Dissertation Defense: Department of Learning Technologies, Design & School Library Media
Monday, October 30th at 12:00 p.m.
Psychology Building Room 206 or via WebEx
Dissertation Title: Teacher-Student Dynamics in Literacy Clinic During the Covid-19 Pandemic: Technology Integration, Reading Comprehension, Motivation, and Inquiry-Based Learning for Fourth Graders
Presented by: Andrew Holt, Doctoral Candidate for Instructional Technology, Ph.D. Program
Abstract:
This single case study with four subunits investigates how four literacy clinic teacher-student dyads performed when pivoting from face-to-face to three-way remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. The fourth-grade students accessed the literacy clinic from their homes, as did the teachers (aspiring reading specialists) and the teacher educator/supervisor.
This qualitative research used inductive and deductive coding to analyze the data, which included assessments of the students, client reports, 12 weeks of video recordings and transcripts, lesson plans for each session, and written reflections after each session by the teachers. The findings revealed welcoming and engaging teacher-student relationships, which led to student motivation. As the sessions progressed, there was some growth in student-centered learning through an inquiry-based activity, the I-Search Paper (Macrorie, 1998; Alvey et al., 2011).
Also evident was increasing teacher adeptness at utilizing technology, often with colleague support. Family involvement and professional growth of the teachers were other findings. All students made gains in reading comprehension. Teachers considered a range of aspects of student development to attain a comprehensive grasp of their overall progress. The assessment of student comprehension advancement included a Qualitative Reading Inventory and self-efficacy, metacognition, and engagement measures.
This study offers insights into the complexity of literacy learning in a novel modality and the resilience demonstrated by all participants. Limitations include a small convenience sample and a need for more generalizability.
Tags: ResearchCategorised in: General
This post was written by Miller, Kendall