Education Commons^™

En Busca Del Diamante: Using Tasks To Mitigate Word Reduction In Spoken Learner Spanish, Sergio Ruiz-Pérez, Lorena Alarcón, Avizia Long

Faculty Publications

A common feature of second language Spanish, particularly in the case of native English-speaking learners, is to shorten or reduce segments within words (Schwegler & Kempff, 2007). This is particularly noticeable with multi-syllabic words (e.g., ingeniería, floristería, cafetería), and mispronunciations during second language interaction influence speech intelligibility. To address this pronunciation challenge and provide learners with opportunities for practice of words that demonstrate this reduction, we designed a two-way information gap task to draw learners' attention to these words in second language Spanish interaction. We specifically used principles of task-based language teaching and learning (e.g., Ellis, 2009; M. H. Long, …

Does The Test Work? Evaluating A Web-Based Language Placement Test, Avizia Long, Sun-Young Shin, Kimberly Geeslin, Erik Willis

Faculty Publications

In response to the need for examples of test validation from which everyday language programs can benefit, this paper reports on a study that used Bachman’s (2005) assessment use argument (AUA) framework to examine evidence to support claims made about the intended interpretations and uses of scores based on a new web-based Spanish language placement test. The test, which consisted of 100 items distributed across five item types (sound discrimination, grammar, listening comprehension, reading comprehension, and vocabulary), was tested with 2,201 incoming first-year and transfer students at a large, Midwestern public university. Analyses of internal consistency and validity revealed the …

Approach To Developing Basic And Scientific Writing Competency In Dnp Students At Samuel Merritt University, Michelle Hampton

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Intersections Of Africana Studies And Curriculum Theory: An Exploration, Theodorea Regina Berry

Faculty Publications

There has been much critique of globalization now circulating in curriculum studies both nationally, in the United States, and internationally, helps us understand some of the lethal effects of globalization. Nevertheless, little of such critique is grounded in a strong commitment to work beyond the Western epistemological perimeter. While we, as reconceptualists in curriculum studies, acknowledge the necessity to honor the multiple sources and perspectives of knowledge, we continue to operate in spaces and with intentions embedded in globalized, traditional notions of curriculum. This problem is especially heightened for socially marginalized learners, particularly Black/African American learners.

In this article, I …

Our Home By The Sea: Critical Race Reflections On Samuel Chapman Armstrong’S Accommodationism Through William Watkins’ White Architects Of Black Education, Theodorea Regina Berry, Michael Jennings

Faculty Publications

The work and words presented are a reflection of the multidimensionality of two critical race scholars and their engagement with the work of Dr. William H. Watkins, specifically his seminal text The White Architects of Black Education: Ideology and Power, 1865-1954. This work will be framed similarly to the way Watkins framed his chapter on General Samuel Chapman Armstrong in this work. Our story, a critical auto-ethnographic narrative, will begin with a discussion of the historical context that frames the relationship we have with Watkins and the relationship we have with General Samuel Chapman Armstrong and Hampton Institute. Next, …

¿Vera O Verra? Using Principles Of Task-Based Language Teaching To Practice Spanish Rhotics, Avizia Long

Faculty Publications

Research on task-based language teaching and learning has demonstrated that tasks may encourage second/foreign language development, specifically by facilitating conditions believed to engage processes that are important for second language acquisition to occur (Robinson, 2011; Skehan, 2014). Recent studies conducted by Solon, Long, and Gurzynski-Weiss (2014, 2015) have demonstrated that tasks designed to make pronunciation task essential do encourage learner attention to pronunciation, and increasing task complexity leads to greater accuracy in the production of the Spanish vowels [o] and [u]. This micro-teaching lesson, inspired by Solon et al., will showcase a task designed to make the pronunciation of the …

Teaching Argument Writing And "Content" In Diverse Middle School History Classrooms, Chauncey Monte-Sano, Susan De La Paz, Mark Felton

Faculty Publications

Monte-Sano et al describe a program in which they worked with curriculum leaders in an academically and culturally diverse school district to develop materials and techniques that would strengthen middle school students' skills in making arguments and using evidence in historical essays. They outline the Shays' Rebellion investigation activity, which enable students to develop inquiry and literacy practices as they integrate critical reading, historical thinking, and argument writing.

Internationalization, Internalization, And Intersectionality Of Identity: A Critical Race Feminist Re-Images Curriculum, Theodorea Regina Berry

Faculty Publications

This poetry/paper article is a re-accounting, a poetic counterstory in curriculum, of the praxis of an African American female teacher-educator working against internalized notions of curriculum as standards by re-imagining curriculum through the lives of third grade students and her teacher education colleagues. Using critical race feminism (Berry, 2010; Berry & Mizelle, 2006; Wing, 2003) as her framework, the author will describe how she moves curriculum from internalized to connected, collective, and introspective. The author will provide her rationale for the necessity of such movements in curriculum and will conclude the paper with a discussion about the possibilities that exist …

The Effect Of Argumentative Task Goal On The Quality Of Argumentative Discourse, Merce Garcia-Mila, Sandra Gilabert, Sibel Erduran, Mark Felton

Faculty Publications

In argumentative discourse, there are two kinds of activity-dispute and deliberation-that depend on the argumentative task goal. In dispute the goal is to defend a conclusion by undermining alternatives, whereas in deliberation the goal is to arrive at a conclusion by contrasting alternatives. In this study, we examine the impact of these tasks goals on the quality of argumentative discourse. Sixty-five junior high school students were organized into dyads to discuss sources of energy. Dyads were formed by members who had differing viewpoints and were distributed to one of two conditions: 31 dyads were asked to discuss with the goal …

