Language and Literacy Education Commons^™

How Much Is Enough? Teachers’ Perceptions Of Literacy Instruction And Common Core State Standards, Carol L. Butterfield, Sulee P. Kindle

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of Education and Professional Studies

As public school districts and teachers seek to understand the Common Core State Standards and what it means for literacy instruction, preservice teachers in universities are also learning about literacy and standards. The International Literacy Association (2016) defines literacy as "Literacy is the ability to identify, understand, interpret, create, compute, and communicate using visual, audible, and digital materials across disciplines and in any context." How is this definition applied to real-life teaching in the classroom? In this study preservice teachers are involved in analyzing interview data in regards to practicing teacher perceptions and attitudes about literacy instruction and the CCSS.

Constructing A Sense Of Story: One Block At A Time, Joanne M. Robertson-Eletto, Smita Guha, Marina Marinelli

Graduate School of Education Publications and Research

This photo essay focuses upon the literacy practices of two groups of preschoolers as they built, illustrated, and dictated stories in response to their participation in a “Castle Project.” Data, including literacy artifacts, photodocumentation, sociodramatic play scenarios, and conversations are qualitatively analyzed, coded, and evaluated over a three month period. We use a narrative approach to describe the three- and four-year-olds’ talk, actions, and ideas, and the ways block play facilitated their sense of story and motivation to write. We suggest a reciprocity of thinking between the building and composing processes. Preschoolers’ story ideas, we deduce, were conceptualized and rehearsed …

Creating Confident Writers: Implementing Writing Portfolios In A Secondary-Level Language Arts Classroom, Julia Smagacz

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This paper explores the implementation of a writing portfolio project in secondary-level English Language Arts classrooms. In addition to defining the project and describing its potential parameters, this paper describes goals and strategies that educators may use to implement this project, using research from multiple school district curricula and reputable state education resources. The paper includes testimonies from four current high school English teachers, in which each teacher details his or her experience with the writing portfolio. The teachers also provided feedback on the importance of writing and the writing process in general. Also included in this paper is a …

The Use Of Responses To Reading As A Vehicle To Opinion Writing In The Primary Grades, Zoi A. Philippakos

The Language and Literacy Spectrum

Writing to persuade is an important writing purpose that students and learners need to develop and use both in their academic lives and in the workplace. The Common Core State Standards set specific expectations for students’ opinion writing starting from Kindergarten. This article explains the use of response to reading as a way to introduce opinion writing in the primary grades. The approach is based on strategy instruction, reading and writing connections through interactive read alouds, collaborative reasoning through oral expression, and evaluation to revise through the use of specific evaluation criteria. Resources are suggested for teachers interested in implementing …

Constructing A Sense Of Story: One Block At A Time, Joanne Robertson-Eletto, Smita Guha, Marina Marinelli

The Language and Literacy Spectrum

This photo essay focuses upon the literacy practices of two groups of preschoolers as they built, illustrated, and dictated stories in response to their participation in a “Castle Project.” Data, including literacy artifacts, photodocumentation, sociodramatic play scenarios, and conversations are qualitatively analyzed, coded, and evaluated over a three month period. We use a narrative approach to describe the three- and four-year-olds’ talk, actions, and ideas, and the ways block play facilitated their sense of story and motivation to write. We suggest a reciprocity of thinking between the building and composing processes. Preschoolers’ story ideas, we deduce, were conceptualized and rehearsed …

Engaging Students In The Research Process: Comparing Approaches Used With Diverse Learners In Two Urban High School Classrooms, Salika A. Lawrence, Tiffany Jefferson, Nancy Osborn

The Language and Literacy Spectrum

This paper describes instructional choices used by two high school teachers to engage students in the research process. Working with diverse learners in large urban high schools, the teachers used different approaches to support students’ through the research process. The teachers’ intentional teaching helped to engage students through structured and semi-structured explorations of real-world issues.

The Frequency Of The Twelve Verb Tenses In History Papers Written By University Native Writers, Bushra Qahtani

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Due to the variety and complexity of verb tenses in English, English as a Second Language (ESL) / English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners often experience difficulty in mastering English verb tense system. This corpus-based study was conducted to ascertain the most frequently used verb tenses by English native speakers (NSs), specifically in their academic writing in a history course. As this study aimed to examine the naturally-occurring language produced by NSs, specifically in their academic writing, an original corpus of 101,713 words was assembled. The corpus consisted of 130 research papers written by 65 students. The corpus was …

