Volume 9 • Number 1
Rachel and Joelle explore strategies to build collaborative interactions between
students of different ethnic orientations and enhance a sense of community in the
classrooms where they were student teachers. Through their sensitive reflections,
these teacher researchers highlight how they deepened and gave new meaning to
concepts they had learned in the academic part of their professional preparation,
which included valuing each child’s culture, interests, family, and language and
building these into daily activities. Their documentation captures the process of the
children’s increased interactions across ethnic borders, families becoming engaged
in school, and the children’s increased excitement about writing. Most importantly,
they recognized the critical nature of the children’s conversations and relationships
that developed during the activity, not just the implementation of the curricular
activity of Writer’s Workshop.
Their study illustrates the powerful role teacher research can have on preservice teachers. It shows they are not only capable of conducting teacher
research, but its long-lasting contributions to their teacher preparation, the school
in which they practiced, and their consequent roles as full-time teachers.
—Gail Perry
Volume 9 • Number 1
Joelle Fierro, BS, has taught
both first and third grades.
She has a reading endorsement and has taught language
arts/literacy in a first grade,
two-way dual immersion
classroom. She has presented
at both the National and
Utah Conferences for Undergraduate Research, on literacy
practices with dual language
learners.
Rachel Probst, MEd, is a
fourth grade teacher at Heber
Valley Elementary in Heber
City, Utah. Rachel has taught
for five years at the school,
where she is ELL endorsed
and currently serves as the
fourth grade team lead, professional development facilitator,
and member of their lighthouse
team.
Note: Image captions have
been excerpted
Joelle Fierro and Rachel Probst
Bridging Borders
Through Writer’s
Workshop
T
his article describes an action research study we conducted as
student teachers, representing our points of view at the time and
offering later reflections after we had graduated and entered practice. We focused on this question: How can we promote community in our respective student teaching classrooms?
Our study began simply to fulfill one of our last undergraduate requirements, but became something more interesting than we anticipated and
more powerful to us as educators. We chose
an action research project because it sounded
interesting and we’d get the chance to travel
and present our findings. Our assignment dictated that we conduct research during student
teaching that dealt with differentiation, and
create a presentation about it. The nature of
student teaching itself, with its time constraints
and university requirements, made conducting
an action-based research project challenging
to begin with. Not being the teacher in charge
was difficult, as we were at the mercy of our
cooperating teachers and their time constrictions. Simply being new to the field was an
obstacle as well. Despite these challenges, we
My name is Jazmin Diaz. My favorite thing
were filled with the eagerness only preservice
to do is go to school and do worksheets and
valentines. We are going to be real authors!
Fierro, J., and Probst, R. • Voices of Practitioners 9, no. 1 • May 2014
2
teachers possess: we wanted to conduct research resulting in some new idea
of how to change the school we practiced in—or even the world! Needless to
say, the scale of our impact was far less grandiose than we envisioned, but
nonetheless powerful to our children and ourselves as educators. What we
did impacted the children’s learning and social behaviors considerably. In
addition, an effect we found just as significant was that merely participating
in the process of an action research study as preservice teachers resulted
in an immediate pedagogical shift for us as educators, in a way that no prior
coursework had.
A catalyst for action
Several factors led to the focus of this study. First, the concepts we studied
in college courses influenced us. Also, during our time in the school where
this teacher research study took place, faculty and administration were
working to develop new programs to better serve their large dual language
learner population. At least 25 percent of the student body were native
Spanish speakers, and the school was in the process of becoming the first
elementary school in the district with a two-way dual immersion program.
Finally, during informal observations of children’s academic and social behaviors, both in the classroom and on the playground, we noticed
that children tended to choose peers of the same ethnic background as
playmates or as partners when allowed choice in the classroom. While not
surprising for the beginning of the school year, we were nonetheless concerned that this resulted in a segregated rather than cooperative classroom
community where there was friendship and respect for each other across
ethnic borders.
