Professional Literature Summaries, Articles 1 10

Article #1

Bib. Information Chan, P. E., Graham-Day, K. J., Ressa, V. A., Peters, M. T., & Konrad, M.
(APA Formatting): (2014). Beyond involvement: Promoting student ownership of learning in
classrooms. Intervention in School and Clinic, 50 (2), 105-113.

Author(s) Affiliation: Professors from Ohio State University

Type of Resource: Scholarly article

(Scholarly
/Trade/Other)

Summary of essential Student ownership of learning can improve student achievement

information: Suggests evidence-based practices that promote student ownership, such
as being clear about learning expectations, self-management strategies,
and providing and receiving feedback from peers
Focuses on collaboration with peers to receive, reflect on, and use
feedback
Discusses the use of self-assessment in promoting student ownership

Potential relevance to Student ownership of their learning is an essential part of helping them to
your research topic achieve critical thinking levels. If they are not invested in the discussion, then
and study: they most certainly will not reach higher level thinking. When the students play
an active role in the discussion and have the authority to choose and express
their own ideas, it will lead to deeper comprehension of the text.

Article #2
Bib. Information Reninger, K. & Wilkinson, I. (2010). Building struggling students higher level
(APA Formatting): literacy: practical ideas, powerful solutions. Using discussions to promote
striving readers higher level comprehension of literary texts. Newark, DE:
International Reading Association.

Author(s) Affiliation: Kristin Reninger is an associate professor at Otterbein University and Ian
Wilkinson is a professor at The Ohio State University

Type of Resource Book Chapter

Summary of essential
information:
Higher comprehension involves high level thinking skills such as problem solving,
connecting personally to a text, and reflecting on ones reading.
Classroom discussions should involve participants sharing ideas, putting forth
alternatives, and challenging ideas to provoke new ways of thinking and
understanding
A discourse pattern should be open and inclusive, where students talk freely to each
other without having to raise a hand and wait to be called on by a teacher
Students and teachers share roles in the discussion and comprehend the text together
Elements of talk that are evidence of higher comprehension: authentic questions and
uptake, higher level thinking questions that elicit generalization, analysis, and
speculation, elaborated explanations, reasoning words, exploratory talk, questions that
elicit extratextual connections.

Potential relevance to This article will assist me in my research project because it gave specific
your research topic examples of higher comprehension evidence, which I can look for during
and study: classroom discussions. It also discussed how striving readers (lower level
readers) are capable of achieving higher level thinking through this type of
teaching. Since I co-teach and have many struggling readers in me classroom,
this is of utmost importance.
 Article #3

Bib. Information Nystrand, M. (1997). Opening dialogue: Understanding the dynamics of

(APA Formatting): language and learning in the English classroom. New York: Teachers College
Press.

Author(s) Affiliation: Martin Nystrand is Louise Durham Meade Professor of English at the
University of Wisconsin-Madison

Type of Resource: Chapter 1 Dialogic Instruction: When Recitation Becomes Conversation

(Scholarly From Opening Dialogue: Understanding the Dynamics of Language and
/Trade/Other) Learning in the English Classroom

Summary of essential Focus of classroom talk should be on developing meaning about the
information: information, rather than simply remembering information
Classroom discussion should be more conversational where student and teacher
responses shape the direction of the talk
Teachers validate the importance of student contributions to discussion
Classroom discussions should be dialogic, a back and forth conversation where both
participants share the talk time equally

Defines recitation as the plodding transmission of information . . . where teachers talk and
students listen.

It is more common in American schools for teachers to ask students to recall

information rather than, examine, articulate, elaborate, or revise what they thought
Teacher controls the discourse and guides the students to what they think is the correct
answer
Minimal interaction between the students and development of their own ideas

Potential relevance to This article helped me to see the value in student led conversation and how it
your research topic can promote student engagement and higher level thinking. It gave clear and
and study: specific examples of the disadvantages of recitation teaching and the benefits of
dialogical discourse. Furthermore, the article discussed the importance of
promoting critical thinking through more student talk and less teacher directed
conversation.

Article #4
Bib. Information Aukerman, M. (2006). Whos afraid of the big bad answer? To get students to
(APA Formatting): think for themselves as they read, teachers have to stop thinking for them.
Educational Leadership, 67 (2), 37-41.

Author(s) Affiliation: Assistant Professor of Reading, Writing, and Literacy at the Graduate School of
Education, University of Pennsylvania.

