School Cultures as Contexts for Informal Teacher Learning

This study descriptively compares international social contexts for teacher workplace informal professional learning from the teachers’ perspectives. Set in elementary schools in the U.S. and Lithuania, the study illustrates how teachers make sense of and engage in learning within the historical, political and administrative contexts within which they work. A sociocultural framework brings into view different opportunities for teacher informal learning. These appear in teachers’ discourse about their schools’ missions, building structures, classroom environments, organizational arrangements, traditions, and professional relationships as referenced in teachers’ discourse. The study argues for the importance of acknowledging teacher informal learning as a method of career-long professional development and for considering how to build and sustain the infrastructure necessary to maintain such development at teachers’ work places

Teachers as Informal Learners: Workplace Professional Learning in the United States and Lithuania

Historically, formal directive approaches to teacher learning, based upon a developmental expert-to-learner model, have dominated policy and research, with limited success. This study is based on a learner-centered view of teachers learning from the problems of their own teaching. It demonstrates the understandings that can result from teachers’ explanations of what they do and why when they encounter everyday situations that evoke their learning. Further, the microethnographic study renders these explanations as a framework for further research on teacher learning in informal school-related settings. The framework emerged from a constant-comparative analysis of the structure, language and content of a years’ worth of journal entries written by 10 teachers in Lithuania and the United States in three very different primary schools: an established Russian school in Lithuania, a Lithuanian school restructured since the political change over, and a newly built school in the American Midwest. The choices of schools and teachers were made to intentionally amplify cultural and social differences, and all entries were written and analyzed in their original languages: Lithuanian, Russian and American English. Analyses of the entries were triangulated with two years worth of ethnographically collected data at the schools, including multiple interviews with teachers and administrators. Analyses revealed that in their journals all the teachers expressed their dispositions toward learning, identified their sources of learning, highlighted problems as their focus for learning, described processes in which they engaged in their attempts to solve professional dilemmas and expressed their reaction to those dilemmas. Their entries reflect what they thought was important to record and explain within these five domains: the extent to which their manner toward seeking learning was opportunistic or proactive; whether they pursued learning alone or socially; where they focused to improve—on themselves or on their teaching; the ways in which their responses to dilemmas were emotional or cognitive; and, how they engaged with their process of learning—spontaneously or more deliberately. We represented these domains and dimensions as a conceptual framework of learner profiles. The framework represents the dominant qualities of each teacher, individually, allowing for displays of uniqueness, and comparatively to observe commonality and difference. The article concludes with suggestions for potential questions for research afforded by this framework: How teachers learn through casual interactions with students, colleagues and administrators; how informal learning relates to school culture; how personal culture influences teacher learning stances; and, how teachers make choices to assume a particular stance in a learning situation. These inquiries beg two central questions: Do teachers’ informal learning profiles change, and if so what contributes to those changes? How can teachers productively and satisfyingly learn from and about their practice? Pursuing these lines of inquiry could provide the knowledge necessary to assist teachers in becoming life-long learners and achieving higher quality in their professional performance. These investigations could also be tied to inquiries into relationships between teacher learning and student achievement. Do particular teacher learning profiles associate with particular kinds of student learning, and how are they mediated

Applying Toulmin: Teaching Logical Reasoning and Argumentative Writing

To learn to write well-reasoned persuasive arguments, students need in situ help thinking through the complexity and complications of an issue, making inferences based on evidence, and hierarchically grouping and logically sequencing ideas. They rely on teachers to make this happen. In this article, the authors explain the framework they used and describe how they taught reasoning to students at an alternative high school, where they recorded what happened

