Clearing the Clouds: Finding Motivation and Clarity in a Non-Traditional Dissertation Using Arts Based Educational Research (ABER)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5195/ie.2022.228Keywords:
ABER, dissertation in practice (DiP), teacher as researcher, adolescent literacy, reading intervention, high school, Carnegie Project on the Educational Doctorate-informed EdD program (CPED)Abstract
By crafting a dramatic script about struggling high school readers that I then shared with real students in my Reading classes, I applied Arts-based education research (ABER) methods. Through the writing, presentation, collection, and reflection on student feedback, as well as during the script rewriting process, I was allowed to engage in a unique and motivating research experience. This approach allowed me to attend to three challenges with my Dissertation in Practice (DiP). First, instead of being part of this big, scary, abstract world called ‘research’, it allowed me to demonstrate inquiry though a means that I was more familiar and confident with—writing and theatre. My confidence working in these areas allowed me to initiate and remain engaged throughout the dissertation work. Second, it allowed me to take on a problem in my practice—the skepticism of many high school students in Reading classes about being in those classes. This helped me better understand my students, and thus inform and guide in the identification of best practices. Third, it positioned me to work with colleagues and administrators in my building and across our school district to rethink how we offer reading support to the heterogeneous cross-section of students who currently are being identified as needing such support. This account summarizes my DiP and, I hope, positions other classroom teachers who double as EdD students to imagine new and effective ways forward as they engage with problems of practice.
References
Anzaldúa, G, Saldívar, S., & Valle, C. (1987). Borderlands: la frontera (1st ed.). Aunte Lute Book Company.
Beers, K. (2003). When kids can't read: What teachers can do. Heinemann.
Bhattacharya, A. (2020). Syllabic versus morphemic analyses: Teaching multisyllabic word reading to older struggling readers. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 63(5), 491-497. doi:10.1002/jaal.984
Bhattacharya, K. (2015). The vulnerable ccademic: Personal narratives and strategic de/colonizing of academic structures. Qualitative Inquiry, 22(5), 309-321. doi:10.1177/1077800415615619
Brozo, W. G. RTI and the adolescent reader: Responsive literacy instruction in secondary schools. Teachers College, Columbia University, 2011.
Camera, L. (2016). High school seniors aren't college-ready. https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2016-04-27/high-school-seniors-arent-college-ready-naep-data-show
Carter, P. L., & Welner, K. G. (2013). Closing the opportunity gap: What America must do to give every child an even chance. Oxford University Press.
Clandinin, D. J., & Connelly, F. M. (2000). Narrative inquiry: experience and story in qualitative research. Jossey-Bass Publishers.
Cree, A., Kay, A., & Steward, J. (2012). The economic and social cost of illiteracy: A snapshot of illiteracy in a global context. https://www.voced.edu.au/content/ngv:63953
Cassuto, L. (2020). Ph.D. Attrition: How much is too much? https://www.chronicle.com/article/ph-d-attrition-how-much-is-too-much
Decker, B. C. (1986). Aliteracy: What teachers can do to keep Johnny reading. Journal of Teacher Education, 37(6), 55-58. doi:10.1177/002248718603700609
Deshler, D. D., Schumacher, J. B. & Woodruff, S. K. (2004). Improving literacy skills of at-risk adolescents: A schoolwide response. In D. S. Strickland and D. E. Alverman (Eds.) Bridging the literacy achievement gap grades 4-12. (1st ed., pp. 43-55). Teachers College Press.
Ducharme, J. (2018). A third of teenagers don't read books for pleasure anymore. http://time.com/5371053/teenagers-books-social-media/
Espinosa-Dulanto, M. (2017). Abrazando Nopales—Prickly embrace: Undocumented women’s life stories/poetic performance narratives. Cultural Studies Critical Methodologies, 18(3), 177-180. doi: 10.1177/1532708617737096
Foxwell, J., Alderson-Day, B., Fernyhough, C., & Woods, A. (2020). 'I've learned I need to treat my characters like people': Varieties of agency and interaction in Writers' experiences of their characters' Voices. Consciousness and Cognition, 79, 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2020.102901
Fuchs, D., Fuchs, L., & Vaughn, S. (2008). Response to intervention: A framework for reading educators. International Reading Association.
Greenleaf, C. L., & Hinchman, K. (2009). Reimagining our inexperienced adolescent readers: From struggling, striving, marginalized, and reluctant to thriving. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 53(1), 4-13. doi:10.1598/jaal.53.1.1
Hanford, E. (2020). Kids struggle to read when schools leave phonics out. https://hechingerreport.org/kids-struggle-to-read-when-schools-leave-phonics-out/
Huber, L. P. (2009). Disrupting apartheid of knowledge: Testimonio as methodology in Latina/o critical race research in education. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 22(6), 639-654. doi:10.1080/09518390903333863
Kilpatrick, D. A. (2015). Essentials of assessing, preventing, and overcoming reading difficulties. Wiley.
Ladson-Billings, G. (1995). But that’s just good teaching! The case for culturally relevant pedagogy. Theory Into Practice, 34(3), 159-165.
