Language and Literacy Education Commons^™

Cultivating Better Writers Through Empowering Students, Jackie Butts, Tammie Sherry, Micheal Dicicco

Kentucky English Bulletin

No abstract provided.

Letter From The Editor In Chief, Jeffrey Lee

Transform

The TRANSFORM journal is a space for leaders, mentors, researchers, and practitioners of transformational leadership to be seen, heard, and valued; it is a place for making connections. Relationship-building is central to transformational leadership at all levels of an organization; this fundamental truth is a trending topic in literature. Otherwise, however, leadership can be an isolating experience.

As an ethnographer, I believe the best way to launch an academic, peer-reviewed journal is to do what I do best: storytelling. I want to share my thoughts on transformational leadership through a story in the form of a letter to my younger …

The Santa Ana Youth Media Project: Ypar And Media Advocacy, Jorge F. Rodriguez

Education Faculty Articles and Research

The Santa Ana Youth Media Project (SAYMP) was born during the summer of 2019 and grew from a need, expressed by youth, for more critical media literacy that could further amplify and focus on narratives that reflect how youth navigate their personal, cultural-social, and economic environments. Our media projects consist of intentional participative research and journalistic designs that document stories using tools such as narrative inquiry, Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) and video/media production to visually capture the narratives of youth and community within the city of Santa Ana and its larger Orange County context. Our goal is to develop …

Teaching Phonics Mastery Through The Use Of Differentiated And Instructional Strategies, Ashley Honeyman

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

This capstone reports the effectiveness of using differentiated instructional and assessment strategies to improve student understanding in phonics mastery. Based on pretest data that analyzed understanding of short u consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) words, phonics instruction was implemented to meet the needs of students in whole-group and small-group settings. This unit consisted of five whole-group lessons over short u blending and segmentation. In addition to the whole group learning, specific students were pulled for small-group intervention. The unit concluded with a post-assessment that tested student understanding on real and nonsense CVC words; these assessments were implemented to assess if the integration of …

Challenges Encountered In The Implementation Of The National Literacy Acceleration Program (Nalap) In The Abura Asebu Kwamankese District, Ghana, Julius Arhin-Asamoah

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The National Literacy Acceleration Program (NALAP) aims to enhance early grade primary school pupils' literacy rates, yet national evaluations reveal widespread deficiencies in reading proficiency in both the local language and English. This study examines challenges in implementing NALAP in the Abura Asebu Kwamankese district, Ghana, focusing on the teacher and resource-related issues. A mixed-methods sequential explanatory design was employed. The study covered 12 basic schools in the Abura Asebu Kwamankese district. In all, 61 respondents comprising 50 teachers and 11 circuit supervisors were involved in the study. The findings highlight teacher-related issues such as inadequate pedagogical practices, low motivation, …

Revamped Socratic Seminars: Great Ideas, Morgan Taylor

New Jersey English Journal

Revamped Socratic Seminars called 'Great Ideas' encourage student ownership and active participation. Preparing with open-ended questions and online tools, the approach fosters a learner community and deepens subject understanding, assessed through a tracking system.

Reviving 90s Sitcoms To Teach Black Linguistic Justice Concepts, Teaira Mcmurtry Phd

New Jersey English Journal

In this article, the author elucidates two teaching and learning possibilities in the high school ELA classroom when leveraging Black sitcoms of the 1990s (Family Matters and Amen) to prioritize Black Linguistic Justice.

Schoolteachers In Out-Of-School Hours Education: Blurring Professional Ideology In Recent Times, Dr. M Monjurul Islam, Mohammed Shamsul Hoque, Wan Mazlini Othman, Saraswathy Thurairaj Phd, Dr. Ghadah Al Murshidi, Latha Ravindran

The Qualitative Report

Teachers’ professional ideology and their involvement in out-of-school hours (OoSH) practices have been questioned in recent times. This study explores how schoolteachers understand their professional ideology in relation to their OoSH practices and how they explain their participation in private tutoring in addition to formal schooling. This study deploys a qualitative approach using in-depth semi-structured interviews with nine secondary school teachers in Bangladesh. The thematic analysis highlights a substantial gap between Bangladeshi school teachers’ professional ideologies and their involvement in private tutoring. The findings from the study reveal that the respondents perceive their dual roles as schoolteachers and tutors as …