Prompted by the school’s focus on second language learners, we decided to create a project that acknowledged and valued the children’s native
language and culture. We were fortunate that our supervising classroom
teachers in the school were very open to our ideas. As Cummins states,
[T]he clear message from these studies is that the more school affirms
rather than ignores or devalues students’ personal and cultural identities,
the more likely students are to succeed educationally. (As cited in Hubbard
& Shorey 2003, 24)
We wanted our teacher research project to combine our interest in and
commitment to children’s backgrounds with student teaching requirements
and address the lack of cross-ethnic interactions among the children with
community-building activities. As found by Battistich et al., building a “sense
of community ha[s] large effects on academic attitudes and motives and on
social and personal outcomes” (Battistich et al. 1995, 648).
Fierro, J., and Probst, R. • Voices of Practitioners 9, no. 1 • May 2014
3
Instead of using more traditional community-building activities, we chose to use Writer’s Workshop and most closely
followed the framework of Lucy Calkins. We hypothesized
that Writer’s Workshop would provide a platform to foster
community and cross-racial friendships.
As Feinberg explains,
At the heart of her philosophy is the notion that children
ought to be given a “voice,” encouraged to discover and
refine their own personal writing style, as they compose
“stories that matter.” Calkins is a “constructivist,” believing
that children should generate their own texts, using material from their own lives. (Feinberg 2007)
Incorporating a writing unit where children exchanged
stories from their own lives as they worked with a peer from
a different ethnic orientation than themselves offered opportunities for children to get to know one another. We hypothesized that this might have a positive impact on their subsequent cross-racial interactions on the playground and in the classroom. The
final question of our study became:
My name is Portlyn Steed. My best friends are Rikki
and Kate. Once I really got sick when I was three. I ate
a whole bottle of gummy bear vitamins. I went in the
ambulance to the hospital. They pumped my stomach!
Can implementation of a Writer’s Workshop project that acknowledges children’s native language and culture and pairs children of different
ethnicity change the nature of friendships and sense of community in the
classroom?
Research design
Setting and participants
In our student teaching placements Rachel was assigned to a
first grade class and Joelle to third grade in the same elementary school. The school was located in Heber City, Utah, a rural
area of the mountain west, and the economic living conditions
within the school district boundaries varied from modest to
below average. The school was Title I eligible, with plans to
become a dual language immersion school.
Hi, my name is Bryan Vazquez. My friend is Fidel.
I play my dad’s Playstation2 after school. I have
100 cousins.
The study included 45 children: 20 first graders and 25 third
graders. The children were of Caucasian and Hispanic ethnicities, and their ages ranged between six and nine years old. Of
these 45, ten were native Spanish-speaking students and the
remaining 35 were native English speakers. All of the native
Spanish-speaking children were involved in English language
learning classes.
Fierro, J., and Probst, R. • Voices of Practitioners 9, no. 1 • May 2014
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Methods
We started our research by administering a friendship survey where students selected five children in their class that they considered their friends.
We observed the children on the playground and in the classroom
to document the children’s cross-racial interactions before and after the
conclusion of our Writer’s Workshop sessions, which spanned over about a
month. We completed four observations of each child, two at the beginning
of the study, and two at the end. Two of the observations were inside the
classroom, and two were outside the classroom. Observation 1 consisted
of a group sharing activity, where each child chose the next child to share.
Observation 2 was an observation during morning recess. Observation 3 was
during lunch recess. The fourth observation was done when children were
given the opportunity to pick a partner to work with.
Findings
An overarching finding of our study was that at the end of the project there
were more social interactions and respect between children of different ethnic orientations, which fostered a greater sense of community in the classroom. This enhanced classroom community, which included the participation of families, contributed to increased enthusiasm and participation in the
writing curriculum.
Our Writer’s Workshops were carried out somewhat differently, as we
taught in different grades. In the following section we separately describe
what we did with the children and our findings, observations, and reflections
on what we found.
Rachel
My name is Rachel, a senior at Utah Valley University and student teaching
with Mrs. Bell. I’m so happy that I was able to make it possible for this first
grade class to publish this awesome class book.
