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Full-Text Articles in Teacher Education and Professional Development

Creating Safe(R) Classrooms: Trauma-Informed Teaching Practices In Higher Education, Shannon Pappas, Nolan Bowers, Lili R. Romann Aug 2026

Creating Safe(R) Classrooms: Trauma-Informed Teaching Practices In Higher Education, Shannon Pappas, Nolan Bowers, Lili R. Romann

Journal of Communication Pedagogy

Trauma is a public health issue, with effects being increasingly harmful for adolescents. While instructors cannot control how students respond to trauma, they can work to create traumainformed teaching practices to support student learning and safety. Based on the principles of trauma-informed pedagogy, this manuscript details how safety, trustworthiness and transparency, choice, collaboration, and empowerment can be implemented in higher education communication courses. Additionally, a sixth principle, responding to the current climate, is introduced. Currently, instructors are grappling with supporting vulnerable students and answering to those in power. These practices offer insights into classroom adaptations to assist instructors in these …


Editorial Review Board Vol. 65 Issue 2 Aug 2026

Editorial Review Board Vol. 65 Issue 2

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

No abstract provided.


Discussion Of Text Revisited: Encouraging Chatting In The Classroom, Melissa Jessup, Ruth E. Jefferson Dr. Aug 2026

Discussion Of Text Revisited: Encouraging Chatting In The Classroom, Melissa Jessup, Ruth E. Jefferson Dr.

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Discussion of text in language and literacy instruction has historically been studied with small samples of learners. The study described in this article investigated the relationship between instructional practices associated with discussion of text (chatting about it) and the reading achievement of several subgroups. A large sample of readers (N = 148,800) from the National Assessment of Educational Progress was the subject of the study. Several subgroups, including students with disabilities and students eligible for the National School Lunch Program (students experiencing poverty), were statistically disaggregated; subgroup data and results of analyses are discussed. Suggestions for classroom application are included.


Empowering Future Educators: How Service-Learning Shapes Teacher Candidate Self-Efficacy And Understanding Of Book Access, Nancy F. Hulan, Morgan S. Major Aug 2026

Empowering Future Educators: How Service-Learning Shapes Teacher Candidate Self-Efficacy And Understanding Of Book Access, Nancy F. Hulan, Morgan S. Major

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Literacy rates are historically low in areas where access to books is limited. Thus, students with limited exposure to books prior to school pose a unique challenge to teachers, who often feel unprepared to teach students from underserved populations. To help remedy this, teacher candidates need preparation that builds their abilities to provide both access to books and quality literacy instruction for students who live in poverty. The study described in this article investigated the impact of literacy-related community engagement on teacher candidates’ self-efficacy, their understanding of book access, and their perceptions of teachers’ roles in providing book access. Participants …


Deferred Understandings: A Critical Content Analysis Of Representations Of War In Picturebooks, Heeyoung Kim, Jongsun Wee Aug 2026

Deferred Understandings: A Critical Content Analysis Of Representations Of War In Picturebooks, Heeyoung Kim, Jongsun Wee

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

This article reports on a study that examined eight picturebooks published since 2021 that portray contemporary wars, exploring picturebooks’ potential role in shaping children’s understandings of armed conflict. It investigated how these texts present historical context and construct representations of war. The authors’ analysis focuses on three key elements: the causes of war, depictions of wartime scenes, and the resolutions of war. The findings indicate that the picturebooks portray war realistically through textual and visual narratives, illustrating how war disrupts the child protagonist’s everyday life. However, the books rarely address the underlying causes of war. This study suggests that teachers …


A Pedagogical “Eras” Tour: Thirteen Years Of Evolving As A Writing Methods Instructor [Special Issue], Susanna Benko Jul 2026

A Pedagogical “Eras” Tour: Thirteen Years Of Evolving As A Writing Methods Instructor [Special Issue], Susanna Benko

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

ABSTRACT: This reflective essay uses Taylor Swift's Eras Tour as a conceptual framework for examining thirteen years of teaching a writing methods course for preservice teachers. Drawing on longitudinal reflection, I identify four distinct pedagogical eras in my practice, each representing shifts in how I conceptualize what preservice teachers need to learn about teaching writing and how clinical experiences shape that learning. Through this extended reflection, I argue that meaningful pedagogical change becomes visible only across time, not semester-to-semester. Key insights include the sustained centrality of writing practice in methods courses and the influence of institutional changes on course design. …


