ASU is Offering ENG 500:
Research Methods in English Education
Investigating Reading and Writing Practices in Secondary Schools
Spring 2012
Wednesdays 4:40-7:30pm
Dr. Jessica Early
Course Description:
This graduate seminar is designed to explore research methods used to study the reading and writing practices of secondary students in classroom settings. Research methodology is a central issue for literacy researchers and this course will link methodological concerns with practical issues, acknowledging the ways research design has an impact on the classroom as well as the academy. In recent years, researchers examining secondary reading and writing practices have become increasingly interested in expanding their methodological options and theoretical frames and have drawn on multiple methods including case studies, interviews, surveys, ethnography, content analysis, teacher research, action research, and interventions. How do we go about researching adolescent literacy within and across classrooms and schools? What important studies have been published in these areas? How can knowledge about secondary reading and writing practices be a resource for curriculum and pedagogy in classrooms?
Visit ASU’s Online Course Catalog
In this class we will read studies in secondary literacy, explore multiple methods used in these studies, conduct research exercises, and write about our research interests or projects drawn from classroom settings. Based on interest, students will each choose an academic genre (e.g. proposal for a refereed conference presentation, pilot or practicum project, or grant; article for publication in a refereed journal; annotated review or literature review; dissertation proposal, etc.), and write on one topic related to the course/; its content, readings, discussions, and related scholarship.
The course is ideal for graduate students in English Education, Language and Literacy Studies, Rhetoric and Composition, Applied Linguistics, Urban Education and related fields who are interested in studying research methodology for studying secondary reading and writing practices.
There are three required books listed in the on-line course catalogue. The books will be available at the bookstore or can be purchased elsewhere (discounted and/or used copies are fine). Additional readings will be available on the course Blackboard site.