Improving Student Engagement By Increasing Opportunities To Respond, Janet E. Nutt

Kentucky Teacher Education Journal: The Journal of the Teacher Education Division of the Kentucky Council for Exceptional Children

Research indicates that effective co-teaching using high leverage practices can maximize outcomes across content areas and positively affect student engagement. This paper discusses practical ways to increase student engagement by increasing opportunities to respond in a co-teaching setting. Specific examples are included for a secondary mathematics co-taught classroom, but the principles can be applied in any subject or setting. A proposed model of professional development and coaching to support effective questioning techniques and increase opportunities to respond is also discussed for the purposes of teacher training and professional development.

A Culturally Responsive Literacy Approach To Develop Scientific Conceptual Knowledge Through Creative Narratives, Alma D. Stevenson, Lacey D. Huffling

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

Our study examined the effects of culturally responsive literacy pedagogical approaches in the development of scientific vocabulary and conceptual knowledge among minoritized middle-grade students during a summer program. We describe the design and implementation of a literacy-enriched STEM instructional unit of study built upon the background experiences of Latina/Latino migrant farmworkers’ children to expand their STEM literacy skills and knowledge. Our aim with this unit was to increase the students’ science knowledge and skills; strengthen their mathematical abilities; enhance their ability to use technology for research; and improve their academic vocabulary, language, and writing skills. This program also had as …

Research On The Effect Of Using Online Interactive Learning Resources On The Learning Outcomes Of Chinese L2 Adult Learners In An Intermediate Class, Qiao Yu Cai

Chinese Language Teaching Methodology and Technology

As digital technology improves each passing day, knowledge transmission and learning methods are changing too. Gone are the days of using pen and paper as the main means for teaching and learning, and it is common to teach a target language using online learning resources, especially during the breakout of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning (CTML) and whole-brain learning, using online learning resources assisted instruction can produce better learning outcomes, so it is appropriate for teachers of teaching Chinese to speakers of other languages (TCSOL) to use such resources. However, one question remains to …

Teachers Leading Teachers: An Approach To Content-Area Literacy Instruction To Address Inequitable Education, Leah Metivier-Kearney

Culminating Experience Projects

The current state of education establishes the norm of consistent literacy intervention in elementary education and through specialized accommodations thereafter; unfortunately, many students reach secondary levels without the literacy skills necessary to be successful in their classes and beyond into adulthood. The task of managing this gap is overwhelming, and it stems from various economic, racial, and situational variables that schools cannot address entirely. Instead, teachers may make the choice to improve the equity within their immediate environments by prioritizing equity through direct literacy instruction, consequently providing opportunities for these students to attain those necessary skills for lifelong success.

The …

Teaching Young Dual Language Learners: A Critical Review Of The Strengths And Limitations Presented In Alanís And Colleagues’ 2021 Book, The Essentials: Supporting Dual Language Learners In Diverse Environments In Preschool & Kindergarten, Jessica Summers

Journal of English Learner Education

The increase in dual language learners (DLLs) in the United States is shifting the way many districts, schools, and individual educators approach teaching and learning in order to better meet the needs of emergent bilinguals. Iliana Alanís, María G. Arreguín, and Irasema Salinas-González’s wrote The essentials: Supporting dual language learners in diverse environments in preschool and kindergarten (2021) to help early childhood educators, administrators, and instructional coaches understand guiding principles of bilingual education and implement evidence-based practices for working with young DLLs. This book review highlights five strengths and provides three critiques.

Bilingual Refugee-Background Student Resilience, Meta-Linguistic Awareness, And Pride In Bilingual Skills, Tunde Szecsi Dr., Debra Giambo, Rachel Bledsoe Bass, William Buchanan

Journal of English Learner Education

This qualitative phenomenological study sought to explore the experiences of emergent bilingual refugee-background [1] students in Florida and their self-perceptions as bilingual learners. Data were collected through in-depth, semi-structured interviews with seven participants learning English both in-person and virtually in high school or adult education programs during the pandemic. The researchers completed content analysis individually and, in subsequent collaboration, identified patterns, and themes. Findings indicated that students took pride in their bilingual skills, demonstrated metalinguistic awareness, and were resilient and proactive learners with strong determination to succeed in the new country. The following recommendations for teachers are offered: (1) building …

Strategies For Equitable Ell Family And Community Engagement, Stephanie K. Knight, Tracy Vasquez, Marjaneh Gilpatrick

Journal of English Learner Education

Families have been involved in their ELL students' education now more than ever. Families are truly now ALL IN. How can we make this dynamic engagement we are seeking to be easier and more seamless for our families? It’s no secret that students whose families reinforce and extend learning at home are more successful in school; moreover, when there exists a mutually supportive network of educators, families, and students, a climate is created to promote learning and success. In this article, the authors have highlighted the significance of family and community engagement in the academic achievement of students.