"We Can't Shut The Classroom Door": Crossing Borderlands Of Practice In The Writing Methods Course, Vanessa C. Sullivan Jul 2026

"We Can't Shut The Classroom Door": Crossing Borderlands Of Practice In The Writing Methods Course, Vanessa C. Sullivan

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

This article shares the findings of a qualitative study that engaged ten writing teacher educators from across the United States in interviews, curriculum submission, and a mapping practice to explore the ways that they perceive and enact the teaching of the writing methods course within dynamic and complex settings. Using a conceptual framework of borderlands of practice to gain insight into the discourses and value systems that surround the course, findings revealed the overlapping domains that impact the preparation of teachers in the field of writing, the key values that guide the way that participants approach their teaching, and the …


Teaching (In) Community: Reflection And Relationship In The Writing Methods Course, Kristie Jolley, Emily Stephens Kasper, Meridith Reed Jul 2026

Teaching (In) Community: Reflection And Relationship In The Writing Methods Course, Kristie Jolley, Emily Stephens Kasper, Meridith Reed

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

In this article, three writing teachers, one a writing teacher educator, reflect on how the writing methods course has shaped their work as teachers and helped them build community and identify resources to adapt to new teaching contexts and challenges.


Our Journeys As Teachers Of Writing: Learning From Our Mentor, Tracey T. Flores, Cecilia Espinosa Jul 2026

Our Journeys As Teachers Of Writing: Learning From Our Mentor, Tracey T. Flores, Cecilia Espinosa

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

Written in two voices, we reflect on our journeys as teachers of writing and teacher educators shaped by transformative mentoring in literacy methods courses at Arizona State University and community embedded learning at William T. Machan School. Weaving together sociocultural and translanguaging theories, we explore how being invited to write from our lives reshaped our identities as writers and educators. In our work, we draw on strength-based approaches to teaching writers that centers voice, meaning making, multilingualism, and funds of knowledge. In the midst of an increase in the use of a scripted curriculum, we argue for reclaiming writing as …


Writing Workshop Methods Course As Catalysts For Long-Term Pedagogical Identity: A Co-Authored Narrative Of Resonance, Resilience, And Effects, Elsie L. Olan Dr., M.Priscilla Develder Jul 2026

Writing Workshop Methods Course As Catalysts For Long-Term Pedagogical Identity: A Co-Authored Narrative Of Resonance, Resilience, And Effects, Elsie L. Olan Dr., M.Priscilla Develder

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

Writing workshop methods courses introduce teachers to foundational practices for teaching writing, yet their long-term influence on teacher identity and instructional decision-making often remains underexamined. This co-authored narrative explores how experiences within a graduate-level writing workshop shaped the pedagogical development of two educators: a professor who designed and facilitated the course and a former graduate student who went on to teach English Language Arts (ELA) in both elementary and higher education settings. Drawing on a 60-hour shadowing experience, the narrative analyzes classroom observations, reflective writing, and dialogic exchanges to illuminate three central themes: resonance, resilience, and effects that demonstrate how …


Strengthening Our Pedagogy Together: A Methods Instructor And Her Former Student Partner To Promote Agency In The Secondary Writing Classroom [Special Issue], Michael Rojas, Kate Sjostrom Jul 2026

Strengthening Our Pedagogy Together: A Methods Instructor And Her Former Student Partner To Promote Agency In The Secondary Writing Classroom [Special Issue], Michael Rojas, Kate Sjostrom

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

In many English classrooms today, writing instruction is reduced to templates and formulas, robbing students of agency, voice, and transferable skills. This article describes a collaboration between a writing methods course instructor and one of her former students bent on proving that what they believe makes for solid writing instruction—a sometimes messy process involving choice and authentic purpose and audience—works. Documenting development of a new secondary writing course and a project to introduce the course’s methods to pre-service teachers, the authors recount barriers they encountered, strategies they developed for overcoming them, and issues they are still grappling with. In the …


“Ummm I Don’T Know If I Took A Writing Methods Course”: Learning From In-Service Teachers Revisiting The Methods Course, Christina Saidy, Isabelle Alize Meza, Talia Baca Jul 2026

“Ummm I Don’T Know If I Took A Writing Methods Course”: Learning From In-Service Teachers Revisiting The Methods Course, Christina Saidy, Isabelle Alize Meza, Talia Baca

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

In this article two teachers and their writing methods professor explore the challenges of the traditional methods course. In sharing the teachers’ experiences of retaking the methods course, they argue for the need to consider ways that practicing teachers can revisit the methods course to develop sustainable practices for the teaching of writing in secondary schools.