The plan for my first graders was for each to
contribute a page for a class book entitled
“All about Our Class.” Children wrote a short
paragraph about themselves and colored
a self-portrait as an illustration. The first
grader non-English speakers were able to
write with help from the teachers, while the
third graders wrote more independently. We
used English first because it was the majority language being used in the classroom.
With parental help, a Spanish translation was
added to each child’s story page. When the
translations were complete, I used an online
printing service to make hardcover copies
Fierro, J., and Probst, R. • Voices of Practitioners 9, no. 1 • May 2014
5
of both the English and Spanish versions of the class book. I printed a few
copies to be enjoyed in our classroom library and to share with the school
library as well. Following the translation of their stories, children were given
the opportunity to share their work in an author’s chair. We made and
discussed connections between stories, such as family traditions or foods
eaten during a holiday dinner. The class book was then made available in
the classroom library.
To introduce the project, I explained that children would write their very
own page for two class books that would be published and shared with our
whole school. In addition to acknowledging and including every child’s first
language and background, I also wanted to find a way to involve families in
our activities and lessons. I told the children once their pages were finished
in English, I would ask some of their parents to help translate their writing
into Spanish.
My main findings from our study were as follows.
1. Role-reversal fostered empathy in English-speaking children who
could not understand their own translated stories.
2. The children made connections to each other as they shared their
paragraphs about themselves.
3. All children increased their writing during the project, and one child
made a dramatic and surprising change.
4. Translating content fostered the engagement of native
Spanish-speaking children and families in the project.
Hola, my nombre es McKynlee. Naci el 2002. Mi pelicula
favorite es la Historia de nunca acabar. Mi deporte favorite es bol bol. Mis colores favoritas son morado y azul.
Mi comida favorite es el pastel de chocolate, con rosas
moradas encima. Mi familia somo ocho personas. Las
personas favoritas de mi familia son, mi perra Maya, mi
hermano Nick, Y mi mama.
Finding #1: Role-reversal fostered empathy in Englishspeaking children who could not understand their own
translated stories. When the books were published, children were allowed to share their pages aloud. Some native
Spanish speakers were eager to read their Spanish pages.
Some native English speakers were surprised by the fact
that they couldn’t read their Spanish translations. The native English-speaking children appeared confused and frustrated that they were unable to read their own words when
translated. This evolved into a crucial discussion of how it
might feel to go to school every day and not know what is
being said, or how to read foreign words. I felt this single
eye-opening experience was a major part of the children’s
shift in understanding and gaining empathy for peers of different ethnicities.
Finding #2: The children made connections to each
other as they shared their paragraphs about themselves.
For example, the children talked about similarities in family
Fierro, J., and Probst, R. • Voices of Practitioners 9, no. 1 • May 2014
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traditions such as sitting down to share a special meal, and
family activities. As they shared experiences that were meaningful to them, it sparked further animated conversations
leading to a natural cross-ethnic bonding.
Finding #3: All children increased their writing during
the project, and one child made a dramatic and surprising change. This child’s reaction to our Writer’s Workshop
program was particularly surprising. Our project helped this
child curb his challenging behaviors and enthusiastically
participate in reading and writing in the classroom for the
first time. Felix was a dual language learner who was rarely
engaged. He often acted out and refused to work. After
hearing about the writing project, Felix was full of excitement and questions about how his parents could help with
the class book. He was motivated by the simple fact that
he would be able to have his native language and culture
Hi! My name is Rachel. I twisted my ankle. That is why
I limp a lot. My friends are Logan, Sophie, and Paige. I
acknowledged at school, and even asked me if he could read
had 20 cats. Now I have 18 cats. I have two dads.
his page aloud to the class once the book was published.
This was the first instance I had seen of this child being interested in writing or reading at school.
