2020 Annotated Bibliography Of Research In The Teaching Of English

Annotated Bibliography AB1
Research in the Teaching of English Volume 54, Number 3, February 2020 AB1
Annotated Bibliography of Research
in theTeaching of English
Amy Frederick
University of Wisconsin, River Falls
Anne Crampton
Western Washington University
Lisa Ortmann
University of North Dakota
Jodi Baker, Richard Beach, Sam David, Elizabeth Fogarty, Keitha-Gail
Martin-Kerr, Debra Peterson, Stephanie Rollag Yoon, and Andrew Rummel
University of Minnesota
Kathryn Allen Mikel Cole
University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh Clemson University
Candance Doerr-Stevens Madeleine Israelson
University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee College of Saint Benedict and
Saint John’s University
Anne Ittner Robin Jocius
Western Oregon University The Citadel
Lauren Aimonette Liang Michael Madson
University of Utah Medical University of South Carolina
Tracey Pyscher Jeff Share
Western Washington University University of California, Los Angeles
Sarah Sterner Maggie Struck
Humboldt State University Hamline University
Erin Stutelberg Mark Sulzer
Salisbury University University of Cincinnati
Amanda Haertling Thein
University of Iowa
Anne Ittner
Western Oregon University
Lauren Aimonette Liang
University of Utah
Tracey Pyscher
Western Washington University
Sarah Sterner
Humboldt State University
Erin Stutelberg
Salisbury University
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Copyright © 2020 by the National Council of Teachers of English. All rights reserved.

AB2 Research in the Teaching of English Volume 54 February 2020
Introduction
Since 2003,RTE has published the annual“Annotated Bibliography of Research in
the Teaching of English,” and we are proud to share these curated and annotated
citations once again. The goal of the annual bibliography is to offer a synthesis of
the research published in the area of English language arts within the past year
that may be of interest to RTE readers. Abstracted citations and those featured in
the “Other Related Research” sections were published, either in print or online,
between June 2018 and June 2019. The bibliography is divided into nine subject-
area sections. A three-person team of scholars with diverse research interests and
backgroundexperiencesinpreK–16educationalsettingsreviewedandselectedthe
manuscriptsforeachsectionusinglibrarydatabasesandleadingempiricaljournals.
Each team abstracted significant contributions to the body of peer-reviewed stud-
ies that addressed the current research questions and concerns in their topic area.
Workslistedinthe“OtherRelatedResearch”sectionsincludeadditionalimportant
research studies relevant to the topic area, position papers from leading organiza-
tions,or comprehensive handbooks.The listings are selective;we make no attempt
to include all research that appeared in the period under review.
The topic area sections of the bibliography are:
Digital/Technology Tools
Discourse/Narrative Analysis/Cultural Difference
Literacy
Literary Response/Literature/Narrative
Media Literacy
Professional Development/Teacher Education
Reading
Second Language Literacy
Writing
The National Council of Teachers of English provides free access to the an-
nual bibliographies as downloadable PDF files at http://www2.ncte.org/resources/
journals/research-in-the-teaching-of-english/.
Please enjoy this valuable service to the RTE scholarly community.
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Digital/Technology Tools
This section focuses on digital literacy research that emphasizes technology and online platforms
for instructional purposes. Studies examine the use of digital writing, production, communication,
and reading tools/apps; technology for instructional purposes, including coding, e-books/e-reading,
digital storytelling, online discussion, digital video production, podcasts, and digital portfolios;
and how social networking, online feedback, and learning management systems enhance literacy
instructional practices. These studies address pedagogy, knowledge, and skills needed to use digital
technologies to facilitate literacy learning. (Robin Jocius, lead contributor)
Connolly, S., & Burn, A. (2019). The Story Engine: Offering an online platform for making
“unofficial” creative writing work. Literacy, 53, 30–38.
Describes the development and implementation of Story Engine, an online, mentor-assisted
digital writing platform. Uses theories of creativity to interrogate discourses surrounding the
teaching of creative writing,both in and outside of the classroom.Examines the implementation
of a beta prototype of Story Engine with 120 adolescents in four British schools.Uses case studies
to investigate whether an online creative writing platform develops creativity and complements
school-based writing programs. Finds that Story Engine promotes schooled aspects of creative
writing but can potentially allow for more creative freedom. Concludes that the Story Engine
environment provided a variety of opportunities for students to draw on cultural resources to
produce texts for specific audiences. Suggests that teachers can combine digital writing tools
and offline engagement in order to bring together progressive classroom teaching techniques
and online, playful pedagogies.
Korobkova,K.,& Penelope,C.(2019).The variety of user experiences: Literacy roles and stances
on story-sharing platforms. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 62, 387–399.
Uses a sociocultural theoretical framework and instrumental case study design to examine
adolescents’literacy practices,identities,and engagements on and with the mobile story-sharing
apps Wattpad and Figment. Draws on content in the apps, background surveys of focal partici-
pants,and semistructured interviews with 39 adolescents to investigate participation in the apps.
Employs content analysis and iterative open, axial, and thematic coding methods to identify
thematic categories. Finds that participants took up varying stances on the social platforms,
such as friend, fan, reader, novice, or expert writer. Concludes that the research participants’
interests and stances shaped their literacy practices on the apps. Emphasizes the importance of
heterogeneity when researching adolescents, based on the differences between user and usage
seen in the study. Encourages literacy researchers and educators to utilize data collection meth-
ods such as testing survey questions and observations to supplement surveys of usage patterns.
Recommends that educators use a variety of story-sharing apps and practices to support the
development of positive dispositions toward literacy.
Liu, K.-P., Tai, S.-J. D., & Liu, C.-C. (2018). Enhancing language learning through creation: The
effect of digital storytelling on student learning motivation and performance in a school English
course. Educational Technology Research and Development, 66, 913–935.
Examines the digital storytelling practices of 64 sixth-grade students in Taiwan. Uses an experi-
mental design to analyze motivation surveys,achievement test scores,and digital stories created
by the students. Finds that two digital storytelling performance indicators—levels of language
usage and levels of creativity—had significant though varying impacts on language learning,
with language usage relating to students’achievement test scores,and creativity relating to mul-
tiple motivation components, such as extrinsic motivation, task value, and elaboration. Urges
educators to provide opportunities for students to be creative in drawing on their linguistic
repertoires to tell stories.

Magnifico,A. M.,Woodard, R., & McCarthey, S. (2019). Teachers as co-authors of student writ-
ing: How teachers’initiating texts influence response and revision in an online space. Computers
and Composition, 52, 107–131.
Foregrounds theories of dialogic writing and coauthorship to analyze middle schoolers’ writ-
ing in online spaces. Examines the social interactions of web-based peer review and how they
affect student writing over time. Utilizes a multimethod analysis to trace explicit and covert
dialogic influences across student writing.Analyzes classroom texts created online to show how
teachers’initiating texts and peer reviews shaped key aspects of students’classroom writing and
response. Presents overall characteristics of the online writing processes and products, looking
at each student’s writing across time to understand how multiple artifacts and writing cycles
informed the work. Finds that while students using the online platform for peer feedback wrote
longer, more explicit, and more directive online comments to peers, teachers became coauthors
of their students’ texts through the assignments, rubrics, and other initiating texts. Encourages
teachers to provide scaffolding for students that includes different types of peer feedback, such
as evaluative and reader-based. Cautions teachers to recognize their influence as coauthors of
texts and shapers of dialogue.
Marlatt, R. (2018). Get in the game: Promoting justice through a digitized literature study.
Multicultural Perspectives, 20, 222–228.
Describes a classroom study in which high school literature students used the video game Mine-
craft as a mode of literary engagement with the novel The Outsiders, by S. E. Hinton. Explores
the boundaries of digital literacies and literary studies through inviting students to use their
gaming skills to recreate scenes, respond to textual elements, and actualize authentic textual
interactions.Employs theories of game-based learning and multiliteracies to challenge scripted,
conventional curricula.Finds that game-based engagement with the novel increased motivation
to read and encouraged multicultural perspectives and positions.Argues that engaging students
with literature should involve an inclusive approach to curriculum and instruction. Urges edu-
cators to move toward educational equity by offering high-interest readings and diverse entry
points into literature for students who may not excel in traditional environments.
Meixner, E., Peel, A., Hendrickson, R., Szczeck, L., & Bousum, K. (2019). Storied lives: Teaching
memoir writing through multimodal mentor texts. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 62,
495–508.
Explores the impact of a two-day professional development seminar on multimodal memoir-
writing for high school teachers,conducted as part of a partnership between a school district and
a local higher education institution. Utilizes narrative inquiry to examine three of the partici-
pants’ reflections on how their experiences in the seminar informed their subsequent teaching.
Finds that teachers’ engagement in multimodal composition during the seminar influenced
their consideration of how multimodal writing events could increase student engagement, and
raised their awareness of the high level of anxiety the writing process can provoke for many
youth. Implies that teachers’ usage of diverse multimodal memoirs in the classroom could
inspire more freedom and choice for students. Contends that secondary teachers must move
beyond exclusive use of traditional textual autobiography and memoir, and that they must be
provided with opportunities to engage with multimodal mentor texts for their own and their
students’ writing development.
Morris, J. (2019). Exploring the affordances of digital storytelling in a media-arts restorative
justice program. Visual Communication, 18, 205–230.
Examines how a media-arts program used digital storytelling to apply restorative justice prin-
ciples such as participation, respect, interconnectedness, accountability, and empowerment.
Employs frameworks of decontextualization and retextualization to examine interviews with
and digital storytelling artifacts produced by eight young-adult participants identified as juve-

nile offenders. Finds that digital storytelling allowed participants to create a narrative discourse
about their crimes,their impact,and ways to improve their communities.Suggests that creating
digital stories allowed participants to reflect upon restorative values and apply them toward
themselves and their social worlds through recontextualization and rearticulation. Argues for
the use of restorative justice principles and programs to support behavioral changes in youth.
Pandya, J. Z., Hansuvadha, N., & Pagdilao, K. A. C. (2018). Digital literacies through an inter-
sectional lens: The case of Javier. English Teaching: Practice & Critique, 17, 387–399.
Mobilizes theories of multiliteracies, disability studies, and intersectionality to examine how
Javier,a Latinx English learner with disabilities,engaged in the composing process of digital video
production. Inquires specifically into the ways video composing can be an act of redistributive
social justice for students with learning disabilities. Utilizes case study, qualitative coding, and
multimodal transcription to track the making of several digital videos in a general education
classroom as part of a larger design-based study.Finds that Javier was a capable digital composer,
made meaning across modes,and was attentive to his audience.Concludes that digital composing
enables students with learning disabilities to create new representative forms. Urges educators
to make digital tools available as opportunities for redistributive social justice, especially for
children with disabilities who are often left out of productive digital literacies practices.
Proctor, C., & Blikstein, P. (2019). Unfold Studio: Supporting critical literacies of text and code.
Information and Learning Sciences, 120, 285–307.
Explores how textual literacy and computational literacy can support each other and combine
to create literacies with new critical possibilities. Harnesses theories of computational litera-
cies and critical pedagogies to examine middle and high school students’ participation in three
studio workshops that focused on design and analysis of a web application for interactive
storytelling. Asks how the textual-computational literacy practices involved in designing the
app might support critical awareness and resistance to racism, sexism, and other oppressive
ideologies. Finds that design and analysis of the web application promoted various traditional
literacy practices of reading and writing, as well as the composition of stories of personhood
that cultivated awareness of identity, power, and privilege. Offers a vision of a literacy-based
approach that could contribute to liberatory education. Urges educators and researchers to
harness current opportunities,such as the introduction of new computer science standards and
the increasing availability of web applications, to define how computer science will be practiced
and implemented in schools.
Rowe,L.W.(2019).Constructing language ideologies in a multilingual,second-grade classroom:
A case study of two emergent bilingual students’ language-use during eBook composing. Lin-
guistics and Education, 52, 1–12.
Draws on critical social linguistic theories to analyze data from a yearlong qualitative study that
explored how students in a multilingual US second-grade classroom co-constructed language
ideologies during a daily e-book composing activity.Highlights the experiences of two students
with different heritage language backgrounds. Details how these two students co-constructed
language ideologies that honored and acknowledged their own and peers’ heritage languages.
Urges educators to provide opportunities for students to connect their school and peer worlds
to their heritage language and backgrounds.
Schmoelz, A. (2018). Enabling co-creativity through digital storytelling in education. Thinking
Skills and Creativity, 28, 1–13.
Examines how students interact in classroom digital storytelling activities that enable co-
creativity. Analyzes interviews, focus group discussions, field notes, and video recordings of
classroom activities to document cases involving 125 students across 119 lessons. Utilizes the
documentary method to interpret students’ interactions in classroom activities that aimed for
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co-creativity.Identifies two phases of digital storytelling: the digital story-writing phase and the
digital story-producing phase. During the initial story-writing phase, students exhibited action
and control as two categories of co-creativity that shifted as students gave, took, shared, and
limited control. In the digital story-producing phase, students experienced co-creative flow as
shared enjoyment and fun.Concludes that teaching for creativity involves co-constructing goals
and ethics to meet conditions for enabling co-creative flow in classrooms.
Smith, B. E. (2019). Collaborative multimodal composing: Tracing the unique partnerships of
three pairs of adolescents composing across three digital projects. Literacy, 53, 14–21.
Draws upon sociocultural and social semiotics theories to investigate the collaborative practices
of three pairs of grade 12 literature students at an urban magnet charter school in the Southern
United States. Uses qualitative data methods to analyze how the pairs collaboratively composed
a website,hypertext literary analysis,and podcast in response to The Things They Carried by Tim
O’Brien over a seven-week period.Finds that three kinds of collaborative partnership took place:
(1) designer and assistant collaboration,(2) balanced division collaboration,and (3) alternating
lead collaboration. Concludes that collaborative student partnerships were multifaceted and
afforded students flexibility to select a type of partnership that worked for them. Suggests that
more research is needed to examine which mediating factors promote meaningful collaboration
versus basic cooperation. Advocates for explicitly teaching multimodal composing techniques
and for considering students’ technical skills in selecting groups to maximize opportunities for
productive collaborative composing in schools.
Stornaiuolo, A., & Nichols, T. P. (2018). Making publics: Mobilizing audiences in high school
makerspaces. Teachers College Record, 120(8), 1–38.
Analyzes how high school students created, remixed, and shared individual and collaborative
media texts as they engaged in school-based making activities that utilized digital media tools
for digital video production. Explores the resources and constraints of the makerspace’s learn-
ing ecology for students from nondominant communities. Employs a social design experiment
framework to follow 45 first-year high school students in the school’s media makerspace over
three design cycles. Finds that the work of cultivating and mobilizing audiences was central to
young people’s making activities and that participants needed to see themselves as social and
civic actors whose experiences and perspectives contributed to broader public conversations.
Concludes that integrating makerspaces in schools can serve as a generative route to civic action
for some students, but that the practices, skills, and knowledge of all students, including those
from nondominant communities, must be considered and respected.
Wargo, J. M., & Clayton, K. (2018). From PSAs to reel communities: Exploring the sounds and
silences of urban youth mobilizing digital media production. Learning, Media and Technology,
43, 469–484.
Examines how US secondary students in a digital media course used multimodal composition
as a form of political and civic engagement. Focuses specifically on sound within video produc-
tion as a modal resource for student authorship and voice. Employs theories of multiliterate
expression and mediated discourse analysis to gain new understandings of how urban youth
use digital media production to leverage school-based social action.Utilizes mediated discourse
analysis to examine modal density and mediated action within youth-produced public service
announcements. Finds that youth use media production and semiotic sense-making to simul-
taneously enliven community action and amplify their voices concerning personal issues of
injustice. Concludes that the process of digital media production affords students opportuni-
ties to cultivate practices of civic and local engagement through invitations to “sound out” and
“listen to” stories of injustice.
West,J.A.(2019).Using new literacies theory as a lens for analyzing technology-mediated literacy
classrooms. E-Learning and Digital Media, 16, 151–173.
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Employs new literacies theory as an interpretive lens to understand how the internet mediated
the literacy practices of adolescents in two English language arts classrooms. Analyzes inter-
views, classroom observations, artifacts, and retrospective think-alouds to examine the use of
new literacies practices involving Google Docs,Web 2.0 applications, and multimodal projects.
Draws on eight central principles of new literacies theory as a deductive analytic framework to
analyze classroom literacy practices. Finds that writing with technology tools both enabled and
constrained the literacy actions of the adolescent participants. Advocates for creating stronger
links between new literacies theory and writing, and for applying new literacies theory to a
broader range of contexts. Suggests that educators should support students in developing stra-
tegic knowledge of the purposes for and meanings of various modes and tools during digital
composing.
Other Related Research
Bawa, P., Watson, S. L., & Watson, W. (2018). Motivation is a game: Massively multiplayer on-
line games as agents of motivation in higher education. Computers & Education, 123, 174–194.
Gibson, P., & Smith, S. (2018). Digital literacies: Preparing pupils and students for their infor-
mation journey in the twenty-first century. Information and Learning Sciences, 119, 733–742.
Haduong, P. (2019). “I like computers. I hate coding”: A portrait of two teens’ experiences.
Information and Learning Sciences, 120, 349–365.
Harrison,C.(2018).Defining and seeking to identify critical internet literacy:A discourse analysis
of fifth-graders’ internet search and evaluation activity. Literacy, 52, 153–160.
Kelly, L. L. (2018). A Snapchat story: How Black girls develop strategies for critical resistance in
school. Learning, Media and Technology, 43, 374–389.
