Radically Redefining Literacy Instruction: An Immense Opportunity

An English department transformation : an interpretative phenomenological case study of a high school English department turnaround

“…On these particular exams, teachers did not need to demonstrate pedagogical knowledge or ability levels; rather, the state of Massachusetts said they could receive this training through induction programs and district-based initial licensure programs (Haverty & Stotsky, 2004). This reform act is not in line with the ideas of Schmoker (2007), Darling-Hammond and Youngs (2002), Darling-Hammond (2006), Seymour and Lehrer (2006), or Lefstein (2008), who all stated that students need to be taught by teachers who have the pedagogical competence necessary to educate students, particularly when the assessment used for teacher licensing doesn't incorporate a pedagogy component. As illuminated in the theoretical framework section of this research, Shulman (1998) stated that educators need to learn how to deal with various situations and be able to modify their instructional practice based on those experiences, yet the licensure regulations, particularly for teaching English at the high school level in the state of Massachusetts, do not ensure this.…”

“…An in-depth search of information about why the scores have remained flat revealed that strategic, purposeful, and deep reading is lacking in the typical high school English classroom (Schmoker, 2007). Instead, the study of literature is overtaking the classroom-so much so that English educators have come to believe that they are creating the next generation of literary scholars rather than recognizing their real mission of providing students with the skills and strategies necessary to achieve literacy competence (Slater, 2004).…”

“…Marzano's (1998Marzano's ( , 2003Marzano's ( , 2007 These findings were corroborated in Schmoker's research. Schmoker (2006Schmoker ( , 2007Schmoker ( , 2011 discovered that in classrooms across the country, students were being taught individual reading skills in isolation, with no connection to the literature that was being read. In addition to this, his research revealed that English educators who taught their students to read for meaning by…”

“…More specifically, he determined that literacy tasks taught in abundance not only promoted significant gains in test scores, but substantially narrowed the achievement gap for all students (Schmoker, 2006(Schmoker, , 2007(Schmoker, , 2011.…”

“…On top of this, school systems need to be prepared to train their teachers to provide the necessary skills to be able to read, write, speak, listen, and understand words. As the literature suggests, if high school English teachers were to teach authentic literacy skills, then no one would have to worry about standardized tests again (Schmoker, 2007).…”