Teaching, Learning, Policy & Leadership Theses and Dissertations

Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/2759

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Classroom Language Policy and the Role of Assessment
(2023) Feagin, Karen; Peercy, Megan Madigan; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
Students designated as English learners (ELs) make up a substantial and growing portion of the K–12 population in the U.S., so all teachers should expect, at some point, to be teachers of language learners and will need to address the complexities of managing a multilingual classroom. This management is considered classroom-level educational language policy and is an area of importance for understanding and improving the educational experiences of EL-designated students.This qualitative study used nexus analysis (Scollon & Scollon, 2004) to examine the nature of and influences on classroom-level language policymaking at two small Maryland public high schools which exclusively serve EL-designated students. Maryland lacks explicit state-level language policy, thus creating a potentially neutral policy environment for the education of EL-designated students. Data sources included in-depth interviews with two principals and five teachers from the two high schools; documents from twenty years of meetings of the State Board of Education; and other state-level and federal policy documents. Data were analyzed using thematic data analysis. Findings showed that educators managed language in the school and classroom through instructional practices that positioned English as the default language of academics and as the predominant, if not sole, language goal. Language management was mediated by educators’ language ideologies and preparation in TESOL. Through the lens of their assessment literacy, teachers weighed the burden of testing against the benefits of the data obtained through testing and either implemented instructional practices that fully embraced the test and its associated policies or practices that minimally complied with the policies. Principals used their understanding of policies to navigate unavoidable constraints and create space for success. Finally, state-level policy was significantly influenced by federal policy, in particular, No Child Left Behind, and its legacy continues in Maryland education policy today. This study highlights the need for pre-service education and in-service professional development to clarify educators’ roles as language policy agents. Implications for teacher education also include a call for expanding offerings in asset-based language education and assessment literacy. Policy implications include recommendations for the State of Maryland to enact proposed policies from the English Learners Workgroup and to revise regulations that govern high-stakes testing for high school students.
ENHANCING PEER MEDIATION AMONG LINGUISTICALLY DIVERSE LEARNERS DURING PEER LED SMALL GROUP DISCUSSIONS IN ELEMENTARY SCIENCE AND SOCIAL STUDIES CLASSROOMS
(2023) Himmel, Jennifer Gisi; O'Flahavan, John; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
Findings from qualitative studies reveal an array of discursive supports that peers employ to mediate language and literacy for one another during collaborative and cooperative learning. Quantitative studies posit that enhanced literacy outcomes can result from students participating in these peer mediated tasks. Studies also suggest that the quality of talk employed by learners during these peer mediated tasks can be measured, and that higher quality talk can lead to enhanced learning. However, no study to date investigates both the discursive supports offered during peer mediated learning and robustly describes how they can lead to higher quality talk among elementary students who are learning in a second language. Moreover, little is known about how student uptake of these supports differs for elementary learners according to their English learner (EL) status. As a result, teachers do not have the pedagogical knowledge necessary to leverage all the benefits that peer interaction confers upon elementary ELs specifically. To address this gap in the research, my study explored and analyzed the impact of discursive supports on 52 third and fourth grade learners from two linguistically diverse classrooms during peer mediated small group discussions within science and social studies lessons. My embedded case study qualitatively explored how peers provided and responded to discursive supports from those in both an instructional and a peer role during small group discussions on informational texts. My study also probed the relationship between peer mediation and discussions that were more exploratory in nature. I coded and evaluated the types of discursive supports offered by students identified as ELs and non-ELs during small group discussions. I measured the frequency of the discursive supports provided during peer mediation and investigated student uptake of the supports. Using classroom observation data, field notes, instructional artifacts, and interview data, I examined the relations among the frequencies of different discursive supports for ELs and non-ELs, focusing on those that occurred in talk characterized as exploratory. My analyses reveal that ELs provided similar discursive supports as non-ELs, including support that is more likely to lead to exploratory talk. The findings also suggest a relationship between student uptake of discursive supports during peer mediated learning and exploratory talk, and that student uptake of supports might be an important mechanism to explore further in order to better understand how peer mediation enhances learning for ELs. I offer recommendations for future research and for classroom teachers who wish to implement peer led small group discussions on informational texts in elementary classrooms.
