Search

The task of verifying credible and original information is now more complicated, especially for undergraduate students. This study uses information literacy and discourse analysis to develop English as a foreign language learners' critical reading skills while verifying information on social media. A reading test including false news was used to assess the learners' awareness of the credibility of social media information. Then, they were divided into experimental and control groups. The experimental group was trained in evaluating a set of false news using information literacy and discourse analysis skills. The control group did not receive any training. The experiment was conducted again on both groups. The results show a significant improvement among the experimental group compared to the control group. The findings of this study shed light on the growing need for creating a pedagogical space in English as a foreign language classroom that focuses on raising learners' awareness of information literacy and discourse analysis skills to read with critical perspectives.

This qualitative action research study explores six reading strategies to engage students in more dynamic reading through the implementation of workshops focused on the cross-curricular approach to develop critical reading skills among ninth graders at a public school. The study was conducted with 22 students selected, in the city of Manizales, Colombia. The data collection instruments were students' artifacts, teachers' field notes, focus group questionnaires, survey questionnaires, and documentary analysis. The findings demonstrate that the use of reading strategies within a cross-curricular approach facilitates the development of critical reading in students. In addition, the design of materials (workshops), based on topics related to the students' environment, has an impact that not only contributes to improving their knowledge of English but also to expanding their knowledge in other areas of the academic field.

The new multimodal reading ecosystem currently contributes to the proposal of forms of mediation that take into account the hybridization of digital and analog paradigms. In this context, illustrated books intended for children can constitute an area of interest, since their discursive and aesthetic codes contribute to the development of multimodal reading strategies and to the positioning of the child reader before the information, at the same time that they generate pleasant reading and knowledge-building experiences. Accordingly, today's publishing market requires a learning process from the mediator in order to develop the corresponding strategies with which to approach children's books. Previous research has focused on the book trailer as a virtual epitext for the promotion of publications, and it has analyzed the identity of this tool to demonstrate its effectiveness in the promotion of reading. Along these lines, and with the purpose of verifying how this tool behaves in the introduction of future teachers to children's books, an intervention is proposed that is based on the creation of book trailers. A total of 860 students from the Early Childhood and Primary Education teaching degree programs participated in the intervention. It included qualitative research that analyzed the documents/epitexts created by the students, written reflections within the framework of this project and the discourse collected "a posteriori" in interviews and discussion groups on the experience. The results reveal the potential that creating book trailers has for introducing teacher trainees to illustrated children's books within the framework of the digital society.

An academic volume is a literary text, and the knowledge within is a subject to its interpretation. In the spirit of work by last century's great literary scholars Auerbach (Time History and Literature. Princeton University Press, 253-265, 2014) and De Man (The Resistance to Theory. University of Minnesota Press. 21-26, 1987) I have applied a film theory conceptualization of paratext defined by Gray (Show Sold Separately. New York University Press, 2010) to reading of an educational classic The Process of Education by Bruner (The Process of Education. Harvard University Press, 1977). By contrasting the reviews of this famous text published within the last two decades with the volume and its later explanations by the book's author, I have critically confronted the interpretation of this text. Themes discussed include the historical context and the influence of The Process of Education for the development of education in the United States and elsewhere in the world until today.

This study conducted a comparative analysis of critical reading skills among engineering students at private universities in Malaysia and Vietnam, using the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) reading framework. Involving 182 undergraduates, the research included a quantitative critical reading test followed by statistical analysis (T-tests) to examine score variability among first-year and final-year students. The analysis revealed significant performance differences among first-year students but not among final-year students from both countries. To complement the quantitative data, semi-structured interviews with 16 participants across different critical reading levels were conducted. These interviews aimed to capture students' perspectives on the PISA test, highlighting challenges such as the Western orientation of texts, English vocabulary, and the format of open-ended questions. Integrating quantitative and qualitative methods, the study offers an in-depth understanding of the critical reading abilities of engineering students in Malaysia and Vietnam, underscoring the importance of considering cultural and linguistic factors in educational assessments.

Sourcing and intertextual integration skills are critical to the development of young students' digital literacy skills. Sourcing skills include identifying source parameters (e.g., recognizing the author, publication date, publisher) and analyzing the author's expertise. The objective of this study is to investigate which sourcing skills used by students in document selection are most associated with intertextual integration skills. A total of 165 students attending lower secondary school participated in the research. Students completed a sourcing inventory, an intertextual integration task (after reading multiple texts), and control variables measures (prior knowledge, prior beliefs, and text comprehension). The results of exploratory factor analysis showed three dimensions for sourcing, namely source identification, author's competence, and judgment on website choice. Furthermore, hierarchical regressions showed that author competence was the only sourcing factor associated with intertextual integration skills, after controlling for the effect of control variables. These results suggest that even younger students pay attention to author expertise when choosing texts to use for their assignments, and doing so enhances their competence in integrating information across sources.

