Thank youforbeingatthispresentation.Name– I’veworkinadultESLforover20yearsasapractitioner,curriculumdeveloper,andteacher.recentgradofdoctoralprogramatUMN– currentlydirectorofIDEALConsortium,aprojectoftheEdTechCenteratWorldEdWhereweprovidePDandtechnicalsupporttoABEprogramsintheUSontopicsofclassroomtechnologyintegrationandonlinelearning.ThispresentationisananalysisofasubsetofdatathatIgatheredformydissertationresearch.

ThisstudyinvestigatestheissueofEnglishastheprimarylanguageofinstructionincomputerclassesheldincommunitytechnologylabsandfrequentedbyEnglishlanguagelearners(ELLs).Takingafunctionalapproachtodescribelanguage,Iinvestigatedinstructionalstrategiesemployedtoteachcomputerskillsandtheacademiclanguageusedtodoso.

Thisstudywasmotivatedbytheideathatlearningspecificacademiccontentrequireslearningthelanguageusedtodescribeit(Lemke,1990)andthatifteachersrecognizewhereandhowvocabularyandspecificlinguisticstructuresarecentraltosuccesswithacademiccontent,theycandeterminehowtobestprovidesupportforcomprehensionandhelplearnersdevelopcommandofthelanguageusedinspecificacademiccontexts.

I’dliketostartwithastorythatillustratestheissuethatdrewmetothiswork.Thisnarrativeisdrawnfrommyfieldnotesfrom November2013.Thesettingisacomputerlabinacommunity-basedorganizationthatworkshardtomitigatepovertyinthecityitwhichit’slocated.

Thestudents,includingsixEnglishlanguagelearners(ELLs)fromEastAfrica,SoutheastAsia,andCentralAmerica,trickledintothecomputerlab,untilallofthe20computerswereoccupied.ThelearnershadallbeenreferredtotheclassattheirintakesessionattheCBO.Severalhadcomeseekinghousingassistance,twowereseekinghelpfindingemployment.Afewhadjustheardthattherewasacomputerclass.ThesixEnglishlearnerspossesseddiverselevelsofEnglishlanguageproficiency.OneelderlyEastAfricanwomanseemedtohavethelowestproficiency,shecouldsayhelloandaskverybasicquestions;shewasalsosight- impaired.

Theworkshopleader,anewAmeriCorpsmember,greetedeveryoneastheycameinandhandedoutaseven-pagedocumentonthetopicoftheInternet,theinstructionalresourceonwhicheveryminuteoftheclasswastobebased.Thehandoutincludedscreenshotsofcomputers,websites,andInternetbrowsers,alongwithEnglishtextexplanationsofwhatwouldbecoveredinclass,thingslikeopeningabrowser,

2

understandingdifferenttypesofbroadband,andsearchingtheInternet. Shestoodathercomputer,whichwashookeduptoaprojector,andfor90minutestalkedthroughtheentirehandout;thestudents,expectedtoclickalong,didtheirbest.Theylistenedattentively,searchedforthescreenshotsthatcorrespondedtowhattheysawonthebigscreenatthefrontoftheroom,andtriedtofollowtherequired‘clicks’usingtheirowncomputers.

Thoughitwasevidentfromtheverybeginningthatnoteveryonecouldattendtoherinstructionsorkeeppace,couldunderstandherlanguageorseethetinyURLsdisplayedontheprojectedscreen,thevolunteerteachermarchedforth,coveringeachpageofthehandoutanddeliveringimperativesaboutwhenandwheretoclick.IwitnessedseveraloftheELLstrytoaskclarifyingquestionstoconfirmverbalcommandsandattempttorecognizetheletternamestheteacherspelledoutinanefforttogeteveryoneonthesamewebpage.

Bytheendoftheninetyminutes,theteacherlookedexhausted.Tryingtokeepthelearnersonpacewiththeclickshadtakenagreatdealofeffortandwasfrustrating.Mostlearnersdidnotmakeittothefinalsummative,“thepracticepart”astheteachercalledit,attheendofthelesson.

Thesearethelearnersandteachersthatmotivatedthisproject.In theUSmanyLESLLAlearnersstudyinformaleducationprograms,withtrainedorlicensedteachers.Thecapacityoftheseprogramsfallsfarshortofaccommodatingalllearnerswithsuchneeds.Consequently,manygotoCBOstoattendcomputerskillsclasses

2

These labsinCBOsprovidemuchneedededucationalopportunities;however,theteachersworkingthereareoftenminimallytrainedandstruggletosupportthelearningneedsofadultsforwhomEnglishisnotafirstlanguageandarechallengedbythewiderangeofskilllevelandeducationalbackgroundofthediverselearnerswhoshowup.