Marlatt, R. (2019). “I didn’t say, ‘Macbeth,’ it was my Google Doc!”: A secondary English case
study of redefining learning in the 21st century. E-Learning and Digital Media, 16, 46–62.
Mavoa, J., Carter, M., & Gibbs, M. (2018). Children and Minecraft: A survey of children’s digital
play. New Media & Society, 20, 3283–3303.
Nash, B. (2018). Exploring multimodal writing in secondary English classrooms: A literature
review. English Teaching: Practice & Critique, 17, 342–356.
Regan, K., Evmenova, A. S., Sacco, D., Schwartzer, J., Chirinos, D. S., & Hughes, M. D. (2019).
Teacher perceptions of integrating technology in writing. Technology, Pedagogy and Education,
28, 1–19.
Robinson, A., & Cook, D. (2018). “Stickiness”: Gauging students’ attention to online learning
activities. Information and Learning Sciences, 119, 460–468.
Stornaiuolo, A., & Thomas, E. E. (2018). Restorying as political action: Authoring resistance
through youth media arts. Learning, Media and Technology, 43, 345–358.
Wood, S. (2018). Framing wearing: Genre, embodiment, and exploring wearable technology in
the composition classroom. Computers and Composition, 50, 66–77.
Yang, X., Kuo, L., Ji, X., & McTigue, E. (2018). A critical examination of the relationship among
research, theory, and practice: Technology and reading instruction. Computers & Education,
125, 62–73.
Discourse/Narrative Analysis/Cultural Difference
Articles selected for this section offer a range of critical perspectives about literacy experiences and
curricula that specifically focus on cultural identities.The studies include readings of texts to evaluate
representation,considerations of participation and interaction in classroom and community settings,
and analysis of student compositions.This work is about and for educators who are willing to engage
students in literacy learning that involves reading, talking, and writing about power and resistance
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as related to racial and cultural identities and histories, religious affiliations, sexual identities and
orientation, and cognitive, physiological, and social differences. (Anne Crampton, lead contributor)
Aukerman, M., Grovet, K., & Belfatti, M. (2019). Race, ideology, and cultural representation in
Raz-Kids. Language Arts, 96, 286–299.
Considers representation of race and ideology in the popular Raz-Kids online platform for
elementary-level curricular reading materials. Draws on critical literacy, genre-based catego-
rization, and coding to study 172 texts in the Raz-Kids 690-title catalog. Bases further analysis
on both linguistic information and illustrations in the selected texts to explore the following
research questions: Who is included/excluded in texts? How are people represented, and how
are their stories told? What do texts ask us to see as true, right, or legitimate, particularly with
respect to power and social relations? Finds that the texts perpetuated problematic stereotypes,
and contained ideologically problematic inclusions and exclusions. Concludes with important
considerations for educators who use Raz-Kids and suggestions for critical analysis of texts by
both teachers and students.
Blackburn, M. V., & Schey, R. (2018). Shared vulnerability, collaborative composition, and the
interrogation and reification of oppressive values in a high school LGBTQ-themed literature
course. Journal of Literacy Research, 50, 335–358.
Shares data from the authors’ co-taught LGBTQ-themed literature course at a Midwestern
public charter high school. Blends ethnographic methods and practitioner inquiry to study
three collaborative focal compositions, along with data related to their production. Arrives at
a theme of shared vulnerability as central to the composing process in this setting. Reviews
vignettes from the written work and interactions that illustrate stances of interrogating, ex-
pressing ambivalence toward, and reifying oppressive values. Makes plain that being vulnerable
involves risking relationships, altering group dynamics, and being wrong, but stresses the need
for sharing these risks with students as teachers/authors when engaging in critical work that
interrogates oppressive values.
Flores, T. T. (2018). Cultivando la voz mujer: Latina adolescent girls and their mothers rewrit-
ing their pasts and imagining their futures. Literacy Research: Theory, Method, and Practice, 67,
211–227.
Describes a creative writing workshop for adolescent Latina girls in grades 7–12 and their
mothers in the Southwestern United States. Represents stories as tools that express identities
and ways of knowing and resist oppressive discourses.Draws on critical theories from Black and
Chicana feminists, especially the concepts of liminal and third spaces. Uses grounded theory to
code themes such as connection and resistance in writing, artwork, and interviews. Notes that
spaces for intergenerational sharing and critical consciousness-raising for Latina women are
especially important in this political climate.
Fontanella-Nothom, O. (2019). “Why do we have different skins anyway?”: Exploring race in
literature with preschool children. Multicultural Perspectives, 21, 11–18.
Focuses on preschool children’s competence in discussing topics of race with multiple readings
of picture books. Describes the support teachers can provide to students as they reflect on and
value their own identities and others’ social worlds. Drawing on critical race theory and critical
discourse analysis, finds that engaging in multiple interactive and open-ended read-alouds of
the same text,alongside reflective teaching,can encourage the validation and valuation of people
of color as well as children’s own racial identities; confirm that children of color are valued and
beautiful; and cultivate engaged citizens who can ask questions and participate in dialogue
across social and cultural differences.
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Gordon, C. T., Council, T., Dukes, N., & Muhammad, G. E. (2019). Defying the single narrative
of Black girls’literacies:A narrative inquiry exploring anAfricanAmerican read-in.Multicultural
Perspectives, 21, 3–10.
Explores a read-in (Black Girls Read!) with over 100 Black girls in grades preK–12 as a continua-
tion of the historical literate tradition of Black women who have resisted the dominant narrative
perpetuated by mainstream culture. The read-in, set in Georgia, provided a space for Black girls
to connect with their cultural heritage and to build upon their individual, literate identities. A
Black girls’ literacies framework was used to examine the diverse experiences of the attendees
and to highlight the need for educational experiences that affirm the identities of Black girls
and defy a single narrative of Black girls’ literacies. Literacies were multilayered, with digital,
performative, and traditional formats. Illustrates how powerful literacy engagement supports
Black girls’ literacies, encouraging them to tell their stories of who they are.
Grinage, J. (2019). Reopening racial wounds: Whiteness, melancholia, and affect in the English
classroom. English Education, 51, 126–150.
Examines an emotional discussion about race and racism in a high school English classroom.
Uses critical race theory and the concept of racial melancholia to interpret an interaction in which
a White teacher’s body placement worked to mitigate the discomfort of a White student rather
than an African American student, expressing a wordless solidarity with Whiteness. While the
teacher wanted to discuss race and even to welcome discomfort, White identity was ultimately
reified through the teacher’s desire for the safety and comfort of the White student. Suggests
the possibility that the teacher’s post-incident reflection and apology might offer some hope
for growth in future dialogues about race. Articulates a pedagogy of discomfort for anti-racist
educators to include curriculum that repeatedly uncovers racial injuries.
Ishizuka, K., & Stephens, R. (2019). The cat is out of the bag: Orientalism, anti-Blackness, and
White supremacy in Dr. Seuss’s children’s books. Research on Diversity in Youth Literature, 1(2).
Retrieved from https://sophia.stkate.edu/rdyl/vol1/iss2/4
Analyzes racial and gender representations in books by Theodor Geisel (Dr. Seuss) using a
mixed-method study of 50 titles featuring human protagonists. Draws on critical literacy and
critical race theory to expose how racism, erasure, and sexism are present in the texts studied,
as demonstrated through direct literary analysis based on themes that emerged from the study:
Orientalism, anti-Blackness, and White supremacy. Dismantles narratives of Seuss being“of his
time” and the use of his works for anti-racist purposes in education. Asks teachers to consider
the implications of these findings and the activism that has advocated for a shift away from Dr.
Seuss–centered themes and texts during Read Across America Day at a national level.
Ivey,G.,& Johnston,P.(2018).Engaging disturbing books.Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy,
62, 143–150.
Explores student-selected readings of disturbing and relevant YA literature in a two-year study
set in a racially diverse classroom. Critiques how rarely schools enact the use of such texts as a
curricular priority.Takes up this problem by describing the experiences of eighth-grade students
in classes where engaged reading of disturbing books was the norm. Challenges and reframes
adults’ (both teachers’ and parents’) apprehension that exposure to the realistic content of YA
books might put students at risk.Considers both student and parent perspectives.Illustrates the
many positive ways that students, families, and classrooms can be collaboratively transformed
by these books and related conversations, and models how all three can engage collectively in
literacy learning with the use of disturbing texts.
Kohnen, A. M., & Lacy, A. (2018). “They don’t see us otherwise”: A discourse analysis of mar-
ginalized students critiquing the local news. Linguistics and Education, 46, 102–112.
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Uses discourse analysis and critical race media literacy to analyze local news coverage of a fight at
a high school and a discussion about the news report at the same high school. Participants were
students and teacher (a coauthor) in a remedial reading course that included critical literacy and
multiliteracies approaches. Describes the contesting figured worlds created in the news report
and students’responses to the way the news characterized the fight as gang-related.Makes a case
for critical race media literacy as part of reading and English language arts curriculum,especially
for students whose stories are represented negatively in media portrayals.
Poulus, D., & Exley, B. (2018). Critical literacy for culturally diverse teenagers: “I’ve learned
something that is actually useful.” Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 62, 271–280.
Describes how one teacher scaffolded Australian high school English students to identify the
subtle techniques of persuasion and technical metalanguage (i.e., grammatical cues) in news
reports related to their social identities. Activities provided students with learning spaces to
contest unequal relations of power. Students increased their knowledge of how language and
grammatical choices construct reality and social identity.Collaborative learning invited students
to engage with complicated topics and texts, and find coalitions based on common issues, with
the goal for them to use language to redesign a world that they would like to see. Theoretical
and practical applications are offered.
Qin, K. (2019). Citations of norms and lines of flight in one immigrant boy’s performances of
masculinities and reading identities. Reading Research Quarterly, 54, 363–382.
Utilizes critical ethnography and critical discourse analysis to explore the complex and inter-
sectional performances of masculinities and reading identities in a high school–level sheltered-
instruction language arts class. Draws on gender studies, second-language acquisition identity
studies, queer feminism, philosophies of becoming, and theories of intersectionality to extend
anti-essentialist scholarship on gender and literacies and to attend to the social and discursive
space that constructs and is constructed by learner identities. Examines one Muslim male im-
migrant student’s identity negotiation and performance through analysis of classroom observa-
tions,interviews,and literacy-related artifacts from a larger study.Emphasizes the importance of
avoiding essentialization of immigrant youth identities, the impact of discursive constructions
of learner identity by teachers and peers,how normative discourses of masculinity affect engage-
ment with reading and learning, and the need to disrupt gendered notions of reading, decenter
relations of power, and expand stable and singular constructions of gender.
Schieble, M., & Kucinskiene, L. (2019). Promoting empathetic reading with Between Shades
of Gray through a global blogging project. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 63, 269–277.
Draws on empirical data from a blogging project with US and Lithuanian English teachers
who discussed the pedagogical importance of empathetic reading for youth with the YA novel
Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys. Suggests the importance of empathetic reading of the
state-sponsored atrocities depicted in the novel and identifies how teachers can avoid common
pitfalls when working with youth and what they call“difficult knowledge”within learning situ-
ations like role-playing. Identifies how close reading and literary analysis can detach readers
from empathetic reading.
Truman, S. (2019). Inhuman literacies and affective refusals: Thinking with Sylvia Wynter and
secondary school English. Curriculum Inquiry, 49, 110–128.
Forwards an inhuman approach to literacy—signaled by gestures of refusal and attention to
affect—to disrupt the hierarchical valuing of certain literacies in educational systems that are
steeped in White settler colonialism, Western-oriented ontologies, and neoliberalism. Drawing
on SylviaWynter’s theories of the culture of man (White monoculture),frictional thinking,new
materialisms, queer theory, critical race theory, and considerations of the more-than-human
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turn in social science research, discusses the walking-reading-writing experiments explored in
a research-creation project completed by 18 ninth-grade English students in Wales. Utilizes one
Muslim female student’s writing and experiences in the project to demonstrate the disruption
that can stem from this expanded understanding of literacies in English curricula. Concludes
with a call to embrace inhuman literacies as a means to rupture the dominant order of literacy
in education and rewrite humanism from within.
Wheatley, L. (2019). ‘Quicksand of hate’: Experiences of Islamophobia and poetic resistance.
Changing English, 26, 163–180.
Explores experiences of Islamophobia in the school life of one male Muslim high school student.
Uses qualitative case study and phenomenological methods to interpret interview data and
the student’s written work, including poetry as well as analytic and personal prose. Draws on
Freire’s critical consciousness and Beydoun’s concept of dialectical Islamophobia as frameworks.
Finds that writing in English class offered space both for resisting persistent Islamophobia in
the student’s social encounters at school and for religious expression. Notes the hopeful and
transformative potential of an “unremarkable” English class that reads and responds to critical
texts through personal and critical writing.
Berchini, C. (2019). Reconceptualizing Whiteness in English education: Failure, fraughtness,
and accounting for context. English Education, 51, 151–181.
Berson, I., Berson, M., & López de Méndez, A. (2019). Images, civic identity, and cultural nar-
ratives of Puerto Rico: Using intertextual articulation to develop culturally responsive practices.
Multicultural Perspectives, 21, 85–90.
Coda, J. (2019). Do straight teachers experience this? Performance as a medium to explore
LGBTQ world language teacher identity. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Educa-
tion, 32, 465–476.
DeJaynes, T., & Curmi, C. (2019). Transforming school hallways through critical inquiry:
Multimodal literacies for civic engagement. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 63, 299–309.
Dyches, J. (2018). Particularizing the tensions between canonical and bodily discourses. Journal
of Literacy Research, 50, 239–261.
Kleekamp, M. C., & Zapata, A. (2019). Interrogating depictions of disability in children’s pic-
turebooks. The Reading Teacher, 72, 589–597.
Masta,S.(2018).“I am exhausted:”Everyday occurrences of being NativeAmerican. International
Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 31, 821–835.
O’Shea, C., McKenna, S., & Thomson, C. (2019).“We throw away our books”: Students’reading
practices and identities. Linguistics and Education, 49, 1–10.
Torrez,J.E.,Gonzales,L.,Del Hierro,V.,Ramos,S.,& Cuevas,E.(2019).Comunidad de cuentistas:
Making space for Indigenous and Latinx storytellers. English Journal, 108(3), 44–50.
Worthy, J., Svrcek, N., Daly-Lesch, A., & Tily, S. (2018). “We know for a fact”: Dyslexia inter-
ventionists and the power of authoritative discourse. Journal of Literacy Research, 50, 359–382.
Literacy
In selecting articles, we looked for studies that included the big five: phonemic awareness, phonics,
fluency,vocabulary,and comprehension.Additionally,we included studies related to literacy coaching,
literacy leaders,community literacy,and home-school connections.The articles covered topics ranging
from early childhood to adult literacy practices. Most of the studies were conducted in the United
States, but some were conducted outside of the USA. (Keitha-Gail Martin-Kerr, lead contributor)
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Compton-Lilly, C., & Delbridge, A. (2019). What can parents tell us about poverty and literacy
learning? Listening to parents over time. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 62, 531–539.
Analyzes data from two longitudinal case studies to show how poverty affects students’ literacy
learning. Finds that the students’ homes, schools, and communities lacked economic capital,
which had consequences for students’academic careers.Highlights the roles teachers can take as
advocates for students and their families when they lack economic capital. Reveals that parents
embodied academic capital by showing up at school, writing letters, reading with their chil-
dren, and talking to teachers. Concludes that low-income families bring resources to students’
schooling and literacy learning.
Crawford-Garrett, K., & Riley, K. (2019). Race and class silences in teacher education: Resist-
ing strategy-based approaches to literacy methods instruction. Teaching Education, 30, 31–51.
Analyzes a critical incident in an undergraduate literacy methods course, highlighting the dis-
sonance between comprehension instructional strategies and macro-level social injustices in
society. Implies that there is danger in teachers adopting comprehension strategies universally
without critique of issues of social injustice. Concludes that teacher education programs must
consider ways in which poverty, racism, and salient social identities manifest in specific school
and classroom practices. Argues that these issues must be discussed across the program inte-
grated into methods courses, and must not be seen solely as the purview of foundation courses.
Gardiner, W. (2018). Rehearsals in clinical placements: Scaffolding teacher candidates’ literacy
instruction. The Teacher Educator, 53, 384–400.
Investigates the enactment of rehearsal of literacy lessons between teacher candidates and mentor
teachers. Finds that rehearsal helps mentor teachers provide specific feedback to teacher can-
didates, connects feedback to the fundamentals of teaching, and requires teacher candidates to
teach rehearsed lessons incorporating the feedback.Implies that rehearsal can influence literacy
instruction in clinical settings.
Graham,S.,Liu,X.,Aitken,A.,Ng,C.,Bartlett,B.,Harris,K.R.,& Holzapfel,J.(2018).Effective-
ness of literacy programs balancing reading and writing instruction: A meta-analysis. Reading
Research Quarterly, 53, 279–304.
Reports results of a meta-analysis of preK–12 literacy studies that examined whether balanced
reading and writing intervention programs affect students’performance.Limits consideration to
experimental or quasi-experimental studies that measured the impact of reading and writing,and
that evaluated programs devoting no more than 60% of instructional activities to either reading
or writing. Finds statistically significant evidence that learning reading and writing together,
employing highly effective practices,can improve student reading (as measured through compre-
hension, decoding, and vocabulary) and writing (as measured through mechanics and output).
