Learning to teach literacy through collaborative discussions of student work
Abstract
Despite the high numbers of students with disabilities struggling with literacy, few teachers report feeling well prepared to address it. Most students with disabilities encounter challenges in reading and professional development can help teachers learn a range of ways to address those. In this article, we discuss a professional development project in which prospective teachers work collaboratively with practicing teachers throughout their university preparation. The professional development provided builds on the idea of ‘literacy artifacts’, which are samples of students’ and teachers’ work. Using guided discussions, teachers across the career continuum construct understandings and practices in which they learn how to infuse literacy instruction into all teaching and learning. By conjoining the literacy artifact with instructional resources teachers use, participants make visible the complexity of literacy instruction and how literacy could be embedded in teaching content for students with disabilities especially in general education classrooms.
Reference
Hughes, M. T., Parker-Katz, M., & Balasubramanian, A. (2013). Learning to teach literacy through collaborative discussions of student work. Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, 19(5), 543-558.
Journal
Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice
Analysis
Is this article part of a larger project or series of studies?
no
Does this study draw on a large, preexisting data set?
no
Research Approach
Geographic Setting
- Chicago
- Illinois
- United States
Institutional Context
Certification Level
Programatic Focus
Research Location Context
Preservice Participants
Preservice Sample Size
43
Other Participant Data
- Cooperating teachers
- Mentors (experienced teachers)
Duration of Data Collection
Data Sources
Data Analysis Tools
- coding (emergent categories)
- Constant comparative analysis
- Likert-type scale
Researcher Positionality
- Inside (studying their own programs)
Research Questions
"(1) What types of literacy artifacts do experienced special education teachers select for discussions and why?" (p. 546)
Is this research question explicit from the manuscript? Yes
"(2) What purpose do experienced special educations [sic] give for selecting particular literacy artifacts and how did they perceive the discussions that emerged from these artifacts?" (p. 546)
Is this research question explicit from the manuscript? Yes
"(3) What are the perceptions of prospective special educators’ regarding the value of literacy artifacts discussions in understanding and learning about teaching?" (p. 546)
Is this research question explicit from the manuscript? Yes