Additionally,becausetheylackfundingandexpertiseformaterialsdevelopment,CBOsdependonanassortmentofweb-basedlearningresourcesdevelopedforliterateEnglish-speaking,learners.Thisresearchsoughttobetterunderstandhow tomaximizethepositiveimpactoftheresourcesthatarethere– includinghowtobestsupportvolunteersorAmeriCorpsmemberwhooftenserveasteachersthere.-particularlyaroundissuesoflanguageandtheroleoflanguageinstructioninsupportofdigitalliteracyskillsdevelopment.

ThemethodologyIused,DesignBasedResearch(DBR)iscollaborative,informedbyandalignedcloselywiththeneedsandprioritiesofparticipatingstakeholderstoensuretherelevanceoftheprocessandtheresultingintervention(Brown,1992;Cobb,Confrey,diSessa,Lehrer,&Schauble,2003;Wang&Hannafin,2005).Inadditiontobeingcollaborative,itisiterativeandhasbothfarandnearrelevance,solvingalocalproblemand,intheprocess,arrivingattheoreticalconclusions.Theoretically,thisDBRdissertationresearchcontributestodisciplinaryknowledgeintheareasofdigitalliteracyinstructionandtheEnglishlanguageproficiencyrequiredforit.Theprojectthussimultaneouslystrivestosolvealocalproblemwhileitcontributesmoregenerallytolearningtheoriesinordertosupporttheextensionoffindingstosimilareducationalcontexts.TherearemanydifferentapproachestoDBR,I’vechosentwotoguidethework.Thefirst,EducationalDesignResearchnicelyframesthephasesrequiredforcompletionofdesign.Amacro-cyclereflectstheoverallprocessforanEDRstudy.Themeso-cyclesthatconstituteeachmacro-cyclerepresentwhatMcKinney&Reevesrefertoasaregulativecycle:“problem;identification;diagnosis;planning;action;andevaluation”(p.8)Thereisnofixednumberofmeso-cyclesrequiredforamacrocycle;rather,itdependsonthescopeoftheresearch.Withineachmeso-cycletherearemicro-cycles,whichembodywhattheauthorscall

“logicalchainofreasoning”(p.78).Eachmicro-cycleallowsforitsowncycleofflexibleanditerativeexplorationofideas.Thisisillustratedbythecirculararrowwithineachrectangle.McKenneyandReevessuggestthat‘analysisandexploration’and‘evaluationandreflection’,thefirstandthirdphases,areempiricalcyclesbecausetheyrequiredatacollectionandanalysis.The‘designandconstruction’phaseisinformedbytheempiricalstudythatprecededitbutdoesnot“byitself”constituteanempiricalprocess,ratheritwill“followasound,coherentprocesstoproduceaninterventionindraft,partial,orfinalform”(p.78).Forthisreason,IpairedEDRwithasecondDBRapproach– conjecturemapping.

4

DELETE?Asinallqualitativeresearch,themethodologyI’musingDBR,requiresworktorestonatheoreticalfoundation,includinggrandtheoriesthatgiveusasharedlanguagefordescribingcurrentandemergentknowledge--- Inthiscase,becauseI’mtalkingaboutteachingandhowlearningismediated,IrelyonsocioculturaltheorythatrestsontheworkofLeonVygotsky,wheretheorganic(thebrain)andtheculturalbothimpactthemind,leading,overtime,todevelopmentandlearning(Lantolf&Poehner,2008).Morespecifically,IdrawonEngeström(1999)andhisactivitysystemmodel,whichillustateswelltheimpactofenvironmentimpactonlearning.Itis comprisedprimarilyof:Subject– theoneengagedinanactivity,Object– theintentionoftheactivityorthegoal,AND Toolsandsigns– anythingusedtocompletetheactivity(computer,language,curriculum).Additionally,severalcomponentsimpactthewaythatsubjectsusetoolsorsignstoaffecttheobject:Community,rules,and divisionoflabor.Together,eachpartoftheactivitysystemcontributestoshapinghowtheactivityofthesubjectresultsinaneventualoutcome(Engeström,1999).Allcomponentsareatplayindeterminingtheshapeofthatoutcome.Theactivitysysteminmyresearchiseachoftheparticipantsiteclassrooms,wherethe‘subject’istheTACmember,the

5

‘object’islearners,the‘mediatingartifacts’includeinstructionalstrategiesandresources,andthe‘outcome’iscomputerskilldevelopment.

5

it’susefultohaveabridgebetweentheorientatingframeworkandideasaboutdesign.Aframeworkforactionprovidesconcretefocusthatshapesdesignandservesasaheuristicfordeterminingimpact.Frameworksforactionaresignificantbecausetheyhelpusmanageagapbetweentheoryanddesign.Silver-PacuillaandReder’s2008literaturereviewdefiningminimalskilllevelforlearningonlinedeterminedthatwhatisneededisanequitabledistributionamongthreeareas:learnerskill,supportavailable,andthedemandsofatask.Thisframeworknotonlyprovidedimportantfoundationalknowledgethatsharpedthestudydesign,italsopointstoagapinresearch;– oneofthegoalsofthisstudywastodeterminehowtoprovideanequitabledistributionamongstthesethreecomponentswhenworkingintheparticularcontextofthisstudy: CBOcomputerlabssupportedbyminimallytrainedteachersattendingtoadiverserangeofadultlearners.