Kenna, J. L., Russell, W. B., III, & Bittman, B. (2018). How secondary social studies teachers
define literacy and implement literacy teaching strategies: A qualitative research study. History
Education Research Journal, 15, 216–232.
Aims to determine how seven secondary social studies teachers defined literacy and how their
definitions aligned with classroom literacy implementation. Evaluated the teachers’ ability to
blend knowledge of content, pedagogy, and literacy processes through analysis of interviews,
classroom observations, and examination of lesson plans. Finds that, although the teachers
theoretically defined literacy as a combination of reading comprehension,writing fluidity,skills,
and vocabulary,they lacked practical application knowledge about disciplinary literacy,and their
instruction focused mostly on content knowledge needed to pass courses. Argues that teacher
preparation and professional development should engage teachers in study and application of
disciplinary literacy practices, beyond preparing students for exams.
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Lindo, E.,Weiser, B., Cheatham, J., & Allor, J. (2018). Benefits of structured after-school literacy
tutoring by university students for struggling elementary readers. Reading & Writing Quarterly,
34, 117–131.
Examines the effectiveness of non-education majors participating in a service-learning course
to provide highly structured reading intervention to struggling readers in grades K–6.Finds that
tutored students showed more growth over one year in letter-name identification, decoding,
and passage comprehension, with significant effect sizes in comparison with students in the
control group. Implies that minimally trained tutors who are supervised by a trained teacher
can provide effective assistance to struggling readers.
McHardy, J.,Wildy, H., & Chapman, E. (2018). How less-skilled adult readers experience word-
reading. Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, 41, 21–29.
Utilizes narrative inquiry to construct four illustrative case studies of word-reading difficulty in
adults with limited literacy proficiency. Finds that instruction provided to adults with limited
literacy proficiency can be inconsistent and based more on instructor beliefs than research-based
strategies or diagnostic assessments.Indicates the need for professional training for adult-reading
instructors on effective use of assessment to diagnose and treat reading challenges.
Mesa, C., & Restrepo, M. A. (2019). Effects of a family literacy program for Latino parents: Evi-
dence from a single-subject design.Language,Speech,and Hearing Services in Schools,50, 356–372.
Examines read-aloud practices of mothers with children to determine whether training on three
language strategies (comments, high-level questions, and recasts) could increase children’s oral
language skills in a study with a multiple-baseline, single-subject design. Finds that mothers
commented and asked high-level questions during book reading to a greater degree than they
had before the study at both the intervention and follow-up points, while the recast strategy
was consistently unused throughout the study. Suggests that training through parent modeling
and coaching positively affects children’s language acquisition and use.
Pezoa,J.P.,Mendive,S.,& Strasser,K.(2019).Reading interest and family literacy practices from
prekindergarten to kindergarten: Contributions from a cross-lagged analysis. Early Childhood
Explores the relationship of low-SES Chilean parents’ literacy practices and their children’s
reading interests through kindergarten.Finds that children’s reading interests predicted parents’
literacy practices, suggesting that children can influence their reading environment. Parents’
practices did not predict students’ reading interests. Unlike previous research that has evalu-
ated the effects of parents’ practices on children’s reading interests, this study examines the
relationship in both directions. Concludes that strengthening parents’perceptions of children’s
reading interests, rather than seeking only to change parents’ practices, directly improves home
literacy environments.
Robinson, S. A. (2018). A study designed to increase the literacy skills of incarcerated adults.
The Journal of Correctional Education, 69(1), 60–72.
Investigates the effects of use of the Pure and Complete Phonics program (a modification of
Orton-Gillingham) with incarcerated adults receiving an hour of instruction 5 days a week
over a period of 15 weeks. Finds that the treatment group outperformed the control group on
four measures of the Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Achievement (letter-word identification,
reading fluency, spelling, and word attack), indicating that this program is likely to increase
literacy rates of incarcerated adults more than programs currently used in correctional facilities.
Spires,H.A.,Kerkhoff,S.N.,Graham,A.C.K.,Thompson,I.,& Lee,J.K.(2018).Operationalizing
and validating disciplinary literacy in secondary education.Reading andWriting, 31, 1401–1434.
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Examines how key disciplinary literacy practices are enacted in sixth- through twelfth-grade
ELA, science, history and social studies, and mathematics instruction, given each discipline’s
specific language,expectations,and knowledge construction.Discusses results of a self-reporting
survey of current disciplinary literacy practices, developed through focus groups of teachers
from each discipline. Finds that disciplinary literacy is not limited to the ELA classroom and
involves source literacy, analytic literacy, and expressive literacy—three approaches that should
be explicitly taught to students.
Wissinger,D.R.,Ciullo,S.P.,& Shiring,E.J.(2018).Historical literacy instruction for all learners:
Evidence from a design experiment. Reading & Writing Quarterly, 34, 568–586.
Assesses the effectiveness of a disciplinary literacy-based program implemented in sixth-grade
history classes to improve academically diverse students’ historical writing and reading. The
authors used a design-based research model to develop the Historical Exploration and Writing
Instruction for All Learners (HEWIL) curriculum, which aims to build students’ background
knowledge, critical thinking skills, and historical argumentative writing skills. Finds that stu-
dents at all ability levels showed increased reading comprehension and improved skill in writing
historical arguments.Suggests that students can benefit from teacher interventions on analyzing
source texts and writing historical arguments.
Wynter-Hoyte, K., & Boutte, G. S. (2018). Expanding understandings of literacy: The double
consciousness of a Black middle-class child in church and school. The Journal of Negro Educa-
tion, 87, 375–390.
Details the experiences of a middle-class,Black,third-grade girl (Melissa) successfully navigating
differing language and social patterns in settings of school and church. Observes how Melissa’s
abilities to shift to more individualistic behavior,use Standard English instead of AfricanAmeri-
can Vernacular English, and recognize codes of power in school were assisted by her educator
mother.Challenges Eurocentric methods of instruction that emphasize competition and devalue
equality and communal learning.
Yoon,B.,& Uliassi,C.(2018).Meaningful learning of literary elements by incorporating critical
literacies. Literacy Research: Theory, Method, and Practice, 67, 360–376.
Investigates the integration of teaching critical literacies and literary elements through a yearlong
case study of a 10th-grade English class. Includes analysis of multiple observations, teacher and
student interviews, and student writing in response to text, along with teacher feedback. Finds
that the teacher’s instructional stance of positioning students as agented readers who construct
their own meanings, along with her expectation that students should critique texts for biases
and missing voices, allowed students to author their own interpretations rather than accept a
singular literary interpretation. Concludes that this instructional approach provided students
with opportunities to understand literary elements in context, while also promoting critical
consciousness.
Cervetti, G. N., & Hiebert, E. H. (2019). Knowledge at the center of language arts instruction.
The Reading Teacher, 72, 499–507.
Fisher, R. (2018). Reconciling disciplinary literacy perspectives with genre-oriented activity
theory: Toward a fuller synthesis of traditions. Reading Research Quarterly, 54, 237–251.
Inoue, T., Georgiou, G., Parrila, R., & Kirby, J. (2018). Examining an extended home literacy
model: The mediating roles of emergent literacy skills and reading fluency. Scientific Studies of
Reading, 22, 273–288.
Kim,S.(2018).Literacy skills gaps:A cross-level analysis on international and intergenerational
variations. International Review of Education, 64, 85–110.
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Leland, C., Ociepka,A., Kuonen, K., & Bangert, S. (2018). Learning to talk back to texts. Journal
of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 61, 643–652.
Litchfield,K.(2018).Coerced literacies:A critical discourse analysis of volunteered skills training
in prison. Literacy Research: Theory, Method, and Practice, 67, 394–409.
McTigue,E.M.,Solheim,O.J.,BenteWalgermo,B.,Frijters,J.,& Foldnes,N.(2019).How can we
determine students’motivation for reading before formal instruction? Results from a self-beliefs
and interest scale validation. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 48, 122–133.
Michener,C.,Patrick Proctor,J.,& Silverman,C.(2018).Features of instructional talk predictive
of reading comprehension. Reading and Writing, 31, 725–756.
Muhammad, G. E. (2018). A plea for identity and criticality: Reframing literacy learning stan-
dards through a four-layered equity model. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 62, 137–142.
Pedraza, E., & Rodríguez, J. (2018).“We are not dirt”: Freirean counternarratives and rhetorical
literacies for student voice in schooling. English Journal, 107(6), 75–81.
Smith, R., Ralston, N., Naegele, Z., & Waggoner, J. (2019). Connecting the classroom and the
community:Exploring the collective impact of one district-community partnership.Educational
Forum, 83, 44–59.
Spiering, J. (2019). Engaging adolescent literacies with the standards. Knowledge Quest, 47(5),
44–49.
Suggate, S., Pufke, E., & Stoeger, H. (2019). Children’s fine motor skills in kindergarten predict
reading in grade 1. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 47, 248–258.
Winn,M.T.(2018).A transformative justice approach to literacy education.Journal of Adolescent
& Adult Literacy, 62, 219–221.
Literary Response/Literature/Narrative
Research on literature and literary response featured in this year’s annotated bibliography includes
critical sociocultural and political analysis of children’s and young adult literature, and classroom
studies of instructional practices that disrupt students’ assumptions and develop students’ critical
consciousness. Topics include representations of gender, race, disability, body size, and enslavement
in children’s and young adult literature, as well as students’ responses to LGBTQ literature and
teachers’ approaches to global literature. (Amanda Haertling Thein, lead contributor)
Amato,N.A.(2019).“I’m fat.It’s not a cuss word.”:A critical content analysis of young adult lit-
erature featuring fat female protagonists.Journal of Language and Literacy Education,15(1),1–22.
Investigates constructions of fatness in young adult literature by drawing on critical fat studies,
feminist criticism,and reader response theory.Uses critical and comparative content analysis to
study representations of fatness in two prose novels and two graphic novels. Finds four themes:
(1) defining fatness in relation to other bodies, (2) relationships between weight and desire, (3)
relationships with adults, and (4) relationships with food. Explores differences between repre-
sentations of fatness in prose novels and graphic novels. Concludes that identifying discourses
of fatness within prose and graphic novels is necessary to combat fatphobia. Highlights ways
in which the novels interrogate fatness and offer counternarratives about body image that go
beyond notions of self-love and acceptance.
Attar,D.(2018).A democracy of children’s literature critics? The opportunities and risks of paying
attention to open reviews and mass discussion. Children’s Literature in Education, 49, 430–446.
Examines 300 collaboratively produced wiki pages, created by university students, that docu-
mented and compared nonacademic online reviews of popular children’s books. Notes that the
wiki creation spurred university students to see differences between adult and child reviewers,
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and among reviewers’ motives and backgrounds. Explores how open accessibility to post and
read reviews allowed the larger online communities to easily question and discuss authentic-
ity and representation in the books. Suggests using nonacademic online reviews for student
discussion and analysis work.
Black, R.,Alexander, J., Chen,V., & Duarte, J. (2019). Representations of autism in online Harry
Potter fanfiction. Journal of Literacy Research, 51, 30–51.
Explores stereotypical representations of autism in popular media and the potential for disrupt-
ing stereotypical representations in fanfiction.Uses an author-developed protocol to analyze the
content (related to, e.g., characterization, setting, resolution, dialogue) of pieces of fanfiction to
uncover ways in which autism and autistic characters were positioned in fanfiction narratives.
Finds a tension between representations of autism that were stereotypical and those that offered
agentive responses to stereotypical representations.Presents three themes:(1) voice,point of view,
and power to speak; (2) autism intersecting with other forms of difference, and (3) promotion
of empowerment, understanding, and agency. Finds that while some unfortunate tropes were
reproduced, fanfiction is an arena for expanding notions of neurodiversity and can be taken up
to enhance critical and multicultural pedagogies.
Boyd,A.,& Darragh,J.(2019).Complicating censorship: Reading AllAmerican Boys with parents
of young adults. English Education, 51, 229–260.
Examines how 11 parents of young adults responded, in the context of a semester-long book
club, to a current, potentially controversial, young adult text that depicts alternative viewpoints
on an incident of police brutality.Using qualitative coding,finds that reading and discussing All
American Boys helped parents grapple with race, oppression, and power in society. Concludes
that parents generally supported the teaching of the novel in schools, and encourages teacher
communication with parents about pedagogical approaches to controversial texts.Recommends
that educators develop robust rationales for teaching potentially controversial texts and build
partnerships with parents.
De Bruijn,A. (2019). From representation to participation: Rethinking the intercultural educa-
tional approach to folktales. Children’s Literature in Education, 50, 315–332.
Explores the responses of seventh-grade students to two graphic novels of fractured fairy tales,
Rapunzel’s Revenge and Calamity Jack. Focuses on the discussion around gender representa-
tion and femininity in the text and extensions of these concepts into the real world. Argues
that books with fluid gender portrayal help to promote complex understanding of humanity
and human roles.
Dixon,K.,& Janks,H.(2018).“My fish died and I flushed him down the toilet”: Children disrupt
preservice teachers’ understandings of “appropriate”picture books for young children. Literacy
Research: Theory, Method, and Practice, 67, 343–359.
Examines preservice teachers’ responses to picture books before and after reading them with
children. Uses content analysis to uncover themes within preservice teachers’ reviews and
reflective essays with respect to views on picture books and constructions of childhood. Finds
shifts in preservice teachers’ understandings of children and picture books after reading with
children, which are characterized in six themes: children as (1) meaning makers, (2) embodied
learners, (3) knowledgeable about the world, (4) having life experience, (5) literary critics, and
(6) individuals. Concludes that engaging with young readers can contribute to meaningful
interrogation of preservice teachers’ beliefs about childhood and the role of picture books in
children’s lives, if conceptual tools are introduced that expose preservice teachers to competing
theoretical paradigms.
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Dyches, J. (2018). Critical canon pedagogy: Applying disciplinary inquiry to cultivate canonical
critical consciousness. Harvard Educational Review, 88, 538–564.
Uses case-study methodology to investigate the design and implementation of a“critical canon
pedagogy unit” intended to help secondary students explore and critique the canonization of
British literature. Finds that the unit helped many students recognize canons as racialized and
politically contested social constructs,and that some students maintained a colorblind approach
to discussing canonicity.Argues for the importance of engaging students in inquiry and critical
analysis of “canonical bodies” across disciplines.
Hartman, P. (2018). A queer approach to addressing gender and sexuality through literature
discussions with second graders. Language Arts, 96, 79–90.
Explores second graders’responses to LGBTQ texts and texts that encourage discussions of gender
norms in a 15-week after-school literacy club.Employs qualitative coding of data from discussion
of five focal LGBTQ texts presented in teacher-led read-alouds. Finds that students voiced an
array of responses,including homophobic/heterosexist responses and responses that challenged
heteronormativity. Argues that young children are ready for conversations about gender and
sexuality and that LGBTQ children’s literature provides a useful space for such conversations.
Patterson, T., & Shuttleworth, J. (2019). The (mis)representation of enslavement in historical
literature for elementary students. Teachers College Record, 121(4), 1–40.
Investigates the depiction of enslavement in recently published elementary-level literature.Uses
qualitative content analysis to pinpoint the interpretive stances of both the narrative text and
illustrations in 21 texts.Finds that current historical children’s literature representing enslavement
assumes three stances: selective tradition, social conscience, and culturally conscious. Advocates
for careful decision-making on the part of elementary teachers, given that a wide diversity of
depictions of enslavement are represented in current children’s literature, yet realities of race
and racism sometimes remain invisible.
Rodriguez, N. N., & Kim, E. J. (2018). In search of mirrors: An Asian critical race theory content
analysis of Asian American picturebooks from 2007 to 2017. Journal of Children’s Literature,
44(2), 17–30.
Uses Asian critical race theory to examine 21 picturebooks published over 10 years. Finds over-
representation of East Asian Americans as compared to other Asian groups, and significant ties
between author positionality and the authenticity and accuracy of the texts. Suggests teachers
use a variety of books with multiple perspectives and historical depictions to help display the
complexity and range of Asian American experiences over time.
Toliver, S. R. (2019). Breaking binaries: #BlackGirlMagic and the Black ratchet imagination.
Journal of Language and Literacy Education, 15(1), 1–26.
Examines the discourse of the #BlackGirlMagic movement by unpacking respectability and
ratchetness. Uses an analytical frame informed by critical content analysis and Black ratchet
imagination (BRI) to approach Nnedi Okorafor’s Africanfuturistic young adult novels. Finds
several BRI-related themes associated with characters’ (a) awareness of injustice/oppression,
(b) acts against oppression, and (c) holding dominant groups accountable. Discusses how
Okorafor’s characters dismantle the respectability-ratchetness binary and thus reconfigure Black
girl identity. Concludes that these representations offer literacy stakeholders a means to refuse
damaging stories and provide new ways to envision Black girlhood.
Walter,B.,& Boyd,A.S.(2019).A threat or just a book? Analyzing responses to Thirteen Reasons
Why in a discourse community. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 62, 615–623.
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Explores responses of teens, preservice teachers, and parents to the young adult novel Thirteen
Reasons Why. Draws on positioning theory to consider how participants’ roles (and their as-
sociated rights and responsibilities) interacted with their responses to the book, and applies
critical discourse analysis to examine participants’ situated interactions. Finds variation in
how teens, preservice teachers, and parents assumed roles and responded to the book. Finds
two positionings: (1) protective role positioning (seeing the book as a potential threat yet still
important),and (2) literary critic positioning (seeing the book as a realistic story).Characterizes
issues concerning the romanticization of suicide and the need to include resources for readers.