The study was a pilot intervention to develop Year 5-8 students' close reading and writing of literary texts using the T-Shape Literacy Model (Wilson and Jesson in Set Res Inf Teach 1:15-22, 2019). Students analysed text sets to explore how different authors use language to engender mood and atmosphere. The study used a single-subject design logic for repeated researcher-designed and a quasi-experimental, matched control group design for repeated standardised measures of reading and writing. Nine teachers and their classes participated. The schools were part of a large school improvement programme using digital tools and pedagogy to accelerate students' learning participated that the authors were research-practice partners in. The schools all served low socio-economic status communities and the majority of students were Maori (51%) and Pacific (28%). There was a large effect size on the overall score for the researcher-designed measure (effect size = 1.00) and for the close reading of single texts sub-score (effect size = 0.90). There was a moderate-to-high effect for students' identification of language features (effect size = 0.75) but no significant effect on their synthesis scores. Students in the intervention significantly outperformed matched control group students in the standardised writing post-test (effect size = 0.65) but differences for the standardized reading comprehension test were not significant (effect size = 0.15). Results overall suggest the approach has promise for improving the metalinguistic knowledge, literary analysis and creative writing of younger and historically underserved groups of students.

The purpose of this article is to comment on ways that writing-reading connections can take place enhancing reading comprehension and composition. Drawing from a genre-based instructional approach, examples are provided to explain such connections in the process of (a) a rhetorical analysis conducted on writing prompts and prior to reading, (b) examination of writing purposes and genres for writing and reading, (c) read alouds for retelling and monitoring meaning making, and (d) of critical reading for reviewing purposes and determination of clarity of written ideas. The article concludes with guidelines for classroom teachers and recommendations for the implementation of the suggested practices.

The aim of this study is to test the mediation of reading motivation between preservice teachers' metacognitive reading strategies and critical reading self-efficacy. For this purpose, a sample of 482 preservice teachers studying at the education faculty of a state university located in a city center in the Central Black Sea Region in the spring semester of the 2019-2020 academic year. Participants were determined by convenience sampling method. Self-efficacy Perception Questionnaire about Critical Reading Skills, Metacognitive Reading Strategies Scale and Adult Reading Motivation Inventory were used as data collection tools. In the analysis of the data, mediation analysis was performed with the Pearson Product-Moment correlation analysis using the Jamovi software. In the findings obtained, it was found that there were positive and highly significant relationships between dependent, independent and mediator variables. Metacognitive reading strategies were found to be significant predictors of reading motivation and critical reading self-efficacy. In addition, reading motivation was found to be a significant predictor of critical reading self-efficacy. According to the findings of the mediation analysis carried out as a result of provided these assumptions, it has been revealed that reading motivations have a partial mediating role between preservice teachers' metacognitive reading strategies and critical reading self-efficacy. In conclusion, reading motivation explains some of the relationship between metacognitive and critical reading.

With the rise of the digital age and social media in the 21st century, our language learners as readers are constantly exposed to a surge of textual information daily. Inevitably, there has been a pressing need for language teachers, particularly in the EFL context, to consider higher-level comprehension and reading skills that help prepare their students for such an influx of information. This classroom-based study aimed to investigate students' perception of: (1) critical reading abilities; and (2) critical literacy practice implemented in a reading lesson. The participants were 32 first-year students who studied an English foundation course at a public university in Thailand. The data were collected by means of a questionnaire and focus group interviews. Using descriptive statistics and descriptive narrative, findings revealed positive overall performance and active engagement in the lesson, while language difficulty and concerns over the abilities to read between the lines were reported. The focus group interviews reported significant engagement in the lesson. Critical reading skills and classroom discussion were found to be valuable. Critical literacy practice appeared to contribute to the participants' positive take on learning about multiple perspectives in classroom discussion.

Research shows that prerequisite courses prepare students for participation in more challenging coursework and more advanced future learning. Despite being a field that heavily relies on research evidence to inform clinical decisions as part of evidence-based practice, many undergraduate Communication Sciences and Disorder (CSD) programs do not include prerequisite undergraduate coursework dedicated to research methods. The purpose of the present study was to explore speech-language pathology and audiology graduate students' experiences with and opinions about critical appraisal of research articles. A total of 201 graduate students from institutions nationwide completed an online survey with questions related to exposure to research appraisal, use of an appraisal tool, and perspectives on the importance of research appraisal and confidence in appraisal skills. Results indicated that nearly one-third of the respondents did not learn or could not remember learning about article appraisal in their undergraduate CSD programs, though almost all survey respondents reported that they had learned about article appraisal in their graduate classes. Over half of the students used an article appraisal tool to bolster their learning of article critiques, almost all of whom found it helpful. Most of the respondents recognized the importance of article appraisal knowledge prior to graduate school but suggested that many of their undergraduate instructors did not place importance on the skill. Respondents' confidence in their article appraisal skills ranged from "least confident" to "most confident". This study supports early and ongoing practice with article appraisal, which will provide these future clinicians with the confidence to communicate their knowledge and understanding when making evidence-informed clinical decisions. Additionally, instructors who teach article appraisal may consider using a hands-on appraisal tool since almost all students with experience using them believe they are helpful.