Once the class began writing their sentences, Felix started right away,
and wrote with enthusiasm each time we worked on this project. This
seemed to be the beginning of a major change for him. He participated
happily each day in the Writer’s Workshop, and his behavior problems
(including impulsivity, non-engagement, non-compliance, and acting out for
attention) dramatically decreased during the workshop sessions. He was
able to work cooperatively with the other children in his leveled group. His
writing potential emerged during the project, and his excitement about the
class book continued to grow at each stage of the writing process. Perhaps
because his interests, family, and culture were being acknowledged it was
easier for him to “buy in” to a classroom assignment and make the effort to
do his most quality work.
This seemed true for the whole class as well. I can honestly say that each
first grader wrote more than they ever had before during my time in that
classroom.
Finding #4: Translating their stories and involving parents fostered
the engagement of native Spanish-speaking children and families in the
project.
Once the children had gone through the writing process and published
their pages in English, I met with the teacher of an adult English-as-a-secondlanguage class being held at the school. Many students in this class were
parents of the children I was working with. I asked if they would be willing
Fierro, J., and Probst, R. • Voices of Practitioners 9, no. 1 • May 2014
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to translate the children’s English paragraphs into Spanish as an assignment
for their course. Both the teacher and adult class members were excited by
the idea, and agreed to collaborate on the project. I was told by the teachers
that this was the first time that some of these parents were invited to participate in a school activity. They were eager to share their Spanish skills for the
project, and the teacher assured me it would help them build their English
skills as well. Even at the beginning of
the project, the children whose native
language was Spanish were so excited
that their parents were going to help
out with something at school, and
that they could share what they wrote
in Spanish, not just English. The day
came for the children to read aloud
their pages in the language of their
choice in front of the class and their
parents. I remember this day well
because almost every child’s parent
came to hear the children read their
writing; my cooperating teacher told
This was written by a native Spanish speaker. Seeing her words in both languages
me this was another first for some of
on the page seemed to have enough of an impact on her that she went ahead and
labeled her illustrations in both languages without being prompted to do so.
the ELL children and their parents. I
could see pride in the mothers’ and
fathers’ eyes as their children read aloud their own writing in Spanish as well
as English.
Felix, who had previously shown no interest in writing, was the first volunteer to read his page aloud. I could see that this was a special moment for
him and his parents, as they saw him engage and succeed in a school assignment for perhaps the first time. This particular day of my student teaching
experience taught me that involving a child’s family in a school activity can
make all the difference for their success and learning.
Even though we had discussed these concepts in our coursework, I
learned at a different level from this study that one of the most important
engagement tools for teachers is to acknowledge and value each child’s interests, family, background, culture, and language in daily activities and lessons as much as possible. With time pressures and so much curriculum to
cover, I had wondered to myself if taking the time to integrate multicultural
objectives into a writing unit was truly beneficial for my children’s academic
achievement. What I found was that taking the time to plan and carry out
this unit not only increased engagement in critical academic activities like
writing, but lead to important discussions and realizations that positively
affected children both socially and academically. We discussed how it’s okay
to be different, and how our unique differences make us special and keep life
Fierro, J., and Probst, R. • Voices of Practitioners 9, no. 1 • May 2014
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interesting. We also talked about how it would feel to come to school and be
taught in a different language than what you’re used to speaking at home.
The discussions helped children start seeing the things they had in common, and appreciating the things they didn’t.
Joelle
Because my children were older, I did some things a little differently. My
third graders were more independent writers, so I gave them the option
of writing a story independently or choosing a partner to write their story
together. The option to partner provided a level of scaffolding for struggling
learners. The majority of the class started out in partnerships, but ended up
working independently, conferring with their partner only to develop ideas.
I provided suggestions of themes they could write about, such as holiday or
birthday celebrations or a favorite vacation, but the topic was entirely up
to them. Their stories were written with both English and Spanish text on
each page. The children presented their stories in an author’s chair—stories
about their lives outside the classroom that highlighted who they were as
individuals. The books were bound and used within the classroom during
literacy centers and free reading time.
Rachel and I worked together on so many aspects of this project that
our findings and understandings regarding Writer’s Workshop as a community-building activity in the classroom are similar. Participating in action
research affected us deeply, in a much different way than our academic
conceptual learning through print and discussion.
