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University of Michigan
Adolescent Literacy Symposium
Co-Hosted by the School of Education and the State Outreach Office in the Office of the Vice President for Government Relations
Adolescent Literacy Links
Toward the Improvement of Secondary School Teaching and Learning: Integrating Language, Literacy, and Subject Matter.
This symposium was organized by Dr. Elizabeth Birr Moje, Dr. Laura Roop, and Mr. Richard Carter to bring much-needed attention to the challenge of secondary school teaching and learning, with a particular focus on issues of adolescent literacy development. The symposium is one step in a major restructuring of secondary preservice teacher education being undertaken by the School of Education and supported by a grant to Dr. Moje from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.
The purpose of the symposium was to bring together many different players in the education of preservice teachers on the University of Michigan campus: faculty in the School of Education, faculty in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts, inservice teachers who guide and mentor preservice candidates through their field experiences, and teachers and administrators from surrounding school districts. In addition, Vice President of State and Government Relations, Cynthia Wilbanks, and University President, Dr. Mary Sue Coleman, both gave greetings at the event. (top)
The morning keynote, looking at the development of literate competence across knowledge domains, was given by Dr. Patricia Alexander, University of Maryland, followed by breakouts featuring UM disciplinary experts. The afternoon keynote, given by Dr. Allan Wigfield, University of Maryland, focused on motivation and development in adolescences. Each was followed by breakouts featuring content area methods scholars.
A panel discussion featuring practitioners and a reception concluded the event.
Ms. Sharon Floyd, Language Arts Coordinator, Saginaw Public Schools
Ms. Lorene Phillips, Language Arts Coordinator, Pontiac Public Schools
Ms. Lisa Hoffman, Biology and English Teacher, Farmington High School
Ms. Naomi Norman, Washtenaw Intermediate School District
Dr. June Green Rivers, Director of Literacy, Detroit Public Schools
Ms. Laura Schiller, Language Arts Coordinator, Oakland Public Schools
Moderator: Dr. Deanna Birdyshaw, Director of Secondary Teacher Education Program (top)
White Papers PDF
Elizabeth Birr Moje,Ph.D.
Mary J. Schleppegrell,Ph.D.
Annemarie Sullivan Palincsar,Ph.D.
(top)
Presentations
Morning Plenary Session:
Dr. Patricia Alexander, University of Maryland
Developing Literate Competence in the Knowledge Domains
Link to Presentation HTML PDF
Dr. Patricia Alexander is Professor and Distinguished Scholar-Teacher in the Department of Human Development at the University of Maryland. She has served as President of Division 15 (Educational Psychology) of the American Psychological Association, and as Vice-President of Division C (Learning and Instruction) of the American Educational Research Association. Since receiving her Ph.D. from the University of Maryland in 1981, Dr. Alexander has published over 170 articles, books, or chapters in the area of learning and instruction. She has also presented over 160 papers or invited addresses at national and international conferences. Currently, she serves as the editor of Contemporary Educational Psychology and Instructional Science and is on 10 editorial boards including those for Reading Research Quarterly, Journal of Educational Psychology, Educational Psychologist, American Educational Research Journal, and the Journal of Literacy Research.
Among her many honors and awards, Dr. Alexander is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, and was a Spencer Fellow of the National Academy of Education. Recently, she was named one of the 10 most productive scholars in Educational Psychology, and was the 2001 recipient of the Oscar S. Causey Award for outstanding contributions to literacy research from the National Reading Conference. She is also the 2006 recipient of the E. L. Thorndike Award for Career Achievement in Educational Psychology from APA Division 15. In addition, she has received various national, university, and college awards for teaching.
Morning Breakout Sessions:
Dr. Robert Bain, Associate Professor of Social Studies Education
Why and How Does Oral and Written Language Matter in Secondary School Social Studies Teaching and Learning?
Link to Presentation HTML PDF
Bob Bain is associate professor of history and social studies education, affiliated with Teacher Education and Foundations, Administration, Research and Policy (FARP). He earned his Ph.D. in history from Case Western Reserve University with a special concentration in the history of policy toward youth. Before coming to the University of Michigan in 1998, Bob taught high school history and social studies for 26 years in the Cleveland, Ohio area.
