Upper elementary teachers' knowledge for teaching informational text comprehension
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Abstract
This study described the knowledge upper elementary teachers used to teach students to comprehend informational text comprehension. Teachers were observed for two lessons and participated in interviews following each observation. During the interviews, teacher-participants described how they planned for the lesson and recalled their thinking as they watched segments of their video recorded lesson. Analysis focused on seven knowledge domains adapted from the literature on teacher knowledge, namely Knowledge of Students, Knowledge of Reading, Knowledge of the Genre of Informational Text, Knowledge of General Teaching Practices, Knowledge of Context, Knowledge of Curriculum, and Knowledge of Topical Content. Analysis of teachers' interviews led to four major findings: first, for some teachers, Knowledge of Students was well-developed, and in turn, influential in their instructional decision-making; second, for others, Knowledge of Context was well-developed and influential, but, in this study, Knowledge of Context was primarily related to test accountability; third, content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge related to teaching comprehension of informational texts were, at times, incomplete; and fourth, there was wide variability how teachers applied their pedagogical content knowledge related to the authenticity of the literacy knowledge goals and the topical knowledge goals.
Description
Thesis (Ed.D.)--Boston University