Mark K Felton - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Mark K Felton
Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 2004
A teacher works with and guides a small group of students as they analyze primary sources and pre... more A teacher works with and guides a small group of students as they analyze primary sources and prepare to write an argument. Photograph by CJ Breil.
Per potenciar el pensament creatiu a classe cal comprendre les arrels d’aquest pensament en el ra... more Per potenciar el pensament creatiu a classe cal comprendre les arrels d’aquest pensament en el raonament argumentatiu. El pensament critic inclou la recerca i l’avaluacio de les raons que hi ha darrere d’una afirmacio. Per prendre part en aquesta activitat d’investigacio, cal entendre els elements sobre els quals es discuteix i com aquests es combinen per justificar una conclusio. Les investigacions es mostren cada vegada mes unanimes en el fet que els estudiants experimenten una millora substancial en el desenvolupament del pensament critic (i que aquesta millora es transfereix tambe a nous temes) a mesura que van adquirint experiencia en el dialeg argumentatiu. Amb tot, si be la practica en dialeg argumentatiu pot fomentar la capacitat dels estudiants d’analitzar criticament les afirmacions dels altres, tambe pot dificultar la seva predisposicio a avaluar criticament les propies afirmacions. Aquest article proposa una aproximacio al dialeg argumentatiu que empenyi els estudiants a...
In this paper, we report on our own modest professional development efforts that accompanied a U.... more In this paper, we report on our own modest professional development efforts that accompanied a U.S. history curriculum intervention project for 8 graders. We identify one specific studentlearning goal located at the intersection of historical thinking and literacy: the disciplinary use of evidence in writing historical argument. In recognition of the challenges associated with such a goal, we created a one-year professional development experience to support teachers’ understanding of the intended outcomes and facility with the curriculum. The professional development course aimed to develop teachers’ conceptual understandings of history, historical thinking and writing, and student learning. We offered opportunities to analyze students’ essays and to practice specific strategies that promote historical thinking and writing. We share what teachers noticed in their students’ writing over the course of one year, including their increased attention to features of historical thinking and...
Writing is crucial to success in high school, college, the workplace, and civic life. Yet, little... more Writing is crucial to success in high school, college, the workplace, and civic life. Yet, little time is spent on writing in schools, and teachers seldom learn how to teach writing in their preservice or in-service experiences (National Commission on Writing, 2003). Perhaps as a consequence, only one-quarter of adolescents demonstrate proficiency on national writing assessments (National Center for Education Statistics, 2003, 2012). In addition, college instructors report that only half of their students are prepared for college-level writing, business leaders say that 65% of their employees write adequately, and 62%-65% of high school graduates feel they are prepared for either endeavor (Achieve Inc., 2005; National Commission on Writing, 2004). One recent response to this challenge has been to expand literacy instruction beyond English language arts classrooms into other subject areas. The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) emphasize disciplinary literacy by making literacy instr...
Learning, Culture and Social Interaction
Abstract Deliberative argument refers to a collaborative argumentative exchange in which speakers... more Abstract Deliberative argument refers to a collaborative argumentative exchange in which speakers hold incompatible views and seek to resolve these differences to arrive at a consensual decision. Studies have shown that some of the features of deliberative argument emerge under conditions where the goals of argument are structured to promote consensus-seeking, rather than competition. In a series of studies we have shown that deliberative argument is associated with greater learning and reasoning outcomes among adolescents and young adults when compared with persuasive argument. In this paper, we present the argumentative discourse coding scheme we have developed to identify the elements of deliberative argument based on normative models of argumentative discourse. We go on to demonstrate how the coding scheme can be used to unpack the potential educational benefits of deliberative argument over other types of argumentative discourse. In so doing, we hope to offer an empirical framework for understanding how best to leverage the power of argumentation in educational settings.
Reading Research Quarterly
This study explored the extent to which an 18-day history and writing curriculum intervention, ta... more This study explored the extent to which an 18-day history and writing curriculum intervention, taught over the course of one year, helped culturally and academically diverse adolescents achieve important disciplinary literacy learning in history. Teachers used a cognitive apprenticeship form of instruction for the integration of historical reading and writing strategies and content learning with the goal of improving students' historical argument writing. The intervention had positive and significant results for each writing outcome. After controlling for variables associated with students' incoming abilities, the researchers found moderate to large effects for all participants. Relative to basic readers in the control condition, those participating in the intervention scored higher in historical writing and writing quality and wrote longer essays; these results translate into effect sizes of .45 on basic readers' historical writing, .32 on their overall writing quality, and .60 on the length of their papers. Teachers implemented the reading and writing curriculum intervention with high levels of implementation fidelity, leading the researchers to explore additional factors that contributed to students' success after accounting for teacher effectiveness. The results indicate further benefits dependent on the degree to which students completed the curriculum. O ver the past 10 years, there has been growing recognition that by adolescence, writing to learn and learning to write in school must connect learners to ways of knowing in the disciplines (Carter, Ferzli, & Wiebe, 2007; Moje, 2008). Although some debate the most appropriate aim for secondary content area literacy instruction (Conley, 2012; Draper, 2008; Shanahan & Shanahan, 2012), with calls for writing to support knowledge acquisition (Heller, 2010), there appears to be growing consensus that as students progress through the curriculum, they should write not only to demonstrate content area learning but also to grapple with domain-dependent and intellectually challenging issues (
Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 2004
A teacher works with and guides a small group of students as they analyze primary sources and pre... more A teacher works with and guides a small group of students as they analyze primary sources and prepare to write an argument. Photograph by CJ Breil.
