This dissertation presentation summarizes Bonnie Mozer's research on improving text comprehension for African American and English Language Learner students. The research was guided by the question of how culturally appropriate instruction can affect underachieving students' comprehension. Major findings included that explicit academic language instruction and recognizing students' individual strengths and gifts can accelerate comprehension learning. An integrated approach addressing academic, affective, and metacognitive domains also had positive effects. The presentation of these findings suggests pedagogical implications for further empowering student learning.

1. DISSERTATION
PRESENTATION
By Bonnie Mozer
Unlo cking the G ifts o f the African Am e rican Eng lish
Le arne r Stude nt to Im pro ve Te xt Co m pre he nsio n
A DISSERTATION
PRESENTATION
MAY 1, 2013

2. Dissertation Committee
 David Donahue, Associate Provost Professor of
Education, Mills College, Oakland California
 Diane Ketelle, Associate Professor, Education
Educational Leadership, Mills College, Oakland
California
 Terry Pollack, Committee Chair, Visiting Assistant
Professor, at Mills College, Oakland CA
2

3. Guiding Research Question and
Importance
3
Guiding Research Question
How and why is the learning process of a group of underachieving
African American Students and English Language Learner Students
affected by the use of a culturally appropriate, academic language
focused instructional design on comprehension of challenging text?
Importance
This question and the possible answers provides teacher added
insight and tools to improve the teaching and learning of African
American and English Language Learners comprehension of
challenging text leading to the possibility of removing some of their
systemic barriers to advanced learning levels in general.

4. Research Questions and
Importance:
4
TOPIC QUESTION IMPORTANCE
Linguistic, Cultural and Cognitive
Gifts
What linguistic, cultural and cognitive
gifts and strengths are displayed by
the students, and how can the
teacher use these gifts to improve
students comprehension skills?
The contemplation of this question
provides an opportunity for educators
to grapple with new ways to enhance
comprehension instruction through
the eyes, heart and brain of the child.
Creating a Successful Teaching
Design
How does a teacher develop a
successful teaching design related to
acquisition of comprehension skills
and strategies?
This question implies that it is
beneficial for teachers to develop
their unique teaching design based
on research and their creativity.
Independent Readers and Thinkers How does the teaching of
comprehension lead to students’
becoming independent readers and
thinkers?
This question encourages educators
to consider the larger impact that
successful comprehension teaching
and learning has for diverse
students’ future.

5. Conceptual Framework
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 African American Students and English Language Learner Students achieving at
lower rates than White Students in Language Arts in California(O’Connell 2008)
 African American Students achieving at a lower rate than English Language Learner
( O’Connell 2008)
 Lack of materials and professional development to train teachers of A.A. students
 High Level Academic Language skills similar to Cognitive Academic Language
Proficiency skills (Cummins 1981) may be beneficial for all students and especially
underachieving African American and ELL students
Te nants o f Culturally Re le vant Pe dag o g y we re co nside re d in this re se arch
pro je ct and fo rm e d basis fo r Co nce ptualFram e wo rk:
 High Expectations and belief that all students can access grade level reading
material
 Focus on social, emotional, cognitive, linguistic, strengths of child in order to
accelerate the learning of comprehension and thinking skills
 A unique construct was considered combining culturally relevant pedagogy,
various English Learnerstrategies, and best practices connected to teaching
comprehension and high level thinking skills.

6. Connections to Literature
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 All students are capable of demonstrating high levels of mastery of grade
level content, concepts, and lessons connected to standards (Ladson-
Billings, 1994).
 The use of a variety of model of teaching constructs and strategies
including Direct Instruction, Inquiry, Concept Attainment, and Concept
Formation is useful in teaching diverse students (Joyce, & Showers,1980).
 Effective instruction of diverse populations requires the “building of bridges
and scaffolding of learning” effectively in a cultural context (Ladson-
Billings,1994).
 An appreciation for “home languages” and a belief in using the cultural,
cognitive and linguistic strengths of students to build connections to new
learning is a valuable concept (Meier, 2008).
 Teaching strategies that include direct academic language instruction
tailored to connect with learning needs and connected to cultural precepts
should be considered for teaching comprehension effectively for African
American students (Meier, 2008).”

7. Research Methods
Specially Designed Comprehension Instruction
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 Purpose
 Participant Observation
 Student Participant

8. Analysis of Data
A Planning and Reflection Process
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Examples of my notes including lesson plans and reflections were
analyzed daily in order to plan subsequent lessons and are included in
a summary analysis of this project.
No te s Include d:
Week /Lesson
Focus of Lesson/ Comprehension Skill:
Observations Insights
Additional Themes
Other Comments such as social emotional topics/Next Steps

9. Emerging Themes/
Major Findings of Study9
 Week One: building community and trust
 Week Two: self evaluation, reliance and
leadership
 Week Three: love of reading and sharing ideas
Academic Language Instruction
 Indications of link between academic language instruction and the
acceleration of the learning of comprehension skills for both African
American students and English Language Learners are reinforced by the
study.
 Formal Academic Language Learning is indicated for African American
students
Significance of Study
 A concrete and detailed example of teaching and learning comprehension
as well as high-level thinking skills has been offered for other educators of
underachieving for African American and English Language Learner
students in urban schools to consider.
 Both the construct presented in this study as well as its integral parts, holds
promise for the transformation of instruction connected to improving
comprehension for underachieving African American and English Language
Learner students
 Week Four: recognizing individual gifts and strengths
 Week Five: The importance of validation and empowerment
 Week Six: Synthesizing the Learning through: Academic, Meta-
cognitive, and Affective Domains

10. Major Findings of Study
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Connecting to Student Strengths and Gifts
 The recognition that all students have unique gifts and how a teacher
unlocks and purposefully connects instruction to individual strengths related
to language culture and cognition is important to all educators (Heryle).
Importance of Domains of Learning
 The integrated use of learning domains including the academic, affective
and meta-cognitive had a positive affect on the learning of comprehension
skills for a group of underachieving African American and English
Language Learners.
 An analysis of themes showed the important role that the affective and
meta-cognitive domains had in producing academic results in the learning
of comprehension strategies

11. More Findings
The Benefit of Authentic Assessment to Inform Instruction
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Taking actions to delve deeper based on participants self
evaluation proved helpful and has important implications:
At times more information is needed aside from benchmark
assessments in order to plan effective instruction.
 One-on-one assessment for comprehension should not
emphasize fluency rate: many students are not monitoring their
rate of reading and comprehension is affected.
 In- the- moment observational assessment is a powerful
teaching tool.

12. A “Construct” Finding
Pedagogy of Empowerment
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A promising system of instruction emerged from the study
connected to increasing overall achievement for all
students and especially underachieving African American
and English Language Learner students.

13. Pedagogy of Empowerment
The Positive Effect of Access, Voice and Power
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To maximize academic learning, key domains were considered
as well as a change in the way the teacher makes instructional
decisions:
Transformation of roles so that teacher and student become
collaborators
A focus on student voice and student self-evaluation for planning
and/assessment
An emphasis on teaching academic and leadership skills through a
group learning-presentation mode

14. Implications for Further Study
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Positive effects were observed when the teacher
encouraged leadership, academic/oral communication and
high level thinking skills, and maintained a goal of creating
multiple opportunities for students to recognize and utilize
their unique gifts to become independent readers, thinkers
and life-long learners indicates a need for further study.