"Using Sentiment Analysis to Ease Students toward or around Macroanalysis" introduces teachers to the mathematical analytical method currently being promoted by Matthew Jockers which he calls macroanalysis. This method uses an algorithm called "R," originally designed by researchers in sociology. In many ways, macroanalysis presents an approach to literary analysis that might seem to many traditionalists to run counter to our training as close readers or advocates of specific literary theories. Instead of focusing on specific elements in a limited number of texts, macroanalysis uses a computer to consume a huge number of literary works--more than a single human being could read in a lifetime--and collect a statistically significant amount of data, a search which has been programmed into the algorithm by the researcher. This use of a computer to do the reading for the researcher results in a new methodology which Jockers calls "distant reading" (a term he borrows from Franco Moretti). After providing an introductory discussion of macroanalysis, I turn my focus onto making a case for the advantages of using graphs to aid in classroom discussions of reading assignments. In the introductory discussion, I point out that one serious advantage that arises from Jocker's macroanalysis is how the "R" algorithm produces a variety of graphs that provide visual reinforcement for the statistical data it generates. Consequently, in the second section of the essay, I provide a justification for why it would be advantageous in a college or even high school discussion of a reading assignment to privilege visual presentations of student responses to the assignment. Once I've established the nature of macroanalysis, and how challenging it is for the average English major, I offer an alternative approach to creating graphs to clarify student responses. This alternative approach is a blend of "sentiment analysis" and reader-response theory. Essentially this approach can be used to ease students toward the more serious graphing features of macroanalysis, or it can function as a self-contained form of analysis without shifting to the difficult mathematics characteristic of macroanalysis. To prepare the readers for the rather lengthy discussion of a graph produced by a group of Virginia Governor's School students, I first provide a simple graph that shows my responses to the opening scene of Flannery O'Connor's short story "A Good Man Is Hard to Find." Having clarified how sentiment analysis, with the mechanical help of Microsoft Excel, can produce an engaging graph of emotional and intellectual responses that can be easily shared with the class, I then move to the last half of my essay--a detailed discussion of an actual student graph derived from a reading of Helen Klein Ross's "What Was Mine" which was much more sophisticated than the graph I created for the O'Connor story. Even though the students' graph was overly ambitious, the discussion of its visual dynamics demonstrate how even a faulty graph can teach students how to become close readers and appreciate the importance of analysis that is based on specific elements of the literature being analyzed.

This study examined the effect of using critical reading in scientific texts on students' academic achievement, sci-ence performance level and creativity. The study was conducted with 5th grade students in Eregli, Zonguldak during the 2017-2018 academic year. The study group consisted of a total of 34 students, 17 in the experimental group and 17 in the control group. Activities based on critical reading were carried out with the experimental group, whereas traditional activities from the 5th grade science curriculum were employed with the control group. The "Multiple Choice Academic Achievement Test", the "Science Performance Level Test" and the "Torrance Test of Creative Thinking" were administered to both groups as a pre-test prior to the study and as a post-test once the study was completed. The data were analyzed with the dependent and independent samples t-Test using the SPSS package program. The study results revealed a significant difference in science performance level and creativity between the experimental and control groups favoring the experimental group. How-ever, there was no significant difference in academic achievement between the experimental and control groups. Critical reading practices can be used in science lessons to improve students' high-level skills, and critical reading activities can be developed along-side scientific texts for multiple grade levels.

Teachers in any discipline where reading matters should practice a robust scaffolding pedagogy to teach critical reading, in contrast to the more common but less direct approaches that often leave students to learn or not learn these skills themselves. In this essay, I describe how to adapt established methods for teaching writing (including templates) to teaching reading. To answer critics who might find the approach too "reductive," I turn to scaffolding theory, which calls for purposefully--but temporarily--reductive teaching. Finally, I present qualitative and quantitative evidence from three years of an American literature course to show how a scaffolding approach can help students read critically.

Purpose: Many PhD students have strong reading comprehension, but some struggle with how to read critically. The purpose of this study is to understand what reading looks like for PhD students, what they are doing when they read scholarly texts and how they bring these texts to life in meaningful ways. Design/methodology/approach: The authors conducted a self-study using a phenomenological research approach. Five PhD students collected data on their academic reading for three weeks, including the references, purpose for reading, and what they did as part of the reading process. Second, students analyzed their reading processes according to Paul and Elder's (2006) intellectual standards. Third, students participated in two semi-structured discussions about the standards in relation to doctoral reading. Findings: Reading is inseparable from thinking, with Paul and Elder's (2006) intellectual standards (e.g. clarity, relevance, logic and fairness) playing an essential role in the academic reading process. Alongside these cognitive aspects of reading, the affective domain also contributes to the reading process. Originality/value: This study is important because being able to read scholarly work is crucial for completing doctoral programs, conducting research, and publishing. We suggest that just as we need to teach writing, we need to acknowledge that many doctoral students need guidance to read scholarly texts, they need to be educated on the intellectual standards, and supervisors must rest their assumptions about doctoral reading and explicitly teach these processes.

This study sought to understand how well students (n = 274; M[subscript age] = 12.45) were able to identify the author, the main claim, and the supporting evidence (identification performance) and to justify the author's expertise, the author's benevolence, and the quality of the evidence (justification performance) while reading multiple online texts. The study also examined the contribution of prior topic knowledge and basic reading skills (word recognition and reading comprehension) to students' identification and justification performance. Students read two more and two less credible online texts about sugar effects on health. After reading each text, they responded to multiple-choice items that measured the identification and justification performance. Justifying credibility seemed more challenging for students than identifying the claim, evidence, and author. Word recognition and reading comprehension were statistically significant predictors of identification performance, whereas prior knowledge and reading comprehension were statistically significant predictors of justification performance. The findings offer new insights into the relationship between basic reading skills and credibility evaluation that can inform both theory and instruction.

