Research & Development Projects
Academic Writing and Iternational Students (AWIS)
Adolescent Literacy in Three Urban Regions (ALTUR): Toronto
Application of Cognitive Diagnostic Assess ment to Ontario Provincial Tests
Empirical Calibration and Validation of the STEP Proficiency Descriptor Scales
Encouraging the Culture of Evaluation among Professionals (ECEP)
Engaging Literacies: Identity Texts as Catalyst and Medium for Academic Performance
Evaluation of the HWDSB Mandarin and GECDSB Arabic Language Transition Programs
Growing New Roots: Coming Together -New Immigrant and Canadian Teenagers
Internationally Educated Professionals Project (IEPro)
Interactions between type of L2 instruction
Investigating Elementary School Students’ Literacy Skill Profiles
Language as Resource (LAR) Website
Examining Creativity through Arts and Technology (ECAT) Project
Teacher Migration and Integration in the Local Workforce
Validation of Steps to English proficiency (STEP)
The Role of Community Outreach in the TDSB Model Schools
Using Think Alouds to Elicit Elementary School Students’ Literacy Skills
Academic Writing and International Students (AWIS)
Principal Investigator: Enrica Piccardo
The current study is an exploratory project for the writing part of a bigger research study that will examine the relationships between emotions and language learning and particularly the role students’ creativity plays in language learning. Through a questionnaire survey, analysis of student writing, and interviews, this study explores ways of complementing the current rule/convention-oriented approaches to writing practices with writing for pleasure, which fewer constraints and thereby provides language learners with opportunities to take chances with a new language and ultimately improve their writing fluency and language proficiency. Specifically, this study has the following research questions: 1. How do international students, whose first language is not English, feel about writing for their courses (e.g. term papers) and more generally about writing under strict constraints? 2. How are these attitudes borne out in their writing? How different are their compositions under different constraints and in different genres?
Adolescent Literacy in Three Urban Regions (ALTUR): Toronto
Principal Investigators: Alister Cumming and Esther Geva
This project describes the school, home, and community variables that make a difference for at-risk, adolescent students’ development of literacy in culturally diverse urban settings. We are collaborating with researchers at the University of Amsterdam and University of Geneva, administering parallel instruments and procedures to collect comparable, longitudinal data at the beginning and end of the school year, which we will analyze together for the three cities and languages (English, French, and Dutch). In Toronto, over the past year we have also been analyzing in depth data collected over the 2008-2009 school year from weekly tutoring sessions with 21 Grade 9 and 10 students at Pathways to Education Canada, an after-school tutoring and mentoring program in Regent Park. We are compiling these results into a book to be published in the coming year by Routledge Publishers. We reported and shared preliminary results at the EARLI conference in Amsterdam in August 2009. The project will culminate in a meeting with our collaborators from Europe who are coming to Toronto in late August 2010.
Application of Cognitive Diagnostic Assessment to Ontario Provincial Tests
Principal Investigator: Eunice Jang
This study examines the extent which cognitive diagnostic assessment can provide useful diagnostic inferences from students’ performance on provincial tests. We developed a skills framework for the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT) and analyzed the test’s content extensively. Based on the statistical modeling of cognitive diagnostic assessment, we created literacy skill profiles. We are currently examining the characteristics of the skill profiles across students’ linguistic backgrounds, literacy engagement levels, and home literacy activities.
Empirical Calibration and Validation of the STEP Proficiency Descriptor Scales
Principal Investigators: Eunice Jang and Jim Cummins
The proposed study examines the extent to which the existing STEP scales enable teachers to understand and differentiate between the descriptive categories used in the continua. Specifically, the objectives of the study are: (1) to empirically verify the current STEP scales; (2) to examine the linguistic and cultural sensitivity of the STEP descriptors; (3) to examine the quality of the revised STEP descriptors in terms of relevance and clarity; (4) linking between the STEP assessment and other existing curriculum-based assessment measures; and (5) to collect the samples of student performance that exemplify the levels of proficiency on the STEP scales.
Encouraging the Culture of Evaluation among Professionals (ECEP)
Principal Investigator: Enrica Piccardo
The current study will be the Canadian research component of a larger international project which aims to build self-confidence among language teachers, in order to enable them to develop a free and autonomous attitude towards the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). The project aims at reinforcing the status, the image of teachers as well as their professionalism, in order to help them feel more confident and conscious and to enable them to adapt the CEFR without cultural or personal reserves, through several steps: awareness of possible positive contributions of their spontaneous knowledge of evaluation and assessment; understanding of both stakes and freedoms of the Common European Framework; appropriation of the framing lines and the operational steps suggested by the CEFR starting from some key concepts; implementation of the principles of the CEFR and other European documents on the bases of personal reflection, and in a way that suits the variety of cultural contexts, in order to support the consistency of the teaching process within the respect of diversity. The Canadian component of this research looks to provide a new context in comparative perspective between Canadian and European cultures of evaluation with a particular focus on secondary school language teaching. This portion of the project will include interviews with French Second Language (FSL) teachers in the Greater Toronto Area about their assessment methods, any pre-existing knowledge of the CEFR in an attempt to evaluate the feasibility of implementing the CEFR in Canada in an adapted format.
