The Literacy Groups Project: Investigating the Use of Reading Recovery Techniques with Small Groups of Grade 2 Students

The two-year Literacy Groups Project provides evidence that grade 2 students can be helped to attain average grade-cohort reading levels by the use of a small-group pull-out program if certain criteria are met. Students were tested using running records at the beginning and end of the study to provide data for quantitative comparison. Additional context was provided by videotaping lessons and interviewing teachers. Major changes took place from the first disappointing year of the project to the second more successful year. First, students were assigned to groups according to a narrow range of Reading Recovery reading levels rather than being randomly placed. Second, the material was found to support fully even highly trained and experienced teachers newly engaged in adapting Reading Recovery techniques to effect accelerated learning in a small-group setting, rather than expecting teachers to follow general program guidelines. In this case, while they were supported in their beliefs about how best to help struggling readers, resource teachers were provided with a commercial reading program, with lesson ideas and multiple copies of leveled student reading materials.Le projet sur deux ans de « Literacy Groups Project » (une initiative d'alphabétisation) démontre qu'un programme impliquant un nombre peu élève d'élèves retires du groupe peut aider certains à atteindre un niveau de compétence en lecture qui représente la moyenne de la cohorte, en autant que certains critères soient respectes. Des données pour une comparaison quantitative ont été obtenues par réévaluation des élèves au début et à la fin de I 'étude. Des enregistrements de leçons et des entrevues avec les enseignantes ont fourni d'autres données. Entre la première année du projet, plutôt décevante, et la deuxième année plus réussie, des changements importants ont eu lieu. D'abord, plutôt que des distribuer les élèves en groupes au hasard, on les a divise en groupes homogènes selon leur capacité de lecture selon les niveaux de Reading Recovery. Deuxièmement, le programme s’est avère très utile mime pour les enseignants tres qualifies et expérimentes qui adaptaient les techniques de Reading Recovery pour accélérer l'apprentissage de la lecture dans de petits groupes. Cette marge de manœuvre libérait les enseignants de l'obligation de suivre les lignes directrices du programme. Ainsi, on appuyait les enseignants dans leurs croyances quant a la meilleure façon d'aider les élèves qui éprouvent de la difficulté à apprendre à lire, tout en leur fournissant un programme de lecture commercial avec des suggestions de leçons et plusieurs copies de matériel pédagogique de divers niveaux pour faire lire les élèves

Exploring the Borderlands between Media and Health: Conceptualizing ‘Critical Media Health Literacy’

In Canada, as elsewhere, there is considerable concern about adolescents’ health. Much of the blame is thought to lie in the social context for today’s adolescents and their interaction with and dependence on various media. Yet, it is not clear whether and how adolescents learn to engage critically with media messages about health. Emerging from the authors’ previous work in conceptualizing and measuring adolescent health literacy, this article presents the results of a conceptual analysis process using the terms health literacy, critical health literacy, media literacy, critical media literacy, media activism, and critical viewing among others—to arrive at the unique construct of critical media health literacy (CMHL)

Empowering Indigenous Learners through the Creation of Graphic Novels

In this paper, we examine how Indigenous and non-Indigenous adolescents identify media influences as health/wellness related. We conducted research over a six-week period in two alternative high school settings: a culture-based Indigenous education program at one school and an arts-based program at another school, both in the same small, Western Canadian city. We taught students from both programs the principles of critical media health literacy. Small groups of students from the Indigenous program wrote narratives. Then small groups of Indigenous and non-Indigenous students in an arts-based education program converted these stories into graphic novel/comic book format. Findings indicated a broad range of health/wellness topics discussed, media stereotypes challenged, and varying levels of comprehension about media’s impact on health. These levels ranged from misunderstanding or confusion through developing general understanding and, at the highest level, specific understanding

Puppets on a String? How Young Adolescents Explore Gender and Health in Advertising

This article presents qualitative research on young adolescents’ abilities in communicating and evaluating health messages in advertising especially how they understand and create gendered identities. A group of grade 6-8 students learned about media techniques and movie making. In groups divided by gender, they created iMovie advertisements for health activities in their school. They represented themselves in these advertisements by creating stick puppets. Observations during lessons, examination of movies and puppets, and interviews with students and their teacher revealed that young adolescents were neither completely manipulated by media nor were they completely in charge of their responses to media’s messages about gender. Offering students an opportunity to de-brief media experiences also helped them to develop critical media health literacy

