Education Commons^™

Teachers’ Perceptions Of Integrating Information And Communication Technologies Into Literacy Instruction: A National Survey In The United States, David Reinking, Amy Hutchison

Publications

In this commentary, we argue that literacy research would be more productive if researchers had a clearer, more nuanced understanding of theory. Specifically, we argue that theory in a practice-oriented field is most fundamentally productive when it provides instrumental guidance for literacy beyond academic understanding about literacy. Premises for that argument are presented, as well as how productivity connects to an instrumental view of theory within the philosophy of science. We provide examples from authoritative sources and relevant studies suggesting that conceptions and uses of theory in literacy research are ambiguous, diffuse, and incoherent. We argue that productivity could be …

Literacy And Numeracy Learning: Lessons From The Longitudinal Literacy And Numeracy Study For Indigenous Students, Nola Purdie, Kate Reid, Tracey Frigo, Alison Stone, Elizabeth Kleinhenz

ACER Research Monographs

In 2000, ACER commenced the Longitudinal Literacy and Numeracy Surveys for Indigenous Students (ILLANS), which set out to track the development of English literacy and numeracy skills in a group of Indigenous students from school entry through the early years of schooling and beyond, to establish a data-rich picture of educational opportunities for Indigenous students. Phase 1 of ILLANS collected data from Indigenous students at 13 schools across Australia that had been nominated by education systems as examples of good practice in education for Indigenous students. The first three years of the study were reported in the monograph Supporting …

Bridging Professional Development And Context: Integrating Mathematics And Academic Language In A District Facing Takeover, Patricia Swanson, David Whitenack

Faculty Publications

This quasi-experimental, multi-phase study uses mixed methods to evaluate a professional development initiative focused on integrating mathematics and academic language. The context is a highly diverse urban district facing state takeover. The professional development focused on the understanding of key mathematics concepts and developing content-specific academic language. It linked explicitly to district-adopted texts and prescribed lesson formats. Teachers perceived the strategies to be feasible and beneficial to student learning, and had high rates of implementation. Nonetheless, pacing guides pressuring teachers to quickly cover content pose challenges for continued implementation. Implications for (1) professional development focusing on integrating subject-matter content and …

Becoming A Good Teacher: Struggles From The Swampland, Mary Beth Schaefer

Curriculum & Instruction Faculty Publications

One seventh-grade English language arts teacher engaged in teacher research in order to become a more understanding, responsive, and confident instructor. Systematic inquiry into her own practice revealed a conflict between what students perceived as their literacy needs and desires (discrete reading skills) with what she perceived to be important and valuable (deeper literary understandings through reflective response to literature). The teacher sought to address the conflict by listening closely to students' talk, orchestrating activities to blend reading skills with responses to literature, and negotiating class conversations to produce knowledge.

Academic Integrity & Academic Dishonesty: A Handbook About Cheating & Plagiarism, Lars R. Jones

Evans Library Publications

Introduction By the year 2000, it was evident that two new specters were haunting the halls of academia: a proliferation of legitimate Internet sites (e.g. primary source texts) and illegitimate Internet sites (e.g. term paper mills) that were colliding with a new generation of technologically savvy students willing—but not always well prepared— to use new media sources and increasingly not conscientious enough to use these sources correctly. Since that time, the classroom itself has expanded into the on-line world creating further challenges for both students and instructors. Objectives The objective of this handbook has been to provide Florida Tech students …

Case 4: Padbury School Community Links Project, Australian Council For Educational Research (Acer)

Tender Bridge

Padbury Primary School have found several funds and potential partners through Tender Bridge to assist them in developing a key school-community initiative: Padbury School Community Links Project. In this Tender Bridge Case, Aaron Young (Principal of Padbury Primary School) explains where the idea for the Padbury School Community Links Project came from, and how they are going about growing their great educational project to improve outcomes for the children at Padbury.

Motivating Struggling Readers, Tawnie Kerska

Graduate Research Papers

This literature review discusses the effects of extrinsic and intrinsic motivation with regard to struggling readers. Intrinsic motivation is the drive inside a student to do an activity on their own. Extrinsic motivation is to do something in order to receive some sort of reward or praise. Teachers need to move from using extrinsic motivators to creating more intrinsic motivation within students. It is essential for teachers to understand the five guiding principles behind motivating students: building self-efficacy, activating schema, interest and relevance, using extrinsic reinforcers to engage, and making facilitative attributions. Understanding these principles provides teachers with strategies to …

Readers' Workshop In The Elementary Classroom, Alaina Terese Daters

Graduate Research Papers

In this research project, Reader's Workshop is defined and explored in relation to an elementary classroom setting. The literature review describes the importance of independent reading, the structures and components of readers' workshop, how readers' workshop motivates and engages readers, and finally how to get started with readers' workshop in the elementary classroom. Following the literature review, there is a three-year professional development plan that lays out the key components of readers' workshop and its format for training a staff on how to implement this structure into their elementary classroom. Year one of the professional development project discusses what reader's …

Points Of Departure: Developing The Knowledge Base Of Esl And Fsl Teachers For K-12 Programs In Canada, Farahnaz Faez

Education Publications

In this paper, I examine the contextual factors that impact the development of knowledge base of teachers of English as a second language (ESL) and French as a second language (FSL) for teaching in Kindergarten through Grade 12 programs in Ontario. Using a sociocultural orientation to second language teacher education and prominent knowledge base frameworks from the field, I discuss how a variety of local contextual factors impact the development of teacher candidates’ (TC) knowledge base in pre-service teacher education programs in Canada. Individual factors include: the linguistic and cultural backgrounds of candidates’ in ESL and FSL programs, the TCs’ …

The Abc Of Teaching Diverse Learners, Vicky Giouroukakis Ph.D., Andrea Honigsfeld Ed.D.

