Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons^™

How Do We Get These Kids Reading? Supporting Readerly Identity In Secondary English Classrooms, Jenelle Williams, Jay Haffner

Michigan Reading Journal

In this article, we aim to clarify the specialized purposes for reading in secondary English language arts (ELA) classes. We will suggest ways ELA teachers can help build (or repair) students’ readerly identities while also ensuring they graduate with the necessary skill sets to transfer their knowledge into further studies, careers, and lifelong pleasure reading.

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 …

Wakanda: Opening The High School Classroom To Afrofuturism, Carrie M. Mattern

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

Afrofuturism has a solid place in high school classrooms thanks to the current work of Ryan Coogler, but also to those who have been in this work for decades including the Mother of Afrofuturism herself, Octavia Butler, adrienne maree brown, dream hampton, and a litany of Black poets and artists. This article leaps inside an Afrofuturistic unit curated for high school seniors with feedback and insight from their teachers and also the students who buckled up for a journey through time, space, and place.

Exploring Using Game-Based Learning And Gamification In A Secondary Classroom To Increase Engagement, Mandee Lynn Thiell

Culminating Experience Projects

Research has connected the importance of student engagement and student experience within the classroom but continue to use teacher directed traditional teaching methods. This project explores the use of gamification and game-based learning and how it promotes student engagement. The use of games and game-elements provide a relevant approach that focuses on student autonomy and experience, and ultimately use fun engaging ways to motivate students to learn. This project provides an entry level learning in-service opportunity for secondary educators to discover and create their own lessons that implement gamification and game-based learning in their classrooms in hopes to increase student …

Taking Up The Work: Snapshots Of Disciplinary Literacy Instruction, Part I, Laura Gabrion, Jenelle Williams

Michigan Reading Journal

This article is part of a series devoted to unpacking disciplinary literacy instructional practices for educators at all levels. Here, we explore the role of disciplinary literacy instruction at all levels, in light of recent changes to Michigan's teacher certification grade bands. This article provides suggestions for getting started with addressing disciplinary literacy in instruction, as well as practical examples of what this might look like within English Language Arts classrooms.

Teacher Of Literature And Literacy: Rethinking Secondary English Language Arts, Jenelle Williams, Laura Gabrion

Michigan Reading Journal

This article aims to explore the complexity of instruction in secondary English Language Arts (ELA) classes, addressing the role of teacher identity, educator preparation programs, equity and access, and the role of the Essential Instructional Practices for Disciplinary Literacy in the Secondary Classroom. We suggest that there is a possibility to attend to both teaching literature and literacy within middle- and high-school ELA classrooms and provide a vision for working toward this balance.

Improving Career Readiness And Employability Of College Graduates, Megan Packer

Culminating Experience Projects

Research shows that current college graduates are lacking in skills related to career readiness and employability upon graduation. Due to this, college students are entering the workforce and are landing in jobs that either do not require a college degree or are not the role that they hoped for upon graduation. In relation, career development as a whole is lacking in the college experience. This project will discuss the current state of employability and career readiness of college graduates. It will dive into potential methods and strategies for improving career readiness and career development of college students within higher education …

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 …

No More Random Acts Of Literacy Coaching, Annie P. Spear

Michigan Reading Journal

No abstract provided.

Essential Practices For Disciplinary Literacy Instruction In Secondary Classrooms, Jenelle Williams

Michigan Reading Journal

This article describes the role of student-centered, problem-based instruction, and it offers practical tips and resources for secondary English Language Arts educators in using effective problem frames for units of instruction.

Book Clubs In A Pandemic: Student Choice And Flexible Pedagogies As We Learned More About Ourselves And The World, Naitnaphit Limlamai

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

Abstract: In this narrative, the author relays the experience of meeting virtually with two small book clubs, one sixth grade and one eighth grade, during the 2020-2021 school year. Meeting over Zoom, choosing books to read, and creating their own community, the members of the book club explore three major themes in their time together talking about books: connecting reading and writing, learning more about themselves, and building understandings about the world. Weaving the book club members’ voices with her own pedagogical decision-making, the author illustrates new ways to think about teaching as she centers student choice and flexible pedagogies.

Yellow Pads And The Return Of The Writer, Gregory Shafer

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

No abstract provided.

Using Inquiry In Teacher Professional Learning To Build Efficacy For Writing Instruction, Jacqueline B. Koonce, Melissa Brooks-Yip, Kathleen Gibson

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

Whitacre (2019) and Curtis (2017) found that participants’ efficacy impacted their writing instruction and ability to engage students. We share our experiences with a professional development program aimed to improve teacher efficacy and literacy of elementary teachers. In this professional learning network, the Study of Early Literacy (SOEL), a higher percentage of teachers reported to a Hanover Research survey that they felt less confident in teaching writing than other areas of literacy. To address this need, one of the authors developed a subgroup to specifically address the teaching of writing with an inquiry-based action research component. Most of the teachers …

Scholastic Liberation: Schools' Impact On African American Academic Achievement, Aaron M. Johnson

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

This article addresses some of the factors that contribute to low achievement observed in African American students. It is common that either schools or school districts are unable to fix the problem or they are unaware about how the beliefs and attitudes about African American students can contribute to their low performance in school. Furthermore, this article encourages school institutions to examine themselves and change school environments to align to the identities of African American students. African American students must be liberated from negative assumptions about them and to do that, individuals and the institution of school as a whole, …

Why “Correcting” African American Language Speakers Is Counterproductive, Alice Lee

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

In this article, I address the topic of AAL usage in the classroom, particularly the line of thinking that assumes “correcting” the language is what will “set students up for success” in the future. By providing some abbreviated information on how children acquire language, I explain how AAL “correction” is actually counterproductive for student “success”—in both language acquisition and learning. Additionally, I will offer practical suggestions for how AAL can be incorporated in curriculum and instruction.

The International Baccalaureate Learner Profile: A Social Justice Framework In The English Language Arts Classroom, Kristin Sovis, Sarah Pancost

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

“The International Baccalaureate Learner Profile: A Social Justice Framework in the English Language Arts Classroom," highlights the story of an expert secondary ELA teacher as she navigates the political climate in the wake of the 2016 presidential election. Through narrative, classroom anecdote, and pedagogical reflection, this story offers readers an authentic portrait of the complex decisions that face teachers as we navigate tenuous political terrain in our classrooms. Central to this story is the International Baccalaureate (IB) Learner Profile (LP), which is the framework from which this teacher operates: the IB LP serves as both the anchor and guide for …