Susan Tancock

Incentives: The effects on the reading motivation of fourth‐grade students

Abstract The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of various incentives on the reading motivation of fourth‐grade students. The students involved in the study attended an elementary school in a mid‐size town in the South. Results were based on the participation of 28 students in the control group who received no incentives, 27 students in the treatment group who received books as incentives, and 36 students in the treatment group who received non‐reading related rewards as incentives. Each students level of reading motivation was measured at the beginning and end of the study using the Reading Survey portion of the Motivation to Read Profile (Gambrell, Palmer, Codling, & Mazzoni, 1996), which was completed by each student, and the Parent Survey, which was completed by the guardian of each student participating in the study. Book logs were also used in the study to measure the students’ motivation to read based on the number of books read. The findings of the study indicated that there were no significant differences in reading motivation between students who received incentives and those who did not as measured by the Motivation to Read Profile and the numbers of books read.

Catie: A case study of one first grader's reading status

Abstract This ethnographic case study focused on the reading status of one student. Catie, a first‐grade girl in a midwestern elementary school, was characterized by her teacher as being at‐risk for reading failure. Data were collected over a three month period using participant observation, document research, and interviews. A constant comparison method of data analysis resulted in a narrative description of the classroom context in which the student functioned. Results showed reading‐related factors, student factors, and teacher factors interacted to shape and maintain Caties status as an at‐risk reader in her classroom. This study illustrates the relationships between teacher perceptions, social class, and student performance.

Classroom Teachers and Reading Specialists Examine their Chapter 1 Reading Programs

Classroom teachers and reading specialists in two Midwestern elementary schools were interviewed to elicit evaluations of their Chapter 1 reading programs. Ethnographic interviews were conducted with three reading specialists and 27 classroom teachers who had children involved in the Chapter 1 programs in the two schools. Constant comparative data analysis was conducted with the transcribed interview data, and prominent themes emerged concerning the coherence and coordination that existed between specialists and classroom teachers. The results showed that specialists constructed their roles differently with each classroom teacher with whom they worked. Secondly, there was a lack of joint planning that occurred between the two groups of teachers. Third, specialists and classroom teachers had varied definitions of Chapter 1 program impact which reflected different goals of the two reading programs. Finally, different philosophies regarding the reading process were held by the two kinds of teachers in these schools. These findings suggest that all teachers who are responsible for the instruction of at-risk students must be given time and encouragement to communicate and coordinate their programs to meet the needs of the children in their schools.

“A paradigm of possibility”: Community mentors and teacher preparation

In this paper, we investigate mentor perspectives of their roles as de facto “teacher educators.” Drawing upon three years of qualitative data, we argue that community voices and knowledge should be reflected in decisions regarding what and how children are taught. We assert that, by broadening the definition of “teacher educator” beyond university faculty to include community members, we create spaces through which the development of culturally responsive teaching can more authentically emerge. The larger study from which this paper is derived examines the innovative practices of a teacher preparation program at a Midwestern university in the United States of America, wherein majority White, female, middle-class candidates are paired with mentor families in a low-income African-American neighborhood. This program of cultural immersion builds relational ties between community members, and mentors facilitate candidates’ movement beyond deficit perspectives of communities of color and simplistic notions of celebration to see cultural affirmation and contextual knowledge of children’s lived experiences as critical to student success. In the present study, we challenge neoliberal “commonsense” in the preparation of teachers by privileging community voices and highlighting how mentors perceive their respective roles as teacher educators.

Loving out Loud: Community Mentors, Teacher Candidates, and Transformational Learning through a Pedagogy of Care and Connection.

Although there has been significant research examining the practice of culturally responsive teaching, little empirical work to date has examined the role that community-engaged, teacher preparation models play in shaping prospective teachers’ orientation toward cultural responsiveness. This study of 60 preservice teacher candidates enrolled in a program of community-engaged teacher preparation at a midsized Midwestern public university specifically examined the ways in which caring relationships between preservice teachers and volunteer community mentors scaffolded candidates’ contextualized understanding of culture, community, and identity of children and families. Findings provide evidence that as candidates experience authentic caring within the space of supportive relationships, they emerge equipped to care in more authentic, culturally responsive ways for their students.