"We just learned from each other": ESOL pre-service teachers learning to use digital tools across coursework and student teaching
(2020) Durham, Carmen; Martin-Beltrán, Melinda; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
Educators can use digital tools to meet emergent bilingual students’ unique needs (e.g., Andrei, 2017; Liu, Navarrete, & Wivagg, 2014; Lund, 2008). However, language teachers generally feel unprepared to use technology with students even though many use digital tools in their daily lives (e.g., Dooly, 2009; Kessler, 2006). Research can further examine how to prepare teachers to leverage technology to support emergent bilingual learners. In this study, I used ethnographic methods to explore six pre-service teachers’ (PSTs) experiences learning about and using digital tools in ways intended to support emergent bilingual students. I interviewed the PSTs and observed their participation across student teaching and a concurrent practicum course. I analyzed these data through the lens of cultural-historical activity theory (Engeström, 2001; Yamagata-Lynch, 2010) to examine how PSTs navigated dynamic, interacting activity systems. I also drew on polyfocality to conceptualize learners’ attention on multiple physical and virtual resources during interactions. Findings revealed that the PSTs’ participation in teacher education was characterized by a shared responsibility where all the PSTs, their teacher educator, and mentor teachers contributed new digital tools and polyfocally co-constructed knowledge about the possibilities for classroom technology implementation. The shared responsibility and polyfocal co-construction of knowledge afforded the PSTs opportunities to learn in the moment, and many described their learning as “playing around.” It also afforded PSTs opportunities to reflect on their future practice and evaluate new technologies. Within student teaching, the PSTs sanctioned specific digital tools, but their emergent bilingual students deliberately made choices about technologies that would support their learning about self-chosen topics. Because of the ever-evolving nature of educational technology and students’ complex uses of multiple digital tools simultaneously, teachers must be prepared to continually explore new technologies, critically analyze their benefits, and use them in ways that afford their emergent bilingual students opportunities to make independent choices.
How Pre-K Teachers Support the Language and Literacy Development of Young Dual Language Learners: A Multi-Case Study of Four Exemplary Teachers
(2020) Budde, Christina Marie; Martin-Beltran, Melinda; Curriculum and Instruction; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
This multi-case study uses an ecological theory of language learning (van Lier, 2004) as a lens to examine the teaching practices of four highly-effective teachers of young Dual language learners (DLLs). Young DLLs are children who are learning two languages, simultaneously developing their primary language and acquiring a new language. Analysis of over 150 hours of classroom observations, teacher interviews, and classroom artifacts illustrate how teachers skillfully drew upon a repertoire of instructional practices during both planned and spontaneous teaching moments to intentionally target the language and literacy development of young DLLs. High-quality instruction linked to positive language and literacy outcomes for pre-k children likely provides a foundation for effective teaching practice for young DLLs. However, high-quality instruction must be enhanced to meet the linguistic and academic needs of children acquiring English as an additional language. Findings include the detailed and descriptive analysis of the enhanced set of practices and corresponding micro-practices teachers used with-in and across their pre-k contexts to support their young DLLs’ language and literacy development. Additional analysis of teachers’ reflection of their practice, offers insight into how teachers perceived their work with young DLLs and elucidates particular experiences that teachers believed helped to shape their current teaching practice. Implications and suggestions for teacher education, classroom practice, and research on developmentally appropriate practice (NAEYC, 2019) are discussed.
Uncovering Mainstream Classroom Teachers' Understanding of Working with English Learners
(2019) Walkinshaw Garris, Karen; Imig, David; Fagan, Drew S; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
The purpose of this exploratory study was to analyze the mainstream classroom teachers in this unique K-8 school setting report focusing on English Learners (ELs), what they perceive to be their roles and responsibilities in working with ELs, and what they want to learn further about ELs. For this study, mainstream teachers refer to those who provide content instruction to ELs in the areas of language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies. The study addressed three questions regarding mainstream teachers including what they report that they currently know about working with ELs; what they perceive their roles and responsibilities to be in instructing ELs; and what knowledge and skills they need to better work with ELs. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight of elementary and middle grades teachers at one school in a large urban district. Teachers were selected based on the criteria that they were teachers of language arts, mathematics, science and social studies in grades 4 through 8 and had ELs enrolled in their class. Interviews were also conducted with the ESL teacher at the same school and the district Title III Supervisor. Key findings included the following: mainstream teachers used the same instructional strategies for ELs that was used for all students, the mainstream was responsible for teaching ELs, and a need for professional development and resources in order to be successful instructing ELs.