Thisleadmetomyoverarchingresearchquestion.

6

Graves,M.F.,August,D.,&Mancilla-Martinez,J.(2012).Teachingwordssecondlanguage.InTeachingVocabularytoEnglishLanguageLearners.NewYork:TeachersCollegePress.Beck,I.L.,McKeown,M.G.,&Kucan,L.(2013).Bringingwordstolife:Robustvocabularyinstruction.GuilfordPress.Beck,I.L.,McKeown,M.G.,&Omanson,R.C.(1987).Theeffectsandusesofdiversevocabularyinstructionaltechniques.InM.G.McKeown&M.Curtis(Eds.),TheNatureofVocabularyAcquisition (pp.47–163).Hillsdale:LawrenceErlbaumAssociates,Inc.Perfetti,C.(2007).Readingability:Lexicalqualitytocomprehension.ScientificStudiesofReading,11(4),357–383.http://doi.org/10.1080/10888430701530730Atkinson,D.(2011).Asociocognitiveapporachtosecondlanguageacquisition:Howmind,body,andworldworktogetherinlearningadditionallanguages.TaylorandFrancis.KindleEdition.InD.Atkinson(Ed.),AlternativeApproachestoSecondLanguageAcquisition.(pp.143-166)NewYork:Routedge.

Schleppegrell,M.J.(2004).Thelanguageofschooling:Afunctionallinguistics

7

perspective.Mawhaw,NJ:LawrenceErlbaumAssociates.Schleppegrell,M.J.(2013).Theroleofmetalanguageinsupportingacademiclanguagedevelopment.LanguageLearning,63(March),153–170.http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9922.2012.00742.xFitts,S.,&Bowers,E.(2013).DevelopingacademicEnglishwithEnglishlanguagelearners.InM.Arias&C.Faltis(Eds.),AcademicLanguageinSecondLanguageLearning (pp.27–56).Charlotte,NC:InformationAgePublishing.Gottlieb,M.,&Ernst-Slavit,G.(2014).Academiclanguageindiverseclassrooms:Definitionsandcontexts.ThousandOaks:CorwinPress.Zwiers,J.(2007).Teacherpracticesandperspectivesfordevelopingacademiclanguage.InternationalJournalofAppliedLinguistics,17(1),93–116.http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1473-4192.2007.00135.xZwiers,J.(2013).Buildingacademiclanguage:Essentialpracticesforcontentclassrooms,grades5-12.JohnWiley&Sons.Faltis,Christian,J.(2013).Demystifyingandquestioningthepowerofacademiclanguage.InM.B.Arias&J.Faltis,Christian(Eds.),AcademicLanguageinSecondLanguageLearning.Charlotte:InformationAgePublishing.Lemke,J.L.(1990).Talkingscience:Language,learning,andvalues.Norwood:AblexPublishingCorporation.http://doi.org/citeulike-article-id:748226Halliday,M.A.K.(1978).Languageassocialsemiotic.London:Arnold.Halliday,M.A.K.(1985).Anintroductiontofunctionalgrammar.NewYork:Routedge.Halliday,M.A.K.(1993).Towardsalanguage-basedtheoryoflearning.LinguisticsandEducation,5(2),93–116.http://doi.org/10.1016/0898-5898(93)90026-7Halliday,M.A.K.(2003).Onlanguageandlinguistics.(J.J.Webster,Ed.)(Vol.3).London:Continuum

7

Academiclanguageisanimportantconstructforconsideringadultlanguagelearningcontexts,includingthosefocusedondigitalliteracy.ALisanapproachtothinkingaboutlanguagethatviewsthelanguageofschoolingasthemeansbywhichtosupportlearningofacademiccontent.Gottlieb&Ernst-Slavit(2014)providedausefulcurrentandveryusefuldefinitionofAL:

TheconceptofacademiclanguagecanbelocatedinseveraltheoreticalperspectivesinSLA:cognitive,functional,skills-based,sociocultural,andsocialaction.

8

Understandingaparallellineofinquiryonvocabularyteachingandlearningisnecessarytoanalyzetheinstructionobservedforthisstudy.ThoughmuchofitfocusesoneitherK12orhigher-levelL2vocabularydevelopment,itisusefulfortheorizingtheroleofvocabularywithlow-levelELLsincomputerclasses,particularlytheliteraturethatcharacterizeswhatitmeanstohaveknowledgeofwords.

AusefulframeisthisspectrumofdepthofknowledgefromBeck,McKeown,andOmanson(1987),asillustratedhere.ItshowstheirtheorythatKnowingawordisalsounderstoodasacontinuum

Inrelatedworktheywrotethatapersonstartingwithnoknowledgeofawordgraduallyprogressestoeventuallyunderstanditsmeaningandmakeuseofitinavarietyofsettings.Knowingawordmayalsomeanknowingtheconnectionofwordstobroaderconcepts,topics,orsituationaldiscoursewherewordsarerelevantoruseful(Miller,1978asdescribedinBeck,McKeown,andKucan,2013).

