Based on research conducted in a fourth-grade classroom, the author describes one teacher's process for integrating social studies and English language arts using a writers' workshop approach. Furthermore, the fourth-grade teacher was able to provide students with an opportunity to engage in multimodal composition. After conducting research…

Prior to beginning a basic communication course, students enter with learning expectations and motivations to transfer knowledge outside the classroom. The present study examined 373 qualitative pre- and post-test responses from students enrolled in a basic communication course to assess their self-defined learning and speaking preparation…

Twenty-first-century literacy skills require teachers to engage students with digital tools in meaningful ways - it is also imperative that teachers utilise these skills themselves to enhance their abilities to address these skills effectively in their classrooms. In this article, the researchers disseminate the results of a qualitatively driven…

Using structural equation modeling, this study found that prior reading skill was significantly associated with children's reported physical activity levels, which was in turn significantly associated with English language arts (ELA) and math achievement, among 526 3rd-grade students. The New York City Metropolitan area students completed the…

As classroom teachers face continued pressure due to prescriptive standards and high-stakes testing, school librarians continue to look for ways to make learning more dynamic and authentic for the diverse students in our schools. However, adolescent literacy research as a field operates largely apart from the research about school libraries and…

There is substantial evidence documenting the impact of high-quality, educative learning materials on teacher practices and student learning, yet this evidence has not translated widely into more equitable learning opportunities for all students. English learners tend to have less access to intellectually rich, grade-level content and…

Action research shifts the paradigm of contemporary educational reform by emphasizing inquiry and placing teachers at the center of research-into-practice. By situating teachers as learners, action research offers a systematic and intentional approach to changing teaching. When working as part of a community of practice, action researchers engage…

This paper details a multimodal practice of response and transmediation, called a Thought Chronicle, which I employ in my undergraduate work with preservice teachers. I position this intervention in relation to the theoretical discourses of multimodality, social semiotics, and psychoanalytic ideas of dreaming and play.

Current state standards set an ambitious vision for English language arts (ELA) and demand much of teachers: They are expected to engage students in close readings of complex, grade-level texts, which in turn requires students to comprehend texts, follow authors' development of ideas, interpret words and phrases, and analyze structure. Yet most…

The problem-based teaching of literature is a contemporary teaching model that has emerged from the need to overcome the weaknesses of traditional teaching and to increase the efficiency of educational work. Unlike the traditional paradigms that focused on the teacher and the lecturing model of education, the problem-based teaching of literature…

This mixed methods study explores the work of five small writing communities formed within a university-based preservice English language arts writing methods course. Fifteen preservice English language arts teachers took part in the study and participated across five peer writing groups. The study shares the instructional design of the course as…

This study assesses the implementation and impacts of the Teacher Potential Project (TPP), a program designed by EL Education and which includes an English language arts (ELA) standards-aligned curriculum and embedded professional development for teachers. The study uses a randomized controlled trial (RCT) design to assess the impacts of TPP on…

This study identified the impact of elementary teachers' perceptions and the change that data-driven instruction had on student achievement on the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) assessment in English language arts and mathematics in an urban elementary charter school. The researcher secured an inner-city charter school in Tennessee to…

All Florida schools teach the Florida Standards in English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics. Student performance on the Florida Standards Assessments (FSA) provides important information to parents/guardians, teachers, policy makers, and the general public regarding how well students are learning the Florida Standards. This document has been…

This dissertation comprises a set of three connected articles framed by a narrative inquiry methodology, which explores the literacy practices of a teacher and her students in an English Language Arts middle school classroom at a midwestern urban public school. Part one investigates teacher practices and discourses that led to creating an…