Mountains and Pit Bulls: Students' Metaphors for College Transitional Reading and Writing

Paulson, Eric J.; Armstrong, Sonya L.

doi:10.1598/jaal.54.7.3

Cited by 28 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 17 publications

(13 reference statements)

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“…Analysis of the metaphorical linguistic expressions that were found resulted in the categorisation of conceptual metaphors that included: TEXT and KNOWLEDGE AS COMMODITY (in metaphor analysis literature, conceptual metaphors are traditionally depicted in SMALL CAPS). Such variety within educational venues has been documented by previous metaphor analysis research (Cortazzi and Jin 1999;de Guerrero and Villamil 2002) and specifically in college developmental reading and writing contexts (Armstrong 2007;Paulson and Armstrong 2011). The current study, however, is not focused on variety, but rather on salient and potentially important elements of the conceptualisations of 'text' and 'language' found in the collected data.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 77%

Locating agency in the classroom: A metaphor analysis of teacher talk in a college developmental reading class

Paulson

Theado

2014

Classroom Discourse

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This study employed a metaphor analysis approach to investigate instructor language as it relates to the positioning of agency within a college developmental reading course context. Agency, or the socioculturally mediated potential to act, is a crucial part of self-regulated, self-efficacious learning and contributes to identity formation and affirmation. Understanding where agency is being positioned via classroom discourse can have important implications for the teaching and learning transaction, including the construction of students' implicit theories about their literacy practices and their roles as active learners. As a type of discourse analysis, metaphor analysis allows for an unobtrusive, highly ecologically valid method of determining the underlying conceptualisations about a given topic that are held by participants in discourse communities. The article concludes with pedagogical implications. IntroductionIn this article, we investigate instructor language use in a college developmental reading class as it relates to the positioning of agency -that is, where aspects of control are located -within the classroom context. We focus on the metaphorical language used by the instructor of the class and how that language can influence students' understanding of their role in the teaching and learning transaction, as well as their implicit theories of literacy practices. Specifically, we are looking at areas where the belief systems implicit in the instructor's language use run counter to the instructor's stated approach to literacy instruction. Through metaphor analysis we uncover the Discourse models (Gee 2005) implicitly in play in a college developmental reading class.Developmental reading curricula have existed in various forms in higher education in the United States for over a century (Stahl and King 2009). Recent analysis of ACT college entrance test outcomes has indicated that fewer than half of incoming college students in the US were prepared for the reading requirements of a typical first-year college course (ACT 2013), making college developmental reading courses a core aspect of how colleges provide academic support to struggling

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 77%

Locating agency in the classroom: A metaphor analysis of teacher talk in a college developmental reading class

Paulson

Theado

2014

Classroom Discourse

Self Cite

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“…In this study, we understood academic literacy as a social practice “through which identities and social relations organized around tertiary learning are produced and negotiated” (Saltmarsh & Saltmarsh, , p. 622). This approach allowed us to consider the experiences and views of first‐year college students (Paulson & Armstrong, ) in light of official and institutional views of college readiness and college‐level reading (Springer, Wilson, & Dole, ).…”

Section: The Academic Literacies Of Latina/o College Studentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“They Didn't Teach Us Well”: Mexican‐Origin Students Speak Out About Their Readiness for College Literacy

Murillo¹,

Schall

2016

J Adolescent & Adult Lit

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This study reports on Mexican‐origin university students' perceptions of their K–12 literacy experiences and preparation for college‐level reading. Participants were first‐generation college students from Spanish‐dominant homes enrolled in a reading‐intensive course at a four‐year Hispanic‐serving institution. The study was conducted as part of an initiative to assist predominantly low‐income, Latino/Hispanic students enrolled in entry‐level reading‐intensive courses, with the goal of improving postsecondary persistence. Data consisted of individual interviews and participants' language and literacy autobiographies and were analyzed from an ecology‐of‐literacy perspective. Findings included contrasts between home and school literacy forms and practices, differences between high school and college as learning environments, linguistic discrimination experienced at school, and negative ideologies associated with Spanish as a barrier to the development of strong literacy skills in English. Suggestions are offered for improving academic literacy instruction for Mexican‐origin youths.

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“…The metaphor empowered the learners to reflect on their academic progress and achievement of learning goals. Paulson and Armstrong (2011) solicited self-created metaphors from 128 college students enrolled in developmental literacy courses. They discovered more students viewed literacy as a product than as a process and there were 2.49 nonnegative metaphors for each negative metaphor.…”

Section: International Journal Of Research Studies In Education 23mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…"The more lenses through which individuals are able to see the world, the more flexible, and ultimately capable, they can be in responding to and discussing it with others" (Tracey & Morrow, 2012, p. xi). Third, by soliciting adult students' metaphors, we may see how their perspectives interact with dominant concepts in their literacy program and how educators can move them forward in their literacy learning (Paulson & Armstrong, 2011).…”

Section: Theories and Models Literacy Metaphors Literacy Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Adult literacy students’ metaphors of reading and writing

Shaw¹,

Mahlios²

2013

IJRSE

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The purpose of this study was to examine reading and writing metaphors of 144 adults who enrolled in literacy instruction at one of three adult education sites. Participants were given a questionnaire that solicited their metaphors for reading and writing. The adult students selected one reading metaphor from five choices or they could create their own. Likewise, they could select one of five writing metaphors or create their own. Results showed the adult students significantly differed in their reading metaphors, but they did not significantly differ in their writing metaphors. School site and age impacted their chosen reading metaphors, and gender impacted the selected writing metaphors. The most dominant reading and writing metaphor focused on parts or elements or reading and writing. Implications for adult literacy are discussed.

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Mountains and Pit Bulls: Students' Metaphors for College Transitional Reading and Writing

Cited by 28 publications

References 17 publications

Locating agency in the classroom: A metaphor analysis of teacher talk in a college developmental reading class

Locating agency in the classroom: A metaphor analysis of teacher talk in a college developmental reading class

“They Didn't Teach Us Well”: Mexican‐Origin Students Speak Out About Their Readiness for College Literacy

Adult literacy students’ metaphors of reading and writing

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