Victoria J. Risko

Tapping Students' Cultural Funds of Knowledge to Address the Achievement Gap

Students whose language, ethnicity, and race are not represented in a schools dominant culture experience varying degrees of success in reading achievement, resulting in persistent gaps in reading achievement. Culturally responsive instruction can help to close that gap. This teaching strategy capitalizes on the knowledge and literacy strategies students learn in their homes and communities, the ways that students reason about and make sense of their world, and the language and communicative patterns of students. In this article, the authors provide a discussion of cultural modeling as one example of how to design culturally responsive instruction. Cultural modeling is a way of designing instruction to make explicit connections between content and literacy goals and the knowledge and experiences students share with family, community, and peers.

Prospective Teachers' Reflection: Strategies, Qualities, and Perceptions in Learning To Teach Reading.

Abstract This study examined and documented mental strategies used by prospective teachers to guide reflections on course content and teaching experiences. The 30 prospective teachers were enrolled in a literacy methods course and accompanying practicum at three university sites. Double‐entry journals and oral interviews were analyzed using open coding procedures, analytic induction, and cross‐subject pattern analysis. Across sites, prospective teachers relied primarily on directing their attention to personal experiences and values to guide their reflective work and they indicated the value of their own perspective to help them remember information and make sense of course content. Implications for instruction are drawn from an analysis of the power of personal experiences, the developmental nature of reflection, and noted tendencies to adopt new strategies as the semester progressed.

Qualities of Influential Literacy Teacher Educators

An online survey of award-winning literacy teachers was conducted to determine the most influential qualities of literacy teacher educators in teacher preparation programs. Sixty-two recipients of literacy awards participated in the study, representing teachers of excellence from all U.S. geographic regions. Using a backward mapping process, teachers identified a literacy teacher educator who most influenced their own teaching and responded to the online survey (Qualities of Influential Literacy Teacher Educators) about the named educator. Half of the survey participants were interviewed to provide clarification of survey ratings about the influential educator. Findings derived from three triangulated data sources reveal consensus that mentoring is most influential, followed by qualities related to teaching. Research qualities appear to be least influential in teacher preparation.

Learning From Literacy Successes in High-Achieving Urban Schools

Urban schools represent educational challenges for teachers, but they can also provide models for effective instruction for linguistically, culturally, and racially diverse students. In this Reading Research Into the Classroom column, the authors examine the research on high-achieving urban schools and make appropriate instructional recommendations in order for other schools to find the same success.

Using a thematic organizer to facilitate transfer learning with college developmental studies students

Abstract This study investigated whether an instructional strategy could facilitate generalizability of ideas from one context to another. A text adjunct, called a thematic organizer, was developed to activate students’ prior knowledge and illustrate that attributes of a concept may differ when it is presented in two different contexts. The subjects were forty‐eight low ability readers enrolled in college developmental studies classes. Materials included passages taken from a science and literature text, a thematic organizer, and a set of five open‐ended questions. The findings indicated that the thematic strategy facilitated transfer of learning. Further, the ordering of passage presentation according to structure did not affect comprehension differentially. This study suggests that low ability readers require an explicit explanation of the relationship between common elements of a concept that is presented in varied contexts and cannot rely on text structure alone to facilitate transfer of ideas.

Using Informative Assessments for Effective Literacy Practices

Purposes – To examine the literature on alternative assessments for evaluating student learning in practical classroom learning experiences. To recommend areas of literacy development where additional assessment is needed. Design – A review of literature on formative and performance assessment is provided and supplemented with samples of assessments recommended in the literature review. Practical implications – Legislative and political mandates for accountability in student learning increase the need for teachers to understand and apply classroom screening, diagnostic, and progress-monitoring assessments. Teachers can use the information provided to think more carefully about the use of alternative assessments in their elementary and middle school classrooms. Value – This chapter provides a frame of reference for informing teachers’ thinking about alternative assessments and suggests the need for classroom assessments to measure aspects of literacy development not frequently assessed.