Literacy & Learning
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/11274/15815
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Browsing Literacy & Learning by Author "Briggs, Connie"
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Item Coaching a teacher to use dialogic inquiry: fostering students' talk about texts(11/19/2014) Northcutt, Kathryn L.; Watson, Patricia; Briggs, Connie; Dunlap, KarenThe purpose of this descriptive case study was to investigate, from a constructivist paradigm, the extent to which coaching a teacher in the use of dialogic inquiry fostered students' conversations about texts. One 3rd grade teacher and 15 of her students participated in this project that spanned the course of one semester of school. I video recorded the teacher's and students' conversations about texts bi-weekly for a total of six observations. After transcribing the recordings using Wells's (1999; 2001) discourse analysis coding protocol, I coached the teacher, on alternating weeks, toward adopting a more dialogic stance in her conversations with students. One final observation took place at the end of the semester as a means of determining the extent to which dialogic conversations were sustained. The teacher's level of adaptive expertise (Hatano & Inagaki, 1986) in dialogic inquiry was of primary importance in planning coaching sessions, and I used several tools to assist me. First, I considered how the teacher's knowledge base about dialogic inquiry increased over time, using a continuum developed by Snow, Griffin, and Burns (2005). A complementary scale by Joyce and Showers (2002) provided insight into how the teacher's knowledge and training was transferred to her practice (2002). The Dialogic Inquiry Tool (Reznitskaya, Glina, & Oyler, 2011) was a continuum both the teacher and I used to establish the degree to which the teacher's and students' stances shifted along several indicators toward dialogic conversations. Findings suggest that coaching a teacher to use dialogic inquiry influences students' dialogic conversations about texts. As the teacher was supported in developing theoretical understandings, her knowledge base increased and transfer of knowledge and training occurred. Consequently, she progressed from novice to being a more adaptive expert in her dialogic stance with students. Findings also indicate that students practiced more dialogic conversations in direct relationship to the teacher's shifting stance toward an inquiry approach. As the teacher extended conversations, students talked more with her and with each other. As their thinking was expanded, students began to participate in conversations in more sophisticated and dialogic ways.Item Descubriendo la Lectura (DLL): A study of teacher-child interactions that support the development of writing composition(12/30/2015) Ramirez-Robertson, Juanita; Briggs, Connie; Haag, Claudia; Hansen-Thomas, HollyThe purpose of this study was to look at the nature of teacher-child conversations when composing messages for writing in a bilingual intervention. Research participants were four at-risk first grade students in a bilingual intervention, Descubriendo la Lectura (DLL), with their DLL teacher, the participant researcher. The study was qualitative in nature (Denzin & Lincoln, 1998) and was composed of four case studies. Each case study contained a teacher-child dyad with the focus being the child. A cross-case analysis was conducted after the cases were coded for themes. This study’s data set included student writing journals, lesson records and field notes, and audio recordings that were transcribed each night. The findings from the study indicate that conversations are key, and without conversations the teacher is unaware of the child’s thinking, especially a child who is at risk in his or her literacy development. Conversations prior to writing help the child co-construct and manipulate language for his or her message (Dyson, 1983). The time allotted before writing provides an opportunity for the teacher and the child to collaborate (Wells, 1986; Lindfors, 2008) in the negotiation of the child’s message. In this study each child was encouraged to select topics that were motivating and encouraging to him or her (Calkins, 1994; Clay, 1983, 2001; Graves, 1973, 1983). The child’s messages included personal language, his or her experiences, and prior knowledge (Clay, 1983). The co-construction of messages between teacher and child positively affected student participants as writers. The experiences with writing as co-constructors with the teacher revealed themes (child pride) and showed that what child writers learned in the intervention was transferrable to the classroom.Item Disciplinary literacy: The role of the principal and improving content area knowledge through literacy and the collaborative work of teachers(Texas Woman s University, 1/1/2014) Lee, Yassmin Caram; Albright, Lettie; Briggs, Connie; Patterson, Leslie; Starrett, TeresaCurrent research in secondary literacy suggests students in high school academic programs continue to need additional support in major content areas, such as Math, Science and English. Apart from solely supporting critical