This study investigated fourth and fifth graders’ metacognitive knowledge about writing and its relationship to writing performance to help identify areas that might be leveraged when designing effective writing instruction. Students’ metacognitive knowledge was probed using a 30-minute informative writing prompt requiring students to teach their reader how to be a good writer (i.e., a metawriting task). The metawriting task was coded for eight dimensions of metacognitive knowledge. Students’ writing performance was assessed via additional 30-minute prompts—two narrative, one informative, two persuasive—and evaluated for quality and length using automated essay scoring. Students were most aware of general characteristics of writing quality and production procedures, but they were less aware of substantive processes, genre, or other dimensions. Multiple regression analysis showed that, after controlling for demographics and literacy skills, only knowledge of general characteristics of writing and production procedures uniquely predicted outcomes. Overall, metacognitive writing knowledge inconsistently predicted writing performance.
{"title":"Upper-Elementary Students’ Metacognitive Knowledge about Writing and Its Relationship to Writing Outcomes across Genres","authors":"Joshua Wilson, H. Wen","doi":"10.1086/720562","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1086/720562","url":null,"abstract":"This study investigated fourth and fifth graders’ metacognitive knowledge about writing and its relationship to writing performance to help identify areas that might be leveraged when designing effective writing instruction. Students’ metacognitive knowledge was probed using a 30-minute informative writing prompt requiring students to teach their reader how to be a good writer (i.e., a metawriting task). The metawriting task was coded for eight dimensions of metacognitive knowledge. Students’ writing performance was assessed via additional 30-minute prompts—two narrative, one informative, two persuasive—and evaluated for quality and length using automated essay scoring. Students were most aware of general characteristics of writing quality and production procedures, but they were less aware of substantive processes, genre, or other dimensions. Multiple regression analysis showed that, after controlling for demographics and literacy skills, only knowledge of general characteristics of writing and production procedures uniquely predicted outcomes. Overall, metacognitive writing knowledge inconsistently predicted writing performance.","PeriodicalId":48010,"journal":{"name":"Elementary School Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2022-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46417678","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
For coaching to fulfill its promise as an effective teacher professional development model, coaches need access to teachers’ classrooms and practice. However, teachers largely have autonomy over whether, when, and how such access is granted. Previous research has identified the types of strategies coaches leverage to gain access, and in this study, we explore whether and how coaches deliberately coordinate multiple strategies to gain access. Drawing on interviews conducted with 28 content-focused coaches, we found that gaining access involved orchestrating a complex network of micropolitical strategies and propose an emergent model depicting how coaches coordinate access-granting strategies. These findings indicate that developing and coordinating a repertoire of access-granting strategies is a sophisticated coaching practice in itself and a gatekeeper to initiating professional development activities with teachers. Implications for school districts and research are discussed.
{"title":"An Exploration of Coaches’ Coordination of Micropolitical Strategies to Gain Access to Teachers’ Classrooms","authors":"E. Saclarides, Jen Munson","doi":"10.1086/720809","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1086/720809","url":null,"abstract":"For coaching to fulfill its promise as an effective teacher professional development model, coaches need access to teachers’ classrooms and practice. However, teachers largely have autonomy over whether, when, and how such access is granted. Previous research has identified the types of strategies coaches leverage to gain access, and in this study, we explore whether and how coaches deliberately coordinate multiple strategies to gain access. Drawing on interviews conducted with 28 content-focused coaches, we found that gaining access involved orchestrating a complex network of micropolitical strategies and propose an emergent model depicting how coaches coordinate access-granting strategies. These findings indicate that developing and coordinating a repertoire of access-granting strategies is a sophisticated coaching practice in itself and a gatekeeper to initiating professional development activities with teachers. Implications for school districts and research are discussed.","PeriodicalId":48010,"journal":{"name":"Elementary School Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2022-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42605639","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Michael Little, Timothy A. Drake, Lora Cohen-Vogel, Jessica L. Eagle
Today, about 50% of US elementary schools have a pre-kindergarten (pre-K) program located in the building. This article systematically reviews the empirical literature on principal leadership of pre-K programs in elementary schools. We collected studies using academic database searches, scanning reference lists of relevant articles, and consulting with experts in the field. Our efforts yielded 16 sources for review. Using thematic synthesis, we analyzed the data to reveal key findings related to principal leadership of pre-K programs. There has been limited scholarly attention to principal leadership in the pre-K context. Prominent themes in the existing literature on the topic include (1) a common framing of the “colliding” worlds of pre-K and K–12 education, (2) principals’ beliefs about pre-K, (3) the scope of principal responsibility for pre-K programs, and (4) principal preparation to lead pre-K programs. We unearthed limited evidence on the topic but charted a path for future research on pre-K principal leadership. Future research should focus on the design of principal capacity building efforts that have direct, positive impacts for students.
