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Snow

Literature Review/Research Project Worksheet

Research Question

List areas of literacy that interest 1.

you. Put them in order of 2.
priority. 3.

Why is your #1 pick significant

for you personally or
professionally?

How will exploring this issue be

helpful to your students?

How will this help others

(parents, peers, or the field in
general)?

What are potential obstacles that

may stand in the way of
answering your questions on this
topic (time, resources, money,
access, etc.)?
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Naming the Problem

Here you will list the general statement of the problem you wish to study. This question
will guide the direction of your study, so it is important to give adequate thought to the
question itself. It takes time to narrow the question into something that is specific
enough to be researchable. Consider how you might narrow your topic according to the
variables listed on the Troia worksheet. Review pp. 1​5-17 from the ​Choosing & Learning
about Your Research Topic​ for more details on how to complete the following.

Your Response... Prof Checklist...

PURPOSE Clear rationale for the study?

STATEMENT: Focus is refined, not too broad,
The study is and is researchable?
designed to… OR
The purpose of this
study is to
investigate...

KEY TERMS: Narrowing of topic is evidenced

What are some key by selection of key terms?
concepts, or terms,
that you think
readers will need
explained before
understanding your
questions? Bullet
them out...

CONTEXT: Topic is not too obscure? Some

Personal and research is likely available to
professional explore the topic?
context; what
motivated you to
explore this topic?
Relevance?
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SITUATE Personal connection?

YOURSELF
WITHIN THE
RESEARCH:
What is your
professional
role/relationship with
this issue?

AUDIENCE: Intended audience? Interest in

Who, besides the field?
yourself, might be
interested in this
study and could
benefit from the
information gained?
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Developing the Lit Review

It’s time to start thinking about how you will synthesize the research that we already know on
your topic so that we can see where, if any, holes remain. These holes are what you would be
interested in studying (i.e., the research question!), but we first have to make sure that the
question hasn’t already been answered. This is where you will spend time reading research to
learn (1) what we already know and (2) which questions still remain. HINT: To be deemed
“publishable,” most articles will explicitly tell you in the Conclusions section what else needs to
be studied, expressly pointing out the holes in research. Don’t overlook these concise and
helpful clues!!

Review pp 15-18 from the ​Choosing & Learning about Your Research Topic​ chapter before
completing the following:

Broad Topic

Clearly and concisely

state the problem. (I
know you did this
before...can you make it
more concise now that
you’ve begun
researching?).

Is the problem
researchable? How are
others “testing” these
issues in research?

Copy and paste your key

terms from above. Begin
defining them here as you
are seeing them defined
in the research.

Quant, Qual, or Both?

How is the field looking at
this issue?
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Methodology that may

best fit this study
(discourse, content
analysis, survey, etc.)?
What are some possible
procedures/methods you
would use to test your
question?

Situate the study within a

historical context or
theoretical perspective.
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Looking for Research

Use the following checklist from your research chapter (p. 20) to guide your thinking as you go
through the research process:

CENTRAL TERMS AND

KEY CONCEPTS (in order
of importance)

SYNONYMS FOR
KEYWORDS

DATABASE SEARCH
WITH KEYWORDS
(list which databases you
searched)

Remember:
“And” narrows the search
“Or” broadens the search
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Conference Prep

Complete this prior to your scheduled 1:1 conference with Dr. Snow. We will use this as
our discussion guide.

Title of Study:

Bridging the Gap Between Secondary Literacy Skills and the

Workplace

Introduction

[Snow’s Snippets of Advice: Give-a-go at drafting out an intro paragraph for your lit
review. Remember to start broad and move to the more narrow as you work through
your lit review paragraphs on the whole...leading right up to your research question.
With that in mind, pull back and look specifically at this intro paragraph. It needs to be
broad enough to situate the topic within the overarching literacy research, but move
quickly to your specific narrow view lens of the bigger proverbial pie.