Discusses the propensity for adults to focus on controversy while students see literary elements
connected to social themes. Concludes that building understanding across social positions and
responses to literature can move dialogue about literature beyond dismissive attitudes to a more
productive place for literacy classrooms.
Wissman, K. (2018). Teaching global literature to “disturb the waters”: A case study. English
Education, 51, 17–47.
Describes how a fifth-grade teacher in an affluent and culturally homogeneous community
taught global literature with the goal of disrupting students’ assumptions and beliefs. Draws
on transactional theories of literary response and critical theories of language and literacy
to analyze qualitative data gathered from 14 class sessions. Finds that the teacher used three
pedagogical moves to disrupt students’ assumptions: inviting students to share their aesthetic
transactions, privileging multiple perspectives across multiple genres, and calling attention to
language choices. Argues for using both transactional and critical approaches to language and
literacy in teaching global literature.
Anati, N. (2019). The influence of the Arab Spring on Arabic YA literature. Children’s Literature
in Education, 50, 223–239.
Brown,M.R.(2019).“Swimming against the tide”:Disability represented through fish symbolism
in (and on) middle grade and young adult novels.Children’s Literature in Education,50, 193–209.
Connors,S.,& Trites,R.S.(2019).Critiquing neoliberalism and post-race discourse in narratives
for young people. English Journal, 108(4), 51–59.
Dallacqua, A. K. (2019). Wondering about Rapunzel: Reading and responding to feminist fairy
tales with seventh graders. Children’s Literature in Education, 50, 261–277.
Flint, T., & Adams, M. (2018).“It’s like playing, but learning”: Supporting early literacy through
responsive play with wordless picturebooks. Language Arts, 96, 21–26.
Heinecken, D. (2019). Contesting controlling images: The Black ballerina in children’s picture-
books. Children’s Literature in Education, 50, 297–314.
Heron-Hruby, A., Trent, B., Haas, S., & Allen, S. C. (2018). The potential for using small-group
literature discussions in intervention-focused high school English.Reading &Writing Quarterly,
34, 379–395.
Jocius, R., & Shealy, S. (2018). Critical book clubs: Reimagining literature reading and response.
The Reading Teacher, 71, 691–702.
Johnston, M. P., & Green, L. S. (2018). Still polishing the diamond: School library research over
the last decade. School Library Research, 21.
Kelly, L. B., & Moses, L. (2018). Children’s literature that sparks inferential discussions. The
Reading Teacher, 72, 21–29.
Marlatt,R.(2018).Literary analysis using Minecraft:AnAsianAmerican youth crafts her literacy
identity. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 62, 55–66.
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McKenzie, C., & Jarvie, S. (2018). The limits of resistant reading in critical reading practices.
English Teaching: Practice & Critique, 17, 298–309.
Neville, M. L. (2018). “Sites of control and resistance”: Outlaw emotions in an out-of-school
book club. English Teaching: Practice & Critique, 17, 310–327.
Palo,A.,& Manderstedt,L.(2019).Beyond the characters and the reader? Digital discussions on
intersectionality in The Murderer’s Ape. Children’s Literature in Education, 50, 125–141.
Pantelo,S.(2019).Exploring metalepsis in Snappsy the Alligator (Did Not Ask to Be in This Book!).
Journal of Children’s Literature, 45(1), 15–25.
Rodriguez,S.C.,& Braden,E.G.(2018).Representation of Latinx immigrants and immigration
in children’s literature: A critical content analysis. Journal of Children’s Literature, 44(2), 46–61.
Sams, B., & Cook, M. (2019). (Un)sanctioned:Young adult literature as meaningful sponsor for
writing teacher education. English Teaching: Practice & Critique, 18, 70–84.
Toliver, S. R. (2018). Alterity and innocence: The Hunger Games, Rue, and Black girl adultifica-
tion. Journal of Children’s Literature, 44(2), 4–15.
Wright, C. Z., & Dunsmuir, S. (2019). The effect of storytelling at school on children’s oral and
written language abilities and self-perception. Reading & Writing Quarterly, 35(2), 137–153.
Media Literacy
The research on media literacy in this section examines uses of certain types of media (television,
videos, news, advertisements, social media, etc.); attitudes toward and levels of trust in the media;
media representations of various groups and issues; effects of critical media literacy instruction on
users’ actions and attitudes; preparing preservice teachers to teach media literacy; and use of media
production tools to engage students in multimodal media productions. Priority was given to studies
using large-scale databases to document particular uses of media. (Richard Beach, lead contributor)
Bergstrom,A.M.,Flynn,M.,& Craig,C.(2018).Deconstructing media in the college classroom:
A longitudinal critical media literacy intervention. Journal of Media Literacy Education, 10(3),
113–131.
Compares data from 198 students at a public university who were divided into two groups: a
control group and a group that received a media literacy intervention about gender and body
image during their communication course. The students took pretests, posttests immediately
after the intervention, and then a second round of posttests four weeks later. Data highlighted
higher-level media literacy understandings about media representations of gender and race in
the intervention group than in the control group, seen immediately after the intervention and
four weeks later.
Culver, S. H. & Redmond, T. (2019) Media Literacy Snapshot. National Association for Media
Literacy Education.
Reports results of a survey of media literacy educators regarding their perceptions of which
topics were most frequently addressed in media literacy courses and programs in 2018. Infor-
mation literacy (69%), agenda/bias (67%), news literacy (67%), copyright and fair use (56%),
advertising/consumer culture (54%), and credibility (54%) were the most frequently selected
topics, while celebrity culture (16%) and violence (13%) were less common topics, reflecting a
focus on the need to critique “fake news” and misinformation in the media. More respondents
noted that media literacy was taught in content area courses (38%) than as a standalone course
(24%). Roughly half noted challenges in teaching media literacy given “competing curricular
requirements” (50%) and “lack of time” (45%), while fewer cited “lack of content/curricular
resources” (24%),“funding” (22%), and “lack of content area curricular training” (19%). Sug-
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gests the need for more teacher preparation/inservice as well as resource repositories related to
teaching media literacy.
Damico,J.S.,& Panos,A.(2018).Civic media literacy as 21st century source work: Future social
studies teachers examine web sources about climate change. Journal of Social Studies Research,
42, 345–359.
Assesses how 27 undergraduate preservice teachers evaluated the reliability of four online sources
about climate change. Describes how, through responding to individual questions and group
discussions about the sources, preservice teachers demonstrated the benefits of a whole-group
discussion process and a focused multistep process to evaluate sources. Highlights the influ-
ence of perservice teachers’ personal beliefs about climate change and suggests that preservice
teachers analyze their own process of determining credibility.
Erdem,C.,& Erişti,B.(2018).Paving the way for media literacy instruction in preservice teacher
education: Prospective teachers’ levels of media literacy skills. International Journal of Instruc-
tion, 11(4), 795–810.
Identifies prospective teachers’ levels of media literacy skills using a mixed-methods study of
865 prospective teachers in a Turkish state university who took a 45-item media literacy skills
scale developed by the authors. Reveals that prospective teachers had moderate media literacy
skills and that their skill levels differed significantly depending on the teaching programs they
attended. Also describes results of a qualitative phase, in which semistructured interviews were
held with five prospective teachers,suggesting that participants lacked awareness and competen-
cies necessary to access, analyze, evaluate, and communicate information.
French, S. D., & Campbell, J. (2019). Media literacy and American education: An exploration
with détournement. Journal of Media Literacy Education, 11(1), 75–96.
Analyzes preservice teachers’ interview reflections on collaboratively creating videos related to
adopting a critical stance, or“détournement,”portraying alternative perspectives or versions of
contemporary cultural issues. Students noted that they valued generating videos that addressed
issues that concerned them to achieve uptake with their audiences; they also described challenges
associated with lack of media composition experience, difficulties in selecting media content
most relevant to their topic, and problems associated with relying on one person as editor in
the collaboration process. Suggests the need to assign preservice teachers with digital editing
experience to serve as editors.
Gordon, C. S., Jones, S. C., Kervin, L. K., & Howard, S. J. (2018).“You could get sick, disgusting”:
An analysis of alcohol counter-advertisements created by children. Health Education Research,
33, 337–350.
Evaluates upper-elementary students’ counter-advertisements after a 10-lesson alcohol media
literacy program. Uses discourse analysis to examine students’ redesigned advertisements, with
attention to message content,persuasion strategies,and production components based on a me-
dia literacy framework.Identifies themes highlighting an emphasis on short-term consequences
of alcohol misuse. Concludes that sensory (un)appeal was the most frequently used persuasion
strategy, and that strategies differed depending upon the advertisement’s target gender.
Hobbs, R., & Friesem, Y. (2019). The creativity of imitation in remake videos. E-Learning and
Digital Media, 16, 328–347.
Given the increased popularity of remix culture through video production, describes a content
analysis of 93 videos created in response to the “Love Language” video regarding romance and
disability awareness, evaluating the remake videos in terms of degrees of conformed imitation
versus originality. Finds that most remake videos imitated the original video’s narrative struc-
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ture, while their portrayals of social relationships and use of cinematographic codes were more
original. Suggests the value of students creating remake videos to foster creative expression
through digital productions.
Jiang, J. (2018, August 22). How teens and parents navigate screen time and device distractions.
Retrieved from Pew Research Center website:https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2018/08/22/
how-teens-and-parents-navigate-screen-time-and-device-distractions/
Reports on a survey of 743 US adolescents and 1,058 US parents,finding that 45% are continually
online, with 54% of adolescents indicating that they spend too much time on their cellphones.
Half (56%) associate high cellphone use with emotions of loneliness, being upset, or feeling
anxious. When they do not have their phone with them, 49% of females versus 35% of males
experience feelings of anxiety, and 32% of females versus 20% of males experience loneliness.
Many report attempting to reduce their cellphone time (52%), use of social media (57%), and
time playing video games (58%); 57% indicate that they need to respond to messages immedi-
ately. Parental concerns are common: 86% of parents reported that they know their children’s
appropriate screen time allowance, and 57% said they attempt to set restrictions on screen time
(more so for adolescents ages 13–14 than those ages 15–17). Half of adolescents indicated that
parents are often distracted by their own cellphone use.
Kavanagh, J., Marcellino, W., Blake, J. S., Smith, S., Davenport, S., & Tebeka, M. G. (2019).
Facts versus opinions: How the style and language of news presentation is changing in the digital
age. Retrieved from Rand Corporation website: https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_briefs/
RB10059.html
Details results of computer analyses of language employed in 27,000 reports from three news-
papers, network television news, and six online/cable news outlets before 2000 and then from
2000 to 2017, given the shift from print to online news. Finds that prior to 2000, language in
newspaper reports was more focused on describing events and contexts, while after 2000, it
focused more on storytelling, personal interactions/perspectives, and emotions. Traditional
network television news prior to 2000 employed more precise/concrete language, while after
2000,it presented more opinions,interviews,and arguments.Compared with network television
news, cable/online news outlets exhibited an even more pronounced shift toward opinionated,
subjective, conversational, argumentative language after 2000, reflecting differences in the busi-
ness models shaping network television versus cable/online news.
Liao, L.-L., Chang, L.-C., Lee, C.-K., & Tsai, S.-Y. (2019). The effects of a television drama-based
media literacy initiative on Taiwanese adolescents’ gender role attitudes. Sex Roles. Advance
online publication. Retrieved from https://link.springer.com/journal/11199
Investigates the media literacy skills and gender role attitudes of four classes of Taiwanese ninth-
graders who took a four-week intervention class in media literacy about idol dramas.Compares
performance of student participants with that of four control groups at the same school that did
not receive the intervention, through one pretest and two posttests (one directly after the inter-
vention and the other one month later). Shows that participants had better media literacy abili-
ties and more positive gender role attitudes in both posttests compared with the control group.
Lim, V. F., & Tan, S. K. Y. (2018). Developing multimodal literacy through teaching the critical
viewing of films in Singapore. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 62, 291–300.
Analyzes adoption of a critical viewing approach using a metalanguage for ninth-grade Singapore
students’ response to films using pre-to-post assessments. Students demonstrated increased
ability to employ metalanguage related to use of images and sound for constructing rhetorical
uptake with audiences. Students noted the benefits of using a video annotation tool and digital
storyboard to formulate responses; teachers indicated the need for more systematic preparation
for instruction in using metalanguage for critical response to films.
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Nielsen. (2018, July 31). Time flies: U.S. adults now spend nearly half a day interacting with
media. Retrievedfromhttps://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/article/2018/time-flies-us-adults-
now-spend-nearly-half-a-day-interacting-with-media/
Reports on a survey of American adults’ media use, finding that respondents spent an average
of 11 hours daily interacting with media, with 92% listening to radio and 88% viewing televi-
sion on a weekly basis, averaging 4 hours and 46 minutes of viewing daily. Finds an increase in
use of TV-connected devices such as game consoles and internet devices, reaching an average
of 40 minutes daily. Adults also spent an average of 3 hours and 48 minutes daily on digital
media, with 62% of that time devoted to smartphone usage. Young adults ages 18–34 devoted
43% of their media time to digital platforms, particularly apps/websites; they spent an average
of 45 minutes per day on social media, with 72% viewing video content on social media daily.
Redmond, T. A. (2019). Unboxed: Expression as inquiry in media literacy education. Journal of
Literacy and Technology, 20(1), 208–251.
Explores media literacy curriculum and students’perspectives about making media in an under-
graduate media literacy class. Through curation and remixing of various media texts, students
participated in creating media texts as a multimodal and transmedia process. Findings suggest
that media production pedagogy requires students to socially construct knowledge that creates
opportunities for higher-order,critical,and expressive inquiry that may lead to more democratic
and innovative ways of teaching and learning.
Tutkun, T., & Kincal, R. Y. (2019). The relationship between the teacher candidates’ level of
media literacy and participation levels to protest and social change. International Education
Studies, 12(4), 208–216.
Explores the relationship between teacher candidates’ level of media literacy and active citizen-
ship, in terms of their level of participation in protest and social change. Reports results of a
survey of 1,101 first- and fourth-year teacher candidates studying at a university in Turkey.Finds
a significant relationship between media literacy level and participation in protest and social
change. Recommends media literacy training in formal and informal settings so teachers can
demonstrate and transfer these skills to their students.
Westcott,K.,Loucks,J.,Downs,K.,&Watson,J.(2019,March19).Digitalmediatrendssurvey,13th
edition: Piecing it together. Retrieved from Deloitte website: https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/
insights/industry/technology/digital-media-trends-consumption-habits-survey/summary.html
Summarizes results of a survey of 2,003 American media consumers, which found that 69%
subscribed to at least one streaming video service (on average, subscribing to 3 out of over 300
service options), 65% subscribed to traditional pay TV, and 43% subscribed to both. Also, 41%
subscribed to music streaming services, a 58% increase from the previous year. Subscribers in-
dicated that they chose streaming services when they could not find similar content elsewhere,
and 44% said they preferred ad-free content, with 75% noting that there were too many adver-
tisements on pay TV channels. More than a third (36%) employed voice-enabled home digital
assistants to access content, particularly music, and 30% subscribed to a gaming service, with
41% playing video games either daily or weekly. At the same time, 47% voiced frustration with
difficulties in quickly navigating the increased number of alternative services.
Bergan, D., & Lee, H. (2018). Media literacy and response to terror news. Journal of Media
Literacy Education, 10(3), 43–56.
Cherner, T. S., & Curry, K. (2019). Preparing pre-service teachers to teach media literacy: A
response to “fake news.” Journal of Media Literacy Education, 11(1), 1–32.
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Daems, K., De Pelsmacker, P., & Moons, I. (2019). The effect of ad integration and interactivity
on young teenagers’ memory, brand attitude and personal data sharing. Computers in Human
Behavior, 99, 245–259.
De Jans,S.,Hudders,L.,& Cauberghe,V.(2018).Adolescents’self-reported level of dispositional
advertising literacy: How do adolescents resist advertising in the current commercial media
environment? Young Consumers, 19, 402–420.
de la Fuente Prieto,J.,Díaz,P.L.,& Martínez-Borda,R.(2019).Adolescents,social networks and
transmedia universes: Media literacy in participatory contexts. Revista Latina de Comunicación
Social, 74, 172–196.
Görmez,E.(2018).A study on the effect of the media literacy lesson on solving skills of sublimi-
nal messages in the cartoon movies. International Journal of Language Academy, 6(4), 96–106.
Grapin, S. (2019). Multimodality in the new content standards era: Implications for English
learners. TESOL Quarterly, 53, 30–55.
Grieco, E. (2019, July 9). U.S. newsroom employment has dropped a quarter since 2008, with
greatest decline at newspapers. Retrieved from Pew Research Center website: https://www
.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/07/09/u-s-newsroom-employment-has-dropped-by-a-quarter-
since-2008/
Kahne, J., & Bowery, B. (2019). Can media literacy education increase digital engagement in
politics? Learning, Media and Technology, 44, 211–224.
McDougall, J., Zezulkova, M., van Driel, B., & Sternadel, D. (2018). Teaching media literacy in
Europe: Evidence of effective school practices in primary and secondary education (NESET II Ana-
lytical Report No. 2/2018). Retrieved from NESET website: https://nesetweb.eu/en/resources/
library/teaching-media-literacy-in-europe-evidence-of-effective-school-practices-in-primary-
and-secondary-education/
Mitchell,A. (2018, December 3). Americans still prefer watching to reading the news—and mostly
still through television. Retrieved from Pew Research Center website: https://www.journalism
.org/2018/12/03/americans-still-prefer-watching-to-reading-the-news-and-mostly-still-
through-television/
Olson, C., Lanthorn, K., Onut, G., Sekarasih, L., & Scharrer, E. (2019). Producing PSAs on
consumer culture: Youth reception of advertising. Critical Studies of Media Communication,
36(1), 58–74.
