- 5600 City Line Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19131
Althier Lazar
Saint Joseph's University, Teacher Education, Faculty Member
This research looked at two groups of university students who studied calculus together during their first semester of school. It focused on naturally occurring instances of peer study, inviting readers to examine one of the most... more
This research looked at two groups of university students who studied calculus together during their first semester of school. It focused on naturally occurring instances of peer study, inviting readers to examine one of the most enigmatic kinds of collaborative learning environments ...
Research Interests:
This chapter serves as an introduction to the book, Rethinking 21st Diversity in Teacher Preparation, K-12 Education, and School Policy: Theory, Research, and Practice. In engaging with diversity, the authors of this book lend a fresh... more
This chapter serves as an introduction to the book, Rethinking 21st Diversity in Teacher Preparation, K-12 Education, and School Policy: Theory, Research, and Practice. In engaging with diversity, the authors of this book lend a fresh perspective to how we understand diversity in K-12 contexts by considering not just what diversity means but also how it matters, where, for whom, and to what effects. The authors comprise a diverse intellectual and global mix of education faculty, school leaders, policy researchers and K-12 teachers. How the authors identify, articulate, and respond to diversity from distinct theoretical orientations, research methodologies, and teaching philosophies is also a response to the age-old debates: What is the purpose of public schools? Who is being served by public schools? Whose knowledge counts? Who defines what knowledge counts and for whom? Where does K-12 diversity fit into these conversations and debates? How do we prepare teachers for teaching K-12 ...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Grounded by critical race and landscapes of practice perspectives, this study examined teacher candidates who were asked to use equity as a lens to describe students’ literacy learning opportunities in their practicum sites. Analysis of... more
Grounded by critical race and landscapes of practice perspectives, this study examined teacher candidates who were asked to use equity as a lens to describe students’ literacy learning opportunities in their practicum sites. Analysis of this writing revealed wide variation in candidates’ participation, including a group who regularly noticed equitable/inequitable literacy teaching practices and structures and discussed how they would resist/change those they considered inequitable and a group that primarily overlooked these reflective opportunities. Follow-up interviews with two candidates revealed their different equity stances. Study findings can be used to reconceptualize literacy practice to help candidates identify and challenge policies and ideas that sustain inequity.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Page 1. Althier M. Lazar_ Ren?e Weisberg Inviting parents' perspectives: Building home-school partnerships to support children who struggle with literacy What happens when parents are invited and encouraged to share their own... more
Page 1. Althier M. Lazar_ Ren?e Weisberg Inviting parents' perspectives: Building home-school partnerships to support children who struggle with literacy What happens when parents are invited and encouraged to share their own knowledge and insight of ...
Research Interests:
Teachers who know themselves, their students, and their practices are best positioned to create humane classrooms where students feel validated, cared for, and important. Teachers can acquire this knowledge through study, dialogue,... more
Teachers who know themselves, their students, and their practices are best positioned to create humane classrooms where students feel validated, cared for, and important. Teachers can acquire this knowledge through study, dialogue, self-reflection and a willingness to grapple with issues such as race. This chapter describes Danielle’s (second author) attempt to invite her colleagues to join her in a professional learning community to explore the three pillars of transformationist pedagogy: knowing self, knowing students, and knowing practice (Howard 2006). The chapter details teachers’ responses to these learning sessions and sets an agenda for professional learning communities that focuses on transformationist teaching.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
This study examines the impact of a course that focused on social equity teaching, and particularly, teachers’ attitudes toward the capacities of students in culturally nondominant communities. Findings from surveys and written documents... more
This study examines the impact of a course that focused on social equity teaching, and particularly, teachers’ attitudes toward the capacities of students in culturally nondominant communities. Findings from surveys and written documents reveal that course participants were better able to recognize students’ inherent abilities and knowledge traditions than non-participants. The course was less effective in helping teachers recognize English language learners’ abilities and teachers’ own role in challenging school inequalities and making a positive difference the life trajectories of students. Results indicate a need for greater emphasis on challenging language stereotypes and promoting teacher activism.
Research Interests:
Abstract: Presents case studies highlighting factors that influenced the attitudes of predominantly white, middle-class preservice teachers during their internships at a Philadelphia elementary school. The experience challenged their... more
Abstract: Presents case studies highlighting factors that influenced the attitudes of predominantly white, middle-class preservice teachers during their internships at a Philadelphia elementary school. The experience challenged their understandings of their ...
Research Interests:
ED491842 - Learning to Be Literacy Teachers in Urban Schools: Stories of Growth and Change.
Research Interests:
... In Practicing What We Teach: How Culturally Responsive Literacy Classrooms Make a Difference, Patricia ... In addition, they recognize that voices of marginalized culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD ... that each student is an... more
... In Practicing What We Teach: How Culturally Responsive Literacy Classrooms Make a Difference, Patricia ... In addition, they recognize that voices of marginalized culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD ... that each student is an individual, and that our instruction and curriculum ...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
How to help these future teachers develop the sensitivity, knowledge, and desire to serve these children is one of the most critical questions facing educators today (Hoffman & Pearson, 2000). The need to address diversity issues... more
How to help these future teachers develop the sensitivity, knowledge, and desire to serve these children is one of the most critical questions facing educators today (Hoffman & Pearson, 2000). The need to address diversity issues within literacy education courses ...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
This study examines the impact of a course that focused on social equity teaching, and particularly, teachers' attitudes toward the capacities of students in culturally nondominant communities. Findings from surveys and written... more
This study examines the impact of a course that focused on social equity teaching, and particularly, teachers' attitudes toward the capacities of students in culturally nondominant communities. Findings from surveys and written documents reveal that course participants were better able to recognize students' inherent abilities and knowledge traditions than non-participants. The course was less effective in helping teachers recognize English language learners' abilities and teachers' own role in challenging school inequalities and making a positive difference the life trajectories of students. Results indicate a need for greater emphasis on challenging language stereotypes and promoting teacher activism.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Page 1. Althier M. Lazar_ Ren?e Weisberg Inviting parents' perspectives: Building home-school partnerships to support children who struggle with literacy What happens when parents are invited and encouraged to share their own... more
Page 1. Althier M. Lazar_ Ren?e Weisberg Inviting parents' perspectives: Building home-school partnerships to support children who struggle with literacy What happens when parents are invited and encouraged to share their own knowledge and insight of ...
Page 1. Who Is Studying in Groups and Why? Peer Collaboration Outside the Classroom Althier M. Lazar y concern about peer learning grew through my dual role as doctoral student and academic support counselor at the University of... more
Page 1. Who Is Studying in Groups and Why? Peer Collaboration Outside the Classroom Althier M. Lazar y concern about peer learning grew through my dual role as doctoral student and academic support counselor at the University of Pennsylvania. ...
Research Interests:
EJ572759 - Helping Preservice Teachers Inquire About Caregivers: A Critical Experience for Field-Based Courses.
Research Interests:
Background Social equity literacy teaching is the means by which teachers can empower children by seeing their literate capacities and helping them access the literacies and languages needed for full participation in mainstream contexts... more
Background Social equity literacy teaching is the means by which teachers can empower children by seeing their literate capacities and helping them access the literacies and languages needed for full participation in mainstream contexts (Au, 1998). Inequalities prevent many children in high poverty and nondominant cultural communities from realizing their in-born literacy potential. The role of the teacher, then, is to recognize these injustices and offset them. This is not to say that teachers are the only ones responsible for ...