skills in literacy in the English/Language Arts classrooms, traditional content area instruction without embedded content literacy has not proven to be successful for many students. Many researchers argue this is because literacy tasks and texts are more complex than earlier grades. The purpose of this research is to examine the implementation of disciplinary literacy in the content areas using writing. This study describes the work that takes place involving me, the principal, and the literacy coaches who collaborate with the content area teachers to improve content knowledge. This study examines the principal's point of view and the literacy coaches' reflections on beliefs and process in a reflective methodological approach. The study involves five participants; the data collection includes meeting agendas, work-related notes on professional development, notes on meetings with literacy coaches, interviews with participants, and my research journal. Interviews with participants are audio-recorded and transcribed. In addition to this my advisor, as well as the qualitative lab assistants, contribute to the data analysis. The study reveals my beliefs about improving student performance through disciplinary literacy by 1) shared responsibility, 2) collaboration, and 3) teamwork. My findings also reveal that the structures support the school-wide vision through 1) professional development, 2) infrastructure and process, and 3) reflection and discussion. This study offers one perspective on the how-to steps of the implementation of school-wide disciplinary literacy from the ground up and five lessons learned.Item An examination of interactions and outcomes of student participation in a summer online literature discussion(8/30/2014) Smith, Jennifer; Watson, Patricia A., 1954-; Briggs, Connie; Dunlap, KarenThe purpose of this study was to understand what happens when middle school students participate in an online literature discussion during the summer, and the influence of this participation on reading comprehension and motivation. The theoretical framework for this study included Transactional Theory of Reader Response (Rosenblatt, 1938; 1994), Social Constructivist Theory (Vygotsky, 1978), and New Literacies Perspective (Leu, Kinzer, Coiro, & Cammack, 2004; Coiro, Knobel, Lankshear, & Leu, 2008). The participants were middle school students and one educator who served as the facilitator. This mixed-method research study was designed as a formative experiment in order to develop understanding of innovative instructional practices used to accomplish pedagogical goals (Bradley & Reinking, 2011). The researcher and facilitator collaborated throughout the summer in order to meet the pedagogical goal of engaging students in rich discussions around books. In addition, pre and post-test data was collected to examine the influence of the students' participation in the summer online literature discussions on their reading comprehension and attitudes. Data included online transcriptions, facilitator interviews, student focus group interviews, Gates-MacGinitie Reading Tests® (GMRT® ), Motivations for Reading Questionnaire (MRQ), post questionnaire, and Researcher's Records. Students' reading comprehension scores did not significantly change during the summer, but the mean scores increased, suggesting that summer reading loss did not occur with this group of students. Further analysis of the data, however, indicated that there was no relationship between the degree of participation in the online literature discussions and students' reading comprehension scores. In addition, students' reading scores did not influence the quality of their online responses. Finally, motivating factors appeared to have an influence on students' participation during the summer. The summer online literature discussions provided middle school students with an opportunity to discuss books together using an online platform designed for use by schools. Findings from this study revealed that while participation within the online discussions decreased during the summer, students' responses moved from simple meaning making and social conversation to deeper, analytical discussions. Moreover, the facilitator's presence was essential to the success of the discussions as she provided modeling, encouragement, and follow-up questions to the students.Item Exploring Texas public elementary school librarians' instructional practices which enable elementary students to access and choose e-books in their elementary library collections(5/30/2017) Reily, Betty C.; Anderson, Nancy L.; Briggs, Connie; Vardell, Sylvia M.; Wickstrom, Carol D.This cross-sectional online survey investigated the instructional methods/tools/aids used by Texas public elementary school librarians when teaching their elementary students to access and choose e-books from their elementary collections. Participants included 516 Texas public elementary school librarians, serving PreK-Grade 6, who posted their professional emails online. PsychData gathered and aggregated the survey data online. Data analysis results revealed that a majority of respondents (65%) opted for “Modeling e-access” as their first choice of