Nielsen. (2019, March 11). Digital’s flair for the dramatic: How program genres perform be-
yond traditional viewing.Retrieved from https://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/article/2019/
digitals-flair-for-the-dramatic-how-program-genres-perform-beyond-traditional-viewing/
Nielsen.(2019,May 15).Entertainment everywhere:Younger audiences roll out the red carpet to
watch outside the home. Retrieved from https://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/article/2019/
entertainment-everywhere-younger-audiences-roll-out-the-red-carpet-for-ooh-entertainment/
Notley,T.,& Dezuanni,M.(2019).Advancing children’s news media literacy: Learning from the
practices and experiences of young Australians. Media, Culture & Society, 41, 689–707.
Ottonicar, S. L. C., da Silva, R. C., & Barboza, E. L. (2018). The contributions of information
and media literacy to public hybrid libraries. Library Quarterly, 88, 225–236.
Powell, R. M., & Gross, T. (2018). Food for thought: A novel media literacy intervention on
food advertising targeting young children and their parents. Journal of Media Literacy Educa-
tion, 10(3), 80–94.
Schmitt, J. B., Rieger, D., Ernst, J., & Roth, H. (2018). Critical media literacy and Islamist online
propaganda: The feasibility, applicability and impact of three learning arrangements. Interna-
tional Journal of Conflict and Violence, 12, 1–19. Doi: 10.4119/UNIBI/ijcv.642

Shujun, J., & Rafeeq, A. (2019). Connecting the classroom with the newsroom in the digital
age: An investigation of journalism education in the UAE, UK and USA. Asia Pacific Media
Educator, 29, 3–22.
Tully, M., & Vraga, E. K. (2018). Who experiences growth in news media literacy and why does
it matter? Examining education, individual differences, and democratic outcomes. Journalism
and Mass Communication Educator, 73, 167–181.
Professional Development/Teacher Education
The research in this section includes studies of preservice and inservice teachers’ use of critical peda-
gogies, multiliteracies, and nontraditional classroom approaches in literacy and English language
arts. Many studies explored large data sets through the use of survey designs, systematic literature
reviews,and multi-institutional research designs.A few important studies examined literacy pedago-
gies through microethnography and discourse analysis methods. A noticeable trend in the research
reviewed this year was an emphasis on changing teacher beliefs, questioning power structures, and
resisting traditional ways of teaching. Many studies focused on the impact and significance of the
role of the teacher educator, professional developer, and literacy coach in supporting these changes.
(Lisa Ortmann, lead contributor)
Bean, R. M., Dagen, A. S., Ippolito, J., & Kern, D. (2018). Principals’ perspectives on the roles of
specialized literacy professionals. The Elementary School Journal, 119, 327–350.
Examines the perceptions of 103 elementary and secondary principals on the roles of special-
ized literacy professionals.Describes a survey study intended to determine the types of activities
that specialized literacy professionals engaged in across the school and the extent to which they
influenced the literacy achievement of students and instructional practices of teachers. Finds
that roles and responsibilities of specialized literacy professionals need to be clearly outlined,
and coursework should include professional learning opportunities in teaching and leadership.
Hendrix-Soto,A.,& MosleyWetzel,M.(2019).A review of critical literacies in preservice teacher
education: Pedagogies, shifts, and barriers. Teaching Education, 30, 200–216.
Reviews the literature on critical literacies in teacher preparation to identify current practices in
teacher education coursework and field experiences that prepare teachers for the use of critical
literacies pedagogy.Theorizes critical literacies pedagogy as a tool for:(1) interrogating the politi-
cal nature of literacies, (2) deconstructing and reconstructing the world, (3) struggling against
the status quo, (4) embracing multiliteracies, and (5) situating literacies within local contexts.
Analyzes 26 articles published between 1990 and 2016 that used a critical literacies framework,
finding that course experiences were primarily text-based (literature and multimedia); non-
text-based course experiences included inquiry projects, facilitating critical conversations, and
applying critical inquiry to personal writing; and field experiences included critical literacies
enactments during observations of model teaching, engaging in virtual teaching, and tutoring
in summer camps.Argues for the use of critical literacies pedagogy in teacher education in order
to shift preservice teachers’ perspectives and practices.
Hunt, C. S. (2019). Professional learning as breaking away: Discourses of teacher development
within literacy coaching interactions. Literacy Research and Instruction, 58, 123–141.
Employs a microethnographic approach to studying the discourse and interactions between
literacy coaches and teachers as they worked toward implementation of their district literacy
program.Data included video of coaching interactions,interviews,and artifacts.The theoretical
framework of the study offered a critique of teacher development as a linear progression with the
support of the literacy coach as the expert. Findings emphasize the potential of “breaking away”
from these traditional and stage-oriented conceptualizations of teaching, toward a nonlinear
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and dialogic perspective of professional learning, thus offering opportunities for fully valuing
teacher knowledge and innovation.
Jacobs, J., Boardman, A., Potvin, A., & Wang, C. (2018). Understanding teacher resistance to
instructional coaching. Professional Development in Education, 44, 690–703.
Investigates the characteristics of 71 middle school teachers (grades 6–8) who were resistant or
receptive to instructional coaching for a literacy strategy,Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR),
which is intended for use in content areas to increase comprehension. Based on data sources
including coaching logs, classroom observation, and a survey, finds that teachers resistant to
coaching primarily fell into three categories that explained their resistance: resistant to coaching
time, resistant to CSR, or resistant to integrating feedback.Calls for coaches to understand teacher
buy-in regarding new strategies and for consideration of alternative methods of professional
learning that may be equally effective.
Kraft, M. A., Blazar, D., & Hogan, D. (2018). The effect of teacher coaching on instruction and
achievement:A meta-analysis of the causal evidence.Review of Educational Research,88, 547–588.
Utilizes meta-analysis methodology with 60 experimental and quasi-experimental studies on
teacher coaching to determine its effect on teacher outcomes (instruction) and student outcomes
(achievement). Notes that over half of the studies reviewed focused on literacy. Defines teacher
coaching as individualized, intensive, sustained, context-specific, and focused. Suggests that
teacher coaching has large positive effects on instruction and small positive effects on student
achievement, and produces more favorable outcomes for instruction and achievement than
other forms of professional learning.
Lantz-Andersson, A., Lundin, M., & Selwyn, N. (2018). Twenty years of online teacher com-
munities: A systematic review of formally-organized and informally-developed professional
learning groups. Teaching and Teacher Education, 75, 302–315.
Shares the findings of a systematic review of research related to formal and informal teacher
groups. Identifies 52 studies published over a 20-year period, based on review criteria. Finds
that formal and informal teacher learning groups share many common goals and outcomes,
including sharing of information and experiencing a sense of belonging.Identifies the challenge
of superficial interaction in online professional learning settings. Argues that online teacher
communities can support the development of professional practices.
Parsons, S. A., Hutchison, A. C., Hall, L. A., Parsons, A. W., Ives, S. T., & Leggett, A. B. (2019).
U.S. teachers’ perceptions of online professional development. Teaching and Teacher Education,
82, 33–42.
Approaches the analysis of teacher perspectives on online professional development through
social learning theory, theories of learning in the mobile age, and motivation. Outlines survey
results, highlighting the value teachers find in online professional development experiences.
Identifies low levels of experience with informal online professional learning opportunities,
such as through platforms like Twitter. Concludes that teachers value particular approaches to
online professional development (namely,those built on collaboration and support) over others
(those built on evaluation and feedback).
Parsons, A., Parsons, S. A., Dodman, S. L., Nuland, L. R., Pierczynski, M., & Ramirez, E. M.
(2019). Longitudinal literacy professional development in an urban elementary charter school.
The Journal of Educational Research, 112, 447–462.
Examines the impact of a two-year professional development project focused on moving from
a scripted literacy curriculum to differentiated balanced literacy instruction. Outlines a design-
based research methodology implemented through an iterative data collection process and
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systematic analysis.Discusses elements that enhance teacher growth.Highlights the importance
of clear leadership and accountability.
Reichenberg, J. S., & Boyd, F. B. (2019). The functions of consonance and dissonance in the
dialogue of secondary-level literacy coaching. Teacher Development, 23, 83–100
Explores the interactions between secondary-level teachers and a literacy coach as they worked
toward creating more equitable instruction opportunities for English learners. Utilizes a mul-
tiple case study approach with video self-reflection, planning sessions, and interview as data
sources.Based on analysis of coaching dialogue,finds that building consonance and introducing
dissonance in reflections of teaching were effective coaching moves for improving instruction.
Suggests the potential of creating dialogic spaces among teachers and coaches.
Rubin, J. C. (2018).“And then on to the next school to mess things up”: Deconstruction events
in a preservice teacher’s field experience. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Educa-
tion, 31, 950–970.
Analyzes a preservice teacher’s experiences in a seventh-grade literacy classroom using theories
of deconstruction,examining moments when binaries and other discursive structures of school,
English language arts, and literacy teacher preparation were questioned or resisted by the pre-
service teacher (Mel). Presents examples of deconstruction events in Mel’s teaching, explained
as moments where typically normalized routines and practices were made visible to students,in
order to highlight opportunities for preservice teachers to enact critical, social-justice pedago-
gies.Argues that perpetuating the discourse that preservice teachers are“not yet”teachers limits
their perceived impact on students and discredits their teaching experiences.
Scales,R.Q.,Tracy,K.N.,Myers,J.,Smetana,L.,Grisham,D.L.,Ikpeze,C.,...Sanders,J.(2019).
A national study of exemplary writing methods instructors’course assignments. Literacy Research
and Instruction, 58, 67–83.
Investigates the writing methods courses of a purposive sample of eight teacher educators
from eight institutions across the United States to determine how exemplary writing course
instructors help undergraduate elementary teacher candidates become classroom teachers of
writing. Cross-case analysis of interviews, course syllabi, and assignment descriptions revealed
that despite the wide range of programs and contexts, teacher educators were similar in goals
and approach. Instructors focused on helping candidates develop as writers and build their
identities as teachers of writing. Found that exemplary assignments were designed to engage
teacher candidates in purposeful writing experiences while simultaneously encouraging them
to be observant of their own attitudes and beliefs about writing, disrupting previous negative
experiences with writing or poor writing self-concepts.
Schutz, K. M., Danielson, K. A., & Cohen, J. (2019). Approximations in English language arts:
Scaffolding a shared teaching practice. Teaching and Teacher Education, 81, 100–111.
Investigates three teacher educators’ use of assignments that were designed to approximate the
teachingpractices of English language arts teachers inordertofindcommonapproaches.Explains
Pam Grossman’s concept of“approximations of practice”as instructional tools like role-playing,
peer-teaching,and the use of lesson templates that are designed to scaffold learning of the activi-
ties and practices of teaching. Draws on cross-case analysis of data sources including video of
course sessions, field notes, interviews, and instructional artifacts. Finds that teacher educators
leveraged four instructional tools for successful scaffolding of approximations of ELA teaching:
instructional activities, representations, planning templates, and texts and instructional goals.
Suggests that approximations reduced complexity of teaching in order to scaffold candidate
learning. Recommends that ELA teacher educators design learning experiences that leverage
approximations of teaching across multiple instructional goals and activities.
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van Schaik, P.,Volman, M.,Admiraal,W., & Schenke,W. (2019).Approaches to co-construction
of knowledge in teacher learning groups. Teaching and Teacher Education, 84, 30–43.
Examines the intricacies of a three-year research project involving two universities, a research
center,and six secondary schools.Based on interview data,identifies three approaches to knowl-
edge co-construction: practice-based, research-informed, and research-based. Finds that partici-
pants implemented teacher practices using all three processes of knowledge co-construction.
Advocates for professional learning that facilitates teachers to build knowledge and develop
their practice based on that knowledge.
Wimmer, J. J., & Draper, R. J. (2019). Insiders’ views of new literacies, schooling, and the pur-
pose of education: “We should be teaching them more important things.” Reading Psychology,
40, 149–168.
Investigates elementary preservice teachers’perceptions of teaching new literacies in their future
classrooms, in order to make recommendations for changes to teacher education programs.
Reports on a survey of 145 preservice teachers enrolled in a foundations of literacy course at
a prestigious, private university on the West Coast. Includes details of the survey, which was
designed for this study and included both open- and closed-ended items relating to literacy life
experiences and teaching beliefs. Outlines results of descriptive and thematic analysis, includ-
ing the major finding that although participants were digital insiders, they favored teaching of
traditional, school-based literacies, and assumed the purpose of education was to do well in
school.Suggests that teacher candidates do not incorporate course learning of new literacies into
their beliefs about teaching, and that teacher educators should play a critical role in preparing
preservice teachers to bring new literacies into their teaching.
Woodward, L., & Hutchison, A. (2018). The STAK Model: Exploring individualized profes-
sional development for technology integration in literacy. Journal of Technology and Teacher
Education, 26, 613–644.
Explores how targeted and responsive professional development that is focused on support,time,
and access to expertise affects the integration of iPads into instruction.Drawing on a qualitative
case study design, analysis focuses on the experiences of three participants selected through
intensity sampling. Suggests that teacher belief in the importance of technology integration,
combined with the STAK model, influences change in practice.
Banks, J., & Gibson, S. (2019). Exploring the master narrative: Racial knowledge and under-
standing of language and literacy pedagogy for special education teacher candidates. Reading
& Writing Quarterly, 35, 30–41.
Barnes, M. E. (2018). Centering the how: What teacher candidates’ means of mediation can tell
us about engaging adolescent writers. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 62, 35–43.
Brown, C. L., Schell, R., Denton, R., & Knode, E. (2019). Family literacy coaching: Partnering
with parents for reading success. School Community Journal, 29(1), 63–86.
Christ, T., Arya, P., & Liu, Y. (2019). Technology integration in literacy lessons: Challenges and
successes. Literacy Research and Instruction, 58, 49–66.
D’Abate, R. L., McVee, M. B., Rinker, T. W., & Schiller, J. A. (2018). Tutoring in a literacy center:
An exploration of a struggling learner’s missed opportunities for substantial contributions.
Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning, 26, 585–605.
Hobbs, R., & Coiro, J. (2019). Design features of a professional development program in digital
literacy. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 62, 401–409.
Hodges, T. S., Wright, K. L., & McTigue, E. (2019). What do middle grades preservice teach-
ers believe about writing and writing instruction? Research in Middle Level Education Online,
42(2), 1–15.
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Leighton, C. M., Ford-Connors, E., Robertson, D. A., Wyatt, J., Wagner, C. J., Proctor, C. P., &
Paratore, J. R. (2018). “Let’s FaceTime tonight”: Using digital tools to enhance coaching. The
Reading Teacher, 72, 39–49.
Matsumura, L. C., Correnti, R., Walsh, M., Bickel, D. D., & Zook-Howell, D. (2019). Online
content-focused coaching to improve classroom discussion quality. Technology, Pedagogy and
Education, 28, 191–215.
Matsumura, L. C., Zook-Howell, D., Bickel, D. D.,Walsh, M., & Correnti, R. (2019). Harnessing
the power of video to increase classroom text discussion quality.The Reading Teacher, 73, 65–74.
McGrath,K.,& Bardsley,M.E.(2018).Becoming a literacy leader in the 21st century: Fieldwork
that facilitates the process. Literacy Research and Instruction, 57, 351–368.
Parsons, A. W. (2018). Becoming a literacy specialist: Developing identities. Literacy Research
and Instruction, 57, 387–407.
Pletcher, B. C., Hudson,A. K., John, L., & Scott,A. (2019). Coaching on borrowed time: Balanc-
ing the roles of the literacy professional. The Reading Teacher, 72, 689–699.
Prestridge, S. (2019). Categorising teachers’ use of social media for their professional learning:
A self-generating professional learning paradigm. Computers & Education, 129, 143–158.
Robertson, D. A., Ford-Connors, E., Frahm, T., Bock, K., & Paratore, J. R. (2019). Unpacking
productive coaching interactions: Identifying coaching approaches that support instructional
uptake. Professional Development in Education. Advance online publication. Retrieved from
https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/rjie20/current
Schachter, R. E., Weber-Mayrer, M. M., Piasta, S. B., & O’Connell, A. (2018). What happens
during language and literacy coaching? Coaches’ reports of their interactions with educators.
Early Education and Development, 29, 852–872.
Snow, C. E. (2018). The unavoidable need for distributed cognition in teaching literacy. South
African Journal of Childhood Education, 1(2), 1–10.
Spires, H. A., Kerkhoff, S. N., & Zheng, M. (2018). Community of inquiry as teacher profes-
sional development in China: New literacies, new complexities. In H. A. Spires (Ed.), Digital
transformation and innovation in Chinese education (pp. 100–118). Hershey, PA: IGI Global.
Ulenski,A.,Gill,M.G.,& Kelley,M.J.(2019).Developing and validating the elementary literacy
coach self-efficacy survey. The Teacher Educator, 54, 225–243.