In addition to Rachel’s findings, I found the following: Providing agency
for the individual voice of the participant was key to successful community building. A pivotal moment for us came when we realized that dramatic
increases in interaction and community involvement couldn’t be attributed
solely to just implementing a Writer’s Workshop. What we learned as educators was that it was not so much the activity that built community, but
the individual voice of the participant. When we gave children a medium to
share interesting facts about themselves, it empowered them as individuals.
This gave them the opportunity to see themselves and others as confident
writers. In this way they moved beyond the outward differences (such as
language) and gained mutual respect for each other as capable and “friendworthy” writing colleagues. Our project considerably impacted children’s
learning and social behaviors.
Implications and conclusions
Years have passed, and we have seen the seeds we planted grow at this
school, where we have stayed on as teachers. We have successfully implemented the 50-50 English/Spanish dual immersion program from preschool
Fierro, J., and Probst, R. • Voices of Practitioners 9, no. 1 • May 2014
9
through the fourth grade, and our children receive a high-quality, researchvalidated bilingual education. Rachel is now the fourth grade team leader.
Inspired by the incredible experience of her action research project with
dual language learners, she went on to receive an ELL endorsement and a
master’s degree with an emphasis in bilingual education. Joelle has also
worked in the same school since this study, for two years teaching the English portion of the first grade dual immersion program. The makeup of these
classes is at least twenty-five percent dual language learners.
It has been exciting and rewarding to see that incorporating the same
approach described in this article in both the English and Spanish dual
immersion classrooms continues to yield the same types of results we saw
during our student teaching. Now, however, this is occurring on an even
larger scale, as children are learning two languages simultaneously. Academically, the writing process has been paramount in helping the children’s
language acquisition. Socially, these workshops act as a catalyst for collaboration, mentoring, and discussion. The nature of dual immersion provides an
environment that showcases children’s strengths, most significantly that of
dual language learners whose unique talents and abilities might have gone
unseen in a monolingual classroom. This is most apparent during writing,
because the ability to produce language in its written form comes far after
understanding and speaking. It has been very empowering, for teachers and
children alike, to provide every child with an outlet to find his voice and tell
his story.
Today, we approach our classrooms with the same ideas that made a difference a few years ago during our study. When we model and teach respect
for and interest in more than just the dominant culture, especially when we
help children make connections between home and school, we engender
a feeling of value in children. The children, in turn, are then better able to
value others. This is the foundation for a high-quality, meaningful education
for today’s children. We need to acknowledge differences and help children
know their worth before we can expect them to fully engage in learning and
work toward their true potential.
References
Battistich, V., D. Solomon, D. Kim, M. Watson, & E. Schaps. 1995. “Schools as Communities,
Poverty Levels of Student Populations, and Students’ Attitudes, Motives, and Performance:
A Multilevel Analysis.” American Educational Research Journal 32: 627–658.
Feinberg, B. 2007. “The Lucy Calkins Project.” Education Next 7 (3). Retrieved from
http://educationnext.org/the-lucy-calkins-project/
Hubbard, R.S., & V. Shorey. 2003. “Worlds Beneath the Words: Writing Workshop with Second
Language Learners.” Language Arts 81 (1): 52–61. Retrieved from http://www-tc.pbs.org/
teacherline/courses/rdla210/docs/s5_hubbard5261.pdf
Copyright © 2014 by the National Association for the Education of Young Children.
See Permissions and Reprints online at www.naeyc.org/yc/permissions.
Fierro, J., and Probst, R. • Voices of Practitioners 9, no. 1 • May 2014
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Appendix
Bridging Borders Class Book Pages
Fierro, J., and Probst, R. • Voices of Practitioners 9, no. 1 • May 2014
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Fierro,
and
Probst,
R. • R. Voices
of Practitioners
no.no.
1 • 1 May
20142014
Fierro,J.,J.,
and
Probst,
• Voices
of Practitioners9,9,
• May
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