The Effect Of Speech Elicitation Method On Second Language Phonemic Accuracy, Nicole Carrasquel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The present study, a One-Group Posttest-Only Repeated-Measures Design, examined the effect of speech elicitation method on second language (L2) phonemic accuracy of high functional load initial phonemes found in frequently occurring nouns in American English. This effect was further analyzed by including the variable of first language (L1) to determine if L1 moderated any effects found. The data consisted of audio recordings of 61 adult English learners (ELs) enrolled in English for Academic Purposes (EAP) courses at a large, public, post-secondary institution in the United States. Phonemic accuracy was judged by two independent raters as either approximating a standard American …

Conversations With Chris: Discussing Racial Diversity In A Professional Book Club, A. Brennan Davis

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative action research study was to understand and describe the experiences and the effects of one high school teacher’s membership in a professional development book club focused on issues of racial diversity with the overall aim of change toward equitable teaching practices through the following actions: confronting personal biases, discussing and reflecting on personal experiences and beliefs, questioning and critiquing personal beliefs and teaching practices, interacting with other professionals and with the readings in a supportive environment in which we celebrated and supported articulations of social justice or positive change. Thematic analysis was used to analyze …

“Porque Hací Ya Conocemos”: Dialogic Ways Of Knowing Through Digital Learning Communities And Critical Coaching, Melissa Summer Wells

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative action research case study was to create dialogic, power-sharing spaces that recognized the diverse ways of knowing that teachers, families, and students brought to mutually-constructed learning environments through two strategies, digital learning communities and critical coaching. Specifically, the study explored how families, teachers, and students engaged in digital learning communities; how these parties exercised power in these digital spaces; and how critical coaching partnerships formed between teachers and literacy coaches. The researcher (a literacy coach) engaged in a critical coaching partnership with an early childhood educator over the course of four months. Engagements in this …

The Use Of Print Referencing Techniques Through Preschoolers’ Play-Based Creative Writing Experiences: The Impact On Oral Language Development, Print Awareness, And Literacy Abilities With Children Diagnosed With Language Disorder, Catherine Ann Sanderson

Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, I explored the lives of 10 children who were diagnosed with a language disorder. The children were enrolled in a therapeutic half-day speech-language preschool classroom for 3- and 4-year-old children within a public-school system in the rural Southeast. The research included a 15-week mini-ethnographic case study utilizing participant observation. Through a sociocultural Vygotskian approach used to meet their language and literacy needs holistically, I encouraged the children to use meaningful artifacts from which their play, talk, and stories developed. I collected both qualitative and quantitative data to assess how creative writing experiences including print referencing approaches impacted …

Learning To Question The World: Navigating Critical Discourse Around Gender And Racial Inequities And Injustices In A Second And Third Grade Classroom, Christopher L. Hass

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study, situated within a critical theory frame (Friere, 1970; Grant, Brown, & Brown, 2016; hooks, 1994; Kincheloe, 2008), explored the ways elementary students engaged in and constructed meaning from critical classroom discussions exploring inequities and injustices as related to gender and race. The questions guiding the study were: (1) How do my students construct meaning during class discussions regarding issues of equity and injustice around gender and race?, (2) What role do I play in constructing, shaping, and maintaining opportunities for students to create meaning during these discussions?, and (3) What tensions do my students encounter when engaging …

'The Writing Writes Itself': Deleuzian Desire And The Creative Writing Mfa Degree, Ginger Walker

Theses and Dissertations

This post-qualitative inquiry project investigated subjectivity (sense of self) among graduates of creative writing Master of Fine Arts (MFA) programs. The project asked how subjectivity is involved in the creative writing process and how that process fuels further writing after a creative piece (such as the MFA thesis) is completed. A post-qualitative, thinking-with-theory approach was used to explore the role of subjectivity among four anonymous graduates of creative writing MFA programs who provided writing samples describing their creative writing processes. Following the thinking-with-theory approach, the data were analyzed using Deleuze and Guattari’s theory of productive desire. Study findings are presented …

Upper Elementary Reading Instruction In The Age Of Accountability: Balancing Best Practices With Pressures To Achieve On High-Stakes Tests, Christina H. Saunders

Theses and Dissertations

The present study identifies reading instructional practices used in upper elementary classrooms during the age of high-stakes test accountability and compares reading practices among schools of varying accreditation status and socio-economic status (SES). The current study partially replicates and extends a study conducted by Baumann, Hoffman, Duffy-Hester, and Ro in 2000. The Baumann et al. (2000) study provides a frame of reference to compare instructional practices prior to high stakes testing with those used in the current high stakes testing environment. Third- through fifth-grade teachers in seven school districts in central Virginia were asked to complete an electronic survey. Descriptive …

Analyzing Source Preferences In Student Writing When Integrating Diverse Texts, Lauren Covington

