Alysia D. Roehrig

The First Days of School in the Classrooms of Two More Effective and Four Less Effective Primary-Grades Teachers.

We observed 6 primary-grades teachers in public and private schools in this study. Based on mid-year observations, 2 of these teachers were much more effective compared to the other 4 in producing greater student engagement and literacy progress, as determined by video and observation data of multiple content areas and as rated by the Classroom AIMS instrument. These 2 more effective teachers began the school year differently than the other teachers, again documented through observation of their teaching. Consistent with previous studies, the 2 more effective teachers did more to establish routines and procedures at the beginning of the year. In addition, compared to the less effective teachers, on the first days of school the more effective teachers offered more engaging activities, more enthusiastically introduced reading and writing, indicated higher expectations, praised specific accomplishments of students, pointed out when specific students were behaving in a praiseworthy fashion, and encouraged student self-regulation. In short, the first days of school were very different in the classes taught by the more effective teachers from those taught by the less effective teachers.

Teacher Quality Moderates the Genetic Effects on Early Reading

Reading Influences and Achievement When it comes to learning to read, children are immersed in a variety of influences. Debate rages over what aspects are affected and what importance to attribute to genetic influences, the effect of good teaching, the tools used, the family environment, and so on. Taylor et al. (p. 512) analyzed reading achievement from kindergarten through to fifth grade in mono- and dizygotic twins from a diverse population. The results show that better teachers allow children to fulfill their genetic potential. Good teachers allow children to achieve their genetic potential; poor teachers do not. Children’s reading achievement is influenced by genetics as well as by family and school environments. The importance of teacher quality as a specific school environmental influence on reading achievement is unknown. We studied first‑ and second‑grade students in Florida from schools representing diverse environments. Comparison of monozygotic and dizygotic twins, differentiating genetic similarities of 100% and 50%, provided an estimate of genetic variance in reading achievement. Teacher quality was measured by how much reading gain the non‑twin classmates achieved. The magnitude of genetic variance associated with twins’ oral reading fluency increased as the quality of their teacher increased. In circumstances where the teachers are all excellent, the variability in student reading achievement may appear to be largely due to genetics. However, poor teaching impedes the ability of children to reach their potential.

When Teachers Work to Use Progress Monitoring Data to Inform Literacy Instruction Identifying Potential Supports and Challenges

The phenomenon of using progress monitoring data to inform literacy instruction was explored in the context of four schools during their 2nd year of Reading First implementation. Open-ended interviews and surveys from 10 teachers, purposefully selected for maximum variation in effectiveness and skills and resistance to using data to inform instruction, were primary data sources. Across schools, teachers reported varying levels of success with using data to inform instruction. A grounded theory model of how K-1 teachers worked with reading coaches to try to use data to inform instruction was developed through axial coding. The coachs role was to help teachers access and interpret data and make informed links to reading curricula. Perceived barriers to the practice of using the data included lack of time and classroom management difficulties.

The Relation of Morphological Awareness and Syntactic Awareness to Adults’ Reading Comprehension Is Vocabulary Knowledge a Mediating Variable?

The authors’ goal was to examine the structural relationships among vocabulary knowledge, morphological awareness, syntactic awareness, and reading comprehension in English-speaking adults. Structural equation analysis of data collected from 151 participants revealed that morphological awareness affected reading comprehension directly. Syntactic awareness predicted reading comprehension not only directly but also indirectly via vocabulary knowledge. Vocabulary knowledge made an independent contribution to reading comprehension above and beyond those of morphologic awareness and syntactic awareness.

Development and Use of a Tool for Evaluating Teacher Effectiveness in Grades K-12

In a culture of accountability, reliable and valid tools are needed for assessing the quality of teaching in grades K-12. The results of a seminal series of qualitative studies describing exemplary classrooms were inductively categorized to create such a tool–the Classroom AIMS Instrument–which assesses Atmosphere, Instruction, Management and Student Engagement. The more consistently teachers incorporated practices observed in exemplary classrooms, the more highly and consistently engaged were their students. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) for the Management category confirmed a two subcategory model. Results of the CFAs for Atmosphere, Instruction, and Student Engagement suggested moderately good fit after minor modifications to six, five and single factor models, respectively. While initial results are promising, suggestions for additional validation research are made.

