Showing papers in "Harvard Educational Review in 2008"

Teaching Disciplinary Literacy to Adolescents: Rethinking Content- Area Literacy

Abstract: In this article, Timothy and Cynthia Shanahan argue that “disciplinary literacy” — advanced literacy instruction embedded within content-area classes such as math, science, and social studies — should be a focus of middle and secondary school settings. Moving beyond the oft-cited “every teacher a teacher of reading” philosophy that has historically frustrated secondary content-area teachers, the Shanahans present data collected during the first two years of a study on disciplinary literacy that reveal how content experts and secondary content teachers read disciplinary texts, make use of comprehension strategies, and subsequently teach those strategies to adolescent readers. Preliminary findings suggest that experts from math, chemistry, and history read their respective texts quite differently; consequently, both the content-area experts and secondary teachers in this study recommend different comprehension strategies for work with adolescents. This study not only has implications for which comprehension strategies might best fit particular disciplinary reading tasks, but also suggests how students may be best prepared for the reading, writing, and thinking required by advanced disciplinary coursework. Reading is commonly viewed as a basic set of skills, widely adaptable and applicable to all kinds of texts and reading situations. Accordingly, in the 1990s, most states took on the challenge of improving young children’s reading skills, assuming that once the basics of literacy were accomplished, students would be well equipped for literacy-related tasks later in life (Blair, 1999). The idea that basic reading skills automatically evolve into more advanced reading skills, and that these basic skills are highly generalizable and adaptable, is partially correct: The basic perceptual and decoding skills that are connected with early

The Complex World of Adolescent Literacy: Myths, Motivations, and Mysteries.

Abstract: In this article, Elizabeth Birr Moje, Melanie Overby, Nicole Tysvaer, and Karen Morris challenge some of the prevailing myths about adolescents and their choices related to reading. The reading practices of youth from one urban community are examined using mixed methods in an effort to define what, how often, and why adolescents choose to read. By focusing on what features of texts youth find motivating, the authors find that reading and writing frequently occur in a range of literacy contexts outside school. However, only reading novels on a regular basis outside of school is shown to have a positive relationship to academic achievement as measured by school grades. This article describes how adolescents read texts that are embedded in social networks, allowing them to build social capital. Conclusions are framed in terms of the mysteries that remain - namely, how to build on what motivates adolescents' literacy practices in order to both promote the building of their social selves and improve their academic outcomes.

Language and the Performance of English-Language Learners in Math Word Problems.

Abstract: In this article, Maria Martiniello reports the findings of a study of the linguistic complexity of math word problems that were found to exhibit differential item functioning for English-language learners (ELLs) and non-ELLs taking the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) fourth-grade math test. It builds on prior research showing that greater linguistic complexity increases the difficulty of Englishlanguage math items for ELLs compared to non-ELLs of equivalent math proficiency. Through textual analyses, Martiniello describes the linguistic features of some of the 2003 MCAS math word problems that posed disproportionate difficulty for ELLs. Martiniello also uses excerpts from children's think-aloud transcripts to illustrate the reading comprehension challenges these features pose to Spanish-speaking ELLs. Through both DIF statistics and the voices of children, the article scrutinizes the appropriateness of inferences about ELLs' math knowledge based on linguistically complex test items.

Can Higher Education Meet the Needs of an Increasingly Diverse and Global Society? Campus Diversity and Cross-Cultural Workforce Competencies

Abstract: In this article, Uma Jayakumar investigates the relationship between white individuals’ exposure to racial diversity during college and their postcollege cross-cultural workforce competencies. Using survey data from the Cooperative Institutional Research Program, housed in the Higher Education Research Institute at the University of California at Los Angeles, the author uses structural equation modeling to show that for whites from both segregated and diverse precollege neighborhoods, their postcollege leadership skills and level of pluralistic orientation are either directly or indirectly related to the structural diversity and racial climate of their postsecondary institutions, as well as their level of cross-racial interaction during the college years. The author concludes that postsecondary institutions may provide lasting benefits to white students by promoting a positive racial climate for a racially diverse student body. These findings support the theory put forth by Gurin, Dey, Hurtado, and Gurin (2002) for explaining the benefits of racial diversity at the postsecondary level.

Achievement as Resistance: The Development of a Critical Race Achievement Ideology among Black Achievers

Abstract: In this article, Dorinda Carter examines the embodiment of a critical race achievement ideology in high-achieving black students. She conducted a yearlong qualitative investigation of the adaptive ...

