... Abstract [The abstract is a summary of every main point in your paper. For this assignment, include a brief description of background information, action research purpose, inquiry design, and reflection.] Table of Contents Introduction ## Background Information ## Purpose ## Inquiry Design ## Reflection ## Conclusion ## Contributing Inquiry and Research in Education Introduction The subject of my wondering would be literacy with an emphasis on reading comprehension. Reading comprehension is the overall goal when it comes to the multiple facets of reading. Students must be able to decode the words on the page as well as comprehend them. Reading comprehension becomes a huge issue for children who are labeled as “struggling readers.” The label of the struggling reader means the student may be having trouble decoding the semantics of any given sentence. The negative label of being a struggling reader highly affects a student’s attitude towards the subject of reading. Once a child has been labeled as such, it becomes difficult for the child to motivate himself or herself to read, especially if there is very little assistance given. The problem I have identified in my classroom/school is that the negative labels that are placed on struggling readers at the elementary school level are highly affecting a students’ attitude towards the subject of reading. Therefore, the purpose of my research is to see if the students who have a negative attitude towards...
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...Self – Reflection As the curtains drop and the semester approaches its end, the opportunity of evaluating one’s self explicitly arises. I firmly believe in the notion, “Where there is a will, there is a way.” Throughout the course of this semester, I wrote three pieces of work, which contributed towards my development both as a writer and as a communicator. Writing in Freshman Composition gives me an opportunity to express myself through not only speech but also the power of words, thereby sparking a sense of inner confidence with regards to my growing proficiency in the subject matter. The Freshman Composition course consists of an explicit set of course – learning outcomes, with a special focus on developing strategies for reading,...
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...appropriate phase. Priorities Actions When and Resources Success Criteria Phonics - To develop confidence in regards to the teaching of phonics. 1. Use different types of media to inform my understanding of phonics. (YouTube) 2. Observe phonics teaching in KS1. 3. Obtain phonics teaching policy and review the phonics scheme that the school uses to teach phonics. 4. Read DfE core criteria key features for an effective systematic synthetic phonics teaching programme. 5. Identify key phonics vocabulary in NC. 6. Read academic and practitioner literature on effective phonics teaching. 1. Every weekend use the internet to observe phonics teaching. 2. Observe 1 lesson each week in placement 1. Arrange weekly. 3. During the first week ask KS1 or EYFS coordinator for the policy and scheme. 4. Obtain a copy online and print off. Review this weekly before each observation. 5. Obtain phase lists from KS1 coordinator during week 1. 6. Library search 22.09.15 Complete all actions in SE1 before SE2 in KS1. Score an average of ‘confident’ in phonics RPD self-assessment audit by the end of SE2. Fully understand and be able to explain the meaning of key phonics vocabulary. (179) Teaching Writing – Transcription, composition, vocabulary, grammar and punctuation (SPAG). 1. Create my own SPAG test. Allow a profile child to attempt the test. 2. Go through a SPAG test and highlight knowledge gaps – turn this into a glossary of subject gaps. 2.b. Plan SPAG lesson...
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...Teachers and school leaders: making a difference through evidence-based practice A research paper for ACT Government schools ISBN 978-0-9757487-4-9 © Australian Capital Territory, Canberra 2007 Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright ACT 1968, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission from the ACT Department of Education and Training, ACT Government, PO Box 1584, Tuggeranong ACT 2901. Produced for the ACT Department of Education and Training by the Measurement, Monitoring and Reporting Directorate. Telephone: Canberra 6205 9214 Fax: Canberra 6205 8353 ACT Government Homepage address 2 Introduction The purpose of this paper is to provide a research base for the ACT Department of Education and Training’s discussion paper for ACT government school teachers: Teachers and school leaders: making a difference through evidence-based practice. Evidence-based practice is defined as the collection and analysis of relevant data and research and the application of this evidence to teaching and learning and to whole school improvement. The conceptual framework of the School Excellence Initiative underpins the paper. This places student achievement and learning at the centre of any discussion. In the research literature, there are many, often contradictory definitions of data, information and knowledge. This paper will use ‘data’ as a collective (singular) noun and define terms as follows: • data: a collection...