An Equity Framework To Engage Community College Preservice Teachers In Black Liberatory Practices, Denise Farrelly, Joanna Maulbeck, Laura Scheiber

Northwest Journal of Teacher Education

While representation of teachers of color remains startlingly low nationwide, it is critical to recognize that increasing diversity is not enough to increase access to an inequitable system. Centering the strengths of Black students, on both an individual and institutional level, through culturally and historically-responsive pedagogical and curricular practices is a crucial step toward equitizing the teaching workforce. Using a culturally and historically-responsive literacy (HRL) framework, we discuss and reflect upon practical classroom-based approaches to engage community college preservice teachers in responsive pedagogical practices that are aligned with the legacy of Black literary societies. The paper is divided into four …

A Review Of Language Literacy And Science: Enhancing Engagement And Achievement In Science, Gui Ying Annie Yang-Heim, Stephen Dobson

Faculty Publications - College of Education

No abstract provided.

Decolonizing French: Afrophonics In Ken Bugul’S Aller Et Retour (2013), Hapsatou Wane

The Coastal Review

This article explores the innovative language strategies employed by Senegalese writer Ken Bugul in her novel Aller et retour to construct a dynamic and interconnected linguistic landscape that challenges fixed language boundaries. Ken Bugul's "langue fabriquée" combines elements of French, Wolof, and English, reflecting a transglocal dimension that embodies the essence of afrophonics—a poetics of resistance that empowers local cultures in a globalized context. Through a detailed analysis of Ken Bugul's linguistic choices, including the use of quotation marks, footnotes, and arbitrary transcription, the study reveals how she creates a language that defies categorization and decolonizes French without resorting to …

"I'M Really Just Scared Of The White Parents": A Teacher's Perceptions Of Barriers To Discussing Racial Injustice, Shimikqua Elece Ellis, Christian Goering

Curriculum and Instruction Faculty Publications and Presentations

Purpose - This study explores the perceived barriers that a Secondary English teacher faced when attempting to discuss racial injustice through young adult literature in Mississippi.

Design/methodology/approach- The authors rely on Critical Whiteness Studies and qualitative methods to explore the following research question: What are the barriers that a White ELA teacher perceives when teaching about racial injustice through The Hate U Give?

Findings- The authors found that there were several perceived barriers to discussing modern racial injustice in the Mississippi ELA classroom. The participating teacher indicated the following barriers: a lack of racial literacy, fears of discomfort, and an …

The Bilingual Literacy Development Model: A Holistic Way To Support Spanish-Speaking Children, Stephanie Wessels

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

In the Bilingual Literacy Development Model: A holistic way to support Spanish-speaking children research study, I studied bilingual families over a 5-month period in their home environments through home visits. Drawing from data obtained through home visits, including interviews with mothers and observations of family literacy practices in the home environment, this study examines children’s bilingual literacy development. The findings are presented in an adapted Bilingual Literacy Development Model I created. The model was adapted from the work of researchers Leseman and de Jong (1998) and Bronfenbrenner’s ecological system (1977, 1995), from which four facets were developed: literacy and …

Dramatic Storytelling Develops Emergent Literacy In Efl: Evidence From The Uae Kindergartens, Ghada Yahya Alkilani

Dissertations

There is increasing importance of the English language for educational excellence and career success in the UAE. The early years is a sensitive period for language acquisition, and preschool age is the best time to learn English as a foreign language (EFL). Stories are a main vehicle used in early childhood education (ECE) to engage children in language learning. Although previous studies have found dramatic storytelling to be particularly effective in developing children’s emergent literacy in English as a native language, little is known about the effect of dramatic storytelling on developing young children’s emergent literacy in EFL. Also, there …

The “Reading Wars” Are Back: What Are The Implications For Adolescent Literacy?, Jenelle Williams

Michigan Reading Journal

This article unpacks the current political and educational debates around the Science of Reading, Simple View of Reading, and Active View of Reading. In the article, the author describes evidence-based reading practices for adolescents and connects them to components of the Active View of Reading. Finally, the author provides a rationale for caution in over-applying research-based approaches for early literacy with adolescents.

