Living Through Literacy Experiences Versus Literacy Analysis: Examining Stance in Children\u27s Response to Literature

In her transactional theory of reader-response, Rosenblatt (1978) has hypothesized that a reader\u27s stance, or focus of attention when approaching literature affects the individual\u27s reaction to and understanding of a work. An efferent stance indicates the reader\u27s attention is focused on the information to be learned and can lead to a study of the text. From an aesthetic stance, on the other hand, the reader\u27s focus is upon the lived-through literary experiencce and the experiences, thoughts, feelings, images, and associations which are evoked

Understanding Literacy Teacher Educators’ Use of Scaffolding

This inquiry examined four literacy teacher educators’ perspectives and practices as related to scaffolding by using document analysis (i.e. syllabus), observations, and interviews. Findings indicated these teacher educators used scaffolding to develop preservice teachers’ dispositions, strategies, and conceptual understandings. Faculty used scaffolding processes such as modeling, feedback, purposeful structured assignments, discussions, and reflective pieces. Participants’ use of scaffolding varied; with the participant with more years of teacher education experience exhibiting a richer and larger repertoire of scaffolding strategies. Findings also suggested some faculty might be unsure of how to monitor preservice teachers’ growth in order to provide subsequent scaffolding

An Analysis of Children\u27s Responses to Storybook Characters in Non-Traditional Roles

Sex role stereotypes have been investigated in text materials (Rupley, Garcia and Longnion, 1981; Scott and Feldman-Summers, 1979; Taylor, 1973) and in children\u27s literature (Ashby and Wittmaier, 1978; DeLisi and Johns, 1984; Donlan, 1972; Key, 1971; Kropp and Halverson, 1983; Styer, 1975; Weitzman, 1972; Winkeljohann and Gallant, 1980). These studies have examined the stereotypical roles portrayed by male and female characters, in terms of the way the males and females are presented in the material. Findings indicate change in sex roles to be slow; males still tend to be viewed as active and achieving while girls are passive and emotional (Weitzman, 1972, p. 1125). According to social learning theory perspective, such stereotyped views of sex roles are incorporated into a child\u27s repertoire of behaviors. Children selectively imitate what they perceive as culturally designated appropriate sex role behavior (Hartley, 1959; Weitzman, 1972). In support of this theory researchers have also found children exposed to material containing non-traditional roles have been influenced by the stories that they hear (Berg-Cross and Berg-Cross, 1978; Kropp and Halverson, 1983; Litcher and Johnson, 1969; Styer, 1975). In these studies, hearing socially relevant stories containing sex equitable roles, roles which reflect the changing roles for men and women, changed children\u27s attitudes and values toward the character in the non-traditional role. If society has indeed reacted to findings such as these by exposing students to more sexequitable literature and ideas, it may mean that children to day have less sex-typed attitudes and are less likely to find such roles novel. One way of determining if this is the case would be to examine the ways in which children freely respond to such literature

Developing a Sense of Audience: An Examination of One School\u27s Instructional Contexts

The purpose of this naturalistic study was to extend our understanding of the ways in which consideration of audience may be salient in diverse students\u27 and teachers\u27 approaches to literacy. Data related to literacy interactions in one school were collected from the preschool class and three multiage elementary classrooms. Findings indicated that the school\u27s curriculum was developed through a socio-cultural approach with the students involved in constructing meaning of their world through interaction with others, through dialogue about texts, and through involvement in the arts. Within these experiences, students developed a sense of audience awareness and participated as audience members. In the upper grades, two specific instructional contexts, literature circles and project work, involved students in preparing for and communicating to (or communicating with) an audience

Constructing Meaning from Literature: Examining Discourse in Departmentalized, Multidisciplinary, and Interdisciplinary Contexts

This naturalistic study examines the literary discourse which occurred in a sixth-grade language arts classroom within a departmentalized, a multidisciplinary, and then an interdisciplinary context. Audio tapes and accompanying field notes of all literature discussions surrounding three novels served as the primary data source. Secondary data sources included informal and formal interviews with the participants. Using a constant-comparative approach we identified elements of discourse and organized these elements into the following broad themes: 1) the text and the story world; 2) the reader and the story world; and 3) discipline knowledge and the story world. The literary discussions within the three contexts differed in terms of the overall approaches used, the elements which were emphasized, and the students\u27 processes of constructing meaning. In particular the findings raised new questions regarding the use of literature within interdisciplinary units. Integration across the curriculum has often been seen as crucial in helping students overcome the fragmentation that is pervasive in schooling. However, we saw that when the unit topic becomes the force of attention, the literary experience itself can become fragmented. Thus as teachers move to interdisciplinary perspectives, they may wish to monitor their own use of literature and the role literature is to play in the unit

One Urban College of Education\u27s Examination of Graduates’ Employment and Retention in Public Schools

Difficulties in recruiting and retaining well prepared teachers have plagued American urban schools for many years. This study examines the role teacher education can play in preparing teachers for urban schools. The yield rate and retention rates for teachers graduating from one urban college of education show that the mission of the program to prepare educators for the urban settings and a curriculum focused on providing theoretical and practical knowledge, skills and dispositions for instruction in high-needs classrooms has been successful. The yield and four-year retention data for graduates from this program indicate that the components of teacher preparation significantly associated with teacher employment after graduation and retention were: GPA and program major

When the Zone of Proximal Development Becomes a Virtual Zone: An Examination of Scaffolded Instruction in an Online Literacy Course

This qualitative inquiry described the scaffolding provided by the instructor and class participants in an online graduate literacy course. Participants included the instructor and 16 students. Data were 588 bulletin board messages which were analyzed using the constant-comparative method. Analysis revealed five areas in which scaffolding occurred (a) technology, (b) assignments, (c) online processes, (d) literacy concepts, and (e) educational concepts. Through on-line conversations in this course, a community was established allowing the instructor and participants to provide support by scaffolding instruction at the point of need

Age Level Differences in Children\u27s Use of an Aesthetic Stance When Responding to Literature.

The primary purpose of this study was to explore the effects of the use of the aesthetic and efferent stances in response to literature. Subjects included 43 fourth graders, 47 sixth graders, and 40 eighth graders who were reading on-grade level or above. All subjects read the same three short stories, completed written free responses to each, and rated the stories. Responses were analyzed for reader stance, level of understanding reached, and the elements of the responses in terms of content categories. Two-way analysis of variances revealed significant main effects for stance and grade on the dependent variable, level of understanding for all three short stories. The use of an aesthetic stance, where readers focused on the lived-through experience of the work, was associated with significantly higher levels of personal understanding. Level of understanding was also found to increase with grade level. No interaction effects were found between grade and stance, indicating the influence of stance on subjects\u27 ability to reach higher levels of personal understanding is not related to the grade of the subject. Story rating was found to be primarily text specific, but fourth graders did tend to rate stories higher and sixth graders lower than eighth graders. In terms of the elements of their responses, fourth graders spent more time recalling story events than did sixth or eighth graders. Sixth graders were more likely to make connections between the story and previous literary or life experiences. The tendency to include interpretive responses increased with grade level. The results of this study offered empirical support for the use of reader-response based teaching at the elementary and middle school levels

Gender, Epistemology, and Education: An Exploration of the Knowledge Construction of Female and Male Pupils

This study explores gender differences in the knowledge constructed about World War II by 11- and 12-year-old Scottish pupils. Data collected over seven months included field notes, interviews, students\u27 reading and writing, and audiotapes of discussions. Examination revealed the young women\u27s work showcased individuals while the young men framed World War II information using a world view. The findings illustrate the epistemological differences that can exist between our male and female students as they construct their own understanding of topics