Cognitive Strategy Instruction for Adolescents: What We Know about the Promise, What We Don't Know about the Potential

Abstract: "Strategy instruction" is quickly becoming one of the most common — and perhaps the most commonly misunderstood — components of adolescent literacy research and practice. In this essay, veteran teacher educator Mark Conley argues that a particular type of strategy instruction known as cognitive strategy instruction holds great promise for improving adolescents' reading, writing, and thinking across content areas. However, he further suggests that we do not yet have the research needed to adequately understand and maximize the potential of cognitive strategy instruction in secondary content-area classrooms. After situating cognitive strategy instruction in the larger context of research on adolescent literacy and school-to-work transitions, Conley provides classroom examples of cognitive strategy instruction, demonstrates the need for meaningful integration of cognitive strategies in teacher education, and recommends specific directions for future research needed to understand and maximize the benefits of ...

Adolescent Literacy: Putting the Crisis in Context

Abstract: In this article, Vicki Jacobs argues that as the nation strives to improve the literacy achievement of U.S. adolescents, educators must reframe the current "crisis" as a critical point on a continuum of historical efforts to address the particular challenges of postprimary-grade reading. Specifically, Jacobs examines the definition of adolescent literacy in the context of reading stages, which explain the contiguous and continuous relationship between primary-grade and later reading. She also discusses how historical relationships between skill and process instruction and between reading specialists and content-area faculty have contributed to the issues we face at this particular point on the continuum. Jacobs concludes by highlighting the opportunities ahead for researchers, policymakers, and practitioners who are positioned to respond to the adolescent literacy crisis and improve adolescent literacy achievement.

Modeling Compassion in Critical, Justice-Oriented Teacher Education

Abstract: As the work of teacher education becomes increasingly focused on the challenges of helping mostly white, monolingual, middle-class prospective teachers become compassionate, successful teachers of racially, culturally, linguistically, economically, and academically diverse students, some teacher educators struggle to find compassion for the prospective teachers they teach. Motivated by this concern and drawing on feminist and Buddhist theories, Hilary Conklin argues that many teacher educators would benefit from a renewed consideration of modeling the pedagogy they hope prospective teachers will employ. In this article, she analyzes and brings together the work on critical, justice-oriented approaches to teacher education, relationships in teaching, modeling as pedagogy, and the Buddhist notion of compassion to articulate a pedagogy of modeling in critical, justice-oriented teacher education. Conklin proposes that such a pedagogy has the potential to move us closer to transformative teacher education.

Different Worlds and Divergent Paths: Academic Careers Defined by Race and Gender

Abstract: In this article, Juanita Johnson-Bailey, a Black female professor, and Ronald M. Cervero, a White male professor, examine and contrast their academic lives by exploring how race and gender have influenced their journeys and their experiences. Using journal excerpts, personal examples, and a comparative list of privileges, the authors present a picture of their different realities at a research university. The depiction of their collective forty years in academia reveals that White men and Black women are regarded and treated differently by colleagues and students. Manifestations of this disparate treatment are evident primarily in classroom and faculty interactions. An examination of the professors' relationships with people and with their institution illustrates that, overall, the Black woman is often relegated to a second-class existence characterized by hostility, isolation, and lack of respect, while the White man lives an ideal academic life as a respected scholar who disseminates knowledge, understa...

Redefining Content-Area Literacy Teacher Education: Finding My Voice through Collaboration.

Abstract: In this essay, Roni Jo Draper reflects upon her professional journey as a content-area literacy teacher educator, describing how she first became a literacy teacher educator and how she later came to collaborate with a group of teacher educators who specialize in disciplines such as music, theater, and mathematics. Drawing upon ethnographic data from the group's participatory action research project, she explains how their collaboration shaped her understanding of her own professional role and expanded her definitions of texts, content-area literacy, and literacy itself. Informed by insights she gained through the project, Draper argues that content-area literacy instruction should promote mastery of the intellectual discourse within a particular discipline. She also suggests ways to increase collaboration between literacy and content-area specialists working in the field of teacher education.