Reading
Articles selected for this section of the 2019 RTE annotated bibliography are representative of
continuing scholarly interest in the complexities of reading, specifically interactions among student
engagement, foundational skills, and comprehension. Several studies explored aspects of reading
comprehension—including motivation, phonological awareness, and morphology—while others
emphasized the importance of morphological awareness and vocabulary to the creation of academic
knowledge and disciplinary understanding. There was also a notable emphasis on the qualities of
the literacy environment, including characteristics of effective reading programs, observations of
teacher practices, and instructional strategies that support independent reading. (Kathryn Allen,
lead contributor)
Baye, A., Inns, A., Lake, C., & Slavin, R. (2019). A synthesis of quantitative research on reading
programs for secondary students. Reading Research Quarterly, 54, 133–166.
Calculates effect sizes for 69 random-assignment and quasi-experimental studies evaluating 51
secondary reading programs (grades 6–12). Conditions for inclusion in the analysis included:
delivery of instruction by teachers, not researchers; use of standardized assessments for pretest
and posttest data; and treatment duration of at least 12 weeks. Programs using cooperative
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learning, one-on-one or small-group tutoring, writing-focused approaches, and whole-school
reforms (e.g., establishing teacher teams) showed positive results. Some programs integrating
social studies and science were also found to be effective. Effect sizes were the same for English
learners as for all other students. Programs offering an extra period of reading every day or
technology-enhanced learning were not more effective than programs without these elements.
Buttaro, A., Jr., & Catsambis, S. (2019). Ability grouping in the early grades: Long-term conse-
quences for educational equity in the United States. Teachers College Record, 121(2).
Describes a longitudinal study examining the predictive value of exposure to within-class abil-
ity grouping for reading instruction in grades K–3 to reading achievement in later grades, as
measured by test scores in grades 5 and 8 and English coursework placements in middle grades.
Uses multivariate models to compare longitudinal data from 6,476 students in the kindergarten
class of 1988-1999 followed by the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, a national panel study
sponsoredbytheNationalCenterforEducationStatistics,USDepartmentof Education.Indicates
that students in primary grades experienced variation in ability grouping placements across
years, and each year of placement in a low-ability group was associated with lower test scores in
eighth grade, while placement in high-ability groups was consistently linked to high test scores.
Field, S. A., Begeny, J., & Kim, E. K. (2019). Exploring the relationship between cognitive
characteristics and responsiveness to a Tier 3 reading fluency intervention. Reading & Writing
Quarterly, 35, 374–391.
Posits that previous studies of students’ response to intervention do not account for progress
over time.Asks which cognitive characteristics (phonemic awareness, phonological processing,
rapid automatized naming,verbal knowledge,orthographic processing,visual-verbal paired as-
sociate learning, working memory, executive function, processing speed) differentiate student
response to Tier 3 fluency intervention, whether results support the continuum-of-severity
hypothesis, and whether cognitive scores are associated with students’ Tier 3 intervention re-
sponse. Describes how multivariate profile analysis determined patterns of cognitive function
with regard to student response to intervention as measured by words per minute. Concludes
that student response to Tier 3 fluency-based reading intervention depends on complex cogni-
tive interactions and a multitude of factors.
Hadley, E., Dickinson, D., Hirsh-Pasek, K., & Golinkoff, R. (2019). Building semantic networks:
The impact of a vocabulary intervention on preschoolers’ depth of word knowledge. Reading
Reports results of a two-month vocabulary intervention designed to build semantic networks in
30 preschool children from three different classrooms in a state-funded program for low-income
families. The average age at the time of pretest was 59.6 months; 43% of the children were male,
and 13% were English learners. Targeted words were explicitly taught in conceptually based
categories during shared reading of two informational trade books over multiple lessons. Each
reading was followed by a 10-minute guided play session,where children were encouraged to use
the vocabulary words while manipulating toys or props related to the concept (e.g., a toy rake,
hoe,and watering can associated with a text on seeds and growing plants).Assessments included
the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test and New Word Definition Test. Children demonstrated
significant growth in vocabulary depth when words were taught in taxonomies rather than
themes.Recommends teaching groups of conceptually related words rather than isolated words.
Lane, H. B., Gutlohn, L., & van Dijk,W. (2019). Morpheme frequency in academic words: Iden-
tifying high-utility morphemes for instruction. Literacy Research and Instruction, 58, 184–209.
Examines disciplinary morpheme frequency and serves as an instructional resource for mor-
phological instruction in the disciplines,demonstrating that morphological awareness is predic-
tive of reading comprehension in upper-elementary and secondary students, and is related to
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disciplinary knowledge.Researchers created a database of academic vocabulary and categorized
words according to prefixes, roots, and suffixes. Words were sorted into disciplinary categories
and ordered by frequency. Results suggest that instruction on prefixes and derivational suffixes,
which tend to be similar across content areas, is appropriate in elementary school, while more
content-specific Latin and Greek roots should be a focus of disciplinary reading instruction
(including phonology and spelling patterns) at the secondary level. Suggests that morphemes
carry disciplinary meaning and so should be studied within the larger disciplinary context.
Lawrence,J.F.,Hagen,A.M.,Hwang,J.K.,Lin,G.,& Lervåg,A.(2019).Academic vocabulary and
reading comprehension: Exploring the relationships across measures of vocabulary knowledge.
Reading and Writing, 32, 285–306.
Investigates how four dimensions of vocabulary knowledge (multiword expressions,topical associ-
ates, hypernym, and definition knowledge) explain variance in reading comprehension.Analyzes
data from a three-year randomized efficacy trial of 5,855 students in sixth, seventh, and eighth
grade,and finds a high correlation of vocabulary knowledge dimensions with academic vocabu-
lary and reading comprehension.Indicates that the multiword expressions,topical associations,
and definition knowledge tasks explain unique variance in reading comprehension.Demonstrates
that students acquire knowledge of words in multiple ways and that the different components
of vocabulary knowledge are important to understanding students’ reading performances.
Levesque, K., Kieffer, M., & Deacon, S. (2019). Inferring meaning from meaningful parts: The
contributions of morphological skills to the development of children’s reading comprehension.
Reading Research Quarterly, 54, 63–80.
Analyzes results of a longitudinal study of 197 English-speaking third- and fourth-grade students
from 14 schools in Canada to determine whether morphological awareness, morphological
analysis, or a combination of both leads to increases in students’ reading comprehension. Two
spoken measures of morphological awareness were administered each year, including the Test
of Morphological Structure and a word analogy task.The morphological analysis task was given
orally, and students were asked to select a definition from a list of four options. Multivariate
autoregressive path analysis identified morphological analysis as predictive of gains in reading
comprehension. Suggests a developmental progression of students’ abilities to infer meaning
of unfamiliar words.
Magnusson, C., Roe, A., & Blikstad-Balas, M. (2019). To what extent and how are reading com-
prehension strategies part of language arts instruction? A study of lower secondary classrooms.
Analyzes video recordings of four consecutive reading lessons in 47 Norwegian eighth-grade
language arts classrooms using qualitative content analyses of the Protocol for Language Arts
Teacher Observation, a research-validated, content-specific tool. Identifies and describes
evidence of naturally occurring comprehension strategy instruction. Finds that relatively few
examples of comprehension strategy instruction were explicit (14.4%),and a higher percentage
of comprehension instruction occurred at a lower level, where teachers mentioned, referred to,
or prompted students to use strategies (32%).Indicates that instruction was more often focused
on teacher-initiated text-based discussions using an initiate-response-evaluate pattern (61.25%)
or related to text structure and literary devices (46.25%).
Meyer, B. J. F., Wijekumar, K., & Lei, P. (2018). Comparative signaling generated for expository
texts by 4th–8th graders: Variations by text structure strategy instruction, comprehension skill,
and signal word. Reading and Writing, 31, 1937–1968.
Examines the effect of a web-based tool designed to teach text structure,the Intelligent Tutoring
of the Structure Strategy (ITSS), on fourth-, fifth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students’ under-
standing of four comparative signal words.Compares pretest and posttest measures of signaling
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and standardized reading comprehension in four large randomized efficacy studies (N = 7,125)
across age, grade level, and comprehension ability (high, middle, low). Finds that students who
received the ITSS instruction outperformed students in the control group on the generation
of signal words, particularly more difficult words that mark transitions between paragraphs.
Demonstrates the importance of text structure strategy instruction to increase upper-elementary
and middle school students’ understanding of signal words and comprehension of expository
and persuasive texts. Notes that the instructional focus on compare-and-contrast text structure
and signal words is well-suited to fourth- to eighth-grade students.
Moses,L.,& Kelly,L.B.(2019).Are they really reading?A descriptive study of first graders during
independent reading. Reading & Writing Quarterly, 35, 322–338.
Seeks to understand how supported independent reading fosters meaning-making in first grad-
ers, and how young readers’attitudes toward reading change in supported independent reading
contexts.Analyzes data from a convergent parallel mixed-methods study,including observational
checklists and video transcripts,finding that first graders read (79.73% literacy-related behaviors,
12.67% off-task behaviors, 7.4% transitional behaviors) and constructed meaning (summary/
retell, word identification, inferential thinking and talk, making connections, asking/solving
questions, use of comprehension strategies) during supported independent reading; teacher-
created literacy environments played a central role in frequency of literacy-related behaviors;
and student attitudes toward reading shifted from accuracy-oriented to meaning-oriented in a
supported independent reading context.
Oslund,E.L.,Clemens,N.H.,Simmons,D.C.,& Simmons,L.E.(2018).The direct and indirect
effects of word reading and vocabulary on adolescents’ reading comprehension: Comparing
struggling and adequate comprehenders. Reading and Writing, 31, 355–379.
Identifies the direct and indirect effects of word reading, vocabulary, silent reading efficiency,
and inference-making on the reading comprehension of students in grades 6–8, comparing the
results of struggling readers and adequate readers. Utilizes mediation path analyses and Wald
tests to analyze data from measures of reading comprehension and vocabulary (GMRT-4),word
reading (Test of Word Reading Efficiency), inference-making (Adolescent Literacy Inventory),
and silent reading efficacy (Test of Silent Reading Efficiency and Comprehension) from a sample
of struggling and adequate middle grade readers (N = 796). Finds evidence that vocabulary is a
statistically significant predictor of reading comprehension and inference-making across ability
groups, while word reading has a stronger relationship to comprehension in struggling readers.
Concludes that adequate readers benefit from instruction that focuses on vocabulary learning
while reading, while struggling readers benefit from direct vocabulary instruction and targeted
word-reading instruction.
Schiefele, U., & Loweke, S. (2018). The nature, development, and effects of elementary students’
reading motivation profiles. Reading Research Quarterly, 53, 405–421.
Examines 405 third- and fourth-grade students’ recreational reading motivation using a
longitudinal, person-centered approach. Participants came from 25 schools in Germany and
represented a socioeconomically diverse population. Authors focused on two dimensions of
intrinsic motivation—curiosity and involvement—and two dimensions of extrinsic motiva-
tion—competition and recognition. Students were assessed individually by researchers, once in
third grade and 10 months later in fourth grade, using the Reading Motivation Questionnaire
for Elementary Students.Latent profile analyses identified four profiles across both grade levels:
high intrinsic (scoring high in curiosity and involvement and low in competition and recogni-
tion), high involvement (scoring low in all other dimensions), high quantity (scoring high in all
dimensions), and moderate quantity (scoring low in all dimensions). From grade 3 to grade 4,
35% of students changed their profile, moving to a high intrinsic profile. Results of a standard-
ized reading assessment focusing on word-level and passage-level comprehension showed that
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students with high intrinsic or high involvement profiles outperformed students with high
quantity or moderate quantity profiles.
Tighe, E. L., Little, C.W.,Arrastia-Chisholm, M. C., Schatschneider, C., Diehm, E., Quinn, J. M.,
& Edwards,A.A. (2019).Assessing the direct and indirect effects of metalinguistic awareness to
the reading comprehension skills of struggling adult readers. Reading and Writing, 32, 787–818.
Explores the interrelationships between three metalinguistic skills (phonological awareness,
morphological awareness, and orthographic knowledge) and reading comprehension in strug-
gling adult readers.Analyzes data from a battery of 13 measures conducted with 220 struggling
adult readers to assess metalinguistic skills, decoding, oral vocabulary knowledge, and reading
comprehension for correlations among the measures. Finds evidence that 91% of reading
comprehension variance in the sample was accounted for by metalinguistic skills, decoding,
and oral vocabulary knowledge. Suggests that the role of metalinguistic awareness in reading
is unique in adult reading learners, in that their metalinguistic skills may be less dissociable
than those of young readers, and in that they rely more on metalinguistic skills when identify-
ing individual words. Concludes that instructional interventions for struggling adult readers
ought to target metalinguistic skill development to improve decoding, vocabulary knowledge,
and comprehension.
Washington, J. A., Branum-Martin, L., Lee-James, R., & Sun, C. (2019). Reading and language
performance of low-income, African American boys in grades 1–5. Reading & Writing Quar-
terly, 35, 42–64.
Reports on a longitudinal, accelerated cohort study that characterized the development of lan-
guage, reading, and cognition in African American boys. Uses individual change score models
to compare language trajectories of African American boys and girls across first through fifth
grades using measures of students’receptive vocabulary, syntax, and morphological knowledge
(Test of Language Development), as well as their ability to process and manipulate phonologi-
cal information (Woodcock-Johnson lll). Finds that weaknesses in early literacy skills may be
a contributing factor in the development of comprehension and fluency in fourth- and fifth-
grade African American boys. Calls for improved access to early literacy interventions focused
on phonological and phonemic awareness and phonics skills.
Wexler, J., Kearns, D. M., Lemons, C. J., Mitchell, M., Clancy, E., Davidson, K. A., . . . Wei, Y.
(2018). Reading comprehension and co-teaching practices in middle school English language
arts classrooms. Exceptional Children, 84, 384–402.
Documents co-teaching practices of 16 pairs of teachers in middle school ELA classrooms.
Describes the development of the Content-Area Literacy Instruction Observation Tool and
use of a partial interval time sampling procedure to document practices across three domains:
academic, teacher, and student. Finds that teachers did not explicitly pre-teach background
knowledge or vocabulary that would aid students’ comprehension, that the majority of co-
teaching was structured as one teacher primarily leading the instruction, and that instruction
was mostly whole-group and independent student work. Advocates for the integration of
reading comprehension activities into content-area instruction, more explicit background and
vocabulary knowledge instruction, and increased targeted instruction of small homogenous
student groups in co-teaching models.
Armstrong, S. L., Lampi, J. P., Theriault, J. C., & Matich, L. M. (2019). The continued need for
strategy investigations: College readers’ use of PILLAR. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy,
62, 541– 549.
Cho, B. Y., Han, H., & Kucan, L. L. (2018). An exploratory study of middle-school learners’
historical reading in an internet environment. Reading and Writing, 31, 1525–1549.
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Erickson, J. D. (2019). Primary readers’ perceptions of a camp guided reading intervention: A
qualitative case study of motivation and engagement.Reading &Writing Quarterly, 35, 354–373.
Farkas, W. A., & Jang, B. G. (2019). Designing, implementing, and evaluating a school-based
literacy program for adolescent learners with reading difficulties: A mixed-methods study.
Reading & Writing Quarterly, 35, 305–321.
Freeman, N., Townsend, D., & Templeton, S. (2019). Thinking about words: First graders’ re-
sponse to morphological instruction. The Reading Teacher, 72, 463–473.
Jaeger,E.L.(2019).The achievement ideology of“Reading Wonders”:A critical content analysis
of success and failure in a core reading programme. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 51, 121–140.
Johnson, E. S., Moylan, L. A., Crawford, A., & Zheng, Y. (2019). Developing a comprehension
instruction observation rubric for special education teachers. Reading & Writing Quarterly, 35,
118–136.
Kang, E. Y., & Shin, M. (2019). The contributions of reading fluency and decoding to reading
comprehension for struggling readers in fourth grade.Reading &Writing Quarterly,35, 179–192.
Layes, S., Lalonde, R., & Rebai, M. (2019). Effects of an adaptive phonological training program
on reading and phonological processing skills inArabic-speaking children with dyslexia.Reading
& Writing Quarterly, 35, 103–117.
Loh,C.E.,& Sun,B.(2019).“I’d still prefer to read the hard copy”:Adolescents’print and digital
reading habits. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 62, 663–672.
Lorimer,M.(2019).Engaging adolescent struggling readers through decision-making role-play
simulation: Using primary source documents. Reading & Writing Quarterly, 35, 193–203.
Manyak,P.,Baumann,J.,& Manyak,A.(2018).Morphological analysis instruction in the elemen-
tary grades:Which morphemes to teach and how to teach them.The ReadingTeacher,72, 289–300.
Muntoni, F., & Retelsdorf, J. (2018). Gender-specific teacher expectations in reading—The role
of teachers’ gender stereotypes. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 54, 212–220.
Russell,J.,& Shiffler,M.D.(2019).How does a metalinguistic phonological intervention impact
the reading achievement and language of African American boys? Reading & Writing Quarterly,
35, 4–18.
Sabatini, J., Wang, Z., & O’Reilly, T. (2019). Relating reading comprehension to oral reading
performance in the NAEP fourth-grade special study of oral reading. Reading Research Quar-
terly, 54, 253–271.
Sanders,S.,Losinski,M.,Ennis,R.P.,White,W.,Teagarden,J.,& Lane,J.(2019).A meta-analysis
of self-regulated strategy development reading interventions to improve the reading comprehen-
sion of students with disabilities. Reading & Writing Quarterly, 35, 339–353.
