Showing papers in "Elementary School Journal in 2013"
TL;DR: Teaching through Interactions posits that teacher- student interactions are a central driver for student learning and organizes teacher-student interactions into three major domains, and provides evidence that the three-domain structure is the best-fitting model across multiple data sets.
Abstract: This is a copy of an article published in the Elementary School Journal © 2013 University of Chicago Press. The final publication is available at University of Chicago Press.
406 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a study of one school system's efforts to redesign its infrastructure for mathematics instruction by promoting teacher leadership was conducted using social network and interview data from 12 elementary schools, finding that teacher leaders emerged as central actors and brokers of advice and information about mathematics within and between schools.
Abstract: Designing infrastructures to support instruction remains a challenge in educational reform. This article reports on a study of one school system's efforts to redesign its infrastructure for mathematics instruction by promoting teacher leadership. Using social network and interview data from 12 elementary schools, we explore how the district's infrastructure redesign efforts were internally coherent with and built upon existing infrastructure components. We then explore relations between infrastructure and school practice as captured in the instructional advice- and information-seeking interactions among school staff, finding that teacher leaders emerged as central actors and brokers of advice and information about mathematics within and between schools. Further, changes in school advice and information networks were associated with shifts in teachers' beliefs about and practices in mathematics toward inquiry-oriented approaches consistent with district curriculum. We argue that the district's rede...
101 citations
TL;DR: The authors assesses the multidimensional, multilevel nature of PLCs using data from 992 teachers from 76 Dutch elementary schools and finds that professional learning communities within elementary schools can be conceptualized and assessed by three strongly interconnected capacities that are represented by 8 underlying dimensions.
Abstract: Despite the popularity of professional learning communities (PLCs) among researchers, practitioners, and educational policy makers, studies on PLCs differ significantly on the dimensions and capacities used to conceptualize them. Further, the interrelatedness of different dimensions and capacities within PLCs is not often well conceived nor examined in terms of learning at multiple (individual, team, school) levels. In an effort to address this gap, this study assesses the multidimensional, multilevel nature of PLCs using data from 992 teachers from 76 Dutch elementary schools. Findings indicate that professional learning communities within elementary schools can be conceptualized and assessed by 3 strongly interconnected capacities that are represented by 8 underlying dimensions. This conceptual structure empirically emerged as equivalent at both the teacher and school levels. By providing increased insight into the multidimensional, multilevel nature of the concept of PLCs, this article aims to add conceptual clarity to the study of PLCs in elementary education.
94 citations
TL;DR: The authors examined the one-on-one coaching interactions of four elementary coach/teacher dyads and found that teachers were aware of different coaching models and varied their coaching to fit each situation.
Abstract: Although coaching is used in many schools to facilitate teachers' professional learning, few studies look closely at coaching discourse. Exploring how coaching facilitates teachers' professional development, this study used tape-recorded coaching sessions and individual postinterviews to examine the one-on-one coaching interactions of 4 elementary coach/teacher dyads. An interpretive analysis was conducted on all data followed by a structural discourse analysis of coaching episodes. Coaching roles, relationships, and mandated testing emerged as influential contextual factors. These coaches affirmed teachers, but tended to dominate the talk. Two coaches were aware of different coaching models and varied their coaching to fit each situation. Three teachers ascribed changes in their instruction to their literacy coaches, suggesting that coaching can lead to teacher learning. However, coaches need to become more knowledgeable about and skillful in their use of verbal moves and coaching stances.
83 citations
TL;DR: This paper examined potential links among parents' role beliefs for involvement and social-contextual variables contributing to its development, and found that parents' perceptions of student invitations to involvement, school expectations of involvement, and school climate had the largest effects on their role beliefs.
Abstract: This study examined potential links among parents' role beliefs for involvement and social-contextual variables contributing to its development. A sample of parents from two Title I middle schools responded to surveys assessing their perceptions of student and teacher invitations to involvement, school expectations of involvement, school climate, childhood schooling experiences, and their role beliefs. Parents' perceptions of student invitations to involvement, school expectations of involvement, and school climate had the largest effects on parents' role beliefs in one school, while school climate was the sole predictor of parents' role beliefs in the other. Teachers' invitations to involvement were not directly related to role beliefs in either school. Differences between schools are discussed in relation to social and cultural capital.
