James R. King

Four approaches to preservice teachers’ involvement in the writing of case stories: a qualitative research project ☆

Abstract In this paper, professors’ framings for student-written cases in six elementary teacher education classes are examined. Analysis procedures were qualitative. There were similarities and differences in course syllabi and materials defining case writing, time spent on cases in class, ways of modeling cases, comments to students on drafts, and professors’ reasons for selecting favorite cases. All professors felt that a good case reflected a genuine dilemma which contained details, support, and reflection. Findings showed that writing roles within the research project had an impact upon ways in which case writing was directed, and how the professors thought about cases and reflected upon the experience afterward. Through their experiences with case writing and through engaging in self-inquiry about case writing, the professors came to understand their students in different ways, students came to understand professors and teaching in different ways, and professors developed new insights into their own practices.

Am not! Are too! Using queer standpoint in postmodern critical ethnography

In this essay, I examine the act of identity assumption by researchers for the effects on their interpretations of data. This examination is itself made more complex by the inclusion of a researcher agenda necessary for critical ethnography and by the insertion of a queer standpoint that renders that researcher agenda queer. After presenting an example of queer identity in my own research, I examine several frameworks that help explain the necessity and the productivity of broadening interpretive practices in critical research. The variable text practices consistent with postmodernity (Lodge, 1977; Lyotard, 1984), the formation of queer identities (Seidman, 1993), the use of queer identity in theory (Champagne, 1995), and the relationship of identity formation and interpretive practices in qualitative research (King, 1998b) are presented as the body of the paper. As I struggled for cohesion in this manuscript, it occurred to me that this is not a linear argument. Instead, one should think about the differ...

Collaborative life history narratives: heroes in reading teachers’ tales

Interesting perspectives emerge when teachers interview other teachers about their shared profession. The narratives reveal common themes. Interviewed subjects are cast as heroes born to the task, subjected to trials, and strengthened through their tolerance and balance. In this study, a model is offered for a student centered workshop approach to oral history and for narrative accounts of teachers. Several paradigms are presented which may account for some of the thematic consistencies in the teachers’ narratives. In particular, inside learning, narrative framing, and teachers’ professionalism are used as critical lenses. When you tell about a life, everything changes; only its a change that nobody notices: the proof is that people talk about true stories. As if there could be true stories; events take place in one direction, and we tell about them in the opposite direction. You seem to start at the beginning... but in reality you have begun at the end.... The end is there, transforming everything. Sart...

Early intervention in literacy: An in‐class model for teachers

Abstract Early literacy interventions have been critiqued for their propensity to remove “reading problems” from classroom teachers’ responsibility. In the current study, classroom teachers were trained so that they could provide specialized early intervention lessons to at‐risk students in their own classes. The results of the project compare favorably with a “pull‐out” model of early literacy intervention. In contrast to pull‐out approaches, this “push‐in” model of early literacy intervention may have pervasive effects on classroom teachers’ entire teaching repertoires.

Accelerating reflexivity? An ethno-theater interpretation of a pre-service teacher literacy methods field experience

During a teaching methods field experience, we initiated several processes to facilitate pre-service teachers’ reflection, empowerment, and performance as they learned to teach students. Through an ethno-theater presentation and subsequent revisions to an ethno-theater script, we turned the reflective lens on ourselves as we discovered instances of our teaching within this field experience that required us to look at our data and ourselves as contributing actors in a series of scenes. Our analysis of the data (as captured through the performance text) led us to new understandings of ‘reflection,’ ‘empowerment,’ and ‘performance’ through the constructed roles and relationships within this field experience work. We discuss the process of creating an ethno-theater script and the methodological impact it had on us as teacher educators and researchers. We conclude with a proposal for dramatic solutions to accelerating reflexivity within teacher education contexts.

Using empathic identification as a literacy tool for building culturally responsive pedagogy with preservice teachers

This study explores how teaching cases that featured diversity and literacy issues and self-reflexive writing exercises called postcard narratives can be used as tools by teacher educators for developing a culturally responsive pedagogy with preservice teachers. This study used interviews with the professor, a journal kept by the professor, a researcher reflective journal, a pre- and post-teaching case, non-participant observation notes, preservice teachers’ written narratives and the statistically significant results of the Cultural Diversity Awareness Inventory to understand the lived experiences of 20 preservice teachers and one professor during the course of one semester. The discourse drawn from the teaching cases and the written postcard narratives were shown to be effective tools to cultivate experiences that allow preservice teachers and teacher educators to learn about other cultures, embrace difference and develop a culturally responsive pedagogy.

Connecting classrooms and early interventions

Abstract The Accelerated Literacy Learning (A.L.L.) program, an early intervention program for at‐risk learners, has been effective for a majority of the children involved. Not all children, however, have benefited from this one‐on‐one program. Case study research was conducted to illuminate various rates of progress between students who began the school year with similar academic profiles but returned to different classroom environments after their daily lessons. Findings suggest that the relationship between an early intervention program and program support provided by classroom teachers is a complex issue. A supportive classroom teacher can enhance a students literacy learning, while a non‐supportive classroom teacher can impede the success a student experiences.

Toward Systematic Study of the History and Foundations of Literacy

This study of a literacy course begins with methodological approaches useful in the historical study of the literacy profession, its practices, beliefs, and participants. A model course is presented via “moments” in the history of literacy. Results from implementations of the model course are also presented.

Interactive Fiction: "New Literacy" Learning Opportunities for Children

Interactive fiction has great potential for use in schools, providing engaging and empowering opportunities for learning and literacy. Experiences with interactive fiction provide two key components lacking in contemporary storytelling mediums: autonomy (the ability to act and change on its own) and interactivity (or the ability to think and react intelligently to the user). This descriptive study analyzes a work of interactive fiction created specifically for this research, which illustrates essential traits of character-driven e-literature. The story is evaluated in terms of a set of principles, listed under a heading of empowered learners. Finally, the educational implications of using interactive fiction in an educational setting are discussed.

Teacher Inquiry Develops Elementary Teachers’ Disciplinary Literacy

ABSTRACT We examined how infusing an inquiry-based Disciplinary Literacy Project (DLP) into a graduate literacy education class influenced elementary teachers’ knowledge about disciplinary literacies and how this knowledge influenced their instructional practices. Through the DLP, teachers in this study developed an awareness of the nuances of the literate practices within particular disciplines and demonstrated various ways of blending this disciplinary literacy knowledge into their instructional practices.Implications include using this form of inquiry as a means for professional development and collaborating with disciplinary experts to support teachers’ inclusion of discipline-specific habits of mind into their instruction.