ABSTRACT
Research in English language arts (ELA) has both reflected and influenced different perspectives on literacy learning since the 1920s. In the 1990s the increased use of digital media tools in school resulted in another shift towards more New Literary and "connected learning" perspectives on learning mediated by uses of digital media tools. To determine differences in teachers' beliefs about their goals for teaching literature, Goodwyn and Findlay conducted a large-scale survey of British teachers' preferred goals for teaching English. Researchers also focused on how to improve classroom discussions, given that discussions are often teacher dominated through IRE (initiate, react, evaluate) interactions with little elaboration of response or student-to-student interaction or use of authentic questions with no predetermined answers. Students draw on their reading ability to self-assess their writing, reflecting the importance of integrating reading and writing instruction. Students also draw on their knowledge of narrative conventions to write stories portraying issues and conflicts in their own lives.
