Search Content

Matching Items (2)

Teacher Mediation of Reading Comprehension with English Learners and Students with Learning Disabilities: A Sociocultural Analysis

Description

The focal educational problem of practice in this dissertation is how one special education teacher mediated reading comprehension with a diverse group of students, including English learners (EL) with learning disabilities (LD). I selected this problem of practice because of the documented difficulty and complexity of effective teaching to provide integrated EL and LD support. There is a lack of reading comprehension research that centers on the interactive processes between teachers and students who are EL with LD (ELsWLD) and students with LD in small group contexts and intermediate grades. To answer the research questions, I used observational research methods. I examined one teacher’s practices with 5th-grade ELsWLD and LD students in reading small-group instruction in an elementary school in a major city in the southwestern region of the United States. Data analysis procedures included systematic analysis of video-based recordings and instructional transcripts to map student and teacher participation. The analysis centered on teacher mediation of student learning and how the teacher’s talk varied with students. Findings: (1) The teacher mediated reading comprehension through instructional routines for comprehension strategy and vocabulary instruction using independent reading and guided reading of text. (2) Student practice opportunities included integrative, elaborative, and metacognitive processes when reading for connections to text, questioning the text, prediction, and imaging. (3) Throughout, the teacher maintained an authoritative stance and a position as an expert through the overuse of questions for all students, and the question density (number, frequency) which limited student practice opportunities. (4) The teacher’s talk with students varied concerning with whom she used Accountable and Assertive Talk and produced uneven engagement as the teacher primarily used Dialogic Questions for students she viewed as stronger readers. This research has potential implications for scholars and practitioners as it raises questions requiring teachers and researchers to consider the questions used in small-group comprehension discussions, how teachers ask questions, and the density of questions. Other implications include methods to map teacher talk and the use of a critical dis/ability literacy teaching stance.

ContributorsSalinas, Sarah M (Author) / Artiles, Alfredo J. (Thesis advisor) / Dorn, Sherman J. (Thesis advisor) / O’Connor, Brendan (Committee member) / Ferrell, Amy (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)

Created2022

Student and Teacher Perspectives on What Makes Students Successful in High School: Evidence from Phoenix-area Schools

Description

Currently in the United States, Arizona high school students are testing at a standardized testing level barely being ranked in the top 50%. As far as education goes, Arizona's education system is not successful in demonstrating neither teacher nor student success. As past high school students from different forms of education being private, public, or charter, we three have seen what successful and unsuccessful schools are. We also have seen what successful teachers look like. It is our goal to help understand what makes an education system successful and what Arizona can do to help the success of their teachers and their students. The students in high schools today are the future of our world and it is the duty of the education system to help prepare for their future and to be successful. What we currently don’t know and hope to learn from this thesis are the factors that go into making a high school successful and their students also successful. As of right now Arizona is currently ranked 46th in education out of all states and territories belonging to the United States. This means that there are states with schools producing a higher success rate with their students. Not only is the Arizona Education ranking low but its teacher rankings are also low in work environment, student performance, salary compensation, and student success as well as countless others ranking as the 50th state in teacher success. It is clear that the Arizona education system needs to find reform and our goal is to search for what changes need to be made in our classrooms and work environment to create not only more successful teachers and students but also to create a successful education system.

ContributorsBolosan, Kaleo (Author) / Bizuneh, Abyssinia (Co-author) / Hernandez-Martinez, Chelsea (Co-author) / O’Connor, Brendan (Thesis director) / Garcia, David (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of English (Contributor) / Division of Teacher Preparation (Contributor)

Created2023-05