The Good Ghosts Of Process And Models: What Endures From The Composition Methods Course [Special Issue], Rebecca Powell, Jonathan Rivera, Heather Serpas Jul 2026

The Good Ghosts Of Process And Models: What Endures From The Composition Methods Course [Special Issue], Rebecca Powell, Jonathan Rivera, Heather Serpas

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

This article examines how secondary English teachers understand and implement writing pedagogy in their classrooms years after completing a writing methods course. Through reflective interviews and written responses from teachers in their fifth through seventh years of practice, we explore the tensions between pedagogical ideals learned in teacher preparation and the institutional pressures of contemporary schooling. Key themes include the influence of standardized testing on writing instruction, the challenge of maintaining process-oriented approaches amid curriculum standardization, and the ways teachers adapt their methods course learning to their specific school contexts.


What Are You Writing? The Hopes And Hurdles Of Transitioning From Writing Methods To Teaching Writing, Rebekah Buchanan, Darrin G. Ross Jul 2026

What Are You Writing? The Hopes And Hurdles Of Transitioning From Writing Methods To Teaching Writing, Rebekah Buchanan, Darrin G. Ross

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

This co-authored piece examines how the writing methods course impacts teaching and thinking about writing through the lenses of a writing methods professor and a former student/current teacher. In writing and thinking together we found that a mutual grounding in liberatory education, using writing as a tool for social action and critical thinking, and teaching writing as a political act we see how the writing methods course and the relationships built through writing create a basis for future decision making and inspiration in the high school classroom.


Everyone Is A Writer: Building Writer Identities And Writing Communities In Preservice And English Language Arts Classrooms, Amber Warrington, Hanna Burns, Allie Zimmerly Jul 2026

Everyone Is A Writer: Building Writer Identities And Writing Communities In Preservice And English Language Arts Classrooms, Amber Warrington, Hanna Burns, Allie Zimmerly

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

In this article, a teacher educator and two early-career teachers reflect on a Teaching Writers methods course the teachers took as part of their teacher education program. In the course, the two teachers developed their own writer identities and took part in a writing community. The teachers discuss ways they have brought those experiences into their classrooms and adapted the experiences for their students and contexts.


“I Want To Teach That Way”: What We Learn In A Writing Methods Class [Special Issue], Brad Jacobson, Ana S. Muñoz, Paola Vianney Trevizo Jul 2026

“I Want To Teach That Way”: What We Learn In A Writing Methods Class [Special Issue], Brad Jacobson, Ana S. Muñoz, Paola Vianney Trevizo

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

In this dialogic essay, a teacher educator and two early career teachers discuss the influence of a writing methods course on their pedagogy in practice. The conversation focuses on a digital testimonio task that instilled values the early career teachers continue to bring to their teaching, including an expanded conception of what counts as writing and a critical, humanizing approach to literacy education. Moreover, the challenges they experienced as preservice teachers when composing a digital text helped them to see the value of a scaffolded writing process, demonstrating the value of experiential learning. While the digital testimonio project itself was …


Expertise, Ideals, And The Ecology Of Learning To Teach: A Conversation About The Transition From The Writing Methods Course To Student Teaching [Special Issue], Jessica Rivera-Mueller, Josie Clark Jul 2026

Expertise, Ideals, And The Ecology Of Learning To Teach: A Conversation About The Transition From The Writing Methods Course To Student Teaching [Special Issue], Jessica Rivera-Mueller, Josie Clark

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

Writing pedagogy educators need approaches for designing the writing methods course in ways that will make a positive impact on practicing teachers’ decision-making. In this article, the co-authors—a writing pedagogy educator and a former student—address this need by providing a reflective conversation about the former student’s transition from the writing methods course to the student teaching experience. Together, the co-authors explore the extent to which a hands-on learning experience built into the writing methods course (designing and hosting an online writing competition for middle and high school students) impacted the former student’s experience of teaching writing as a student teacher. …


Writing From Our Lives: From Reading Like Writers To Personal Narrative Writing, Julianna Kershen, Sarah Relja, David Mackowski, Grace Rhodes Jul 2026

Writing From Our Lives: From Reading Like Writers To Personal Narrative Writing, Julianna Kershen, Sarah Relja, David Mackowski, Grace Rhodes