Toward a More Anatomically Complete Model of Literacy Instruction: A Focus on African American Male Adolescents and Texts

Abstract: In this article, Alfred Tatum argues that the current framing of the adolescent literacy crisis fails to take into account the in-school and out-of-school challenges confronting many African American male adolescents today, particularly those growing up in high-poverty communities. Using the metaphor of literacy instruction as a human body, he argues that in the absence of sound theory about the importance of texts for African American male adolescents, even the best instructional methods will fall flat, like a body without a head. He offers a more anatomically complete model in which instructional methods are governed by theories about how literacy can help young men of color respond to their immediate contexts, and in which professional development gives legs to these methods by preparing teachers to engage all students. Finally, in a case study of one Chicago youth, Tatum illustrates both the power that relevant texts can hold for young men of color and the missed opportunities that result when student...

Putting the "Development" in Professional Development: Understanding and Overturning Educational Leaders' Immunities to Change

Abstract: In this article, authors Deborah Helsing, Annie Howell, Robert Kegan, and Lisa Lahey argue that today's educational leaders face a host of complex demands as they strive to implement lasting, meaningful change in their school environments. As these demands often require a level of personal development many adults may not yet have, there is a need for professional development programs that are genuinely developmental. This article describes one such program that provides the opportunity for participants to make qualitative shifts in the ways that they understand themselves and their work. Using case study methodology, the authors explore the psychological development of one participant as she increases her capacity to determine, and be guided by, her own theories, values, and expectations of her personal and professional relationships and responsibilities.

Beyond Writing Next: A Discussion of Writing Research and Instructional Uncertainty

Abstract: Drawing on their experiences as high school writing instructors, researchers, and teacher trainers, David Coker and William Lewis examine an often overlooked dimension of adolescent literacy: writing proficiency. The authors explore recent research on the skills and strategies students need in order to write with competence and describe analyses of interventions that help students attain writing mastery. They also address divisions and gaps in the field of writing research and instruction and offer suggestions for overcoming these rifts in order to advance understanding of adolescent writing development and effective writing instruction.

The New Outspoken Atheism and Education

Abstract: In this essay, Nel Noddings calls upon U.S. public schools to equip students with a more nuanced understanding of religious vocabulary, history, and ideas. Examining recent books by outspoken atheists including Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, Sam Harris, and Christopher Hitchens, Noddings argues that schools should help students "communicate across the chasm" between belief and unbelief in an effort to prepare a more civil and informed citizenry. In a wide-ranging discussion of religious vocabulary, belief, logic, morality, and aesthetics, she illustrates ways in which schools can incorporate religious literacy across the curriculum and foster a rich understanding of religious history and ideas among the students they serve.

Hijacking Education Policy Decisions: Ballot Initiatives and the Case of Affirmative Action

Abstract: In this article, Michele Moses and Lauren Saenz explore a growing trend in education policymaking — the ballot initiative. Specifically, the authors question whether information presented to voters is sufficiently substantive to permit educated decisionmaking about influential policies. Their study, a content analysis of print news media related to the 2006 Michigan Civil Rights Initiative, shows that coverage of this initiative was largely superficial, documenting procedural or topical matters rather than addressing the deeper moral, practical, and historical issues involved. These results, they argue, highlight the important role that mass media should play in a direct democracy, currently an overlooked responsibility. Moses and Saenz end with an appeal to education researchers to monitor the media coverage of education policy debates and, upon finding insubstantial coverage, to present an alternative that is meaningful and accessible to the general public.

Unpacking the Placement of American Indian and Alaska Native Students in Special Education Programs and Services in the Early Grades: School Readiness as a Predictive Variable

Abstract: In this article, Jacob Hibel, Susan Faircloth, and George Farkas investigate the persistent finding that American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) students are overrepresented in special education. Using data from the kindergarten cohort of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, the authors compare the third-grade special education placement rate of AI/AN students to that of other racial/ethnic groups. They find that approximately 15 percent of AI/AN third-graders received special education services, a rate far higher than that of the other racial and ethnic groups. However, using multilevel regression analysis to control for a number of confounding factors, including socioeconomic status and test scores at school entry, they find no statistically significant difference between the special education placement rates of AI/AN and non-Hispanic white students. Controlling for a range of school characteristics, they also find that schools with a higher proportion of AI/AN students place these students in spec...

