Misty Sailors

Teachers' preparation to teach reading and their experiences and practices in the first three years of teaching

The study reported in this article focused on the preparation of elementary preservice teachers to teach reading and on their first 3 years of teaching in schools. Graduates of 8 programs judged as “excellent” by an expert review panel participated in this study. The research was guided by 2 questions: (1) What effects do participation in and completion of an excellent reading teacher education program have on the experiences of teachers as they enter schools? and (2) How does teachers’ preparation relate to their teaching practices? We used quantitative and qualitative research methods to explore these questions. The research design was quasi‐experimental, with the teacher education program considered as the intervening variable. Comparison groups for graduates of the excellent programs included same‐school, highly experienced teachers as well as same‐school, same‐years experienced teachers. Data were collected over 3 years. Results suggested that participation in a high‐quality teacher preparation program had a positive influence on the transition of teachers entering the profession and on the adoption of effective teaching practices by these teachers. Graduates of the excellent programs were more effective than teachers in the comparison groups in creating and engaging their students with a high‐quality literacy environment.

Professional Development that Supports the Teaching of Cognitive Reading Strategy Instruction.

In this article, we describe and report on the results of a study in Texas that tested 2 models of professional development for classroom teachers as a way of improving their practices and increasing the reading achievement of their students. To meet this goal, 44 participating teachers in grades 2–8 learned to teach their students cognitive reading strategies through 1 of 2 models of professional development. One group attended a traditional 2-day summer in-service; the second attended the workshop and received classroom-based support from a reading coach. Using a random-effects, multilevel, pretest-posttest comparison group design and a multilevel modeling analytic strategy, we determined the effects of these 2 models. The full intervention group (teachers who were coached) outperformed the partial intervention group (workshop only) in all the teacher observation and student achievement measures. This study demonstrates the potential of coaching as a viable model of the professional development of reading teachers.

Introduction: Growing Evidence to Support Coaching in Literacy and Mathematics

I N N O V A T I O N and change are at the heart of educational movements to reform and improve the education of all students. Students who struggle with literacy and mathematics face severe academic challenges early in life and possible economic inequity in adulthood. In this introduction, we situate the growing body of literature referred to as coaching— or sustained classroom-based support from a qualified and knowledgeable individual who models researchbased strategies and explores with teachers how to incorporate these practices using the teacher’s own students—within the need for viable means of professional development for classroom teachers that lead to improved schooling for children. We argue for the timeliness of an in-depth treatment of literacy and mathematics coaching and then present a summary of the articles that were chosen, through a blinded peer-review process, for inclusion in this special issue. In a country where academic achievement has the potential to change social equity, it is imperative that all students achieve academically. To that end, scholars have agreed for some time that the single best safeguard against school failure is highly qualified teachers (Darling-Hammond, 2000; Laczko-Kerr & Berliner, 2002), although historically, students in high-poverty, high-minority, and lowachieving schools have had the least access to skilled instructors (Olson, 2003). Research has demonstrated that one way to improve instructional practices is through the professional development of classroom teachers. Keeping in mind the spirit of improving classroom instruction for the students who most need improved practices, we embarked on developing this special issue of The Elementary School Journal.

The Effective Elementary Classroom Literacy Environment: Examining the Validity of the TEX-IN3 Observation System

We report on the development and validation of the TEX-IN3, a research tool and protocol designed to assess the quality of the classroom literacy environment. The TEX-IN3 is described in terms of its theoretical base as well as its practical applications. The TEX-IN3 includes three basic components: a text inventory, a text “in-use” observation, and a series of text interviews. The validation of the TEX-IN3 is first reported in terms of its content, development, and focus. Next, a validation study examining the relationship between the TEX-IN3 and student growth in reading comprehension is described. The findings from this study offer support for all three components of the instrument as associated with student achievement growth.

Decodable Texts for Beginning Reading Instruction: The Year 2000 Basals.