As a historian, history teacher and teacher-educator, his research investigates the relationships among history as a disciplinary way of knowing, learning and teaching. Current research projects include: the design and use of history-specific technology for students engaged in historical inquiry; a study of teaching and learning history in museums and with museum resources; an investigation of history-specific pre-service and professional development; and a history of the preparation of history teachers.
Dr. Hyman Bass, Professor of Mathematics and Professor of Mathematics Education
What is the Role of Oral and Written Language in Making Knowledge in Mathematics?
Link to Presentation HTML PDF
Hyman Bass is the Roger Lyndon Collegiate Professor of Mathematics and Mathematics Education at the University of Michigan. Prior to 1999, he was Adrain Professor in the Mathematics Department at Columbia University, which he once chaired. His mathematical research interests include algebraic K-theory, commutative algebra and algebraic geometry, algebraic groups, and geometric methods in group theory. He has held visiting appointments at universities and research institutes in Princeton, Paris, Bombay, Madurai, Cambridge, Berkeley, Rome, Rio, Mexico City, Stockholm, Trieste, and Salt Lake City. He is a member of the US National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the Third World Academy of Sciences. Bass is a past president of the American Mathematical Society. He formerly chaired the Mathematical Sciences Education Board at the National Research Council, and the Committee on Education of the American Mathematical Society. He is President of the International Commission on Mathematical Instruction. Since 1996 he has been collaborating with Deborah Loewenberg Ball and her research group at the University of Michigan on the mathematical knowledge and resources entailed in the teaching of mathematics at the elementary level. He has also worked to build bridges between diverse professional communities and stakeholders involved in mathematics education.
Dr. Anne Ruggles Gere, Professor of English and Professor of English Education
What is the Role of Oral and Written Language in Making Knowledge in English and the Humanities?
Link to Presentation HTML PDF
Anne Ruggles Gere is Professor of English and Professor of Education at the University of Michigan, where she serves as co-director of the Joint Ph.D. Program in English and Education. A former president of the National Council of Teachers of English and a current member of the Executive Council of the Modern Language Association, she has published widely on the subject of literacy.
Dr. Brian Coppola, Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Chemistry
What is the Role of Oral and Written Language in Making Knowledge in the Natural Sciences?
Link to Presentation HTML PDF
I collaborate with colleagues within the University and around the country on education projects. Recent examples are (a) assessing student motivation and their use of higher order learning strategies in introductory chemistry, (b) co-authoring a new high school textbook that brings a more holistic and investigate approach to science learning using a "Structure and Reactivity" perspective, and (c) developing a software tool for collaborative student work that includes a chemistry animation studio so that students can provide richer explanations about their understanding.
We have broadened the graduate education for chemistry Ph.D. students who wish to pursue academic careers. Unlike so-called "chemical education" programs, we believe that the chemistry Ph.D. is the cornerstone for future faculty development. I direct a program that allows our undergraduate and graduate students to take coursework and gain valuable experience in matters related to higher education (instructional development and assessment projects, papers and presentations at a variety of meetings, and faculty issues such as grant-writing, publishing, mentoring, and simply working in university communities). Students and faculty working together in an informed, scholarly way on instructional development projects makes sense because this is the basis for success in research.
Afternoon Plenary Session:
Dr. Allan Wigfield, University of Maryland
Motivation and Literate Development in Adolescence
Link to Presentation HTML PDF
Dr. Wigfield's research has focused on the development and socialization of children's achievement motivation in different areas. In several large-scale, longitudinal studies he and his colleagues have examined how children's motivation develops across the elementary school years, into and through middle school, and into high school.
In the literacy area, Dr. Wigfield has done research on the development of children's motivation for reading, and how different instructional practices influence children's reading motivation. He has developed new measures of reading motivation in this work, and has examined how children's reading motivation relates to the amount of reading that they do, and their reading achievement. Dr. Wigfield is collaborating with Dr. John Guthrie and Dr. Pedro Barbossa on a large-scale study of the effects of different reading instructional practices on children’s reading comprehension and reading motivation. The project is funded by the National Science Foundation through the Interagency Educational Research Initiative.