Through a Class Darkly: Visual Literacy in the Classroom

“Viewing and Representing in the Middle Years” was a two-year project to investigate visual literacy in the English language arts classrooms of three teachers. These teachers tried a variety of approaches and were generally optimistic about the benefits of the increased inclusion of visual materials. They did, however, report a number of challenges in using viewing and representing approaches as part of their curriculum. Teachers’ previous experiences influenced their implementation of an expanded notion of literacy in English language arts, as did the influence of the university-based researcher conducting this investigation. L’article porte sur la visualisation et la représentation dans les premières années du secondaire dans les cours d’arts langagiers en anglais. Trois enseignants ont essayé diverses approches. Bien qu’ils voyaient d’un bon œil le fait d’inclure davantage de matériel visuel, ils ont signalé plusieurs difficultés reliées à l’utilisation d’approches de visualisation et de représentation dans leurs programmes. Les expériences antérieures des enseignants, tout comme la présente recherche, ont exercé une influence sur leur façon d’implanter une notion élargie de littératie dans les arts langagiers en anglais.

Through a Class Darkly: Visual Literacy in the Classroom

“Viewing and Representing in the Middle Years” was a two-year project to investigate visual literacy in the English language arts classrooms of three teachers. These teachers tried a variety of approaches and were generally optimistic about the benefits of the increased inclusion of visual materials. They did, however, report a number of challenges in using viewing and representing approaches as part of their curriculum. Teachers’ previous experiences influenced their implementation of an expanded notion of literacy in English language arts, as did the influence of the university-based researcher conducting this investigation. L’article porte sur la visualisation et la représentation dans les premières années du secondaire dans les cours d’arts langagiers en anglais. Trois enseignants ont essayé diverses approches. Bien qu’ils voyaient d’un bon œil le fait d’inclure davantage de matériel visuel, ils ont signalé plusieurs difficultés reliées à l’utilisation d’approches de visualisation et de représentation dans leurs programmes. Les expériences antérieures des enseignants, tout comme la présente recherche, ont exercé une influence sur leur façon d’implanter une notion élargie de littératie dans les arts langagiers en anglais.

Contextual effects in writing arguments: a comparative study of the writing skills of students in grades 10 and 12

Bibliography: p. 100-114

Engagement with text : collaborative writing in a high technology company

Over the past decade, an interest in collaboration has been coming to the fore in composition studies. Whereas once we were primarily interested in investigating the cognitive processes of the individual, we now seek to understand more about the social dynamics of writing in groups to improve our teaching of composition in the classroom. To that end, this dissertation looks at the real world collaborative activities of business proposal writers within a high technology company. Writing in the workplace is often undertaken in groups, and my work at Cerebellum, Inc. with computer professionals (who wrote as part of their jobs) reveals complexities hitherto unsuspected in the social writing process. The importance of a detailed understanding of collaboration has been called for in the literature by, for example, Ede and Lunsford (1990). My dissertation surveys current literature in composition, including a review of investigations into collaboration during business writing as a salient behaviour of such a discourse community. In order to accomplish my research, I used a video camera to record the activities which embodied the writing process at Cerebellum Inc. I found that the use of the video camera in an ethnographic manner not only helped me to gather detailed data, both verbal and nonverbal, in the continuous and comprehensive detail so vital to communication research, but also assisted in initiating better understanding within the business community of the aims and approaches of academic research. Video technology gave me a chance to participate in as well as observe situations, and also opened the door to conversation concerning my methods and my findings with both researchers and informants. I propose a model of the varying levels of engagement undertaken by the writers of a business proposal. I then suggest the educational value of the representation with a discussion of implications for the teaching of writing in the workplace and in more traditional school settings. Detailed research into collaboration offers us a window on the social processes which constitute writing for our students now and in their futures in the workplace. Such work is vitally important to ensuring superior levels of advanced literacy which will be in continuing demand now and in the next century.Education, Faculty ofCurriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department ofGraduat

Reaching Teenagers Where They Are: Best Practices for Girls’ Sexual Health Education

It is well established that girls face an ever-growing list of sexual health challenges. There is a paucity of available literature on ways to reach and teach adolescent girls about sexual health issues and use of health promoting strategies. This article focuses on suggestions for teachers and health care practitioners on developing knowledge competencies, or health literacies, in the area of adolescent girls’ sexual health. We suggest a number of health education practices such as the application of literacy strategies and gender sensitive, developmentally appropriate lesson plans. Instructors, both teachers and health care providers, need also to consider the school or community’s context, curriculum factors and the learning environment. Effective instructional frameworks for lesson planning can help school teachers and health care providers deliver effective sexual health education