Anne McKeough

Teaching for Transfer : Fostering Generalization in Learning

Contents: Preface. A. Marini, R. Genereux, The Challenge of Teaching for Transfer. C. Bereiter, A Dispositional View of Transfer. J.C. Campione, A.M. Shapiro, A.L. Brown, Forms of Transfer in a Community of Learners: Flexible Learning and Understanding. M.K. Singley, Promoting Transfer Through Model Tracing. D.F. Dansereau, Derived Structural Schemas and the Transfer of Knowledge. S. Griffin, R. Case, A. Capodilupo, Teaching for Understanding: The Importance of the Central Conceptual Structures in the Elementary Mathematics Curriculum. A. McKeough, Teaching Narrative Knowledge for Transfer in the Early School Years. M. Pressley, A Transactional Strategies Instruction Christmas Carol. J.L. Lupart, Exceptional Learners and Teaching for Transfer.

Storytelling as a Foundation to Literacy Development for Aboriginal Children: Culturally and Developmentally Appropriate Practices

There is substantial evidence that Aboriginal youth face serious challenges in schooling, in general, and in literacy development, specifically. Thus, it is essential to design early literacy programmes that engage Aboriginal children and produce positive outcomes. In this article, the authors propose that such programmes include oral storytelling by teachers and students because it is a precursor to reading and writing across cultures and a traditional Aboriginal teaching tool. Moreover, storytelling fits with Aboriginal epistemology—the nature of their knowledge, its foundations, scope, and validity. The authors begin by reviewing a representative sample of the research that has examined the outcomes of early literacy instruction with Aboriginal children. Next, the authors describe Aboriginal epistemology, highlighting the role of the oral tradition. Finally, the authors describe an ongoing study aimed at supporting early literacy development through a developmentally and culturally appropriate oral storytelling instruction programme.

Transformation in Narrative Thought during Adolescence: The Structure and Content of Story Compositions.

Narrative understanding has been identified as a primary mode of human thought that informs us about the nature, causes, and consequences of human actions and interactions and, as such, underlies social knowledge. The development of narrative thought was investigated by analyzing the structural complexity and social-psychological understanding displayed in the story compositions of 151 adolescents aged 10 to 18 years. A clear developmental progression was observed in structural complexity in terms of plot structure and the construction of flashbacks. Also observed was a clear developmental trend in social-psychological content from an intentional understanding of human behavior in terms of immediate feelings, thoughts, and goals to an interpretive understanding in terms of personal history, long-standing psychological traits, and broader contextual factors. Gender differences were also noted, with girls outperforming boys on some measures. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

Dual Language Books as an Emergent-Literacy Resource: Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Teaching and Learning

The effectiveness of dual-language book reading in culturally and linguistically diverse classrooms is largely uncontested. Yet there are repeated calls for more research to determine how this resource can be used more broadly and effectively by teachers, especially in emergent-literacy learning contexts. In the present study we analysed culturally and linguistically responsive teaching and learning in dual-language book reading vignettes to demonstrate how teachers and volunteer readers build on linguistic and cultural repertoires of emergent-literacy learners to help them gain metalinguistic awareness, cultural empowerment and identities as capable learners. We argue that diversity can be embraced and multilingualism can be positioned as normal by using dual-language books to motivate discussion about language and cultural artefacts. The findings suggest a rethinking of classroom practices based on family involvement in the classroom and a subtle shift in the balance of authority and expertise among teachers, children and families.

Developing narrative interpretation: Structural and content analyses

BACKGROUND Narrative thought is a primary mode of human cognition that underpins key human capabilities such as meaning-making and social-psychological understanding. AIMS We sought to further our understanding of the development of narrative thought during adolescence, particularly in terms of the structure and content of narrative interpretations. SAMPLE Participants were 151 grade 4 to grade 12 students from six schools in a major urban centre in Western Canada. They included average and high-average students. METHODS A cross-sectional design was used with four age groups: 10, 12, 14 and 17 years. Participants read a short story incorporating two substories and multiple layers of meaning. They then summarized it, described the two main characters, generated story morals and answered multiple choice interpretation questions. Responses were scored for both structural complexity and social-psychological content of narrative thought. Multivariate and univariate analyses of variance were conducted to identify developmental trends. RESULTS A clear developmental pattern in structural complexity was discerned in which students were increasingly able to understand complex multiple layers of meaning within a story. A striking shift in social-psychological thought was also identified as students demonstrated understanding that moved from an intentional focus on immediate and specific mental states to an increasingly interpretive focus on enduring states, character traits and second-order psychological interpretations. CONCLUSION Significant transformation occurs during adolescence in the structure and content of narrative thought as well as in capacity for the fundamental human endeavour of meaning-making.