80 citations
TL;DR: This article examined the relationship between parent involvement and kindergarten students' behavior problems in classrooms with varying levels of teacher emotional support and found that greater communication between home and school was related to higher levels of behavior problems.
Abstract: We examined relations between parent involvement and kindergarten students' behavior problems in classrooms with varying levels of teacher emotional support. Multi-informant data were collected on n = 255 low-income Black and Hispanic students, and n = 60 kindergarten classrooms in the baseline year of an intervention trial. Hierarchical linear models revealed a moderated negative effect between parents' home-school communication and teacher emotional support on student behavior problems in kindergarten, as well as negative associations between school-based involvement and behavior problems. For children in classrooms with less teacher emotional support, greater communication between home and school was related to higher levels of behavior problems. Among children in classrooms with more teacher emotional support, this negative relationship was attenuated. Results illuminate the need to consider parent involvement within the context of classroom practices.
59 citations
TL;DR: The authors compared the effects of tutoring intervention on the mathematics outcomes of third-grade students at risk for mathematics difficulties (MD) who were randomly assigned to either a schema-based instruction (SBI) or control group.
Abstract: This study compared the effects of delivering a supplemental, small-group tutoring intervention on the mathematics outcomes of third-grade students at risk for mathematics difficulties (MD) who were randomly assigned to either a schema-based instruction (SBI) or control group. SBI emphasized the underlying mathematical structure of additive problems. All students at risk for MD identified through screening received a mathematics intervention in groups of 2–4 for 12 weeks across the school year. Results revealed that students in the SBI group outperformed students in the control group on a word problem solving (WPS) posttest (g = 0.46). The effect of SBI proved to be equivalent for students in both high and low at-risk subgroups. On a district-administered mathematics achievement test, SBI students scored significantly higher than control students (g = 0.34); however, there were no significant effects on the WPS retention test (8 weeks later).
53 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors describe an evaluation of a read-a-thon intervention to improve comprehension and vocabulary of first-grade students in a 19-week period. But they did not evaluate the performance of the intervention on some, but not all, outcome measures.
Abstract: This study describes an evaluation of a read aloud intervention to improve comprehension and vocabulary of first-grade students. Twelve teachers were randomly assigned to an intervention or comparison condition. The study lasted 19 weeks, and the intervention focused on the systematic use of narrative and expository texts and dialogic interactions between teachers and students delivered in whole-classroom formats. Read aloud intervention lessons included before-, during-, and after-reading components and explicit instruction targeted comprehension and vocabulary knowledge. Teachers in the comparison condition implemented the same amount of read aloud instruction, focusing on strategies they believed would help their students with comprehension and vocabulary. On some, but not all, outcome measures, intervention students at low risk and high risk for language difficulties outperformed comparable students in the comparison group. Implications are discussed.
50 citations
TL;DR: This article found that students' knowledge about substantive writing processes predicted how much they knew about each type of writing after gender, writing achievement, and emphasis on production procedures during writing were firs...
Abstract: The purpose of this study was to determine what students know about the process of writing and the characteristics of stories, persuasive arguments, and informational reports. Participants were 50 grade 5 students. Students responded to questions about writing process and the three different types of writing, and showed a nuanced but relatively unsophisticated understanding of the processes underlying writing and the characteristics of three types of writing. Most of their responses centered on procedures for writing and drafting texts as well as obtaining and organizing information for writing. They described each writing genre by referring to elements specific to it, but these descriptions were not complete for any of the three types of writing. Results of regression analyses revealed that students' knowledge about substantive writing processes predicted how much they knew about each type of writing after gender, writing achievement, and emphasis on production procedures during writing were firs...
45 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors revisited the trust effect on student achievement in urban elementary schools and found that students with a stronger culture of trust also had more self-regulated learning.
Abstract: More than a decade after Goddard, Tschannen-Moran, and Hoy (2001) found that collective faculty trust in clients predicts student achievement in urban elementary schools, we sought to identify a plausible link for this relationship. Our purpose in revisiting the trust effect was twofold: (1) to test the main effect of collective faculty trust on student achievement after controlling for free and reduced-price lunch and prior achievement, and (2) to determine if self-regulated learning mediates the collective trust-achievement relationship. Data were collected from 1,039 teachers and 1,648 students in 56 urban elementary schools. Results confirmed the hypothesized main effect of collective faculty trust and the hypothesized mediating effect of self-regulated learning. Mean math and reading achievement were higher in schools with a stronger culture of collective faculty trust. Schools with a stronger culture of trust also had students with more self-regulated learning.
