Abstract
Success in the 21st century, for individuals and societies, requires competence in comprehending and communicating in the academic disciplines--the natural sciences, history, geography, and more. The Read-Write Cycle (RWC) Project, a three year longitudinal research study conducted from 2005-2008 in ten public elementary schools in southern California, explored the effectiveness of curriculum and instructional strategies that integrate literacy with disciplinary knowledge with the simultaneous goals of: (1) enhancing students' literacy outcomes; and (2) broadening and deepening knowledge of the content area. Funded by the U.S. Institute of Education Sciences, the RWC Project concentrated over years one and two on 1,024 students in grades three through six and the ongoing professional development of 18 classroom teachers. This documentary account focuses on one aspect of the larger project, specifically the RWC Project's effect on teachers' metacognition about their own practice leading to upper elementary grade students' higher learning by developing students': (1) metacognition and reflection; (2) exploration and depth in content domains; and (3) integration of literacy in content areas. (Contains 1 figure.)