Type of Resource: Trade article

(Scholarly
/Trade/Other)

Summary of essential
information:
Primary knower and Secondary knower - Primary knower, the teacher, knows all
of the correct answers and does not accept anything different. Secondary knowers
(students) ideas are only validated when the primary knower accepts them.
This type of teaching is very problematic if we want to promote critical thinking in our
students.
Even leading students to evidence that supports our adult understanding of a text
may make them reluctant to go out on a textual limb in developing their own
hypotheses. This can hinder students from wanting to take risks and share their ideas.
Students need to look to the text and to each other to determine meaning. The teacher
should not determine the meaning for the students, they should develop the meaning
on their own.
Shared evaluation pedagogy students evaluate each others ideas and responses
without judgement or rebuttal from the teacher.

Potential relevance to This article provides evidence that a shared evaluation pedagogy method of
your research topic teaching can develop critical readers because the students are not afraid to have
and study: the wrong answer. It also pinpoints the importance of taking students ideas
seriously and helping them to feel valued and accepted in the classroom.
 Article #5

Bib. Information Vaughn, M., Parsons, S., Gallagher, M., Branen, J. (2015). Teachers adaptive
(APA Formatting): instruction supporting students literacy learning. The Reading Teacher, 69(5),
539-547.

Author(s) Affiliation: Margaret Vaughn is an assistant professor at the University of Idaho. Seth
Parsons is an associate professor at George Mason University. Melissa
Gallagher is a doctoral student at George Mason University. Jeneille Branen is
the director of curriculum and instruction at Palouse Prairie Expeditionary
Learning School, Moscow, Idaho.

Type of Resource Trade Article

Summary of essential
information:
Adaptive teaching is important because the best planned lessons can go
off track and an effective teacher takes advantage of those unexpected
moments
Responsive instruction is when teachers respond to their students needs
in the moment by being alert and building upon student cues
Defines dialogic teaching as the interaction and co-construction that
occurs in classrooms when students and teachers think and work
together
Explores characteristics of adaptive teachers such as they constantly
informally assess students, they reflect on their own practice, they know
their students well, and they have a vision of their own practice.

Potential relevance to This article is beneficial because it acknowledges the importance of adaptive
your research topic and reflective teaching. This is pertinent to my research because in order to
and study: create a space for students to express their own thoughts and ideas, teachers
need to take a step back and adapt to the situation that is presented at any given
moment.

Article #6
Bib. Information Anagnostopoulos, D., Smith, E., & Nystrand, M. (2008). Creating dialogic
(APA Formatting): spaces to support teachers discussion practices: An introduction. English
Education, 41 (1), 4 -12.

Author(s) Affiliation: Dorothea Anagnostopoulos is the Teacher Director of Education at the

University of Connecticut

Type of Resource: Trade article

(Scholarly
/Trade/Other)

Summary of essential
information:
Dialogic classroom discussions based on a shared text helped students recall
information better, understand the text more in depth, and responded more fully to the
literary elements
Dialogic instruction can be effective because it helps students realize that their ideas
count, that class is not just a review of previously learned materials, but rather about
collaborating with peers to figure things out face-to-face
By creating a dialogic classroom, teachers validate students by creating a space for
them to share ideas and collaborate.
In addition, teachers validate student responses by using a process called, uptake
which is when they follow up student responses with more open-ended, high level
questions to keep the discussion flowing.

Potential relevance to This article discusses the importance of creating a space for classroom
your research topic discussion and has provided more evidence that student led discussions can lead
and study: to higher student engagement and student achievement.

Article #7
Bib. Information Santori, D. (2011). Search for the answers or Talk about the story?: School-
(APA Formatting): based literacy participation structures. Language Arts, 88(3), 198-207.

Author(s) Affiliation: Diane Santori is an assistant professor at West Chester University, West
Chester, PA

Type of Resource Trade Article

Summary of essential
information:
Students should be encouraged to construct their own meaning of the
text by drawing on insights from the other participators in the group
Defines textual agency as the ability to control the discussion by
initiating and changing topics, and the capacity to exercise interpretive
authority
Santori argues that students need a school-sanctioned space where they
can participate in textual agency in order to improve reading
comprehension
Refers to Nystands and Bahktins work on dialogically organized
instruction to promote critical thinking in students

Potential relevance to This article was helpful because it focused on the importance of providing a
your research topic space for students to have more control and authority over the discussion. It
and study: also examined students talk turns and how students make meaning across texts.
It also stressed the importance of teachers allowing students to construct their
own meaning, rather than dictate what they think the correct response may be.
 Article #8

Bib. Information Barone, D. & Barone, R. (2015). Students understandings of what is important
(APA Formatting): in the teaching of reading. Voices from the Middle, 23(1), 10-18.