{"title":"When School Doesn’t Start at Age 5","authors":"Michael Little, Timothy A. Drake, Lora Cohen-Vogel, Jessica L. Eagle","doi":"10.1086/720563","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1086/720563","url":null,"abstract":"Today, about 50% of US elementary schools have a pre-kindergarten (pre-K) program located in the building. This article systematically reviews the empirical literature on principal leadership of pre-K programs in elementary schools. We collected studies using academic database searches, scanning reference lists of relevant articles, and consulting with experts in the field. Our efforts yielded 16 sources for review. Using thematic synthesis, we analyzed the data to reveal key findings related to principal leadership of pre-K programs. There has been limited scholarly attention to principal leadership in the pre-K context. Prominent themes in the existing literature on the topic include (1) a common framing of the “colliding” worlds of pre-K and K–12 education, (2) principals’ beliefs about pre-K, (3) the scope of principal responsibility for pre-K programs, and (4) principal preparation to lead pre-K programs. We unearthed limited evidence on the topic but charted a path for future research on pre-K principal leadership. Future research should focus on the design of principal capacity building efforts that have direct, positive impacts for students.","PeriodicalId":48010,"journal":{"name":"Elementary School Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2022-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47989788","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This study examines how a project-based civics curriculum emphasizing locally relevant issues developed students’ civic perspective-taking by creating discursive spaces for students to make connections with content. The underlying aim of the curriculum was to foster deliberative social studies classrooms by developing students’ civic perspective-taking on local issues. This article uses thematic analysis of student discussions (i.e., verbal contributions) and writing assessments (i.e., written contributions) to identify and describe the types of connections students made. Our findings show that students made three types of connections with content using the civic perspective-taking framework: (a) realizing thematic connections among the issues to identify larger societal themes, (b) making personal connections to content, and (c) making connections to larger issues as they consider the public good. We found that students engaged in civic thinking in ways new to them, which prompted the research team to update and reconceptualize the framework for civic perspective-taking.
{"title":"Reconceptualizing Civic Perspective-Taking","authors":"W. Toledo, E. Enright","doi":"10.1086/720719","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1086/720719","url":null,"abstract":"This study examines how a project-based civics curriculum emphasizing locally relevant issues developed students’ civic perspective-taking by creating discursive spaces for students to make connections with content. The underlying aim of the curriculum was to foster deliberative social studies classrooms by developing students’ civic perspective-taking on local issues. This article uses thematic analysis of student discussions (i.e., verbal contributions) and writing assessments (i.e., written contributions) to identify and describe the types of connections students made. Our findings show that students made three types of connections with content using the civic perspective-taking framework: (a) realizing thematic connections among the issues to identify larger societal themes, (b) making personal connections to content, and (c) making connections to larger issues as they consider the public good. We found that students engaged in civic thinking in ways new to them, which prompted the research team to update and reconceptualize the framework for civic perspective-taking.","PeriodicalId":48010,"journal":{"name":"Elementary School Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2022-08-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"60726835","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for English language arts (ELA) called for several “key shifts” in classroom instructional practice. This study combined archived video data on classroom teaching collected in 2010 with new video data on classroom teaching collected in 2018 to conduct a pre-/postexamination of the extent to which this corpus of lessons showed the kinds of key shifts in ELA instruction called for by the CCSS. The data presented in the article show meaningful time trends consistent with some, but not all, of the key shifts in ELA instruction called for by the CCSS. These findings are discussed in light of the goals of the study and prior research on post-CCSS instruction in classrooms across the country.