See page 28 in Chapter 2 from your Research Readings (Module 3/Week 1). It walks
you through how to write an intro paragraph.]

Key points/Key sentences

(These will be the main ideas for each paragraph with supporting evidence underneath as
supporting details. Everything under the key idea should directly point back to the topic
sentence. If it’s not about the topic sentence, it doesn’t belong in this paragraph.)
READ 650 | W. Snow

Key point 1: Children in the Secondary grades need to be shown the

importance of literacy outside of school.
Supporting evidence:
Supporting evidence:
Supporting evidence:

Key point 2: When children in the Secondary grades are given real life
application to the literacy skills they are learning, they are motivated to put
forth their best effort.
Supporting evidence:
Supporting evidence:
Supporting evidence:

Key point 3: Children in the Secondary grades don’t have the drive or the
skill set in literacy to be readily prepared for the workplace.
Supporting evidence:
Supporting evidence:
Supporting evidence:

Key point 4:
Supporting evidence:
Supporting evidence:
Supporting evidence:

Key point 5:
Supporting evidence:
Supporting evidence:
Supporting evidence:
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Research Question:
Do Secondary aged children take literacy more seriously when they use it through real world
application such as in the workplace?
--do you want to evaluate as an outcome the student perception re reading and its importance
(i.e., reading is a means to greater success in your career) and the curriculum

--does connecting reading in HS to real world authentic outcomes/jobs viability improve reading
engagement?

https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED578488.pdf

How would you study this?

- I would find a group of secondary aged students who struggle in literacy and who also
lack motivation to see the importance in literacy (the second criteria, unfortunately, won’t
be so hard to find).
- I would have students research a career/trade they would love to pursue in their adult
life
- The students would find out how much schooling they would need to achieve this goal
and fill out a job application that I would give them that pertains to their career choice.
- We would have conversations about the literacy skills it took to research their career, the
literacy skills they would need to move forward with their goals, as well as the literacy
skills they would need to maintain throughout their careers/trades.
- I would love to get the students journaling every day of the study about the new literacy
skills they’re learning and why they think they would be important one day. Journaling
prompts could also reach out to the interests of all students to get them motivated about
writing. I would like to conference with the students about their journaling, edit and revise
with them, and see the improvements in their writing over time. Sharing their journal
entries would be a daily part of the routine, as well.

Participants:
Secondary aged children who are struggling in literacy.

Context:
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Qual or Quant:

Qualitative
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Research Articles

Go the the end of this document and select a template to copy/paste into the space below. You
will complete 1 for each of the 8 articles you will submit for your Lit Review. There is a separate
template for qualitative versus quantitative research. If a mixed-methods study, it may be easier
to use the quantitative template.

Article 1

Beaudoin, M.; Casale-Daigneault, R.; Zbikowski, R. (1997). Real Reading: Bridging the Gap
Between School and the Workplace for Adolescents. [Excerpt from Journal] Retrieved
from ​http://www.jstor.org.proxy.longwood.edu/stable/40013451

- This article is based upon a study that was conducted with 25 ninth grade students in
Connecticut.
- The article showed that the 9th graders were placed in a remedial program called Real
Reading as a result of not meeting the district’s reading goal on the state exam.
- The 9th graders went through multiple partnerships with local companies that proved the
point that literacy skills are needed more than ever in the modern day workforce.
- This changed the students’ outlook on their need to learn literacy in school and she
became much more serious about their academics.
- 50% of the 9th grade Real Reading Program passed the state exam at the end of the
year and met the district’s reading goal. 5 of the 9th graders that failed were close to
passing by a few points.
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Article 2

Vasudevan, Lalitha; Campano, Gerald. (2009). The Social Production of Adolescent Risk and
the Promise of Adolescent Literacies. [Chapter from Journal] Retrieved from
https://www.jstor.org/stable/40588127