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...281–307 Benefits and Constraints of Distributed Cognition in Foreign Language Learning: Creating a Web-based Tourist Guide for London Susanne Narciss and Hermann Koerndle Dresden University of Technology Abstract This paper uses the framework of distributed cognition to discuss benefits and constraints of technology adoption and use in social-constructive language learning scenarios. The purposes of this paper are (a) to describe how the open-ended knowledge construction and communication tools TEE (The Electronic Exercise) and EF-editor (Exercise Format Editor) can serve socialconstructive language learning from a distributed cognition point of view, (b) to report how TEE and EF-editor have been used in a foreign language classroom with 25 seventh grade students for creating a Web-based tourist guide to London, and (c) to present the results of an evaluative study investigating the benefits and constraints the teacher and students experienced through this learning scenario. Finally, these results are discussed with regard to the heuristic value of distributed cognition for technology-enhanced social-constructive learning-scenarios. (Keywords: Distributed cognition, multimedia tool, social-constructive language learning, multimedia literacy.) INTRODUCTION Foreign language learning is crucial to students’ academic and personal education. In many domains, a person’s professional and individual success is related more or less to her ability to communicate at least in...
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...Characteristics of professional development linked to enhanced pedagogy and children’s learning in early childhood settings: Best Evidence Synthesis July 2003 Characteristics of professional development linked to enhanced pedagogy and children’s learning in early childhood settings: Best Evidence Synthesis October 2003 This report is one of a series of best evidence syntheses commissioned by the Ministry of Education. It is part of a commitment to strengthen the evidence base that informs education policy and practice in New Zealand. It aims to contribute to an ongoing evidence-based discourse amongst policy makers, educators and researchers. The best evidence synthesis approach is being developed in collaboration with researchers. It draws together in a systematic way the available evidence about what works to improve education outcomes, and what can make a bigger difference for the education of all our children and young people. Prepared for the Ministry of Education Authors Linda Mitchell and Pam Cubey Copyright © Ministry of Education PO Box 1666 Wellington ISBN 0-478-18773-4 Web ISBN ISBN 0-478-18774-2 www.minedu.govt.nz Characteristics of professional development linked to enhanced pedagogy and children’s learning in early childhood settings Best Evidence Synthesis Report prepared for the New Zealand Ministry of Education Linda Mitchell and Pam Cubey July 2003 New Zealand Council for Educational Research P O Box 3237 ...
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...Reflection Paper 1 Reflection Paper Reflection Paper 2 Overall Impression of Book: I feel that Anne Fadiman narrated the story of Lia Lee’s and her family’s life in intimate and tragic detail. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down is a poignant depiction of the struggle between loving parents, hard-working medical professionals, and a very precious child caught in the middle of a tug-of-war. Ms. Fadiman very distinctly illustrates how the collision of two cultures indirectly led to the demise of a little seven- year old girl. I did not expect the story to end with Lia Lee in a persistent vegetative state. I was very excited when I first started the book, but I soon became rather depressed with the lack of compassion of people towards the Hmong in general throughout the book. I am not certain whether I am now more culturally aware now, but I was very frustrated by the lack of respect given to the Hmong by the people in the city of Merced and the doctors and nurses comments about the Lees. Three Major Themes Evident in the Book: A: Cultural Understanding An important thread running throughout this book is cultural understanding. Americans, including the medical professionals in Merced and Valley Children’s Hospital are depicted as very insensitive to the ways of the Hmong people. Anne Fadiman, while acutely aware of the physicians’ frustrations in providing medical care for those individuals with very radically...
