565Portfolio

**EDC 565 Reflective Research Portfolio**
Your Reflective Research Portfolio will consist of seven components that synthesize and demonstrate your ability to: (a) explain, compare, and critique major reading theories and key research in foundational areas of reading instruction; (b) reflect on the diverse ways that language and culture influence literacy development; (c) apply findings of research to classroom contexts; and (d) articulate your thinking about the connections between reading theory, research, instructional practices, and teacher dispositions that address the diverse needs of all learners.


 * 1. Vision Statement for Literacy Teaching and Learning**
 * 2. Researcher’s Sketchbook and Class Discussions**
 * 3. Presentation and Reflection on Theories and Models of Reading**
 * 4. Demonstration Lesson and Group Analysis**
 * 5. Research Critiques (2)**
 * 6. Research Synthesis on Language, Culture, and Literacy**
 * 7. Literature Review and Research Proposal**

You will complete each of the components over the course of the semester in a series of assignments. Evidence of each component will be compiled into a binder to be turned in at the end of the semester and graded according to the attached rubric. Representative pieces of this portfolio will also be uploaded to True Outcomes. A general description of each component is described below. More specifics about some of the components may be provided in additional class handouts.

Download the rubric to see the details for meeting IRA standards with respect to each task.

**COMPONENT 1: Vision Statement for Literacy Teaching and Learning**
Teachers’ insights are central to effective reading instruction. A clear vision statement can serve to guide and inspire you throughout your teaching career. For this assignment, you will compose a 2-page vision statement of literacy teaching and learning that captures your positive aspirations as a reading specialist as well as your understanding of how literacy research impacts the what and how of reading instruction. Your vision statement should succinctly articulate your values and guiding beliefs about what counts as literacy and how it should be taught to meet the diverse needs of all students (i.e., cultural and linguistic differences). These beliefs should be explicitly connected to relevant research and theories as discussed in this course.

Because your beliefs and views are expected to grow and change as you learn more about research-based practices in literacy instruction, you will be asked to write three versions of your vision statement: one initial draft at the beginning of the semester, a revised draft in the middle of the semester, and a final statement at the end of the semester.

Each of your three vision statements should include the following:

//1. My Beliefs About Literacy Learning – What counts as literacy?// //2. My Beliefs About Literacy Teaching – How should literacy be taught?// 3. A list of works cited that uses APA style (references not included in page count)
 * 4 concise statements that define your beliefs/views about what children need to know as part of learning how to read in today’s society
 * Each statement should be followed by 2-3 sentences of explanation and relevant references that ground your beliefs in reading research
 * 4 concise statements that define your beliefs/views about how reading should be taught the purpose and role of a literacy teacher
 * Each statement should be followed by 2-3 sentences of explanation and relevant references that ground your beliefs in reading research

Your first draft (to be completed in Week 2) should be informed by readings and observations from previous classes or your own teaching experiences. You should do your best to provide research-based references that support your beliefs, understanding that these may be limited at the beginning of the semester.

Your revised draft (to be completed by the end of Week 7) should begin to reflect some of the readings we have covered in class as well as additional readings and experiences you may have encountered elsewhere. Your reference list should be more developed as you begin to refine your views informed by particular theories and research findings introduced in the collection of readings in your syllabus.

In week 12, you will hand in your final 2-page vision statement, your two previous drafts, and a 2-page reflection about how you adjusted and enhanced your vision of literacy teaching and learning over the course of the semester to align with current reading theory and research. Your reflection should summarize and integrate your thinking about four questions:
 * What has this assignment taught me about myself as a reading teacher?
 * How have my views about literacy teaching changed over the course of the semester and what research/experiences, in particular, informed these changes?
 * How have my views about literacy learning changed over the course of the semester, and what research/experiences, in particular, informed these changes?
 * How might my beliefs, attitudes, and teacher dispositions impact the students with whom I work?

Your performance on this component will be evaluated on the quality of your: (1) vision statements; (2) research base; (3) revisions and reflections; and (4) overall writing style. See the attached rubric for criteria related to each area.

COMPONENT 2: Researcher’s Sketchbook and Class Discussions
As part of your participation grade, you will keep a “sketchbook” (e.g., cardboard composition book, binder for adding typed entries) for recording your summaries/responses/connections to the readings and to use in preparation for class discussions. Entries for each reading are required, using the sketchbook organizer headings shown below. This will help you to organize your reflections about each study you read and to prepare for each week’s discussion:

• Source • Date Read • Type of Study • Population • Perspective/Lens • Method of Analysis • Brief summary (1-2 sentences) • Key points (author’s main ideas, specific parameters) • Comments & Comparisons (opinion, evaluations, connections to previous readings, experiences, knowledge, other themes, or feelings) • Questions (wonderings, misunderstandings) • Critiques (issues, concerns, limitations)

During class, you will share, from your sketchbook, what you believed to be key ideas and what questions arose in your reading that you would like to discuss. You should also bring to class ideas about how the research impacts your work as a reading teacher and critiques you may have for the author’s views, methods, or interpretations. Your comments and questions will form the basis of our discussions so it is critical that you come prepared to support your comments with ideas from your readings, to make connections between your readings and articles that others read, and to consider multiple ways of looking at important issues related to reading instruction.