43 citations
TL;DR: The authors developed a response-to-text assessment (RTA) to measure students' ability to write analytically in response to text and whether measures of teaching predicted this variation.
Abstract: Despite the importance of writing analytically in response to texts, there are few assessments measuring students' mastery of this skill. This manuscript describes the development of a response-to-text assessment (RTA) intended for use in research. In a subsequent validity investigation we examined whether the RTA distinguished among classrooms in students' ability to write analytically in response to text and whether measures of teaching predicted this variation. We demonstrate that the RTA was correlated with the state standardized assessment, but did not overlap with this accountability test completely and, additionally, that more variation between classrooms existed on the RTA. Students' opportunities for reasoning and extended writing in the classroom were significantly associated with RTA scores. The findings suggest that the RTA can be a valuable tool for conducting research on students' attainment of analytic writing skills and for understanding how teaching relates to student achievement ...
TL;DR: In this article, the effects of principal leadership on students' achievement growth in mathematics over a period of 6 years were investigated and it was shown that the impact of principal's leadership on student's achievement growth is mediated by teacher collaboration and collective efficacy.
Abstract: In both the school effectiveness and the educational administration literature, growing attention has been paid to the extent of principal leadership effects and the means by which they affect school performance. The main goal of this study is to estimate the effects of principal leadership on students' achievement growth in mathematics over a period of 6 years. Results from multilevel latent growth show that the impact of principal leadership on students' achievement growth is mediated by teacher collaboration and collective efficacy.
TL;DR: This article investigated elementary teachers' use of science curriculum materials to engage students in the scientific practice of comparing and evaluating evidence-based explanations, and found that the comparison and evaluation of explanations was the least-emphasized feature of inquiry in these teachers' planned and enacted science instruction.
Abstract: Previous research suggests that elementary teachers vary in their enactment of science curriculum materials and may not always engage students in substantive sense making. This mixed-methods study investigates elementary teachers' use of science curriculum materials to engage students in the scientific practice of comparing and evaluating evidence-based explanations. We asked (1) How do in-service elementary teachers use existing science curriculum materials to engage students in comparing and evaluating evidence-based explanations? and (2) What do their instructional design practices reveal about their pedagogical reasoning for engaging students in comparing and evaluating evidence-based explanations? Our results suggest that comparing and evaluating explanations was the least-emphasized feature of inquiry in these teachers' planned and enacted science instruction. Though the teachers made small adjustments that better engaged students in the practice, their curriculum materials and ideas about c...
TL;DR: This article examined the extent to which commonly used core reading curricular materials supported research-based pedagogical features for oral vocabulary instruction in kindergarten and found that instruction in the kindergarten core curricula does not reflect the current research base for vocabulary development and may not be systematic enough to influence children's...
Abstract: The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which commonly used core reading curricular materials supported research-based pedagogical features for oral vocabulary instruction in kindergarten. A document analysis was completed for 12 weeks of instructional materials from the teacher's editions of the 4 most widely used curricula. Results indicated disparities across curricula in the number of words addressed, ranging from 2 to 20 words identified for instruction per week. Organizing principles for word selection were unclear for 3 of the 4 curricula, and many target vocabulary words were rated as too easy or basic for school-based instruction. Programs differed greatly in the frequency of instructional practices provided to support teachers and in their application of an instructional regime. These results suggest that instruction in kindergarten core curricula does not reflect the current research base for vocabulary development and may not be systematic enough to influence children's ...
TL;DR: The authors explored a group of elementary teachers' learning to construct high-quality lesson plans that foster student understanding of fundamental mathematical ideas, including interweaving worked examples and practice problems, connecting concrete and abstract representations, and asking deep questions to elicit student self-explanations.