Leveraging Student Voice And Technology Within An 8th-Grade Literacy Community, Shavonne M. Jacobson

Michigan Reading Journal

Rochester Community Schools Middle School Language Arts Curriculum Consultant Shavonne (Shevy) Jacobson shares the collective experience of literacy leaders and student researchers as they piloted the new Michigan Middle School Reading and Writing Information unit. In this unit, learners address the essential question: “How can we contribute to the sustainability of our planet?” While centering on student learning and intentionally focusing on the teaching of deep learning, these 8th-grade literacy communities engaged in a comprehensive reading and writing workshop experience to create a podcast to share with their peers and beyond. Jacobson delineates the foundational research-based practices and frameworks that …

Toward A Theory Of An Integrated Theoretical Approach Of Literacy For Black Boys, Aaron M. Johnson

Michigan Reading Journal

In the education landscape the literacy of Black boys is viewed from deficit framing. Often, educators, politicians, and laypeople point to scores on standardized assessments such as the MSTEP, NAEP, ACT, SAT, and NWEA, these tests only tell a part of the story. The part of the story that those assessments do tell is the abject failure of schools’ ability to engage Black boys in school-based literacy and catapult them into proficient and advanced proficient reading levels. The part of the story that those assessments do not tell is the literate lives that Black boys lead. Furthermore, schools do a …

Photovoice As An Act Of Agency To Decenter Whiteness In P-12 Classrooms, Crystal V. Shelby-Caffey, Jinan Al-Hunayan

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

Given the lack of diversity in the P–12 teaching force, we contend that white normativity is prevalent and remains mostly unchallenged in these settings. Acknowledging such inequities requires an intentional focus on equity in teacher education programs. The project described here facilitated in-service teachers’ growth in becoming culturally competent and critically conscious by using Photovoice in P–12 classrooms. Photovoice is a participatory action research method that uses photography to examine the lived experiences of participants. Photovoice was used to examine school-based practices that erased and silenced students while offering an inflection point from which the in-service teachers could develop and …

Afl Students’ Perception Of Using Mnemonics As A Strategy To Enhance Their Vocabulary Acquisition And Retention, Elsayed Elsisi

Theses and Dissertations

Research in the field of language teaching and learning reveals that mnemonics is one of the most effective language learning strategies for vocabulary. Researchers like Rasiban, et al. (2019); Levin (1993); Zulfa (2019); Kayaaltu (2018) suggest that using mnemonics to learn new vocabulary has a positive effect on vocabulary retention and retrieval. Research also shows however that students’ perceptions may encourage or inhibit the usage of any learning strategy depending on their perceptions of its effectiveness. Hence the importance of detecting learner perception about any learning or teaching device. Despite the above there is limited research about students’ perceptions about …

The Journey To Becoming A Reader: Relationships Between Home Activities, Attitudes And Reading, Kylie Hillman

2021-2030 ACER Research Conferences

The Progress in International Reading Study – PIRLS for short – has been running since 2001, with Australia joining in 2011. Along with a well-researched measure of students’ reading comprehension, PIRLS includes a number of questionnaires for students, teachers, principals and parents/guardians that provide background and context for students’ performance in the reading assessment. This presentation will provide educators with an introduction to PIRLS and discuss what PIRLS can tell us about various home, attitudinal and behavioural factors that relate to Year 4 students’ performance in the PIRLS reading comprehension assessments.

