Leslie S. Rush

A New Look at Mentoring: Proud Moments and Pitfalls

In this article, two in-service English teachers and two preservice English teachers, who participated in a shared mentoring relationship during the studentteaching semester, share their experiences, conflicts, and how they were resolved. The authors provide first-person narratives of all four teachers and suggestions for improving mentoring experiences for both mentor teachers and student teachers. Important issues addressed include territoriality of classroom spaces, students, decision making, and time. The authors provide suggestions for improving communication, use of shared spaces, and planning.

First steps toward a full and flexible literacy: Case studies of the four resources model

Abstract This article provides case studies of three middle school students ‐ two female and one male ‐ who participated in an individual summer tutoring program designed to improve students’ reading comprehension and to encourage students to think critically about texts. With the researcher, students read and discussed Internet texts and wrote responses. An Informal Reading Inventory (Burns & Roe, 1999) was administered both prior to and at the conclusion of the program for measurement of improvement in reading comprehension. Using the four resources model (Freebody & Luke, 1990), this study illustrates possibilities for instruction in both comprehension and critical literacy.

When figured worlds collide: Improvisation in an inquiry classroom

Students and teachers inevitably enter classrooms with differing expectations and experiences; those differences provide opportunities for both conflict and growth. This article examines this phenomenon in an undergraduate teacher education course on reading instruction at the middle‐school level, presents case studies of students’ improvisations in the face of this tension, and makes implications for teachers and for teacher education regarding these types of conflicts. Students in the course were middle‐school education majors and speech pathology majors; the educational backgrounds and identities of these students presented lack of fit with each other and, for some, with the inquiry‐based nature of the course pedagogy. Using Holland, Lachicotte, Skinner, and Cain’s (1998) concept of figured worlds, our case studies present one speech pathology major – Kathryn – and one middle school major – Allie – both of whom were successful in improvising their own ways through the conflict between their backgrounds and the differing requirements and content of the reading education course. We also provide implications for teachers and teacher educators who face similar disjoints between their own figured worlds and those experienced in classrooms.

Literacy Coaching in Wyoming Secondary Schools: A Situational Analysis of Roles in Context

In 2006, The Wyoming state legislature allocated monies to fund Instructional Facilitators (IFs) in schools around the state. This interview study, developed through situational analysis, explores the roles and responsibilities of IFs in Wyoming secondary schools, and the contextual factors of those schools that impact the work of IFs, particularly those whose work is focused on literacy coaching. Findings from the study include descriptions of common work roles, individual coaching with teachers, providing staff development to groups of teachers, and collection, analysis, management, and interpretation of data. Contextual issues of teacher enrollment and embeddedness in school professional development structure are also presented as of great importance to IFs, and recommendations for IFs’ work in schools, as well as for future research are presented.

Experts and Novices Reading Literature: An Analysis of Disciplinary Literacy in English Language Arts

ABSTRACT The purpose of this pilot study is to examine how experts and novices in the study of literary texts read those texts, and to make suggestions for an English Language Arts (ELA) disciplinary literacy based on those findings. A small sample of experts and novices, four professors of literature and four college freshmen, participated in read-alouds of two texts. Their comments were transcribed and analyzed. This article provides a broad theory to justify the study of disciplinary literacy, as well as an explanation of the findings from this expert–novice study, especially regarding the major differences between how the experts and novices read. Specifically, three guiding traits of ELA disciplinary literacy were found and discussed: interpretive purpose-driven reading, recursive and constant hypothesizing, and literary dialoging.

Preparing English Teachers for Today’s Context: Researching Effective Practice through Methods Courses

Abstract Many situations that affect the teaching of English have been unevenly examined in the scholarship. Asking the question, “What research in English teacher education will address the demands of preparing English language arts teachers for 21st century contexts?,” the authors provide recommendations to the field that will make our work more relevant and propose areas for further study based on current situations in English education in the United States that will move the field forward. The chapter suggests topics for further research centered on the English language arts-specific methods (pedagogy) course that includes exploring the tensions between literacy and English studies, integrating technology, moving theory into practice, the effects of high-stakes testing and assessments, and supporting more diverse student populations.