An Exploratory Study of Teacher Education Students' Experiences

Dissertation entitled An Exploratory Study of Teacher Education Students’ Experiences with an Innovative Literacy Assessment and Remediation Course by Joanna C. Weaver Submitted to the Graduate Faculty as partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Curriculum and Instruction ____________________________________ Dr. Leigh Chiarelott, Committee Co-Chair ____________________________________ Dr. Jenny Denyer, Committee Co-Chair ____________________________________ Dr. Mark Templin, Committee Member ___________________________________ Dr. Dale Snauwaert, Committee Member ___________________________________ Dr. Patricia Komuniecki, Dean College of Graduate Studies The University of Toledo December 2014 An Abstract of An Exploratory Study of Teacher Education Students’ Experiences with an Innovative Literacy Assessment and Remediation Course by Joanna C. Weaver Submitted to the Graduate Faculty as partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Curriculum and Instruction The University of Toledo December 2014 Young adult illiteracy is an epidemic in our country, and the traditional model of literacy education will not serve the needs of struggling readers. The purpose of this study was to discover if utilizing my pedagogical provided an impactful experience on our teacher candidates. Can a literacy program provide a transactional learning experience and what is that experience? My study is a qualitative, exploratory study that looks at the experiences of teacher candidates and how they experienced the process of this literacy model. The participants had the opportunity to directly apply the instructional, literacy strategies learned and discussed in class to working with a young adult struggling reader. Through collaboration and dialogue, teacher candidates created connections and literacy materials that applied directly to their students’ lives, creating and experiencing an authentic, transactional literacy experience. Candidates documented their tutoring event through case studies, emails, reflections, and interviews and then discussed with me their understanding of the process and what they took away from the experience. This helped me evaluate if the pedagogical model implemented in the teacher preparation class was a success. iii Acknowledgements The encouragement and support I received from the professors in the College of Education, specifically in the department of Curriculum and Instruction made this dissertation possible. From the moment I came to the university as a faculty member, Dr. Leigh Chiarelott pushed me to complete my Ph.D. Initially I laughed thinking it was an insurmountable task, but he challenged me and encouraged me to jump in. I cannot express my appreciation to Dr. Chiarelott, Dr. Denyer, Dr. Templin, and Dr. Snauwaert for their constant encouragement. I could not have selected a stronger committee to oversee my research. I also want to express my sincerest gratitude to the Career Center for allowing me to collect my data and conduct my research with their students. In addition to my committee, my children and parents have been so patient with me. I would sit with Mckenzie, Lindsay, and Austin to discuss my continuance in the Ph. D. program. The summer of 2013, we had a family meeting on top of a mountain in Vermont. Without hesitation, each one of my children said, “Mom, don’t stop now! You’ve got this.” I have received incredible inspiration and support from each and every one of them. My parents and dear friends stepped in whenever needed to help with the transportation and the financial burden that sometimes accrued. Without them I would be lost. Their unfailing love and total support has made this all happen. This Ph.D. is not only mine, but also theirs. iv Table of Contents Abstract iii Acknowledgements iv Contents v 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Statement of Purpose . 2 1.2 Significance of Study . 3 1.3 Theoretical Framework . 4 1.4 Research Question . 9 1.5 Research Design . 9 2 Theoretical and Literature Review 14 2.1 Theoretical Review . 14 v 2.2 Literature Review . 22 2.3 Teacher Preparation . 24 2.4 Teaching Reading Strategies to Teachers . 27 2.5 Teacher Encouragement of Students . 31 2.6 Teacher’s Understanding of the Whole Learner . 36 2.6.1 Individual Characteristics and Reading Practices . .44 2.6.2 Learner’s Experiences and Interests . 49 2.7 Teacher’s Impact of Student Engagement and Motivation . 54 2.8 Authentic materials . 62 2.9 Conclusion . 71 3 Measurement of Success . 73 3.1 Methodology . .73 3.2 Coding . .83 3.3 Validity and Trustworthiness . 84 3.4 Benefits . .84 4 Data Analysis 87 4.1 Candidate #1 analysis of Student #1 . .91 4.2 Candidate #2 analysis of Student #2 . 