Professional Literature Summaries, Articles 11 19

Article #11

Bib. Information Lenters, K. (2014). Just doing our jobs: a case study of literacy-in-action in a
(APA Formatting): fifth grade literature circle. Language and Literacy, 16 (1), 53-70.

Author(s) Affiliation: Kim Lenters is a professor at the University of Calgary

Type of Resource: Scholarly article

(Scholarly
/Trade/Other)

Summary of essential This study examines why the use of student roles or jobs are so predominant
information: in classroom literature circles and why it can be difficult to change this method
of instruction. It discusses the criticism that these roles take on such as that
they do not provoke authentic and free discussion among students and that
while they are a convenience to teachers and students, they restrict the power of
discussion in literature circles. The study concluded that the role sheet
accentuated reductive practices of teaching and learning and came to play a
part far different from that intended by those who initially conceptualized it.

Potential relevance to This article was pertinent to my research because I also am struggling with the
your research topic use of these role sheets in my literature circle groups. I agree that they limit
and study: discussion and that students tend to simply recite their jobs rather than engage
in meaningful discussion. I am hoping to find more productive and authentic
avenues of discourse going forward in the future.
 Article #12

Bib. Information Certo, J., Moxley, K., Reffitt, R., Miller, J. (2010).I learned how to talk about a
(APA Formatting): book: childrens perceptions of literature circles across grade and ability levels,
literacy research and instruction. Literacy Research and Instruction, 49 (3),
243-263.

Author(s) Affiliation: Janine Certo is a professor at Michigan State University. Kathleen Moxley is a
professor at Central Michigan University. Kelly Reffitt is a professor at Mercer
University and Jeffrey Miller is a professor at Duquesne University.

Type of Resource: Scholarly article

(Scholarly
/Trade/Other)

Summary of essential This study looked into students perceptions of literature circles in order to
information: gauge how much students enjoy them and how much students learn from
participating in literature circles. The study discovered that students describe
literature circles as the most enjoyable part of language arts, students believe
that writing before and after their meeting enhanced their discussion, and
students perceived that responses to literature and comprehension strategies
were used during their literature circle discussions.

Potential relevance to This article was pertinent to my research because I also am struggling with the
your research topic use of these role sheets in my literature circle groups. I agree that they limit
and study: discussion and that students tend to simply recite their jobs rather than engage
in meaningful discussion. I am hoping to find more productive and authentic
avenues of discourse going forward in the future.
 Article #13

Bib. Information Batchelor, Katherine. (2012). The Us in discuss: Grouping in literature

(APA Formatting): circles. Voices from the Middle, 20 (2), 27-34.

Author(s) Affiliation: Katherine Batchelor is a Nationally Board Certified Teacher in Early

Adolescence/English Language Arts and a doctoral student studying literacy
at Kent State University.

Type of Resource: Trade article

(Scholarly
/Trade/Other)

Summary of essential
information:
This article discussed the importance of student choice in grouping
literature circles. It states that When teachers create opportunities for
students to engage in these [developing friendships and talking to their
friends] student motivation increases (Mizelle, 1997).
Group work focused on a common goal can increase student
engagement
Students generate higher level questions during these discussions
compared to when working individually
Greater levels of understanding and students willingness to take risks
is also more likely to occur in these group discussions

Potential relevance to This article was pertinent to my research because I also am struggling with the
your research topic use of these role sheets in my literature circle groups. I agree that they limit
and study: discussion and that students tend to simply recite their jobs rather than engage
in meaningful discussion. I am hoping to find more productive and authentic
avenues of discourse going forward in the future.
 Article #14

Bib. Information Murphy, K., Firetto, C., Wei, L., Mengyi, M., Croninger, R., (2016). What
(APA Formatting): really works: Optimizing classroom dicussions to promote comprehension and
critical-analytic thinking. Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain
Sciences, 3(1), 27-35.

Author(s) Affiliation: Karen Murphy works in the Department of Educational Psychology,

Counseling, and Special Education, The Pennsylvania State University

Type of Resource: Trade Article

Summary of essential
information:
Small group discussions around a common text can promote critical
thinking
To promote critical thinking in small groups, there must be a gradual
release of responsibility from teacher to students
Teachers must make optimal use of the time before, during, and after
discussion to assist students in reaching critical thinking
Characteristics of the learner, group, and text influence the learning
outcomes of the students and the flow of the discussion

Potential relevance to This article provided a lot of relevance to this research project because it
your research topic discussed a major point of this study in how teachers can optimize classroom
and study: discussions so that students reach higher level thinking. The article focused on
instructional framing, a technique teachers can use to make the most out of
small group discussion. It states that before the discussion, teachers should
prime the students by activating their prior knowledge, assisting students in
generating authentic questions that they may have about the text before they
begin to read, and by explicitly teaching how to generate an evidence-based,
elaborated response to these questions. During the discussion, teachers scaffold
by supporting the students critical and analytic thinking. After the discussion,
the teacher provides summative feedback about the discussion to the students.
 Article #15

Bib. Information Lyle, S. (2008). Dialogic thinking: Discussing theoretical contexts and
(APA Formatting): reviewing evidence from classroom practice. Language and Education, 22(3),
222-240.