Teachers Of Culturally And Linguistically Diverse Students And Effective Professional Development: A Critical Review Of Research, Irish Farley

Journal of English Learner Education

Effective Professional Development (PD) is essential for teachers of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CLD) students. Despite the continuing increase of diversity of students, teachers are underinformed with best practices for teaching and support. Many good teachers may not know how to best support CLD students. In 2018, the National Center for Education Statistics reported that only 44% of surveyed teachers who had at least one CLD student in their classroom received professional development specifically for working with these students. This review of the literature covers two distinct but related topics: why teachers of CLD students need more PD and what …

Early Childhood Family Education: Language And Pre-Academic Skills For Latinx Dual Language Learners, Katherine B. Green, Robert A. Griffin, Chelsea T. Morris, Mary Alice Varga

Journal of English Learner Education

This study describes the effectiveness of an early childhood family education (ECFE) program built on a two-generation and strengths-based model to support dual language learners (DLLs) and their families. The researchers investigated the extent to which participation in the ECFE program influenced adult caregivers (n = 15) and the preschool-aged Latinx DLLs (n = 32) who participated, specifically regarding change related to the children’s language and literacy skills and pre-academic skills, families’ perceptions of their home literacy environments, caregivers’ perceptions of their own literacy skills, and caregivers’ actions regarding early literacy at home. Findings were robust and revealed …

Planning For Instruction Using A Language-Based Approach To Content Instruction For Multilingual Learners, Luciana C. De Oliveira, Destini Braxton, Jia Gui

Journal of English Learner Education

This article briefly describes a language-based approach to content instruction (LACI), an approach to content instruction for multilingual learners in general education classrooms that incorporates six Cs of support for scaffolding. The authors provide examples of classroom instruction by a fifth-grade teacher who used several elements of LACI in her instruction. A planning guide to assist implementation of these elements is proposed and concrete examples of how to plan for classroom instruction for multilingual learners are included.

Voices From The Sunshine State: Program And Policy Advocates, Ryan W. Pontier, Rosa Castro Feinberg, Arlene Costello

Journal of English Learner Education

As educators, we are engrossed in a world that pushes us to critically examine what is. Particularly in language education, we explore the various theories and practices involved in learning new language(s)—or expanding our linguistic repertoire, depending on your paradigmatic stance. No matter our position—whether it refers to our jobs or to an ideological stance—we are advocates. We are thus challenged to understand our diverse roles as advocates, which, as Foley and Valenzuela (2004) demonstrate, come in many forms.

We expand Staehr Fenner’s (2014) definition of advocacy—working for students’ equitable and excellent education by taking appropriate actions on their …

A Structured Literacy Approach To Support Striving Readers In Secondary Grades: Meaningful Transactions Through Morphological Awareness And Fluency Building, Samantha Bart-Addison, Robert A. Griffin

Georgia Journal of Literacy

A high school English teacher and a university literacy professor provide secondary teachers with structured literacy strategies to support striving readers in the middle and high school grades. The authors present strategies that can be utilized with diverse texts across learning contexts. As a structured literacy approach, morphological awareness and prosodic fluency are emphasized to foster deeper, more meaningful transactions between students and texts. An example of a full structured literacy lesson is also provided that includes multiple strategies and is based on a gradual release model with guided and independent reading cycles. Applicable strategies for delivery of these skills …

Lift Every (Student) Voice With The Essential Instructional Practices For Disciplinary Literacy, Jenelle Williams, Laura Gabrion

Michigan Reading Journal

In this article, the authors make the case for re-engaging students in learning during the 2021-2022 school year by prioritizing social emotional learning and whole child principles, along with student voice and discourse. The Essential Instructional Practices for Disciplinary Literacy in the Secondary Classroom: Grades 6 to 12 are one tool to define instructional practices that align to these efforts.

Expanding Vocabulary With Children's Books, Sara J. Churchill, Kathleen Everts Danielson

Michigan Reading Journal

This article will briefly examine why it is important to explicitly teach vocabulary and review some of the best practices in vocabulary instruction, including three prominent strategies for teaching vocabulary: read alouds, developing word consciousness, and interactive activities. Following that is an annotated bibliography of children’s picture books that highlights selections that are useful for teaching vocabulary. Summaries of the texts and instructional suggestions are provided.