The study examined student groups' (n = 72) self-evaluations of their group work and their learning of critical online reading during an inquiry task. The analyses focused on aspects of critical online reading, describing group work practices, and evaluating them. For learning critical online reading, the most often mentioned aspects were sources, perspectives, and author; corroboration and evidence were mentioned the least. About half of the groups mentioned 0-2 aspects which implies low diversity in learning critical online reading. The most often mentioned aspect in describing group work was division of work. In evaluating group work, member contributions were reflected most often. A majority of the groups mentioned four or five aspects of group work practices or evaluations which implies a moderate ability to reflect on group work. The results suggest that the students' learning of critical online reading and reflecting on group work jointly were not very extensive.

In recent years, a number of states in the United States have enacted educational policies, often referred to as "critical race theory" bans, that aim to restrict teaching about race and racism in schools. This study examines how current and future elementary literacy educators interpreted and intended to respond to one such law in Tennessee. Drawing theoretically on policy sociology and critical race theory policy analysis, we qualitatively analyzed data generated in focus groups with 18 prospective and practicing teachers. Our findings illustrate the restrictive effects of the policy on elementary literacy instruction, caused partially by teachers interpreting the policy as substantially impeding their ability to engage students in critically reading, writing, and talking about race and racism. Further, findings demonstrate how this new policy intersected with and exacerbated existing curricular constraints in elementary literacy classrooms, including developmental discourses and neoliberal standardization, reinforcing normative whiteness by producing further impediments to elementary literacy instruction as a space to develop critical consciousness about race. This study contributes to emerging literature on the effects of divisive concepts legislation, as well as situating this current legislative wave within existing policy contexts of restriction.

Interactive Fiction (IF)--a digital form of non-linear narrative writing--requires readers to respond, to make choices that shape their reading experience. I argue that such choices can be put to use in the classroom, helping teachers to facilitate metalinguistic talk. In this article, I offer a clear conceptualisation of metalinguistic talk, drawing upon existing research to create a useful framework comprised of four characteristics. Using this framework, and with reference to interview data and field notes, I analyse and consider two transcripts of classroom talk in order to explore the extent to which a particular work of IF enabled me to facilitate metalinguistic talk with a class of 16-17-year-old English Literature students. The lesson in question formed part of an action research project exploring the possibilities for IF in the secondary school English classroom. I argue that the choices contained within "A Great Gatsby," a work of IF which I designed via a process of critical-creative textual intervention and using Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby" as my source material, can help to scaffold metalinguistic talk--conversations "about" language.

Many teachers tirelessly grapple with topics of text selection, evaluation, and comprehension--examining elements of diversity, quality, and kid appeal to empower teachers to select titles for classrooms through a critical lens--under a mandated scripted curriculum. The purpose of this column is to explore and draw upon teachers' knowledge around implementation of global texts with a focus on comprehension and "teaching within the cracks."

Educational professionals are not ordinary everyday critics using experiential expertise to comment on practice. Instead, they are critical researchers who are concerned with debates about the purposes of education, social justice and equity, and how research is vital to understanding and explaining change. Using the reflexive views of six educational professionals interplayed with my own research career I examine what this means in reality, and I consider how and why such critical research is subject to criticism, but how doctoral studies not only confront this but also develop significant ways of thinking and doing as professionals.

This paper provides an examination of the foundations, efficacy, and effectiveness of a set of practices associated with improved social studies and history learning and literacy outcomes for middle grade students, including students with varying learning needs (e.g., English learners, students with disabilities). This approach, Promoting Adolescents' Comprehension of Text, has been the focus of multiple randomized controlled trials, including a large-scale effectiveness study. This paper has two foci: (a) to examine the evidence for the PACT intervention across settings, populations, and time and (b) to consider the design of these studies and the unit of randomization (i.e., within teacher or across school) to better understand why the typically expected differential effect sizes between efficacy and effectiveness studies were not evident.

The purpose of this mixed methods, multi-year study was to explore aspects of a virtual international literacies project, the Global Read Aloud, that promoted students' multiple literacies. Guided by theories of critical, digital, and global literacies, we analyzed survey (N = 436) and interview (N = 21) data from K-12 literacy educators. Data revealed that educators perceived GRA-related benefits of virtual collaboration for digital literacies learning, of reading quality multicultural literature, and of teaching critical literacies as foundational to global meaning making. The results of this study contribute teachers' voices to discussions on the importance of developing critical, digital, and global literacies in this interconnected world. Data suggest that using shared readings and virtual collaboration can foster a community of readers, locally and globally, that create possibilities for students to experience and use literacies as a part of participating in authentic global meaning making.

Despite the importance of academic reading in higher education, the current literature lacks a valid instrument comprising different components of academic reading at a graduate level. This article reports on the development of an academic reading instrument for (Iranian) MA students of applied linguistics. To this end, based on a thorough review of the relevant literature and interviews with experts, a preliminary theoretical framework was proposed and an instrument with 50 items was developed. The instrument was validated through conducting exploratory factor analysis (EFA) with 345 participants and a further confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) with 207 participants. The results of the EFA and CFA led to the emergence of an 8-component instrument with 37 items. The components include reading strategies, English language proficiency, content knowledge, statistical literacy, genre awareness, information literacy, interaction with teaches and peers (interactive reading), and critical reading. The implications are discussed.

