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This study is a response to the need to support literacy development in an increasingly diverse and complex culture. Some school boards have identified early literacy as a priority for school improvement and there has been much debate about what constitutes effective literacy instruction. The Quebec Education Program (2001) recommends adopting a constructivist approach that embeds literacy instruction within interdisciplinary learning situations. Some teachers ask what a constructivist classroom looks like in practice. In light of teacher and school board concerns this study examines the literacy practices of a grade two/three elementary teacher in order to address the question, how does literacy learning occur within an espoused constructivist classroom? Besides describing the literacy events themselves, the role of context and the teacher in the literacy learning are examined. / Using a qualitative research methodology, the dynamic interactions between and amongst teacher and students were documented. Participant observation utilized photographs, audio and video taped lessons, semi-formal interviews as well as student work and teacher materials to provide a rich description of classroom practice. The researcher used both categorizing and contextualizing strategies to complement each other in a rigorous and systematic analytical process. Visual research methodology augmented the richness of the study. / The researcher discovered four major steps in a dance between teacher and students that developed literacy skills in a caring environment by nurturing self-esteem and self-regulation in learners. The teacher designed a peer tutoring program with first grade students in which literacy skills instruction was embedded within an authentic context that responded to second language learners with learning challenges. The teacher's roles as director, philosopher, enabler and connector were explored and a mirror image of students and teacher were provided through a narrative tracing of three focus students. / Besides describing the literacy practices of the teacher, this study uncovered a spiritual dimension of the teacher's role in that she began from the sacred space of teaching from the heart. Using gentle judgment and praise she built self-esteem by reflecting back to her students an image of competent, intelligent, human beings. Her spiritual epistemology enabled her to create a harmonious balance of responsible freedom within a flexibly structured environment. The spiritual dimension that emerged through the study suggests that research of literacy practices needs to include an examination of the role of the teacher in developing students' identities as self-confident members of a literacy community.

This qualitative study researched the meaning of instruction in a cycle one classroom. The following questions guided my research: How is literacy instruction implemented in a cycle one classroom? (a) What events take place in the class? (b) How does the teacher provide for instruction? (c) How do students and parents perceive instruction? / Literacy instruction was defined as any support or intervention on the part of a teacher or more capable other that helped students to more skilfully engage with a range of texts in purposeful and socially responsible ways. / I collected data through classroom observation, collection of classroom artefacts, and interviews. Observations and informal interviews were recorded in my researcher's journal. Formal interviews were audio or videotaped. I used complementary approaches of analysis. (a) Two inter-related types of literacy events occurred in the classroom: formatted and open-ended activities. Formatted activities required students to participate in a way that could potentially be assessed. During open-ended activities students were free to select their oven activities and to participate to the extent that they wished. Analysis of the data revealed that, even during formatted activities, students had a great deal of choice in how they could participate in literacy events. As a result, almost all literacy events were tailored to meet diverse individual needs. (b) Bea simultaneously deepened and thickened instruction to support the literacy development of students. Deepening instruction refers to the fine-tuned precision that characterized the instruction she offered, and ensured that activities were neither too easy nor too difficult for students. Thickening instruction refers to how Bea enriched teaching by attending to variety and interest around activities and appealing to broader social, emotional and embodied needs. This seemed to contribute to learning by keeping alive a spirit of excitement and purpose in students, parents and Bea. The concept of deepening and thickening reflects instruction that is consistent with a socially situated view of literacy. (c) Students provided fresh insights by emphasizing the need to attend to embodied aspects of learning and instruction. Parents' contradictory expectations of instruction also suggested the need for continued ongoing collaboration between parents and educators.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of different types of curricula in transitional first-grade classrooms on a composite of achievement measures at the end of a year of instruction. In particular, the effects of a shared book experience approach to instruction were compared to more traditional instructional strategies.The subjects in the study were 50 students from central Indiana who were enrolled in four intact transitional classrooms. Two classrooms used "traditional" (TR) instructional strategies, a third used the Success (SC) curriculum, and the fourth used the shared book experience (SBE) approach. The Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised (PPVT-R) and the Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration (VMI) were administered to the subjects prior to the onset of the study. Four subtests of the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills (CTBS) were given to the subjects in late spring 1985.Multivariate analyses of covariance with a priori and computer determined weightings of the four CTBS subscales and the PPVT-R and VMI as covariates were conducted for three a priori contrasts. No significant differences between the two TR classrooms or between the TR and SC classrooms were obtained. There was also no significant difference between the SBE and the three other classes combined when the subscales were weighted equally. However, a significant difference was obtained on a dimension created to maximize the difference between these groups, F (4,41) = 2.62, p <.05.The groups were separated primarily on the basis of the vocabulary, oral comprehension, and language subscales of the CTBS with the SBE students scoring higher on oral comprehension and language subtests but lower on the vocabulary subtest than other students. Since the vocabulary scale loaded in the direction opposite to the other achievement measures, the dimension was difficult to explain. Although the results do not clearly support the SBE curriculum as superior in enhancing achievement in transitional students, this method of instruction promoted achievement at least as well as more traditional methods.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of North Texas, May, 2007. / Title from title page display. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Melbourne, Dept. of Science and Mathematics Education, 2005. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 271-286).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1994. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 198-213). Also available via the Internet.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2007. / Title from title screen (site viewed May. 20, 2008). PDF text: xi, 320 p. : ill. ; 3 Mb. UMI publication number: AAT 3284254. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in microfilm and microfiche formats.

Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Auburn University, 2007. / Abstract. Includes bibliographic references (p.142-155).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2009. / Title from title screen (site viewed June 26, 2009). PDF text: vi, 228 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 2 Mb. UMI publication number: AAT 3350255. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in microfilm and microfiche formats.