Engaging Literacies: Identity Texts as Catalyst and Medium for Academic Performance
Principal Investigator: Jim Cummins
The project addresses issues related to the connections between authorship and academic efficacy among English language learners (ELL) and Literacy Enrichment Academic Program (LEAP) students at the elementary level. Working collaboratively with teachers, students, and parents, members of the project team have assisted students to use technology tools to write creatively about their experiences and ideas and to “publish” this writing for a wider audience through the Internet. Students are encouraged to work with parents and/or community members to create home language (L1) versions of their writing and to publish their work as dual language texts. In other words, although instruction is in English within the classroom, students’ knowledge of other languages is explicitly recognized and they are encouraged to use the full repertoire of their bilingual cognitive tools in pursuing their literacy objectives. The case study documents students’ perceptions and feelings about the process of getting engaged with literacy in this way and also teachers’ observations about the effects of the project on students’ self-image and academic self-confidence.
Evaluation of the Hamilton Wentworth District School Board (HWDSB) Mandarin and the Greater Essex County District School Board (GECDSB) Arabic Language Transition Programs
Principal Investigators: Jim Cummins and Becky Chen-Bumgardener
The project is in the process of evaluating two transitional bilingual programs intended for children from Mandarin and Arabic home language backgrounds. The Arabic program was initiated by the GEDSB in September 2007 and the HWDSB initiated the Mandarin program in January 2008 for Junior Kindergarten, Senior Kindergarten and Grade 1 students. Measures of both Arabic/Mandarin and English phonological awareness and concepts about print are being administered and the perceptions of parents, administrators, and teachers are being documented.
Growing New Roots: Coming Together - New Immigrant and Canadian Teenagers 2009-2011
Principal Investigator: Antoinette Gagné
This study builds on previous collaborative work involving English Language Learners and the development of resources to support teacher development. In addition, it grows from Stephanie Soto-Gordon doctoral research with English Language Learners in the Toronto District School Board. This research aims to: 1) uncover the nature of the relationships between teenaged English language learners and their native-speaker peers in a secondary school context (the class and the school as a whole) and the community outside of school with regard to their participation and identity formation and development, 2) examine the impact of this collaborative DVD project on English language learners and native-speaker students as co-participants, and 3) situate this student participation and identity formation and development in the language socialization framework of “legitimate peripheral participation” (Lave & Wenger, 1991; Wenger, 1998).
Internationally Educated Professionals Project (IEPro)
Principal Investigator: Julie Kerekes
This project investigates the role of second language ability, use, and perception in internationally educated professionals’ employment-seeking experiences in the GTA. This year we analyzed data from several case studies of engineers seeking (and some finding) work in the GTA, while also beginning our research in the second of three professions to be studied – teachers.
Interactions between type of L2 instruction, type of language feature and type of knowledge
Principal Investigator: Nina Spada
This grant is intended to address questions about whether the benefits of second language (L2) instruction vary depending on the target language feature and to what extent different types of instruction contribute to different types of L2 knowledge. Two quasi-experimental studies are planned to investigate these questions. Adult ESL learners will receive 4 hours of instruction on two language features taught via two types of form-focused instruction (FFI) – isolated and integrated. The selected language features will vary in their inherent complexity and difficulty to learn. Learners will be pretested on their knowledge of the target features prior to instruction and post-tested immediately after and again 2-4 weeks later. The tests to measure learners’ knowledge of the target features will include paper and pencil tasks (e.g. grammaticality judgment and error correction tasks) intended to examine learners’ analyzed, explicit knowledge of the target features and two oral production tasks (e.g. stimulated picture description task and elicited imitation) to investigate learners’ implicit ability to use the target features spontaneously.
Investigating Elementary School Students’ Literacy Skill Profiles Using Cognitive Diagnostic Assessment
Principal Investigator: Eunice Jang
This project is intended to build on my previous work in the areas of cognitive diagnostic assessment and literacy assessment in K-12 school contexts. The purposes of this research program are to investigate junior elementary school students’ literacy skill profiles through cognitive diagnostic assessment and to examine the impact of skills diagnosis on students’ literacy abilities and engagement in learning. Special attention is paid to students such as English Language Learning (ELL) students who require greater instructional support. Skill profiling using cognitive diagnostic assessment is expected to effectively identify the areas of literacy skills that require immediate attention. The results of the study will also shed light into the relationships between students’ literacy skill profiles and their backgrounds.