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...Guide to ACTION RESEARCH for Literacy Educators Written by Glenda Nugent, Sakil Malik, and Sandra Hollingsworth With support from the International Reading Association, Nokia Corporation, and Pearson Foundation Contributor/Editor: Amy Pallangyo A Practical Guide to Action Research for Literacy Educators Authors: Glenda Nugent, Sakil Malik, and Sandra Hollingsworth Contributor/Editor: Amy Pallangyo Copy Editor: John Micklos, Jr. Design/Layout: Precision Arts Cover Photo Credits (clockwise from top): Linda Ulqini, Sakil Malik, and Jennifer Bowser Published with support from the International Reading Association, Nokia Corporation, and Pearson Foundation Copyright ©2012 by the Global Operations Unit, International Reading Association, 444 N. Capitol St., Suite 640, Washington, DC 2001, USA. All rights reserved. We welcome educators throughout the world to freely use and disseminate, with proper attribution, the materials in this guidebook. This is a work in progress, and we welcome constructive ideas and literacy-related Action Research examples from classrooms around the world for subsequent revisions. All communications should be sent to Sakil Malik, Director of Global Affairs, International Reading Association, at smalik@reading.org or sakil.malik@gmail.com. ISBN: 978-0-9882349-0-1 Dedication To all teachers worldwide working to advance literacy in the classroom. ...
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...Assessing Curriculum Theory Educational theories attempt to distinguish, understand and propose educational practices. The theories encompass many different types of instruction, curriculum methods and techniques to teach as well as policy, organization and leadership (Ornstein& Hunkins, 2014). People have different understandings of learning theories and different beliefs and opinions about how people process information and learn new material. Their beliefs may derive from personal knowledge, self-reflection, performance of others, research, and from trying to educate or convince others to adopt their way of thinking (Wang, 2012). According to Shuell (2013) the various theories are pertinent to different kinds of learning and may be similar. Nonetheless, they provide different viewpoints on the difficult aspects of learning and go hand in hand in their capacity to clarify different kinds of learning conditions. Consequently, completely different theories are pertinent to the classroom by speaking to several elements of classroom learning. Theories of learning are attempts to describe how people learn. Various theories center on different traditions and are suitable for clarifying certain educational conditions but not others. Theories of learning may be able to advise instruction and suggest different educational resources to include new forms of technology. At the end of the day, the instructional activities in which the student undertakes will determine what the...
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...Case Study Research Report Christine Y. Harris Grand Canyon University RDG 581 October 12, 2011 Action Research Plan: Effective Interventions for Vocabulary Acquisition in Children of Disadvantaged Backgrounds The Purpose Research suggests that students can be taught phonics skills that are needed to become proficient readers. The use of strategies such as guessing from context, predicting and re-reading may aid, to some extent, with reading comprehension. However, according to Becker (1977), a primary difficulty in developing comprehension in the early years in reading is an inadequate vocabulary. An insufficient vocabulary will have an adverse impact on reading comprehension. E.D.Hirsch states “It is now well accepted that the chief cause of the achievement gaps between socioeconomic groups is a language gap.” The purpose of this research is to determine how explicit instruction using interventions can help close the vocabulary deficits with children from disadvantaged backgrounds The Problem Children of lower socioeconomic backgrounds enter kindergarten with a less extensive vocabulary than those of higher socioeconomic environment. One study showed that three year old children from affluent families had larger vocabularies than children from impoverished families (Hart and Risley, et al 1995). Unfortunately, once the deficit in vocabulary is established, differences in vocabulary knowledge are hard to eliminate. This leads to continued gaps as students...
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...only way to tamper with an individual’s genes was through their parents. Gregor Mendel earned the moniker “The Father of Genetics” because of his experiments involving the breeding of plants in the mid 19th century (Biography.com). However, modern eugenics focuses on the genes of child more than the parents through abortions and the genetic altering of the embryo to achieve the desired results. This can be achieved through a process called genetic screening, which observes an embryo’s chromosomes for any lapses or breaks (Galloway a). Embryo’s that show signs of a genetic disorders, such as Down Hassan 2 Syndrome, SCID, or Sickle Cell Disease, are aborted in favor of an “unflawed” one. John Galloway, a writer for the Genetic Literacy Project, discusses this injustice: Genetic screening, followed by the discarding of unwanted embryos (perceived as “flawed”) and implanting unflawed ones, denies life to an individual with a genetic disease in favour of an...