Silverman, R. D., Artzi, L., McNeish, D. M., Hartranft, A. M., Martin-Beltran, M., & Peercy,
M. (2019). The relationship between media type and vocabulary learning in a cross age peer-
learning program for linguistically diverse elementary school students.Contemporary Educational
Psychology, 56, 106–116.
Vaughn, S., Roberts, G., Capin, P., Miciak, J., Cho, E., & Fletcher, J. M. (2019). How initial word
reading and language skills affect reading comprehension outcomes for students with reading
difficulties. Exceptional Children, 85, 180–196.
Wang, J., Dawson, K., Saunders, K., Ritzhaupt, A. D., Antonenko, P., Lombardino, L., . . . Davis,
R. O. (2018). Investigating the effects of modality and multimedia on the learning performance
of college students with dyslexia. Journal of Special Education Technology, 33, 182–193.
Wanzek, J., Petscher, Y., Al Otaiba, S., & Donegan, R. E. (2019). Retention of reading interven-
tion effects from fourth to fifth grade for students with reading difficulties. Reading & Writing
Quarterly, 35, 277–288.
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Second Language Literacy
The research included in this section focuses on literacy and language learning with linguistically
diverse students. We attempted to represent a variety of methodologies, ages, languages, contexts,
and modalities. Studies in this section are representative of a continued interest in the examination
of bilingual and biliterate pedagogies, translanguaging, identities and critical literacies in curricula,
and teacher development. This year saw an emphasis on studies of intervention efficacy and inter-
sectional contexts such as secondary content areas, online literacies, and special education. (Amy
Frederick, lead contributor)
Ardasheva,Y.,Newcomer,S.N.,Firestone,J.B.,& Lamb,R.L.(2019).Contributions of language-
specific and metacognitive skills to science reading comprehension of middle school English
learners. Bilingual Research Journal, 42, 150–163.
Employs a process model of reading to investigate the interaction of English proficiency with
types of vocabulary knowledge to predict science content reading performance. Compares 86
current English learners,83 former ELs,and 35 English monolingual non-ELs ages 11–13.Former
ELs outperformed current ELs on all measures of academic and science-specific vocabulary,
as well as science reading performance, with profiles comparable to non-ELs. Science-specific
vocabulary predicted science reading performance more than general academic vocabulary for all
three groups of students.Highlights the benefits of bilingualism and contests deficit orientations,
especially for former ELs. Suggests that content-specific vocabulary instruction is important to
content-areaperformance beyondinstruction of highlytransferablegeneralacademicvocabulary.
August, D., Artzi, L., Barr, C., & Francis, D. (2018). The moderating influence of instructional
intensity and word type on the acquisition of academic vocabulary in young English language
learners. Reading and Writing, 31, 965–989.
Evaluates the effectiveness of two approaches to teaching vocabulary to Spanish-speaking
English learners through a study of 187 second graders from nine classrooms in four schools,
who were randomly assigned to extended instruction, embedded instruction, or control treat-
ments.Finds that extended instruction was more effective than embedded instruction,but both
treatments were more effective than simply hearing new vocabulary during shared reading, as
was done in control classrooms. Suggests that teachers leverage the relative ease of embedded
vocabulary instruction, and also indicates that cognate knowledge is a significant advantage
for Spanish-speaking ELs.
Babinski, L. M., Amendum, S. J., Knotek, S. E., Sánchez, M., & Malone, P. (2018). Improving
young English learners’ language and literacy skills through teacher professional development:
A randomized controlled trial. American Educational Research Journal, 55, 117–143.
Assesses the effects of a professional development program on the language and literacy skills
of young Latino English learners in a study of 45 teachers and 105 students in 12 elementary
schools.Teachers in the intervention group participated in trainings on high-impact instructional
strategies for English learners, incorporation of students’ cultural wealth, and collaboration.
Teachers were observed three times during the year,and students were assessed at the beginning
and end of the school year using the Woodcock Muñoz Language Survey. Finds that students
whose teachers participated in the professional development program made greater gains than
students in the control classrooms on measures of story recall and verbal analogy, especially
those at lower levels of English proficiency.
Chung, S. C., Chen, X., & Geva, E. (2019). Deconstructing and reconstructing cross-language
transfer in bilingual reading development:An interactive framework.Journal of Neurolinguistics,
50, 149–161.
First describes the core characteristics of several theoretical frameworks of cross-language
transfer, then systematically reviews empirical studies that have examined the construct. Finds
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that phonological awareness, morphological awareness, orthographic processing, vocabulary,
and reading comprehension strategies transfer across languages, though transfer is complex
and many mediating factors exist, such as: language distance between L1 and L2, language
proficiency, language complexity, and educational setting. Concludes that transfer is a complex
process involving multiple factors that interact with each other in as yet unknown ways.
David, S., Pacheco, M., & Jiménez, R. T. (2019). Designing translingual pedagogies: Exploring
pedagogical translation through a classroom teaching experiment. Cognition and Instruction,
37, 252–275.
Uses classroom teaching experiment methodology to examine how four middle-grades language
arts teachers learned to integrate a small-group collaborative translation activity into their teach-
ing practice. Presents qualitative narratives of teachers’ design choices to illustrate pedagogical
translation in action, and analyzes their agentive participation using a conjecture mapping
procedure. Arrives at three conjectures: (1) student engagement in linguistic problem-solving
requires response to students’ linguistic and affective needs, (2) teachers must recognize meta-
linguistic statements and categorize them in ways that connect to their literacy pedagogy,and (3)
teachers must conceptualize appropriate literacy goals for students to connect understandings
generated during the translation activity to literacy concepts. Recommends that schools and
districts design instructional approaches that incorporate students’ translanguaging practices
into standards-based pedagogical practices.
De los Ríos, C. V. (2018). Toward a corridista consciousness: Learning from one transnational
youth’s critical reading, writing, and performance of Mexican corridos. Reading Research Quar-
terly, 53, 455–471.
Presents the case study of Joaquín, a US-Mexican transnational youth with roots in Tijuana
and Los Angeles, examining the critical translingual literacy skills he developed through his
engagements with corridos, a popular Mexican ballad form. Notes that corridos are known for
narrativizing current events and the daily struggles and triumphs of the common people,includ-
ing indigenous people, Mestizos, and the poor throughout Mexico and along the US-Mexico
border. Describes the youth’s “corridista consciousness,” characterized by particular language
and literacy practices and critical understandings of oppression and resistance within the local
and transnational communities that he participated in. Highlights his uses of literary devices
and explores how pedagogical engagement with unsanctioned literacy practices like corridos
might be approached through an ethnic studies and Chicanx/Latinx lens.
Dutro, E., & Haberl, E. (2018). Blurring material and rhetorical walls: Children writing the
border/lands in a second-grade classroom. Journal of Literacy Research, 50, 167–189.
Focuses on the writing of 7 second-grade children about their experiences of living at the United
States-Mexico border. Uses layered qualitative analysis to examine how children’s writing rhe-
torically and aesthetically engaged with the affective, political, and ideological dimensions of
borders and the rhetorical and material violence of hostile policies.Finds that children’s writing
pointed to, as well as blurred, physical and ideological borders. Underscores that children are
sophisticated interpreters of their political and personal worlds, and recommends that educa-
tors employ writing pedagogies that invite children to engage with the personal and political.
Escamilla, K., Butvilofsky, S., & Hopewell, S. (2018). What gets lost when English-only writing
assessment is used to assess writing proficiency in Spanish-English emerging bilingual learners?
International Multilingual Research Journal, 12, 221–236.
Reports on a mixed-methods study comparing three assessments of writing proficiency in emer-
gentbilingualstudents.Describes how fourth- andfifth-gradestudentsattendingapaired-literacy
program were evaluated using the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP)
writing assessment,theAssessing Comprehension and Communication in English State-to-State
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(ACCESS) writing assessment, and a biliterate writing rubric developed within the program.
Uses correlations to establish relationships between the assessments and plots children’s growth
in Spanish and English writing using three years of data. Also describes qualitative analysis of
writing samples by students assessed as “partially proficient” on TCAP and ACCESS. Finds a
high and positive correlation between the standardized measures and both English and Span-
ish rubrics. Explains how English-only writing assessments read from a monolingual lens may
indicate deficiencies, whereas bilingual assessment reveals a wider range and depth of emergent
writing skills across both languages.
Fitton,L.,McIlraith,A.L.,&Wood,C.L.(2018).Shared book reading interventions with English
learners: A meta-analysis. Review of Educational Research, 88, 712–751.
Uses meta-analysis to examine how shared book reading affects the English language and literacy
skills of young ELs. Analyzes 54 studies of shared reading, in which an adult reads with one or
more children and uses interactive practices to engage the children or reinforce specific words
or ideas from the text.Reveals moderate,positive effect sizes for literacy and language outcomes.
Argues that positive effects support the widespread use of this educational technique with young
ELs and reinforce the use of many different forms of shared reading to facilitate language growth.
Kremin, L.V., Arredondo, M. M., Hsu, L. S.-J., Satterfield, T., & Kovelman, I. (2019). The effects
of Spanish heritage language literacy on English reading for Spanish–English bilingual children
in the US. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 22, 192–206.
Investigates the impact of bilingualism on children’s literacy by comparing factors that predicted
performance for English monolingual versus Spanish-English bilingual readers (N = 70, ages
6–13). Demonstrates that bilingual and monolingual readers have distinct developmental pro-
cesses, even when instructed monolingually. Finds that phonological awareness was a stronger
predictor of word reading skills for bilingual readers than for monolingual readers due to the
shallow orthography of Spanish, providing support for theories of cross-linguistic transfer.
Similarly indicates that Spanish word-reading ability best predicted bilingual students’ English
reading proficiency. Suggests that educators must understand the distinct skill set of bilingual
versus monolingual readers, and that ongoing heritage language programming for Spanish
speakers is important beyond the typically available classes in Spanish as a foreign language.
Lewis,M.A.,& Zisselsberger,M.G.(2019).Scaffolding and inequitable participation in linguisti-
cally diverse book clubs. Reading Research Quarterly, 54, 167–186.
Explores discursive participation by teachers and students in a book club in a linguistically
diverse, co-taught, sixth-grade classroom. Despite research suggesting that literature discussion
groups can create opportunities for more equitable participation by emergent bilingual students
(EBs),finds that the language practices of native English–speaking students (NESs) and teachers
positioned EBs as less capable,leading to their withdrawal from discussions.Provides descriptive
statistics on student participation,describes how EBs received more macro-level than contingent
micro-level scaffolding to promote participation,and illustrates a variety of ways that participa-
tion of NESs constrained the participation of EBs. Argues against the overuse of restatement
and repetition as generic language development strategies,and advocates for teachers to develop
more critical linguistically and culturally responsive practices.
Moore,J.,Schleppegrell,M.,& Palincsar,A.S.(2018).Discovering disciplinary linguistic knowl-
edge with English learners and their teachers: Applying systemic functional linguistics concepts
through design-based research. TESOL Quarterly, 52, 1022–1049.
Examines a three-year design-based research study aimed at applying systemic-functional lin-
guistics to support English learner instruction.Details how authors worked collaboratively with
teachers and literacy coaches in six schools to develop approaches to engage English learners
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in metalinguistic talk about language. Describes how the design-based research process led to
findings, materials, and instructional theories, and discusses the affordances of design-based
research methodology for investigating the application of complex theory in supporting lan-
guage learning. Suggests that incorporating systemic-functional linguistics metalanguage into
English language arts classes helped teachers and students engage in character analysis through
oral and written academic discourse.
Sinclair, J., Jang, E. E., & Vincett, M. (2019). Investigating linguistically diverse adolescents’
literacy trajectories using latent transition modeling. Reading Research Quarterly, 54, 81–107.
Utilizes latent transition analysis to longitudinally follow linguistically diverse students from
grade 6 to grade 10 to explore the impacts of home language, immigration background, gender,
and English as a second language support on literacy development.Researchers randomly drew a
sample of 15,000 students from grade 6 classes in Ontario public schools.Profiles demonstrated
considerable diversity across students. Overall, literacy performance was highly stable across
grades, with both strong and struggling students typically staying in the same performance
category over time. Reveals that immigrants and linguistically diverse students performed well
at both time points, but students with little English spoken at home were most likely to have
decreased performance. Also finds that students in ESL programs in grade 6 were least likely to
be high-performing in grade 10. Suggests that ESL literacy instruction may not be well-aligned
with high school literacy demands, and that targeted literacy instruction should continue for
some students throughout secondary grades.
Wijekumar, K., Meyer, B. J., Lei, P., Hernandez,A. C., & August, D. L. (2018). Improving content
area reading comprehension of Spanish speaking English learners in grades 4 and 5 using web-
based text structure instruction. Reading and Writing, 31, 1969–1996.
Examines the effectiveness of strategy instruction on the web for English learners (SWELL)
designed to improve the reading performance of Spanish-speaking English learners. The study
utilized a strategic approach to teaching text structures known to promote reading comprehen-
sion in monolingual readers,coupled with linguistic supports like bilingual vocabulary instruc-
tion and sentence modifications.Researchers randomly assigned 31 classrooms to treatment and
control conditions,and employed classroom observations to ensure fidelity of implementation.
Participants in the treatment condition received adaptive, one-on-one tutoring that adjusted
to individual learner performance over time. Finds that SWELL effect sizes on reading com-
prehension were significant and large, ranging from .47 to .79, with no significant differences
based on gender or initial reading level. Reports significant improvements for students in the
SWELL treatment across a wide range of other reading variables, like recall competency and
main idea quality.
Williams, C., & Lowrance-Faulhaber, E. (2018). Writing in young bilingual children: Review of
research. Journal of Second Language Writing, 42, 58–69.
Reviews 35 peer-reviewed studies on the writing development of young bilingual children,
published between 2000 and 2017. Includes studies involving children 3–8 years old and/or
their teachers that examined some aspect of writing development or instruction, as well as
specified data sources. Evaluates studies from a wide range of research methodologies using
conventional content analysis. Describes what students knew and understood about written
language, as well as strategies used to support their writing. Compares the writing develop-
ment of young bilingual and monolingual English speakers, finding that bilingual children had
a wider range of linguistic resources, including language-specific and cross-language strategies.
Describes pedagogies used to support young bilingual children’s writing development,including
approaches such as balanced literacy,dual-language identity texts,message boards,buddy pairs,
and a translingual writing pedagogy.

Amendum, S. J., Bratsch-Hines, M., & Vernon-Feagans, L. (2018). Investigating the efficacy of a
web-based early reading and professional development intervention for young English learners.
Christiansen,M.S.(2018).‘¡Hable bien m’ijo o gringo o mx!’: Language ideologies in the digital
communication practices of transnational Mexican bilinguals.International Journal of Bilingual
Education and Bilingualism, 21, 439–450.
Eubanks, J. F., Yeh, H. T., & Tseng, H. (2018). Learning Chinese through a twenty-first century
writing workshop with the integration of mobile technology in a language immersion elementary
school. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 31, 346–366.
Johnson,E.M.(2019).Exemplary reading teachers’use of instructional scaffolds with emergent
bilinguals: How knowledge and context shape their choices. TESOL Quarterly, 53, 108–132.
Klvacek, M. L., Monroe, E. E., Wilcox, B., Hall-Kenyon, K. M., & Morrison, T. G. (2019). How
second-grade English learners experienced dyad reading with fiction and nonfiction texts.Early
Childhood Education Journal, 47, 227–237.
Kyle,K.,& Crossley,S.A.(2018). Measuring syntactic complexity in L2 writing using fine-grained
clausal and phrasal indices. The Modern Language Journal, 102, 333–349.
Ludwig, C., Guo, K., & Georgiou, G. K. (2019). Are reading interventions for English language
learners effective? A meta-analysis. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 52, 220–231.
Nahatame, S. (2018). Comprehension and processing of paired sentences in second language
reading: A comparison of causal and semantic relatedness. The Modern Language Journal, 102,
392–415.
Northrop, L., & Andrei, E. (2019). More than just word of the day: Vocabulary apps for English
learners. The Reading Teacher, 72, 623–630.
Proctor, C. P., Silverman, R. D., Harring, J. R., Jones, R. L., & Hartranft, A. M. (2019). Teaching
bilingual learners: Effects of a language-based reading intervention on academic language and
reading comprehension in grades 4 and 5. Reading Research Quarterly. Advance online publica-
tion. Retrieved from https://ila.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/19362722
Reinhardt, J. (2019). Social media in second and foreign language teaching and learning: Blogs,
wikis, and social networking. Language Teaching, 52, 1–39.
Stewart,M.A.,Walker,K.,& Revelle,C.(2018).Learning from students:What,why,and how ado-
lescent English learners want to read and write. Texas Journal of Literacy Education, 6(1), 23–40.
Verhoeven, L., Perfetti, C., & Pugh, K. (2019). Cross-linguistic perspectives on second language
reading. Journal of Neurolinguistics, 50, 1–6.
Yeung, S. S. (2018). Second language learners who are at-risk for reading disabilities: A growth
mixture model study. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 78, 35–43.
Writing
In determining which research on writing would be abstracted, we prioritized the representation
of a variety of theoretical approaches, methodologies, ages/grade levels, and instructional contexts,
while selecting the highest-quality studies. The range of studies featured here includes robust
meta-analyses (representing hundreds of studies and decades of research), K–16 classroom/writing
center–based studies, and research on writing in teacher preparation programs/classrooms. Studies
we highlight reflect larger trends and themes evident in the research on writing: writing and mo-
tivation, argumentative writing instruction, assessment of writing (including the development of
better evaluation tools), multimodal writing practices, new technologies for composition, analyses
of writing assignments, and the relationships between reading, speaking/listening, and composing.
