Curriculum and Instruction Commons^™

Text-Influenced Expressions Of Understanding: Differences In Kindergartners’ Discourse And Written Retellings Of Traditional And Digital Texts During Buddy Reading, Julie Parrish

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Buddy reading a text is a collaborative act that typically generates discourse that provides researchers with a glimpse of the comprehending taking place. However, in recent years, the infusion of technology in classrooms has resulted in many traditional texts being replaced by digital versions. Thus, this qualitative case study examined the spoken and written discourse of 12 kindergartners (6 dyads) as they buddy read a traditional and digital text.

Drawing upon two distinct lenses—sociocultural and comprehension signifier—video recordings, transcriptions, and written retellings were analyzed. Specifically, process coding and in vivo coding were used to construct categories and uncover sociocultural patterns …

Critical Thinking During A Pandemic, Cheryl Comeau-Kirschner

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

This article explores how a sudden shift to distance learning created unique challenges in a co-requisite course for English language learners. Focusing on critical thinking and advanced ESL composition during the COVID-19 Pandemic required course adjustments and a new way of thinking about how to teach and learn in unprecedented times.

Teaching Reading-Writing Connections Online To Pre-Service Teachers In A Children’S Literature Course, Treavor Bogard

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

This account of transitioning a children’s literature course to remote learning during the Covid-19 pandemic describes the use of digital service learning and instructional scenarios to develop pre-service teachers’ knowledge of teaching writing craft across literary genres.

Keeping Things Going: Reflections On Teaching “Teaching Writing” Online, Emily S. Meixner

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

What does it mean to “keep things going online” in an undergraduate teacher education course on teaching writing? In this article, a teacher educator describes how, in consultation with her students, she adapted a secondary English methods course on teaching writing to teach it online. While highlighting and celebrating what worked, she also reflects on lessons learned and teaching questions that continue to persist.

Online Language Arts Instruction In An Elementary Methods Course: Successes And Challenges, Charlotte A. Mundy-Henderson, Callie Martin

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

This paper describes the successes and challenges of an assistant professor and her students as they were forced to pivot mid-semester from a traditional face-to-face Elementary Language Arts Methods course to a completely online course due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Increased communication, identifying and sharing valuable resources, and adopting a more flexible attitude when it comes to writing instruction were among the successes of this now online course. While ensuring that online field experiences were meaningful was one of the biggest challenges. Takeaways were that increased communication and flexibility are vital parts of online learning, especially when in an unexpected …

Blended Learning Showing Gains, Jessica Lynn Becker

Graduate Teacher Education

In light of what is known about how children learn and the use of technology in society, blended learning is proving to be an effective teaching strategy to improve student academic achievement. Blended learning is a combination of digital technology with face-to-face direct instruction. The purpose of blended learning instruction is to combine the benefits of face-to-face direct instruction with the personalization and collaboration of digital technology. Blended learning comes in many different models that meet the many needs of teachers and school districts. It has succeeded in improving student academic achievement in different subject areas by allowing students to …

Web Annotation In English Language Arts: Online Dialogue As A Platform To Support Student Comprehension Of Texts, Jonathan B. Allred

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study explores how web annotation—through a process of online reading, writing in the margins, and replying to others’ comments—influences student dialogue in ways that research suggests are associated with improved comprehension. Viewing data through a dialogic lens, and using a qualitative, multiple case study design to observe two high school English Language Arts teachers and their students, this inquiry was guided by the following research questions: (a) How do English Language Arts teachers use web annotation to support student comprehension of texts? (b) To what extent, if any, does web annotation appear to support student comprehension of texts? and …

Effectiveness Of English Drama Activity To Enhance Speaking Skills And Motivation Among Private College Diploma Students, Zulkifli Zulaikha

Student Works (2020-2029)

This study reports on the effectiveness of using drama activity in ESL classroom to improve students’ speaking skills and motivation. This study addresses two major questions. The first evaluates the impact of drama activity on students’ intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. The second question analyses the impact of drama activity on the development of students’ speaking skills. A quasi-experiment was carried out on a total number of ten private college diploma students. They were put into pairs and different topics were given to the learners to be discussed in pairs. A descriptive statistical analysis was used which takes into account both …

Exploration Of Critical Literacy With An English Graphic Novel Among Year Four Pupils, Unnikrishnan Preena Nair

Student Works (2020-2029)

To be critically literate is considered one of the crucial objectives in an era in which we have instant and unrestricted access to a variety of information. Individuals should be able to reflect, evaluate and critique whatever information received instead of being passive recipients. However, current research in the field suggest that even tertiary level learners in different countries of the world lack the ability to read in between the lines and to think critically. Therefore, developing learners who are critically literate is a major concern in the current educational research. Employing the dimensions of disrupting the commonplace and interrogating …

