Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2019, English (Rhetoric and Writing) PhD

This dissertation explores how a group of first-year graduate teaching associates (TAs) at Bowling Green State university (BGSU) accounts for embodied performance in teaching first-year writing (FYW). Guided by a feminist community-based teacher-research methodology, I conducted a mixed-methods case study of BGSU's Fall 2017 composition practicum course, ENG 6020: Composition Instructors' Workshop, in order to understand how TAs performed embodiment as they taught for the first time locally, and for some, for the first time overall, in BGSU's FYW program, General Studies Writing. By analyzing TAs' teaching portfolio documents, including teaching philosophy statements, performance narratives (a video-recording of the TA teaching plus a written reflection), and observation memos, plus individual interview conversations with four TAs, I hoped to learn how first-year TAs representing a range of English sub-disciplines and experience levels demonstrated embodiment and performance, as well as teacherly identity construction, in their teaching portfolios. Through this study I concluded that my TA co-researchers practice what I term rhetorical embodied performance in their FYW instruction—they perform their bodies so as to construct themselves as the teacher. Moreover, I identify three modes through which the TAs demonstrate rhetorical embodied performance in their teaching: embodied engagement, embodied authority, and embodied reflection; and I explore how each of my co-researchers individually cultivates their teaching identity by referencing their rhetorical embodied performance in their teaching philosophy documents. I use this analysis to propose a pedagogy of rhetorical embodied performance for TA education, which would contribute to scholarly conversations in rhetoric and writing surrounding the theoretical and practical divide in TA preparation and development. Therefore, this dissertation project contributes to disciplinary conversations on the intersections of tea (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Lee Nickoson PhD (Advisor); Daniel Bommarito PhD (Committee Member); Sue Wood PhD (Committee Member); Radhika Gajjala PhD (Other) Subjects: Composition; Pedagogy; Rhetoric; Teacher Education

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2021, English (Rhetoric and Writing) PhD

Although a focus on writing pedagogy is on the rise in English education programs, early-career teachers still often struggle with writing instruction. Writing is notoriously difficult to teach—even for seasoned instructors—and previous studies have indicated that novice English teachers tend to base their writing instruction more on influences from their permanent schools than on coursework from the university. What is less clear, though, is how the influence at the school level works. This dissertation research examines the influences on writing pedagogy of an early-career high school English Language Arts (ELA) teacher, focusing on how the institutional social influences at the school shape his instructional practices in teaching writing. To examine how the influences of the school affect teaching practices, this study begins with an institutional ethnography, interrogating the influences of and on professional learning communities in a high-school English department. Using findings from the institutional ethnography as a framework, the research then turns to a case study examining the classroom practices and instructional understandings of an individual early-career English teacher. Considering these two studies in conversation, the study concludes that classroom documents shared in professional learning communities serve as a vehicle through which institutional influence operates. In addition, both the institutional ethnography and the case study indicate that skillful use of questions in the classroom are common among the teachers studied, perhaps as a result of thoughtful professional development at the school level. The findings also indicate that teacher standpoints are heavily influenced by professional learning communities, indicating that understandings of students, colleagues, policies, and instruction are often shared within communities: these shared standpoints also influence approaches to instruction. For preparation progr (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Lee Nickoson PhD (Advisor); Neil Baird PhD (Committee Member); Timothy Murnen PhD (Committee Member); Beth Sanders PhD (Other) Subjects: Composition; Education; Teacher Education; Teaching

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.), University of Findlay, 2020, Education

Since 2010, current Ohio English Language Arts standards have shifted to place more emphasis on writing and writing in response to literature when compared to previous standards that focused on literature. This mixed methods study examined novice 4th-8th grade Ohio public school English teachers' perceptions of Education Preparation Providers (EPP) related to writing as well as teachers' self-efficacy as writers and teachers of writing as related to their EPP writing experiences. Limited research has been conducted on this population in relation to the current Ohio English Language Arts standards for writing and EPP experiences. Additionally, limited research has been conducted on the differences between the type of educator licensure related to EPP experiences related to the development of teachers' self-efficacy as teachers of writing. Data included online survey results from 38 Ohio 4th-8th grade English teachers and seven semi-structured teacher interviews. Findings suggested that novice teachers do not distinguish between their EPP experiences and other university coursework as they prepared to be teachers of writing, that teachers do not feel adequately prepared to meet all students' writing needs, and that explicit EPP coursework in teaching writing increases teachers' self-efficacy as teachers of writing. This study highlights the need for EPPs to evaluate their current preparation practices for teachers of writing. EPPs also need to examine current field experience practices to ensure teacher candidates have the opportunity to demonstrate knowledge learned during EPP coursework. It is recommended that universities utilize resources outside of EPPs as an integral component of developing teachers' self-efficacy as writers and teachers of writing.