Author(s) Affiliation: Diane Barone works at the University of Nevada in Reno as a foundation
professor of literacy. Rebecca Barone is an elementary teacher in Clark County
School District.

Type of Resource: Trade article

Summary of essential This article focuses on what students think is important in teaching reading and
information: what teachers should know in order to teacher reading effectively. It states that
teachers must include the pillars of reading as they create a classroom culture
that nurtures motivation and independent reading. Some of these pillars
include being knowledgeable in the quality of instruction provided, using
assessments to guide instruction, implementing techniques to engage and
motivate students, and connecting with parents and school communities.
However this study mostly focused on what students thought was important for
teachers to know about teaching reading. The results from the study indicate
the students view the following components as important parts of their reading
instruction: reading strategies, writing techniques, student choice and interest,
ABCs and phonics, and spelling and grammar.

Potential relevance to This article was interesting to me because many of the students responded with
your research topic comments centered on student choice to promote engagement in the learning
and study: process. Student choice is one of the main themes of my research project. I
think that this is an integral part of promoting interest and enthusiasm in
reading and this article supported that idea. One student suggested that If
students want to read they will decide on their own. All a teacher can do is
offer them good books and they may read or they may not. This comment
indicates the power of student choice and how necessary it is that students be
exposed to a plethora of different texts to spark individual interests.

Article #9
Bib. Information Ferguson, L. & Kern, D. (2012). Re-visioning literature circles: incorporating
(APA Formatting): comprehension strategy instruction in student-led discussions. The NERA
Journal, 47(2), 23-30.

Author(s) Affiliation: Liz Ferguson is a teacher at South Kingston Public School in Rhode Island and
Diane Kern is a professor at the University of Rhode Island.

Type of Resource: Trade article

Summary of essential This article looks at incorporating higher level comprehension strategies into
information: literature circle discussions. Research has shown many benefits of
implementing peer led literature circles in classrooms, such as language
development, reading comprehension, engagement and enjoyment of literature,
and improved sense of self-efficacy when reading and understanding texts.
Some of the roles that this teacher developed to embed higher level
comprehension strategies include sensory image maker, inference maker,
questioner, connector, and synthesizer. This study also compared fake
reading, where students are simply pretending to read and not being held
accountable for their task at hand, and authentic reading, where students are
reading deeply and constructing meaning from the text. The authors purpose
in this study was to ensure that students were reading authentically and how to
these new roles can prevent fake reading.

Potential relevance to This article was very pertinent to my research and my teaching because I do
your research topic experience students fake reading and would like to find ways to discourage it.
and study: Some of the roles and jobs I use during literature circle discussions are pretty
basic and are good to use when were just starting out. At this point of the
school year however, I feel my students are getting somewhat bored with them
and, in addition, are capable of using these higher comprehension strategies.
This article also supported and explained the benefits of providing space for
literature circle discussions within reading instruction.
 Article #10

Bib. Information Young, C. (2014). Predictors of quality verbal engagement in third-grade

(APA Formatting): literature discussions. International Electronic Journal of Elementary
Education, 6(3), 427-440.

Author(s) Affiliation: Chase Young is a professor at Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi, TX

Type of Resource: Scholarly article

Summary of essential This study looks into how reading abilities and personality traits can have an
information: effect on the verbal engagement in peer-led literature circles. It suggests that
assigning roles or jobs to the students can actually limit the discussion and
exploratory talk. If students are simply reciting what they did for their job, they
are not engaging in meaningful discussion of the text. It also talks about how
discussion can be chaotic at times and defines emergence as the moment
when all of the variables impact each other in a way that something new
emerges. . .it is when disorganization suddenly completes reorganization. In
other words, it suggests that chaotic talk, which normally makes teachers
uncomfortable, can actually be productive and can lead to new conclusions and
discoveries.

In addition, Young discusses the Big Five personality traits, which were
originally established by Fiske in 1949. These traits include extroversion,
agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, and openness. These
particular traits can lead to a more robust discussion, however Young points out
that it is important to use alternative assessment methods for introverted or
conscientious students since it is impossible to predict or determine personality
traits of all students.

Potential relevance to This article was helpful because it focused on how the organization of literature
your research topic circles can play a major role in the quality of discussion. It also discussed the
and study: chaos theory which I thought was very interesting because as teachers we so
often are concerned about keeping the conversation on track and having only
one person speak at a time. Young points out, however, that a lot of meaning
and a-ha moments can come from chaotic discussion, when students are talking
freely with no limitations or restrictions. As a teacher, pulling ourselves away
and letting this occur naturally can be a difficult task.