A Review of Discourse Analysis in Literacy Research: Equitable Access

This review represents research employing discourse analysis conducted by scholars interested in literacy issues in education across the age span—preschool to adult—during the last 10 years. Drawing from more than 300 studies, we discerned that a common theme was understanding how the literacy education of all students can be successfully accomplished. We organized the review into two complementary sections. The first section highlights discourse analytic approaches taken to investigate: Whose literacies count? Which literacies count? The second section explains the contributions the studies made organized according to five questions: What are literate identities, how are they constructed, and by whom? How are disciplinary knowledges, discourses, and identities constructed? How can schools provide students with access to school‐based literacies? What are the shifting roles of literacy teachers and learners within and outside of school? How does discourse analysis research address movement within and across literacy sites and practices in a contemporary, globalized, and increasingly digitally influenced world? تلخيص البحث: تمثل هذه المراجعة الأبحاث التي يوجد فيها تحليل الخطاب الذي قام به الباحثون المهتمون بشؤون تعلم القراءة والكتابة في التعليم عبر الأعمار—من الروضة حتى بالغ سن الرشد—في السنوات العشرة الماضية. لقد حددنا موضوعاً مشتركاً من استجماع أكثر من 300 دراسة وهو الطريقة التي قد يتم فيها تعليم القراءة والكتابة لجميع الطلاب بالنجاح. وقد نظمنا المراجعة في قسمين متكاملين الأول يسلط الضوء على طرق الخطاب التحليلية المأخوذة للتحقيق في: لمن معارف القراءة والكتابة التي نحتاج إلى أخذها بعين الاعتبار؟ وأية معارف من هذه يجب الأخذ في الحسبان؟ والقسم الثاني يشرح مساهمات الدراسات المندرجة تحت الأصناف المبنية على خمسة أسئلة: ما هي هويات معرفة القراءة والكتابة وكيف يتم تشكيلها ومن يشكلها؟ وكيف يتم تشكيل المعارف الدراسية والخطابية والهوية؟ وكيف تستطيع المدارس أن توفر الطلاب بوسيلة للمعارف القائمة في المدرسة؟ ما هي الأدوار المتغيرة لمعلمي القراءة والكتابة وطلابهم داخل المدرسة وخارجها؟ وكيف يعالج التحليل الخطابي الحركات في مواقع القراءة والكتابة وعبرها وكذلك الممارسات التي تتم في عالم معاصر عولمي فيه يزداد التأثير الرقمي؟ 本文旨在阐述过去10年期间，学者致力于不同学龄（由学前以至成人）的读写教育问题研究时所使用的语篇分析方法。作者从300多个研究里整理出一个共通的主题，就是去理解如何使到所有学生的读写教育取得成功。本文献综述是由两个互补的章节组成。第一节重点介绍研究调查所采用的两个语篇分析的处理方法：是谁的读写文化有重要意义？哪些读写文化有重要意义？第二节根据五个问题来阐釋这些研究的贡献：1.有读写文化的人的身份认同，所指的是什么？是怎样建构而成的？由谁所建构而成的？2.各种学科知识、话语及身份认同是如何建构而成的？3.学校如何为学生提供获取校本读写文化知识的门路？4.读写教学教师与学生在校内及校外在角色上有什么转移？5.在当前全球化和日益受数码化影响的世界中，语篇分析研究如何处理流动于各种写文化网站以内及之间的文化信息及各种文化实践的问题？ Cet état de la question présente l'analyse du discours dans les recherches des chercheurs qui s'intéressent aux questions de littératie en éducation— du niveau préscolaire à l'adulte — au cours des dix dernières années. En nous basant sur plus de 300 études, une préoccupation commune nous est apparue qui est de comprendre comment l'enseignement de la littératie peut permettre à tous les élèves de réussir. Nous avons organisé l'état de la question en deux parties complémentaires. La première partie s'intéresse au discours des approches analytiques réalisées pour étudier les questions suivantes: prendre en compte les littératies de qui ? prendre en compte quelles littératies? La seconde partie explique ce qu'ont apporté les études effectuées en réponse à cinq questions: que sont les identités lettrées ? comment sont‐elles construites, et par qui ? Comment sont construits les avoirs disciplinaires, les discours, et les identités ? Comment les écoles fournissent‐elles aux élèves un accès aux littératies basées sur l'école ? Quels sont les changements de rôles des professeurs de littératie et des apprenants dans l'école et hors de celle‐ci ? Comment le discours de la recherche analysé prend‐il en compte le mouvement au sein et au travers des sites de littératie et des pratiques dans un monde contemporain globalisé et de plus en plus influencé par l'informatique. В этом обзоре представлены исследования, проведенные на протяжении последних десяти лет с помощью дискурс‐анализа и посвященные проблемам развития грамотности людей разного возраста – от дошкольников до взрослых. Общая тема для более чем трехсот рассмотренных авторами источников: как добиться успеха в становлении грамотности? Обзор состоит из двух взаимодополняющих разделов. В первом описаны подходы к анализу дискурса, которые помогают понять, что принимается за образцы грамотности и кто может им соответствовать. Во втором разделе результаты исследований рассмотрены согласно пяти категориям: Как человек осознает себя в плане грамотности, на чем и кем строится эта идентичность? Как конструируется предметное или дисциплинарное знание, дискурс и идентичность? Как может школа дать учащимся доступ к школьной академической грамотности? В чем состоят и как меняются роли преподавателей грамотности и учащихся в стенах школы и за ее пределами? Как исследования дискурс‐анализа отражают перемещения участников дискурса в реальном и виртуальном пространстве в современном глобализированном мире? Este repaso presenta investigación que ha sido llevada a cabo usando análisis del discurso por estudiosos interesados en cuestiones de alfabetización en la educación a todas las edades—preescolar hasta adulto—en los últimos diez años. Al examinar más de 300 estudios, vimos que un tema común es el de entender cómo lograr exitosamente la educación de competencias de todos los estudiantes. Organizamos el repaso en dos secciones complementarias. Enfocamos la primera en los acercamientos analíticos del discurso que se han usado para investigar: ¿Cuáles competencias cuentan o valen? ¿Las competencias de quiénes cuentan o valen? La segunda sección explica las contribuciones que hicieron los estudios organizadas de acuerdo a cinco temas: ¿Qué son identidades competentes, cómo se construyen, y por quiénes? ¿Cómo se construyen el conocimiento, el discurso y las identidades de las disciplinas? ¿Cómo pueden las escuelas darles acceso a los estudiantes a las competencias basadas en la escuela? ¿Cuáles son los papeles cambiantes de los maestros y los estudiantes de competencias dentro y fuera de la escuela? ¿Cómo plantea la investigación del análisis del discurso el movimiento dentro y a través de los sitios de competencias y prácticas en este mundo contemporáneo, globalizado y digital?Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/88086/1/RRQ.45.1.5.pd

