Papers by Juliet Wahleithner
ProQuest LLC eBooks, 2013
Proceedings of the 2020 AERA Annual Meeting, 2020
Computers and Composition, Mar 1, 2014
From 2010-2012, a National Writing Project (NWP)-sponsored committee examined the work of multimo... more From 2010-2012, a National Writing Project (NWP)-sponsored committee examined the work of multimodal composing. The group's goal was to create a framework to guide teachers working with students on creating multimodal compositions. Known as the Multimodal Assessment Project (MAP), the committee of 11 researchers and NWP Teacher Consultants used an iterative process to consult relevant literature, review student-composed multimodal compositions, and solicit feedback from other NWP colleagues. The final framework consists of five dimensions the committee found to be critical to multimodal composing: artifact, rhetorical skills, substance, process management and technical skills, and habits of mind. This interview features a discussion with two members of the MAP team, Elyse Eidman-Aadahl and Sandra Murphy, about the work of the committee developing the framework.
Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, Mar 30, 2020
First-generation college students share what they wish they had learned in high school to be bett... more First-generation college students share what they wish they had learned in high school to be better prepared for the reading and writing encountered in their first semester of college. M ateo (all names are pseudonyms) graduated from high school as the valedictorian. Yet, even with his top grades, he found that the literacy demands of college were much more rigorous than those of his high school. "I didn't really learn how to write or read," he said. "I would do all the assignments and just get it over with 'cause they were just really easy." Despite ongoing calls to improve students' college readiness, when Mateo began college, he did not feel prepared. He was not alone. In this article, I highlight the perceptions of 18 first-generation college students as they reflected on their high school preparation for the literacy tasks of college. Overall, students reported feeling unprepared for what was expected of them. To begin, I provide an overview of research examining postsecondary literacy demands and contrast that to current research on secondary literacy instruction. I next introduce the context of the study, discuss the participant demographics, and review the data collection and analytic processes. Finally, I share the findings from interviews with the students and discuss these and their implications. Mismatch Between High School and College Literacy Demands Research that has highlighted the disconnect between literacy tasks that students engage in while in high school and in college provided the framing for this study. Making Sense of Texts in High School Versus in College Regardless of their major, college students face numerous challenging literacy tasks. Right away, they are expected to read and comprehend complex texts from across disciplines (
Teachers College Record, 2018
Background: Numerous reports have highlighted problems with writing instruction in American schoo... more Background: Numerous reports have highlighted problems with writing instruction in American schools, yet few examine the interplay of teachers' preparation to teach writing, the instructional policies they must navigate, and the writing development of the students in their classrooms. Purpose: This study examines high school English teachers' instruction of writing while taking into account their preparation for teaching writing-both preservice and inservice, the instructional policies in place, and the learners in their classrooms. Setting: Data used come from public high school English teachers teaching in Northern California. These data were collected in 2011-2012, when teachers were sill complying with the mandates of the No Child Left Behind legislation. Research Design: I use year-long qualitative case studies of five high school English teachers to highlight various ways teachers used their knowledge of writing instruction to negotiate the pressures of accountability policies and their students' needs as writers to teach writing. Data collected include beginning-and end-of-year interviews with each teacher, four sets of 1-to 2-day observations of each teacher's instruction of writing, and instructional documents related to each teacher's writing instruction. These data were analyzed using the constant comparative method to look for themes within the data collected from each teacher and then make comparisons across teachers. Findings from the case studies are supported by findings from a survey of 171 high school teachers who taught a representative sample of California high school students at 21 schools in 20 districts. The survey included 41 multiple-choice items that asked about teachers' instructional practices and their perceptions of high-stakes accountability pressures and their students as writers. Survey data were analyzed quantitatively using descriptive statistics and principal components analysis. Findings: Findings illustrate that significant differences existed in how the five teachers approached their writing instruction. These differences were due to both the teachers' varied preparations to teach writing and the contextual factors in place where each taught. Those teachers with more developed knowledge of writing instruction were better able to navigate the policies in place at their sites and more equipped to plan appropriate instruction to develop their students as writers. Recommendations: Findings indicate teachers would be better served by opportunities to develop their knowledge of writing instruction both prior to and once they begin their teaching careers. Additionally, the findings add to an existing body of research that demonstrates the limiting effect high-stakes assessments can have on teachers' instruction of writing.
Proceedings of the 2023 AERA Annual Meeting
Revista de Educación a Distancia (RED)
We start from the current need to critically review the teaching of argumentation in teacher educ... more We start from the current need to critically review the teaching of argumentation in teacher education programs. The methodology adopted is qualitative, with an initial content analysis of the treatment of multimodal argumentation in a selection of U.S. teacher training programs. The models detected are contrasted with the ARCO model and a transmodalizing proposal of genre is made, consisting of the transformation of argumentative reflection in text commentary. Secondly, a case study report is made based on the contrastive analysis of four texts produced by students of the selected programs. The results show improved indicators of complex thinking; in particular, the significance of the crossing of the multimodality variant with creative thinking is especially relevant. It is discussed how the proposal makes it possible to relate theory with practice prior to practicing the teaching profession, and it is concluded that including multimodal argumentation in teacher training may be on...
