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Even before COVID-19, literacy graduate coursework was increasingly offered online, replacing the traditional campus-based courses This study investigated how graduate literacy students perceive coursework in an online learning environment. This understanding is important because (a) student perceptions regarding online learning are critical to motivation and learning; and (b) faculty designing courses need to consider student voice in course development. This survey research queried literacy master's degree candidates their perceptions prior to and after taking online classes, their confidence levels using technology, and about the technological tools that have impacted their learning. Results indicated initial perceptions of online learning changed positively after engagement in coursework, but course design influenced collaboration and engagement. Statistical significance was found in changes in initial perceptions of online learning to a more positive overall feelings toward online learning. The results of this study raise important considerations for implementing online coursework for literacy graduate students.

With the need to prepare teacher candidates to work with an increasingly diverse student body in U.S. schools, a multi-institutional collaborative self-study group was formed to examine ways in which teacher educators could expand beyond practice-based literacy preparation to support candidates' understanding and implementation of critical pedagogies. The self-study served as a catalyst for interrogating the identities the teacher educators brought to their practice and began a journey that transformed a focus on critical literacies into a commitment to action for change through anti-bias antiracist work. This paper draws from group dialogue and reflective journals to examine specific practices implemented with teacher candidates to transform their practice by considering critical literacies, asset- and deficit-based language, and the identity work of teachers and students. Insights of the self-study suggest that attention to critical pedagogies must go beyond instructional activity to consider the habits of mind essential for cultivation to support a commitment to action for anti-bias anti-racist education. The paper concludes by examining these core habits of mind and their impact on the trajectory of the group's work toward leveraging language and literacy for activism and justice in teacher education contexts.

Niceness is a socialized disposition, particularly amongst white women, that prioritizes comfort and neutrality while preventing resistance against oppressive systems. Given the demographics of teachers and teacher educators, niceness and whiteness are deeply embedded in programs and institutions. As eight white, female teacher educators, we drew on the power of cross-institutional collaboration to form a self-study community of practice with the purpose of interrogating and dismantling the ways niceness and whiteness function in our teaching and teacher institutions and create barriers to centering equity and justice. Findings indicated that collaboration helped us identify how niceness shaped and continues to shape our teaching and teacher identities, particularly how we navigate difficult conversations, think about our roles as teacher educators, and imagine literacy curricula. Findings also indicated that despite efforts to recognize and interrupt niceness and whiteness, our growth was nonlinear, and we find that constant vigilance and reflection is necessary. Implications for the broader field of education include the power of self-study for disrupting niceness and whiteness in teacher education and orienting the community toward action through mutual support and accountability, while also recognizing the ways in which niceness continues to function as a barrier for enacting change for social justice.

As an internal process, documenting reading comprehension has remained challenging. This paper presents three case studies that explore the transactional practices of literacy education graduate students as they read and annotate assigned texts in an online, asynchronous class. Social annotation tools give multiple students simultaneous access to the same text and allow them to interact with one another, which positions literacy as a social practice. Findings illuminate the different approaches participants engaged in to interact with the text and their peers, with regard to comprehension strategies, critique, and community interaction. Implications offer insight for teacher educators on assessing teacher reading comprehension through social annotation.

This collaborative self-study looks at how eight white literacy teacher educators worked together to re-center critical literacy and teaching for equity in methods courses. We used self-study methodology to interrogate not only our pedagogy, but also our own internalization of white supremacy culture and complicity in perpetuating the status quo. Our group met virtually on a monthly basis, discussed common readings, shared resources, and wrote journal reflections. Findings show that our collaboration helped us explore and evolve how we framed the work of critical literacy, delve into the discomfort of initiating and facilitating difficult conversations with students and colleagues, and develop concrete actions for re-centering and enacting critical literacy practices. Building upon the collaborative self-study work that guided our practice, we argue that our collaboration -- across contexts and across time, attending to both our self-work and our pedagogy -- provides a new way forward. As teacher educators, we found self-study to be a sustainable way to outgrow ourselves, and this research serves as a call to action for other teacher educators to take up this work, as well. Dismantling the status quo is a lifelong endeavor, our work is ongoing, and we find it is strengthened when approached both individually and collectively.

Examination of social annotation during assigned readings in this study brings together research about digital reading, learning communities, metacognition, and critical literacy. Social annotation allows readers to engage with text collaboratively to build understanding during reading. The authors conducted a content analysis of over 400 annotations made by 12 novice teachers to discover their metacognitive, social, and critical practices during reading. Findings suggest that text-to-text connections are a powerful practice for developing contextual knowledge, that practice-based identities enacted by participants during reading further supported their knowledge development, and that metacognition and strategy instruction are essential for critical literacy development.

