First-Grade Writing Instruction with Dual-Language Learners: Research in Progress

• In Event: Division K: Research in Progress Session

Abstract

Dual-language learners (DLLs) represent a significant number of children in U.S. schools, yet a marked academic achievement gap exists between DLLs and monolingual learners. Although early literacy instruction has been linked to academic success, little research has explored how and why writing instruction is implemented for DLLs in a mainstream setting, and how children use instruction to mediate their writing. Using a multiple case-study design, grounded in socio-cultural theory, observations of two first-grade teachers and two focal students were conducted. Additionally, the teachers provided insight into their instructional decision-making through stimulated-recall interviews. Findings from this research in progress will include insight into the particulars of the teachers’ instructional choices, how the teachers implement those choices with the DLLs in their classrooms, and how the students use their teachers’ instruction to mediate their proficiency in written English.

Author

• Elizabeth Lowrance-Faulhaber, University of Cincinnati