Applying the Grossman et al. Theoretical Framework: The Case of Reading

Abstract

Background/ContextThis article describes the application of the theoretical framework proposed by Grossman and her colleagues to a research effort focusing on text-based discussion as a context for comprehension instruction. According to Grossman and her colleagues, a useful way to consider the teaching of complex practices to candidates is to focus on (a) how the practice is represented, (b) how the practice is decomposed, and (c) how candidates are provided with opportunities to approximate the practice. The context for the present study was an Institute of Education Sciences Teacher Quality Grant in which the authors collaborated with 9 teacher educators, who were learning about text-based discussion as a context for comprehension instruction, to design, implement, and revise modules to support candidates in comprehension methods courses. The modules provided teacher educators with representations of text-based discussions in the form of video excerpts and lesson plans. The modules also provided structured activities to decompose the practice of text-based discussions, for example, by focusing on analyzing the texts to be discussed and crafting questions to engage students in understanding the important ideas in the text. Finally, the modules provided opportunities for candidates to approximate the practice of enacting text-based discussions by using a collaboratively developed teaching plan for a common text.Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of StudyThe focus of the study was to collect data on the module implementation in the form of assessments of candidate learning and evaluation of module content and use by teacher educators in order to develop resources that would benefit a wider audience of teacher educators and their students.Research DesignThe study is an example of design-based research focused on the iterative development and study of the modules in order to support teacher educators to prepare candidates to enact text-based discussions in the context of literacy methods courses. The study was conducted over the course of 3 years, with a 4th year to prepare the resources for dissemination.Conclusions/RecommendationsOur efforts to design and revise the modules were greatly influenced by the framework suggested by Grossman and her colleagues. The framework provided a way to represent and decompose the module content and to maintain our focus on the importance of providing opportunities for approximating the complex practice of text-based discussion.

Measuring Reading Strategy Use

“…Micro and macro relationships in text (MMRT) Graphic organizers and conceptual maps have been found to support reading comprehension and text summarization (e.g., Carr & Ogle, 1987;Chang, Sung, & Chen, 2002;Duke & Pearson, 2009). Texts provide information in varying degrees of importance; some ideas or propositions in text may have greater relevancy over others, and understanding this relational dynamic is critical for capturing a text-based understanding during reading (Kintsch & Van Dijk, 1978;Kucan et al, 2011). Using the text related to bioluminescence from the previous section, one can identify multiple propositions (discrete ideas); the most prominent topic is the organism (firefly) and it's unique abilities to give off light (bioluminescence).…”

Analyzing the Teaching of Professional Practice

“…We can see the successive approximations in which novices engage and the conceptions of quality that are applied to their performances. In the Kucan and Palincsar (2011) article, we also have limited (and still developing) evidence of actual learning outcomes.…”

“…Boerst and colleagues (2011) focus on a single math methods course by a team of instructors who have been working together and developing and teaching this particular course over multiple iterations within a single institutional context. Kucan and Palincsar (2011) focus on a design research project, developing learning modules intended for use across methods courses in multiple institutional contexts. For them, evidence of novices' learning is used primarily to inform revision of the modules.…”

“…Each team of authors divides their discussion of their practice into three segments or "modules," each culminating in one or more formal approximations. Kucan and Palincsar (2011) characterize the three segments described in terms of "knowledge of…" or "knowledge for…," whereas Boerst et al (2011) foreground enactments of the practice of leading a discussion. Next, I discuss the designed learning trajectory from each article in turn and then draw explicit comparisons.…”

“…Grossman and colleagues illustrated the power of the framework with case studies in the preparation of clergy, clinical psychologists, and teachers in university methods courses. In this special issue, two teams of teacher educators have put the Grossman et al framework to work in analyzing their own practice in supporting novice elementary teachers to lead discussions with their students in mathematics (Boerst, Sleep, Ball & Bass, 2010, 2011 1 and in reading comprehension instruction (Kucan & Palincsar, 2010, 2011. 2 For my commentary on those three articles, I build an argument for adding a fourth key concept to the Grossman et al (2009) frameworkconceptions of quality-which I believe is crucial for understanding a professional teaching practice and for serving their goal of improving practice through instructive comparisons.…”