Education Commons^™

Educational Progress‐Time And The Proliferation Of Dual Enrollment, Brice Nordquist, Amy J. Lueck

English

In this commentary, we use the occasion of the proliferation of dual enrollment to examine the discursive construction of difference between high school and college literacies, and its effects on teachers and students. This discursive divide has real, material consequences. It informs (and constrains) literacy practices and pedagogies, becomes a barrier to access (particularly when operationalized in testing procedures), contributes to dropout and attrition, exacerbates unequal power and resources in communities, and justifies hierarchical relations between high school and college faculty and staff. By deconstructing the definitions of high school and college and the metaphors of containment they rely on, …

Teaching English As A Foreign Language: A Case Study From Poland, Jaroslaw Richard Romaniuk, Kathleen J. Farkas

Faculty Scholarship

This article presents a detailed history of the development of a particular immersion program to teach English to young Polish students. The program draws support from two organizations, the Kościuszko Foundation and the Polish Scouting Organization. Kościuszko Foundation is dedicated to strengthening the ties between the United States and Poland as well as to increase knowledge of Poland’s history and culture in the United States. The cooperation of these two organizations developed an experience of immersion in language and cultural exchange. Both the teachers and the students in this program benefited from the opportunity to engage in a number of …

Teachers’ Use Of Standardized Assessments To Monitor Learning And Its Impact On Student Reading Achievement, Eilyn Sanabria

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Reading instruction must be “intentional, systematic, and explicit” and “implemented by a knowledgeable teacher” (Ruetzel & Cooter, 2019, p. 87). The era of accountability has brought standardized assessments to the forefront of reading instruction. However, gaps about assessment-related and instructional practices and their impact on student achievement exist in the literature. The present study aims to provide needed insights on how these practices help or hinder, specifically, historically low-performing students.

Using student achievement and teacher survey data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study: Kindergarten 2011 (ECLS-K), and through the lens of data use theory (Hutchins, 1995; Spillane, 2012), hierarchical multiple …

K-Pop Culture: The Success Of Bts, Shinjung Kim

ESL for Academic Purposes

This unit addresses several factors behind the great success of BTS, a Korean boy idol group, all over the world, while providing the opportunity for learners to reflect upon themselves. This unit is intended for English language learners in either as an ESL and EFL context. The unit will be of most interest to teenagers and young adults. Learners should have a B1 level of proficiency or higher. By working through the unit, learners will increase their academic vocabulary, reading, listening, speaking, and writing skills.

Superstitions From Around The World, Annie Espinal

ESL for Academic Purposes

This open educational resource is a lesson for students who are studying English in a multicultural classroom. This specific unit, Superstition, is meant for intermediate ESL learners, with an A2 level on the CEFR scale. The goal of this unit is to encourage students to share about their own cultures, comparing and exchanging various superstitions and beliefs from their countries, and to help develop multiple language skills like reading, speaking, and listening, while engaging in different activities.

A Call For Cautious Interpretation Of Meta-Analytic Reviews, Frank Boers, Lara Bryfonski, Farahnaz Faez, Todd Mckay

Education Publications

Meta-analytic reviews collect available empirical studies on a specified domain and calculate the average effect of a factor. Educators as well as researchers exploring a new domain of inquiry may rely on the conclusions from meta-analytic reviews rather than reading multiple primary studies. This article calls for caution in this regard, because the outcome of a meta-analysis is determined by how effect sizes are calculated, how factors are defined, and how studies are selected for inclusion. Three recently published meta-analyses are re-examined to illustrate these issues. One illustrates the risk of conflating effect sizes from studies with different design features, …

Bob Marley, Danayit Desalegn

ESL for Academic Purposes

This integrated unit covers the life of a cultural icon and a famous Reggae artist, Bob Marley. The unit is intended for an advanced ESL or EFL listening and speaking course. It will be most engaging to young adults and adult learners. Learners should have a B2/C1 level of proficiency or higher on the CEFR language scale. By engaging with this unit, learners will enhance their academic vocabulary, grammar, reading, writing, critical thinking, listening, and speaking skills. This unit is intended to increase students' cultural awareness of a popular music genre and Rastafarianism.