Reading dual language books: Improving early literacy skills in linguistically diverse classrooms

Research has determined that dual language books have a positive effect on literacy achievement, motivation, and family involvement in children’s schooling. In this study we used quantitative methods to complement the largely qualitative extant research. We analyzed the early literacy skills of 105 kindergarten children (45 comparison, 60 treatment) with diverse language backgrounds (35% English, 31% Punjabi, 16% Urdu, 18% other languages) from eight kindergarten classes in four suburban Canadian schools. Statistical analyses indicated that children who were read to using dual language books, written in French, Punjabi, and Urdu, demonstrated significantly greater gains in graphophonemic knowledge than children who were read to in English only. This gain occurred specifically in children who spoke the targeted languages at home; children who did not speak the targeted languages were not negatively affected. Findings are discussed in terms of developing metalinguistic awareness and directions for practice and research are discussed.

Schooling and the development of central conceptual structures: An example from the domain of children's narrative

Abstract A neo-Piagetian model is presented, and used as a framework for interpreting the developmental changes that take place in childrens narrative compositions, between 4 and 10 years of age. An instructional program is then described, which is aimed at producing an increase in the developmental level of childrens narratives. The program is shown to have an impact not just on the level of stories children generate, but on the extent of their story-recall as well, and on their level of understanding of a wide variety of social interactions. It is suggested: (a) that the reason for the broad transfer is that the program led to the development of a central conceptual structure; and (b) that the method that was used in designing the problem may serve as a model for designing similar programs in other content domains, where the development of such structures is considered a worthwhile objective.

Promoting Intrapersonal Qualities in Adolescents Evaluation of Rapport's Teen Leadership Breakthrough Program

Given the number of negative influences on youth and the resultant potential for adverse outcomes, it is crucial to support their positive development. Leadership training programs can promote the development of adaptive intrapersonal qualities. The Teen Leadership Breakthrough (TLB) program claims to create sustainable changes in youth using experiential activities, direct instruction, and feedback to teach leadership skills. This study evaluated the TLB programs efficacy in developing intrapersonal skills in 10th- and 11th-grade students. Participants were randomly assigned to a control or treatment group. Assessment of emotional intelligence and self-concept occurred prior to, immediately after, 6 weeks and 6 months following the intervention. Results indicated that the TLB program created sustainable changes emotional intelligence and self-concept. Although these results are encouraging, further research is needed to investigate the effectiveness of the TLB program in broader demographic groups and to examine different outcomes.

Stories of family, stories of self: Developmental pathways to interpretive thought during adolescence

Research has shown that a hallmark of adolescent development is the growing capacity to interpret human intentionality. In this chapter, the authors examine developmental change in this capacity, which they have termed interpretive thought, in two types of stories, family and autobiographical, told by Canadian youth aged ten to seventeen years. Illustrative examples reveal that youth coordinate an increasing number of psychological components and in so doing, create increasingly abstract and coherent psychological profiles of self and others.

Structure, Content, and Language Usage: How Do Exceptional and Average Storywriters Differ?.

Narrative understanding has been identified as a primary mode of human thought that informs us about the nature, causes and consequences of human actions and interactions and, as such, underlies social knowledge. The development of narrative thought was compared across talented and average functioning writers by analyzing the structural and linguistic complexity displayed in the story compositions and story interpretations of 151 boys and girls, aged 10‐ to 18‐years‐old. Ability, age and gender differences were observed. Consistent with the neo‐Piagetian literature, ability differences were largely linguistic, rather than structural or content‐focused.