Patterns of Language Arts Instructional Activity and Excellence in First– and Fourth–Grade Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Classrooms

doi:10.1017/CBO9780511616419.006

6 - Patterns of Language Arts Instructional Activity and Excellence in First– and Fourth–Grade Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Classrooms

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 23 November 2009

Edited by

Roland G. Tharp and

Peggy Estrada: Affiliation:
Center for Research, Diversity, and Excellence, University of California, Santa Cruz
Hersh C. Waxman: Affiliation:
University of Houston
Roland G. Tharp: Affiliation:
University of California, Santa Cruz
R. Soleste Hilberg: Affiliation:
University of California, Santa Cruz

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Summary

In this chapter, I test the utility of using a recently developed live observation tool, the Activity Setting Observation System (ASOS), to quantify and analyze patterns of instructional activity using a sociocultural lens. Specifically, I used the ASOS to examine the extent to which features of effective pedagogical and organizational practices were present in language arts instructional activity in 27 culturally and linguistically diverse first- and fourth-grade classrooms. In addition, I examined the association of the presence of these features with measures of student performance.

Efforts to identify best practices for culturally and linguistically diverse students from poverty backgrounds have grown steadily in recent years. Spurred by the well-known facts of underachievement among this group and its quickly increasing numbers, a number of researchers have begun to document the kinds of classroom instruction these students typically receive, as well as to investigate the kind of instruction that is effective (e.g., Brookhart & Rusnak, 1993; Estrada & Imhoff, 2001a; Garcia, 1990; Saunders & Goldenberg, 1999; Speidel, 1987; Tharp & Gallimore, 1988; Waxman, Huang, & Padrón, 1995).

Ironically, the teaching that these children receive is often an impoverished version of the common tradition dominated by whole-group instruction, teacher talk, assignment of tasks, and assessment. Studies looking at instructional practices in classrooms serving high proportions of low-income students have shown that teachers often operate with a hierarchical or linear perspective of student learning: Basic skills must be mastered before students can engage in higher-order thinking.

Type: Chapter
Information: Observational Research in U.S. Classrooms
New Approaches for Understanding Cultural and Linguistic Diversity
, pp. 122 - 143

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511616419.006 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2004

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