Kelly Puzio

Cooperative Learning and Literacy: A Meta-Analytic Review

Abstract We conducted a meta-analysis on the effectiveness of cooperative and collaborative learning to support enhanced literacy outcomes. Interventions considered were provided in regular education settings (i.e., not pull-out instruction) with students from Grades 2 through 12. Reviewing more than 30 years of literacy research, we located 18 intervention studies with 29 study cohorts. Included studies primarily used standardized assessments to report on students’ reading, vocabulary, or comprehension achievement, which we analyzed separately. Overall, students had significantly higher literacy achievement scores when instructional interventions utilized cooperative and collaborative activity structures. The overall weighted mean effect sizes ranged from 0.16 to 0.22 (p < .01) with more than 94% of the point estimates being positive. Because cooperative or collaborative learning was always one of multiple intervention components, it was impossible to estimate the unique, added effects of cooperative/collaborative learning. Although the small number of eligible studies precludes any claims about the effectiveness of specific forms of grouping and the circumstances under which programs have more impact, our findings suggest that cooperative and collaborative grouping was a core component of effective literacy interventions, particularly at the elementary level.

Language Differentiation: Collaborative Translation to Support Bilingual Reading

Although a variety of research has investigated the use and benefits of home language in school settings, research on using translation to support school learning is scarce. With the goal of designing a differentiated and culturally relevant strategy that supports the reading of bilingual students, we worked with seventh-grade students in pull-out settings. After reading narrative texts, we invited students to collaboratively translate and evaluate thematically connected excerpts. Using distributed cognition and distributed expertise as a theoretical perspective, this qualitative case study shows that collaborative translation made student expertise visible and mediated the way that students participated and negotiated meaning.

Cultivando confianza: a bilingual community of practice negotiates restrictive language policies

Drawing from an ethnographic study of how one school community negotiates English-only policy in Arizona, we investigated how a bilingual community of practice was established at one school. Integral to establishing this bilingual community was the mobilization of Spanish-speaking families in the schools daily life and operation. This school–parent mutual engagement cultivated feelings of confianza, or trust, between educators and families, and ultimately facilitated the use of parent waivers to opt out of the states mandated English-only program. Implications include the significance of establishing bilingual communities of practice and the need to engage the entire school community, especially families, in policy negotiation.

A multiple case study of teachers’ visions and reflective practice

Abstract Researchers have found that teachers’ visions of what they hope to instill in their students beyond curricular objectives are integral to their instruction and to larger decisions such as their career paths. The purpose of this research was to examine 10 in-service teachers, who taught in different geographic locations across the United States, their visions, and the ways in which these visions influenced their reflective curricular decisions and instructional actions. The researchers describe salient dimensions of visions, the actions teachers reported to enact visions, and the distance and tensions in enacting visions. Researchers used grounded theory and constant comparative analysis to analyze interviews, questionnaires, and artifacts. Findings explore the relationship between teachers’ visions and reflective practice as well as the alignment of instructional practices teachers report in supporting their respective visions. Implications for future research, theory, and practice are discussed.

Supporting Literacy Differentiation: The Principal’s Role in a Community of Practice

Differentiation is an important practice in today’s increasingly diverse classrooms. The researchers used collective case study methods to investigate the role of the principal in supporting differentiated literacy instruction in three purposively selected elementary schools with a documented history of literacy differentiation. For the fourth and fifth grade teachers (n = 15) and their principals (n = 3), differentiated literacy instruction was synonymous with guided reading. To facilitate this practice, principals protected the 60-minute literacy block from push-in or pull-out services and leveraged the expertise of district staff. The principals also supported guided reading by providing teachers with structured opportunities to collaborate, where teachers shared resources, narratives, and expertise. Additionally, the principals purchased texts beyond the district curriculum, strategically networked teachers, and evaluated teachers during their literacy block, when teachers were expected to differentiate their instruction.

Collaborative Translations: Designing Bilingual Instructional Tools.

Recognizing the role of collaboration and multilingual literacy as 21st-century skills, the authors used design research methods to present, analyze, and refine a strategic reading approach for bilingual students. The collaborative translation strategy involves students reading an academic text, translating key passages, and evaluating these translations. Student discussions that ensued provided a rich context to support a thoughtful connection to textual concepts. The authors also discuss the development and refinement of domain-specific instructional theory that informs collaborative translation. Findings suggest the strategy holds promise for increasing student engagement and providing a central instructional role for heritage languages.