Allan Wigfield is also a Fellow in the American Psychological Association (Division 15, Educational Psychology), and also is Treasurer of Division 15. He was chair of the Motivation in Education Special Interest Group in the American Educational Research Association from 1994 to 1996. In 1992 he and his colleagues won the American Educational Research Association's Division C (Counseling and Human Development) human development research award. In 1998 he received the Vernon E. Anderson Distinguished Faculty Award from the College of Education at the University of Maryland. Dr. Wigfield currently is Associate Editor of the Journal of Educational Psychology, and serves on the editorial board of several major journals in the fields of educational and developmental psychology. He has authored over 65 articles and chapters, and edited two books.
Afternoon Breakout Sessions:
Dr. Terry McDonald, LSA Dean and Professor of History
What is the Role of Oral and Written Language in Making Knowledge in History?
Link to Presentation
Terry McDonald is an award-winning historian of the United States, the recipient of numerous teaching awards and a seasoned administrator. The author or editor of four books and many articles, he has made important contributions to the fields of American urban political history and historical method.
Widely recognized for his excellent teaching, McDonald has received several prizes that recognize his dedication to students: the Ruth M. Sinclair Award for Student Counseling (1983), the Faculty Recognition Award for Outstanding Contributions to Teaching, Scholarship, and Service (1988), the Amoco Foundation Good Teaching Award (1991) and a State of Michigan Teaching Excellence Award (1991). He was appointed an Arthur F. Thurnau Professor (1993-96) by the University for his outstanding contributions to undergraduate education. He has worked with scores of graduate students, and three of his dissertation advisees have won a Rackham Distinguished Dissertation Award in the past five years.
Dr. Patricio Herbst, Associate Professor of Mathematics Education
What is the Role of Oral and Written Language in Teaching and Learning in Secondary School Mathematics? (No presentation available)
Patricio Herbst is a mathematics educator whose research focuses on the epistemological dimensions of mathematics classrooms. He studies empirically what objects of knowledge and ways of knowing are viable in classrooms and why. His interests include describing and explaining the work that teachers do to create and sustain mathematical activity and knowing in classrooms. His current work addresses those issues in the context of the teaching of geometry in high schools and the place allocated to reasoning and proof in the customary practices of geometry instruction. He teaches courses on mathematics instruction, curriculum, and research in the doctoral specialization in mathematics education, and a course on secondary mathematics instruction for the teacher education program. He received his doctorate from the University of Georgia in 1998.
Dr. Lesley Rex, Associate Professor of English Education
What is the Role of Oral and Written Language in Teaching and Learning in Secondary School English Language Arts?
Link to Presentation HTML PDF
Currently, at the University of Michigan, Lesley A. Rex is Co-Chair of the Joint Program of English and Education and Associate Professor of Education in the School of Education. During her 36 years as an educator, she has been a secondary English teacher, a middle school director, a university composition lecturer, and a teacher educator. She has received UM's prestigious Class of 1923 Award for her teaching, the Pattishall Award for early career achievement, and the Kripps Award for a program of research focused on delivery of effective public education. To promote equitable opportunities for student participation and achievement, she studies classroom and professional development discourses and their complex sociopolitical contexts to understand and represent practices that engage and constrain students' meaningful learning. Her research has appeared in Journal of Literacy Research, Reading Research Quarterly, Research in the Teaching of English, Teaching and Teacher Education, Linguistics and Education, Communication Education, American Educational Research Journal, and Teachers College Record. A selection of her publications can be obtained at www.umich.edu/~rex/. Her latest collection of studies that have applied her research approach is available from Hampton Press: Discourse of Opportunity: How Talk in Learning Situations Creates and Constrains. Interactional Ethnographic Studies in Teaching and Learning.
Dr. Joseph Krajcik, Professor of Science Education
What is the Role of Oral and Written Language in Teaching and Learning in Secondary School Natural Sciences?
Link to Presentation HTML PDF
My work during the past ten years has focused on working with teachers in science classrooms to bring about sustained change. Working closely with my colleagues at Michigan, graduate students, and teachers, I have endeavored to create classrooms that focus on students collaborating to find solutions to important intellectual questions that subsume essential curriculum standards and use new technologies as productivity tools.
My goal is to create classrooms environments where students are actively doing the intellectual work. My working prediction is that such educational environments will help learners develop deep understanding of content as well as strategies for generating new understandings. As such, I'm interested in finding out what students learn in such environments. My interested also include exploring the challenges that teachers face in enacting such complex instruction. My work is collaborative in nature, involving close working relationships with science teachers and school systems. (top)
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1340
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Last Updated: 13 March 2006