ERIC ED518021: The Patterns and Practices of Rural Middle School Students in a Voluntary Online Summer Reading Course

2010·1.7 MB·English

by  ERIC

The Patterns and Practices of Rural Middle School Students in a
Voluntary Online Summer Reading Course

Dissertation

Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of
Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University

By

Robert John Wilson, M. A.

Graduate Program in Education

The Ohio State University

2010

Dissertation Committee:

Barbara Seidl, Advisor

Mollie Blackburn

Scot Danforth
Copyright by
Robert John Wilson
2010
ABSTRACT

This study explored rural middle-school students’ participation in an online
summer reading course. The research question explored the patterns and practices of the
student’s participation in an online reading course and the instructional moves made by
the teacher. Data were gathered from a small group (n = 4) of rural middle school
students living in northern Appalachia who volunteered to participate in the online
summer reading course. Data indicated that the course as it was originally planned was,
in many ways, failing. Fewer children enrolled than was anticipated and participation
was extremely limited. However, participation increased as the course was restructured
from a traditional classroom structure into the theoretical framework of a CoP. With
greater emphasis on defining of the domain, supportive techniques to instill the
development of strong, trusting relationships within the community, and the
encouragement of students to become practitioners within the domain of the community,
a more functional CoP began to emerge. These findings indicate that attending to major
CoP principles, such as clarifying aspects of the domain, creating an inviting space with
greater opportunities for participation and the evolution of the community, and focusing
on the value of being practitioners in the activities of the community, can be the
difference between a successful or unsuccessful online, voluntary learning community.

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DEDICATION

I dedicate this dissertation to Linda Sue, my wife and best friend of more than 25
years, and mother of our two wonderful children, Joshua and Lindsey. She has stood by
me, with me, behind me, and, yes, occasionally in front of me, when I was traveling too
fast or in the wrong direction. These few words can never describe the feelings I have for
you in my heart. You are a part of me that completes me. I could never repay the
sacrifices you have made or the support you have given me over the years. Your
successes and my successes will always be our successes. I thank you for the all the years
we have spent together and am looking forward to spending our future years together.
I love you, Linda Sue!
I also want to thank my two children, Joshua and Lindsey, for all their efforts in
becoming two of the best children a parent could ever ask for. I am so proud of the way
you treat others, the way you utilize your instilled values and morals in your daily
interactions with others, and the way you constantly think about your future in such
positive and different ways. Both of you, even though you have chosen wonderfully
different paths, think so much alike. This is also dedicated to Mary, my other daughter. I
am honored that you are a part of our family.
I am so proud of all of you!
Words can never truly articulate how I feel about my wife and family.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to personally thank Dr. Barbara Seidl, who has been my advisor,
teacher and guide and has offered me inspiration while also challenging me by asking the
difficult questions. She has opened my mind to the possibilities of life and taught me to
question and challenge the status quo when it is unjust. I appreciate your willingness to
allow me to wander through this university as I searched for what I was going to be
about, and am thankful for all those puzzling questions that kept me thinking on my two-
hour drive home. I would also like to thank Dr. Mollie Blackburn for teaching me the
importance of examining my own personal beliefs and being open to questioning them.
You, too, are responsible for many of my “wonderings” on my two-hour drive home.
Thank you, Dr. Scot Danforth, for the little sign on your door which reads “What would
Dewey do?” Because of this little sign, you have nurtured my philosophy of teaching and
learning. It simply states “Learning with others by Dewey(ing)”. A little sign containing
these words is now on both sides of my classroom door to remind me and other teachers
what we should be doing with children every day. I would also like to thank Dr. Robert
Hite, whose attention to details has rubbed off on me. I have enjoyed our theoretical talks
and our discussions about how to transform theory into pedagogy and andragogy. I
would also like to thank Dr. Ian Wilkinson, who was my first professor at The Ohio State
University. You course was so deeply rooted in theory that I almost got lost in it, but a
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two minute conversation with you in the hallway during a class break truly saved me.
Thank you for being the first to teach me what theory was all about. Finally, I would like
to thank the students who volunteered to participate in this research during their summer
vacation. I will cherish the time I spent with them chatting and getting to know them on a
personal level. I learned a lot from them in a short period of time. Keep reading!