This paper investigates readers' recognition of unsourced evidentials in texts in association with critical reading. To this end, we involved four Iranian postgraduate students at an Australian university in a collective case study where each student read four Persian texts and participated in in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. Data analysis employed critical discourse analysis and discursive power relations to examine participants' positionalities and subjectivities. Our findings in general confirm the students' recognition of unsourced evidential in texts as an indication of critical reading. More specifically, it was revealed that linguistic sources (e.g. Persian indefinite suffix '-i'), as well as socio-cultural factors such as normalization embedded within the Persian oral narrative and discourse, play significantly in identifying unsourced evidentials. Pedagogical implications for critical reflection on texts containing instances of unsourced evidentials are suggested.

While learners' evaluations of author trustworthiness have received much attention in prior research, less work has examined how students evaluate information within texts or engage in critique. Specifically, in this exploratory study, we sought to determine how effective higher education students were at engaging in research report critique, a commonly assigned academic task, and the extent to which this was associated with comprehension and integration performance. Higher education students were asked to: (a) complete a variety of individual difference measures, (b) read and critique two brief research reports, and (c) answer comprehension questions and to provide an open-ended written response to capture integration. Key findings included that students most commonly generated research-methods based critiques (e.g., considering sample size or the use of self-report) and that comprehension performance predicted the number of valid critiques generated, while both knowledge of research methods and comprehension performance predicted open-ended integration. Finally, integration performance and critique generation were significantly associated. Implications and future directions for fostering students' abilities to engage in critique are discussed.

This article describes a comprehensive framework (iDISC) for the close reading of informational texts for elementary students that may need additional language, social, memory, or behavioral supports. The article introduces concrete tools that are used before, during, and after close reading, including cue-cards, language stems, discussion behaviors, anchor posters, and graphic organizers. The tools provide teachers with instructional scaffolds that can support their students to undertake more educative discussions with peers.

The article describes practices of "intensive reading" for post-qualitative inquiry, drawing on the work of Deleuze, with some examples from the author's own research. To read intensively is to experience the forward propulsion toward something not-yet-present. That forward momentum, and the fragmented path that it carves through the library, has the potential, in the words of Stengers, to summon something "that has no stable illustration in this world."

Reading is an integral part of scholarly practice, though we do not often discuss how our approaches to reading differ, and how these approaches may ultimately make interpretive impact on our research. This essay considers approaches to reading in light of the concepts of proximity and orientation. Though formal "close reading" is a common approach to teaching reading and analyzing texts, it is possible that there are other, closer approaches to situating reader and text. Perhaps reading has been seen as dangerous and liberating because it is true that texts can draw us into their landscapes and fundamentally alter our orientations to the world, an important consideration for scholars.

Critical thinking, trust and confirmation towards social media have become increasingly important in this period called the post-truth era when the reality has become indistinct, is reproduced, and the truth is undermined. The study aimed to examine the prospective teachers' confirmation / trust levels and critical thinking tendencies towards social media in terms of various variables. The research was conducted with the relational survey model. The critical thinking tendency scale and social media confirmation/trust scale were used in the data collection process. In the analysis of the data, Mann Whitney U, Kruskal-Wallis test, and Spearman Brown Rank-Order correlation coefficient were used. It was observed that prospective teachers' critical thinking tendency was at a good level, and their level of confirmation/trust towards social media was at a medium level. It was determined that critical thinking tendency levels did not differ by gender, but by the number of news sources followed on social media and the frequency of reading books. It was seen that their confirmation / trust level towards social media did not differ depending on gender or frequency of reading books, but the level of confirmation varied depending on the number of news sources followed on social media. Additionally, it was determined that there was a low level of positive relationship between the skill regarding critical thinking tendency and confirmation dimension.

Critical reading is an indispensable learning skill that students need both inside and outside the classroom. Even though many attempts have been made to unravel the impact of critical reading on Second Language (L2) reading, there is a paucity of investigations examining the effect of critical reading combined with students' active role. The study raises three questions. They are: (1) What are the students' views about reading comprehension and critical reading skills?; (2) What difficulties do students encounter when they read?; and (3) how can critical reading strategies improve students' reading comprehension? Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate how critical reading skills can enhance students reading' comprehension while working in groups. For the sake of this study, data were gathered from an open-ended questionnaire distributed to university students before intervention, learning logs, and participant observations. The results of the study revealed significant effects of critical reading skills on students' reading comprehension at different levels. Students viewed reading as an active dynamic process that motivated the activation of higher order thinking skills and helped students tap into their prior experiences to approach the reading materials. It also showed how implementing a rich repertoire of critical reading skills enabled students to overcome reading problems as they could read not just what is directly stated but what is being communicated between and beyond the lines. The findings offered several pedagogical implications and recommendations for further research.

This article provides guidelines for student investigation that address teaching and learning objectives for both the social studies and language arts. Building on historical inquiry methods, the authors advocate for Discipline-Based Art Education (DBAE) as a vehicle for this learning. Because the curricula in secondary English/language arts and history potentially overlap, the question of the legitimacy of William Shakespeare's contributions to the Western canon provides opportunities for interdisciplinary learning. Students grapple with the question of whether Shakespeare would have been capable of writing all the works for which he is credited. They consider two other individuals who represent possible authors who were in position to develop the literary works that conventional histories ascribe to Shakespeare. Students pursue teacher-guided, self-directed, and collaborative activities to attempt to unravel the mystery of Shakespeare's identity and establish the legitimacy of his authorship of internationally celebrated dramas that have been celebrated for over four centuries. The importance of this learning is the impetus it offers students to pursue deep reading of Shakespeare's works to achieve social learning, as well as to exercise research skills that may avail students of keen insights to become better critical readers and historians.

