Brad Wilcox

SELF-PERCEPTION IN WRITING: THE EFFECTS OF WRITING WORKSHOP AND TRADITIONAL INSTRUCTION ON INTERMEDIATE GRADE STUDENTS

This study compared the self-perception - specifically in terms of writing - of fourth- and fifth-grade students whose teachers used a writingworkshop approach with those whose teachers used a traditional approach. The measure used was the Writer Self-Perception Scale (Bottomley, Henk, & Melnick, 1997/1998). No significant differences were found between the scores of students who had been taught by the two teaching approaches. The findings of this study suggest that individual teachers are more important than strategies or approaches in affecting the writer self-perception of intermediate-grade children.

Integrating Writing and Mathematics

Teachers often find it difficult to integrate writing and mathematics while honoring the integrity of both disciplines. In this article, the authors present two levels of integration that teachers may use as a starting point. The first level, writing without revision, can be worked into mathematics instruction quickly and readily. The second level, writing with revision, may take more time but enables teachers to connect the writing process more fully with mathematics instruction. Six examples are provided, including student work, in which teachers have successfully attended to the goals of both writing and mathematics.

Reliability of Ratings of Children’s Expressive Reading

This study examined ratings of fourth graders’ oral reading expression. Randomly assigned participants (n = 36) practiced repeated readings using narrative or informational passages for 7 weeks. After this period raters used the Multidimensional Fluency Scale (MFS) on two separate occasions to rate students’ expressive reading of four equivalent passages. Results of this generalizability study showed that a minimum of two and preferably three equivalent passages, two raters, and one rating occasion are recommended to obtain reliable ratings. This research substantiates the reliability of the MFS and demonstrates the importance of raters collaborating and finding texts at students’ independent reading levels.

Writing Instruction in Elementary Classrooms: Why Teachers Engage or do not Engage Students in Writing

This qualitative study explored reasons K–6 teachers did or did not engage students regularly in writing. Interviews with 14 teachers, classified as high, transitional, and low implementers of writing instruction, revealed three themes: hindrances and helps, beliefs concerning practice, and preparation and professional development. Both high and low implementers identified time constraints, varying student needs, and tensions between content and conventions as hindrances, but dealt with them differently. High implementers reported receiving help from mentors, unlike low implementers. High implementers valued writing as a process and viewed themselves as good writers. They scaffolded students’ writing and integrated writing with content. Low implementers valued writing but did not view themselves as good writers. High and low implementers viewed university courses and professional development differently.

Teachers' Theoretical Orientations toward Reading and Pupil Control Ideology: A National Survey.

Abstract Based on a survey of Utah elementary teachers (Authors, 1997), a stratified three‐stage cluster sample of 418 elementary school teachers (grades K‐6) throughtout the United States was surveyed to examine relationships between their theoretical beliefs toward reading instruction and their attitudes about pupil control. Two survey instruments were combined for data collection: (a) the Theoretical Orientation to Reading Profile (TORP) (DeFord, 1985) which classifies reading orientations as phonics, skills, or whole language, and (b) the Pupil Control Ideology Form (PCI) (Willower, Eidell, & Hoy, 1967), which categorizes teacher attitudes about student control as custodial or humanistic. A Chi‐square analysis showed a very strong relationship (p < 0.001), indicating that as teachers’ scores moved toward the whole language end of the TORP scale, their PCI scores were more humanistic. This result was not surprising, since both views share common progressive philosophical roots. Conversely, as teachers’...

50 Years of Literacy Research and Instruction: 1961–2011

The purpose of this study was to identify trends and issues in 50 years of research in Literacy Research and Instruction, the journal of the Association of Literacy Educators and Researchers (ALER). For the 1,099 articles examined, the authors, methods, participants, and topics were recorded. A trend was noted toward multiple authorship and from non-research to research articles, especially qualitative. The most studied populations were teachers, elementary grade students, and struggling readers. The most studied topics were comprehension, teacher practices, and assessment. Focus on writing, struggling readers, preservice teacher education, technology, and culture/English learners (ELs) increased across the decades. Focus on word identification, vocabulary, and readability declined. Comparisons with Literacy Research Association publications showed similar results. A discussion of the results in historical context by decade is also presented.

Effects of Various Methods of Assigning and Evaluating Required Reading in One General Education Course.

Different approaches to creating out-of-class reading assignments for university general education courses might affect the amount of time students actually spend reading. Five instructors of a required religion/philosophy class used different approaches to assign out-of-class reading. Subsequently, their students (n = 504) were surveyed about their reading completion, their motivation to read, and ways that out-of-class readings affected their learning and personal study habits. Results showed that students who were assigned to read for a specific number of minutes outside of class completed the task more consistently than those who received other forms of reading assignments. Results also indicated that students who were graded on their outside reading completed it more frequently than those who were not graded.

Nicknames in Prison: Meaning and Manipulation in Inmate Monikers

Abstract Each prison yard is a microcosm of society: a community with its own culture and hierarchy. Prison nicknames are a matter of social negotiation, a common everyday phenomenon with a multiplex nature. One of the authors of this article is currently serving a sentence and has supplied examples based on his own observations and informal interviews with other inmates who were willing to give him information they would not usually confide to outsiders. Knowing and using nicknames (1) gives a sense of unity among prison peers, while (2) representing their individuality, and (3) facilitating communication among them. Nicknames can be friendly, showing peer approval and in-group unity. They can also be cruel and vicious. Nicknames can be bestowed due to appearance, personality, preferences, background, or experience. They are also used for in-group communication about hidden activities or identities.

Identifying Authors by Phonoprints in Their Characters’ Names: An Exploratory Study

Abstract If authors put words together in ways that can be recognized as wordprints (; ; ), do they put sounds together in identifiable ways when they invent names? Could they have unique sound prints (phonoprints) as well? This exploratory study compared phonemic patterns of fictional names in the poorly written Manuscript Story by Spalding and the extremely well-written Lord of the Rings and related works by J. R. R. Tolkein with names from an authentic public record, the nineteenth-century US Census. Phonotactic probabilities were determined using a calculator (Vitevitch and Luce, 2004) available on the Internet. When multivariate patterns of mean phonotactic probabilities at each ordinal phoneme position were considered, phonoprints emerged that merit further examination.

Institutional Productivity Ratings Based on Publications in Nine Literacy Journals: 1992-2005.

This study extended the work of three previous studies that compared the scholarly productivity of faculty members in universities as represented in nine literacy journals. The top 25 universities were identified and this study shows that several institutions have remained consistent through the years as those that produce the largest amount of scholarship. As in previous studies, the University of Georgia ranked first by a substantial margin. This ranking was adjusted according to faculty size, resulting in a reordering of institutions—the University of Georgia remained first. The top 22 universities publishing in two leading literacy research journals—Reading Research Quarterly and Journal of Literacy Research—were also identified. This study also indicates an increase in scholarly work by multiple authors from collaborating institutions, including those from public schools.