Perfetti(2007)inhiswritingonlexicalqualityhypothesis,articulatedspecificfeaturesrequiredtotrueknowaword,forexample:semantics,phonology,orthography,morphology,andsyntacticrules.Perfettialsosuggestedthathearingawordand

9

becomingawareofitsmeaninglikelytriggeredmentalconnectionstopastexperiencesorrelationstopriorknowledgeandthattheresultingabstractrepresentationmadeitpossibletomakemeaningofawordinanewcontext.Ifonecoulddrawonrelevantpriorknowledge,heorshewasessentiallyprovidingaformoffamiliarcontext,cuingapersonalschematosupportunderstandingtheword.Thisisaproblemforlearnerstouchedbymystudy,whohadlittlepriorknowledgewiththecontent,whichmadeconnectionstoschemaeitherdifficultornotpossibleatall.

9

Alsochallengingformylearnerswasthenumberofexposuresrequiredtolearnaword.

Gravesetal.(2012)wrote,…studiesoflearningfromcontextshowthatcontextcanproducelearningofwordmeaningsforbothnativeEnglishspeakersandELLs,thattheprobabilityoflearningawordfromasingleoccurrenceislow,andthattheprobabilityoflearningawordfromcontextincreasessubstantiallywithadditionaloccurrencesoftheword(p.21).

So,howmightoneovercomethischallenge?Becketal.(2013)pointedoutthatstudentsneededtodevelopaninterestinlearningvocabulary,toencouragethemtonoticenewwordsintheirenvironmentandtostarttoreflectonhowwordsarerelatedconceptually.Atkinsontheorizedthat,fromasocioculturalperspective,learningis“adefaultstateofhumanaffairs.Ifweconstantlyandsensitivelyadapttoourenvironments,thenlearningiscontinuous,atleastinsofarasdurableadaptivechangeoccursinthelearner– worldsystem”(Atkinson,2011,p.144).So,tuning-instudentstorepresentationsintheirdailylifeoftheskillsandvocabularytheyhopetomastercansupportlearning.

10

11

Schleppegrell(2004)adoptedafunctionalapproachinherworkonacademiclanguage.SuccessfulapplicationofALrequiresidentifyingtheconfigurationofgrammaticalstructuresthataretypical,expected,orsociallyrelevantinanycontext.Bydoingsoonecandefinetheregister,“theconfigurationoflexicalandgrammaticalresourceswhichrealizesaparticularsetofmeaning”(p.46).DrawingonHalliday,Schleppegrell(2004)presentedthefollowingstructurefororganizingelementsofaregister.

UtilizingacademiclanguageasameanstosupporttheacademicdevelopmentofadultELLsprovidesscaffoldingthatsupportslanguagedevelopment,thelearningofcontentknowledge,andnurturesidentityasstudents.Forexample,inanageoftechnologicalubiquity,wherelearnershavebeenfoundtoprivilegebuildingcomputerskillsoverEnglishlanguagelearning,aspointedoutinChapter3,apedagogybasedonknownacademiclanguagecaninvitelearnerstoparticipateinlanguageskilldevelopmentthatatthesametimegivesthevaluableskillsneededtoparticipateindailylife.Hence,ALholdspromiseasameanstoprovideadultELLswithrelevantinputtoengageasabothalearnerandlegitimateparticipantinbroaderworldbyelucidatingthelanguagerequiredtofullyengageinlearningbyaffordingtheculturalcapitalthelanguageholds(PierreBourdieu,1991).Zwiers

12

(2013)wrotethatsuchcapitaliscriticalforknowingwhattosay,do,orwriteinaneducationalsetting.

12

Thisisaqualitativecasestudyofthelanguageusedininstructionintwobasiccomputerskillsclassroomsintwoofthesixfocalsitesrepresentedinthelargerdissertationstudy,NewcomerHomeandAscend.CasestudyiscommonlyemployedinSFLresearch,wherecontextiscriticalfordeterminingmeaningoflanguage.(Schleppegrell&O’Hallaron,2011).Forthisstudy,Ifocusedonrepresentationsof“field,”theideationalchoicespresentedininstructioninthetwositesandbycommentsaboutteachingmadebytheparticipantsinfocusgroupdiscussions.Particularlyimportantinthiscontextarethosenounsandverbsthatconstitutethevocabularyofthebasiccomputerskillsclassesobserved.Vocabularyisanimportantcomponentofideationalchoicesinlanguageuse.Schleppegrell(2001)writesVocabularyisanobviousfeatureofregisterdifferences,asitisthelexicalchoicesthatrealizetheideationalcontentofthetext.Throughlexicalchoices,studentsalsosituatethemselvesasmembersofparticulardiscoursecommunities,displayingtheirabilitytoadoptthelexisofthefield.(p.438)Thestudysoughttodefinethevocabularyemployedinbasiccomputerskillsclasses.