The sketchbook will be collected at the end of the semester and will be evaluated on the quality of: (1) the content in your sketchbook and (2) your use of the sketchbook as part of each class discussion. See the attached rubric for criteria related to each area.

COMPONENT 3: Presentation and Reflection on Theories and Models of Reading
This assignment includes two parts. For Part 1, you will work with a partner to prepare a 10-minute presentation for the class that outlines the key principles of one model or theory of reading as described in your assigned chapter reading. A summary list of the big ideas should be collaboratively posted to our class wikispace prior to our class meeting. Two minutes should be left at the end for questions from your peers. Each of these presentations will be given in class during Week 3.

For Part 2, after listening to each group’s presentation and learning from your peers about the key principles of seven different theories of reading, you will prepare a short reflection that: (a) compares and contrasts the reading theories/models introduced in class relative to bottom-up, top-down, and interactive models of reading development; and (b) articulates which theories/models best align with your own beliefs/assumptions about how children learn to read, what happens during the reading process, and how differences in culture and language might influence these processes.

A handout from your presentation should be attached to your reflection and included in the portfolio for evidence of this component. Your performance on this component will be evaluated on the quality of your: (1) oral presentation with a partner and (2) written reflection. See the attached rubric for criteria related to each area.

COMPONENT 4: Demonstration Lesson and Group Analysis
This assignment includes two parts for two different groups. For one class during the semester, you will be a member of the Teaching Group and will conduct a demonstration lesson. For a second class during the semester, you will be a member of the Research Group and will lead the class in generating a list of evidence-based best practices from your readings with which to reflect on the elements observed in each demonstration lesson. The purpose of these observations is not to evaluate the quality of your peers’ teaching, per se, as much as to evaluate the extent to which best practices are reflected in a series of literacy interventions modeled after studies the class has read.


 * In Part 1,** which is completed as homework prior to class, members of the //“Teaching Group”// will complete the assigned research readings and select and read one of four studies involving a particular type of reading instruction found to be effective for increasing one of the foundational reading elements (e.g., decoding, vocabulary, comprehension). With a partner, you will design a 10-15 minute demonstration lesson that models the practices and procedures involved in this specific literacy intervention. Members of the “Research Group” for Part 1 will complete the assigned research readings and make a tallied list of the key evidence-based best practices for developing proficiency in that area of reading.


 * In Part II,** which is completed during class, students in the //“Research Group”// first lead the class in a short discussion to generate a common list of 5-6 evidence-based best practices reflected across each of their different readings. This list of best practices will serve as an “observational checklist” as each pair of students in the “Teaching Group” demonstrates their intervention lesson, as reflected in the study they read. Each pair will teach their lesson while the rest of the class indicates whether or not each of the four lessons reflect none, some, or all of the research-based best practices outlined on the checklist. All students will engage in a class discussion about the particular practices observed or absent in each study’s intervention and how that might impact the potential quality of instruction had it been applied in a real classroom.

Your performance on this component will be evaluated on the quality of your: (1) demonstration lesson and (2) participation and discussion in the follow-up group analysis. See the attached rubric for criteria related to each area.

COMPONENT 5: Research Critiques (2)
For this assignment, you will select two of the more challenging research studies from the syllabus (preferably not those published in The Reading Teacher) and review each in a separate written research critique. Notes from your Researcher’s Sketchbook can help guide your thinking about the study. For each article you review, please answer the following questions clearly and explicitly, providing examples from the article to support your thinking:

1. Briefly describe the purpose of the article.

2. Discuss whether the method and analysis is consistent with the stated purpose. In other words, does it appear to you that the author chose an appropriate means of investigation? Did the author select appropriate and valid measures to collect data necessary to address the research questions? Please provide examples from the article to support your thinking.

3. Analyze the author’s use of theory and previous research. Does the author review relevant research? Does the study relate logically to this theory and research? Did the author demonstrate a logical “upside-down triangle” flow in his/her review of research?

4. Discuss briefly the findings of the research. Are the findings interpreted with respect to the theory and research reviewed?

5. What is the main thing the author is trying to say, and how does he/she try to convince you?

6. Could there be an alternative explanation for any findings observed in this study? If so, please describe the possibilities and if not, please justify your confidence in the findings.

