Lee, H. & Lee, J. H. (2017 May). Reassessment of sentence combining and decombining: The effects of sentence manipulation activities on reading comprehension, English Teaching: Practice & Critique, 16(1). doi: 10.1108/ETPC-05-2016-0064

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of sentence combining (SC) and sentence decombining (SD) activities on fostering reading comprehension. As a widely used writing activity for enhancing syntactic fluency in English Language Arts (ELA) classes, SC requires learners to combine short sentences into longer and more complex sentences, while SD requires learners to break down a long sentence into the shortest grammatically allowable sentences. This study assessed the effects of SD and SC in comparison with a control group on the improvement of reading comprehension ability among college students learning English as their second language (L2) in the context of a 6-week English language learning program. Participants with overall intermediate English language proficiency were randomly assigned to one of three different conditions: SC, SD, and control. Also, a subset of the participants were interviewed after the intervention. The results showed that SD was more effective than SC or control condition in enhancing syntactic knowledge and reading comprehension, as measured by a standardized English proficiency test. Data obtained from post-study interviews further suggested that only SD was perceived by the participants as having enhanced their reading comprehension. The present study provides a valuable addition to a body of research on sentence manipulation activities in ELA classes to date. For those L2 learners who have passed a pre-intermediate threshold level, SD appears to be more beneficial than SC in enhancing syntactic knowledge, which in turn appears to contribute to better reading comprehension.

Invited Speaker: Greg Duncan
Presented at AERA

Abstract: Although there has been scholarly discussion of what mixed-methods research is or should be (Johnson and Onwuegbuzie, 2004), limited attention has been paid to the ways in which such methods can be thoughtfully and rigorously employed in projects that attack significant education issues, seek external funding, and strive for wide dissemination. A small group of senior scholars and funders was convened to discuss guidelines for mixed methods research. Members of this group detail findings, recommendations, exemplary studies, and ongoing concerns. Topics include key features; challenges and solutions; training programs; and vetting and evaluating articles and proposals. After presentations, the session will comprise extensive discussion among presenters, discussants (from two high profile funding agencies), and audience members.

Authors: Chris Carr, Melissa Mendoza, Doron Zinger
Presented at 2017 AERA

​Abstract: How are leaders developed and nurtured as they transform the most challenging schools in Los Angeles? Using our framework for leadership we will hear the stories of four school leaders and how the leadership framework is operationalized at their school sites in order to transform school culture, create systems that continuously improve learning and make the job manageable as they continue to grow in leadership. The frame of equity, ethics, and justice is ever present at these schools and each school has structured this lens in a different way.

Authors: Nicole Gilbertson, Doron Zinger, Kate Harris, Linda Muller, Mark Warschauer
Presented at 2017 AERA

​Abstract: As historical information becomes increasingly digitized and accessible for teachers and students online, scholarly research on the content and use of these resources for teaching in history-social science classrooms is required. We seek to examine the ways that history teachers used a digital museum archive to teach historical content and methods in their middle school classrooms. These teachers engaged in a professional development program that trained teachers in the use and implementation of a new digital tool, the Smithsonian Learning Lab (SLL). Our research examines how they used this resource to teach history and develop historical inquiry skills in their classroom practice.

Authors: Tamara Powell Tate, Mark Warschauer
Presented at 2017 AERA

​Abstract: Today’s written communication is largely done via computer. Because the writing process is shaped by the tools we use, computer-based writing is, to an extent, different from writing with pen and paper. To better understand the impacts of shifting to computer-based writing, we take advantage of the additional information provided by computer-based assessments—keystroke data. We examine the relationship between students’ use of computers during the assessment and their achievement on the first national computer-based writing assessment in the United States, the 2011 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) assessment. Using data from over 24,100 eighth grade students, we identified several different patterns of keystroke usage on the computer-based NAEP assessment.

Authors: Ying Xu, Di Xu, Mark Warschauer, Ninger Zhou, Yehui Lao
Presented at 2017 AERA

​Abstract: More than 60 million children in rural China are left behind by parents who work as migrant laborers in cities. This study used recent cross-sectional, nationally representative data of adolescents in China to investigate the impact of mother-only, father-only, and both-parent absence on rural schoolchildren’s academic, cognitive, and emotional outcomes. Left-behind children were found to be disadvantaged in academic, cognitive, and emotional outcomes compared with children living with both parents. Mother-only absence had the largest negative impacts among the three types of parental absences examined. Academic achievement and emotional status were shown to be more sensitive to parental absence than cognitive aptitude.

