A Descriptive Case Study of a Literacy Methods Course with a Focus On Practices Related to Text-Based Discussions about Informational Text

Abstract

This article describes a literacy methods course designed to introduce reading specialist candidates to research-based practices for comprehension instruction. Specifically, this article focuses on a sequence of assignments and class sessions within that course that introduced theoretical perspectives about comprehension processes and how those perspectives inform text-based discussion as a setting for teaching those processes. We describe the course assignments and sessions within three research paradigms: (a) practice-based teacher education pedagogy with a focus on text-based discussion as a core teaching practice, (b) pedagogies of investigation and pedagogies of enactment, and (c) Grossman and colleagues’ (2009) framework for analyzing the teaching of practice, which includes representation, decomposition, and approximation. To the Grossman et al. framework, we propose co-construction as another aspect of teaching practice. By that we mean, candidates’ knowledge and insights can contribute to the process of learning specific practices if they are positioned to share their insights and experiences. Our goal in this article is to provide a descriptive case study that shows how course design, the work of a teacher educator, and the contributions of candidates were orchestrated to support learning about text-based discussion as a context for comprehension instruction.