instructional methods. Participants most often preferred two “instructional tools/aids” (21% each) in teaching e-access: 1) PowerPoint and 2) Directions posted on the website using text/screen shots. Three findings emerged from in-depth cross analysis of the data: 1) the tenure of librarians was statistically of little to no importance with regard to e-book availability, 2) the “Modeling” method of instruction registered as statistically significant with regard to “exceeds librarian expectations” in student e-book circulation, and 3) having an e-book link/icon on the library website or homepage also registered as statistically significant with regard to “exceeds librarian expectations” in student e-book circulation, illustrating that convenience is conducive to use.Item Middle School English Second Language (ESL) Teachers' Usage of Technology for Literacy Instruction and Their English Language Learners'(ELL) Responses(Texas Woman s University, 1/1/2013) Hoki, Chieko; White, Nora; Haag, Claudia; Cowart, Melinda; Wickstrom, Carol; Briggs, ConnieDigital technologies surround our lives today and many adolescent students are actively engaged in reading and writing through multimodal digital technologies. The omnipresence of digital technologies in today’s society inevitably influences students’ literacy practices. Thus, there is an imminent need on the teacher’s part to infuse technologies as instructional tools in the classroom in order to connect with students’ lives. Recent research evidences teachers’ and researchers’ responses to this need. English language learners (ELLs) are included in this generation of youths actively engaged in digital technologies outside the classroom. However, little is known about ESL teachers’ use of technologies for literacy instruction in the classroom and their ELLs’ responses to these technologies. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine middle school teachers’ use of technologies for literacy instruction and their ELL student’s responses. Two middle school ESL teachers and four ELL students (two student members of each teacher's classroom) attending a middle school located in a suburban city in north Texas participated in this study. Data gathered and analyzed over a five-month period included digitally recorded interviews, field notes of classroom observations, digital and/or handwritten participant journals, teachers’ lesson plans, students’ written work, and impromptu conversations. The ESL teacher participants made literacy instruction accessible and comprehensible for students through the use of technologies. Instruction became multimodal; a variety of technologies scaffolded the language and literacy needs of middle school ELL students. The unique socio-cultural interactions and classroom contexts constructed by the teachers and students were mediated through technologies. Students used a variety of semiotics to complete their work. In a classroom where instruction took place in a small group setting, the students interacted with group members in the completion of instructional work and supported each other in their groups by sharing ideas, negotiating with their ideas, engaging in shared writing, taking turns reading, and sharing the use of technologies. In a classroom where instruction took place in an individual instructional setting, the students collaborated with the teacher by sharing and negotiating their ideas. All the student participants were interested in literacy activities mediated by technologies, and their engagement with literacy learning was active, interactive, collaborative, and negotiated.Item The nature of students' efferent or aesthetic responses to nonfiction texts in small, peer-led literature discussion groups(1/1/2014) Khieu, Tema Leah; Anderson, Nancy L.; Rodriguez, Yvonne; Briggs, Connie; Anderson, Nancy L.; Rodriguez, Yvonne; Briggs, ConnieThe purpose of this study was to provide an in-depth exploration and describe the nature of fourth graders' responses to nonfiction text in the context of small, peer-led literature discussion groups. This study took place in the teacher researcher's daily, forty-five minute, pull-out intervention time. The participants for this study consisted of a group four fourth grade students from the teacher-researcher's READ 180 class. They were in a reading intervention program because they were considered to be struggling readers. This group of students discussed six nonfiction texts during their forty-minute discussion sessions across twelve weeks. Aesthetic and efferent coding categories were developed prior to the study (Bogdan & Biklen, 1998). This scale was loosely based on Cox and Many's (1992) Instrument for Measuring Reader on an Efferent to Aesthetic Continuum, which was designed for narrative text. However, for this study, adaptations and modifications were made to accommodate reader response to nonfiction text. The teacher researcher recorded field notes, transcribed tapes, and wrote up findings. The teacher researcher acknowledged that students would take an aesthetic and/or efferent stance; however the type of stance was not predetermined. The focus of the study was to deepen an understanding of the responses