The skills and strategies of effective communication are at the heart of literacy teaching and learning; engaging with digital technologies to communicate puts new demands on teachers and students. The communication tools of the 21st century require a rethinking of our 19th century educational approach to fully integrate digital tools into the classroom. We must help pre-service teachers learn how to leverage technology to build students' communication skills across the curriculum. The authors describe two different Digital Strategy Backpacks that were integrated into a pre-service teacher education instructional technology class. The backpacks illustrate how learners apply communication skills and strategies with a range of technologies. The authors acknowledge that the Digital Strategy Backpacks are just a taste of this technique, however, we contend that they demonstrate how teachers and teacher educators can put communication goals at the front and center of teaching with technology.

This design-based research study examines how a collaborative annotation tool, Perusall, supported the development of community within an asynchronous online graduate course. Students read and engaged with assigned texts uploaded to Perusall each week, providing numerous opportunities for students to interact and collaborate with each other using the tool's various sharing and communication features. Both text interactions and peer-to-peer interactions on Perusall increased throughout the course, with peer-to-peer interactions increasing at a greater rate, indicative of community growth within the course. Collaborative annotation tools capture students' thinking and processing in the moment, more closely mirroring the learning that one might see in a face-to-face class when students discuss content with their instructor and/or classmates. This study offers insights for teachers, teacher educators, and school leaders about new approaches for developing community in online educational contexts, especially considering the drastic shift to online learning as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Niceness includes behaviors such as avoiding conflict or controversial topics, being submissive and people-pleasing, performing teaching as "love" in uncritical ways, accepting deficit perspectives, and upholding patriarchal structures. In the spirit of Niceness, white female teachers often avoid the work of challenging inequitable systems because doing so leaves them vulnerable to being seen as "not nice" or troublemakers. In this article, we interrogate how "niceness" produces and perpetuates inequalities in schooling. In particular, we argue that we, a group of eight white female teacher educators from across the United States, are in positions of leadership, capable of perpetuating or disrupting "niceness" in our pre-service courses. Drawing on scholarship on niceness, femininity, and critical whiteness, we examine our complicity in acts of oppression and how we work to identify and unlearn institutional norms to teach for justice and equity. We share vulnerable moments when we upheld niceness. In doing so, we aim to reveal and explore how socialization into niceness enables our silence, inaction, and misguided action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents the results of a multi‐site study conducted by nine graduate educators in the United States investigating how reading comprehension might be supported by social annotation. This research examines collaborative learning and group construction of knowledge that took place in six classrooms across a university semester. The findings of this study provide insight into the general reading comprehension practices of graduate students. The results also demonstrate how social annotation can operate as a pathway for understanding learning in process. We hope this study can act as a catalyst for discussion in the development of students' metacognitive practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The intent of this research was to investigate the experiences of eighth grade readers as they read nonfiction text on an iPad for academic purposes. We investigated reading strategies that students use to support their reading as well as what role iPad features played in the reading process. New literacies, metacognition and transactional theories informed the framework. Multiple data sources were used to triangulate findings and included (a) retrospective think alouds, (b) student iPad survey, (c) pre and post study student interviews, (d) Metacognitive Awareness of Reading Strategies Inventory and (e) student observations. Data for the collective case study participants focused on the identification of proficient readers who displayed confidence, competency, and control over text. Themes identified in the collective case studies included (a) reading comprehension strategies, (b) nonfiction features and (c) iPad features to support their reading of nonfiction on the iPad.

This report presents research on preservice (PST) and in-service teachers acquiring digital practices for addressing climate change related to knowing how to employ digital practices for studying visual representations of climate change and engaging students in critiquing online information about climate change. Study 1 examined PSTs understanding of climate change through participation in visiting a laboratory involving scientific study of ecological systems to interact with scientists, collect digital artifacts, and create a virtual field trip using these artifacts for instructional purposes. Study 2 involved PSTs and in-service teachers responding critically to the NASA Climate Change website, identifying digital literacies their sixth-grade students would need to employ in responding to this website and designing activities to foster critical response to the website. Some PSTs focused on issues of bias and ideological assumptions, while other PSTs focused on comprehension strategy instruction. Study 3 examined PSTs critiques of the reliability of two web sources containing conflicting claims and evidence about climate change based on analysis of screenshots of each source, a digital literacy web-based tool for critical analysis of the sources, and whole group class discussion. PSTs assumed the need to consider both perspectives on the validity of climate change claims.

Five teacher educators discuss children's literature addressing Earth's changing climate. They present tools for evaluating the quality of resources likely to help teachers and students stimulate conceptual and emotional development rather than anxiety or oversimplification. An annotated selection of current books along with a checklist to evaluate children's literature oriented toward issues of climate change is presented to help teachers choose appropriate literature for facilitating students' development of scientifically, socially, and ecologically responsible thinking and decision-making.