Learning To Teach Argumentative Historical Writing By Analyzing Student Work, Chauncey Monte-Sano, Susan De La Paz, Mark Felton, Roderick Carey, Kelly Worland, Laura Yee

Faculty Publications

History education researchers have called for an emphasis on historical thinking in K-12 classrooms, for its authenticity in representing the discipline, for its potential to cultivate the critical thinking necessary to an informed citizenry, and for its relationship to advanced adolescent reading and writing skills (Barton & Levstik, 2004; Moje, 2008; Wineburg, 2001). Yet, such an emphasis requires that teachers understand the discipline and its structure, as well as the ways of thinking, reading, and writing that are its foundation. Although many regard history as the study of fixed information (VanSledright, 2008), teaching historical thinking emphasizes constructing arguments about the …

Engaged Pedagogy And Critical Race Feminism, Theodorea Berry

Faculty Publications

The article describes the engaged pedagogy of cultural critic and scholar bell hooks in the context of the experiences that the author gained from a group of African American pre-service teachers in a social foundations course. It provides an overview of critical race feminism, which acknowledges the importance of storytelling and addresses the intersections of gender and race, and explains its significance to preparing African American pre-service teachers. It concludes with a discourse on engaged pedagogy from a critical feminist perspective which enables teacher educators to support the lived experiences of students who are socially marginalized.

Deliberation Versus Dispute: The Impact Of Argumentative Discourse Goals On Learning And Reasoning In The Science Classroom, Mark Felton, Merce Garcia-Mila, Sandra Gilabert

Faculty Publications

Researchers in science education have converged on the view that argumentation can be an effective intervention for promoting knowledge construction in science classrooms.However, the impact of such interventions may be mediated by individuals’ task goals while arguing. In argumentative discourse, one can distinguish two overlapping but distinct kinds of activity: dispute and deliberation. In dispute the goal is to defend a conclusion by undermining alternatives, whereas in deliberation the goal is to arrive at a conclusion by contrasting alternatives. In this study, we examine the impact of these discourse goals on both content learning and argument quality in science.

El Análisis De La Consigna Argumentativa En La Calidad Del Discurso Y En El Aprendizaje De Las Ciencias Naturales, Sandra Gilabert Medina, Merce Garcia-Mila Palaudarias, Mark Felton

Faculty Publications

En los últimos años nuestras aulas de ciencias han incorporado la argumentación como una herramienta para promover la construcción de conocimiento. Un aspecto generalmente olvidado en dichas intervenciones, así como en las investigaciones de las cuales derivan, es el análisis del impacto que el objetivo de la argumentación tiene en la actividad argumentativa desplegada en las aulas. En el discurso argumentativo distinguimos dos tipos de actividad: la oposición y la deliberación. En la actividad de oposición el objetivo es mantener el punto de vista y debilitar las alternativas, mientras que en la actividad de deliberación el objetivo es consensuar un …

Advocating For Languages - Lessons Learned, Anne O. Fountain

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

La Discussió Deliberativa: Usar El Discurs De Classe Per Promoure El Pensament Crític, Mark Felton

Faculty Publications

Per potenciar el pensament creatiu a classe cal comprendre les arrels d’aquest pensament en el raonament argumentatiu. El pensament crític inclou la recerca i l’avaluació de les raons que hi ha darrere d’una afirmació. Per prendre part en aquesta activitat d’investigació, cal entendre els elements sobre els quals es discuteix i com aquests es combinen per justificar una conclusió. Les investigacions es mostren cada vegada més unànimes en el fet que els estudiants experimenten una millora substancial en el desenvolupament del pensament crític (i que aquesta millora es transfereix també a nous temes) a mesura que van adquirint experiència en …

Bridging The Abyss, Marianina Demetri Olcott

Faculty Publications

This paper seeks to explain the epistemological bases for the two cultures and to show why this disciplinary divide continues to plague American academic culture. Next, we discuss strategies for bridging the two cultures through general education curricula which promote mutual understanding of the two cultures while educating students in basic skills. Evidence is presented which shows the efficacy of these integrative, interdisciplinary curricula. In conclusion, we briefly mention some collaborative research efforts which indicate the enduring effects that such an education may have.

Being And Living In Research: A Discussion On Cultural Experience And Cultural Identity As Referents In Knowledge Production, Theodorea Berry

Faculty Publications

Discusses the utilization of cultural identity and cultural experience of students as central referents in knowledge production by teacher-educators in the U.S. Role of autobiographies in knowledge construction; Information on engaged pedagogy; Reasons behind a few number of women of color who choose teaching as a profession; Advantages of knowing the cultural identity and experiences of students.

Philosophizing With Teenagers, Susan Verducci

Faculty Publications

Part of a special section on connecting with adolescents. Although few adolescents are ever formally exposed to philosophy at middle or high school, almost all are philosophers in the sense that they ask and seek answers to questions that are fundamentally philosophical. Furthermore, studying philosophy can be quite useful for adolescents as it requires that they practice developing clear and coherent reasons for believing or doing something, provides the tools with which they can follow the logic of any ideological stance, and provides models of alternative answers and a way of examining how the historical period in which one lives …

Effectiveness Of A Multimedia General Education Course, Patricia Backer

Faculty Publications

The current paper describes the design, development, and evaluation of self-paced multimedia modules that are used in an advanced General Education course at San Jose State University. The design and development cycle of these modules began in 1994 and continues to this date. The General Education course, Technology and Civilization (TECH 198), is designed to introduce students to the realm of history and usage of technology in society and to increase their awareness of both the uncertainties as well as the promises of the utilization of technology as a creative human enterprise. During the summer session 1999, the completed modules …