Purpose: In this discussion as part of a response to Catts and Kamhi's "Prologue: Reading Comprehension Is Not a Single Activity" (2017), the authors provide selected examples from 4th-, 5th-, and 6th-grade texts to demonstrate, in agreement with Catts and Kamhi, that reading comprehension is a multifaceted and complex ability. The…

In this article the authors describe how a specific technique--having learners create cartoons based on a reading passage--helped learners explore their understanding of reading passages and helped the teachers reflect on what the learners had comprehended.

In our response to Clements and Sarama (2017), we address the 5 issues that they identify as criticisms of our Research Commentary (Kitchen & Berk, 2016). As in our original commentary, we highlight concerns we have regarding the delivery of [computer-assisted instruction] CAI programs and potential misuses of CAI, particularly at Title I…

Previous studies on discourse have employed a self-paced sentence-by-sentence paradigm to present text and record reading times. However, presenting discourse this way does not mirror real-world reading conditions; for example, this paradigm prevents regressions to earlier portions of the text. The purpose of the present study is to investigate…

This article outlines the arrangement of a text circle in an eighth-grade English language arts class around the novel "To Kill a Mockingbird." The author first provides rationale for examining Atticus Finch as a non-traditional hero for his going against the status quo despite consequence to do what's right. The author then establishes…

Purpose: This study aims to examine the responses and perceptions of Israeli Arab teachers toward multicultural and educational issues concerning Jewish-Arab relations. Design/methodology/approach: This study is a qualitative research. The study included 44 novice Arab teachers, who teach Hebrew in the Arab sector and are currently studying toward…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to present a conceptualization of reading comprehension that extends beyond the traditional cognitive viewpoint on comprehension common in the field. Design/methodology/approach: Drawing on literature and theory from various perspectives (cognitive, sociocultural and critical), the authors propose a conceptual…

This paper analyses the extent to which textbook images are designed using the Instructional Criteria for Image Analysis (ICIA) model in textbooks. The ICIA proposed that learning through images involves interaction between the learner, the image, and the activities with images proposed to the student. Images from the main text and activity…

This article draws on research into using reader-response theory as a way of thinking about teaching grammar and poetry in the English classroom. Framing my discussion around world-based models of reader-response such as Transactional Theory (Rosenblatt 1938, 1978) and Text World Theory (Gavins 2007; Werth 1999), I argue that this approach is…

This study investigates the extent to which students' use of different discussion strategies fosters a balance between attending to the technical elements of authored texts and responding empathetically. Because small-group discussion is a common approach to literary study, the analysis focuses on two small-group discussions of "Charlie…

While teachers are being called upon to turn to educational research and find evidence of "what works," critics argue that research often suffers from a crisis of representation. They contend that research reports fail to sufficiently capture the lived experiences of research participants. In this article, I present insights gleaned from…

In this small essay, I will reflect on Michael Bérubé and Jennifer Ruth's arguments on the decline of educational professionalism in the United States. The purpose is to consider this loss of professionalism, and I will consider it in light of the arts and humanities in the Danish educational debate. Two reflections are presented: first, the…

This article describes high school students' responses to events in the novel, "The Things They Carried," leading to their collaborative rewriting to create their own narrative versions of these events. It draws on "enactivist" theory of languaging, an approach to language that focuses on its use as social actions to enact and…

"It could happen to anybody", observed one nine-year-old child when her teacher read a book in class about refugees. Fiction provides the perfect conduit for the experiences of refugees so that young refugee students feel their experiences are validated, and their peers come to understand their situation. In this book, Julia Hope…

The importance of critical thinking is championed in education, but it is also acknowledged that developing critical thinking is challenging particularly in a context like Malaysia where being critical often comes with negative connotations. This article details an attempt to develop reflective critical thinking in the discipline-specific study of…