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Vita

1976....................... Associate in Applied Science Muskingum Area Technical College
1980....................... Bachelors of Criminal Justice Ohio University
2002....................... Master of Arts in Teaching Muskingum University
2009....................... Master of Arts The Ohio State University
2000....................... River View Local Schools Intervention Specialist
Field of Study

Major Field: ......... Education
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Abstract ............................................................................................................................ii
Dedication ........................................................................................................................iv
Acknowledgements ..........................................................................................................v
Vita ..................................................................................................................................vii
List of Tables ...................................................................................................................xiii
List of Figures ..................................................................................................................xiv

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................1
Addressing Summer Reading Setback .............................................................................1
Access to Reading Materials ................................................................................2
Problems of Being Rural ......................................................................................3
Research Questions ..........................................................................................................4
Theoretical Foundations for the Study .............................................................................5
Significance of the Study .................................................................................................8
Definitions of Terms ........................................................................................................10
Summary ..........................................................................................................................11

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW .........................................................................13
Summer Reading Setback: Introduction ..........................................................................13
A Brief History of Summer School .................................................................................16
Why have summer school? ..................................................................................16
How long is long enough? ...................................................................................17
Modern use of summer school .............................................................................20
The Effects of Individual Characteristics on Summer Reading Setback .........................21
Summer reading setback and student attributes ...................................................21
The effect of students’ intelligence level .............................................................22
The effect of race and gender...............................................................................22
The effect of the grade a student is in at school ...................................................23
The Effects of Family Attributes on Summer Reading Setback ......................................23
The effect of socioeconomic status ......................................................................24
The effect of parents and family history ..............................................................25
The School’s Involvement ...............................................................................................30
The effect of socioeconomic status and a child’s school .....................................31
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The effect of access to libraries ...........................................................................32
The effects of early summer reading setback on high school success .................33
Availability and Use of the Printed Word........................................................................34
The effect of access to print .................................................................................34
The effect of the volume of reading by children…..............................................36
Suggested Strategies for Addressing Summer Reading Setback .....................................38
Public library programs ........................................................................................39
Summer school reading programs .......................................................................41
Modified school calendars ...................................................................................44
Online Teaching and Learning.........................................................................................47
Social presence in an online course .....................................................................47
Using technologies as access for learning ...........................................................50
Transaction distance theory .................................................................................50
Educational interactions .......................................................................................53
The role of teachers in a digital habitat ................................................................56
A Community of Practice ................................................................................................57
Situated learning in a community of practice ......................................................58
Communities of practice: Conceptual history ......................................................61
Situated learning, apprenticeship, and community of learners:
A comparison .............................................................................................62
Learning from experience ....................................................................................64
The Domain .....................................................................................................................68
Identity through a shared interest .........................................................................68
Commitment to the domain: A joint enterprise ...................................................69
A shared repertoire ...............................................................................................71
The Community ...............................................................................................................72
Participating in joint activities and discussions ...................................................72
Building relationships ..........................................................................................75
Helping, sharing, and learning from each other ...................................................77
The Practice .....................................................................................................................78
Practitioners .........................................................................................................79
Shared resources ..................................................................................................80
A shared practice..................................................................................................82
Summary ..........................................................................................................................83

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH APPROACH .......................................................................85
Action Research ...............................................................................................................87
Ensuring Trustworthiness through Credibility and Transferability .................................88
Triangulation ........................................................................................................90
Peer Debriefing ....................................................................................................90
Negative Case Analysis .......................................................................................91
Referential Adequacy...........................................................................................91
Transferability ..................................................................................................................92
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Setting ..............................................................................................................................93
Participants .......................................................................................................................94
Theoretical Course Design ...............................................................................................96
The Middle School Online Summer Reading Course Design .........................................98
Using Technological Tools ..............................................................................................100
Methods for Data Collection ............................................................................................100
Timeline for the Study .....................................................................................................101
Coding, Processing, and Organizing the Data ...............................................................102
Ethical Considerations .....................................................................................................103
Writing of the Research Report .......................................................................................104
Summary ..........................................................................................................................104

CHAPTER 4: COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE ...............................................................106
The Domain .....................................................................................................................107
Identity .................................................................................................................108
The Student Identity .............................................................................................110
Acting as a student ...................................................................................110
Redirecting and getting redirected ...........................................................113
The Adolescent Identity .......................................................................................114
Social and teasing conversations .............................................................114
The Teacher as My Pal Identity ...........................................................................117
Teacher as a pal: Relational language ......................................................118
Teacher as a pal: What’s in a name? ........................................................119
Informality: Relaxed speech with the teacher present .............................120
Informality and familiarity .......................................................................124
Commitment to the Domain and Sharing of Competence ...................................127
Apologies for not participating: Sorry I couldn’t be there! .....................128
Getting others to participate: Meet me online! ........................................130
Promises made by students: I will get my work done .............................131
Teacher Practices: Building a Community ..........................................................133
Increasing registered students: A great beginning ...................................133
Increasing participation: encouraging student participation ....................136
Increasing participation: using post cards and letters ..............................140
Increasing participation: The stimulus plan .............................................142
The Community ...............................................................................................................145
Participating in Joint Activities and Discussions .................................................146
Helping each other and sharing information ............................................147
Helping each other: Issues with technology ............................................147
Helping each other: Redesigning the course ............................................151
Helping each other: Sharing information about course assignments .......152
Helping each other: Sharing and understanding others’ perspectives .....153
Building Relationships to Learn from Each Other ..............................................154
Building relationships: About that dog … ..............................................155
Building relationships: Discussions with friends and changing minds ...156
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