Masters Theses

This study examined the sources cited by sixth grade who had been exposed to multiple sources pertaining to a historical topic. The purpose of this study was to determine whether students exhibited a preference for specific types of sources when constructing and demonstrating knowledge about historic events, figures, or a specific time period. A total of 46 students participated in the study which extended over eight class periods of approximately 50 minutes each. During these class periods students constructed knowledge about historical figure, Rosa Parks, and the events of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Students were presented with a variety of …

Evaluating Student Responses To Young Adult Literature Based On Group Dynamic Within The Literature Circle Setting, Abigail J. Schmitz

Masters Theses

The push of the Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) standards encourages teachers to assist students with overcoming personal obstacles in the classroom. In the middle grades, young adult literature can be an outlet for students by allowing them to connect with characters similar to themselves and their life experiences. Within the middle level classroom, literature circles can address SEL needs and state standards while allowing students to work closely with their peers sharing in a discussion format in response to the same young adult novel. This research analyzed two groups of students and their oral and written responses to the …

The Effects Of Digital Story Writing Instruction On Narrative Writing Skills Of Junior High School Students In Indonesia, Elsa Widya Hapsari

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

The objectives of the study were: 1) to explore the effects of digital story writing instruction on narrative writing skills of junior high school students in Indonesia; 2) to investigate how digital story writing instruction enhance English writing motivation of junior high school students in Indonesia. The instruments used in this study were online narrative writing test, writing motivation questionnaire, and a semi-structured interview. The sample in this study was 35 students from eighth- grade who were studying in 2017 academic year at Sekolah Menengah Pertama Islam Terpadu (SMP IT) in Indonesia. The research design was one-group pretest-posttest, quasi-experimental design. …

Students’ Motivation And Teachers’ Motivational Strategies In English Language Classrooms In Unstable Socio-Political Contexts, Hkawn San Nra

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

This study investigated students' motivation, teachers' use of motivational strategies in English classrooms in an unstable socio-political state in Myanmar. In addition, how the situation affected the use of motivational strategies was also explored. Since previous studies have shown how students and teachers in such areas may be affected by the situation, this study will provide insights into how teacher education institutions can prepare and support the teachers in such areas. Sequential explanatory mix-method was employed and the data were collected from 172 students and 5 teachers in eleventh grade English classrooms from five upper secondary schools. Questionnaires, classroom observations, …

The Development Of The English Content-Based Reading Materials For Buddhist Student Monks, Phatchareporn Supphipat

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

The objectives of this study are 1) to develop the English content-based reading materials for Buddhist student monks, 2) to examine the attitude of student monks towards the quality of the English content-based reading materials, and 3) to examine the attitude of teachers towards the quality of the English content-based reading materials. The study was conducted in 6 stages starting from the identification of needs to create materials to the evaluation of the effectiveness of the developed materials. The participants of 42 student monks and 3 English teachers were purposefully selected from the Education Department of Wat Phra Dhammakaya in …

Effects Of Direct Vocabulary And Vocabulary Learning Strategies Instruction On Indonesian Prospective English Teachers’ Vocabulary Size, Sudarman -

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

The objectives of the study were: 1) to explore the effects of direct vocabulary and vocabulary learning strategies instruction on Indonesian prospective English teachers' vocabulary size, and 2) to investigate the students' opinions towards the treatment of direct vocabulary and vocabulary learning strategies instruction. The study was one-group pretest-posttest, pre-experimental design. The instruments employed in this study were the Vocabulary Levels Test (VLT) and a semi-structured interview. The samples were the 33 first-year students majoring in English education at University of Kutai Kartanegara, Indonesia for the Academic Year 2017/2018. The findings of the study showed that there was a significant …

Effects Of Holistic Approach Using Local Cultural Content On English Oral Communication Ability Of Sixth Grade Students In Phrae Province, Wasida Sawongta

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

This study aimed to study the effects of Holistic Approach using local cultural content on English oral communication ability of sixth grade students and to investigate their opinions towards learning through Holistic Approach using local cultural content. The participants were 21 sixth grade students studying in Phrae Province in academic year 2017. The quantitative and qualitative data were collected in 13-week experiment using seven instruments including need analysis questionnaire, English oral communication test, English oral communication scoring rubrics, lesson plans, self-evaluation form, Metacognitive Awareness Inventory questionnaire, and focus group discussion. The Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test, mean scores, and standard deviation …

An Exploration Of Motivational Strategies, Beliefs, And Contextual Factors: A Case Of Chinese Efl Teachers, Xiaosu Chen

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Based on the Self-determination theory, teachers can enhance learners' intrinsic motivation and their use of motivational strategies may be influenced by their beliefs and contextual factors. This case study was thus designed to explore these relationships in the contexts of EFL classrooms in Northwest of China, in which student's motivation levels in English learning were found in previous studies to be lower than that of the students in other regions. Six EFL teachers from a public upper secondary school in this region were observed in their tenth grade English classrooms over one month. After the observations, they were interviewed to …