We will discuss relationships between reading scores and factors …

Examining Guided Reading Practices In Kindergarten Classrooms, Erica Barnes, Kimberly L. Anderson, Thea Yurkewecz

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

This study investigated how 15 kindergarten teachers from one school district implemented small-group Guided Reading (GR). Analysis of video recordings indicates substantial differences in how GR was conducted, with none of the teachers fully implementing GR as conceptualized by Fountas and Pinnell (2012). Consistency across teachers was limited to reading a new book and using a picture walk as part of the book introduction. Differences were observed in how the books were read (choral, round robin, or independent reading) and in instructional activities before and after reading the new book, with word solving being the most prevalent focus of instruction. …

Coaching High School English Teachers In Guided Reading For Struggling Readers, Tiffany L. Gallagher, Arlene Grierson, Catherine Susin

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Although small-group guided reading is traditionally an elementary school instructional practice, this study details how high school English teachers perceived its implementation in high school classrooms. As part of a larger, multiyear research project, this 2-year study examined a dual-level coaching professional learning program that included two school district literacy coaches, eight provincial literacy facilitators, and 21 high school teachers. Teachers were coached in the implementation of guided reading and small-group instruction to support students in Grades 9–10 who were struggling with reading. Qualitative methods were used to gather data including observations of the professional learning meetings and teachers’ instruction; …

Editorial Review Board

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

No abstract provided.

Stock Stories Versus Counterstories: A Contemporary Retelling And Centering Of Disenfranchised Narratives, Karen C. Pitt

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This study examines the literacy narratives of disfranchised educators. It unveils the toll the “literacy myth” has taken on their educational pursuits in American institutions. Through these published narratives, the study explores the ways in which the Eurocentric ideology dominates academic institutions, noting the marginalizing effects this dominant ideology has had on minoritized students, teachers, and administrators. Understanding that the narrators have remained at the margins in their own stories, this study seeks to address this shortfall by exploring the author’s own literacy teaching narrative. It uses critical race theory (CRT) and CRT counterstory as an innovative methodology to retell …

Expanding Tolerances For Wobble: Pushing Through Tensions To Provide Critical Literacy Pedagogy, Daniel Stockwell

All Dissertations

Secondary English language arts (ELA) teachers are in unique positions to support their students in critical literacy practices so youth can use reading and writing to advocate for social change and use what they learn in class to make the world more equitable (Morrell, 2005; 2008). This is possible if secondary ELA teachers embrace the full liberatory potential of their subject and if they intentionally enact critical literacy pedagogy (Morrell, 2008; 2017). Unfortunately, current sociopolitical discourse surrounding teaching, particularly surrounding what texts are deemed appropriate to be included in schools (see Limbong, 2022; Stout, 2022), and the outcry against the …

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 …

Empowering All Students To Participate: Utilizing Aac To Respond During Lessons, Robbie Cromwell

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Previous research indicates that frequent and active participation of all students (including diverse student groups) improves student outcomes, as does using a variety of methods to respond during classroom instruction. Current research is limited in examining two key areas: 1) Increasing active participation of AAC users by encouraging engagement through frequent response opportunities during instruction and 2) Utilizing a variety of response methods to enable participation during instruction. Given the gaps that exist in the research, the purpose of this study is to examine whether incorporating a variety of opportunities to respond has an impact on AAC user’s engagement and …

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, …

Reading-Racetracks And Self-Graphing On Literacy Performance Of Struggling Students With Behavioral Problems, Anne Barwasser, Kerstin Nobel, Matthias Grünke

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

Literacy influences all aspects of life. Unfortunately, a rising number of students struggle with reading and spelling, which can result in enormous educational barriers. Difficulties in literacy accompanied by learning-related problem behavior can create additional risk factors. Effective interventions for these students should consider individual needs and focus on multiple components of learning simultaneously. The present single-case study focused on the effects of motivational reading racetracks, with and without self-graphing, on the word-reading and spelling performance of three third graders with severe literacy and behavior problems. Our intervention was carried out three times a week over a 5-week period. The …

Unequal Englishes In A Chinese College English Textbook: A Critical Discourse Analysis, Jing He, Adcharawan Buripakdi

International Journal for Research in Education

The phenomenon of Unequal Englishes pervades Chinese contexts; however, more can be done to find out how it is embedded in Chinese college English textbooks. A study of Chinese college English listening and speaking textbooks shows that there are only few surface manifestations of Unequal Englishes in these textbooks which might be explained by the Chinese government’s deliberate ideological control of English learning, thus confirming profound political influences on the production of English textbooks in China to a certain degree. This study, however, conducts a Critical Discourse Analysis which surfaces manifestations of Unequal Englishes in a specific lesson of a …