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...Running Head: Overcoming Language Barriers in NC Pre-K Classrooms How to Overcome Language Barriers in NC Pre-K Classrooms FCS 711- Research and Inquiry in Family and Consumer Science Dr. Rosa Purcell Meisha Conrad April 28, 2014 Introduction Being a teacher at a Head Start/ Early Head Start program I have experienced the language barriers between teachers and students from different ethnic groups. I can say it is not easy when you and your students cannot communicate. Dealing with the situation makes you question yourself and how you can fix the language barriers in your own classroom and also the school. What can teachers do to overcome the language barrier in our classrooms with our Latino children? What are some activities, lessons, games, and etc., that we can do to make a connection and also help them learn? There are many ways I think we can put a stop to the language barriers in school. We may not be able to completely fix the problem but there are ways and things we can do to make our Latino children and parents feel welcome and comfortable when they walk into the schools. Communication is an important part of teaching because the children have to be able to understand the message that the teacher is trying to convey. Children also have to be able to communicate with each other. There are a number of factors in the classroom and many...
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...Video Game Violence In Youth Kevin Roshanaie Prof Sills March 12, 2012 Video Game Violence in Youth This Paper will discuss how violent video games do not cause any acts of violence among the youth in this country. A larger gap is shown between the public’s perception of Video games and what research shows. Some people assume that the availability of video games has led to a pandemic in youth violence. According to federal crime statistics “the rate of juvenile violent crimes in the United States is at a 30 year low”. (Henry Jenkins ) “Researchers have discovered that people who are serving time for violent crimes typically consume less media before committing their crime than the average person in the general population”. (Henry Jenkins ) One thing that is true, Young offenders who have committed school shooting’s here in America have been avid video game players. Young people are the ones who are gamers over the adults. “Statistics show that 90 percent of boys and 40 percent of girls play video games”. (Theesa.com) The overwhelming majority of the youth who play video games do not commit any anti –social acts. According to a report by the U.S Surgeon General that was released in 2001. The report “states that the strongest risk factors for schools shootings are centered on mental stability of that youth offender and it’s also based on the quality of their home life not exposure to video games”.( Henry Jenkins) The panic over video games causing violence is doubly...
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...Unit” sections and offers pacing on a 45-minute class period length. Prentice Hall Literature – Use selections from Prentice Hall throughout the quarter to reinforce the standards being taught as well as the embedded assessments within the SpringBoard curriculum. QUARTER #1 SpringBoard Curriculum Pacing Guide August 23 – October 22 Standards and Benchmarks | Unit Pacing Guide | SpringBoard Unit/Activities | Assessments | SpringBoard Unit 1Literature * The students will analyze and compare significant works of literature and id relationships among major genres * Analyze the literary devices unique to the literature and how they support and enhance theme and main ideaReading * The student will use pre reading strategies and background knowledge of subject/content area to make and confirm complex predictions * Determine main idea and essential messageWriting * Pre write by generating ideas...
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...over the age of thirtyfive, and that includes most college faculty. Yet students confess to spending significant amounts of time on Facebook, sometimes hours a day. If you teach in a computer classroom, you have probably observed students using Facebook when you walk in the room. Literacy practices that fall outside the realm of traditional academic writing, like Facebook, can easily be seen as a threat to print literacy by teachers, especially when they sneak into the classroom uninvited as students check their Facebook profiles instead of participating in class discussions and activities. This common reaction reflects James King and David O’Brien’s (2002: 42) characterization of the dichotomy teachers often perceive between school and nonschool literacy activities (although they are not referring to Facebook specifically): “From teachers’ perspectives, all of these presumably pleasurable experiences with multimedia detract from students’ engagement with their real work. Within the classroom economy technology work is time off task; it is classified as a sort of leisure recreational activity.” This dichotomy can be broken down, though; students’ enthusiasm for and immersion in these nonacademic literacies can be used to complement their learning of critical inquiry and traditional academic concepts like rhetorical analysis. Although they read these texts daily, they are often unaware of the sophisticated rhetorical analysis they employ while browsing others’ profiles (or as they...
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