Despite a push to develop high levels of active engagement in learning by helping students reflect, refine and extend their ideas through effective questioning strategies, evidence suggests that teacher-dominated interaction patterns permeate classroom instruction. This Initiate, Respond and Evaluate process leads students to maintain a passive stance towards learning and non-engagement with text. As a result students fail to develop the strategies to solve comprehension problems and monitor their own learning with text. In contrast, effective, active instructional patterns provide students with opportunities to negotiate textual meaning. Through the use of the "Question as Thinking" framework we provide teachers with tools to enable pupils to reflect on their reading and understanding of expository texts. This article describes a framework for questioning designed to assist in the development of an active instructional pattern promoting the joint negotiation of meaning.

We know that metacognitive students are successful in school (Sternberg "Instructional Science" 26:127-140, 1998). However, despite the recognition of the role of metacognition in student success, limited research has been done to explore teachers' explicit awareness of their metacognition and their ability to think about, talk about, and write about their thinking (Zohar "Teaching and Teacher Education" 15:413-429, 1999). Therefore, the current study investigates teachers' understanding of metacognition and their pedagogical understanding of metacognition, and the nature of what it means to teach students to be metacognitive. One hundred-five graduate students in education participated in this study. The data analysis results, using mixed research method, suggest that the participant's metacognitive knowledge had a significant impact on his/her pedagogical understanding of metacognition. The results revealed that teachers who have a rich understanding of metacognition report that teaching students to be metacognitive requires a complex understanding of both the concept of metacognition and metacognitive thinking strategies. (Contains 4 tables and 2 figures.)

This article describes a pilot study conducted with 10 identified avid adolescent readers who completed the Adolescent Motivation to Read Profile (AMRP) (Pitcher, Albright, DeLaney, Walker, Seunarienesingh, & Moggie, 2007) that includes both a survey to determine students' self-concept and value of reading and an interview that sheds light on what motivates them to read as well as yields specific information about their reading habits. The researchers use this data to challenge current myths regarding avid readers and to suggest that teachers look more deeply at the types of literacy experiences they offer in their classroom in order to draw these readers into their classes and enhance in-school reading. (Contains 1 figure.)

The purpose of this article is to present Questioning as Thinking (QAT), a metacognitive framework that helps teachers and students focus on performance. QAT combines components of three widely-used strategies: Think-Alouds, Question Answer Relationships (QAR), and Self-Questioning. Together, these three strategies give students and teachers the language and processes for explicitly monitoring and regulating cognition. In addition, students and teachers engage in active learning when they implement these strategies, which may lead to improved student performance and achievement. The article describes QAT and its benefits, using vignettes from two middle grades teachers, Jennifer and Barbara (pseudonyms are used for all names), who implemented the framework in their classrooms. (Contains 6 figures.)

This study examined how content area teachers' literacy knowledge developed during a yearlong professional development initiative focused on using the framework of Question-Answer Relationships (QAR) within explicit instruction. The initiative focused on the metacognitive thinking in which teachers engage during QAR instruction. The participating teachers' knowledge development was measured through their metacognitive understandings as demonstrated by lesson plans and reflective comments. Findings indicate that teachers' metacognitive understanding of the QAR strategy was demonstrated through their declarative and procedural understandings. Teachers successfully enacted a literacy strategy in their content classrooms, understanding that students would become more actively engaged and metacognitive about the content being learned. (Contains 1 table and 2 figures.)

The present study explores the ways in which participating in a study group helped five US middle school teachers alter their construction of knowledge. The members came together to improve their knowledge on assessment for learning in response to school-level and district-level pressures. The analysis was a recursive review of teacher statements and actions in the study group as well as the classroom through the lens of pedagogical content knowledge. The support and collegiality of the group demonstrates how collaborative groups can develop professional growth. The examination of the data looked at how participation in a study group focused on assessment for learning changed the structure of pedagogical content knowledge for participating teachers and what components of the study group led to those changes. (Contains 2 tables and 1 figure.)

The Youth Empowerment Strategies (YES!) project is an afterschool empowerment program and research project for underserved early adolescents. Central to YES! is an empowerment intervention that provides early adolescents with opportunities for civic engagement with other youth around issues of shared concern in their schools and neighborhoods. This article specifically focuses on the use of Photovoice as a promising way to engage youth in social change as they take photos capturing strengths and issues in their environment and use these as the basis of critical dialogue and collective action plans. Adding to a growing body of information on using Photovoice, this article reports how early adolescents in the YES! afterschool program experienced the Photovoice process, moving from photography and writing to initiate group-designed social action projects. Recommendations are offered for others engaged in empowerment work with early adolescents. (Contains 2 tables and 3 figures.)

