Recent studies support the use of differentiated instruction (DI) to improve literacy in content area classrooms. At the same time, research has found that few teachers implement DI purposefully or consistently. Accordingly, a case study design was used to explore middle school content area teachers' understanding and implementation of DI for…

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore the teaching strategies of effective middle school content-area teachers in teaching English Language Learner students in one suburban ISD in North Texas. Ten participants were asked questions from a guided protocol to obtain information about practices and strategies effective…

In this mixed method study I evaluated the relationship between teachers' perceptions of text complexity and data of text complexity assessed by standard and non-standard measures in the disciplines of English Language Arts (ELA), science, and social studies. For the quantitative portion of this study, I evaluated and correlated the text…

Despite increasing expectations for student proficiency in content area reading (e.g., Common Core State Standards), social studies text continues to present unique challenges to students who struggle with reading; for example, textbook readability is often at least two grade levels above the grade for which it is intended (Berkeley et al., 2016;…

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES, 2017) reported that literacy scores have not significantly improved in over 20 years. These scores have prompted investigations of instruction for improving literacy instruction, such as disciplinary literacy (DL), but research supporting DL implementation is limited (Fisher & Ivey, 2005;…

This study sought to contribute to literature on college students' literacy by exploring how undergraduate disciplinary literacies are constructed and enacted within disciplinary communities. A multiple case study design was used to understand how disciplinary novice and expert members shape the meaning inherent in their literacy practices. Four…

This study examined the preparedness of middle school teachers to teach literacy strategies to middle school students. The study also examined the significance between teacher licensure pathways and their self-efficacy level as it relates to using literacy strategies in content areas. This was a mixed methods study using quantitative data…

Public school spaces play a large role in developing people's understandings of civic knowledge and responsibility. Teachers, administrators, and policy-makers design school curriculum to reflect the types of citizens they believe a society needs, and thus, determines approaches to teaching and curriculum development (Labaree, 1997). This action…

Information text can be utilized to enhance both reading and science instruction in the kindergarten classroom. These books bring abstract concepts to life for young learners, and can serve as the focal point for numerous topics of study. Although many teachers incorporate information books into their teaching, it is important that teachers…

Many students enter college with inadequate reading, writing, and critical thinking skills to successfully navigate discipline-specific college-level coursework (Duff, 2010; Hyland, 2006; Lea & Street, 1998; Tsui, 2002). As such, college faculty, and specifically community college faculty, are challenged to meet the multiple literacy needs of…

The purpose of this mixed methods research study was to investigate the impact that the addition of middle school classroom libraries would have on student achievement, student motivation and teacher efficacy. Recent reports have identified adolescent literacy as being in a crisis with the number of students reading proficiently in grades 8 and 12…

Several national and international studies have indicated that there is an achievement gap between student literary reading and student informational reading, with the gap favoring literary reading. One plausible explanation for this gap is that reading informational text has been neglected in early grades in the U.S. (Dreher, 2003; Kletzien &…

Literature in this field of English language learners (ELLs) in US public schools indicates that the needs of these adolescent ELLs are not being met due to a lack of language support and inaccessibility to content. This research examined the enactment of a curriculum with preservice teachers designed to address the specific needs of adolescent…

The purpose of this qualitative study is to explore the relationship between secondary English learner students' perspectives of effective teacher practices and how these practices contribute to their self-efficacy in the content area of social studies. As reported by the National Association of Education Progress secondary English learners…

Modeling in the classroom is the key to successful teaching. This study examines whether preservice teachers would use content area literacy instructional routines, which had been modeled in my university course, in their student teaching and first-year classrooms. Both content area literacy and disciplinary literacy were modeled in my university…