The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between critical reading skills and creative reading perceptions of fifth grade students. In the study, correlational research design was employed. The population of the study consisted of approximately 5000 fifth grade students studying at schools in the city center and at central village schools in Usak Province, Turkey in the 2019-2020 academic year. The sample of the study consisted of 446 fifth grade students selected from this population through stratified sampling. To collect the data, the "Critical Reading Skill (CRS) Scale" and the "Perception Scale of Creative Reading" (PSCR) scale were used. In the analysis of the data, descriptive statistics, correlation, one-way and two-way analysis of variance, regression analysis and one-way multivariate analysis of variance were used. As a result of the research, it was found that there was a positive and significant relationship between the critical reading skills and creative reading perception levels of fifth grade students (r =0.886, p<0.01). In addition, it was found that critical reading skill was a significant predictor of creative reading perception (R[superscript 2] =0.785, p<0.01). It was concluded that gender groups did not significantly affect the relationship between critical reading skill level and creative reading perception level of fifth grade students while average daily TV viewing time and the number of the books read in a month variables significantly affected this relationship. In addition, it was revealed that critical reading skill scores were significant predictor of creative reading perception scores. Lastly, our results indicated that critical reading skill level and the number of the books read in a month had common effect on the creative reading perception level of the students.

The objective of the study was to recognize the self-perception of students linked to undergraduate programs of a faculty of business sciences regarding the development of transversal learning. It corresponds to research designed under the empirical-analytical paradigm, the quantitative approach and the nonexperimental deductive method - transectional of descriptive level. Considering a population of 4,000 individuals enrolled in the School of Business Sciences, the sample was estimated at 369 participants -95% reliability and 5% margin of error-. An instrument of 32 items with five dimensions was used for data collection: critical reading and writing, assertive communication, quantitative reasoning, citizenship exercise and responsibility, and appropriation/use of information and communication technologies. The data were processed and analyzed through descriptive statistical procedures. The findings show that most of the study participants were located in the 'moderately developed' options for each of the formulated items, which shows that cross-cutting learning requires further strengthening from the pedagogical strategies of teachers for comprehensive training. Therefore, it is concluded that the transversal learning of students enrolled in programs in the area of business sciences for the context of study requires further development and strengthening, especially those associated with critical reading and writing both in the mother tongue and in a second language, assertive communication in a second language, and quantitative reasoning.

In this article, I provide a critical reading of the now-removed statue of Sir John A. Macdonald in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada. I bring together my own experience visiting the statue with understandings from Indigenous scholarship and public pedagogy theorizing to think about commemorations as public pedagogies that are foremost relational. I consider how the Macdonald statue works narratively, discursively, and as a site of embodied encounter to create a harmful relationality. Thinking relationally, and pedagogically, about colonial statues suggests possibilities not only for understanding how these commemorative practices produce bad relations but also for envisioning and enacting good relations.

The purpose of this study is to examine secondary school students' critical reading skills and listening/watching strategies in line with different variables, and to determine whether their critical reading skills have an effect on their listening/watching strategies. The sample of the research consists of 800 students, 380 girls, and 420 boys, in the fall semester of the 2021-2022 academic year. The data of the study were collected using the general survey model, one of the quantitative research methods, and a randomized research design. The research data were obtained with "Critical Reading Scale" and "Frequency of Using Listening/Watching Strategies Scale". For the assumption of normality, the skewness and kurtosis values of the data were examined. In the analyses, independent groups t-test, single groups ANOVA, Tukey tests, and path analysis (Path) in accordance with structural equation modeling (SEM) were used. The findings of the analyses showed that the variables of gender, class level, education level of the mother and father lead to a significant difference in the total scores of both scales and in the sub-factors of frequency of using listening/watching strategies. The findings of the path analysis showed that the established model was acceptable, and it was found that students' critical reading levels had a significant and positive effect on the level of listening/watching strategies they used.

In today's world, where reading is rare and media is trying to influence people in many ways, individuals encounter hundreds of propagandas or persuasive speeches, texts and presentations every day. Many topics such as questioning informative texts, interpreting ideas, and evaluating dialogues in daily life, require critical thinking skills. Developing our children's critical reading and writing skills is necessary in order to prevent them from being negatively affected by the persuasion and propaganda works that we encounter every day. In this study, activities, which can be used by educators to improve reading and writing skills of secondary school students, have been prepared. Expert opinions on critical reading and writing activities were retrieved and the activities were finalized in accordance with these opinions. The activities prepared have been presented to the review of three field experts. All three of these field experts had more than fifteen years of experience in teaching and work under the Ministry of National Education, the three teachers work in an educational institution and besides, they have a doctorate in Turkish education and have received critical thinking education, all three of them are specialized academicians in Turkish education. Experts examined the characteristics of critical readers and critical writers in the literature. In literature, it has been observed that studies in on activities the field of critical thinking are limited. Therefore, it is considered that the activities prepared to improve critical reading and writing skills of secondary school students will contribute to critical thinking education.