Use Of Virtual Learning Environment On Malay Language Vocabulary Acquisition Among Primary School Remedial Pupils, Hock Ching Tang

Student Works (2020-2029)

Virtual Learning Environment has been introduced in the educational field as a tool to enhance student‟s learning and to help the students by including computers and the internet in the learning process. This study investigates the effect of Virtual Learning Environment towards the acquisition of Malay language vocabulary among remedial pupils. Three participants of Year Four went through the intervention where Frog Virtual Learning Environment was integrated into 40 lessons of Malay language vocabulary session. Their Malay language semantic skills and syntax skills were measured twice: during the baseline phase before the intervention and during maintenance phase after the intervention. …

Primary School Pupils’ Perceptions On Narrative Model Essays In An Esl Classroom, Kanniappan Jamuna

Student Works (2020-2029)

Writing problems faced by Malaysian primary school pupils have led the teachers to find a way to help them in their writing ability. One of the strategies teachers have had is to use model essays in the writing classroom. This study examines the use of narrative model essays in a writing classroom in a school in Selangor. This study aims to identify the aspects of language which second language learners notice in reference to narrative model essays and gather insights regarding pupils’ perceptions on the use of narrative model essays in their narrative essay writing. The theoretical framework that underlines …

Pembangunan Modul Pedagogi Komunikasi Nonverbal Al-Quran Dalam Pengajaran Bahasa Arab, Othman Mohd Ala-Uddin

Student Works (2020-2029)

Kajian ini bertujuan membangunkan Modul Pedagogi Komunikasi Nonverbal al-Quran (MPKNVQ) berasaskan model ADDIE yang telah diubahsuai. Objektif kajian ialah untuk (i) mengenal pasti komunikasi non-verbal al-Quran untuk pengajaran dan pembelajaran Bahasa Arab, (ii) Mengenal pasti reka bentuk MPKNVQ yang dibangunkan untuk pengajaran BA, (iii) membangunkan MPKNVQ (iv) menilai keberkesanan MPKNVQ dari aspek sikap, motivasi dan pencapaian pelajar terhadap pengajaran dan pembelajaran BA. Kajian ini adalah kajian rekebentuk dan pembangunan yang melibatkan 3 fasa utama iaitu (a) fasa analisis keperluan berdasarkan kajian literatur dan analisis dokumen. Ayat-ayat Quran telah dianalisis dan disaring berdasarkan 10 saluran nonverbal untuk pengajaran yang dinyatakan oleh …

Making Summer Learning Equitable For Students In A Rural, Title I School District: Turning On The Faucet Of Resources, Kathrina M. O'Connell

The Interactive Journal of Global Leadership and Learning

This research explores summer learning loss and the effect of summer resources on students’ literacy growth. Using the faucet theory, this mixed methods sequential explanatory study was designed to provide equitable resources and educational support for students in grades five through eight in a rural, socioeconomically disadvantaged school district. Transportation, breakfast, lunch, books, and a literacy-focused enrichment program were coordinated and provided for all participants in an effort to reduce learning loss during summer break. The pragmatic approach to inquiry incorporated both quantitative (e.g., literacy outputs, registration, and attendance data) and qualitative data (e.g., parent open-ended question responses). Convenience sampling …

The Influence Of English Language Arts Instructional Minutes On Student Achievement In Grades 6, 7, & 8, Franklin Goulburn

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

The purpose of this quantitative, non-experimental study was to examine if a relationship existed between allocated English Language Arts (ELA) instructional minutes within a school’s bell schedule for Grades 6, 7, and 8 and its corresponding mean PARCC score for that grade. Furthermore, the study also sought to detect the presence of an interaction effect regarding time, socioeconomic status, and student performance. The study controlled for other student, faculty, and school variables as well. Data for ELA instructional time were obtained from school personnel and also through school websites. Additional variable were obtained through the New Jersey School Performance Reports …

Utilizing Mirrors And Windows In Elementary Literacy To Build Identity And Empathy, Hannah Clingan

Innovations and Critical Issues in Teaching and Learning

The purpose of this article is to establish a purpose for mirrors and windows (Bishop, 1990) in the modern elementary context. This article will explore the way in which identity, motivation, and empathy are established through connections and contrasts students make with texts. Teachers are encouraged to branch out of traditionally homogenous literature to foster classroom community and reach for equity. Teachers and practitioners will find a list of original-voice texts featuring racially and culturally diverse characters to guide them in their journey to equity.