Author(s) Affiliation: Sue Lyle is a professor at the Swansea Institute of Higher Education, Wales

Type of Resource: Trade Article

Summary of essential
information:
Dialogic practice in the classroom is an essential vehicle that must be
used to increase student engagement and deeper comprehension
Teachers need to value their students voices and promote reflective
learning
Evidence suggests that dialogic practice can increase student
performance on assessments
Teachers should shift from a monologic approach to a dialogic approach
when constructing classroom discussions in order to promote critical
thinking in their students

Potential relevance to This article has relevance to my topic because it focuses on the importance of
your research topic using dialogic approaches in the classroom to engage students in discussion and
and study: assist them in reaching critical thinking levels. It also talks about the
importance of providing such feedback that clarifies, justifies, or expands, a
students response, rather than feedback that only confirms or denies a student
response.

Article #16
Bib. Information Fecho, B. & Amatucci, K., (2008). Spinning out of control: Dialogical
(APA Formatting): transactions in an English classroom. English Teaching: Practice and Critique,
7(1), 5-21.

Author(s) Affiliation: Bob Fecho and Kristi Amatucci both work in the Department of Language and
Literacy Education at the University of Georgia

Type of Resource: Trade Article

Summary of essential
information:
Interactions with texts have much more meaning than just remembering
what the text was about; they should be a tool for readers to scrutinize
their own lives and the lives of others
Teachers need to situate reading a text as a way to make meaning out of
the world around us and what our role is in that world
Dialogic conversations between teacher and student can assist in
building the identities of young students and gain confidence in
themselves

Potential relevance to This article was especially unique because it spoke about the importance of
your research topic dialogic conversations in supporting a students self-esteem and self-awareness,
and study: along with leading to critical thinking. By allowing the students to have a voice
that they are comfortable expressing, we build their confidence and help them
to figure out their own self-identities and where they belong in this world. This
is extremely important to my own teaching since this is one of my core values.
I believe that as teachers, we need to care for our students emotional and social
well-beings as well, not just academics. This article explored these additional
effects of a dialogic classroom and the enormous role that teachers can choose
to take, through the use of dialogue, in supporting their students emotional
well-beings.

Article #17
Bib. Information A.O. Soter et al. (2008). What the discourse tells us: talk and indicators of
(APA Formatting): high-level comprehension. International Journal of Educational Research, 47,
372-391.

Author(s) Affiliation: Anna Soter is an Associate Professor of English Education at the Ohio State
University. Other authors are also professors of education at different
universities.

Type of Resource: Scholarly Article that represents a study on classroom discourse.

Summary of essential
information:
The goal of this study was to evaluate nine discussion approaches in
their attempts to create higher level thinking among students
Two research questions guided the study: 1) Which discourse features
can productively serve across all nine discussion approaches as
proximal indices of high-level learning and comprehension of text?
2) To what extent does an analysis of the discourse of representative
transcripts from each of the nine discussion approaches validate and
extend our understanding of quality group discussions?
Results indicated that in those approaches that took on an expressive
stance, such as book clubs, literature circles, and grand conversations,
students contributed most to the discussions

Potential relevance to This article was pertinent to my research because it discussed different elements
your research topic of productive talk, such as authentic and open-ended questioning, uptake, and
and study: providing a space and allowing time for students to participate in an open-
ended discussion. These are things that I will be looking for during my data
collection period during this research project.
 Article #18

Bib. Information R.M. Gillies & A. Khan (2008). The effects of teacher discourse on students
(APA Formatting): discourse, problem-solving and reasoning during cooperative learning.
International Journal of Educational Research, 47, 323 -340.

Author(s) Affiliation: Robyn M. Gillies and Asaduzzaman Khan are professors at The University of
Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.

Type of Resource: Scholarly Article

Summary of essential
information:
This study looked at promoting students cognitive and metacognitive
thinking process during cooperative learning
Two groups were examined one group included teachers who were
taught specific communication and questioning skills to illicit higher
level thinking from their students, and the second group included
teachers that were not taught these specific skills
Results indicated that the teachers that were taught these communication
skills engaged in significantly more challenging and scaffolding
behaviors with their students than the group of teachers that did not
receive instruction on this
Additionally, these students scored higher on the follow-up reasoning
and problem-solving activities and provided more elaborative and help-
giving behaviors to their group members than their peers

Potential relevance to The purpose of this study is very similar to my purpose in conducting this
your research topic research project to take a look at the effects of teacher talk and how it can
and study: promote higher level thinking in students. One component that was discussed
was the questions that teachers choose to ask during discussion groups. This
article stated that teachers questions have the potential to encourage students
to make their own thoughts, reasoning, and knowledge explicit and that
modeling this form of discourse can provide opportunities for students to share
their understandings with the class. Additionally, it stated that training
teachers to use these specific dialogic skills that encourage reciprocal
interactions with students is critical for the development of effective classroom
discourse.
 Article #19

Bib. Information Sharpe, T. (2008). How can teacher talk support learning? Linguistics and
(APA Formatting): Education, 19, 132-148.

Author(s) Affiliation: Tina Sharpe works at Sharpe Consulting, NSW, Sydney, Australia

Type of Resource: Scholarly Article

Summary of essential
information:
Dialogic classroom talk is an important tool that supports learning
Conveys several teacher talk strategies which encourage dialogic
conversation repeating/recasting student talk, cued elicitation, teacher
questioning, recycling ideas, and uptake
Positive classroom experiences involve reciprocity between teacher and
students in which the influence between all parties is mutual
Students appropriate ideas from their teachers and others and vice
versa.
When teachers appropriate ideas from their students, it can encourage
students to participate more

Potential relevance to This article was very useful because it gave specific strategies which teachers
your research topic can use to encourage a more dialogic conversation with students. This will
and study: support me in this this study and in my own teaching going forward as I attempt
to create a more reciprocal relationship with my students during small group
discussions.