Faculty Works: EDU (1995-2023)

As the impending Common Core State Standards (CCSS) seem sure to entail even more assessment in most states, there are increasing demands for teachers to adequately prepare all their students to meet the new standards and achieve passing scores on high-stakes, standardized state assessments. Teachers around the U.S. today are facing new standards, new assessments, and new curricula that they will need to study and incorporate quickly in order to comply with state and federal requirements while doing their best to provide quality education for all of their students.

Accelerated Reader And Sustained Silent Reading's Impact On Students' Motivation To Read, Amy Benedict

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this study was to determine if students' motivation to read is influenced by the use of Accelerated Reader or SSR in their school. Fourth grade students had been selecting books to read based on Accelerated Reader levels. After reading each book the students took a quiz. SSR was implemented for two weeks to determine if students' attitudes towards reading would improve.

A mixed-methods approach was used in this research design. Quantitative data were collected through the MRP survey, administered both before the introduction of SSR and after implementing SSR. Qualitative data were collected through an individual conversational …

Representations Of Self In Reflection Essays Of Philippine University Students, Isabel Pefianco Martin

English Faculty Publications

In the Philippines, there are few, if any, studies of student compositions that investigate the use of language as an effective, efficient, and creative means of expressing the self. This study is an attempt to contribute to knowledge about student writing in the Philippines. In particular, the study aims to describe the various ways freshman students from a private university in Manila represent themselves in their reflection essays, a writing task required in the core humanities courses of the university. Two sets of compositions, one written in the English language and another in the Filipino language, are analyzed for ways …

Efficacy Of The Celcis Intensive English Program, Robert J. Dlouhy, Jason T. Burkhardt

Assessment Grants

The Center for English Language and Culture for International Students (CELCIS) program at Western Michigan University provides English language instruction to international students wishing to conduct academic study in the United States.

This study intends to answer three questions:

1. Do CELCIS graduates perform as well in their university studies as students who have been granted restricted admission, but have not completed CELCIS?

2. How does the university performance of students who have completed CELCIS compare with students who have attended CELCIS but not completed its curriculum?

3. What recommendations could encourage further capitalization of the strengths and needs of …

An Analysis Of The Dynamic Indicators Of Basic Early Literacy Skills (Dibels) Assessment, Lisa Doering

Graduate Research Papers

The inception of the No Child Left Behind Act as well as the report published by the National Reading Panel have caused a sense of urgency in early intervention for students with high literacy needs. Therefore, students are being required more frequently to take high stakes assessments at a younger and younger age. Many schools use the DIBELS assessment, but there are also many other assessments available. This paper presents research as to the validity of the DIBELS assessment as well as describes several other available literacy assessments to use either in conjunction with or in isolation from DIBELS. This …

Social Discourse Of Literature Circles With A Focus On Gender, Laurie Hornor

Graduate Research Papers

This research study examined the social discourse of literature circles with a focus on gender within a fifth-grade regular education classroom. The researcher examined the nature of social discourse that was held by students and examined whether gender appeared to influence social discourse. The results from this study showed that gender did have an impact on how students responded to literature within discussion groups. Two main gender-related characteristics of the discussions were noted. The first characteristic was that males and females did hold beliefs that paralleled culturally-determined gender roles. These beliefs had an impact on how students responded to literature. …

Kindergartners Can Read And Understand : Emergent Reading Strategies At Work, Kacey Lynn Beyer

Graduate Research Papers

The need for kindergarten educators to be effective in teaching both word solving and comprehension strategies is paramount. Educators are challenged to teach even the most emergent readers to use strategies to help them read and understand what they have read. The explicit teaching of both word solving and comprehension strategies in kindergarten builds a strong foundation for literacy learning throughout a student's school career and beyond. Fostering a love of literature and an attitude of lifelong literacy learning can be achieved for all students with the proper supports in place. This paper defines each word solving and comprehension strategy …

Engaging Emergent Writers With Anchor Lessons, Jamie Meyer

Graduate Research Papers

This research project focused on the creation of writing curriculum for emergent writers aged 5 to 7 years old. The purpose of this study was to research how beginning writers can be scaffolded in their attempts to learn how to write. This study also examined how emergent writers can be engaged in developmentally appropriate ways, what writing concepts to expect from young writers, and how to motivate young children to write. Anchor lessons were developed that connect children's literature to writing concepts and engagement. Results illustrate that children need to be taught in the zone of proximal development, use materialization …

Student Motivation : Encouraging Children To Read In School, Kelly White

Graduate Research Papers

Teaching students how to read, comprehend,. and enjoy text are goals that many teachers make in their classrooms each year. Yet, the biggest challenge that goes along with these goals is often student motivation. Motivating students happens in many forms in classrooms around the world. There are research-based techniques for males and females, English speaking and English language learners, each of the multiple intelligences, and overall individual student needs. There is no one proven catchall method for motivating students in the classroom. Instead, teachers are encouraged to find the motivation strategies and techniques that work for specific individuals. This paper …