(Erin Stutelberg, lead contributor)
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Bomer, R., Land, C. L., Rubin, J. C., & Van Dike, L. M. (2019). Constructs of teaching writing in
research about literacy teacher education. Journal of Literacy Research, 51, 196–213.
Analyzes 82 empirical, peer-reviewed studies published from 2000 to 2018 that focused on
preservice teacher preparation for teaching writing. Utilizes inductive coding and Ivanič’s
classification scheme to describe the discursive constructions of writing and writing pedagogy
across the studies,and details preservice teacher experiences that disrupted discourses of writing
as skill-based. Notes an emphasis on process orientation and social practice discourses across
studies, but acknowledges the influence of standards and skill-based assessments in schools.
Argues for transparency of competing discourses that surround writing and writing pedagogy
within teacher education.Identifies potential disruptions to skill-focused discourses as practices,
emphasizing reflection on writing experiences,examining student work,bringing an asset-based
view of student writers, and building communities of writers in preservice teacher programs.
Denny, H., Nordlof, J., & Salem, L. (2018).“Tell me exactly what it was that I was doing that was
so bad”: Understanding the needs and expectations of working-class students in writing centers.
The Writing Center Journal, 37(1), 67–98.
Explores a disconnect between working-class students’ perceptions of writing centers and
writing center pedagogy. Draws on methods of open coding to analyze data from 16 interviews
with students from three universities who identified as working-class. Identifies three critical
tensions between writing center practices and working-class students’ expectations of writing
centers,including students’need for direct instruction on college writing,validation of concerns
about grammar, and relationships that provide ongoing support for writers. Highlights a need
for writing centers to reflect on common writing center pedagogy and to expand differentiated
practices to support students’ varied needs. Recommends that writing centers acknowledge the
role of grammar, create opportunities for long-term connections between students and tutors,
and address imposter syndrome within writing processes.
Gere, A. R., Limlamai, N., Wilson, E., MacDougall Saylor, K., & Pugh, R. (2019). Writing and
conceptual learning in science:An analysis of assignments.Written Communication, 36, 99–135.
Investigates K–16 writing assignments and prompts in published literature that reported sig-
nificant learning gains, as well as various meanings associated with writing in science. Using
search terms harvested from an earlier review, researchers implemented a systematic review
methodology to collect 46 studies from four databases (ERIC, Education Abstracts, PsycINFO,
and Scopus) and then conduct both quantitative and qualitative analyses. Determines that as-
signments incorporating four components (meaning-making writing tasks, interactive writing
processes, clear writing expectations, and metacognition) could effectively foster conceptual
learning of science. Highlights a key area for future research—the variety of learning measures
used in writing-to-learn scholarship—and suggests collaborations between science educators
and writing specialists.
Hodges, T. S., Wright, K. L., Wind, S. A., Matthews, S. D., Zimmer, W. K., & McTigue, E. M.
(2019). Developing and examining validity evidence for the Writing Rubric to Inform Teacher
Educators (WRITE). Assessing Writing, 40, 1–13.
Given the need for greater“assessment literacy,”proposes the Writing Rubric to Inform Teacher
Educators (WRITE),drawing on seven extant rubrics and two theories of writing development:
the cognitive processes theory of writing and the sociocultural theory of writing. Evaluates
WRITE through the work of four expert raters, who, after calibration, applied the rubric to 46
essays written by preservice teachers.Based on Rasch measurement principles,finds thatWRITE
showed strong evidence of psychometric quality, specifically in locations and precision, model-
data fit of the location estimates, and rating scale category functioning. Emphasizes the need
to validate WRITE among teacher educators with less-specific training in writing instruction,
as WRITE raises assessment literacy, teaching raters about high-quality writing as they use it.
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Inman, J. O., & Powell, R. A. (2018). In the absence of grades: Dissonance and desire in course-
contract classrooms. College Composition and Communication, 70, 30–56.
Asks whether contract grading shifts writers’ attention to process and makes instructor values
and expectations more transparent to students. Explores the implications of using contract
grading (n = 219 students) versus traditional grading systems (n = 144 students) in composi-
tion courses at a midsize regional university, with particular attention paid to the experiences
of students from marginalized backgrounds. Finds that grades in writing courses are deeply
connected to affect, particularly the emotions of desire and dissonance, suggesting a need for
further investigation before nongrading policies and contract grading can function as decolo-
nizing classroom pedagogies.
Kim, Y.-S. G., Petscher, Y., Wanzek, J., & Al Otaiba, S. (2018). Relations between reading and
writing: A longitudinal examination from grades 3 to 6. Reading and Writing, 31, 1591–1618.
Examines interrelations between reading (word reading and comprehension) and writing
(spelling and writing composition) across grades 3–6. Analyzes longitudinal assessment data
of approximately 300 students in the Southeastern United States. Finds that word reading and
spelling are strongly related and have linear growth trajectories, while reading comprehension
and writing composition are weakly related and have nonlinear growth trajectories.Suggests that
grade 3–6 reading and writing are more strongly related at the lexical level than the discourse
level, and their relationship is primarily unidirectional, from reading to writing. Highlights the
need for targeted instruction to connect reading and writing as students transition from learning
to read (grades K–2) to reading to learn (grades 3–6).
Marciano,J.E.,&Warren,C.A.(2019).Writing toward change across youth participatory action
research projects. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 62, 485–494.
Draws on a five-month qualitative research study with 20 students from seven high schools
to examine connections between students’ writing to enact change and a youth participatory
action research project. Details instances of student writing and events surrounding student
writing identified through open and closed coding of interviews and artifacts. Describes stu-
dents engaged in research and writing using Google Docs and the GroupMe chat app, which
allowed for collaboration and dialogue across locations and at various times.Demonstrates how
sharing findings with the larger community provided a clear purpose and audience for writing.
Asserts that youth participatory action research projects engage students in purposeful writing
through their own interests, multiple modes of writing, and opportunities to share ideas with
an authentic audience.
Miller, E. L. (2019). Negotiating communicative access in practice: A study of a memoir group
for people with aphasia. Written Communication, 36, 197–230.
Blending literature from multiple disciplines, captures how 10 older adults with aphasia com-
posed memoirs during a 13-week writing group. Draws on grounded theory methods to ana-
lyze 135 hours of one-to-one and group interactions, 10 hours of interviews, and weekly field
notes. Details how the participants negotiated “communicative access” in terms of inventing,
authoring, and listening. Discusses implications of communicative access for writing studies,
as well as for communicative sciences and disorders. In writing studies, communicative access
complicates the relations between multimodality and accessibility, while underlining the value
of conceptualizing communication as“always negotiated semiotic practices.”In communicative
sciences and disorders, communicative access may inform therapeutic support for people with
aphasia as they work to renegotiate identity.
Newell,G.E.,Bloome,D.,Kim,M.-Y.,& Goff,B.(2019).Shifting epistemologies during instruc-
tional conversations about“good”argumentative writing in a high school English language arts
classroom. Reading and Writing, 32, 1359–1382.
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Explores teacher epistemologies about argumentative writing through discourse analysis of
instructional conversations around writing samples,using data from an eight-year ethnographic
study in 61 high school English classrooms. Identifies teachers’ argumentative epistemologies
as structural, ideational, and social processes, broadening the view of teaching argumentative
writing.Traces one teacher’s shifts from a structural view to an ideational view of argumentative
writing by mapping classroom conversations and interviews.Finds that students and teachers co-
construct the meaning of entextualization during instructional conversations,developing a more
complex view of argument writing and a shared understanding of content and structural aspects
of “good” argument writing. Makes a case for creating collaborative opportunities for teachers
to understand their own writing epistemologies in order to make changes in their teaching.
Quinn, M. F., & Bingham, G. E. (2018). The nature and measurement of children’s early com-
posing. Reading Research Quarterly, 54, 213–235.
Investigates 30 years of scholarship (N = 445 articles) to determine prevailing operational defini-
tions of early composing and measurement approaches to children’s early composing practices.
Finds little shared understanding of the nature and development of early composing, and mea-
surement tasks that are not always theoretically sound, valid, or reliable. Shows a trend of early
composing being defined in increasingly narrow and singular ways (e.g., as transcribing letters
and words). Argues for increased conceptual clarity of early composing, a more multifaceted
understanding of the construct of early composing, stronger alignment of methods and theory
in the research, and broader assessment approaches that allow educators to better support
children’s early composing practices.
Teston, C., Previte, B., & Hashlamon, Y. (2019). The grind of multimodal work in professional
writing pedagogies. Computers and Composition, 52, 195–209.
Describes a formal review of a university’s professional writing course,which involved extensive
data collection from students,instructors,and community partners.Through grounded theory
methods, closely analyzes 15 multimodal writing projects from student teams, generating 13
“feedback factors”: project features that the authors agreed were significant for assessment
purposes, such as source citation, cohesion, audience awareness, aesthetics, and originality.
Elaborates the feedback factors as an assessment model for multimodal writing that involves
three central “gears”: fundamentals, contingencies, and attunements. Hypothesizes that student
learning happens in the“grind”of those gears and underlines the need to account theoretically
for changing material and discursive conditions.
VanDerHeide, J. & Juzwik, M. M. (2018). Argument as conversation: Students responding
through writing to significant conversations across time and place. Journal of Adolescent &
Adult Literacy, 62, 67–77.
Presents an“argument as conversation”approach in response to formalist and structured process
approaches to argument writing, which often privilege writing over speaking and individual
over social writing practices. Describes this composing approach as shifting focus to broader
conversations and away from the writer’s reasoning processes or formal properties of the writ-
ten text. Using data gathered from a significant event in an ethnographic study of a high school
writing classroom,finds that when writers participate in various spheres of conversations across
time and space in the argument-writing process, they more clearly see the significance of the
genre for themselves and their communities while learning to construct the vital components
of arguments.
Wargo, J. M. (2018). Writing with wearables? Young children’s intra-active authoring and the
sounds of emplaced invention. Journal of Literacy Research, 50, 502–523.
Adopting withness as a central framework, explores how 12 children, ages 6 to 8, completed a
97-minute collaborative activity during a creative writing camp: reauthoring a picture book
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through the use of wearable technologies and video editing.Analyzes 116 minutes of transcribed
GoPro video, along with field notes and textual artifacts, by“thinking with”posthuman theory,
and presents a series of vignettes that illustrate the nuances of the children’s withness, especially
in terms of sound.Concludes by suggesting the ethical and political relevance of posthuman ap-
proaches to literacy education,which enable researchers to better understand children’s complex,
embodied interactions with each other and with their learning environments.
Wright, K. L., Hodges, T. S., & McTigue, E. M. (2019).A validation program for the Self-Beliefs,
Writing-Beliefs, and Attitude Survey: A measure of adolescents’ motivation toward writing.
Assessing Writing, 39, 64–78.
Presents a two-study validation program for the Self-Beliefs,Writing-Beliefs,andAttitude Survey
(SWAS), a multidimensional instrument designed to monitor adolescent students’ motivation
toward writing and identify variables that mediate student achievement. Outlines multistep
reliability and validity processes conducted to ensure that the SWAS is a robust and useful tool.
Develops a model of student writing motivation, based on results of the SWAS, that delineates
beliefs about self as writer,beliefs about writing,and attitudes toward writing as separate factors.
Encourages educators to use the SWAS to understand adolescent writers’ varied motivations
for writing and respond through targeted and differentiated classroom interventions based on
students’ needs.
Abba, K. A., Zhang, S., & Joshi, R. M. (2018). Community college writers’ metaknowledge of
effective writing. Journal of Writing Research, 10, 85–105.
Allen,L.K.,Likens,A.D.,& McNamara,D.S.(2019).Writing flexibility in argumentative essays:
A multidimensional analysis. Reading and Writing, 32, 1607–1634.
Beck, S.W., Llosa, L., Black, K., & Anderson,A. T. G. (2018). From assessing to teaching writing:
What teachers prioritize. Assessing Writing, 37, 68–77.
Behizadeh,N.(2019).Aiming for authenticity: Successes and struggles of an attempt to increase
authenticity in writing. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 62, 411–419.
Campbell, K., Chen, Y. J., Shenoy, S., & Cunningham, A. E. (2019). Preschool children’s early
writing: Repeated measures reveal growing but variable trajectories. Reading and Writing, 32,
939–961.
Copp, S., Cabell, S., & Invernizzi, M. (2019). Kindergarten teachers’ use of writing scaffolds to
support children’s developing orthographic knowledge. Literacy Research and Instruction, 58,
164–183.
De Smedt,F.,&Van Keer,H.(2018).An analytic description of an instructional writing program
combining explicit writing instruction and peer-assisted writing. Journal of Writing Research,
10, 225–277.
Ferguson,M.,Dole,J.,Scarpulla,L.,& Adamson,S.(2018).A summer program to assist diverse,
urban adolescent writers in becoming college and career ready. Journal of Adolescent & Adult
Literacy, 62, 79–87.
Friess, E., & Lam, C. (2018). Cultivating a sense of belonging: Using Twitter to establish a com-
munity in an introductory technical communication classroom. Technical Communication
Quarterly, 27, 343–361.
Graham, S. (2018). Handwriting instruction: A commentary on five studies. Reading and Writ-
ing, 31, 1367–1377.
Harmey, S. J., & Wilkinson, I. A. G. (2019). A critical review of the logics of inquiry in studies
of early writing development. Journal of Writing Research, 11, 41–78.
Hebert, M., Bohaty, J. J., Nelson, J. R., & Roehling, J.V. (2018). Writing informational text using

provided information and text structures: An intervention for upper elementary struggling
writers. Reading and Writing, 31, 2165–2190.
Krishnan, J., Cusimano, A., Wang, D., & Yim, S. (2018). Writing together: Online synchronous
collaboration in middle school. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 62, 163–173.
Lammers, J., & Van Alstyne, J. (2019). Building bridges from classrooms to networked publics:
Helping students write for the audience they want. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 62,
653–662.
Litterio, L. (2018). Contract grading in the technical writing classroom: Blending community-
based assessment and self-assessment. Assessing Writing, 38, 1–9.
MacArthur, C. A., Jennings, A., & Philippakos, Z. A. (2019). Which linguistic features predict
quality of argumentative writing for college basic writers, and how do those features change
with instruction? Reading and Writing, 32, 1553–1574.
Mina, L. W. (2019). Analyzing and theorizing writing teachers’ approaches to using new media
technologies. Computers and Composition, 52, 1–16.
Oliver,L.(2019).‘Nothing too major’: How poor revision of writing may be an adaptive response
to school tasks. Language and Education, 33, 363–378.
Paulick, J. H., Myers, J., Quinn, A., Couch, L., Dunkerly-Bean, J., Robbins, H. H., . . . Ward-
Parsons,A.(2019).A window into practice: Examining elementary writing methods instruction.
Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education, 6(1), 57–75.
Pedersen,J.(2018).Revision as dialogue: Exploring question posing in writing response.Journal
of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 62, 185–194.
Rowe,D.W.(2019).Pointing with a pen: The role of gesture in early childhood writing.Reading
Schmier, S.A., Johnson, E., & Watulak, S. L. (2018). Going public: Exploring the possibilities for
publishing student interest-driven writing beyond the classroom.Australian Journal of Language
and Literacy, 41, 57–66.
Shi, Y., Matos, F., & Kuhn, D. (2019). Dialog as a bridge to argumentative writing. Journal of
Writing Research, 11, 107–129.
Stinnett, J. (2019). Using objective-motivated knowledge activation to support writing transfer
in FYC. College Composition and Communication, 70, 356–379.
Taylor, K. S., Lawrence, J. F., Connor, C. M., & Snow, C. E. (2019). Cognitive and linguistic
features of adolescent argumentative writing: Do connectives signal more complex reasoning?
Reading and Writing, 32, 983–1007.
Traga Philippakos, Z. A., MacArthur, C. A., & Munsell, S. (2018). Collaborative reasoning with
strategy instruction for opinion writing in primary grades: Two cycles of design research. Read-
ing & Writing Quarterly, 34, 485–504.
Troia, G. A., Shen, M., & Brandon, D. L. (2019). Multidimensional levels of language writing
measures in grades four to six. Written Communication, 36, 231–266.
VanDerHeide, J. (2018). Classroom talk as writing instruction for learning to make writing
moves in literary arguments. Reading Research Quarterly, 53, 323–344.
van de Weijer, J., Åkerlund, V., Johansson, V., & Sahlén, B. (2019). Writing intervention in uni-
versity students with normal hearing and in those with hearing impairment: Can observational
learning improve argumentative text writing? Logopedics Phoniatrics Vocology, 44, 115–123.
Vetter, M. A., McDowell, Z. J., & Stewart, M. (2019). From opportunities to outcomes: The
Wikipedia-based writing assignment. Computers and Composition, 52, 53–64.
Wang,Z.(2019).Relive differences through a material flashback. College Composition and Com-
munication, 70(3), 380–412.
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Whitney, E. (2019). Reenvisioning writing pedagogy and learning disabilities through a Black
girls’ literacies framework. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 62, 643–651.
Wright, K. L., Hodges, T. S., Zimmer, W. K., & McTigue, E. M. (2019). Writing-to-learn in
secondary science classes: For whom is it effective? Reading & Writing Quarterly, 35, 289–304.
Zapata, A., Kuby, C. R., & Thiel, J. J. (2018). Encounters with writing: Becoming with posthu-
manist ethics. Journal of Literacy Research, 50, 478–501.
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