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

This article describes the design and use of writing opportunities for preservice teacher candidates enrolled in English Language Arts education coursework. Based in the practice-based teacher education principle that preparatory coursework include implementation activities, we describe how preservice candidates engaged in the study of writer’s craft through immersion in mentor texts through close reading, annotation, and free response writing. This article highlights the benefits of such opportunities for preservice teacher-writers, as they (re)see themselves as active writers and reflect on their personal writing histories. Three preservice candidates share their writing as a means of celebrating their own beliefs and experiences …


From Prompts To Invitations: Rethinking The Genre Of The Writing Assignment Sheet, Amber Jensen, Annika Peacock Jul 2026

From Prompts To Invitations: Rethinking The Genre Of The Writing Assignment Sheet, Amber Jensen, Annika Peacock

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

In this article, a university-based teacher educator and a first-year middle school ELA teacher examine how their experiences in the writing methods course (as teacher and student) unsettled and expanded their thinking about assignment sheets and about themselves as teacher-writers. The course prompted questions about how ELA teachers might craft assignments that modeled rhetorically-relevant writing while also eliciting rhetorically-relevant writing from student-writers. The authors describe the genre inquiry they conducted that led to developing a heuristic for writing prompts as invitations that they have used to guide their own assignment sheet creation. Finally, they reflect briefly on how reframing this …


From Corrector To Reader: Pre-Service Teachers’ Writing Values And Feedback, Amanda Brewer Jul 2026

From Corrector To Reader: Pre-Service Teachers’ Writing Values And Feedback, Amanda Brewer

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

This study investigates the written feedback practices of secondary English Pre-Service Teachers (PSTs) to understand how their values regarding "good" writing influence their comments on student work. Through analysis of feedback on 10th-grade writing samples and value-sorting surveys, the study examines their feedback tendencies and the links with their values. Findings indicate a significant shift over the semester from a directive, deficit-based "corrector" stance to a facilitative, asset-based "reader" stance. The data suggests that when PSTs lack specific metalinguistic language, they default to generic advice or mechanical correction. However, when instructed to align their feedback with their core writing values, …


Building A Foundation: Preservice Teachers' Exploration Of Writing Studies - Special Issue, Ellen Shelton Jul 2026

Building A Foundation: Preservice Teachers' Exploration Of Writing Studies - Special Issue, Ellen Shelton

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

This article examines the Concept Exploration Essay assignment in a writing studies course that encourages PSTs to explore and question writing theories as they connect to their own experiences and understandings. The focus of the course is to develop an understanding of the self as a writer and as a future writing teacher through practical application of composition theory. Students are invited into the Burkean Parlor and enter the conversation as scholars. The students explore, question, and trouble complex writing theories in a dialogic classroom. PSTs leave the course empowered with the knowledge they can allow their future students the …


Introduction: Echoes, Effects, And Resonance: Examining The Writing Methods Course, Elizabeth Thackeray Nelson, Erinn Bentley, Jonathan E. Bush Jul 2026

Introduction: Echoes, Effects, And Resonance: Examining The Writing Methods Course, Elizabeth Thackeray Nelson, Erinn Bentley, Jonathan E. Bush

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

No abstract provided.


‘It’S A Win-Win Situation’— Cultivating University & School Partnerships, Emily Wisniewski, Kelly Virgin, Pauline Skowron Schmidt Jun 2026

‘It’S A Win-Win Situation’— Cultivating University & School Partnerships, Emily Wisniewski, Kelly Virgin, Pauline Skowron Schmidt

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

This qualitative case study examines Writing Zones, a fifteen-year university–high school partnership that embeds preservice English teachers in secondary classrooms as writing mentors. Drawing on surveys from 20 preservice teachers and eight high school teachers, along with follow-up interviews, the study explores perceptions of preparation, support, and program impact. Findings highlight Writing Zones as a mutually beneficial model that enhances student writing through individualized support while providing authentic, field-based learning for preservice teachers. However, effectiveness was conditional, shaped by mentor preparedness, clarity of roles, communication, and scheduling. The study underscores the importance of intentional training, sustained relationships, and institutional alignment …


A Systematic Review Of Writing Interventions For Elementary Pre-Service Teachers, Lindsey Wiggins, Hannah Carter, Katherine L. Wright Jun 2026

A Systematic Review Of Writing Interventions For Elementary Pre-Service Teachers, Lindsey Wiggins, Hannah Carter, Katherine L. Wright