- This chapter out of a journal highlights the low literacy performances of students who are
part of low SES culture.
- The authors go to many schools and observe the approaches being taken with students
who are struggling with literacy. Many schools used the “scapegoat method” where they
labeled students as “disruptive” or “delinquants” instead of being culturally responsive to
them.
- The authors found excellent teachers in other schools who created literacy programs that
spoke to the culture of the students within their low SES communities.
- One program was called P4P where students wrote poetry to express their feelings. This
program completely transformed a student in particular and kept the program going, it
eventually spread to other schools in the area.
- The second program was called Power Writers where the students were in a class where
the teachers encouraged just writing and the students were eager to read other students’
work and to give and receive feedback.
- The authors found that students who struggle with literacy do not always need to be
drilled with explicitly researched instruction intervention. They need methods that are
authentic to their culture that connect them to the real world.
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Article 3

Fang, Z. (2012). Approaches to Developing Content Area Literacies: A Synthesis and a

Critique (Excerpt from a Journal). Retrieved from
http://www.jstor.org.proxy.longwood.edu/stable/23367715

- This article focuses on 4 main areas of instructional approaches to literacy. One of these
approaches married beautifully with my research topic: The Sociocultural Approach.
- Adolescent literacy instruction that was sociocultural focused on a value of the “out-of-school
literacies that adolescents bring to the classroom and use their everyday funds of knowledge
and cultural practices as both a bridge to and a resource for promoting the development of
content area literacies” (p. 3).
- “Demystifies academic language and academic literacy, blurring the distinction between the
academic and teh everyday” (p. 3).
- This is a great way for students to be linking what they learn about literacy with that they see
and experience in the real world so that the material serves more purpose and meaning to
the students.
- Literacy projects are common with this approach and they bridge connections between the
outside world and school, which in turn builds students’ confidence and positive attitudes
toward school.
- This approach could also be tricky, because students could get confused about appropriate
school language vs. language they use outside of school.
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Article 4

Wang, L. (2007). Sociocultural Learning Theories and Information Literacy Teaching Activities
in Higher Education. Retrieved from
http://www.jstor.org.proxy.longwood.edu/stable/20864842

- This article dives deeper into the sociocultural aspect of learning where students are working
collaboratively with their peers.
- There is a Resource-Based Learning Model presented in this article where the students can
use outside resources to support their literacy learning “books, radio, community experts,
government agencies, the Internet, and CD-ROMS”. Bringing the outside world into the
classroom helps students bridge their literacy with outside resources.
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Article 5

Hull, G.; Schultz, K. (2001). Literacy and Learning Out of School: A Review of Theory and
Research. Retrieved from ​http://www.jstor.org.proxy.longwood.edu/stable/3516099

