Interrogating, Sleuthing, & Tinkering: A Fellowship of Approaches for Innovative Oral Language Research

Session Submission Type: Symposium

Abstract

This symposium explores three “wide-angle views” that offer innovative approaches for fostering language skill in preschool and middle grade children. The first study examines assumptions of language-focused professional development that contribute to unintended epistemological tensions. The second study explores the relationship between distal influences (child characteristics) and proximal classroom processes (conversational opportunities) for teachers and children. The third study illuminates contributions of the learner, classroom contexts, and teachers’ linguistic scaffolding to students’ academic language learning.

Content Area

• AREA 3. Literacy Assessment, Learning, and Teaching

Chair

• Molly F. Collins, Vanderbilt University

Discussant

• Molly F. Collins, Vanderbilt University

Individual Presentations

• Analyzing the Features and Underlying Assumptions of Language-Focused Professional Development for Early Childhood Educators - Kaitlin Herbert, Vanderbilt University, Peabody College

• Identifying Levers for Improvement: Examining Proximal Processes and Contextual Influences on Preschool Language Development - Elizabeth Burke Hadley, University of South Florida

• The Role of Educator Oral Language Scaffolds in Academic Language Development during Middle Childhood - Emily Phillips Galloway, Vanderbilt University