Comparing Human Communication And Animal Communication, Firas Ismail

ESL for Academic Purposes

What is language? People might say that humans are not the only living beings that use language. The types of communication that animals use is definitely useful and does meet some of the same goals as human speech, but it is not truly language. What are these differences in communication that separate humans from animals, and why are they important. This is the topic of the unit, which encourages not only practical applications of language use (Vocabulary, Reading, Writing, Grammar Usage, Speaking, and Listening), but also critical thinking on the concept of language itself. This unit tries to encourage metalinguistic …

Empower: An Adaptable Writing Intervention, Carly Dinnes

The Nebraska Educator: A Student-Led Journal

EmPOWER is a six-stage writing intervention designed by speech-language pathologists to improve the expository writings of school-aged children with language learning and executive function disabilities. The intervention uses scaffolded instruction to transform struggling students into independent and self-regulating writers by training the students to use a variety of supports (e.g., graphic organizers, checklists) and strategies (e.g., referring back to the writing prompt) throughout the writing process. Many key features of the EmPOWER approach to writing instruction directly support components described in cognitive models of writing, which indicates that EmPOWER is a theory-guided writing intervention that may benefit a wide range …

Truly, Madly, Deeply: Adverbs And Ells, Kristin Lems

Faculty Publications

In this issue’s column focusing on adverbs and English language learners, columnist Kristin Lems explores some of the basic but not-so-obvious features about adverbs that readers and writers need to learn in order to take advantage of these powerful levers of language. The odds are very good that your native English speakers will also benefit from this information—and you might learn a thing or two as well.

The Formative Assessment Process: Influence And Impact, Tawyne A. Gibson

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

This action research study investigated how formative data use influences teaching and learning, and what impact the formative process has on student outcomes. The study took place in a first-grade classroom with a group of five students over the course of four weeks. Participants were selected for the study because they scored in the 2nd to 11th percentile rank on the FastBridge Early Reading English assessment. Quantitative data was collected weekly for each of the four weeks using FastBridge Word Segmenting progress monitoring and then compared to baseline data taken before the study. A one-way between subjects ANOVA test was …

Pre-A Guided Reading In Early Childhood Literacy Skills, Laura Schumacher

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

The purpose of this action research project is to show that gains in literacy skills through implementation of guided reading practices at the preschool level, if successful, prove that guided reading instruction is a meaningful and purposeful practice in teaching literacy skills at the early childhood level. The researcher worked with 47 preschool children ages four and five. Participants attended a state-funded preschool program in an elementary school building. An alphabet literacy skills pre-test was given. A writing sample of the participant' s names, with no visual reference, was obtained. Throughout the weeks, students participated in lessons and activities that …

Class Wide Fluency Intervention Impact On Student Reading Growth, Jennifer Cook

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

This action research was driven by the researcher's interest in reading fluency and specifically about using a class-wide intervention to help increase students' words per minute using Varied Practice Reading. The researcher is a third-grade teacher in her 7th year of teaching, where her own students participated in the class-wide intervention. The five week intervention was conducted on the students' fluency to analyze the effectiveness of the class-wide Varied Practice Reading intervention. Throughout the five weeks, oral reading fluency was progress monitored for six students that were identified as persistently at-risk or at-risk based on Fastbridge 3rd grade fall benchmark …

Research-Based Early Literacy Interventions Or Teacher-Created Early Literacy, Sonja Carson

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

The purpose of this action research project was to determine if research-based early literacy interventions are more effective than teacher-created early literacy interventions with special education students on letter identification and letter sound recognition. Before the interventions began the students were given the Foundational Skills Survey in Letter Identification and Letter Sound Recognition by Really Great Reading. This score was the baseline for the reported data. For eight weeks the researcher instructed the students using a research-based reading intervention from Really Great Reading's Countdown focused on letter identification and letter sound recognition. This was done in addition to the general …

Blended Learning's Impact On Student Performance And Engagement In A Middle School Language Arts Classroom, Claire Cole

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

The purpose of this action research project was to determine if blended learning instructional practices enhance students' understanding of the content being studied and increase student engagement in a 7th grade English language arts classroom. The research questions being studied as a result of these purposes include: Is there a positive correlation between using blended learning techniques with middle school students and students' proficiency of the Iowa Core standards? Does using blended learning methods correlate to increased student engagement? Participants of the study were three sections of 7th grade language arts students from the teacher researcher's school district of rural …