13

Inqualitativeresearch,theresearcherisanimportantpartoftheanalyticalprocess,soaresearcher’spositionalityimpactstheanalysis. Forthisstudy,IwassituatedasaparticipantobserverandresearcherknownbytheparticipantsasseekingknowledgeabouthowtobestsupportELLsindigitalliteracyclasses.Whenneeded,IhelpedboththeparticipantAmeriCorpsmembersandtheirstudents.Thiswasanethicalchoicestemmingfrommyopinionthatpersonswithexpertiseshouldcontributewhenputinapositiontodoso.TheTACmemberswhostaffthecomputerlabwho,thoughtheyhavebeensuccessfulstudents,hadlittleformaltraininginteachingandwereattimes unawareoftheissuesthatservedasbarriersfortheELLsintheirlabs.Therefore,IwasactivelyengagedinsupportingboththelearnersandtheservicecorpsmembersduringmytimeattheCBOs.Thispositionedmeasobserver,participant,andfacilitator-combinedtogetherIarguemademeanengagedresearcherinthesettings.Ithinkthispositionalitywouldplacemein anumberofplacesintheActivitySystemmodel

14

Toaccountforthevocabularyrequiredforparticipationinbasiccomputerclasses,Ianalyzeddatafromrecordingsofclassroomobservationsandfocusgroupdiscussions,whichincludeddatafromconversationswhereparticipantsdescribedtheirbeliefsabouttheroleofexplicitlanguageinstructionintheclassroomandtherelationshipbetweenEnglishlanguageproficiencyanddigitalskilldevelopment.Itooknoteoflanguageusedtodescribethecontentskillsthatservedasthefocusofskillinstruction,theexplanatorylanguageusedtomakethosecontentskillsclear,andinstructionalstrategiesemployedtoteachthem.Ialsoanalyzedanyartifactsemployedininstructionofthefocusedcomputerskills.ThisdataisreflectedinTable5.1below

15

Usingthesemythologycombined,mygoalwastocollaborativelycreatearesourcetohelpsupport ELLsincommunity-technologylabs;deepentheoreticalknowledgeonteachinginthiscontext.TodothisIneededtoanswerthequestion:WhatisneededtomakeinstructionaccessibleforELLsincommunitytechnologylabs.

TheparticipatingsitesareallpartofthesameumbrellaAmeriCorpprogram,WhichIcallTechnologyAccessCollaborativeorTAC.TACservesover30organizationsinmetroareainwhichitisbased;it’smissionistosupportdigitalliteracyforadolescentsandadults. ThesitesIchoserepresenttherangeofCBOsthathostTACAmeriCorpsmembers. Thougheachplayedaroleinformingmywork,thetwoorganizationsservingthemostlow-levelELLswerethemostgenerative.

Thesesitesarelistedinthisgraph- namedbypseudonym- anddefinedbycharacteristicsofthelearnerswhoattendedthecomputerclassesledbytheTACmembers.

16

11.Theparticipantsofthestudy werethecollaboratingstakeholderswhoexperiencedtheinstructionalchallenge- theywereaconveniencesample,whoactuallyself-selectedtojointosupporttheirAmeriCorpswork.EachyearTACasksit’sAmeriCorpsmemberstoparticipateinacommunityengagementproject - toleavesomelegacyoftheiryearofservice.Thegoalofthisgroup’sprojectwastocreateresourcestomakeiteasiertoteachELLsinTACsites. AsyoucanseenoneoftheTACmemberswasatrainedteacherandforthemostpart,didnotsharethehomelanguageofthestudentstheysupported.

AlloftheTACmembersintroducedinChapter2,exceptLeannewhowasonlyavailableforthepilotstudy,participatedinthefocusgroupdiscussionsaspartofthelargerstudy,butthedatapresentedheredrawprimarilyoncontributionsfromthetwoparticipantswhoprovidedinstructiontolow-levelELLs,ErikandMarty.AtAscend,Erikofferedclassestoadolescentsandadultssupportingworkforcetrainingandcomputerskillswiththegoalofhelpingcommunitymembersachieveeconomicandsocial stability.Instructioninthecomputerlabwascharacterizedbyarollingcohortwithveryfewlearnerscomingeverydayandnowayofknowingwhowillattendeachday.Marty’sworkNewcomerHousewasabitdifferent,inthatNewcomerHouseenrolledELLsinformalEnglishlanguagelearningandprovided

17

computerclassestosupplementlanguageclasses.Thesecomputerclasseswereseveralweekslongandsupportedacohortgroupofstudentsthatremainedlargelyintactthroughoutthecourse,withnewstudentsjoininginalongtheway.