In this multi-institutional survey research, we investigated graduate literacy faculty’s experiences and perceptions of teaching online during COVID-19 in the U.S.A. A Likert-type survey with open-ended questions was distributed to literacy faculty teaching in campus-based and online environments. Results indicated faculty did not perceive limitations in these online learning environments. However, they encountered various challenges, and handling field experiences became the greatest challenge. Also reported were the faculty mental and physical health concerns (i.e., experiencing anxiety, feeling pressured, and suffering from screen fatigue). Faculty participants realized they needed to be more student-centered with their online teaching. As faculty move toward post-pandemic course design and teaching, lessons learned during the pandemic can help build stronger and more equitable graduate literacy education programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Learning how to learn in today's digital age requires students to have metacognitive and self-regulatory skills. This article reports findings of a research study that examined the metacognitive strategies of biology content experts using an iPad to complete reading and writing academic tasks in a semi-controlled learning environment. Results suggest that for learning to occur, we must consider the metacognitive, self-regulation, and epistemology of the learner in relation to both the digital device and the task. The authors suggest strategies for teaching and learning with mobile learning technologies in the twenty-first century in ways that help students become metacognitive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background To understand barriers and promoters for accessing eye care by rural communities, we used a modified approach to Photovoice, a community-based participatory action research approach Methods Community members took photographs and wrote or spoke stories based upon a series of questions intended to facilitate deeper thinking. Fifteen rural paramedical team members who were affiliated with the rural network of L V Prasad Eye Institute, and 60 people from four villages reported barriers and promoters for eye care access for 20 villages Results Important barriers for accessing eye care included the following: no caretaker at home for grandchildren except for the grandparent(s), alcoholism, uncontrolled blood pressure, inadequate diabetes management, lack of escort for blind people and elders, affordability, and inadequate clinic staffing during summer season when farming villagers were available. Important promoters for seeking eye care included having a neighbor who had a good surgical outcome in one eye which resulted in the ability to resume work. The Photovoice project offered specific suggestions to hospital management for improving eye care access, including providing evening transportation, providing additional surgical staffing during busy summer season, and the creation of tool spectacle repair kits to be kept at the primary vision centers Conclusions This Photovoice project facilitated a deeper understanding of the important barriers and promoters for accessing eye care by villagers, and by the rural eye care team, offering specific suggestions to hospital management for improving eye care access and to communicate without any inhibiting factors like fear of hierarchy within the hospital administration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Five teacher educators discuss children's literature addressing Earth's changing climate. They present tools for evaluating the quality of resources likely to help teachers and students stimulate conceptual and emotional development rather than anxiety or oversimplification. An annotated selection of current books along with a checklist to evaluate children's literature oriented toward issues of climate change is presented to help teachers choose appropriate literature for facilitating students' development of scientifically, socially, and ecologically responsible thinking and decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As e-reading devices become more available in schools, it is imperative to explore how such devices interact with student reading comprehension and motivation. The purpose of this study was to investigate fifth-grade students' reading comprehension and motivation when interacting with e-reading devices (i.e. iPad and Kindle) and traditional text while reading a fictional story, i.e. Percy Jackson and the Lightening Thief (Riordan, 2005). We utilized a mixed-method design for an in-depth analysis. Results showed use of e-reading devices may make the process of comprehension more complicated and motivation was affected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes the training of students as facilitators for the Youth Empowerment Strategies (YES!) project designed to promote problem-solving, social action and civic participation among underserved elementary school youth in West Contra Costa County, California. This project involved 160 fifth grade students in after-school activities which identified their capacities and strengths in ways which aimed to decrease rates of alcohol, tobacco and other drug use and other risky behaviors. The article describes the recruitment and training of high school students and their graduate student counterparts as facilitators in this university-community partnership, and discusses the implications for other youth-focused community-based projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose. To investigate relationships between adolescents' current alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana use; perceptions of neighborhood disorder; and sense of hope. Design. Questionnaires were administered to a nonrandom sample of middle school students during the spring of 1999. Subjects. The ethnically and geographically diverse sample (n = 369), from a range of low socioeconomic status backgrounds, was considered to be at high risk for alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use because of previous enrollment in low socioeconomic status elementary schools. Measures. Alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana use were dichotomized into current and never/no use. Six variables described neighborhood social disorder. Sense of hope was assessed using the Children's Hope Scale. Results. Statistically significant relationships were found between perceived neighborhood disorder and current alcohol (p = .01), tobacco (p = .001), and marijuana (p < .001) use. A statistically significant and independent relationship was found between sense of hope and current alcohol (p = .02), tobacco (p = .02), and marijuana (p = .06) use. Results indicated linear trends in participants' increased use of alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana and (1) perception of higher neighborhood disorder and (2) lower sense of hope. conclusion. Substance use prevention programs for youth might usefully be directed not only to agdolescents but also to the neighborhoods in which they live. Additionally, it would be important to emphasize creating safer neighborhood environments that support the development of a stronger sense of hope for the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]