Per potenciar el pensament creatiu a classe cal comprendre les arrels d’aquest pensament en el ra... more Per potenciar el pensament creatiu a classe cal comprendre les arrels d’aquest pensament en el raonament argumentatiu. El pensament critic inclou la recerca i l’avaluacio de les raons que hi ha darrere d’una afirmacio. Per prendre part en aquesta activitat d’investigacio, cal entendre els elements sobre els quals es discuteix i com aquests es combinen per justificar una conclusio. Les investigacions es mostren cada vegada mes unanimes en el fet que els estudiants experimenten una millora substancial en el desenvolupament del pensament critic (i que aquesta millora es transfereix tambe a nous temes) a mesura que van adquirint experiencia en el dialeg argumentatiu. Amb tot, si be la practica en dialeg argumentatiu pot fomentar la capacitat dels estudiants d’analitzar criticament les afirmacions dels altres, tambe pot dificultar la seva predisposicio a avaluar criticament les propies afirmacions. Aquest article proposa una aproximacio al dialeg argumentatiu que empenyi els estudiants a...
In this paper, we report on our own modest professional development efforts that accompanied a U.... more In this paper, we report on our own modest professional development efforts that accompanied a U.S. history curriculum intervention project for 8 graders. We identify one specific studentlearning goal located at the intersection of historical thinking and literacy: the disciplinary use of evidence in writing historical argument. In recognition of the challenges associated with such a goal, we created a one-year professional development experience to support teachers’ understanding of the intended outcomes and facility with the curriculum. The professional development course aimed to develop teachers’ conceptual understandings of history, historical thinking and writing, and student learning. We offered opportunities to analyze students’ essays and to practice specific strategies that promote historical thinking and writing. We share what teachers noticed in their students’ writing over the course of one year, including their increased attention to features of historical thinking and...
Writing is crucial to success in high school, college, the workplace, and civic life. Yet, little... more Writing is crucial to success in high school, college, the workplace, and civic life. Yet, little time is spent on writing in schools, and teachers seldom learn how to teach writing in their preservice or in-service experiences (National Commission on Writing, 2003). Perhaps as a consequence, only one-quarter of adolescents demonstrate proficiency on national writing assessments (National Center for Education Statistics, 2003, 2012). In addition, college instructors report that only half of their students are prepared for college-level writing, business leaders say that 65% of their employees write adequately, and 62%-65% of high school graduates feel they are prepared for either endeavor (Achieve Inc., 2005; National Commission on Writing, 2004). One recent response to this challenge has been to expand literacy instruction beyond English language arts classrooms into other subject areas. The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) emphasize disciplinary literacy by making literacy instr...
Learning, Culture and Social Interaction
Abstract Deliberative argument refers to a collaborative argumentative exchange in which speakers... more Abstract Deliberative argument refers to a collaborative argumentative exchange in which speakers hold incompatible views and seek to resolve these differences to arrive at a consensual decision. Studies have shown that some of the features of deliberative argument emerge under conditions where the goals of argument are structured to promote consensus-seeking, rather than competition. In a series of studies we have shown that deliberative argument is associated with greater learning and reasoning outcomes among adolescents and young adults when compared with persuasive argument. In this paper, we present the argumentative discourse coding scheme we have developed to identify the elements of deliberative argument based on normative models of argumentative discourse. We go on to demonstrate how the coding scheme can be used to unpack the potential educational benefits of deliberative argument over other types of argumentative discourse. In so doing, we hope to offer an empirical framework for understanding how best to leverage the power of argumentation in educational settings.
Reading Research Quarterly
This study explored the extent to which an 18-day history and writing curriculum intervention, ta... more This study explored the extent to which an 18-day history and writing curriculum intervention, taught over the course of one year, helped culturally and academically diverse adolescents achieve important disciplinary literacy learning in history. Teachers used a cognitive apprenticeship form of instruction for the integration of historical reading and writing strategies and content learning with the goal of improving students' historical argument writing. The intervention had positive and significant results for each writing outcome. After controlling for variables associated with students' incoming abilities, the researchers found moderate to large effects for all participants. Relative to basic readers in the control condition, those participating in the intervention scored higher in historical writing and writing quality and wrote longer essays; these results translate into effect sizes of .45 on basic readers' historical writing, .32 on their overall writing quality, and .60 on the length of their papers. Teachers implemented the reading and writing curriculum intervention with high levels of implementation fidelity, leading the researchers to explore additional factors that contributed to students' success after accounting for teacher effectiveness. The results indicate further benefits dependent on the degree to which students completed the curriculum. O ver the past 10 years, there has been growing recognition that by adolescence, writing to learn and learning to write in school must connect learners to ways of knowing in the disciplines (Carter, Ferzli, & Wiebe, 2007; Moje, 2008). Although some debate the most appropriate aim for secondary content area literacy instruction (Conley, 2012; Draper, 2008; Shanahan & Shanahan, 2012), with calls for writing to support knowledge acquisition (Heller, 2010), there appears to be growing consensus that as students progress through the curriculum, they should write not only to demonstrate content area learning but also to grapple with domain-dependent and intellectually challenging issues (