The Importance Of Utilizing Play To Promote Emergent Literacy In Early Childhood Environment, Terisa Scrabeck

Innovations and Critical Issues in Teaching and Learning

There is no question that play is important in the lives of children at home and at school. Unfortunately, the amount of play in early childhood classrooms continues to diminish. Teachers are under pressure to meet high academic expectations so they are spending more time on instruction and testing instead of play. Children enjoy play and it improves many different skills, like literacy. Children develop knowledge of literacy as they engage with print. Therefore, literacy can be developed through different types of play, including well-defined enriched literacy play settings and adult role models. The importance of utilizing play to promote …

Developing Word Consciousness In Young Readers, Brenda Carr

Innovations and Critical Issues in Teaching and Learning

Developing word consciousness in young readers can help motivate them to learn new words, make personal connections to words, and in turn, use words more skillfully. Word consciousness can also enable students to grow their vocabulary knowledge and improve their comprehension skills in order to become better readers. It is essential for the teacher to present words in a way that will get students excited about words and promote word consciousness. Additionally, students need to be immersed in an environment that is filled with words. Further, the words should be presented through rich, teacher-led strategies that engage students in communicating …

Innovations And Critical Issues In Teaching And Learning Volume 1, Issue 1, 2020

Innovations and Critical Issues in Teaching and Learning

Complete text of Innovations and Critical Issues In Teaching and Learning Volume 1, Issue 1, 2020.

Breaking Silence: The Voices Of Syrian Refugee Children In The Canadian Classroom, Sara Shahbazi, Alyssa Palazzolo, Geri Salinitri

Journal of Global Education and Research

The researchers in the study explored the lived experiences of Syrian refugee students in the Canadian classroom. The participant sample included four students who entered their first year in a South-western Ontario public school as of the 2015-2016 calendar year. Data were collected through one-on-one semi-structured interviews. Analysis of results indicated the District’s growing need for understanding refugee students using a holistic approach, utilizing and building peer relationships for language acquisition, and recognizing the effects of the structure of the learning environment on student experiences.

A Proposed Literature-Based Syllabus For Eap Writing, Kyle Perkins, Xuan Jiang

Journal of Global Education and Research

This paper proposes a literature-based composition course for advanced Non-native English Speaking (NNES) students in an English for Academic Purpose (EAP) program and provides a rationale, a syllabus, and some suggested pedagogy for consideration. The principal reasons for choosing a literature-based format include the following: (1) extended writing about a text, or texts, should lead to reading comprehension improvement; (2) culturally responsive literature should enhance engagement; (3) reading literature, as writerly reading, will assist NNES students with developing strategies applied to reading-to-write tasks and to integrated writing skills; (4) reading for writing (RFW) will expose NNES students to a wide …

Teaching Children To Decode Words: Connected Versus Segmented Phonation, Selenid M. Gonzalez-Frey

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Two methods of decoding instruction were compared. Kindergartners who could not decode nonwords participated in the study, N = 38, M = 5.6 years. Segmented phonation, frequently used in synthetic phonics programs, taught students to convert graphemes to phonemes by breaking the speech stream (“sss – aaa – nnn”) before blending. Connected phonation taught students to pronounce phonemes without breaking the speech stream (“sssaaannn”) before blending. Kindergartners were matched and randomly assigned to the two conditions. Both groups were taught to decode the same set of CVC nonwords consisting of continuant consonants and vowels that could be stretched and connected …

Review Of The Vulnerable Heart Of Literacy: Centering Trauma As Powerful Pedagogy., Zipporah Galimore

The Language and Literacy Spectrum

In The Vulnerable Heart of Literacy: Centering Trauma as Powerful Pedagogy (2019), Elizabeth Dutro provides educators with heart-felt, inquiry-based strategies for using trauma as pedagogy in literacy classrooms. This book describes how to situate both educators and children to provide testimony and be critical witnesses in an effort to allow life knowledge, empathy, and wisdom be brought to classroom learning experiences. Dutro uses classroom vignettes and student work samples to illustrate how the concept of trauma as pedagogy can be applied across genres. Experiences and examples of literacy instruction in children's work from several elementary classrooms, from second grade through …

Book Review: Thinking Tools For Young Readers And Writers, Jennifer Steil

The Language and Literacy Spectrum

Abstract:

This article offers a book review of Thinking Tools for Young Readers & Writers (2018), by Carol Booth Olson, Angie Balius, Emily McCourtney, and Mary Widtmann. The book presents the cognitive strategies tool kit, which includes strategies such as: planning, goal setting, tapping prior knowledge, asking questions, making predictions, making connections, summarizing, inferencing, forming interpretations, adopting an alignment, monitoring, and clarifying. The teachers share lessons for how they teach these strategies to students in their various grade levels. For each lesson, the authors include research, connections to Common Core State Standards, and examples of classroom lessons putting …