This study focuses on the features of the first grade texts included in basal readers used for beginning reading instruction in Texas during the year 2000 adoption period. The authors investigated the general features of student texts with respect to the instructional design of the text, the accessibility of the text for beginning readers, and the engaging qualities of the texts. The features of these basal readers were then compared to the programs previously adopted in Texas (1987 and 1993 adoption periods). Using a variety of analyses, findings suggest that the mandate by the state of Texas to include more “decodable” texts did in fact, heavily influence the materials presented to beginning readers. In addition, there was an apparent lock of attention to other features that support beginning readers, specifically, predictability and the engaging qualities of the texts. The findings suggest that policy mandates have a direct influence on the content and nature of reading programs placed in the hands of teachers and students.

The Effects of First- and Second-Language Instruction in Rural South African Schools

In this article, we report on the results of a project devoted to improving literacy in South Africas rural schools; specifically we report the results of an intervention study that centered on improving mother-tongue literacy instruction offered to learners in Grades 1 and 2 in South African schools. Our findings demonstrate that there are positive and strong effects for the home-language initiative that was tested in this study. Our data suggest that there is a high level of value added to performance in both the home-language and English-language learning of the students in this study when a much more print-rich environment was provided in the home language. These findings challenge the deficit myth often associated with children who come to school with a first language different from the medium of instruction. Further, these data suggest that providing instruction in both first and second languages can have a positive impact on development in both languages.

The Case of Chichewa and English in Malawi: The Impact of First Language Reading and Writing on Learning English as a Second Language

We investigated the relationship between Chichewa (L1) and English (L2) literacies in Malawi. Through our use of hierarchical linear modeling, we found that cross-language literacy transfer between Chichewa and English did occur, but that the pattern and the strength of the relationships varied depending on the literacy domain (i.e., reading or writing) and grade level. Our work has implications for students, teachers, and policy makers in countries like Malawi, where the language of the former colonial power is the official language (L2) of the country and students must be prepared to participate within a globalized society.

The Golden Lady: The Storied Life of a Multilingual Teacher and Author of Supplemental Reading Materials in a Marginalized South African Language.

Personal narratives can be powerful venues for understanding human experiences. In this paper, we tell the story of Lutanyani, a Black South African multilingual teacher and author of supplemental reading materials in a marginalized South African language. Through various word images, we convey the role of language, in particular written language, in Lutanyani’s life. For Lutanyani, writing serves as ‘a healing process’ in two ways: (1) as a linguistically empowering venue that affirms and shifts his linguistic identity from outsider to insider, and (2) as a backward‐ and forward‐looking means to reconcile his past and reconstruct a message of hope for intermediate‐grade students throughout South Africa. This study has implications for classroom practices in the USA as well as development work in international settings.

Capacity building at mid-programme: an international education development programme in Malawi

ABSTRACT This article reports on a case study of a mid-programme capacity building evaluation within a large education aid programme collaboration between non-governmental educational organisations in Malawi and US university literacy faculty. The article outlines the programme context and its formal and informal capacity building inputs. Analyses of data collected on capacity building at the midpoint of the programme are offered. The authors argue that capacity is built along the life of large programmes, and evaluating capacity building development (and understanding its challenges) before the end of the programme can help cross-national teams of administrators and implementers in modifying programme operations.

Curricular Materials for Young People Who Struggle with Learning to Read: The Case of Roadrunner Reader Inquiry Kits

In this chapter, we review research on children’s motivation to read and its relations to children’s reading comprehension. Researchers have provided evidence that motivation is strongly associated with reading outcomes such as comprehension and their ability to use effective reading strategies. As such, the consideration of motivation with students who struggle with learning to read becomes particularly important. In this chapter, we will discuss an instructional approach focused on inquiry to address the needs of those children. Dubbed “inquiry kits,” these curricular materials provide teachers instructional spaces to engage students. Informed by self-determination theory, the kits were developed to meet the students’ basic needs related to autonomy, competence, and relatedness. We begin the chapter by explaining the theories that support our work; we describe the process we used in the development of the kits. This development process involved the consideration of an instructional model that was oriented around a “big idea” (topic) connected to a message of social justice. We conclude the chapter with examples of the ways in which these kits have been used to support the instruction of students who struggle with learning to read.