- First purpose for this research article is to “identify the conceptual advances in theories of
literacy that have arised from non-school-based research and to trace their evolution”.
- Second purpose for this article: to highlight recent research on literacy in out-of-school
settings that exemplifies the range and dimensions of current work”.
- Studies that are highlighted in this research article highlight literacy “activities” that are done
by adults in everyday life.
- There is a focus in this entry on “sociolinguistic perspective” on literacy in school. This is
where researchers are looking beyond traditional school settings and methods to see how
urban school systems are reaching out to their cultural students and students of low SES
who may be struggling in literacy.
- “Schools were failing ‘low income and minority’ children” (p. 6). Minority students have an
ongoing discontinuity with school that differs their experience from other children. There are
huge differences in how language is used at school compared to how it is used at home for
these students.
- “They experience school differently; the result is success for some and failure for others” (p.
6).
- Literacy is described by activity theorists like Vygotsky as “integral units of human life,
motivated by human goals and enacted in the course of everyday activities, especially
beyond school” (p. 8).
- “Schooling and pedagogy constrain our conceptions of literacy practices” (p. 12). “Literacy is
an ideological practice rather than a set of neutral or technical skills” (p. 12).
- “Literacy must be studied in its social, cultural, historical, economic, and political contexts,
both in school and out” (p. 13).
- Question asked by these researchers: “Where there are so many different types of literacy
practices, why is it that school literacy has come to be seen as the defining form of reading
and writing?” (p. 14) ANSWER: real world ideologies of literacy have been ruined by
formalized Western literacy programs.
- “New workplaces are asking workers to invest themselves in their work, merging public and
private lives, in ways that might be considered coercive” (p. 16).
- “To talk about literacy these days, both in school and out, is to speak of events, practices,
activities, ideologies, discourses, and identities” (p. 16).
- Major question of this article: “How might we draw on the out-of-school worlds that engage
youth, even as we attempt to foster school-based expertise?” (p. 17).
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- This research entry demonstrated a number of ‘vignettes’ as an insight into the lives of
students and their experience with out-of-school literacy activities.
★ Vignette #1:​“I’m not a pencil man”
Jacques, 13, of white, affluent neighborhood in Australia. He is seen as the class
clown attitude-type and he sees no use in literacy at school. Jacques is driven by
religion outside of school which helps him practice literacy with holy texts as well as
his father’s excavating business which he serves as an apprentice. Jacques says he
is “not a pencil man” just like his dad. However, Jacques has begun a business of his
own mowing lawns where he made an advertisement. He made it clear on his ad that
he will give prospective customers “over the phone quotes” where he has obviously
observed through real-world literacy examples of professional advertisements.
Though Jacques says he is not a “pencil man” and shows no interest in literacy
within the school’s methodologies, Jacques is more of a “pencil man” than he
believes himself to be.
★ Vignette #2: ​“You gotta pay”
A group of inner-city teenagers gets together to volunteer together. One of their
friends shows up to exclaim that she received a parking ticket on her windshield. The
girl had so many questions about what to do with the parking ticket, how to pay it,
and if she could get out of it. The teenagers passed around the parking ticket
one-by-one to examine it closely for answers. They figured out just from reading the
details on the ticket that the office of security has a copy of the ticket so there was no
‘getting out of it’. They read on the ticket that you can fold the ticket along the
perforated edges to create an envelope where you insert your payment and mail to
the address listed on the paper. This is a perfect example of a literacy activity in
skillform. These students used their knowledge of literacy to study an
outside-of-school artifact and together gathered loads of helpful information in their
very real-life situation.
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Article 6

Kohnen, A. (2015). They’re Not Keeping a Journal of Feelings: Literacy Initiatives and Career
and Technical Education. [Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 58). Retrieved from
http://www.jstor.org.proxy.longwood.edu/stable/44011199

- Students who enrolled in CTE courses (vocational courses) in 11th and 12th grade were
now required to participate in “embedded English” within these courses.
- The students had specific writing assignments such as daily journals where the students
had to write about their day-to-day experiences in the CTE course they were enrolled in.
- This program is meant to bring ideals to youth about how vocational practices are more
than merely “neck down” work, they are becoming more increasingly “neck up” career
paths as technology and modern times arise.
- Some CTE teachers try to argue against the embedded literacy approach because they
stand by the notion that writing has no place in their line of expertise (whether that be
welding, culinary arts, cosmetology, etc.)
- Lots of the CTE teachers in this article agreed that they were able to find daily journaling
relevant and motivating for their students.
- Some CTE teachers made their rubrics for the daily journals graded based heavily upon
writing mechanics, conventions, and handwriting. This rubric seemed to the author as
though these teachers were grading them like “busy work” but once the author
interviewed the CTE teachers, he understood that conventions ad handwriting was
important for entry level jobs in these fields for applications and to show professionalism.
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Article 7

Marchand-Martella, N.; Martella, R.; Modderman, S.; Petersen, H.; Pan, S. (2013). Key Areas
of Effective Adolescent Literacy Programs. [Journal of Education and Treatment of
Children, 36] Retrieved from ​http://www.jstor.org.proxy.longwood.edu/stable/42900608
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Article 8

