Ian A. G. Wilkinson

Small-group composition and peer effects

Abstract This paper reviews research on grouping of students within classes and its effects on learning. Primary consideration is given to grouping and mixing students by ability, though consideration is also given to grouping and mixing students by ethnicity and gender as well as to research on the effects of group size. Results of meta-analyses of grouping show a small but meaningful advantage of forming students into groups for instruction as compared to using whole-class instruction. In teacher-led, homogeneous ability groups, peer effects result from the normative environment to the extent that peers contribute to norms for behavior, constructed through cycles of reciprocal teacher–student interaction. In peer-led, heterogeneous ability groups, peer effects stem directly from group interactions and discourse among students that lead to cognitive restructuring, cognitive rehearsal, problem solving, and other forms of higher-level thinking. Similarly, in groups of different ethnic and gender composition, peer effects stem from interactions among students according to their perceived status and relative influence within the groups. We argue that these peer influences interact with instructional processes to mediate the effects of group composition on students’ learning.

L1-assisted reciprocal teaching to improve ESL students’ comprehension of English expository text

Abstract A multiple-baseline design across three schools was used to investigate the effects of L1-assisted reciprocal teaching on 12 Year 7 and Year 8 (Grades 6 and 7) Taiwanese ESL students’ comprehension of English expository text. The intervention comprised the alternate use of L1 (Mandarin) and L2 (English) reciprocal teaching procedures. Through 15–20 days of instruction, students learned how to foster and monitor their comprehension by using the cognitive and metacognitive strategies of questioning, summarising, clarifying, and predicting. Students made gains on both researcher-developed and standardised tests of reading comprehension and showed evidence of qualitative changes in their comprehension processes when reading L1 and L2 texts.

A microanalysis of the small-group guided reading lesson : effects of an emphasis on global story meaning

SIX THIRD-GRADE classes in the Midwestern United States each received two lessons in which the teaching emphasis was on story meaning (major plot elements) and two lessons in which the teaching emphasis was on surface features of language (word analysis and accurate reading). An emphasis on story meaning led to superior performance on an array of outcome measures, including recall of propositions, short answers to questions, recall of important elements, oral reading errors, story interest, and lesson time. The difference in performance was especially notable for children in low and average reading groups. Additional analyses confirmed that a child learns more at moments when he or she is taking an active turn reading aloud and answering the teachers questions, particularly when the childs reading fluency is low. The study also showed that performance on various outcome measures is more strongly related to the average ability of a reading group, especially average group fluency, than to the abilities of individual members of the group. Page-level analyses showed that the likelihood that information will be comprehended and recalled is associated with the importance and density of information on a page and the serial position of the page, but not its readability.

Discussion: Modeling and Maximizing Peer Effects in School.

Abstract This chapter discusses issues that are common across the literatures and makes connections across the different levels of inquiry to develop a conceptual model of peer influences on learning. Based on the premise that compositional effects operate through a nested series of hierarchical layers, the chapter proposes a multi-layered model with effects propagating from school-level influences to class-level influences to group-level influences to ambient and configured environments for learning among peers. It is proposed that many of the effects are indirect. Hence, peer effects ‘look’ smaller the further we move away from the instructional coalface because they are mediated by intervening layers. It is also noted that there may be reciprocal effects whereby peers influence teachers and school organization and management. Finally, the chapter describes four instructional approaches that utilize peer resources to maximize learning. These approaches demonstrate additional ways of capitalizing on peer effects beyond altering student composition.

Introduction: Peer Influences on Learning--Where Are They?.

Abstract This introduction sets the stage for the themed issue. It describes the ambiguities inherent in the interpretation of the literature on compositional and peer effects and the genesis of the project. The balance of the introduction then describes the approach adopted to search for peer effects. First, there is a brief outline of the Barr and Dreeben (How Schools Work, University of Chicago, Chicago; Sociol. Educ. 61 (1988) 129) model as a conceptual heuristic to aid in the search for peer effects. Second, a distinction is made between compositional and peer effects. Third, there is description of the evidence used to identify compositional effects in the empirical literature and the role of theory and data in determining whether these effects implicate peers. The introduction concludes with an outline of the organization of the themed issue.

Sociocognitive Processes in Guided Silent Reading: A Microanalysis of Small-Group Lessons.