Abstract: This study explored a group of elementary teachers' (n = 35) learning to construct high-quality lesson plans that foster student understanding of fundamental mathematical ideas. The conceptual framework for this study was gleaned from the recently released Institute of Education Sciences (IES) recommendations, including (a) interweaving worked examples and practice problems, (b) connecting concrete and abstract representations, and (c) asking deep questions to elicit student self-explanations. Comparisons between teachers' pre- and postsurveys, and among teachers' initial, revised, and end-of-course lesson plans, indicated teachers' growth in using worked examples, representations, and deep questions during their lesson planning. Issues related to teachers' learning as they constructed lesson plans that aligned with the IES recommendations were also revealed.
Abstract: This study was designed to experimentally examine how supplemental vocabulary instruction provided in either whole-group or small-group settings influences low-income preschoolers' word knowledge and conceptual development. Using a within-subject design, 108 preschool children from 12 Head Start classrooms participated in an 8-week intervention, which included four topics of targeted vocabulary instruction counterbalanced in either a whole-group or small-group configuration. Pre- and posttest measures examined children's outcomes in word learning and in conceptual and categorical knowledge. Our results indicated that group size did not appear to be a powerful mechanism for intensifying instruction. Although children gained significantly in word knowledge, concepts, and categories, they did so regardless of whether they were in small or whole groups. Implications for these findings, as well as limitations of the research and directions for future research, are discussed.
TL;DR: This paper conducted focus groups with 17 elementary students and 6 elementary school teachers to ascertain their perceptions of caring in teacher-student relationships and found that three primary categories that students and teachers found important in demonstrating caring: meeting physical needs, fostering emotional well-being, and providing strategic assistance.
Abstract: In the current elementary school environment of increased academic and administrative demands on schools and teachers, it has become increasingly challenging to maintain the personal teacher-student relationships that form the basis for learning. In this qualitative study, we conducted focus groups with 17 elementary students and 6 elementary school teachers to ascertain their perceptions of caring in teacher-student relationships. The degree of similarity and dissimilarity between teacher and student perceptions of care was also examined. Our findings suggest three primary categories that students and teachers found important in demonstrating caring: meeting physical needs, fostering emotional well-being, and providing strategic assistance. Two areas of dissimilarity in defining care identified were keeping children safe and supporting children's academic work as caring. The developmental level of participants appeared to influence their perceptions of caring. Stressors and challenges to fosterin...
TL;DR: This paper analyzed children's generalized perceptions of teacher interpersonal behavior in terms of two dimensions, control and affiliation, referring to the degree of teacher leadership/management and teacher friendliness/cooperation in the classroom, respectively.
Abstract: This study analyzed children's generalized perceptions of teacher interpersonal behavior in terms of two dimensions, control and affiliation, referring to the degree of teacher leadership/management and teacher friendliness/cooperation in the classroom, respectively. An adapted version of the Questionnaire on Teacher Interaction was developed for children ages 6–9. The association between teacher interpersonal behavior and mathematics achievement was investigated by analyzing data from 828 first and second graders in 40 classes across 24 primary schools in the Netherlands. Results revealed the presence of the two interpersonal dimensions with acceptable reliability. Multilevel regression analyses indicated that teacher control and affiliation were positively associated with mathematics achievement, after controlling for mid-year achievement. Control and affiliation each had a partially unique contribution. A differential role of affiliation, but not of control, was found across classes. Our result...
TL;DR: In this article, the impact of the Responsive Classroom (RC) approach and use of RC practices on the use of standards-based mathematics teaching practices was investigated in third-grade classrooms.
Abstract: This study highlights the connections between two facets of teachers' skills—those supporting teachers' mathematical instructional interactions and those underlying social interactions within the classroom. The impact of the Responsive Classroom (RC) approach and use of RC practices on the use of standards-based mathematics teaching practices was investigated in third-grade classrooms. Eighty-eight third-grade teachers from 24 elementary schools in a large suburban district were selected from a sample of teachers participating in a larger randomized-control study. Results showed that teachers at schools assigned randomly to receive training in the RC approach showed higher use of standards-based mathematics teaching practices than teachers in control schools. These findings were supported by analyses using fidelity of implementation: greater adherence to the intervention predicted the use of more standards-based mathematics teaching practices. Findings support the use of the RC approach for creati...
TL;DR: In this article, a comparative analysis that examined several mathematical content strands, reasoning processes, and emphasis on technology in prior K-8 state mathematics standards and the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM) was performed.
