Vicki Collet

University of Arkansas at Fayetteville | U of A · Department of Curriculum and Instruction

This study considers a contextualized approach to grammar instruction, asking: “Does embedded instruction using published authors as mentors improve grammar and usage for young writers?” Twenty-three students in one second-grade classroom participated. Students were taught grammar conventions through use of mentor texts for 45 minutes a day, four t...

One of the most vital forms of dialogue for a novice teacher is the inner dialogue of reflective practice. Reflection is an evidence-based practice that improves instruction during preservice teachers' practicum experiences. While student teaching, preservice teachers may be so caught up in implementing lessons that they are unable to reflect in ac...

A concern about grammar and usage instruction is the ineffectiveness of the frequently-used practice of worksheets and out-of-context application. In light of recent findings that applied grammar instruction can improve students’ writing, a need for research on increasing teachers’ pedagogical knowledge in this area is indicated. This case study ex...

This study considers how configurations of leadership practices impact perceptions of implementation during large-scale reform: implementation in the United States of Common Core State Standards. Comments of 951 respondents to a national teacher survey were examined. Analysis revealed the hybrid nature of leadership enactment with a range of leader...

Purpose The purpose of this article is to describe an approach to analyzing qualitative data that uses Bakhtin's concepts of dialogue as a framework. Design/methodology/approach Polyphonic Analysis is proposed as a critical approach to qualitative data analysis that emphasizes creating virtual dialogues of participants’ voices, bringing together...

Background: Federal and state accountability policies attempt to improve educational outcomes but have been blamed for a breadth of ills, including minimizing local knowledge and reducing teachers’ ability to respond to contextual needs. Teachers in high-needs schools, especially, feel the effects of constrained curricula and increased testing, res...

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) represent an unprecedented change in American education. As an increasingly integral part of the school accountability movement under No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top, responsibility for implementing CCSS rests largely with school leadership. One important factor in the success or failure of these effo...

This study evaluates the Gradual Increase of Responsibility (GIR) model as guide and descriptor for a mentoring process that uses school-based mentors to support teaching interns. The study examines whether mentoring using this model leads to more effective teaching by interns. Mentors are tasked with supporting student teachers’ acquisition of und...

The author provides readers with resources to enrich writing instruction but also underscores the importance of being intentional about the choices we make for our students.

Purpose. This collective case study investigated the ways in which coaching supports teacher change. Specifically, the study considers what types of feedback are best at what times in the coaching process and how coaching supports teachers’ application of learning to differing contexts. Methodology. The study was conducted over an 18-month period i...

Common Core State Standards are embroiled in controversy and politics. The need to continue to study the many facets of educational changes remains critical, especially from the perspective of the teachers experiencing such changes firsthand. Existing surveys of teacher perceptions regarding the Common Core State Standards have focused primarily on...

Purpose. This collective case study investigated the ways in which coaching supports teacher change. Specifically, the study considers what types of feedback are best at what times in the coaching process and how coaching supports teachers’ application of learning to differing contexts. Methodology. The study was conducted over an 18-month period i...

This article explores questions about how to create meaningful PD experience related to the effective teaching of argumentative writing, providing suggestions that could be adapted and incorporated by literacy leaders hoping to influence instruction and student achievement in academic writing. These insights may also have broader application, as le...

The adoption and implementation of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in 45 states arguably represents the most significant educational change in American history. Successful long-term educational change requires the support and commitment of many stakeholders, especially teachers implementing any given change. This case study of a single state...

Purpose – To provide a model for mentoring teachers through the process of improving instruction and intervention. Design/methodology/approach – The chapter describes the Gradual Increase of Responsibility model for coaching, an adaptation of Pearson and Gallagher's (1983) Gradual Release of Responsibility model that can be used by coaches as they...

Literacy Will Provide an Important Freedom

This study examines the gradual increase of responsibility (GIR) model for teacher coaching (Collet, 200812. Collet , V. Coaching today's teachers: Mentoring using new literacies . Paper presented at the 2008 National Reading Conference . December . View all references), an adaptation of Pearson and Gallagher's (1983)48. Pearson , P. D. and Gallagh...