Language as Resource (LAR) Website
Principal Investigators: Jim Cummins and Antoinette Gagné
The web site will serve as a portal for print and video resources, project descriptions, and relevant links related to mobilizing multilingual students’ language skills and talents as personal and cognitive tools. The site will integrate resources from several existing sites (e.g., the ESL Infusion site) within a single design. A content management system has been developed by the Education Commons that will enable team members to maintain and update the website as necessary. We anticipate the site will become operational in summer 2010.
Examining Creativity through Arts and Technology (ECAT) Project
Principal Investigator: Enrica Piccardo
This project, in its very initial, exploratory phase, is looking for teachers of French as a Second Language (FSL) at the high school level to participate in a study that examines links between creativity and motivation in the FSL classroom. This study will be part of a bigger project of research on the use of either technology or the arts (drama, visual arts, or music) in FSL classes and whether they have an effect on student participation in FSL at the high school level.
Teacher Migration and Integration in the Local Workforce: Creating an International, Collaborative Research Agenda
Principal Investigator: Antoinette Gagné
With increasing numbers of internationally educated professionals (IEPs) choosing to settle in various communities across Canada, it is essential to learn more about the process of IEP recertification and integration into the workforce. The Canadian members of the team represent different provinces with very different programs for internationally educated teachers (IETs). Our international colleagues are also all involved in the design, delivery of bridging programs for IETs as well as in research related to various aspects of these programs across very different immigration and settlement contexts. We have developed a common research agenda aimed at understanding how to support the recertification and integration of immigrant teachers across contexts in each country. This international network studying issues related to internationally educated teachers could serves as a model for an expanding network including researchers involved with initiatives and programs for other internationally educated professionals such as nurses, engineers, pharmacists, doctors, and so on. Various members of the network have applied for collaborative research grants involving several countries as well as travel and conference grants to ensure that the work of the network is disseminated.
Validation of Steps to English proficiency (STEP)
Project Investigators: Jim Cummins and Eunice Jang
This project is a validation study of the Ministry of Education’s new English language development assessment system entitled Steps to English Proficiency (STEP). The project carried out interviews with more than 40 teachers involved in the pilot implementation of STEP and also collected data from English language learners (ELL) involved in the initial administration. The study showed that STEP is perceived by teachers as having significant potential to advance teachers’ and administrators’ understanding of ELL students’ language and literacy development across the curriculum. Teachers also noted the potential of STEP to increase communication, collaboration and awareness among educators of ELL students’ academic development and instructional needs. They also highlighted its potential to promote more accurate and effective decision-making with respect to issues such as placement of students, intervention strategies that might be appropriate, and interpretation of performance both in classroom contexts and on provincial assessments. A follow-up contract to further investigate the implementation of STEP was awarded to Professors Jang and Cummins in early 2010.
The Role of Community Outreach in the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) Model Schools
Principal Investigator: Eunice Jang
Within the framework of the Parent and Community Involvement Policy and the TDSB Model Schools for Inner Cities initiative, there is a renewed interest in the role that parental and community involvement can play in schools to support student success, particularly in underserved communities. Recently, the TDSB, under its Equity Department, has hired twenty-four Community Support Workers (CSWs) to work with the Model Schools and their cluster communities to foster school community relationships, promote parental engagement, contribute to equity in the schools, and make sure that the needs of “at-risk” students are met. This project is intended to understand how community support work operates in the context of specific underserved communities to address the needs of students, and what is the value added that community outreach brings to Model Schools. This study is an investigation of what the position of “Community Support Worker”, as part of the TDSB’s overall system of community outreach, brings to inner city schools, in particular, and to education, in general.
Using Think Alouds to Elicit Elementary School Students’ Literacy Skills
Principal Investigator: Eunice Jang
This pilot study examined the feasibility of using think-aloud verbal protocols in eliciting elementary school students’ cognitive processes and problem-solving strategies. The verbal protocol and self-assessment instruments have been developed, and data from verbal accounts have been analyzed. The study findings indicated that the think-aloud method with elementary schools students can yield rich data about their thought processes and problem-solving strategies. Self-assessment data about students’ perspectives of own abilities and literacy engagement complemented the verbal account data and shed light on how cognitive thought processes are shaped by their prior experiences. The study identified a wide range of strategies that differed significantly across students’ background and grades. It also provided insights into students’ attitudes, values, and perspectives that shape their cognitive process in literacy practice. The study results provided a systematic knowledge base for teacher educators to understand students’ cognitive strategy use and to develop various instructional strategies that can be very effective for improving students’ abilities and enriching their learning experience. The report was published in School University Partnership. Two manuscripts are currently under review for publication.