made in the peer-led discussion groups by closely examining the data and allowing the findings to inform the next decisions. The data from this study revealed that the participants' responses to nonfiction trade books were predominantly in the primarily efferent category with their attention based on the information from the text. Moreover, all students had aesthetic responses in all six peer-led discussion groups. The data also revealed that the small group peer-led discussion groups provided a low risk forum to begin to personally respond to nonfiction by asking questions and making comments freely. In addition, students responded to nonfiction in many, varied, and often unique and individual ways. They expressed their personal evocations of the text in different ways. During these evocations, they made personal connections to past events, family members, other texts, and shows/movies. They continuously shifted from efferent to aesthetic and aesthetic to efferent stances throughout the discussions. Many of the aesthetic responses mirrored interactive read-alouds modeled by the Reading Intervention Teacher. This study suggests that children will respond efferently and aesthetically to nonfiction texts and exhibit diversity within their responses. Nonfiction literature offers readers windows and pathways that lead into the world. Responding to nonfiction can open windows and illuminate the pathways for venturing out into and enjoying the world. When honored and invited to personally engage with nonfiction, each reader can find her unique path that can lead to exploration, fulfillment and enjoyment.Item Shaping and reshaping identities in everyday literacy practices: Adolescent girls' use of selfies in a social and mobile world(5/30/2017) Rosdahl, June Marie; Watson, Patricia A., 1954-; Briggs, Connie; Dunlap, Karen; Haag, ClaudiaYoung adolescent girls engage in many leisure and academic activities outside of school that support literacy practices and identity formation. The use of mobile devices and online spaces has become an integral component of girls’ everyday lives that results in copious reading, writing, and identity building. Recent and rapid changes in technology provide platforms for new ways of doing literacy and representing identities. However, girls use content and social spaces in ways that are sometimes dismissed and not sanctioned as having any literacy value. Furthermore, literacy research has not kept pace with girls’ emerging out-of-school literacy practices. Scant studies explore how young girls use selfies in literacy development and identity formation. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore how young adolescent girls use selfies as literacy practices using social media and mobile technology, and how they represent their identities. James Gee’s definition of identity provided a framework for this study: identity is “being recognized as a certain kind of person in a given context” (2000, p. 99). Three theoretical constructs informed this study: sociocultural theory, New Literacies Studies, and theories of identity. A sociocultural perspective views literacy as a social practice. New Literacy Studies recognizes multiliteracies and multimodality as a meaningful way of doing literacy through multiple contexts. Using a collective case study design (Stake, 1995) and a Grounded Theory approach (Strauss & Corbin, 1998), data was collected and analyzed inductively and recursively using qualitative techniques. The participants were ten young adolescent girls ages 13 and 14. The data consisted of questionnaires, individual interviews, focus groups, and selfie artifacts. The major findings suggest that girls use selfies to make meaning through the types of selfies that they take and the self-image that they portray. The findings also indicate that young girls use selfies to build relationships with boys, friends, family, and followers. Additionally, findings show that girls use selfies for communication through social media and mobile technology. Lastly, girls use selfies for self-empowerment by building self-esteem, self-confidence, and control. The conclusion of the study indicated that girls use selfies to shape and reshape their identities.Item The language and practice of writing teachers: Exploring teacher professional learning within a PLC framework(3/29/2019) Kerbs, Macie Gayle; Briggs, ConnieThere is a need for higher quality professional development for writing teachers (Cutler & Graham, 2008; Gilbert & Graham, 2010; Kiuhara, Graham, & Hawken, 2009). Even though writing is an essential skill, quality writing instruction for students and the professional development for writing teachers is lacking (National Commission on Writing, 2003; Cutler & Graham, 2008). Thus, the purpose of this qualitative collective case study was to document the language and classroom practice of three teachers when professional learning was related to writing process and situated in a Professional Learning Community (PLC) framework. Guiding my inquiry were the following research questions: 1) How is professional learning around writing process evidenced in teachers’ language? 