Finding a pragmatic process across university programs and disciplines that has the potential to strengthen programs and instruction has promise for adoption because of the possible impact and benefits. Jigsaw Lesson Study (JLS) has that potential and could be expanded into not only a teacher-education classroom but also into any discipline across…

Meaningful gamification is the use of game elements and play to build engagement and help learners find personal connections in real-world settings. This study examined the impact of meaningful gamification design on preservice teachers' perceptions, performance, and motivation levels within a gamified lesson planning unit. Participants were…

During a two-term observational study of my Secondary English Language Arts (ELA) class, I introduced "Surrealism" to the existing curriculum. Jot notes, personal interviews, and a self-study comprised my data strands. The COVID-19 pandemic struck shortly before my scheduled in-person interviews. This uncertainty disrupted my doctoral…

The purpose of this study was to explore high school course-taking sequences and their relationship to college enrollment. Specifically, we implemented sequence analysis to discover common course-taking trajectories in math, science, and English language arts using high school transcript data from a recent nationally representative survey. Through…

The purpose of this study was to explore high school course-taking sequences and their relationship to college enrollment. Specifically, we implemented sequence analysis to discover common course-taking trajectories in math, science, and English language arts using high school transcript data from a recent nationally representative survey. Through…

When teaching a Drama and Theater class the author's students chose August Wilson's "Fences" to focus on the teaching of "dramatic" texts. As the author reread Wilson's play, she noticed that within the first pages is the n-word, used in conversation between two African American men, two friends, and it became an immediate…

This study aimed to explore the opinions of the preservice teachers about the children's picture books related to single-parent families. A total of 61 preservice teachers majoring in English Language Arts participated, and the data were collected with semi-structured interviews. The data of the research were analyzed using a content analysis…

This narrative inquiry explores the tension two preservice teachers experienced when designing writing curricula that underscored their writer identity. For the purposes of this article, I define writer identity as one's personal writing experiences, habits, and beliefs. I intentionally elicited stories from participants about their experiences as…

This article describes lessons learned from the implementation of an instructional strategy that was conducted with preservice teachers enrolled in an undergraduate literacy course highlighting reading and writing as instructional tools to teach content area material across the curriculum. One requirement in the course was a Poetry Project. This…

The first year at university is critical to students' later academic development. The first year, however, is also the time when students are most vulnerable to disengagement and dropout. Therefore, identifying students most at risk of disengagement as well as the classroom environment factors that drive or undermine student classroom engagement…

This comparative case study explores the roles of reading-to-write and writing-only approaches on students' L2 writing skills. Six third-year English major students from a Thai university, with diverse proficiency levels, participated in the study. Data from students' writing samples, semi-structured interviews, and observations were analyzed…

The traditional textbook model is problematic for students who either buy expensive textbooks and add to their already considerable student debt, opt out of buying expensive textbooks, or opt out of enrolling in courses known to require expensive textbooks. Switching to open textbooks directly addresses these problems by decreasing costs, removing…

Social media are some of the most used digital composition tools by both youth and adults yet authoring in digital spaces remains undervalued and digital literacy education remains misaligned with workplace needs and expectations. Using a multiple case study design (n=3) to explore the authorship of pre-service English/ELA teachers on social media…

The university curriculum has been urged to incorporate 21st-century digital competence and skills, particularly information literacy, in accordance with recommendations made by numerous organizations, including the Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). Instructors are then…

It is observed that individuals have problems in written expression in the Turkish education system, and a permanent solution can not be developed to solve these problems. Therefore, the primary objective of this research is to determine the problems of prospective Turkish teachers in paragraph creation. This research was carried out in the…