Judy Constructs A Genuine Question: A Case For Interactional Inclusion

This case study offers teachers and teacher educators a sociocultural view of inclusion, showing how it was accomplished for a student who had long been segregated in special education classrooms. Judy, a student classified as learning disabled, participated and learned in collaboration with her peers in a diverse classroom environment. Through close analysis of segments of instructional discourse, the study illustrates how her general education teacher enacted interactional inclusiona. By making particular discourse moves, he supported the building of an inclusional culture that repositioned Judy and her classmates. She achieved social affiliation and academic success, without limiting other students' learning opportunities. The study provides guidelines for the implementation of classroom inclusive practices suggested by this profile; offers evidence of the benefits of this kind of research; and, argues for why we need more of it

Computed tomographic colonography: assessment of radiologist performance with and without computer-aided detection

BACKGROUND & AIMS: In isolation, computer-aided detection (CAD) for computed tomographic (CT) colonography is as effective as optical colonoscopy for detection of significant adenomas. However, the unavoidable interaction between CAD and the reader has not been addressed. METHODS: Ten readers trained in CT but without special expertise in colonography interpreted CT colonography images of 107 patients (60 with 142 polyps), first without CAD and then with CAD after temporal separation of 2 months. Per-patient and per-polyp detection were determined by comparing responses with known patient status. RESULTS: With CAD, 41 (68%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 55%-80%) of the 60 patients with polyps were identified more frequently by readers. Per-patient sensitivity increased significantly in 70% of readers, while specificity dropped significantly in only one. Polyp detection increased significantly with CAD; on average, 12 more polyps were detected by each reader (9.1%, 95% CI, 5.2%-12.8%). Small- ( or =10 mm and 24 (38.2%) > or =6 mm. Interpretation time was shortened significantly with CAD: by 1.9 minutes (95% CI, 1.4-2.4 minutes) for patients with polyps and by 2.9 minutes (95% CI, 2.5-3.3 minutes) for patients without. Overall, 9 readers (90%) benefited significantly from CAD, either by increased sensitivity and/or by reduced interpretation time. CONCLUSIONS: CAD for CT colonography significantly increases per-patient and per-polyp detection and significantly reduces interpretation times but cannot substitute for adequate training