7. Interpret the article in terms of your own research and experiences. Are the results consistent with your research, reading, or experience in the area? What conclusions might you draw that the author did not?

Reflection

8. Is there anything in the article that you had trouble understanding? What questions might you have for the author after reading the study?

9. What conclusions, if any, would you draw from the article for your own teaching?

10. How does this article fit with your own views of research and reading instruction?

Your performance on this task will be evaluated on: (1) the quality of your analysis; (2) the quality of your critiques and reflections; and (3) the overall quality of your writing. See the attached rubric for criteria related to each area.

COMPONENT 6: Research Synthesis on Language, Culture, and Literacy
For this project, you will select three research articles from the syllabus that specifically focus on issues of cultural and linguistic diversity in relation to literacy learning. Recall, for example, the set of readings from Week 5 (Oral language and literacy), the set of readings from Week 12 (Cultural and linguistic differences), and additional readings over the semester that examined how these issues influence early reading skills (Manyak, 2008); vocabulary (Carlo et al, 2004; Zwiers, 2006); and comprehension (Manyak & Bauer, 2008).

First, read each article (if it was not part of your selected readings during the semester) and take notes using the headings in your Researcher’s Sketchbook. Second, look across your notes from all three readings to consider common theories, themes, interventions, and/or interpretations that you believe represent research-based reading practices and positive teacher dispositions that address the needs of students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.

Please respond to the following questions in a way that represents a coherent argument across the three readings (e.g., a “synthesis”) rather than responding to each question separately for each article.

1. Briefly state the main point(s) or message(s) that the authors seem to be trying to convey about effective literacy instruction for diverse learners. Consider their messages about both reading practices and teacher dispositions (e.g., mindsets, attitudes).

2. What theories and/or approaches to literacy learning inform the authors’ thinking? Are these theories well suited for understanding how language and culture impact children’s ability and desire to learn how to read?

3. What evidence does the author use to convince you that the main messages have merit? Do the authors use similar or different types of research methods and/or data to support their main points?

4. What recommendations do the authors make and to whom are they addressed?

5. In light of how you think research helps teachers, does any article succeed more than any other? Why or why not?

Reflection

6. Do the articles have any value to you as an educator? Explain.

7. How have the articles helped to inform your knowledge of literacy, your understanding of literacy practices, your dispositions toward reading, and your own teaching?

8. Did you enjoy one article more than the others? Why or why not?

Your performance on this task will be evaluated on: (1) your ability to synthesize, compare, and contrast information across three studies focused on cultural and linguistic diversity in relation to literacy learning; the logical flow and cogency of your argument; (2) your ability to reflect on how research can inform beliefs, dispositions, and practices for teaching students from diverse backgrounds, and (3) the overall quality of your writing. See the attached rubric for criteria related to each area.

COMPONENT 7: Literature Review and Research Proposal
This assignment includes two parts that will be incorporated into your Classroom Action Research Project in EDC567.
 * For Part 1,** you will submit a literature review (3-4 pages) that describes what the literature says about teaching and learning in a reading topic of your choice. For this assignment, you do not need to review all of the literature related to this topic. Rather, you should gather 8-10 research articles that help build a logical argument about why your topic is important, what we know from previous research, what is most telling about this research, and what you would still like to know. You should carefully consider the procedures and writing strategies we covered in class to conduct and write your review. You must use some primary sources, but secondary sources are acceptable along with primary sources.


 * For Part 2,** you will submit a research proposal (2-3 pages) that outlines your preliminary thinking about the following:

A. Purpose: Consider areas in which you wish to refine your instructional practice and writing a statement that begins…“This study will enable me to…”

B. Guiding principles: What theories and research findings will guide your investigation of this topic and how it plays out in your classroom? List 4-5 big ideas and provide references to support these ideas.

C. Research question: After reviewing the literature in Part 1, think about what it is telling you and what you would still like to know. Clearly state two research questions (one teacher question and one student question) in a way that is directly related to an outcome. For example, “How can I….” (for the teacher question) and “How will X affect my students’…” (for the student question).

D. Method: Think about what you would need to do to answer this question. Outline your: • Participants. Who and how many will participate? How will you choose the students? How will you get them to participate? How will you ensure permission? • Materials. What materials will you need? How will you choose them? • Method. How will you conduct the area of inquiry? Consider amount of time, comparisons, etc. • Data collection. What data will you collect and how will you collect it? How long do you anticipate your data collection will take? • Data analysis. How do you expect to analyze your data? How long do you anticipate your analysis will take?

E. Educational importance: What does your study offer to you as the teacher, to other teachers, and/or to the field?

Your performance on this task will be evaluated on: (1) the adequacy and relevancy of your literature review and (2) the extent to which your proposal offers a thorough and realistic plan consistent with research and practice in your selected area of literacy instruction. See the attached rubric for criteria related to each area.