Most researchers agree that verbally gifted learners should be provided with differentiated curriculum experiences that will allow them to reach their full potential. However, research is scarce in the field. The present study examined the impact of a reading enrichment program on fourth-grade students' critical reading abilities. The program was based on the Integrated Curriculum Model (ICM). The sample consisted of forty fourth-grade verbally gifted students from a school in Dubai, who were randomly assigned to either an experimental instruction condition or a traditional instruction condition and completed pre and post-tests of language arts. A pre-and post-experimental design was used. The overall results indicated the efficacy of the differentiated enrichment program in enhancing Emirati gifted learners' critical reading abilities. The study also provides a framework for better provision and teacher training planning regarding gifted education in the UAE.

The objectives of the study were to study the effectiveness of the SQ4R technique in enhancing grade 11 students' critical reading and to investigate the students' satisfaction with the SQ4R technique as a model of learning management in a reading class. A quasi-experimental approach was selected, and one group of participants was employed. The participants were 31 Thai grade 11 students in a secondary school in Thailand. The instruments were an SQ4R learning management plan, a critical reading test, and a satisfaction questionnaire were research instruments. The data were collected in a public school in Thailand. It took a semester to complete a pre-test, an implementation of the SQ4R learning management, a post-test, and a satisfaction survey. The data were analyzed using percentage, mean score, standard deviation, a paired samples t-test, and effectiveness index with the determining criteria of 80/80. the result shows positive effects of the SQ4R model on participants' critical reading. It also indicates students' satisfaction with the instructional model.

The study aims to investigate the higher education students' and teachers' perception of using literary text in the foreign language course; to evaluate learners' progress in the foreign language communicative competence throughout the experiment period; to outline the policies and strategies of using analytical reading in the English class, which lead to increasing motivation to learn foreign languages with a focus on literature. The study involves 85 Bachelor's degree students and 35 teachers from linguistics and translation departments of three universities: Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, National Aviation University, Kütahya Dumlupinar University during the spring term in the school year 2021/2022. The students from these universities were using analytical reading in foreign language learning during this term. The quantitative research method allowed us to assess the students' progress in the development of their foreign language analytical reading skills, that included the understanding of the culture of foreign language, literary and aesthetic skills, vocabulary and foreign language skills, critical thinking and problem solving, inferential and interpretational skills. The qualitative research method was used to interpret the data of the experiment. Three questionnaires were employed as an instrument to assess teachers' and learners' perceptions of using literary texts in foreign language teaching/learning; to monitor the development of student's skills in analytical reading. The students-philologists involved in the research increased their motivation to learn English as a foreign language through literary texts and showed progress in the development of analytical reading skills up to 16%. The results obtained can be implemented into the practice of foreign language teaching as literary texts enriched the language input in the classroom and stimulated language acquisition, and analytical reading involved students-philologists emotionally challenging their imagination and creativity.

Due to the tumultuous COVID-19 pandemic, the use of advanced technology in language education is currently on the rise, with English education being no exception. Simultaneously, the advancement and expansion of technology provide English as a foreign language students with multiple channels and opportunities to reinforce the four skills of English (reading, writing, speaking, and listening) to varying degrees both inside and outside the classroom. While previous studies have highlighted the feasibility and sustainability of blended learning in facilitating English skills, few studies have investigated the impact of mobile blended active language learning (MBALL) on promoting the English critical reading skills of Thai high school students. In hopes of filling this gap, the present study used both quantitative and qualitative methodologies to investigate the effects of MBALL on improving Thai high school students' English critical reading skills and their opinions on the use of MBALL. Pre- and post-tests were used to compare the students' critical reading scores before and after the MBALL implementation. A questionnaire was used to determine the students' opinions on the use of MBALL, and individual semi-structured interviews were employed to obtain more-detailed information. The results of the tests revealed that the Thai high school students' English critical reading skills had improved after implementation of the MBALL curriculum. Furthermore, the findings of the questionnaire and interviews suggested that the Thai high school students were enthusiastic about the use of MBALL.

Background: Given the high levels of homophobia that exist in South Africa, including in its schools and universities, it is imperative that university lecturers develop integrated and transdisciplinary curriculums to educate pre-service teachers about sexuality and to empower them to incorporate lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI)-inclusive resources into their own classrooms. Aim: This study aimed to contribute to the scholarship of teaching and learning by reflecting on how English literary studies can contribute to sexuality education. Setting: The context for this study is a specific undergraduate English module that forms part of the foundation phase and intermediate phase teacher education curriculums at the University of Johannesburg. Methods: This study is a self-reflective analysis of how the methodology of close reading, which is central to English literary studies, can be used to support sexuality education. Results: Despite the prevalence of homophobia in South African society, when undergraduate students in this English module (n = 356) were asked to write an essay about the representation of same-sex sexuality in a short animated film, none of them made homophobic comments. Conclusion: Paying particular attention to the analytical methodology of close reading, the author argues that a narrow focus on the storytelling techniques used within a narrative text -- in a way that deliberately excludes students' personal opinions about same-sex sexualities -- offers a powerful way of facilitating a deeper understanding of the mechanisms of homophobia and heteronormativity.