A Cultural Balancing Act: The Learning, Beliefs and Practices of Novice Indonesian Teachers of English
(2019) Kidwell, Tabitha; Peercy, Megan M; Curriculum and Instruction; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
English teachers must be prepared to attend to the intercultural aspects of language learning. In Indonesia, this challenge is compounded by education policies that also require teachers to sustain Indonesian cultural values. Without explicit preparation or guidance, these two expectations could be quite challenging to novice teachers. The objective of this study was to better understand how novice Indonesian teachers of English balance those demands, by examining their learning, beliefs, practices regarding teaching about culture. This study was a qualitative ethnographic case study of English teacher preparation practices at a Muslim university in Central Java, complemented by embedded case studies (Yin, 2009) of 14 recent graduates during their early years of teaching. Data sources included: course syllabi; 97 class observations: interviews with 20 university faculty members, 21 current students and 20 recently graduated novice teachers: six professional learning community sessions with novice teachers; and journal entries by novice teacher participants. Data were analyzed using the constant comparison method (Corbin & Strauss, 2014) and a cross-case analysis. Findings showed that Indonesian English teachers had many opportunities to learn about culture, both within and outside of coursework, but they rarely learned methods to teach their future students about culture. Consequently, many did not include unfamiliar cultural content in their lessons. Concerning novice teachers’ beliefs and practices, this study identifies participants as primarily locally-oriented or globally-oriented, differentiated by their access to and investment in cultural learning opportunities. Globally-oriented teachers, who had had intercultural experiences themselves, were more likely to teach about unfamiliar cultures, despite contextual factors and limited preparation. This work highlights the need for language teacher education programs to help novice teachers learn to teach about culture, as well as the importance of offering intercultural experiences to novice teachers before and during their early careers. The distinction between locally-oriented teachers and globally-oriented teachers may allow language teacher educators to more purposefully prepare language teachers to address cultural content and develop their future students’ intercultural competence. In the future, more focused preparation efforts regarding teaching about culture would allow novice teachers to more effectively prepare their students to meaningfully engage across cultural differences.
EFFECTS OF WORD AND STUDENT FACTORS ON INSTRUCTIONAL REINFORCEMENT IN A VOCABULARY PROGRAM IMPLEMENTED WITH SECOND GRADE BILINGUALS
(2018) Artzi, Lauren; Madigan Peercy, Megan; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
This study investigates effects of a twenty-minute read aloud vocabulary program developed for second grade English language learners (ELLs). In one condition, words were not instructed, in another condition words were reinforced six times, and words were reinforced fourteen times in a third condition. This study also examines generalized English vocabulary knowledge, Spanish language proficiency, and type of word (abstractness and cognate status) as possible influencers on the word learning. Two hundred and twenty-eight students across twelve classrooms participated in this study. This proof-of-concept study employed a within-subjects design where each study participant received each level of treatment. Findings reveal that the vocabulary instruction in the two instructed conditions compared to the exposed condition garnered significant strong positive effects (d=.64). There were small additional positive effects for the added reinforcement in the reinforcement plus condition (d=.24). Learning was promoted with higher levels of generalized English vocabulary knowledge, as determined through the Test of Oral Language Development IV (TOLD) scores on the oral vocabulary subtest. Students scoring in the higher half of the sample with respect to the TOLD performed better on word learning in the exposed and instructed conditions, compared to students who scored in the lower half of the sample with respect to the TOLD (d=.45). However, when comparing the word learning of the students who scored in the higher half of the sample on the TOLD in the reinforcement condition to those students who scored in the lower half of the TOLD in the more intensive reinforcement plus condition, the gap lessens with only small differences between the two groups (d=.21). Higher levels of Spanish language proficiency, as determined through the Aprenda 3 scores, facilitated the acquisition of cognates. Although students in this study more readily acquired the cognates in the exposed condition, the difference between cognates and noncognates dissipated in the instructed conditions. This finding indicates that without instruction, students are bootstrapping onto their cognate knowledge, but when instruction intervenes, students learn both the cognates and noncognates alike. Trends show that concrete words were more easily learned. However, there were no significant differences between abstract and concrete words.
TEACHER PERCEPTIONS OF ONLINE SIOP® PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
(2018) McCall, Aundrea; Fagan, Drew; McLaughlin, Margaret; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
Educators are concerned with the academic attainment of English learners (ELs) in U.S schools, as this student population’s numbers continue to grow. In 2014-15, 4.6 million, or about 9%, of all public school students in the United States were ELs. The number of ELs in public schools is projected to represent 25% of all public school students by 2025 (National Center for Education Statistics, 2017; National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition, 2013). The purpose of this study was to examine non-ESOL elementary content area teachers’ perceptions of the online SIOP® professional development course regarding implementing the six features of lesson preparation and applying the eight components of SIOP® within their lesson preparation. The study was guided by three research questions and an online survey to obtain teacher perceptions regarding their implementation of the key SIOP® components in lesson preparation, application of the eight SIOP® components, and potential ways that SIOP® had positive effects on instructing ELs. Qualtrics (a web-based tool) was used to create the descriptive survey and generate reports from the participants’ responses. From the research findings, recommendations were made to contribute to the literature and for future study in general, for the school district, and the researcher. SIOP® as an online professional development tool has the potential to reach a growing audience of content teachers who require best practices and sound approaches to teaching ELs in their classrooms.