Abstract: This article reports the findings from a comparative analysis that examined several mathematical content strands, reasoning processes, and emphasis on technology in prior K–8 state mathematics standards and the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM). Various methodological tools were utilized to compare and contrast CCSSM with prior state standards. Results suggest four primary types of shifts in CCSSM when compared to prior state standards: (1) changes in grade level(s) at which some mathematical content is taught, (2) changes in the number of grade levels in which particular mathematical topics appear, (3) changes in emphasis (increased/decreased) on particular mathematical topics, and (4) changes in the nature and level of reasoning expectations.
TL;DR: This paper examined elementary school teachers' knowledge of their legislative and policy-based reporting duties with respect to child sexual abuse, and found that teachers with higher levels of knowledge had a combination of pre- and in-service training about childsexual abuse and more positive attitudes toward reporting.
Abstract: This study examined elementary school teachers' knowledge of their legislative and policy-based reporting duties with respect to child sexual abuse. Data were collected from 470 elementary school teachers from urban and rural government and nongovernment schools in 3 Australian states, which at the time of the study had 3 different legislative reporting duties for teachers. Teachers completed the 8-part Teacher Reporting Questionnaire (TRQ). Multinomial logistic regression analysis was used to determine factors associated with (a) teachers' legislation knowledge and (b) teachers' policy knowledge. Teachers with higher levels of knowledge had a combination of pre- and in-service training about child sexual abuse and more positive attitudes toward reporting, held administration positions in their school, and had reported child sexual abuse at least once during their teaching career. They were also more likely to work in the state with the strongest legislative reporting duty, which had been in place...
TL;DR: This paper investigated the relationship between poverty status, mathematics achievement gains, and behavioral engagement in learning over kindergarten and found that exposing poor and low-income students to higher classroom behavioral engagement could play a substantial role in equalizing mathematics gains.
Abstract: Multilevel modeling was used to investigate the relationship between poverty status, mathematics achievement gains, and behavioral engagement in learning over kindergarten. Data included information on 11,680 poor, low-income, and non-poor kindergartners from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study—Kindergarten Cohort of 1998–1999 (ECLS-K). Results show that accounting for teachers' reports of non-poor students' higher behavioral engagement (e.g., attentiveness, task persistence) explains the disparity in mathematics gains between poor and non-poor students over kindergarten. Furthermore, results suggest that exposing poor and low-income students to higher classroom behavioral engagement could play a substantial role in equalizing mathematics gains. Given these findings, strategies designed at narrowing economic disparities in early mathematics achievement should take into consideration the impact of behavioral engagement at the intrapersonal and contextual levels.
TL;DR: In this article, a cross-case analysis of two fourth grade teachers' instruction while preparing their students for an English language arts test is presented, focusing on the theme of standardization.
Abstract: This article presents a cross-case analysis of two fourth-grade teachers' instruction while preparing their students for an English language arts test. Both teachers taught in high-needs urban public schools and were identified as effective teachers of balanced literacy through a multiple nomination process. This article uses situated literacy theory to consider the research question, How did the localized contexts influence both teachers' instruction during test prep? The author focuses on the theme of standardization, which emerged from the cross-case analysis, and presents findings in four categories: (a) classroom conditions, (b) test materials, (c) test administration, and (d) test results. Findings show key distinctions in the localized contexts that directly influenced both teachers' test prep. These distinctions challenge the construct of standardization that constitutes high-stakes tests and provide a far more complex view of school contexts that terms such as “urban, high-needs” conflate, with implications for research and policy.
TL;DR: In this article, a school district adopted K-PALS, a scientifically-based, class-wide peer-tutoring program for reading, and assigned sixteen new teachers to receive ongoing support from a university expert or from experienced teachers within the district.
Abstract: In this study, a school district adopted Kindergarten Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies (K-PALS), a scientifically based, class-wide peer-tutoring program for reading. Sixteen new K-PALS teachers were assigned randomly to receive ongoing support from a university expert or from experienced K-PALS teachers within the district. K-PALS teachers who received university support implemented K-PALS with somewhat higher (d = .41), but not reliably different, fidelity compared to those who received district support. K-PALS teachers' student reading outcomes did not differ significantly based on whether they received university or district support. However, K-PALS teachers' students reliably outperformed historical controls on beginning reading measures (d = .24 to 1.29). Implications for further research and for schools' adoption of K-PALS are discussed.