Ladson-Billings, G. (2006). From the achievement gap to the education debt: Understanding achievement in U.S. schools. Educational Researcher, 35 (7), 3-12. doi:10.3102/0013189x035007003
Ladson-Billings, G., & Tate, W. F. (1995). Toward a critical race theory of education. Teachers College Record, 97, 47-68.
Latta, M. M., & Wunder, S. (2012). Placing practitioner knowledge at the center of teacher education: Rethinking the policies and practices of the education doctorate. Information Age Publishing.
Lewin, L. G. (2003). Paving the way in reading and writing: Strategies and activities to support struggling students in grades 6-12. Jossey-Bass.
Lovett, M. W., Lacerenza, L., DePalma, M., & Frijters, J. C. (2012). Evaluating the efficacy of remediation for struggling readers in high school. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 45(2), 151-169. http://journaloflearningdisabilities.sagepub.com
Meltzer, J., & Hamann, E. T. (2004). Meeting the needs of adolescent English language learners for literacy development and content area learning, Part one: Focus on motivation and engagement. Education Alliance at Brown University. http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/teachlearnfacpub/51/
Meltzer, J., & Hamann, E. T. (2005). Meeting the needs of adolescent English language learners for literacy development and content area learning, Part two: Focus on. classroom teaching and learning strategies. Education Alliance at Brown University. http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/teachlearnfacpub/53/
Mueller, P. N. (2000). Lifers: A study of at-risk adolescent readers. Heinemann.
Shannahan, T. (2004). Improving reading achievement in secondary schools: Structures and reforms. In D. S. Strickland and D. E. Alverman (Eds.) Bridging the literacy achievement gap grades 4-12. (1st ed., pp. 43-55). Teachers College Press.
Sinner, A., Leggo, C., Irwin, R. L., Gouzouasis, P., & Grauer, K. (2006). Arts-Based educational research dissertations: Reviewing the practices of new scholars. Canadian Journal of Education, 29(4), 1223-1270. doi:10.2307/20054216
Sizer, T. R. (1984). Horace's compromise: The dilemma of the american high school. Houghton Mifflin Company.
Sizer, T. R. (1992). Horace's school: Redesigning the American high school. Houghton Mifflin Company.
Sizer, T. R. (1993). Horace's hope: What works for the American high school. Houghton Mifflin Company.
Strommen, L. T., & Mates, B. F. (2004). Learning to love reading: Interviews with older children and teens. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 48(3), 188-200. doi:10.1598/jaal.48.3.1
Tovani, C. (2000). I read it, but I don’t get it; comprehension strategies for adolescent readers. Stenhouse.
Wilhelm, J. (2016). You gotta be the book (3rd edition). Teachers College Press.
Willingham, D. T. (2009) Why don’t students like school? A cognitive scientist answers questions about how the mind works and what it means for the classroom. Jossey-Bass.
Willis, B. A. (2018). Instruction for older students with a word-level reading disability. In J. R. Birsh (Ed.) Multi-sensory teaching of basic language skills. (4th ed., pp. 757-793). Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co., Inc.
Wood, S., & Jocius, R. (2013). Combating “I hate this stupid book!”: black males and critical literacy. The Reading Teacher, 66(8), 661-669. doi:10.1002/trtr.1177
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- The Author retains copyright in the Work, where the term “Work” shall include all digital objects that may result in subsequent electronic publication or distribution.
- Upon acceptance of the Work, the author shall grant to the Publisher the right of first publication of the Work.
- The Author shall grant to the Publisher and its agents the nonexclusive perpetual right and license to publish, archive, and make accessible the Work in whole or in part in all forms of media now or hereafter known under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License or its equivalent, which, for the avoidance of doubt, allows others to copy, distribute, and transmit the Work under the following conditions:
- Attribution—other users must attribute the Work in the manner specified by the author as indicated on the journal Web site;
- The Author is able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the nonexclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the Work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), as long as there is provided in the document an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post online a prepublication manuscript (but not the Publisher’s final formatted PDF version of the Work) in institutional repositories or on their Websites prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work. Any such posting made before acceptance and publication of the Work shall be updated upon publication to include a reference to the Publisher-assigned DOI (Digital Object Identifier) and a link to the online abstract for the final published Work in the Journal.
- Upon Publisher’s request, the Author agrees to furnish promptly to Publisher, at the Author’s own expense, written evidence of the permissions, licenses, and consents for use of third-party material included within the Work, except as determined by Publisher to be covered by the principles of Fair Use.
- The Author represents and warrants that:
- the Work is the Author’s original work;
- the Author has not transferred, and will not transfer, exclusive rights in the Work to any third party;
- the Work is not pending review or under consideration by another publisher;
- the Work has not previously been published;
- the Work contains no misrepresentation or infringement of the Work or property of other authors or third parties; and
- the Work contains no libel, invasion of privacy, or other unlawful matter.
- The Author agrees to indemnify and hold Publisher harmless from Author’s breach of the representations and warranties contained in Paragraph 6 above, as well as any claim or proceeding relating to Publisher’s use and publication of any content contained in the Work, including third-party content.
Revised 7/16/2018. Revision Description: Removed outdated link.
