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Latino Children’s English as a Second Language and Subject-Matter Appropriation through Technology-Mediated Activities: A Cultural Historical Activity Theory Perspective

Amaro-Jimenez, Carla
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1211938498

Abstract Details

2008, EdD, University of Cincinnati, Education : Literacy.
In this study I investigated the ways in which the implementation of Technology-Mediated Activities (TMA) provided third grade Latino children with opportunities to appropriate the second language (L2) skills and subject-matter knowledge that they need to attain before the fourth grade slump. In this study I also documented the ways in which the TMA implemented provided affordances and constraints to not only the Latino children but also to their English as a Second Language (ESL) and content area teachers. Furthermore, in this study I investigated the impact that the implementation of such TMA had on the Latino children's academic achievement. The participants in this study were 21 third grade Latino children and six teachers (four content area teachers and two ESL teachers) from three public schools (two urban schools and one suburban school) in the Midwest U.S. To achieve the research purpose, I used Cultural Historical Activity Theory as a macro-theoretical framework, supplemented with a Concurrent Triangulation Mixed-Method design for data collection and analyses. Data collection techniques included observations, think-aloud protocols, and summative evaluation data, among others. Findings indicate that the utilization of various kinds of TMA gave Latino children opportunities to appropriate the target content (i.e., L2 and subject-matter knowledge) when they were deliberately making connections between the new knowledge they were learning in the classroom and a vast array of prior and present experiences. Findings also revealed that the affordances and constraints from enacting TMA were dependent on the kind of instructional approach that was used to meet the needs of these Latino learners, on who the agent was, and on where the agent was positioned in the larger context. The impact that enacting the TMA had on the Latino children participants included co-constructing knowledge with more and less knowledgeable others, using the L2 as a semiotic tool to explain their thinking, and activating the children's zone of proximal development, among others. Findings also suggest that certain kinds of TMA could be used for forecasting the Latino children's performance on achievement tests. Based on these and other findings, implications for theory, research and practice are provided.
Gulbahar Beckett, Ph.D. (Committee Chair)
461 p.
Education; Elementary Education; Language; Linguistics; Mathematics Education; Reading Instruction; Teaching; Technology
latino children; academic achievement; technology; cultural historical activity theory perspective; mixed method research; ESL; content area

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Amaro-Jimenez, C. (2008). Latino Children’s English as a Second Language and Subject-Matter Appropriation through Technology-Mediated Activities: A Cultural Historical Activity Theory Perspective [Doctoral dissertation, University of Cincinnati]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1211938498

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Amaro-Jimenez, Carla. Latino Children’s English as a Second Language and Subject-Matter Appropriation through Technology-Mediated Activities: A Cultural Historical Activity Theory Perspective. 2008. University of Cincinnati, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1211938498.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Amaro-Jimenez, Carla. "Latino Children’s English as a Second Language and Subject-Matter Appropriation through Technology-Mediated Activities: A Cultural Historical Activity Theory Perspective." Doctoral dissertation, University of Cincinnati, 2008. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1211938498

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ucin1211938498
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© 2008, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by University of Cincinnati and OhioLINK.