Moody, B.; Kruse, G.; Nagel, J.; Conlon, B. (2008). Career Development Project for
Incarcerated Youth: Preparing for the Future. [Journal of Correctional Education, 59]
Retrieved from ​http://www.jstor.org.proxy.longwood.edu/stable/23282676
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Article #9

Moje, E. (1996). I Teach Students, Not Subjects: Teacher-Student Relationships as Contexts

for Secondary Literacy. [Journal of Reading Research Quarterly, 31] Retrieved from
http://www.jstor.org.proxy.longwood.edu/stable/748120

Eric Jensen “Teaching with poverty in mind”

ASCD.org
http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/109074/chap
ters/How-Poverty-Affects-Behavior-and-Academic-P
erformance.aspx​ (accessed April 16, 2019).
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Eric Jensen “Teaching with poverty in mind”

ASCD.org
http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/109074/chap
ters/How-Poverty-Affects-Behavior-and-Academic-P
erformance.aspx​ (accessed April 16, 2019).

https://www.rif.org/sites/default/files/Literacy-Facts-S
tats.pdf

12 Step Templates

Quantitative Research Template

12-Step

1. CITATION:
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2.​ ​PURPOSE/GENERAL RATIONALE:

● Purpose:

● How did authors make case for general importance​?

3. FIT AND SPECIFIC RATIONALE:

● How does this fit into existing research?

● How is that provenance used to make a specific case for the

investigation?
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4. PARTICIPANTS:

● Describe who was studied (# and characteristics)

● How were they selected

5.​ ​CONTEXT:

● Where did the study take place?

● Describe important characteristics:

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6.​ ​STEPS IN SEQUENCE:

● In order performed, what were the main procedural steps? Use

flowchart to diagram order/relationship:

7.​ ​DATA:

● What constituted data (test scores, questionnaire responses,

frequency counts):

● How was it collected?

● What was the role of the investigator in the process?

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8.​ ​ANALYSIS:

● What form of data analysis was used?

● What specific question(s) was it designed to answer?

● What statistical operations and computer programs were employed?

9.​ ​RESULTS:

● What did the author’s identify as the primary results

(products/findings produced by the analysis of data)?
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10.​ ​CONCLUSIONS:

● What did the author(s) assert about how the results in #9 responded
to the purpose established in #2?

● How did the events and experiences of the entire study contribute to
that conclusion?

11.​ ​CAUTIONS:

● What cautions does the author raise about the study itself and/or
interpreting the results?

● Personal reservations?
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12.​ ​DISCUSSION:
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● What interesting facts or ideas did you learn from the report?

● Things of value:

○ Results:

○ Research designs:

○ References:

○ Instruments:

○ History

○ Useful arguments:

○ Personal inspiration:
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Qualitative Research Template

12-Step

1. CITATION​:

2.​ ​PURPOSE/GENERAL RATIONALE​:

● Purpose:

● How did authors make the case for general importance​?

3. FIT AND SPECIFIC RATIONALE​:

● How does this fit into existing research?

● How is that provenance used to make a specific case for the

investigation?
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4. PARTICIPANTS​:

● Who was the author (important characteristics)

● How is the author related to the purpose, participants, and study

site?

● Who was studied:

○ #:
○ Characteristics:
○ How selected:

5.​ ​CONTEXT​:

● Where did the study take place?

● Describe important characteristics:
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6.​ ​STEPS IN SEQUENCE​:

● In order performed, what were the main procedural steps? Use

flowchart to diagram order/relationship:

7. DATA​:

● What constituted data (field notes, interview transcripts,

photographs, diaries):
● How was it collected?

● What was the role of the investigator in the process?

8. ANALYSIS​:

● What form of data analysis was used?