17

I coded these data using in two cycles. Iusedfirstcyclecodingidentifiedby(Saldaña,2012)asdescriptive, creatingcategoricallabels.AsImovedthroughtranscripts,audiofiles,andfieldnotes,Iidentifiedrelevantthemes,resultingcodeslikeLearning,Computerskills,Attitude,Socialcapital,Investment, andTeacher-centered.Ialsointegrateddemographicdataintomycodingtobetterseepatternsinthedataandtoshapeobservations.Next,Idrewondatafromonlineassessmentsandonlinelearningactivitiestofurtherinformmyunderstandingoftheworkofthelearnersintheprogram.Iwentthroughasecondcyclecreating subcodestobetterdrawoutsalientthemes.

IusedthequalitativeresearchsoftwareMaxQDAtosupportananalysisofmycodes-showingmewhereinthesedatasalientthemeswererepresented.Thisprocesswasnotquiteaslinearasitsounds- asIneededtorepeattheprocessofcodinganduseofanalyticaltoolsiteratively,untilmyfindingsbecameevident.

Datawerequalitativelycodedinamulticycleprocess(Saldana,2012).Incycleone,Iappliedstructuralcodes,forexampleLanguageanalysis, Instructionofcontent,andNeedstodrawoutdatathatrepresenteduseoflanguageorinstructionofthelanguageordigitalliteracy.FirstcyclecodingalsoincludedwhatSaldañareferredtoasattributecodes,usedformarkingusefuldemographicinformationaboutlearnersandcontext,forexample:Studentinfo,levels,ELLs,classdemographics.ItookasecondpassstilldrawingonfirstcyclecodesforasSaldaña(2012)suggests,“amoreattunedperspective(p.10).Duringthisphaseofcoding,Iapplieddescriptivecodestoflagimmediatesalientthemeswithinthissubset.Table5.2showsthecodesemployedinbothcyclesthataremostrelevantforthispartoftheresearch.

19

AsIanalyzedfieldnotes,analyticmemos,transcriptionsoffocusgroupsandclassobservations,andclassroomartifactstoanswerthequestion:Whataretheparticularlexicalstructures(i.e.,vocabulary)evidentinclassroomdiscourseofdigitalliteracy?Inoticedampledatathatinformedidentificationthekeyvocabularyinthiscontext.illustratedinthetable,whichshowsthefrequencyofcodes(thefirstrowofthetable)foreachdatasource.

Ididn’tcodelgofinstructional materials– wouldhavebeendoublecountingbecauseitwasconsistentw/whatwasfoundinObservationnotesandtranscripts

20

Divingintoeachcodedgroupofdatarevealedacommontheme;thesedatasuggestedthatthe‘field’inthiscontextwasconstitutedbykeyvocabularyarticulatedinskillstestedintheNorthstarDigitalLiteracyAssessment.Eachoftheparticipatingagenciesusedtheassessmentasanoutcomesmeasure,TACmemberswereencouragedtoprovideinstructionthatsupportedgrowthontheassessment.Thestandardsonwhichtheassessmentisbased,therefore,motivatedthevocabularyusedintheclassroom.Evidenceforthisfindingwasmostneatlyreflectedinacomparisonoftheinstructionalmaterialsfromthefocalsite,Ascend,andtheactualNorthstarstandards.

22

Sothe standardsonwhichtheassessmentisbasedmotivatedthevocabularyusedintheclassroom.

VariedLanguageEmployedinExplanations.Beyondthefocusonvocabularymotivatedbytheassessment,therewasnotmuchconsistencyinthelanguageofexplanationthatTACsprovidedtosupportinstructionoftheskills.

AtAscendandNewcomerHouse,explanationsthatstudentsreceivedfordifferentskillsgenerallystartedwithagrouppresentationledbytheteacherandthenshiftedtoindividualpracticesupportedbyone-to-onehelpwhenneeded.Explanationsprovidedinthewholegroupinstructionwerehardlyeverjustexplicitlyarticulated,butweresupportedbyslidesanddemonstrationoftheskill.

Theone-to-onesupportthatfolloweddependedonthelearner’sneeds,fromcasualobservationtoliteralhandholdingasthefacilitatorsmonitoredpractice. Eachcorpsmemberseemedtotailortheirexplanationstotheircommunityoflearners.Becausethesestudentsvaried,theexplanationshadtovarytoo.Additionally,eachofthesiteshadvolunteerswhovolunteerscamewiththeirownwayofdescribingthings.

24

Theendgoalofthisfunctionalanalysiswasanunderstandingofthekeyvocabularyemployedduringinstructionincomputerclasses.Thesecondfocusofinquiry,then,investigatedwhetherornotandhowthevocabularyofcomputerskillswasmadeaccessibletolearnersbyansweringthefollowingquestion:Howdoservicecorpsmembersdrawonkeyvocabularyintheirinstruction?Thedatafromthetwositesservinglow-levelELLs,NewcomerHouseandAscendagain,providethemostelucidatingdata.Themostusefulfindingpresentedherewasashiftinthecorpsmembers’perceptionoftheroleofvocabularydevelopmentininstruction.