(Mis)Reading The Classroom: A Two-Act “Play” On The Conflicting Roles In Student Teaching, Christi U. Edge

Journal Articles

This case study examined concentric and reciprocal notions of reading—that of high school students, a pre-service teacher, and a teacher educator. An intern charged with teaching students to read, interact with, and compose texts in an English/language arts classroom constructed her role in the classroom based on her reading the “text” of her internship experiences, relationships, and responsibilities. Using interviews and observations, a teacher educator read and interpreted the classroom “text” the pre-service teacher “composed” during her internship and then constructed a two-act “play” which details the conflict in the intern’s enacting the dual role of student-teacher and her subsequent …

Storying Our Journey: Conversations About The Literary Canon And Course Development In Secondary English Education., Elsie L. Olan, Kia Jane Richmond

Journal Articles

Olan and Richmond present preservice English teachers’ stories about having little experience with canonical texts they are asked to teach in their field experiences.

Exploring Interactions Between Adult English Learners And Their Teachlive Digital Character Peers, Ting Yan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Peer interaction is an important part of language learning. The results of previous studies showed advantages and disadvantages of peer interaction between native speakers and English learners. Using the educational simulation platform TeachLivE as the interaction platform, this qualitative descriptive case study explored the possibilities of bridging the gap between classroom language practice and real-life second language communication. The study recruited eight participants for a task-based interaction project. Using conversation analysis, the study revealed details in communication between adult English learners and their digital character peers. During the interactions, the participants were actively involved and the most frequent communication patterns …

Teaching In A Mixed Secondary Spanish Classroom: A Case Study Of Strategies And Successes Of Minnesota Teachers, Meredith Gunderson

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The population of Spanish heritage language learners is increasing throughout the state of Minnesota. This change in demographics impacts schools in a variety of ways; one such consequence is the creation of classes for Spanish for Native Speakers in locations with high Latino populations. However, in most locations, such programs currently do not exist, resulting in Spanish heritage language learners enrolling in Spanish foreign language classes. These classrooms, called mixed classes due to the combination of second language learners and Spanish heritage language learners in the same classroom, pose a unique challenge to the foreign language instructors. This qualitative multiple …

Perceptions Of Students With And Without Limited Formal Schooling, Sarah Schmidt De Carranza

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The purpose of this study was to examine and compare the perceptions that refugee and non-refugee English language learners hold of their academic performance and their perceived sense of membership in a school community. Students currently served in EL programs in grades 9-12 in a large urban school district were invited to participate in the study. Student perceptions were measured using the Morgan Jinks Student Efficacy Scale (MJSES) and Goodenow Pyschological Sense of School Membership (PSSM) scale.

Unexpectedly, the results indicated that differences of perceptions of student efficacy and school membership between the two groups of students were not statistically …

Instructional Design: How Secondary Teachers Promote Student Comprehension Of Informational Text, Patti Strukel

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This study examined how secondary teachers supported their students’ comprehension of informational text. Four content-area teachers – English, science, social studies, and vocational – were observed and interviewed in this study based on hermeneutic phenomenology methods. In addition, the teachers provided a sample of lessons delivered outside the observed processes. The findings exposed processes and actions that teachers intentionally engaged in to make informational text accessible to their students, create conditions that celebrated and supported the learning process, and that led students to valuable understandings when their students read informational text. The research also unveiled varied points of emphasis in …

The Challenge Of Chinese Character Acquisition: Leveraging Multimodality In Overcoming A Centuries-Old Problem, Justin Olmanson, Xianquan Chrystal Liu

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

For learners unfamiliar with character-based or logosyllabic writing systems, the process of developing literacy in written Chinese poses significantly more obstacles than learning to read and write in a second language like Portuguese or Cherokee. In this article we describe the linguistic nature of Chinese characters; we outline traditional and new media approaches to Chinese character acquisition; we unpack how multimodal technologies combined with computational linguistics might be used to provide new types of support for Chinese character learning; and we offer a design that incorporates several of these concepts into a digital writing support tool that could work as …

Expanding Our Space: Stories Of Mindful Practice, Emily Jean Whitecotton

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation tells the story of a qualitative, narrated inquiry study on the narrated experiences of the students and teacher who participated in a mindfulness workshop, designed by the teacher-researcher, and learned within a classroom where the teacher-researcher used mindfulness techniques as a part of their classroom life. This study was designed as an inquiry into the question: How do the students and teacher narrate their experiences as members in a mindfulness workshop over the course of a year? The teacher-researcher collected audio recordings of interviews with participants and whole group discussions that occurred within the workshop and classroom. These …