● What specific question(s) was it designed to answer?
● What statistical operations and computer programs were employed?
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9. RESULTS​:

● What did the authors identify as the primary results

(products/findings produced by the analysis of data)?

10.CONCLUSIONS​:

● What did the author(s) assert about how the results in #9 responded
to the purpose established in #2?
● How did the events and experiences of the entire study contribute to
that conclusion?

11.CAUTIONS​:

● What cautions does the author raise about the study itself and/or
interpreting the results?

● Personal reservations? Did methods enhance credibility?

Trustworthiness/believability?
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12.DISCUSSION​:

● What interesting facts or ideas did you learn from the report?
● Things of value:
○
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Sample Completed Quantitative Research Template

12-Step

The Simple View of Reading

Hoover, W.A. & Gough, P.B. (1990). The simple view of reading. ​Reading and Writing​, 2,
127-160.

BIG DEAL:

·​ ​Skill in reading can be simply characterized as the product of skill in decoding and
linguistic comp
·​ ​Reading consists of only 2 components: decoding and linguistic comprehension
o​ ​It’s complex, it’s just that the complexities can be divided into 2 parts
·​ ​The two parts are of equal importance and are multiplicative
o​ ​Both are successful->neither is sufficient by itself!
·​ ​R = D X L (where each is a variable ranging from 0 (nullity) to 1 (perfection)
·​ ​For skilled reading, skill in both components is required, while a weakness ineither
component is sufficient for less skilled reading
·​ ​Skill in both components is necessary if skill in reading is to advance
·​ ​Suggests that instruction that advances skill in either decoding or linguistic
comprehension will promote skill in reading as long as skill in neither component is nil
·​ ​Acquisition of language is acquired naturally; acquisition of decoding is not (need
formal instruction)

DESIGN TYPE: Longitudinal

·​ ​Sample ·​ ​English-Spanish bilingual children in 1​st​-4​th

· ·​ Insert diagram of the methodology

KEY TERMS:
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·​ ​Decoding: skilled decoding is simply efficient word recognition: the ability to rapidly derive a
representation from printed input that allows access to the appropriate entry in the mental lexicon,
and thus, the retrieval of semantic information at the word level. 130
o​ ​Pseudowords are great at assessing this
·​ ​Comprehension:
o​ ​linguistic comprehension​: the ability to take lexical information (ie: semantic information at the
word level) and derive sentence and discourse interpretations
o​ ​Reading comprehension​: involves the same ability, but one that relies on graphic-based
information arriving through the eye
·​ ​Literacy​: the contrast between linguistic comprehension and reading comprehension
o​ ​With respect to current linguistic skill, such a person is fully literate (for reading) since whatever
can be comprehended by ear can likewise be comprehended by eye, and vice versa (when
decoding is strong enough???)
·​ ​Reading Ability​: the difference between linguistic comprehension and reading
comprehension
·​ ​Code reading​: selective association
·​ ​Cipher reading​: baed on knowledge of the systematic relationship between printed/spoken
word
o​ ​See what child must possess to move to cipher reading p. 152
·​ ​Dyslexia​: defined by exclusion, dyslexics being those who have difficulty reading despite
normal intelligence and sensory functioning, an adequate opportunity to learn, and an absence of
severe neurological or physical disability, emotional, or social difficulty, or SES disadvantage
o​ ​Linguistically competent, stems from deficiency in decoding skill
o​ ​“reading failure represented in dyslexia is a failure in decoding” 154
·​ ​Hyperlexia​: superior decoding skill companied by inferior comprehension skill (rare)
o​ ​Exceptional skill in decoding, but reading age equivalents that were nearly 2 years lower than
those expected from chronological age (Healy 1982)

KEY QUOTES:

·​ ​“to analyze reading would be to describe “very many of the most intricate workings of the
human mind.” P.6
·​ ​“the performance of a symphony orchestra” p7
·​ ​Yes, reading involves a host of higher level processes—BUT these can be achieved by
people who cannot read!