Minecrafting Bar Mitzvah: Two Rabbis Negotiating And Cultivating Learner-Driven Inclusion Through New Media., Owen Gottlieb

Articles

In 2013, a boy with special needs used the video game Minecraft to deliver the sermon at his bar mitzvah at a Reform synagogue, an apparently unique ritual phenomenon to this day. Using a narrative inquiry approach, this article examines two rabbis’ negotiations with new media, leading up to, during, and upon reflection after the event. The article explores acceptance, innovation, and validation of new media in religious practice, drawing on Campbell’s (2010) framework for negotiation of new media in religious communities. Clergy biography, philosophy, and institutional context all impact the negotiations with new media. By providing context of a …

Word Walls In Social Studies: One Solution To The "Vocabulary Conundrum", Dianna Townsend, Ashley Baxter, Annie Keller, Hannah Carter

Literacy, Language, and Culture Faculty Publications and Presentations

Julia Kearney and Lori Bingham (pseudonyms), two middle school social studies teachers in a large urban school, have a problem. They want to have their students asking and exploring important questions about American history, and they want them to have the vocabulary knowledge needed to do so. While Julia and Lori recognize the rich linguistic resources their students bring to their classrooms, they also recognize the intense vocabulary demands of social studies. Julia and Lori recently participated in a professional learning initiative to develop research-based approaches for building students’ academic vocabulary knowledge in social studies. They learned about the potential …

Salvadoran Food: Pupusas, Nelson Morales Vasquez

ESL for Academic Purposes

The unit presents a delicious combination between Salvadoran cuisine and Language learning activities. The unit is intended for a cultural lesson in an EAP program and it provides a glance into the history of Salvadoran cuisine, Pupusas. Learner should have B2 level of proficiency or higher. By working through the unit, learners will be able to not only explain what Pupusas are, but also describe how to make them. It includes three projects that can be carried out to deepen and assess leaners’ understanding of this unit.

50 Anos De Evolução Nos Estudos Linguísticos Transculturais: Da Retórica Contrastiva À Retórica Intercultural, David Sánchez-Jiménez

Publications and Research

Este trabalho apresenta um panorama histórico dos estudos linguísticos transculturais, discorrendo sobre o surgimento da retórica contrastiva por meio do trabalho seminal de Robert Kaplan em 1966 e as contribuições de Ulla Connor ao rebatizar tais estudos como retórica intercultural. Explana-se também sobre as críticas endereçadas à retórica contrastiva feitas durante os anos 1980, 1990 e 2000 e de que maneira tais críticas redefiniram o quadro teórico-metodológico e o objeto de estudo da disciplina. Conclui-se com exposição de uma crítica à homogeneização das distintas culturas retóricas causada pela globalização e internacionalização do inglês no âmbito acadêmico e nas atividades profissionais.

Music In World Cultures: Flamenco Unit, Whitney Krogstad-Yambrick

ESL for Academic Purposes

This is a content-based course called Music in World Cultures. The course is meant to educate students on international music genres. This specific unit presents the flamenco dance. It is intended for adult learners of English with a B2 level on the CEFR scale. The goal of this unit is to inform students about the flamenco and to encourage them to think critically.

Aspects Of Literacy In Vision And Mission Of University Libraries In Indonesia, Kundharu Saddhono, Puji Lestari, Yuliana Sari

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Literacy is closely related to libraries. Aspects of literacy existing in visions and missions become the main points and characteristics of a library. This study aimed to describe and explain aspects of literacy of libraries in top universities in Indonesia in terms of text and social context. It employed content analysis with descriptive qualitative approach. It also used critical discourse analysis model as proposed by van Dijk. It was textually related to micro analysis and socially connected to activities supporting the textual analysis. The result shows that aspects of literacy in top universities in Indonesia are textually and socially dominated …

Persona Development: Unpacking The Process, 21cleo Research Team

21CLEO Research Project Blog Posts

In our last post, we introduced the concept of personas and discussed how we are using personas to create a compelling and approachable representation of our aggregated interview data with working learners. Our hope is that the personas we develop will help practitioners and program developers better understand the working learners' experiences. We have found that personas help us illustrate who working learners are and situate our findings within the existing instructional design paradigm. In this post, we discuss our process for creating person as.

