About Literacy Center Scholars
Literacy Center Scholars is opened to undergraduate and graduate students in all majors who are interested in a community of scholars. Students will receive mentoring on their research projects and will conduct and participate in literacy research projects with the Belser-Parton Literacy Center. Students will also join service-learning activities in Tuscaloosa County Schools
Recruitment Call for Current Research Projects
We are currently recruiting UA undergraduate and graduate students to assist with research studies. Students who are interested should fill out the form below to join our research recruitment email list. See below for the five research studies we are recruiting for as of Fall 2022. Future studies will be added as the need arises.
Research Projects
Dr. Carol A. Donovan (PI)
1. Children's Writing Development
Research Timeline: December 2021 to May 2022
Project Information: This project is examining children's writing for the purposes of telling a story, reporting information, and explaining science phenomena to develop continua of development across genre.
Potential Student Tasks: Assisting in identifying children's writing samples to serve as examples of the levels, features, and spelling patterns; assisting in examining children's writing for patterns in development within and across grades; writing and presenting.
2. Information Book Read Alouds
Research Timeline: December 2021 - May 2022
Project Information: This project examines the ways in which teachers read informational science trade books and how the text and visuals of the books impact how and whether teachers provide scientific explanations.
Potential Student Tasks: Assisting in coding science trade books for explanatory elements including cause, effect, conditions, effects; writing and presenting
Dr. Tracey Hodges (PI)
1. Return to the classroom: Teacher perceptions of students’ development and academic achievement after a year of virtual instruction. Research Timeline: November 2021 – December 2023.
Project Information: This project will interview teachers about their beliefs about students' developmental and academic progress after a year of virtual instruction, to better understand the impacts of COVID-19 on elementary and middle school student.
Potential Student Tasks: Assisting in creating semi-structured interview protocol, conducting interviews with teachers, transcribing interviews, learning and conducting qualitative analysis, writing, presenting.
2. Developing a survey to understand preservice teachers’ self- efficacy for reading and reading instruction.
Research Timeline: September 2021 – December 2023.
Project Information: This project will focus on creating a new measure of preservice teacher beliefs about reading, evidence-based reading practices, and reading instruction.
Potential Student Tasks: Creating a database of questions from previous surveys, working with the research team to sample survey items, collecting pilot data, administering the survey, learning and conducting basic statistical analyses, coding open-ended questions, writing, presenting.
Dr. Julianne M. Coleman (PI)
1. Multimodality in Science Trade Books: Considering diagrams and other layouts.
Research Timeline: December 2021 - May 2022.
Project Information: This project is examining they ways in which trade books writing on science topics include visuals that go beyond illustrations and photographs to include all types of visuals and 3-D effects and interactive elements such as flaps in order to develop a continuum of multimodality design.
Potential Student Tasks: Assist in coding the visual elements of science trade books, writing and presenting.
1. Children's Writing Development
Research Timeline: December 2021 to May 2022
Project Information: This project is examining children's writing for the purposes of telling a story, reporting information, and explaining science phenomena to develop continua of development across genre.
Potential Student Tasks: Assisting in identifying children's writing samples to serve as examples of the levels, features, and spelling patterns; assisting in examining children's writing for patterns in development within and across grades; writing and presenting.
2. Information Book Read Alouds
Research Timeline: December 2021 - May 2022
Project Information: This project examines the ways in which teachers read informational science trade books and how the text and visuals of the books impact how and whether teachers provide scientific explanations.
Potential Student Tasks: Assisting in coding science trade books for explanatory elements including cause, effect, conditions, effects; writing and presenting
Dr. Tracey Hodges (PI)
1. Return to the classroom: Teacher perceptions of students’ development and academic achievement after a year of virtual instruction. Research Timeline: November 2021 – December 2023.
Project Information: This project will interview teachers about their beliefs about students' developmental and academic progress after a year of virtual instruction, to better understand the impacts of COVID-19 on elementary and middle school student.
Potential Student Tasks: Assisting in creating semi-structured interview protocol, conducting interviews with teachers, transcribing interviews, learning and conducting qualitative analysis, writing, presenting.
2. Developing a survey to understand preservice teachers’ self- efficacy for reading and reading instruction.
Research Timeline: September 2021 – December 2023.
Project Information: This project will focus on creating a new measure of preservice teacher beliefs about reading, evidence-based reading practices, and reading instruction.
Potential Student Tasks: Creating a database of questions from previous surveys, working with the research team to sample survey items, collecting pilot data, administering the survey, learning and conducting basic statistical analyses, coding open-ended questions, writing, presenting.
Dr. Julianne M. Coleman (PI)
1. Multimodality in Science Trade Books: Considering diagrams and other layouts.
Research Timeline: December 2021 - May 2022.
Project Information: This project is examining they ways in which trade books writing on science topics include visuals that go beyond illustrations and photographs to include all types of visuals and 3-D effects and interactive elements such as flaps in order to develop a continuum of multimodality design.
Potential Student Tasks: Assist in coding the visual elements of science trade books, writing and presenting.
