Anne E. Adams

Teachers’ Enactment of Content Literacy Strategies in Secondary Science and Mathematics Classes

The incorporation of literacy strategies into content area instruction has been proposed as an effective way of improving student learning in the content areas. However, few studies have examined how teachers incorporate content literacy strategies into their instruction and the specific nature of implementation. As part of an ongoing professional development project on content literacy in secondary science and mathematics classes, we conducted a qualitative inquiry which examined the nature of teachers’ enactment of specific content literacy strategies through the analysis of classroom observations, teacher lesson plans, and teachers’ online discussions. Results show that teachers were using content literacy strategies; however, the nature of their enactment of these strategies varied in ways that influenced the learning outcomes. In this paper we describe a framework for characterizing these differences in enactment, provide examples of these variations, and discuss implications for enacting literacy strategies in these different ways.

Mentoring from the Outside: The Role of a Peer Mentoring Community in the Development of Early Career Education Faculty

Developing an identity as a researcher and negotiating the expectations and responsibilities of academic life are challenges that many beginning education faculty face. Mentoring can provide support for this transition; however, traditional forms of mentoring may be unavailable, limited, or lack the specific components that individual mentees desire or need. In this paper, we draw on a community of practice perspective to examine and understand the complex and emerging nature of an informal peer mentoring community composed of beginning education faculty members from different institutions. Our engagement in this peer mentoring community is examined through reflections on our experiences and our collective narratives. The formation of our group began with our mutual desires for support in advancing scholarship and navigating the transition to academia and has grown into a community that supports us both personally and professionally as we develop our identities as educational researchers.

Academic Life-support: The Self Study of a Transnational Collaborative Mentoring Group

In this paper, we examined the collaborative mentoring processes of a transnational network. A narrative approach was employed to explore the mentoring practices and experiences of 19 women involved in the CURVE-Y-FRiENDs (C-Y-F) network. Their mentoring practices go beyond transnational, ethnic, discipline, and university borders. The processes employed in the network can be conceptualized as pathways to professional relationships. The narratives of C-Y-F members illustrated collaborative mentoring as an expression of the personal and professional dimensions of support, which must be part of academic life. Collaborative mentoring relationships and discourse provided a response to the current inconsistencies in faculty mentoring practices and have implications for the ways in which administrations and faculty in general initiate more empathetic structures and procedures that better meet the mentoring needs of women and minority faculty in academia.

Using Generic Examples to Make Viable Arguments.

These fifth graders engaged in key mathematical practices by explaining and illustrating central mathematical ideas

Storying Our Academic Career Transitions within a Peer-mentoring Community

Careers in academia entail multiple transitions, which may also involve new places, new roles, new colleagues, new opportunities, and new challenges. In this chapter, we describe how our engagement in an informal peer mentoring group consisting of faculty members in science and mathematics education supported our various academic transitions during the early years of our careers. Through the construction and reconstruction of our personal narratives we identify, analyze, and abstract themes related to our transitions. Three themes emerged from the analysis of our narratives: support in navigating uncertainty and complexity, providing a venue for collegiality and collaboration, and supporting our professional identity development. These findings highlight the importance of alternative spaces for faculty to access mentoring and support as they navigate these academic transitions.