School Libraries In South Australia 2019 Census, Katherine Dix, Rachel Felgate, Syeda Kashfee Ahmed, Toby Carslake, Shani Sniedze

School and system improvement

This report presents the results of a survey census and website review of school libraries, taken across all South Australian schools in Term 3, 2019. The census collected data on school library staffing, facilities, funding, and support. Results reveal that schools with a qualified teacher librarian are more likely to have improved student literacy outcomes. While 94 per cent of South Australian schools have someone to manage the library collection and to select resources, less than a quarter (23 per cent) are managed by a qualified teacher librarian. Questions about the nature of library provision in schools uncovered eight main …

A Teacher’S Reflection On Catholic Social Teachings And Hopeful Curriculum During Covid-19, Kierstin Giunco

COVID-19 and Catholic Schools

This reflection details the online adaptation of a robust advocacy unit that was grounded in Catholic Social Teachings. As this unit asked students to unravel single narratives and persuade others to take action, there was a seamless link between the original design and a “hopeful curriculum,” which is supportive during a time of crisis as the goal is social-justice through solidarity and active participation (Renner, 2009) Through intentionally redesigning the unit guided by student curiosity, the classroom was simultaneously engaged with faith and social justice. Students became active advocates, especially through the intertwined nature of their topics and current events. …

Digital Tools For Online Assessment In Elt, Rhana Khan, Eun-Young Julia Kim, Kelly Mcclendon

Faculty Publications

Teaching online brings with it many benefits—increased flexibility, ability to connect regardless of geographic location, and convenience for example. But, as many teachers are learning, it also comes with a number of challenges, such as motivating passive students, technology issues, and encouraging collaboration and connection. Assessment, a critical and complex part of any language course, can be difficult when teaching online, as well. Following, learn about how three different educators utilize three separate digital tools for online assessment.

What Are The Challenges And Opportunities Of Online Teaching In The Republic Of Moldova, Marciuc Ala

English Language Institute

The project represents an overview of the current situation in online education in the Republic of Moldova. The data was collected based on the literature analysis and short empirical research performed on 25 English language instructors, employed by the American Language Center, who have been directly affected by the pandemic starting March 2020.

Persona Development As A Research Tool, 21cleo Research Team

21CLEO Research Project Blog Posts

In order to make our description of working-learners who participate in employer-supported educational activities more vivid, we have taken a unique approach to better represent why characteristics of a particular learning opportunity may or may not align with working-learners' needs. This approach involves creating personas from interview data we've gathered in three areas: mandated courses and training, basic education, and degree or certificate attaining courses/programs.

Post-Program English Language Learners: Successful Learners Or Struggling Learners?, Tianna Bankhead

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

As an educator in the field of English Language Development, I have chosen to explore the experience of four participants that have exited their ELL program within the last 1 - 2 years in Lincoln Public Schools. I wanted to capture the first-hand experience of secondary students by exploring where they are finding successes since being formally considered proficient in English and where they are struggling. I interviewed these students and explored their academic world as well as the social world within the school setting. At the conclusion of the study, I found that students are academically achieving success in …

Effective Methods Of Alphabet Instruction For Preschool, Kelsey Throne

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

When children complete preschool with strong alphabet knowledge, there is a higher likelihood that they will read at a level of proficiency or above by third grade. Third-grade reading proficiency is highly predictive of school success factors, including continued reading fluency and high school graduation rates. This literature review compares two different teaching strategies to determine the most effective way to teach the alphabet to preschool students. When considering the pace in which the alphabet is taught, some classrooms teach a letter a week whereas other classrooms teach one letter a day. Multiple studies were analyzed to determine the best …

Zine-Making As A Pedagogical Practice: A Phenomenographic Study Of Teachers’ Experiences, Diana Levy

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A zine (pronounced zeen) is a short, self-created and self-published booklet filled with a combination of writing, drawing, poetry, collage, and other text and images that create a message. Historically, zines have been associated with an underground, activist or radical literary subculture. Zines embody a breadth of literacies and have the potential to create critical readers, writers, and thinkers; however, minimal scholarly research exists on school zines. The purpose of the current study was to explore the experiences of educators using zine-making in elementary, middle, and high school classrooms. Phenomenographical analysis of nine, in-depth, semi-structured interviews revealed that participants described …