Trying on a new lens for literacy acquisition in an inner city elementary school: A view from the resource room

This participant/interventionist study witnesses the process of change in theory and practice regarding literacy learning over a 3 year period. It is the journey of 2 SPED, elementary, inner city based, resource room teachers whose student population is largely Hispanic. The teachers accepted the invitation to join portions of a 4 year, collaborative, inservice course series between their elementary school and the University of Pennsylvania. The stories of their experiences both as teachers and as students should create greater understanding of the process of change for teachers. Data were collected and interpreted from: audiotapes and transcriptions; field notes; relevant documents; and from an innovative system for collaborative research. The findings underscore: the idiosyncrasy of theory and practice for teaching and learning; the significance of time to try on and reflect on current concepts; the social construction of learning as indicated via the culture of the present professional environment including all of its layers (i.e.: past and present, individual, professional and educational experiences; past and present, personal, individual experiences; administrative and societal expectations), the appropriateness of dispelling the myth that SPED and regular education should be seen as discrete entities, that learning is a transactive process between the learner, the concepts, and the context in which the learning occurs, and that new theories may be either tried on in an observable manner in practice and/or internalized theoretically. Future studies may seek to: understand the role of teacher self-empowerment on their practice; look at an increased awareness, acceptance, and empowerment of teachers who are teacher researchers; investigate the possible collaborative efforts of regular and SPED; look at larger samples to investigate the process of teachers and change