"Best behaviour" picturebooks, also known as "making good habits" or "teaching good manners" picturebooks, have explicit educational intentions that imply a culturally hegemonic voice. Despite this problematic characteristic, these picturebooks are welcomed by both parents and the market in China. Using extant picturebook theory of picture-text relationships, narratological, paratextual analyses and translation theory, this article seeks a better understanding of how this hegemonic voice is formed, resolved or consolidated via a critical reading of three best-selling "best behaviour" picturebook series available in the Chinese market. One is the original Chinese-language WaiWaiTu-ZiKongLi series (Little Bunny series). The second series is the translated United States series, Hands Are Not For Hitting, now a Chinese best behaviour publication. The third series is a translated rendition of Pete the Cat series, which did not serve any evident educational purpose in its original English-market form but has been identified to cultivate good character on the Chinese covers. These publications commonly present straightforward picture-text relationships of two-dimensional stories and characters. Most importantly, adults hold power in these best behaviour children's books. We argue that both the construction and disruption of hegemonic thinking co-exist in these picturebooks, reflecting the nature of adult power plays. At the same time, these best behaviour picturebooks serve as a good example of how hegemonic notions work within specific cultural and pedagogical contexts.

Canadian multicultural picturebooks greatly influence both children's and educators' being and becoming. Identity is closely related to our engagement with literacy practices. In this article, two researchers who immigrated from mainland China engage in autobiographical narrative inquiry, a methodology that asks the researchers to self-face, and to "world"--travel to our earlier landscapes, times, places, experiences and relationships. In personal, educational and academic settings, we tell and retell our storied experiences of critically reading four multicultural Canadian picturebooks. Such experiences are analysed through the theoretical lenses of transnational identity, immigrant parent knowledge, mirrors and windows, and no single story. The experiences of reading, reviewing, teaching and researching Canadian multicultural picturebooks have been constructing, mediating, engaging, and exploring our own identities. The personal nature of autobiographical narrative inquiry allows a transformational understanding of the construct of such multiple, complex and ever-shifting identities. We hope to shed light on the importance of negotiating one's transcultural and transnational identity in multicultural picturebooks, as little work presents minority educators' and adult newcomers' voices of reading Canadian multicultural picturebooks. By making visible our critical reading experiences, this inquiry opens space to maximise the outcomes of utilising children's literature in teaching and learning.

Reading comprehension questions scaffold deeper comprehension, help students to analyze texts, improve students' thinking skills, and help them realize permanent and meaningful learning. By comparing reading comprehension questions used in Turkish lessons with student-generated comprehension questions in terms of level, this study aimed to determine question resources' capacity to affect students' questions. Using a multiplecase study research method, this study examined Turkish textbooks' reading comprehension questions, teachers' questions generated during lessons and teachers' questions produced for the text provided, and student-generated questions. Data were collected using the Demographic Information Form, Teacher In-Term Question Collection Form, Teacher Questions Collection Form, and Student Question Collection Form. In addition, textbooks were used as another data source. The data were analyzed using content analysis. The results revealed that the textbook questions were mainly of a low level require remembering and understanding information. Similar results were obtained for those teachers' questions. However, it was determined that the teachers' questions produced based on the texts were at a higher level than those produced during the lessons. Comparatively, it was also revealed that the rate of low-level questions produced by students was higher than those in textbooks and teacher questions. Furthermore, high-level critical questions were found to be limited in all resources. When students' questions and questions produced by other resources were compared, the closest relationship was found between the students' questions and questions produced by teachers during lessons.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of exposing learners to authentic online reading materialson their written outputs (writing summaries and reflective essays). The quantitative method specifically the one-shot pretest-posttest experimental design was adopted. An online course was designed learners writing through reading authentic materials. Through the guidance of the teacher, learners discovered the conventions of paragraph writing from their critical reading of authentic materials and then applied these conventions in their own writings. A writing test with an analytic rubric was designed to measure students' writing performance. Results of the study about writing summaries and writing reflective essays show a significant improvement in students' performance after their critical reading of authentic materials. The study recommends the use of authentic online courses for enhancing EFL writing performance.

Synthesizing academic literature into new knowledge through writing is a core skill that doctoral students engaged in research must learn. However, developing efficacy in synthesis skills as an academic writer is a culturally and cognitively demanding process that occurs over many years, requires abstraction, and draws upon critical reading skills. Doctoral reading is an invisible part of training, despite large reading loads in doctoral coursework. Further, reading, writing, and researching skills are co-constructed at the doctoral level as previously described by Kwan (2008). The purpose of this essay is to describe how the primary author used her experience as an EdD student, science teacher, and writer to develop a method that addresses doctoral reading challenges. The novel method described here combines categorical reading strategies with social collaborative annotation (SCA). This method centers on active, categorial reading to deconstruct arguments in the primary literature by identifying claim, evidence, reasoning, implications, and context (CERIC), which can serve as a critical reading pedagogy in existing courses, reading clubs, and seminars. Combining CERIC with SCA tools--ranging from homemade variations of Google Suite to purposeful annotation software, such as Hypothes.is.--can support an efficient doctoral reading process. This essay illustrates several worked examples and explores how this process supports retrieval, engagement, collaboration, inclusion, and community, particularly in online learning environments. Significant implications of this work are to make hidden reading expectations explicit and transform professor-centered transmission models of learning to student-centered sociocultural models of learning. The essay proposes next steps for testing the approach's effectiveness in online doctoral learning.