| This is a descriptive case study of two biology | | | | approximately 45 minutes using a semi structured |
| teachers, Ed and Jackie (all names are | | | | interview protocol. Before the start of the |
| pseudonyms), and two English teachers, Charles | | | | interview, each teacher completed a questionnaire |
| and John, over the course of the second | | | | indicating their familiarity with 20 reading strategies |
| semester of their first year of teaching. All four | | | | covered in their literacy course. |
| of the participants enrolled and successfully | | | | |
| completed a course in teaching reading in the | | | | Where appropriate, simple statistics and counts |
| secondary school and received their teaching | | | | were used to analyze the documents. All |
| credentials in spring 2005 from the same | | | | interviews were analyzed qualitatively through a |
| institution. The teachers agreed to participate in | | | | process of identification of patterns and themes |
| the study because MBT Shoes they believed that | | | | across cases. To ensure fidelity of findings, all of |
| students' ability to comprehend content area text | | | | the interviews were coded by the researcher and |
| was important and that they had tools (in the | | | | a graduate student. |
| form of strategies) to support their students' | | | | |
| reading. All were in their mid-20s with teaching as | | | | Ed taught at Washington High School, which was |
| their first career. None of the participants taught | | | | divided into several small schools. It was rich in |
| in the same school. For this study, each teacher | | | | diversity with approximately 20% of the students |
| chose to focus and gather data on one of his or | | | | identified as Caucasian, 20% African American, |
| her college preparatory classes that meet the | | | | 35% Hispanic, with the remaining 25% |
| requirements for entrance into the state | | | | representing a variety of ethnicities. Seventy |
| university system. | | | | percent of the students were eligible for free or |
| | | | | reduced-cost lunch, and the school had sporadic |
| Several types of data were gathered to gain a | | | | success Clearance MBT Shoes over the last |
| richer, more accurate picture of the participants' | | | | several years, meeting its Annual Yearly Progress |
| practices. An actual tracking system of the | | | | (AYP) with fewer than 45% of the students |
| teachers' practice in addition to teachers' | | | | scoring proficient on the English language arts |
| self-report was critical because, according to Ross | | | | standardized tests. Four of the 36 students in Ed's |
| and McDaniel (2004), in self-reports teachers had | | | | class were identified as English-language learners |
| a tendency to inflate their use of reading | | | | (ELLs), and seven had Individual Education Plans |
| strategies. Therefore, I collected a minimum of 10 | | | | (lEPs). The class was a mixed-grade class with |
| weeks' worth of consecutive lesson plans from | | | | some students repeating the course. |
| the second semester of the participants' first | | | | |
| year of teaching. Included were any supporting | | | | Though the textbook was written at the |
| documents such as PowerPoint presentations and | | | | ninth-grade level, Ed found that many of his llth |
| overhead transparencies, handouts and | | | | and 12th graders had difficulty making meaning of |
| worksheets, and readings taken from the | | | | the text. "You could give them a paragraph with |
| Internet and other reference materials. I | | | | what you think is very clear explanations and then |
| observed each teacher once in the classroom and | | | | ask them a question, and they can't pull the |
| interviewed each teacher one to two times for | | | | information out of the reading. |