Summary of Journal teaching 1

  Journal teaching 1

 

Reference: Zoch, Melody. Myers, Joy. Lambert, Claire. Vetter, Amy. Fairbanks, Colleen. 2016. Reimagining Instructional Practices: Exploring the Identity Work of Teachers of Writing. The Journal of Writing Teacher Education. Vol5/1 (p: 1-24)

·         Background of the research:

In this studies the writers showed a cross-case analysis of three teachers who participated in a two-week professional development (PD) on the teaching of writing. This analysis shows that teachers’ understanding of teaching writing shifted in response to the construction and enactment of writing identities. In other words, when given the opportunity to write with specific kinds of support and instruction, teachers changed their beliefs about writing instruction. While the writers will describe the particulars of the PD in more detail later,

·         Methodology:

All five authors of this article designed and helped lead the PD, collected data, and analyzed the data. At the time of data collection, three of us were university faculty and two of us were doctoral candidates. We drew on qualitative case study methods (Stake, 1995) and collected multiple sources of data across the two weeks of PD. These sources included field notes, interviews (individual and focus group), audio and video recordings of whole and small group interactions, surveys, and artifacts created during the PD that included teachers’ daybooks and writing. Together these data sources helped us examine the question: In what ways did the construction and enactment of writer identities shape three teachers’ understanding of writing instruction?

·         Finding:

On the finding of the analysis the writers will  turn to our three focal cases and describe the ways in which each teacher constructed and enacted her writing identity and how this identity shaped her understanding of writing instruction and personal writing practices. The three focal cases we chose were similar in that each teacher shifted her understanding of herself as a writer and of teaching writing in some way. At the same time, we were interested in these three cases because they all had different backgrounds and teaching experiences. We felt it was important to consider the experiences from different points of view.

·         Discussion:

Findings from this research illustrate how the opportunity to construct and enact writing identities shaped how three teachers understood the teaching of writing. As they engaged in the writing process, collaborated in writing groups, and conversed in writing conferences, these teachers reimagined their practice to include more nuanced writing instruction that focused on the capabilities of students as writers. Below, we discuss the three ways that teachers shifted their understandings of writing instruction that we gathered from the cross-case analysis.

a.       Expanding Discourses as Teacher-writers

b.      Behind the Curtain of Expertise

c.       Forging a Classroom-ready Writing Personal