“We Treat Them Like Animals In A Cage”: A Dialogic Exploration Of Refugee, Rachelle Kuehl

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Immersion in fiction narratives like Alan Gratz’s (2017) Refugee can help students recognize and acknowledge our common humanity when discussed in a dialogic classroom using a critical literacy pedagogy. Following the literature on using novel discussions to help students understand pressing societal issues (e.g., Boas, 2012; Hsieh, 2012; Thein et al., 2011) and guided by critical multicultural analysis (Botelho & Rudman, 2009), a dialogic (Bakhtin, 1981) and critical pedagogy (Freire, 1970) was used to lead a small group of sixthgrade students in biweekly discussions of Refugee. Prior to each of 10 sessions, students wrote dialogue journal entries in response …

Moving Across Rural Spaces: A Content Analysis Of Contemporary Realistic Fiction Picturebooks With Rural Settings, Suzette Youngs, James A. Erekson, Christine Kyser

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Romanticized rural storytelling creates difficulties for rural children in finding mirrors, seeing people like themselves and places like their homes as principal characters and settings in picturebooks. The same romanticism likewise makes it unlikely for picturebook readers in cities and suburbs to find realistic windows into rural life. Despite children’s book publishers’ purposeful increases in realistic representations of children across racial and cultural groups in recent decades, realistic and diverse narratives within rural spaces remain underrepresented, if not invisible. Drawing on critical rural theory (Fulkerson & Thomas, 2014; Williams, 1973) and tenets of nostalgia and the rural idyll (Boym, 2001, …

Upper Elementary And Middle School U.S. Teachers’ Views Of Grammar And Its Instruction, Janice A. Dole, Elizabeth Thackeray Nelson, Adrienne Lowe Pahnke, Elisabeth Dibble Rush

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

The purpose of this study was to investigate upper elementary (Grades 4–6) and middle school (Grades 6–8) teachers’ views of grammar and its instruction and to determine differences in their views about grammar, its instruction, and its importance to writing proficiency. Participants in this online study were 196 practicing teachers in eight school districts in one western U.S. state. Two thirds of the teachers in the study taught at the elementary level, and one third taught at the middle school level. When asked what they taught when teaching grammar, the large majority of these teachers reported teaching parts of speech, …

Editorial Review Board Vol. 60 Issue 3

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

No abstract provided.

Connecting A Community Through A Family Literacy Project And Virtual Writing Collaboration: University Students Facilitate Access To Literature During The Pandemic, Anne Katz Ph.D., Alexandria Sledge-Tollerson B.A. In Early Childhood Education

Georgia Journal of Literacy

The importance of accessing and sharing children’s literature took on new meaning as educators pivoted to remote and online learning models over the course of the past school year. In light of the pandemic, College of Education pre-service educators enrolled in a Fall 2020 Language and Literacy Development course (which is usually scheduled to meet face-to-face twice a week) was re-structured as hybrid, where a group of students were scheduled to meet partially face-to-face and partially online on a weekly basis. I planned to adapt my family literacy project collaboration with a local community center, an academic service learning assignment …

Culturally Relevant Teaching For The 21st Century: The Success And Challenges Of Pre-Service Teachers When Using Technology In Critical Ways, Virginie Jackson, Stacy Delacruz, Dominique Harry

Georgia Journal of Literacy

This case study examined pre-service teachers' use of technology as they implemented culturally relevant literacy lessons while tutoring elementary students in their field placement sites. As we enter a new decade, we want our students to be future-ready with technology skills. Here, we present an examination of how pre-service teachers integrated culturally relevant teaching with technology along with a discussion of the tools and devices their students used. Findings provided evidence that as pre-service teachers experienced authentic and engaging learning experiences within a supportive space, they emerged equipped to teach in culturally responsive ways that supported student learning and deeper …

Cariño Pedagogy: A Framework Of Corazón, Ferial Pearson, Sandra Rodriguez-Arroyo, Gabriel Gutiérrez

Journal of Curriculum, Teaching, Learning and Leadership in Education

Change in the world of education has never been new or unexpected. However, the pandemic that swept the world at the beginning of 2020 caused our world to spin off its axis and force its practitioners into quickly re-evaluating their praxis, their priorities, and their professional responsibilities. Through this reflection, three BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) colleagues in the Teacher Education Department at a midwestern state university examine twelve months of teaching during the pandemic and the strategies they turned to, to stay true to their pedagogical values to ensure their students were taken care of personally and …

Editorial Introduction, Katherine Daily O'Meara, Betsy Gilliland

Journal of Response to Writing

No abstract provided.

