Technology: Connections that Enhance Children's Literacy Acquisition
and Reading Achievement
An IERI Research Grant National Science Foundation
Co-Principal Investigators:
Linda
D. Labbo, University of Georgia
Charles K. Kinzer,
Teachers College, Columbia University
Donald
Leu, University of Connecticut
William
H. Teale, University of Illinois, Chicago Circle |
| This project will use knowledge about best practices of early literacy
education to target improvements in teacher education and young children's
literacy achievement. Case-based, anchored instruction using high
speed, streaming video over the Internet and in CD/DVD-ROM will provide
a new model for pre-service teacher education, making visible the
richness and complexity of best practice instruction to teacher educators,
pre-service teachers, and classroom teachers. An extensive set of
studies will use the digital, multimedia resources available at our
site to study the use of a case-based approach to pre-service teacher
education. We plan to accomplish three central objectives: (a) raise
pre-service teachers' understanding of best practices of early literacy
education; (b) increase pre-service teachers' use of best practices
in the classroom when they first begin teaching; and (c) significantly
raise young children's reading achievement. |
See the complete abstract
(new window) |
| The project is based on two main assumptions: first, that sufficient
research is available about "best practices" to teach reading
and writing effectively; and, second, that technology can play a key
role in improving reading achievement. Specifically, this project
identifies instructional practices which are supported by scientific
research and which have "stood the test of time" in exemplary
teachers' classrooms. These best practices will be used to enhance
pre-service teacher education through cases-based, anchored instruction,
and establish guidelines and best practices for use of technology
for K-3 classroom reading instruction. This pre-service delivery system
and subsequent classroom instruction will be tested through a broad-based
research program that assesses effects on teacher candidates as well
as on children's literacy achievement, and disseminated through a
"Best Practices in Literacy Web Site" and other means. Years
3 - 5 involve widespread experimental intervention studies with collaborating
Southeast Literacy Consortium members (70 researcher/teacher educators
at institutions in the southeastern U.S.) at 25-30 sites. |
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