KOREAN PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS’ BELIEFS ABOUT SECOND LANGUAGE PEDAGOGY IN THE CONTEXT OF GOVERNMENT MANDATED EDUCATIONAL REFORMS: A MIXED-METHODS STUDY
(2017) Hwang, Suh Young; Sullivan, Denis; Curriculum and Instruction; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
Currently there is a lack of investigation into English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) teachers’ beliefs in an educational reform context. This study aims to expand research on ESOL teachers’ beliefs by investigating Korean pre-service teachers’ beliefs about English language education in Korea in relation to their perceptions of and teaching practice of the Ministry of Education (MOE) initiated reforms of English language education. The study is a self-report based study, utilizing both quantitative and qualitative research instruments: a survey questionnaire and interviews. 194 preservice secondary school teachers responded to the survey questionnaire and ten were selected for interviews. The study reveals that a) the beliefs held by the participant teachers were largely more closely aligned with communication-oriented language education, which has been promoted by the MOE in its reform efforts, but some beliefs were based on Korean traditional English education primarily due to high-stakes English tests in Korea; b) major sources of the teachers’ beliefs were their experience as English learners, teacher education, practicum experience, and experience in English speaking countries; c) the teachers did not perceive the MOE reform policies and mandates very positively but with some reservation primarily due to constraints of educational realities; d) the teachers’ implementation of the MOE curricular reforms in practicum was rather limited primarily due to external impediments such as lack of training in communicative language teaching and test-driven English education; e) there were gaps and mismatches among three construct, the participant teachers’ beliefs, perceptions, and implementation. Based on these findings, the study draws the following inferences that the relations formed among the three constructs are highly complicated and contain inconsistent nature and such inconsistency can be explained at least in part by constraints of local educational conditions/realities. The study discusses implications of the results for four different areas: implications for a) future research, b) reform agents, c) teacher education programs and teacher educators/specialists, and d) EFL countries. The study ends with a summary of contributions that it makes.
IPADS IN THE SECOND LANGAUGE CLASSROOM: AN EXAMINATION OF IPAD USE BY TEACHERS THROUGH TPACK AND TEACHER PERCEPTION LENSES.
(2017) Sharp, Steven Kary; Lavine, Roberta Z; Curriculum and Instruction; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
Research indicates a need for teacher education programs which include embedded computer assisted language learning (CALL) to support teachers’ technological pedagogical and content knowledge (TPACK) of how to employ technology in classroom settings. Researchers also indicate a need to better understand the knowledge-base of language teacher education (LTE), including a teacher’s possible 40 year career through ever changing technology. This mixed-method case study examines the use of iPads by four teachers, who represent maximum variation in their teaching and technology experience, in two mostly homogenous schools. The study looks specifically at how teachers’ perceptions of 1) teaching, 2) technology, 3) using technology and 4) their students shape the way they use iPads with English language learners. It also examines what supports facilitate the use of iPads for instructional purposes in second language classrooms. I focus on the use of iPads in a one-to-one implementation in a technologically embedded context because iPads are a relatively new innovation in classrooms, with the potential of changing instruction. Such changes may contribute to the challenges and benefits of being an effective teacher in the English language teaching (ELT) classroom. Research on the use of iPads in classrooms has been previously limited to mostly suggestions for use and has given little guidance in how this disruption will assist and challenge teachers. TPACK is used as a powerful construct based in a reconceptualization of the language teacher education (LTE) knowledge-base, indicating influences of context, teachers and their perceptions, identity and agency and activities in the classroom. These factors suggest ways which classroom technology and teacher, student, administrative and contextual influences may mediate the activities of teaching and learning in the classroom. The data show a correlation between teachers’ practices with iPads and their previous experiences using technology in the classroom. Teacher groupings demonstrated differences in teaching based on their experience using technology and teaching. Schools showed differences only in terms of some choices made by the administration. Students’ effects on the use of iPads is minimal, except for instances of how student behavior affected the classroom.

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