BIG IDEAS:
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·​ ​Simple view: what distinguishes reading is that the reader is exercising such abilities in
reponse to graphic shapes into linguistic form.
·​ ​In the early grades, decoding and linguistic comprehension are unrelatedàboth correlate with
reading comprehension, but decoding is substantially stronger
·​ ​As students age, the correlation with decoding increases, but linguistic comprehension
becomes more dominant
·​ ​Decoding uniquely accounted for from 3%-13% of the varieance in reading comprehension
across the three grade levels studied, while linguistic comprehension accounted for from
23%-35%.
·​ ​Parallel materials must be used in the assessments of linguistic comprehension and reading
comprehension 132
·​ ​Simply increasing linguistic comprehension by expanding the domain of known words will
also fail to result in increased reading comprehension unless success in decoding the printed
representations of those words in the enlarged domain in also guaranteed
·​ ​Expanded linguistic comprehension without expanded decoding skill results in reduced
literacy as the difference in skill between oral language (ling) and written (reading) comp has been
increased. However, increased potential for literacy as linguistic capacity has been expanded
thereby allowing expanded reading potential (Sticht/James, 1984) should adequate skills be
acquired
·​ ​If decoding skills are adequate, then the limit on reading is the limit on linguistic
comprehension!!!
·​ ​Teaching reading will not reduce the problem of illiteracy if that problem is mainly seen as
one focused on conceptual understanding
·​ ​The overall education of individuals must be considered not just through reading, but what
can be understood through listening

RESULTS & DISCUSSION:

·​ ​Ave 1​st​ grade performance on listening was 3​rd​ grade when reading at 1​st​ grade narrative
level
·​ ​Decoding and linguistic comprehension are substantially related to reading comprehension,
but further, that their relationship is conditional
·​ ​Constituents of linguistic comprehension:
o​ ​Decoding, vocabulary, sentence comprehension, paragraph comprehension, text
comprehension
o​ ​The simple view doesn’t deny their role, but such a simplification explicitly states that
these skills are not specific to reading, that advancement in any one represents
advancement in linguistic skill, such also advancing reading skill to the degree allowed by
skill in decoding
§​ ​KEY TO WHY COMP CAN BE TAUGHT AT HIGHER LEVEL!
·​ ​Linguistic comprehension: does not claim that exactly the same procedures used in linguistic
comprehension are employed in reading comprehension
o​ ​Ie: supra-segmentals represented in speech are greatly impoverished in written language
o​ ​Each are likely to be reflected in processing differences
·​ ​Improvements in listening comp (effected through a variety of training programs) lead to
improvements in reading comp (Sticht/James 1984)
·​ ​Impact of prior knowledge: the greater the knowledge base expressible through linguistic
comp, the greater the reading comp
·​ ​When decoding skills are highly developed, reading and listening skills will be equivalent
·​ ​In the case of hyperlexia, reduced linguistic comprehension will be responsible for reduced
reading comprehension
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Sample Completed Qualitative Research Template

12-Step
1. CITATION​:
Morrell, E. (2002). Toward a critical pedagogy of popular culture: Literacy
development among urban youth. ​Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 46:(​ 1),
72-77.

2.​ PURPOSE/GENERAL RATIONALE​:

​

● Purpose:
To suggest the need for improving the accessibility of the academic literacy curriculum
for urban youth; incorporation of current “pop culture” as a way of making
connections/relevance to academic literacy; and to show that critical literacy can lead to
“an emancipated worldview and even transformational social action.”

● How did authors make the case for general importance​?

The authors expressed concern that many urban youth appear to be lacking intelligence
when, in actuality, it is more a function not seeing the relevance of mainstream academic
literacy. There is a need to shift toward critical literacy, meaning literacy should be
situated within the context of student experiences, such as hip-hop music, while
connections regarding common social and political struggles for freedom are built across
historical and literary periods.

