Dana L. Grisham

Scaffolding English Language Learners and Struggling Readers in a Universal Literacy Environment with Embedded Strategy Instruction and Vocabulary Support

As interest and concern rise in U.S. educational circles around the reading achievement of English language learners (ELLs) and struggling readers, researchers and practitioners alike are calling for the increased use of technology as a means to decrease achievement gaps in reading (Jiménez, 2003; Strangman & Dalton, 2005). In this article, we report results from a 4-week study of the English reading comprehension of struggling readers, including Spanish-speaking ELLs. Thirty 4th-grade students read several narrative and informational hypertexts that provided embedded vocabulary and comprehension strategy supports, along with text-to-speech read-aloud functionality. Correlation analyses of pre-post standardized reading vocabulary gain scores revealed that vocabulary gain was associated, although not significantly, with the frequency of access of hyperlinked glossary items throughout the intervention, and that lower pretest vocabulary knowledge was associated with positive vocabulary gains. A similar pattern was detected for comprehension gains, which were significantly associated with the frequency of access of coaching avatars that provided support around the productive use of reading comprehension strategies. The results reported here suggest that struggling readers and Spanish-speaking ELLs made use of the digitally embedded features in such a way as to promote both learning novel lexical items and effectively applying reading comprehension strategies.

Connecting communities of practice through professional development school activities

This analysis of professional development school projects across multiple sites began as a discussion in the Teacher Education Research Study Group (TERSG) at the 1996 annual meeting of the National Reading Conference. Teacher educators interested in literacy shared their collaborative projects and examined their professional development school (PDS) activities at four universities. Participants were interested in challenging the traditions of conventional teacher preparation programs, specifically the contexts in which programs that pushed against orthodoxy were formed, the governance structures by which they operated, and the benefits and challenges of the collaboration between two disparate cultures. Although projects demonstrated idiosyncratic responses to varying contextual conditions, the results of our separate efforts were surprisingly similar. We believe that the ongoing challenge of reforming teacher education will benefit from an analysis of our experiences. The professional development school (PDS) concept is intended to connect theory and practice in education so they reciprocally inform each other. Teachers in collaborating schools help preservice teachers learn the profession. Preservice teachers, in turn, bring new ideas, viewpoints, and practices into classrooms. Through the PDS process, school and classroom practices and teacher preparation can change and evolve. PDSs have been established to move toward a concept of preservice training with simultaneous renewal of schooling and the education of educators through the bumping together of university and school cultures (Goodlad, 1993). Osguthorpe, Harris, Harris, and Black, (1995) chart the struggle for a common or shared perspective when prospective partners engage in collaboration. The collaborations we describe focus on two overarching goals: strengthening the preparation of teachers and renewing K-12 education. We agree with Osguthorpe et al. (1995) when they argue that only when partners are committed to these goals and working together as equals can true collaboration occur. For the goals of the PDS for student interns and school reform to be met, there must be a concerted effort on the part of the participants to make changes in both schools and the universities. Project Descriptions The four projects we describe are PDS projects of various sizes, in differing locales, with assorted funding and governance structures, and at several stages of longevity. The goals of each project, however, are quite similar. Purdue University Calumet Purdue University Calumet (PUC) is a large commuter campus in northwestern Indiana, adjacent to the Illinois border (Bergeron, 1997). The student population is nontraditional and reflects the cultural diversity of the urban Midwest. PUCs School of Education enrolls approximately 450 undergraduate students each semester. This population includes older adults, often first-generation college students bringing varied experiences to the classroom. The PDS partnerships were initially developed to meet the dual demands of increased enrollment in the elementary education program and growing concerns for offering multiple field experiences prior to student teaching. Presently, preservice teachers have extensive field experiences related to five methods courses, including reading and language arts, that are mandatory prior to student teaching. The university was challenged to acquire appropriate numbers of classrooms for these multiple placements and to find sites that would ensure quality experiences for the preservice teachers in diverse settings appropriately reflecting the demographics of the campuss multiracial, multicultural communities. The PDS partnerships were informally initiated in fall 1994 with five interested school-based administrators; the partnerships presently include eight school districts and a total of 21 elementary schools. Each district and school determines its own level of involvement with the partnerships. …

Love That Book

Composing with different modes – image, sound, video and the written word – to respond to and analyze literary and informational text helps students develop as readers and digital communicators. This article showcases five multimodal strategies for engaging children in rich literature-based learning using digital tools and Internet resources.

Literacy Course Priorities and Signature Aspects of Nine Elementary Initial Licensure Programs

The purpose of this article is to describe the first part of a three-phase study to learn what makes an effective elementary literacy initial licensure program. The first step was to identify how nine programs prioritized research-based literacy practices and to identify each programs unique features, which we called “signature aspects.” Findings suggest that all the programs emphasized teaching literacy theories, instructional practices, and uses of assessment. The programs also had unique features, such as the workshop approach and communities of practice. The conclusions of this study are that programs, despite a wide variety of program configurations, independently prioritized the International Reading Association standards in similar ways, and that the signature aspects of the nine programs were a result of the contexts of the institutions.

What about Writing? A National Exploratory Study of Writing Instruction in Teacher Preparation Programs.

ABSTRACT This small scale, exploratory study reveals how writing instruction is taught to preservice teachers across the United States in university-based preservice teacher education programs based on online survey results from 63 teacher educators in literacy from 50 institutions. Despite the growing writing demands and high stakes writing sample testing in K–12 classrooms, our survey of literacy teacher educators indicated that teacher preparation programs rarely offer stand-alone writing instruction methods courses. Evidence suggests that writing methods are frequently embedded in reading methods courses. Equally concerning, data indicate a lack of confidence among many teacher educators regarding teaching writing methods. This study highlights the need for greater attention to writing in teacher preparation programs and adds to the conversation of why these issues continue to plague higher education.

Are We Preparing or Training Teachers? Developing Professional Judgment in and Beyond Teacher Preparation Programs:

This three phase longitudinal multiple-case study, framed by positioning theory, investigated how four novice teachers learned to use professional judgment in their literacy instruction. Data sources from coursework, student teaching, and novice teaching were included. Interviews, observations, researchers’ observational notes, and school and classroom demographics were compiled and analyzed to create case reports. Findings indicated while they differed in their use of professional judgment as novice teachers, participants learned this skill in student teaching rather than in coursework, which caused us to question whether teacher preparation programs are preparing teachers to use professional judgment or training them for technical compliance.

Mediating Factors in Literacy Instruction: How Novice Elementary Teachers Navigate New Teaching Contexts

This longitudinal study, framed by activity theory, examines what seven novice teachers’ talk and actions reveal about their literacy teaching practices then delves into mediating influences of the teaching context. Utilizing collective, multi-case methods, data sources included interviews, observations, and artifacts. Findings indicate novices navigated school contexts by following existing practices, adjusting to conditions, and pushing back. Mediating influences, internal and external, were factored how novices applied knowledge from teacher preparation programs. Authors employed the metaphor of paddling a constantly changing river to convey novices’ actions for meeting students’ literacy learning. Recommendations for teacher educators and policymakers are suggested.