Nature of Elementary Preservice Teachers' Reflection during an Early Field Experience

Teacher education assumes that the more time observing practising teachers, the better, but the value of observation (guided or unguided) in early field experiences is unknown. In this mixed-methods study, we examined the levels of reflection, use of future-oriented reflection, and changes in the reflective writing of 90 preservice elementary education teachers enrolled in two sections of an early field experience course (one of which received guided observation) at a large university in the United States. While the level of reflection in the writing of 35% of the preservice teachers (PTs) increased in complexity over the span of a semester, only 10% of the PTs ever demonstrated the deepest level of reflection in their writing. Future-oriented reflection accounted for 6% of the language in the assignments, with a majority of the instances documenting what PTs planned to do in their future classrooms. PTs in the guided observation group demonstrated a significantly higher level of reflection than those in the unguided group. With these findings in mind, we present implications for teacher-education field experiences and future research, such as providing scaffolding for future-oriented reflection.

Barriers to Meeting the Needs of Students with Traumatic Brain Injury.

Many students with traumatic brain injury (TBI) are identified by the medical community each year and many more experience head injuries that are not examined by medical personnel. School psychologists and allied consultants have important liaison roles to identify and assist these students post-injury. In this study, 75 school psychologists (the profession in the United States analogous to educational psychologists in the UK) were surveyed about their experiences meeting the needs of students after brain injury and asked to characterise barriers to service delivery in the schools. Qualitative analysis of respondents’ descriptions of barriers suggested that school psychologists encounter substantial problems in: communication about the injury; lack of knowledge and training among school personnel; lack of resources available to assist students; perceived lack of importance of TBI by school personnel; procedural impediments; and problematic placement options for students with TBI. Results of this study highlight the potential for improving systemic approaches to meeting the needs of students with TBI.

Reading Strategy Instruction in Regular Primary-Level Classrooms by Teachers Trained in Reading Recovery.

Do teachers trained in Reading Recovery (RR) modify their regular classroom teaching to use RR-type instructional practices and to teach students the strategies typically taught during RR tutoring sessions? Ten classrooms (three kindergartens, five grade one classrooms, and two grade two classrooms) were observed over the course of two school years. In all ten classrooms, teachers used instructional practices and teaching strategies typical of RR. The teachers also completed questionnaires about their integration of RR-type instruction into the whole classroom and the differences in their instruction before and after having undergone RR training. Further research should be done to understand how aspects of this beginning reading intervention program affects the achievement of students when teachers transfer RR strategies to the regular classroom.Do teachers trained in Reading Recovery (RR) modify their regular classroom teaching to use RR-type instructional practices and to teach students the strategies typically taught during RR tutoring sessions? Ten classrooms (three kindergartens, five grade one classrooms, and two grade two classrooms) were observed over the course of two school years. In all ten classrooms, teachers used instructional practices and teaching strategies typical of RR. The teachers also completed questionnaires about their integration of RR-type instruction into the whole classroom and the differences in their instruction before and after having undergone RR training. Further research should be done to understand how aspects of this beginning reading intervention program affects the achievement of students when teachers transfer RR strategies to the regular classroom.

States’ Expressed Versus Assessed Education Goals in the Era of Accountability: Implications for Positive Education

Abstract This article addresses the shifting educational priorities in the accountability era by examining states’ expressed and assessed educational goals in relation to those goals enjoying historical and popular support. The authors argue that curricular restriction in response to federally influenced educational priorities limits individual and social growth, concluding that the 2014 No Child Left Behind ultimatum provides a ready catalyst for reorienting educational priorities to address more holistic aims grounded in research from positive psychology.

Genre as a Potential Scaffold for Preservice Teachers’ Reflection on their Videotaped Lessons

Abstract Purpose To describe how a defined video reflection prompt for preservice mathematics teachers shaped their reflective writing, which was examined using academic reflection as a genre model. Methodology/approach Academic reflection as a genre model was used to unpack the reflective processes evident in preservice teachers’ written reflections on a practicum teaching experience in the context of a methods course assignment, prior to any formal instruction about reflective genre. This chapter examines how the quality of participants’ reflective writing corresponded with two promising products of reflection – the accuracy of participants’ claims about the effectiveness of instructional tasks used during teaching and the quality of suggested revisions to the lesson. Findings The findings indicate that the extent to which participants engaged with the required parts of the assignment corresponded with the accuracy of their claims about the effectiveness of instructional tasks and the quality of revisions they suggested to the lesson. The authors discuss the writing produced by the participants, providing examples from their reflections to demonstrate preservice teachers’ initial competencies in using genre. Practical implications Informed by the nature of writing produced by the participants, the authors extend the model of reflection as a genre and suggest how it could be used to teach preservice teachers to effectively structure reflective writing. Furthermore, the authors offer recommendations for how to define the video reflection prompt to serve as a more effective scaffold of preservice teachers’ analysis of student learning.