{"title":"Common Core–Related Shifts in English Language Arts Teaching From 2010 to 2018","authors":"Mark White, Bridget Maher, Brian Rowan","doi":"10.1086/720732","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1086/720732","url":null,"abstract":"The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for English language arts (ELA) called for several “key shifts” in classroom instructional practice. This study combined archived video data on classroom teaching collected in 2010 with new video data on classroom teaching collected in 2018 to conduct a pre-/postexamination of the extent to which this corpus of lessons showed the kinds of key shifts in ELA instruction called for by the CCSS. The data presented in the article show meaningful time trends consistent with some, but not all, of the key shifts in ELA instruction called for by the CCSS. These findings are discussed in light of the goals of the study and prior research on post-CCSS instruction in classrooms across the country.","PeriodicalId":48010,"journal":{"name":"Elementary School Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2022-07-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42631972","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Steve Graham, Tien Ping Hsiang, Amber B. Ray, Guihua Zheng, Michael A. Hebert
Three studies examined if teachers’ beliefs about writing predicted their efficacy to teach writing. We surveyed primary grade teachers from Taiwan (N = 782), Shanghai (N = 429), and the United States (N = 214). At each location, teachers completed surveys assessing attitudes toward writing and the teaching of writing, beliefs about students’ progress as writers, and epistemological beliefs about writing instruction, writing development, and writing knowledge. We examined if each of these beliefs made unique and statistically significant contributions to predicting efficacy to teach writing after variance due to all other predictors, as well as personal and contextual variables, was controlled. With one exception, these three sets of beliefs each accounted for unique variance in predicting teacher efficacy at each location. There was, however, variability in unique variance in teacher efficacy scores accounted for by specific beliefs across locations and the factor structure of various measures by location.
{"title":"Predicting Efficacy to Teach Writing","authors":"Steve Graham, Tien Ping Hsiang, Amber B. Ray, Guihua Zheng, Michael A. Hebert","doi":"10.1086/720640","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1086/720640","url":null,"abstract":"Three studies examined if teachers’ beliefs about writing predicted their efficacy to teach writing. We surveyed primary grade teachers from Taiwan (N = 782), Shanghai (N = 429), and the United States (N = 214). At each location, teachers completed surveys assessing attitudes toward writing and the teaching of writing, beliefs about students’ progress as writers, and epistemological beliefs about writing instruction, writing development, and writing knowledge. We examined if each of these beliefs made unique and statistically significant contributions to predicting efficacy to teach writing after variance due to all other predictors, as well as personal and contextual variables, was controlled. With one exception, these three sets of beliefs each accounted for unique variance in predicting teacher efficacy at each location. There was, however, variability in unique variance in teacher efficacy scores accounted for by specific beliefs across locations and the factor structure of various measures by location.","PeriodicalId":48010,"journal":{"name":"Elementary School Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2022-06-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46103191","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Previous research on participation in mathematics classrooms has focused on adults’ perspectives, which overemphasize the role of talk. Drawing on sociocultural theory, I define participation as a complex and situated phenomenon. I describe a participatory research collaboration where a Spanish immersion third-grade teacher, and I brought the students’ and the teacher’s perspectives on participation into dialogue. A social semiotics analytical framework informed the exploration of multimethods focus groups with the students and an interview with the teacher. Teacher-researcher collaborative data analysis supported the emergence of three main participation-related aspects: (1) beginning to consider multiple characteristics of participation, (2) relocating participation in a dynamic between the social and the individual, and (3) rethinking the teacher’s role in participation. I argue that an initial step toward developing inclusive classrooms is for teachers and researchers to unlearn simplistic perspectives on participation, becoming learners of what it means to participate in particular contexts.
{"title":"(Re)Learning What It Means to Participate","authors":"José Martínez Hinestroza","doi":"10.1086/719465","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1086/719465","url":null,"abstract":"Previous research on participation in mathematics classrooms has focused on adults’ perspectives, which overemphasize the role of talk. Drawing on sociocultural theory, I define participation as a complex and situated phenomenon. I describe a participatory research collaboration where a Spanish immersion third-grade teacher, and I brought the students’ and the teacher’s perspectives on participation into dialogue. A social semiotics analytical framework informed the exploration of multimethods focus groups with the students and an interview with the teacher. Teacher-researcher collaborative data analysis supported the emergence of three main participation-related aspects: (1) beginning to consider multiple characteristics of participation, (2) relocating participation in a dynamic between the social and the individual, and (3) rethinking the teacher’s role in participation. I argue that an initial step toward developing inclusive classrooms is for teachers and researchers to unlearn simplistic perspectives on participation, becoming learners of what it means to participate in particular contexts.","PeriodicalId":48010,"journal":{"name":"Elementary School Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2022-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47633184","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This study aimed to examine verbal behaviors within communicative interactions at the teacher/classroom level among second-grade classrooms that differ in socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds. Investigators recorded and examined language use across instructional periods for 38 second-grade classrooms. Teachers’ communication behaviors were examined based on recorded samples across the school day throughout the school year. The proportion of use of questions, directives, and statements was examined for potential differences between classrooms that differed in SES. There was a significant relation between the proportion of facilitative and directive language at the classroom-level and class-level SES. Classrooms with a high proportion of free/reduced lunch eligibility were associated with high proportions of directives by teachers during the school day. The current findings suggest that students in low SES classes may be at a disadvantage in their access to adult facilitative communicative behaviors in the classroom.