English-For-Teaching In Higher Education: Discourse Functions And Language Exemplars, Eun-Young Julia Kim

MITESOL Journal: An Online Publication of MITESOL

Increasingly more colleges and universities in non-English speaking countries are requiring instructors to teach in English. Although existing research addresses various issues related to using English as a medium of instruction in higher education, few studies have specifically addressed how to provide language scaffolding to college instructors who are asked to teach their subjects in English for the first time. The study builds on Freeman et al.’s (2015) discourse functions for English-for-teaching and presents a refined functional framework to suit college-level classes. It provides authentic language samples to help instructors prepare to teach in English based on the analysis of …

In The Shadows Of Covid-19: Challenges That Plagued Teachers Amidst A Pandemic, Alexis M. Segura

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, some teachers have been struggling to maintain their morale, passion, and love for their profession. They are juggling a myriad of tasks and expectations whilst simultaneously attempting to heal from an ongoing shared trauma. Additionally, the pressure to maintain the same level of rigor, eagerness, and success that existed before COVID-19 is immense, resulting in teachers feeling powerless, voiceless, and invisible. Not only has this pandemic forced teachers to place their own lives and health at risk, but in the rush to return to traditional schooling, it has pushed teachers to their limit—often …

Brilla: Shining On Through A Pandemic, Tracey R. Jones, Erica Silva

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

This article highlights the community partnership between a primary school Dual Language program and university Spanish students. In this submission related to personal experience during the COVID-19 pandemic, the impact of classroom teachers within the BRILLA (Bilingual Readiness through Interaction, Language, Literacy and Alliances) program is explored. Teachers are the light bearers who make human connection and authentic learning happen in-person and over screens; pandemic, or no pandemic, they shine.

An Evaluation Of Local Mentor Support In Ae E-Teacher Educational Technology Integration Online Teacher Training Course, Yasemin Yelbay Yilmaz, Seher Balbay

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

This study addressed a different approach to online language teacher training programs. The researchers investigated the pros and cons of having local mentor support for an online course titled Using Technology in the English Language Classroom provided by the AE E-Teacher Program. The course was offered to preservice teachers from 24 different universities across Turkey. The study collected data through a pre- and post-online survey and individual semistructured interviews. The results revealed that while local mentoring as a supplement to the main course content contributed to teacher candidates’ emotional and professional attachment to their profession by helping them relate theory …

An Interview With Alice Ensley: District Literacy Coordinator At Dalton County Schools, Shannon Tovey

Georgia Journal of Literacy

Alice Easley was identified as a top curriculum leader in Georgia for her exceptional work in her role as Curriculum Specialist for Literacy and Social Studies at Dalton Public Schools in creating digital content and methods during the Covid-19 period.

"Read It Again!": Storytelling To Imitate The Great Teacher, Kate Whatley

Senior Honors Theses

The student’s mind is bent on stories, asking mothers around the world to ‘read it again’. These stories preserve information and emotions for centuries. In the classroom, stories enliven motivation and empathy in ways that result in higher academic achievement and social awareness. Learning to use stories as a key instructional strategy will allow for more equitable opportunities in classrooms, encourage mental health and truth telling for the teacher and the student collectively, and allow the academic community to imitate Christ by contributing to the bigger story taking place across time. In application of using stories as teachers, this thesis …

Something American, Carolina S. Souto

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

SOMETHING AMERICAN is a poetry collection written from the perspective of a first-generation American navigating a growing family, a political crisis, and a global pandemic. Influences on this collection include Robert Hass’s THE ESSENTIAL HAIKU and FIELD GUIDE, which attend to nature and the poet-speaker’s immediate surroundings with diligence and precision. Ariel Francisco’s place poems and creative titles in ALL MY HEROES ARE BROKE provide important touchstones for Souto’s commitment to here-and-now writing. And Sylvia Plath’s frank and complex writing about motherhood in ARIEL grants the poet permission to probe these subjects as well.

In SOMETHING AMERICAN, experimental poems sprawl …

A Study Of Incarcerated Youth: The Effect Of Student Interest On Reading Comprehension And Engagement, Joanna C. Weaver, Grace E. Mutti

Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence

Motivating adolescents to read can be a challenge, but motivating incarcerated adolescents to read may be even more of a challenge. Developing readers in residential facilities are often overlooked by traditional classroom teachers, but much can be learned from incarcerated youth and their motivation and engagement. Unfortunately, there is a shortage of research on effective instructional reading practices that motivate and engage incarcerated youth. The existing research primarily examines the impact of literacy on recidivism instead of strategies for motivating and engaging students who are incarcerated. Numerous studies exist that focus on motivation and engagement of reading in traditional classrooms, …