Implementing a structured reading program in an afterschool setting: Problems and potential solutions

Abstract: In this article, Ardice Hartry, Robert Fitzgerald, and Kristie Porter present results from their implementation study of a structured reading program for fourth, fifth, and sixth graders in an afterschool setting. As the authors explain, schools and districts often view an extended school day as a promising way to address the literacy needs of their lowest-performing students by devoting more time to reading instruction. While structured reading programs may help teachers use afterschool instructional time more effectively, the degree to which these programs improve student outcomes depends on the effectiveness of their implementation. Focusing on program implementation in one district as part of a randomized controlled trial, the authors find that successfully implementing a structured reading program in an afterschool setting depends on thoughtful preparation, suitable resources, and ongoing attention.

State Literacy Plans: Incorporating Adolescent Literacy

Abstract: In this article, Catherine Snow, Twakia Martin, and Ilene Berman describe professional development institutes offered in 2001 and 2002 by the Harvard Graduate School of Education and the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices to familiarize state-level policymakers with research on adolescent literacy and to guide states' development of effective literacy plans. The authors then review the literacy plans that four of the participating states developed in the years following their institute involvement and discuss ways in which the content of the literacy institutes is reflected in these states' plans. In conclusion, the authors call on higher education institutions to help state policymakers develop and evaluate initiatives intended to increase adolescents' reading skills. They also call for broader cross-state comparisons of states' strategies for improving adolescent literacy.

Voices Inside Schools: Testing the Waters: Three Elements of Classroom Inquiry

Abstract: In this Voices Inside Schools essay, Dr. Pat Clifford and Susan Marinucci take us inside a classroom engaged in "genuine inquiry." As we follow Russell and his fellow fifth-grade scientists through their exploration of desalination, we witness the evolving nature of questioning, learning, and understanding in spaces of inquiry. The authors offer insights into three central issues: (1) the character of genuine questions for inquiry; (2) intellectual rigor as students grapple with real ideas in real ways; and (3) how inquiry can be adapted to meet the requirements of mandated curricula.

Voices Inside Schools: Capturing Authenticity, Transforming Perception: One Teacher's Efforts to Improve Her Students' Performance by Challenging Their Impressions of Self and Community

Abstract: In this Voices Inside Schools essay, William Marinell describes the efforts of a public school teacher to improve her students' writing by attempting to increase their connectivity to their community. By designing photojournalism projects that prompt students to capture their authentic experiences, the teacher hopes to challenge the students' negative perceptions of their community, which she believes have a negative effect on her students' performance in school. Marinell elaborates on the personal and pedagogical dilemmas that the teacher faced while engaged in this work and how her instructional objectives and pedagogical approaches evolved as she gained an appreciation for the complex issues that arise when teachers and students attempt to depict their community.

Voices Inside Schools: Beyond NCLB and AYP: One Superintendent's Experience of School District Reform

Abstract: In this Voices Inside Schools essay, Ron Sofo, a school district superintendent in western Pennsylvania, argues that schools need bottom-up solutions more than topdown mandates if they are to prepare all students to meet twenty-first-century workforce demands. Framing the discussion in terms of his district's reform model — the "New 4 Rs" of rigor, relevance, relationships, and reflection — Sofo describes how one middle school developed a multifaceted, classroom-level intervention to support struggling learners. He then explains how that effort was scaled up to other grades and how insights from the initiative reverberated throughout the district. In telling his story, Sofo depicts the instructional reforms his staff undertook, the challenges they encountered, and the early indications of their success. His essay offers a window into the complex process of instructional reform at the classroom, school, and district levels.

Free Marketeers, Policy Wonks, and Yankee Democracy: School Vouchers in New Hampshire, 1973-1976.

Abstract: In this article, Jim Carl uses archival sources and interviews to chronicle the effort to bring school vouchers to New Hampshire. In 1973, the New Hampshire Department of Education initiated a plan, funded by the U.S. Office of Economic Opportunity, to institute vouchers in a handful of school districts. Though the initiative had the support of prominent economists, scholars, and political leaders at federal and state levels, the state's urban districts declined to participate, and in the few rural districts that agreed to the planning phase, voters rejected vouchers in 1976. Although advocates chalked up the reversal of support to voter apathy and opposition from the teachers union, Carl identifies deeper reasons for the rejection of the vouchers, including the exclusion of sectarian schools, concerns about federal interference, and the logistical challenges of implementing vouchers in rural areas. The obstacles in New Hampshire yielded lessons for policymakers seeking to build popular and political supp...