Course Description
Course Schedule
Required Texts
Speakers
Requirements
Policies
Resources
Symposium
in Reading Education
READING 775
Assignment: Literacy Instruction Project Proposal
Purpose of the assignment: (a) to examine current research and theory related to selected factors that appear to influence students' reading performance and (b) to seek implications from this work for reading education and classroom practice.
Directions: prepare a proposal for a project on achieving quality reading instruction in the classroom, school, district, or community and present a report on the proposal to class at the final session on June 27. Projects can include modifications to your literacy curriculum, incorporation of new units of instruction or activity formats, assessment procedures, classroom redesigns, or other ideas that apply current research and theory such as that discussed in the course readings and speaker presentations. Projects need not be for implementation in classrooms per se, but could involve family or community settings. Ideally, the proposal will grow out of a careful consideration of the work of one or more of the Symposium presenters, though in rare cases where none of the symposium topics is relevant to your situation, other current research and theory can be substituted. Observe the following Guidelines:
1. Format: Incorporate the following parts in the written proposal:
- Title: Give the paper a unique title that indicates what your proposed project is about.
- Overview: In one paragraph, mention the setting in which you propose to implement the project, describe the kind of project you are proposing, and indicate in general terms what you hope to accomplish by the project that involves quality reading instruction in an era of high-stakes testing. Interpret "reading instruction" broadly; at your option, the project may be limited to reading or may deal with other instruction related to language and literacy development, such as language arts and English language learning.
- Statement of need/Justification/Purpose for the project: Explain why the activity you are proposing is important or necessary or worth doing in terms of achieving quality reading instruction. In this part, you may allude to research or theory as part of the justification. The instructional purpose should be clear.
- Research and Theory background: Discuss several instances where authorities in the field have supplied concepts and evidence related to what you propose to do. Discuss the work of these authorities in a way that makes clear, implicitly or explicitly, how it supports the project you are proposing. Include at least two sources beyond the readings assigned in this class.
- Description of project: Discuss the proposed project in detail. Details can include activities, materials, personnel, explanation of relevant contextual factors, steps in the process of implementation, or other information as appropriate to your topic, situation, and proposed project.
- Plan for evaluation: Discuss the kinds of evidence you plan to gather to indicate whether the project is successful. The evaluation plan must be clearly relevant to your stated purposes.
- Optional conclusion: In a paragraph, make general summative comments on what you have proposed.
- References: List each of the sources you have cited. Use APA style.
- Appendices (optional): Attach sample lesson plans, rubrics, classroom diagrams, school policies, and other related material. Label each appendix with a capital letter (A, B, C . . . ) and provide a list of all the appendices on a page inserted before them.
2. Style: Observe APA style.
3. Presentation: Each student will be allowed 15 minutes for a spoken presentation of the proposal to include five minutes of questions and answers. (Limiting the presentations to 15 minutes will allow time for announcements and a ten-minute break.) Presenters should be prepared to elicit some comments in case the class participants are reticent.
4. Procedure (Optional, but strongly suggested):
- Email the instructor with a brief description of what your paper will be about early in the week of June 19. This will allow for suggested revisions and may avoid some problems.
- Use the "follow-a-footnote" strategy to find your sources of theory and research beyond the assigned texts. That is, start by reviewing one of the assigned texts and then consult some of the sources that are cited prominently in those texts. (Example: Beach cites Faust's 1999 paper about how reader-response theories were misinterpreted; after reading Beach, you look at Faust's original paper which refers to Rosenblatt's 1973 book The Reader, the Text, the Poem. You then read Rosenblatt's book.)
- Check for consistency between stated purposes, proposed activity, and plan for evaluation.
- When in doubt, send drafts to the instructor--preferably partial drafts with a day or two of turn-around time before the final due date.
- Proofread. Or, if you are a poor proofreader, have someone else proofread for you.
How the project proposal will be evaluated: The following Rubrics summarize the elements that will be considered in evaluating:
- Research and theory base (30%): In the best
papers, there will be a discussion of current research and theory, and
that discussion will be accurate, detailed, and critical
(critical in the sense that you establish clearly that the works you
are citing are relevant or important, and not necessarily that you criticize
them--though you my criticize them if you so wish). It will include at
least four relevant sources beyond the assigned
readings, including at least one book and at least one refereed journal.
Examples of research from the 2004 Symposium: Almasi's study of conversations in fourth-grade classes, Beach's study of discussion in a high-school literature class, Rasinski's studies correlating fluency with comprehension. (Research involves summarizing and drawing conclusions from observed data.)
Examples of theory: Lave and Wenger's activity theory as discussed by Beach, Vygotsky's sociocognitive-learning theory as mentioned by Almasi, Samuels' automaticity theory as applied by Rasinski, Rosenblatt's transactional theory as discussed by Beach and Almasi. (Theories are general explanations of observed patterns in data.)
Achieving detail and accuracy in a short paper such as this favors looking at a few research studies and one or two theories in depth rather than broadly mentioning many theories the way one of our speakers did.
- Quality of proposed project (40%): In the best
papers, there will be a description of a proposed quality reading
instruction project, and the proposed project will be
a. Discussed in detail
b. Appropriate for the setting you indicate and the purpose(s) you state
c. Justified by the research and theory you discuss
d. Directed toward outcomes identified in a systematic assessment plan, which is also included in the paper and which also is in synch with the theory and purposes you highlight
- Written presentation (20%): The best papers
will be well organized (optional headings may help), will include
all required parts, will be 12-15 pages long excluding appendices
in 12-point Times New Roman or equivalent typeface, will follow APA
style, will be clear and readable, and will be free from
errors in punctuation, usage, spelling, and grammar.
- Spoken presentation (10%): The best reports
will be well organized (suggestion: use a visual outlining tool
such as chart paper, a Word document, or a PowerPoint presentation) , will
accurately reflect the contents of the written report, will use
most of the allotted time, and will invite audience response,
questioning, feedback, or other involvement.
 |
|