Research Analysis of “Teachers as Readers and Writers and as Teachers of Reading and Writing” by Brooks, G.

Table of Contents

Introduction2

Discussion2

Research Problem2

Literature Review3

Research Design4

Findings4

Limitations5

Conclusion- Implications for Practice5

References6

Research Analysis of “Teachers as Readers and Writers and as Teachers of Reading and Writing” by Brooks, G.

Introduction

The field of education is dynamic and research in this field brings forwards new and effective teaching methods and practices. People in the field of education need to be informed about these developments so teachers can strive to become better at what they do (edu.web.vic.gov). Moreover, educators themselves need to take actions to remain up to date in their fields.

Discussion

Research Problem

The hypothesis the study has tried to test is the belief that teachers who are good readers and writers will also be good teachers of reading and writing. The researcher calls this the do as I do, rather than do as I say hypothesis. In regard to this hypothesis the researcher focused on three areas or study objectives.

The first objective was to find out how the teachers under study, i.e. fourth grade teachers saw themselves as readers and writers. The second objective was to find out, if teachers believed that there were any relationship between their practice of reading and writing and their teaching of reading and writing and if yes then what these relationships were. The final objective was determining the factors that influenced the teachers' reading and writing instructions of teaching the most.

Literature Review

The main area that this study can be categorized as belonging to with regards to its theoretical background is teacher effectiveness. Brooks also discusses about self reflecting learning as he cites studies and examples about the reading and writing practices of teachers.

The three key points discussed in the literature review are teachers' practices as writers, teachers' reading habits and effectiveness of teachers who read and write. Brooks points out that studies show that teachers' reading habits vary greatly. When reading for pleasure, most teachers prefer novels, how to books, and magazines. For professional purposes, they read practiced focused journals rather than research based material. Noland and Woodland (1984) found out that, teachers with more experience read journals more frequently than less experienced teachers. However, in the past few years practice of reading with colleagues has arisen and increased. As far as writing is concerned some teachers were reluctant to share their writing with the public while other teachers loved to share their writing, ...