Committee: Amanda Ochsner Dr. (Committee Chair); Christine Denecker Dr. (Committee Member); Nicole Williams Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: Curriculum Development; Education; Education Policy; Higher Education; Teacher Education

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2019, EDU Teaching and Learning

Argumentative writing is a crucial skill in the school years and beyond, and there is an emphasis in various local, state, and national standards on argumentative writing. However, such writing is known to be a challenging and complex genre for English Learners (ELs) with limited English proficiency as well as cultural differences in terms of how argumentative thought and writing are conceptualized (Hirvela, 2013). It can be equally challenging and complex for many English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers, who are often ill-equipped for writing instruction (Larsen, 2013, 2016). From a research perspective, there have been few studies exploring the abilities and needs of ESL teachers as relates to instruction in argumentation, especially in high school settings, where various learning and achievement standards are increasingly requiring a focus on argumentation despite the difficulty of teaching and learning argumentative writing regarding ELs. To address the gaps in the scholarship discussed above, this dissertation explores how a ESL teacher, Ms. Patrick, sought to develop her expertise in teaching argumentative writing in a suburban high-school ESL class for ELs over a two-year period using a classroom-based research methodology that involved ongoing observations of her class sessions, interviews with her and her students, and examination of her teaching activities and materials as well as her students' responses to her instruction. This study employed as an analytical tool the notion of expertise, particularly a distinction between what is known as routine and adaptive expertise, to examine how Ms. Patrick initiated and engaged in change as a teacher over time with respect to her understanding of argumentative writing, her curricular planning, and her instructional activities. The study's findings revealed that Ms. Patrick acquired at least a degree of Hedgcock and Lee's (2017) three types of knowledge essential for ESL teachers: (1) subject matter knowled (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Alan Hirvela (Advisor); George Newell (Committee Member) Subjects: English As A Second Language; Pedagogy; Teacher Education

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2002, Educational Studies: Hums, Science, Tech and Voc

Recently there has been an increase in immigration and migration in the world. Due in part to this transience, interrupted schooling has become an educational challenge in terms of consistent schooling and job stability. Language education and literacy development are no exception to this issue. Though emergent literacy approaches have been advocated for younger learners, few studies look at the issues of interrupting or delaying the acquisition of literacy in a second or third language and how to address these learners' educational needs. This study explored how the English literacy skills of six participants from two immigrant families developed over one year and what the external issues and strategies influencing these participants' literacy growth were. Data were collected from participants, teachers, administrators, and family members, creating a collaborative ethnography of the culture of the literacy acquisition environment for these participants. The family unit was chosen as the unit of investigation in this study in part because during such global upheaval and relocation, it is the family unit that is often the most constant and stable. Furthermore, the family unit is unique in that it may influence L1 or home literacy and in turn L2 literacy development. This study investigated this native literacy issue in the context of the family unit and reports on how this was addressed when the L1 skills were underdeveloped. Familial variables such as SES and status in community, which also affect the importance of literacy acquisition, were also explored. Additionally, the range of ages a family provides allowed investigation into the influence of age on second language literacy development. The research methodology in this study was qualitative in focus. Data triangulation was established through a series of observations (at school and in the homes), interviews, literacy measures, text analysis, and teacher questionnaires. Family visits were made to ascertain home (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Keiko Samimy (Advisor) Subjects:

Doctor of Philosophy, Miami University, 2005, Educational Leadership

This qualitative interpretive dissertation consists of five acts. Each act uses the theory of narrative inquiry and the practice of multigenre writing to investigate the stories teachers at the Ohio Writing Project tell as they complete their own writing, as well as the classroom implications when teachers view themselves as writers. Prologue: Provides an overview of the dissertation. Act I: A fictional story based on the author's life and factual research experiences at the Ohio Writing Project. Act II: End notes which illuminate issues introduced in the fiction and elaborate on what is fact and what is fiction in the research. Act III: Writing from the author's past presented in multiple genres to highlight the theoretical foundation of narrative inquiry. Act IV: End notes which examine existing literature and the author's rationale for writing a dissertation from a different methodological approach. Act V: The author's Ohio Writing Project Portfolio that provides additional critique of teaching, writing, and curriculum. While an abstract may provide an initial outline of this dissertation, it cannot effectively capture the creativity and risk of the author's writing style. To learn more, keep reading.

Committee: Tom Poetter (Advisor) Subjects: