Accommodations in Teacher Education: Perspectives of Teacher Candidates with Learning Disabilities and their Faculty Advisors

This study of teacher candidates with learning disabilities profiles their experi-ence in a teacher education program. Two teacher candidates and their faculty advisors offer perspectives at various points during the teacher education pro-gram. Findings indicate that the teacher candidates were able to complete their required courses when their professors facilitated appropriate accommodations for them. In their elementary classroom practica, the participants thrived when teaching in their trained discipline or content area, but often needed scaffolding from teacher associates when teaching mathematics and reading. Prior to dis-closing their disability to their teacher associates, the teacher candidates attempted to gauge their mentors’ tolerance of learning disabilities. Based on their lived experiences, the participants held distinct beliefs about integration and reducing the stigma of learning disabilities. Discussion on the implications for teacher education and support of teacher candidates with learning disabilities is offered

Sparking Reading Engagement through Tablets: An Early Intervention Reading Program and Parent Workshop for Tablets at Home

Research on this intervention program aimed to address whether digital technology (i.e., apps on tablets) contributes to struggling early readers’ (4–6 years old) on-task behavior and level of engagement while learning prerequisite emergent literacy skills (e.g., phonemic awareness, phonics, word recognition and decoding). The research also investigated whether parents/guardians of these students garner new knowledge about the potential of using multimodal applications to support their children’s literacy learning. Students struggling with early literacy worked one on one with a tutor alternating between activities on and off the tablet. Data were collected from two iterations of this program in the winter (n = 18) and spring (n = 19). Qualitative observation scales were used to rate students’ on-task behavior and level of engagement. A student questionnaire and parent survey were also administered. Results indicate that the nature of the features embedded within tablets seemed to enhance or hinder students’ level of on-task behavior or level of engagement. A relationship between students’ on-task behavior and level of engagement was also discovered. Parents/guardians reported being involved with their children, and this interaction positively impacted the child’s enjoyment of reading. Implications for educators point to the importance of a blended learning model for early reading intervention and the importance of pre-settings in reading apps

Blogging in Elementary Classrooms: Mentoring Teacher Candidates’ to Use Formative Writing Assessment and Connect Theory to Practice

This paper presents a collaborative approach to professional learning in which classroom teachers mentored teacher candidates to connect theory and practice through formative assessment to improve students’ writing. Professional learning sessions pairing the teachers and teacher candidates occurred in each of the fall and winter semesters in two years of this project. Data were collected at these sessions and during focus group debriefings. The findings are themes related to: lines of communication and levels of collaboration; teachers’ pedagogical decisions about blogging and writing in their classrooms; classroom teachers and teacher candidates enacting formative writing assessment in the blogging platform; the potential of feedback for student learning and writing success; and teacher candidates’ experiences in their teacher education, their practicum, and their own experiences with blogging and writing. Findings are discussed as they connect theory and practice for writing teachers, exemplify formative assessment in teaching writing, and offer blogging as a writing and assessment tool

A Comparison of Readability in Science-Based Texts: Implications for Elementary Teachers

Science curriculum standards were mapped onto various texts (literacy readers, trade books, online articles). Statistical analyses highlighted the inconsistencies among readability formulae for Grades 2–6 levels of the standards. There was a lack of correlation among the readability measures, and also when comparing different text sources. Online texts were the most disparate with respect to text difficulty. These findings suggest implications for elementary teachers to support students who learn through reading online, science-based resources. As 21st-century learning through multi-modal literacies evolves, the readability of online, content-based text should be evaluated to ensure accessibility to all readers

Improving grade eight students' spelling performance with a triad strategy approach

Thesis (M.Ed.)-- Brock University, 1996.Brock University. Dept. of Education. ThesisThe purpose of this study was to examine the effects of explicitly teaching a triad of spelling strategies in comparison to traditional methods, to 26 Grade 8 students. The three explicitly taught strategies were error correction (with cloze procedure), imagery and analogy. The traditional instruction method included activities modelled after Grade 8 basal spellers. Students were seen in groups of thirteen for five weekly sessions of forty minutes. All students were pretested, posttested weekly, posttested immediately following the training sessions and posttested one mont? following the training. The pretest, weekly posttests and immediate posttest were dictated words spelling tests of both the training and transfer words. The one month delayed posttest was a dictated contextual sentence spelling test. Performance scores on the pretest and posttest measures were compared to determine if any differences existed between the two groups using the Dunnett procedure. Results indicated that no significant differences were found between the strategy instruction and the traditional instruction groups for the training words. However, a significant difference favouring the strategy instruction group existed on transfer words at the immediate posttest. On a secondary analysis of the data this significant difference existed at the delayed posttest. When learning growth was measured from pretest to delayed posttest, the strategy instruction group significantly outperformed the traditional instruction group with respect to correctly spelling transfer items

Coaching High School English Teachers in Guided Reading for Struggling Readers

Although small-group guided reading is traditionally an elementary school instructional practice, this study details how high school English teachers perceived its implementation in high school classrooms. As part of a larger, multiyear research project, this 2-year study examined a dual-level coaching professional learning program that included two school district literacy coaches, eight provincial literacy facilitators, and 21 high school teachers. Teachers were coached in the implementation of guided reading and small-group instruction to support students in Grades 9–10 who were struggling with reading. Qualitative methods were used to gather data including observations of the professional learning meetings and teachers’ instruction; interviews with literacy coaches, professional literacy facilitators, and teachers; and artifact collection. Data were analyzed using the qualitative software program NVivo. The findings suggest that teacher coaching, modeling, co-planning, discussion, and reflection enhanced teachers’ abilities to support students in their use of metacognitive skills and comprehension strategies during guided reading. Teachers noted some insightful instructional considerations for implementation of elementary instructional practices in their high school English classrooms. Overall, these results have practical implications for teachers seeking to help struggling high school readers

Capas Múltiples: Reflexionando sobre la Investigación Basada en el Diseño Centrada en la Integración Curricular en la Facultad de Educación

What insights emerge through researcher reflections on a Design-Based Research (DBR) curricular integration project that contribute to the professional learning of education faculty/ researchers? To answer this question, two researchers captured their debriefing discussions and reflections after monthly meetings with participating teachers. The meetings familiarized the teachers with DBR methods and enhanced teachers’ understanding of integrating literacy and science instruction. Data were open coded, collapsed into sub-categories and interpretations were then clustered into three themes. The first theme is our acknowledgement of the layers that needed to be peeled back to understand teacher participants’ planning and assessment. The second theme is the realization that the teacher participants were novices with respect to understanding and practicing curricular integration. The final theme honors the value of DBR as a research and professional learning method. Findings are discussed in light of the scant literature that describes the experience of DBR educational researchers. ¿Qué ideas surgen a través de las reflexiones de los investigadores sobre un proyecto de integración curricular de investigación basada en diseño (IBD) que contribuya al aprendizaje profesional de los docentes e investigadores en educación? Para responder a esta pregunta, dos investigadores capturaron sus discusiones y reflexiones después de las reuniones mensuales con los maestros participantes. Las reuniones familiarizaron a los maestros con los métodos IBD y mejoraron la comprensión de los maestros acerca de integrar la instrucción de alfabetización y ciencias. Los datos se codificaron en forma abierta, se colapsaron en subcategorías y las interpretaciones se agruparon en tres temas. El primer tema es nuestro reconocimiento de las capas que debían eliminarse para comprender la planificación y la evaluación de los maestros participantes. El segundo tema es darse cuenta de que los maestros participantes eran novatos con respecto a la comprensión y la práctica de la integración curricular. El tema final honra el valor de IBD como método de investigación y aprendizaje profesional. Los hallazgos se discuten a la luz de la escasa literatura que describe la experiencia de los investigadores educativos de IBD

Moving Toward Inclusion: Inclusion Coaches\u27 Reflections and Discussions in Supporting Educators in Practice

When school systems and administrations provide educators with opportunities to engage in transformative learning through reflective practice and provide opportunities to challenge their beliefs, educator pedagogy for inclusive education can be enhanced (Evans, 1997; Pyhältö et al., 2012; Richardson, 1998). Our research examined the experiences of 11 inclusion coaches while they provided support and built capacity for 38 educators during a change in special education service delivery, seeking insight into the effectiveness of this coaching model. Coaches’ experiences were shared during semi-focused group discussions and via an online blog. Qualitative analysis revealed coaches’ roles in this context were influenced by their personal expectations, personal growth, support for one another, and support for respective educators. The findings from this research are pivotal for pedagogy and teaching philosophy in inclusion

Preparing Tutors for Assessment, Data-based Instruction, and Reflective Practice

This international survey-design study gathered data from 22 literacy clinic directors to garner their insights on how they prepare tutors to work with struggling readers. The respondents describe how they guide tutors to use assessment data to inform instructional decisions about lesson plan design, strategic approaches, texts, and resources. The results also elucidate how tutors reflect on their lessons based on feedback about their tutoring and the impacts on their students. There is an illustration of how literacy clinics support tutors to provide enhanced instruction while contributing to an understanding of the role of literacy clinics within teacher education

Differences in Muscle Protein Synthesis and Anabolic Signaling in the Postabsorptive State and in Response to Food in 65–80 Year Old Men and Women

Women have less muscle than men but lose it more slowly during aging. To discover potential underlying mechanism(s) for this we evaluated the muscle protein synthesis process in postabsorptive conditions and during feeding in twenty-nine 65–80 year old men (n = 13) and women (n = 16). We discovered that the basal concentration of phosphorylated eEF2Thr56 was ∼40% less (P<0.05) and the basal rate of MPS was ∼30% greater (P = 0.02) in women than in men; the basal concentrations of muscle phosphorylated AktThr308, p70s6kThr389, eIF4ESer209, and eIF4E-BP1Thr37/46 were not different between the sexes. Feeding increased (P<0.05) AktThr308 and p70s6kThr389 phosphorylation to the same extent in men and women but increased (P<0.05) the phosphorylation of eIF4ESer209 and eIF4E-BP1Thr37/46 in men only. Accordingly, feeding increased MPS in men (P<0.01) but not in women. The postabsorptive muscle mRNA concentrations for myoD and myostatin were not different between sexes; feeding doubled myoD mRNA (P<0.05) and halved that of myostatin (P<0.05) in both sexes. Thus, there is sexual dimorphism in MPS and its control in older adults; a greater basal rate of MPS, operating over most of the day may partially explain the slower loss of muscle in older women