25

Startingpoint:Vocabularynotafocus.Atthebeginningofthestudy,thesedatasuggestthatvocabularyinstructionwasviewedassecondaryorattendanttotheskillsinstruction,ratherthanthefocusofinstruction.Forexample,inthefirstfocusgroupmeetingtherewasanacknowledgmentthatlanguagewasanissueinteachingcomputerskills,buttherewasnoconversationabouthowlanguageinstructionorvocabularysupportshouldfigureintoinstruction.

ThetranscriptshowsthatthereisanawarenessthatlanguagecomprehensionisanissuewhenteachingcomputerskillsinL2Englishandthatconceptualunderstandingisthegoalofinstruction.Inlines1and2,Donnaprovidedastrategy(i.e.,relyingonamoreproficientlearnertoleverageL1forexplanation)andEriksuggestedthedesiredoutcomeofthatoranystrategytheyemployintheircomputerclassesisaconceptualunderstandingoftheskillassociatedwiththelanguage.Hiscommentinline6illustrateshisbeliefthatterminologyissecondarytoskill,that“eventually”acquisitionofthevocabularywillhappen.

26

Earlyshift:Consideringvocabulary.Languagewasnotagainrepresenteddirectlyinfocusgroupdatauntiltwomonthslater.Inanswertothepromptfromtheresearcher,“So,letmeaskafollowupquestion;youguyshavetalkedabouttechnologyasthecontent.TowhatextentisEnglishlanguagethecontentthatyou'reteaching?Whatdoyouthink?”TheTACmemberanswersrepresentedinthetranscriptsuggestthattherehadbeensomegrowthintheirunderstandingoftheroleofvocabularyspecificallyintheinstructionofcomputerskills.Erikrespondedasfollows:“Thefirstdayofmyclassinparticularisjust,whatisthiscalled?It’scalledamouse.Whatisthiscalledandthentolearnthefunctionsbeforethattheyhavetounderstandwhyit’scalledthat…” (Focusgrouptranscript,March18,2016,minute9:07).Notethatthoughthequestionaskedaboutlanguagemoregenerally,theresponsewasfocusedspecificallyonvocabulary.Laterinthesametranscript,thereismoredatarepresentinghowtheyapproachedthelanguageissueatthetime,againshowingvocabularyasafocus.Thisfinalexceptshowsfurtherevidencethatthefocalparticipants,inthiscaseMarty,werebeginningtothinkaboutskillsandvocabularyasconnected.Classroomobservationdataalsosupporttheseobservationsaboutearlyeffortstointegratevocabularyinsupportofcomputerskills,andhowtheirworkshiftedoverthemonthsoftheresearch

27

Erik’sworkatAscend. DatafromparallellessonstaughtbyErikshowhowhisthinkingaboutvocabularybuildingshifted.Inthefirstlesson,taughtonApril4,2016,vocabularywasembeddedintotheskillsinstruction.Thisfindingwaselucidatedthroughdescriptivecodingprocessapplyingthelabels:Activities,Articulationofskills,and Vocabularyinstruction.Inhislesson,keytermswereincludedonPowerPointslidesprojectedtoapresentationscreen,asseeninFigure5.5,andintroducedashetalkedthroughtheslide.Thisinstructionincludedsomeprovisionofdefinitionsandcomprehensionchecksdonewithdisplayquestionsallsuppliedinlarge-groupcohortinstruction.

TheslideshowsascreenshotoftheRibboninMicrosoftWord,seenalongthetopofthescreen.Underneaththat,itshowsblownupimagesoftheformattingoptionsfeaturedontheribbon,forexampleB,I,andU,whicharelabeledunderneaththeicons(i.e.,“Bold”,“Italics”,and“Underline”).Thisintentionalbutverylimitedintroductionshowedsomeefforttosupportvocabularydevelopment;however,vocabularywasnotthefocusoftheclass.

28

Recognizingtheimportanceofvocabularyinstruction.DatafrombothNewcomerHouseandAscendsuggestthatastimeprogressedMartyandErikbegantoallowmoretimeforfocusedinstructionandpracticeofvocabularyandattendantskilldevelopment.

Erik’sinstructional slides-- springof2016

29

DatafromErik’sclassonthesametopicthreemonthslatershowsthatovertime,Erikbegantointegrateactivitiestosupportvocabularyinstructioninmoreways.Thisshiftisevidentinthetable, ThetableshowsthattheclasstaughtonJune17includedeachoftheinstructionalactivitiesobservedintheearlierclass,plusademonstrationandextravocabularyreviewactivities.Italsofeaturedconceptspresentedoneatatime,ratherthanseveraltermsatonce,ashappenedintheearlierlesson.

30

Thisiswherewearenow.