Authors: Doron Zinger, Ashley Naranjo, Nicole Gilbertson, Isabel Amador, Mark Warschauer
Presented at 2017 AERA

Abstract: Incorporating technology in classrooms to promote student learning is an ongoing instructional challenge. Teacher professional development (PD) to support student use of technology can improve student learning, but PD has had mixed results. In this study, we investigate a PD program designed to prepare a cohort of middle school social studies teachers to teach with a technological tool. We also examine how taking an iterative, design based approach used teacher feedback to develop learning opportunities in the PD. Using the technological, pedagogical, content knowledge framework, we found that through four iterations of one-day PD workshops, PDs afforded teachers increasingly individualized and meaningful opportunities to learn. Teacher feedback emerged as a central component in the changes and development of the PD.

Authors: Ninger Zhou, Viet Vu, Ying Xu, David Vogel, Terry Green, Mark Warschauer
Presented at 2017 AERA

​Abstract: Digital Storytelling has the potential to enhance students’ understanding of subject content through the construction of meaningful narratives with multimedia tools. However, teachers are often constrained by their limited understanding of this approach and the self-efficacy beliefs to teach effectively with digital storytelling. The current study introduces a framework for a teacher training workshop aimed at enhancing teachers’ self-efficacy in integrating digital storytelling in the curriculum. Eighty-nine teachers from a southern California school district serving minority students participated in the one-week workshop. Before and after the workshop, we distributed self-efficacy surveys to examine changes in teachers’ self-efficacy in using digital storytelling in the classroom. The results showed significant increase in teachers’ self-efficacy, suggesting the positive effect of the training framework.

Authors: Binbin Zheng, Mark Warschauer
Presented at 2017 AERA

​Abstract: This study examined the synchronous computer-mediated communication (SCMC) of 48 fifth-grade students and their teachers in a public school for large numbers of English learners during the 2009 to 2010 school year. Data collected includes collected all participants’ discussion threads in the first two months and the last two months of the year-long activity. Students’ language complexity was assessed through descriptive statistics and content analysis of student posts. In addition, an epistemic engagement framework using a combination of top-down and bottom-up coding scheme was developed to further examine students’ collaborative engagement in knowledge construction. The results suggest that well-designed online SCMC among linguistically diverse upper elementary students is related to increased complexity in language use and sophistication in interaction.

Author: Deborah L. Vandell, Jenel K. Lao
Presented at 2017 AERA

Abstract: Over the last two decades in the U.S., federally-funded afterschool programs have been looked to as important supports for improving student achievement. From 2008 to 2011, the University of California, Irvine conducted a three-year evaluation study of a project intended to serve as a national model for how best to leverage and coordinate the delivery of two federally-funded afterschool support programs designed to improve learning, the 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21stCCLC) afterschool programs and Supplemental Educational Services (SES)—a program that funds approved private agencies to deliver free academic tutoring to students from low-income and low-achieving schools. Known as the High-Quality Supplemental Educational Services (HQSES) and 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21stCCLC) Demonstration program, (University) partnered on the project with the grantee, (District), and (Provider), a non-profit organization that delivered the district’s 21st CCLC programs and an approved provider of SES. The purpose of the study was to identify best practices in (Provider’s), aligned delivery approach for how these two federally-authorized afterschool initiatives could be coordinated so that a greater number of students enrolled in, participated in, and completed academic afterschool services that improved their achievement in reading and math. The study used both quantitative and qualitative methods to examine each of the four designated HQSES/2stCCLC performance indicators:
(1) The number of students enrolled in SES,
(2) The number of students completing full programs of SES,
(3) The percentage of enrolled students who improved their academic performance in Language Arts or Math using ANOVAs to compare the Change Scores of each participant group to the Change Scores of a non-participating comparison group, and
(4) The number of positive, supportive relationships that students reported having with adults and peers. Whereas the paper will include results for all four indicators, the presentation will focus on academic outcomes.
​Data included: student enrollment, attendance, and completion data; standardized test scores; parent and student surveys; observations of SES and 21stCCLC; observations of staff development; focus group interviews with tutors and parents; and interviews with Site Coordinators and program administrators. This study is significant because throughout this three-year study, (University) consistently found significant academic gains related to student attendance in both SES tutoring and 21stCCLC programs provided by (Non-Profit). In addition, the study also identifies key replicable and scalable strategies for leveraging multiple funding sources to improve student learning, including (1) an effective management structure as it relates to the programmatic and staffing logistics of delivering both SES and 21stCCLC; (2) effective recruitment and retention strategies; (3) effective strategies for identifying and meeting academic needs; and (4) effective strategies for promoting positive relationships with adults and peers. These findings support emerging evidence that regular participation in high-quality programs over time is not only associated with positive academic and social-emotional outcomes, but may also reduce academic achievement gaps (Reardon, 2011; Pierce, Auger, & Vandell, 2013). Successful implementation of these strategies, however, is linked closely to the skills and competencies of program staff. Strategies for systematically supporting the development of high-quality program staff will be proposed.