Review Of Pre-K Stories: Playing With Authorship And Integrating Curriculum In Early Childhood, Harmony Petty

The Language and Literacy Spectrum

This book review discusses salient themes within Bentley and Souto-Manning’s (2019) Pre-K stories: Playing with authorship and integrating curriculum in early childhood. Bentley and Souto-Manning present a case study of one pre-K classroom in which a teacher-researcher endeavored to honor young children’s strengths and authentic stories as they co-constructed an emergent curriculum together. This text considers researchers and practitioners as it includes theoretical discussions in addition to teacher reflections and classroom vignettes. The first three chapters explore the researchers’ theoretical foundation of emergent curriculum and a sociocultural view of play-based authorship. The following four chapters trace the development of the …

Developing Strategic Learners: Supporting Self-Efficacy Through Goal Setting And Reflection, Zoi A. Traga Philippakos

The Language and Literacy Spectrum

When students face academic challenges, when they receive poor grades on a subject, and when they see unchanged performance -even though they put effort on a task- they often develop the belief that they are not capable of overcoming challenges. Continuous underperformance affects students’ self-efficacy and belief that success is an achievable goal. The purpose of this paper is to explain the process of goal setting with continuous reflection to support students’ writing growth and persistence. The paper further comments on teachers’ goal setting for instructional and professional goals in order to support their instructional delivery and their growth as …

Valuing Voices: Construction Of Meaning Through Discursive Interactions During A Critical Service-Learning Partnership, Jane Helen Noble

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

As teacher educators strive to prepare preservice teachers for careers as literacy instructors and advocates of social justice in education, critical service-learning pedagogy has been considered as an approach for teacher education programs. Tenets of academic study, reflective practice, social change, and the development of authentic relationships between universities and communities outline the structure for critical-based field experiences. What are preservice teachers learning in these spaces? How do they grow as part of critical service- learning courses? How do community organizations and members interpret experiences in the partnership, and how do they describe their roles?

This study highlights the voices …

Dialectic Of Empathy. A Book Review Of Educating For Empathy: Literacy Learning And Civic Engagement, Dan Deweese

Democracy & Education

In Educating for Empathy: Literacy Learning and Civic Engagement, Mirra describes the value of teaching “critical civic empathy” in K–12 literacy classrooms. Distinguished from standard curricular uses of empathy that stress politeness at the level of the individual, critical civic empathy challenges students to take active steps toward questioning how imbalances of power and privilege arise and what assumptions should be questioned in order to address those imbalances. Mirra examines various teachers who center social issues in their literacy classrooms through the use of literature, the techniques of high school debate, research methodologies that see students as knowledge producers, …

Teaching English To Refugees And Immigrants With Low Literacy In Their Native Language And Limited English Proficiency (Using The Language Experience Approach), Jacqueline Hill

Master's Projects and Capstones

Immigrants who enter the United States come with varying degrees of education. Some immigrants come with a bachelor’s degree or higher, and some come with very limited schooling or no schooling at all. Yet many immigrants or refugees that come to the United States with low literacy in their native language, and limited English proficiency never enroll in an ESL class. There are many causes attributed to this lack of enrollment: learners’ embarrassment and anxiety to admitting their lack of literacy, class scheduling conflicts, long waiting lists, and the English-only approach taken by most ESL classes in the United States. …

Centering Community Voices Through Children's Literature: Co-Authoring An #Ownvoices Picture Book For The Maine Migrant Education Program, Melanie Shelton

Master's Theses

Since its inception, the field of migrant education has been characterized by a tension between honoring the subjectivity of migrant families and positioning them as victims. This same tension exists in the analysis of children’s picture books that depict the daily lives of migrant farmworkers. In response to Eve Tuck’s (2009) call for a moratorium on damage-centered research in the field of education, this report describes the collaboration process between a representative of the Maine Migrant Education Program and a migrant

farmworker and her family to write, illustrate, and present an autobiographical picture book. Las aventuras, travesuras, y peligros del …

Implementing Writers’ Workshop Into The Special Education Classroom, Taylor Denning

Masters of Education in Teaching and Learning

Writers’ Workshop has developed prominence as a method towards providing authentic writing experiences. The purpose of this study was to determine what happens to student perceptions and quantity of writing when Writers’ Workshop is implemented into a special education setting. This study took place in a self-contained special education classroom of third-, fourth-, and fifth-graders. Data was collected through focus group interviews with the teachers, focus groups with two students from every grade, perception surveys, and writing samples.

Surveys and focus group interviews were completed before and after the implementation. Writing samples were collected at the beginning, middle, and end …