{"title":"The Relation between Teachers’ Communicative Behaviors and Class-Level SES","authors":"Carla L. Wood, Jeanne Wanzek, C. Schatschneider","doi":"10.1086/719506","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1086/719506","url":null,"abstract":"This study aimed to examine verbal behaviors within communicative interactions at the teacher/classroom level among second-grade classrooms that differ in socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds. Investigators recorded and examined language use across instructional periods for 38 second-grade classrooms. Teachers’ communication behaviors were examined based on recorded samples across the school day throughout the school year. The proportion of use of questions, directives, and statements was examined for potential differences between classrooms that differed in SES. There was a significant relation between the proportion of facilitative and directive language at the classroom-level and class-level SES. Classrooms with a high proportion of free/reduced lunch eligibility were associated with high proportions of directives by teachers during the school day. The current findings suggest that students in low SES classes may be at a disadvantage in their access to adult facilitative communicative behaviors in the classroom.","PeriodicalId":48010,"journal":{"name":"Elementary School Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2022-05-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43543319","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Studies examining seasonal variation in academic skills for children have focused on learning loss or stagnation during the summer, particularly for students from low-income or minoritized racial and ethnic backgrounds. In this study, we expand the literature to focus on another student population that may be susceptible to summer learning loss: children with disabilities. Using nationally representative data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2010–2011 (ECLS-K:2011), we examined changes in the academic skills of children with disabilities—defined in terms of having an individualized education plan or receiving special education services—relative to peers without disabilities during the school year and summer months. Results indicate that inequality in learning rates between both groups tends to widen more during the early school years, particularly in kindergarten, than summer. One policy implication of the findings is schools may need to focus more on kindergarten transition for children with disabilities.
{"title":"A Seasonal Analysis of Disparities in Academic Skills for Early Elementary School Children with Disabilities","authors":"North Cooc, David M. Quinn","doi":"10.1086/719508","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1086/719508","url":null,"abstract":"Studies examining seasonal variation in academic skills for children have focused on learning loss or stagnation during the summer, particularly for students from low-income or minoritized racial and ethnic backgrounds. In this study, we expand the literature to focus on another student population that may be susceptible to summer learning loss: children with disabilities. Using nationally representative data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2010–2011 (ECLS-K:2011), we examined changes in the academic skills of children with disabilities—defined in terms of having an individualized education plan or receiving special education services—relative to peers without disabilities during the school year and summer months. Results indicate that inequality in learning rates between both groups tends to widen more during the early school years, particularly in kindergarten, than summer. One policy implication of the findings is schools may need to focus more on kindergarten transition for children with disabilities.","PeriodicalId":48010,"journal":{"name":"Elementary School Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2022-05-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42970274","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
A. Gotwals, Tanya S. Wright, Lisa M. Domke, Blythe E. Anderson
In this systematic literature review, we synthesize 48 research studies about science talk in elementary classrooms to inform the development of supports for teachers. Our findings suggest that characteristics of high-quality elementary science talk include that it (1) supports equitable student participation and engagement, (2) supports deepening of science understandings within and across activities, and (3) develops disciplinary literacy for science. Within each of these characteristics, we found patterns in instructional practices that promoted high-quality science talk, including discipline-neutral practices, such as ensuring that students feel valued as members of the classroom community, as well as science-specific strategies, such as providing students purposeful opportunities to engage in science practices like argumentation. Although these studies provide evidence that teachers can support high-quality science talk in elementary classrooms, we discuss that without a system of supports based on these findings, this type of science talk is unlikely to occur.
{"title":"Science Talk in Elementary Classrooms","authors":"A. Gotwals, Tanya S. Wright, Lisa M. Domke, Blythe E. Anderson","doi":"10.1086/719410","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1086/719410","url":null,"abstract":"In this systematic literature review, we synthesize 48 research studies about science talk in elementary classrooms to inform the development of supports for teachers. Our findings suggest that characteristics of high-quality elementary science talk include that it (1) supports equitable student participation and engagement, (2) supports deepening of science understandings within and across activities, and (3) develops disciplinary literacy for science. Within each of these characteristics, we found patterns in instructional practices that promoted high-quality science talk, including discipline-neutral practices, such as ensuring that students feel valued as members of the classroom community, as well as science-specific strategies, such as providing students purposeful opportunities to engage in science practices like argumentation. Although these studies provide evidence that teachers can support high-quality science talk in elementary classrooms, we discuss that without a system of supports based on these findings, this type of science talk is unlikely to occur.","PeriodicalId":48010,"journal":{"name":"Elementary School Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2022-05-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47624065","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}