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

Effective writing instruction in elementary classrooms depends on teachers who are prepared as both writers and instructors. Yet, writing methods courses remain limited in teacher preparation programs (TPPs), leaving many pre-service teachers (PSTs) underprepared to teach writing. This systematic literature review synthesized 20 U.S.-based studies (2011–2024) on writing and writing instruction interventions with elementary PSTs. Two questions guided the review: (a) How have researchers measured the effects of interventions? and (b) What are the characteristics of effective interventions? Findings show that most studies relied on self-reported measures, with limited use of validated or observational tools, raising concerns about consistency and …


Dismantling Future Writing Teachers’ English-Only Assumptions: Composing Videos To Learn The Value Of Linguistic And Cultural Inclusion, Ann N. Amicucci Jun 2026

Dismantling Future Writing Teachers’ English-Only Assumptions: Composing Videos To Learn The Value Of Linguistic And Cultural Inclusion, Ann N. Amicucci

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

This article presents the results of a study of 12 students’ video composing assignments and accompanying reflections in which students, all of whom were future writing teachers enrolled in an undergraduate TESOL course, examined how well public spaces acknowledged and included multilingual individuals. Students’ videos and reflections demonstrated that the assignment dismantled these future writing teachers’ assumptions that multilingual writers learn best in an English-only environment but perpetuated perceptions of languages as discrete rather than intertwined. Findings are discussed within the context of scholarship on writing teacher education and English-only policy and practice in the U.S.


Who We Are, How We Teach: Writing Teacher Identity In The Secondary Ela Classroom, Danielle Alexander Jun 2026

Who We Are, How We Teach: Writing Teacher Identity In The Secondary Ela Classroom, Danielle Alexander

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

The journal submission guidelines stated not to include an abstract.


Exploring The Lived Experiences Of Second-Career Educators, Kyle Avink May 2026

Exploring The Lived Experiences Of Second-Career Educators, Kyle Avink

Dissertations

School districts across the United States face a persistent teacher shortage driven by high attrition rates, declining enrollment in teacher preparation programs, and increasing demands on educators (Carver-Thomas & Darling-Hammond, 2017). Teacher attrition is especially high within the first three to five years, with nearly 40-50% of new teachers exiting within their first five years (Carver-Thomas & Darling-Hammond, 2017; Cells et al., 2023; Gray et al., 2015; Ingersoll et al., 2025). In response, many states have expanded alternative certification pathways that allow professionals from other fields to enter teaching, making second-career educators a potential solution to workforce challenges (Afacan, 2022; …


Cover Page Vol. 65 Issue 1 Apr 2026

Cover Page Vol. 65 Issue 1

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

No abstract provided.


Book Clubs And Young Adult Literature: Preparing Preservice Special Educators In Inclusive Literacy Practices, Marie Tejero Hughes, Juana Abarca, Marta Mohammad Apr 2026

Book Clubs And Young Adult Literature: Preparing Preservice Special Educators In Inclusive Literacy Practices, Marie Tejero Hughes, Juana Abarca, Marta Mohammad

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

The study presented in this article explored how book clubs centered on young adult (YA) literature supported 67 preservice special educators (PSEs) in developing inclusive literacy practices. The study examined PSEs’ reflections on social, cultural, and personal themes in YA narratives and how these informed their planning for students with disabilities. Using a qualitative descriptive approach, researchers analyzed online discussion posts collected over a 6-week book club course component. Findings reveal that PSEs engaged with themes such as identity, resilience, systemic inequities, and disability representation, often connecting literature to their own positionalities and future teaching roles. PSEs also identified a …


Preservice Teachers’ Knowledge, Skills, And Perceptions Related To Data-Based Decision Making In Elementary Reading Instruction, Erin K. Washburn, Samantha A. Gesel, Miranda S. Fitzgerald, Corinne R. Kingsbery Apr 2026

Preservice Teachers’ Knowledge, Skills, And Perceptions Related To Data-Based Decision Making In Elementary Reading Instruction, Erin K. Washburn, Samantha A. Gesel, Miranda S. Fitzgerald, Corinne R. Kingsbery

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Teachers’ knowledge of and ability to use reading assessments and assessment data to inform instruction has long been recognized as a core teaching competency. Data-based decision making (DBDM) is a process by which educators examine assessment data to identify student strengths and needs and apply those findings to their practice. DBDM has been linked to student achievement/engagement and positive teacher self-efficacy. However, DBDM, specifically in reading, is a complex process for teachers. Preservice teacher preparation has been deemed a space for the introduction of DBDM in reading. However, few studies have explored how targeted instruction in reading-related DBDM may impact …