99 4.3 Candidate #3 analysis of Student #3 . .104 4.4 Candidate #4 analysis of Student #4 . .108 4.5 Candidate #5 analysis of Student #5 . .115 4.6 Candidate #6 analysis of Student #6 . .121 4.7 Initial Perceptions . .126 vi 4.8 Working with Struggling Readers’ Interests . .130 4.9 New Awareness . 133 4.10 Reflective Experience . .138 4.11 On-campus Classroom Interactions . 141 4.12 Teacher Candidates’ Confidence . 143 4.13 Struggling Readers’ Confidence . .146 4.14 IRI and Instructional Strategies . 151 4.15 Transaction with Readings . 153 4.16 Across the Cases . .156 4.17 Biases . 157 4.18 Limitations . 158 5 Discussion 160 5.1 Teacher Candidates’ Experiences . .167 5.2 Implications . .171 5.3 Recommendations for Further Research . .173 References 177 vii Chapter 1 Introduction “Education, therefore, must begin with psychological insight into the child’s capacities, interests, and habits…” (Dewey, 1897, p. 78) Approximately eight million students in grades 4-12 read below grade level (Heller & Greenleaf, 2007, as cited by Ness, 2009). “Of those struggling secondary readers, nearly 70% struggle with reading comprehension” (Biancarosa & Snow, 2006, as cited by Ness, 2009). These statistics trigger many questions that need to be answered. The first is the most obvious to me: Are teacher candidates prepared to teach students who are struggling readers? This question led me to reflect on our teacher education programs. As an educator of teacher candidates, am I providing university students with instructional learning experiences that can change their thinking about teaching literacy in the classroom, and will it help them conceptualize their future experiences in a classroom with struggling readers? How does my literacy assessment and remediation class provide university students with experiences that will help them to reconstruct their ideas about teaching struggling readers? 1 As my reflection on my literacy class continued to fester in my mind, another question, a bigger question emerged: Have I constructed a whole experience that benefits my teacher candidates and will the candidates see the benefit to the struggling readers? This question led to other possible questions: Utilizing the pedagogical model I developed for my teacher education literacy class, what will be the impact of this experience on our teacher candidates? Can a literacy program led by teacher candidates provide a transactional learning experience? In order to enact this pedagogical literacy model and analyze the experiences of teacher candidates, one of my challenges was finding a school that our university students could tutor in weekly. I was able to connect with a career center that was more than willing to allow our students to tutor their struggling readers. The career center’s administrators’ support of the pedagogical literacy model helped them encourage their tenth grade students to participate. 1.1 Statement of Purpose The purpose of this study was to discover if the pedagogical model created in my literacy assessment remediation class was effective in creating a positive, learning experience for university teacher education students. Throughout the years, we have had university students teaching in the field in their specific content areas. We know that these experiences are effective and help prepare them for their classroom teaching experience. The pedagogical model implemented in my class allowed literacy assessment remediation students to work directly with struggling readers in a career center, utilizing interest surveys and informal reading inventories to create high-interest, weekly tutoring 2 plans that will be taught each week with struggling readers and then reflected upon to guide the following week’s tutoring plan. I wanted to look into the experience of this educational process from the eyes of the university students and the impact of the experience on the struggling readers. A partnership with a career center was a perfect opportunity and environment for university students to work with struggling readers who were not successful in the traditional school setting. Students often attend career technical centers when the traditional school setting is not engaging or their academic performance is suffering. Career technical centers offer opportunities for students’ to learn the trades and skills needed to immediately pursue career options upon graduation. Real-world learning--authentic learning--is key so these students can build their skills, grow, and become productive citizens. To be completely successful, these students need to be able to read successfully in order to understand technical manuals and the skills needed in the area of interest to be productive citizens, yet they are often found struggling in reading. Giving university students the opportunity

Load more