Educatio Siglo XXI
Many teachers enter the profession with a deficit-perspective of their students and their communi... more Many teachers enter the profession with a deficit-perspective of their students and their communities, particularly those working with students from low-socioeconomic backgrounds and/or students who are emergent bilinguals. Yet the majority of the students in our schools today come from backgrounds that often have different sets of values and different ways of viewing the world. The result is that, too often, educators adopt a deficit perspective. The goal of this study was to disrupt deficit thinking by introducing preservice teachers to the notion that students arrive in our classrooms with existing funds of knowledge (Moll, Amanti, Neff, & Gonzalez, 1992). Through class activities and assignments, preservice teachers were introduced to the concept of funds of knowledge. This study examines the impact of introducing an asset-based perspective early in candidates’ preparation and asks what shifts occur in preservice teachers’ perspectives of their students and the resources those s...
Proceedings of the 2022 AERA Annual Meeting
Proceedings of the 2020 AERA Annual Meeting
Teachers College Record: The Voice of Scholarship in Education, 2012
Background/Context Learning to meet students’ needs challenges new teachers often focused on proc... more Background/Context Learning to meet students’ needs challenges new teachers often focused on procedures, management, materials, and curriculum. To avoid this development pattern, student teachers (STs) need opportunities to concentrate especially on needs of culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students. Teacher inquiry (TI) holds promise as one such opportunity. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study We sought to understand how STs in a teacher credential program with a history of attention to diverse learners were learning about their CLD students through TI. Research Design We examined data collected from 80 STs over a 6-year period, including 80 TIs; STs’ data analysis field memos; questionnaires with reflections on TI processes and products; and taped ST peer discussions and conferences with instructor. Data also documented TI instruction, classroom culture, and opportunities to develop learning related to conducting TI. Drawing on research and theory, we dev...
Teachers College Record: The Voice of Scholarship in Education, 2018
Background Numerous reports have highlighted problems with writing instruction in American school... more Background Numerous reports have highlighted problems with writing instruction in American schools, yet few examine the interplay of teachers’ preparation to teach writing, the instructional policies they must navigate, and the writing development of the students in their classrooms. Purpose This study examines high school English teachers’ instruction of writing while taking into account their preparation for teaching writing—both preservice and inservice, the instructional policies in place, and the learners in their classrooms. Setting Data used come from public high school English teachers teaching in Northern California. These data were collected in 2011–2012, when teachers were sill complying with the mandates of the No Child Left Behind legislation. Research Design I use year-long qualitative case studies of five high school English teachers to highlight various ways teachers used their knowledge of writing instruction to negotiate the pressures of accountability policies and...
Journal of Literacy Research, 2015
Consensus exists that effective teaching includes capacity to adapt instruction to respond to stu... more Consensus exists that effective teaching includes capacity to adapt instruction to respond to student learning challenges as they arise. Adaptive teachers may keep pace with rapidly evolving youth literacies and students’ increasing cultural and linguistic diversity. Teachers are challenged to critically examine pedagogy when some contexts expect compliance with scripts and testing regimens and impede innovation. Recent research is building cumulative knowledge on adaptive teaching in literacy—its forms, purposes, and values. For preservice teachers (PSTs) still developing curriculum and routines, developing adaptive expertise is particularly challenging. The present study examined how, if at all, a data- based model of teacher inquiry in one teacher education program fostered adaptive teaching in grades 7-12 English language arts placements in mostly high poverty, highly diverse schools. The study examined 96 inquiries collected over seven years, plus PST questionnaires, memos, and...
Research in Learning Technology
Action in Teacher Education, 2016
Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy
Teachers College Record, 2018
Background: Numerous reports have highlighted problems with writing instruction in American schoo... more Background: Numerous reports have highlighted problems with writing instruction in American schools, yet few examine the interplay of teachers' preparation to teach writing, the instructional policies they must navigate, and the writing development of the students in their classrooms.
Http Dx Doi Org 10 1080 1547688x 2013 841506, Oct 1, 2013
Writing is central to academic development, permeates content area coursework and serves as both ... more Writing is central to academic development, permeates content area coursework and serves as both a vehicle for and a display of learning. For English learners (ELs), writing poses challenges, and teachers need preparation in how to understand and respond to these. This study reports 5 teacher inquiry processes that preservice teachers in one teacher education program used to learn more about their ELs and their writing performances, strengths, learning, preferences, and needs. The inquiry processes provided opportunities to develop knowledge of content and students , a key subdomain of the knowledge base of effective teaching.
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Papers by Juliet Wahleithner