Researcher’s Experience with the Exemplary Practice
At the time of this study, I had been introduced to the field of literacy instruction and the theories that support it. Although, I have taught literacy to students in the past, it was predominantly surface level instruction that did little to promote the critical thinking needed to construct meaning from text. For example, stories were read to the students followed by a series of questions (who, what, when, where, why) during and after the story, and an elicitation of an oral or written retelling of the story. Questions were introduced to promote thinking and obtain responses during these tasks; however, strategies were not explicitly taught. Although story grammar concepts were taught during teacher-read activities, instruction focused mainly on the students’ understanding and use of these concepts during oral retellings. Explicit strategies instruction that included metacognitive knowledge and application to improve reading comprehension skills was not a focus of intervention. Therefore, I have had minimal experience with the exemplary practice utilized in this study when it was initiated.