Generalement la lecture a haute-voix et la lecture silencieuse sont etudiees dans une perspective intra-individuelle, sans prendre en consideration le contexte scolaire. Les AA. examinent les effets de la lecture silencieuse en situation de petit groupe. Cent enfants ont recu deux lecons de lecture silencieuse et deux de lecture orale. La dynamique du groupe et la comprehension ont ete mesurees. Bien que plus lente, la lecture silencieuse permet une plus grande attention des eleves et une plus grande activite pendant la discussion

Learning to read in composite (multigrade) classes in New Zealand:teachers make the difference

Abstract This study examined why students in composite, as compared to single-year, classes in New Zealand elementary schools show slightly lower reading performance. Using a multiple case study design, we compared the ranges of students’ reading abilities and the nature of teachers’ groupings, as well as other aspects of instruction, in pairs of composite and single-year classes drawn from each of nine elementary schools. Contrary to our expectations, we found little evidence of a greater range of abilities in composite than in single-year classes, little evidence of less homogeneous ability groups for reading in composite classes, and little evidence that teachers of composite classes had difficulty catering for the needs of individual students. Composite classes do not appear to contribute to lower achievement, at least as far as reading is concerned. Whether a class is composite or single-year matters less than the nature and quality of instruction in the classroom, whatever the within-class variability in achievement.

Toward a more dialogic pedagogy: changing teachers’ beliefs and practices through professional development in language arts classrooms

ABSTRACT In this paper, we report findings from the second year of a three-year research and professional development program designed to help elementary school teachers engage in dialogic teaching to support the development of students’ argument literacy. We define argument literacy as the ability to comprehend and formulate arguments through speaking, listening, reading, and writing. The professional development program was focused on promoting teachers’ use of a specific type of talk called ‘inquiry dialogue’ to achieve the goal of developing students’ argument literacy. We used a single-group pretest-posttest design to assess the impact of the professional development on teachers’ epistemological beliefs and their enactment of inquiry dialogue in text-based discussions. Our analyses of videotaped discussions at the beginning and end of the year showed that there were substantial improvements in teachers’ facilitation of inquiry dialogue and in the quality of students’ argumentation during discussions. Contrary to expectations, however, there were no changes in teachers’ epistemology; teachers’ beliefs about knowledge and knowledge justification remained at a relativist stage throughout the course of the program, suggesting that teachers continued to view all opinions as equally valid and regard arguments and the use of reasons and evidence as idiosyncratic.

Research as Principled, Pluralistic Argument

e have been working for about a year now inpreparation for our first issue. Seated aroundthe table in our editorial office are IanWilkinson and David Bloome, the two editors; RuthFriedman, our editorial associate; and Marlene Beierle,our editorial assistant (and a doctoral student). Also as-sisting us are several doctoral students in reading andliteracy who rotate in and out of the team each quarteras their schedules permit. With us in spirit, and some-times in person, is the journal’s new essay book revieweditor, Rose-Marie Weber (a faculty member at theUniversity at Albany, State University of New York).From our third-floor office in Arps Hall, we can seethat it is a beautiful autumn day. But we are inside read-ing yet another set of manuscripts and reviews, seekingthe best way to be supportive regardless of whether amanuscript will eventually be published. By the time youread this editorial, however, there will be snow on theground, and we will be working on issues 3 and 4 of vol-ume 43. Although some of our ideas about the journalhave evolved since we began about a year ago, the coreideas have remained constant. We want to share with youthese core ideas. But first, please allow us to introduceourselves as the new editors of

On the pitfalls and promises of using mixed methods in literacy research: perceptions of reviewers

Abstract Mixed methodology holds considerable promise for the field of literacy research, yet it continues to be underrepresented in published research. The purpose of this study was to identify potential problems in conducting and publishing reports of mixed methods research in literacy. Predicated on a view of research as principled argument, we qualitatively analysed the content of 79 reviews of 22 manuscripts reporting mixed methods studies submitted over a four-and-a-half year period to a leading journal devoted to research in reading and literacy. We sought to identify the major pitfalls that might weaken authors’ arguments for the claims made. Our analysis revealed eight major problems in the use or reporting of mixed methods research: qualitative component underdeveloped, either in terms of data/analysis or sampling; quantitative component underdeveloped, either in terms of data/analysis or design; lack of focus; flawed logic of inquiry; weak articulation between the qualitative and quantitative components; and methodological handwringing. We argue that the ways authors sometimes use or report mixed methods research can undermine their ability to present cogent and persuasive arguments for their knowledge claims. Based on the analysis, we provide guidance for literacy scholars who choose to conduct mixed methods research.