3. FIT AND SPECIFIC RATIONALE​:

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● How does this fit into existing research?

The present article acts off the premise that the literacies of urban youth have little to do
with the mainstream academic literacy culture. If we are to connect to this population of
students, critical teaching of popular culture is necessary. Few studies are sited to
support this endeavor.

● How is that provenance used to make a specific case for the investigation?
There does not appear to be a strong case for provenance. The author sites lack of
progress with current multicultural education as a reason for trying cultural literacy. He
sites one study where the critical teaching of popular culture allowed urban youths to
make connections “that are relevant

4. PARTICIPANTS​:
● Who was the author (important characteristics)
Ernest Morrell teaches at Michigan State University in the College of Education.
● How is the author related to the purpose, participants, and study site?
He taught urban youths for 8 years in the San Francisco Bay area and south California.
● Who was studied:
○ #:​ ​?? “data collected during the 8 years that I taught urban teens in the
SF Bay area and southern CA
○ Characteristics:​ “urban teens”; ​Hip Hop​: infer that they are high school
senior English students; P​opular Film​: ???; ​Television and Media​: urban
youth in Los Angeles in a research seminar bringing high school students
to a local university for several weeks in the summer.
○ How selected: ​does not stipulate

5.​ CONTEXT​:
​

● Where did the study take place?

San Francisco Bay, Los Angeles, local university
● Describe important characteristics:
Urban youth were observed; units were designed and observations were noted

6.​ STEPS IN SEQUENCE​:

​
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● In order performed, what were the main procedural steps? Use flowchart to
diagram order/relationship:

7. DATA​:
● What constituted data (field notes, interview transcripts, photographs, diaries):
Observations to include such things as: reading difficult texts, producing own text, oral
debates, expository pieces; poems, rap songs
● How was it collected?
The article does not state how data was collected.
● What was the role of the investigator in the process?
At times, he was the developer and teacher of the curriculum in a high school. At other
times, he brought students to seminars at a local university.

8. ANALYSIS​:
● What form of data analysis was used?
Observations?
● What specific question(s) was it designed to answer?
It can be inferred that the author wanted to investigate the ability of students to make
connections between pop culture and academic literacy.
● What statistical operations and computer programs were employed?
None.

9. RESULTS​:
● What did the authors identify as the primary results (products/findings produced
by the analysis of data)?
Students were able to make quality interpretations, create original poems, examine
literary work of previous periods within the light of pop culture, incorporate film with
traditional literacy methods, create magazines depicting social injustices at school, and
use critical/analytical skills to make interpretations.

10.CONCLUSIONS​:
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● What did the author(s) assert about how the results in #9 responded to the purpose
established in #2?
Students are more motivated when they can analyze problems within the context of their
own community. Critical literacy offers a way of meeting the new challenges of
multicultural education by giving students a way to connect the present with the past.
● How did the events and experiences of the entire study contribute to that
conclusion?
The author felt the students were much more engaged during this experiment.

11.CAUTIONS​:
● What cautions does the author raise about the study itself and/or interpreting the
results?
Educators should conduct classroom-based research on innovative practices.
● Personal reservations? Did methods enhance credibility?
Trustworthiness/believability?
Not sure what was “studied.” The question is unclear. I don’t see the control: What are
we comparing this to? He makes the assumption that current multicultural education is
not working, yet I did not see the provenance for this in his introduction. Also, what was
the data? How was it collected? I don’t see the methods enhancing credibility. Were
the students aware of this 8-year study? Was it a retrospective study or was data
collected at touchpoints along the way?

12.DISCUSSION​:
● What interesting facts or ideas did you learn from the report?
The projects seemed interesting and seem to give reason to employ new methods for
reaching urban youth.
● Things of value:
○ Because I am less familiar with the research base in this area, I find it
hard to evaluate as credible.