Glossary addedtowebresource– DiHoforselfreferenceandextrapractice

AstheTACmembersobservedeachotherteachthroughouttheneedsanalysisandreflectedontheirownteaching,itbecameclearthattheyneedaglossaryaspartoftheirexplicitfocusonvocabulary.Inhisfieldnotesfrommid-June,Erikwrotethisobservationabouttheimpactoftheglossary- “Ialsosawhowpeoplereactedtothebeginningvocabulary[page]whichIthinkwentreallywell.Becauseitgivespeoplesortofaneedsassessment,allowsthemtoassessthemselvesonwherethey’reatandwordstheyknowandthentheycanfillintheblanksandthenwecanreviewitasanentireclass.So,Iwillcontinuetobuildoutthewebsiteasitcontinuesanddomybesttomakeituserfriendly.”Theglossarywasanimportantpartoftheinstructionandpractice,which becamemorecomplexoverthecourseofourtimetogether.Infieldnotesdocumentingadebriefingconversationafterclassonmylastvisit,Martyobservedthat,overthe17monthsshehadbeenatNewcomerHome,shehadrealizedtheimportanceofmakingtimeforamplevocabularysupport.Tomakethispossible,shesaidthatshehadsloweddownthepaceoftheassessmentcyclefromthreeinstructionalhoursbeforeanassessmentto40hours,withnearlyhalfofthosehoursdedicatedtovocabularydevelopmentandotherlanguagerequiredtomakeuseofcomputer.

34

Whataccountsfor thisshift?IthinktheCorpsmemberswerearrivingatamoresophisticatedsenseoftheroleoflanguage,specificallykeyvocabulary,intheirlearners’skilldevelopment.Showninthisexcerptfromafocusgrouptranscript.

36

Thecorpsmembersdevelopedasophisticatedunderstandingofwhatitmeanstoknowaword.

Theycametorealizethatunderstandingaconcept iscomplicated.Thenotionof“concept”wasintroducedbythecorpsmembersseveraltimesindatapresentedabove.Theyusedthetermasapracticaldescriptionoftheknowledgeofavocabularyanditsassociatedskillinthiscontext.Thoughtheyhadnotintendedto,theyhituponaveryusefultheoreticalconstructinsocioculturaltheory.Vygotsky(1987)alsousedaRussianequivalentoftheterm;heequated“concept”asawaytoframeaword’smeaning,definingconceptasathematicallyunifiedentitythatencompassesindividualelements.Hesuggestedthatthemeaningsattributedtowordsareabstractionsthatgainmeaningthroughobservingitsuseandinteraction(mediation)inaparticularcontext.Heunderstoodthatknowingaword’smeaningreflectsanunderstandingofthedevelopmentofone'sconsciousnessandanunderstandingofaconcept.Vygotskywrotethatthedevelopmentofconceptsorwordmeaningspresupposesthedevelopmentofawholeseriesoffunctions.Itpresupposesthedevelopmentofvoluntaryattention,logicalmemory,abstraction,comparison,anddifferentiation.(p.166)

Thedevelopmentofconceptualknowledge,whilesupportedbyinstruction,alsorequireslivedexperiencetomaketheabstractmorepersonalandcomprehensible.Vygotskynotedthatthisrequiredpractice,activitiesnecessaryforthedevelopment

ofconcepts.Practiceisasocialprocessbecauseapersonworkstowarddevelopmentofculturalpractice.Itismediatedbyuseoftoolsandactivitiesthatfocusattentionondesiredknowledge.

38

Thedevelopmentofconceptualknowledge,whilesupportedbyinstruction,alsorequireslivedexperiencetomaketheabstractmorepersonalandcomprehensible.Vygotskynotedthatthisrequiredpractice,activitiesnecessaryforthedevelopmentofconcepts.Practiceisasocialprocessbecauseapersonworkstowarddevelopmentofculturalpractice.Itismediatedbyuseoftoolsandactivitiesthatfocusattentionondesiredknowledge.

Ifweconstantlyandsensitivelyadapttoourenvironments,thenlearningiscontinuous,atleastinsofarasdurableadaptivechangeoccursinthelearner– worldsystem”(Atkinson,2011,p.144).So,tuning-instudentstorepresentationsintheirdailylifeoftheskillsandvocabularytheyhopetomastercansupportlearning.

Thedatafromthisstudyshowedthatthistheoreticalinterpretationofwhatitistoknowawordor,rather,concept,isreflectedintheeffortsdemonstratedbybothMartyandErikinthefinalmonthsoftheresearchprocess.Withinwhatwaspossibleattheirrespectivesites,givenlearnerdemographicsandtheenvironmentofthelab,eachcorpsmember,insomemeasure,arrivedattherealizationthatsimplyknowingawordwasnotenoughtosupportcomputerskilldevelopment.Consequently,eachaddedinstructionalstrategyexpandeduponthedirectinstructioncritiquedinthequoteabovetoprovidefocusandmediatedactivitiestoofferasemblanceofpracticeorlivedexperiencenecessaryforthelearnerstonotonlyunderstandthevocabulary

andskillsbutalsoreachtheconceptuallevelofunderstandingnecessaryfortransferringthosetermsandskillsintonewcontexts.

39

Thisresearchadd alayerofcomplexitytoresearchonvocabulary