2) How is professional learning around writing process evidenced in teachers’ classroom instruction? Data were collected though observations, interviews, and artifacts. Data analysis involved both deductive and inductive coding, pattern coding, and thematic analysis (Miles, Huberman, & Saldaña, 2014). Three themes emerged when exploring teacher professional learning as evidenced by their language and classroom instruction: improvement in pedagogical content knowledge, development in knowledge-of-practice, and growth in reflective practice. Findings reveal that professional learning that is connected throughout a unit of study, driven by a team’s own agenda, situated in classroom practice, and surrounded by the analysis of student work positively influences teachers’ language and practice around writing instruction. These findings confirm much of the research on professional learning communities but adds a new perspective on the possibilities with not only writing teachers, but teachers of poetry writing. These findings are step forward to emphasizing the need for even more professional learning opportunities and training for writing teachers.Item What happens when parent volunteers provide literacy support for preschool students using interactive read alouds in a private reading?(5/30/2015) Southwell, Kimberly; Haag, Claudia; Briggs, Connie; Marshall, David, Ph. D.; Moore, LinThe purpose of this study was to examine and measure how a read aloud training program could be used to train parents in the early reading behaviors of preschool children in a private reading tutorial center. Two groups of parent-child dyads consisting of 17 pairs (parent-child) each were selected to fill the groups, experimental and control. A quasi-experimental research design was used in this study with parents in the experimental group being trained in one-on-one interactive read alouds in a reading center or home (natural setting) with print referencing behaviors. The study lasted 8 weeks and consisted of four phases: (a) student pre-assessments and parent survey, (b) parent volunteer training, (c) read aloud sessions and observations, and (d) post- assessments. The findings showed the there was a significant difference in test scores between parents in the control group and those in the treatment group on the post- assessment tests. Likewise, there was a significant difference between the control group children and those children in the treatment group, with the treatment group outscoring the control group on the post-assessment tests. Further studies should be conducted using a qualitative phenomenological design in order to elicit the experiences of parents who provide literacy support to their preschool children.Item "What if this really happened?" Using critical literacy practices and dystopian fiction to mediate self-efficacy with at-risk readers(12/30/2015) Wilcox, Sherri Kirkland; Watson, Patricia A., 1954-; Haag, Claudia; Vardell, Sylvia M.; Briggs, ConnieAt-risk students are oftenn unmotivated and disengaged from literacy activities. They are sometimes below grade level and feel inadequate to accomplish the complex reading tasks with which they are confronted in high school; therefore, they often will not even attempt to do the work (Bandura, 1986). Students who are assigned to a Disciplinary Alternative Education Program (DAEP) are at-risk not only due to the commonly cited factors such as being a member of a minority culture, being Limited English Proficient, or having low socioeconomic status, but also for behavior issues which require their removal from their home campus. This action research study was conducted in order to determine what happens to these students’ self-efficacy for reading and their identity as readers when critical literacy practices were used in combination with dystopian fiction. Two published tools were used to gather information regarding students’ self-efficacy and identity as readers at the beginning of the study, student artifacts were collected and analyzed throughout the study, interviews with small groups were recorded and transcribed, and notes were collected during individual conversations with students. Field notes were kept of observations during the study. A reflexive research diary was kept during the planning of the research project and to maintain records of my thinking as a researcher. Also a daily journal was maintained during the classroom teaching phase of the research project. The data were coded using the elements of critical literacy as outlined by Lewison, Flint, and Van Sluys (2002) as well as for self-efficacy, identity, engagement, and motivation as readers. Open coding was used to identify additional trends and patterns. Themes of the findings are as follows: high school students who are at-risk in two or more areas are often behind in skill level from their peers, but want to feel like a successful part of a community of readers; these at-risk students need reading tasks that are relevant, interesting, and important in order for them to be motivated to attempt the tasks; and these students are motivated to try again once they have experienced real success at literacy tasks that are appropriate to their age and grade level.