Education Commons^™

The Problem-Based Learning Approach Towards Developing Soft Skills: A Systematic Review, Sadia Deep, Ali Ahmed, Nazia Suleman, Muhammad Zahid Abbas, Uzma Naza, Hina Shaheen, Abdul Razzaq

The Qualitative Report

In this paper, we review systematically the role of problem-based learning (PBL) in developing soft skills in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and other fields of studies. The Systematic Literature Review (SLR) includes the most recent empirical, review, and conceptual studies from TVET and other multiple fields of studies including medicine, humanities, and engineering between the years of 2001 and 2016 collected from four databases. A qualitative method was used to accomplish the systematic review. After the collection of articles, the selected studies were analyzed through thematic analysis. From this review, we concluded that PBL as an instructional …

If I Knew Then What I Do Now: Fostering Pre-Service Teachers’ Capacity To Promote Expansive And Critical Conversations With Children’S Literature, Stephen Adam Crawley

Occasional Paper Series

In this article, I reflect on my practices as a teacher educator and respond to the following questions: How do I foster the capacity of pre-service teachers to use children’s literature to promote expansive and critical conversations in the classroom? How do pre-service teachers report their stances and sense of preparedness when reflecting on the course? To address these questions, I share two strategies I employed in my undergraduate course for elementary education majors: 1) emphasizing children's literature as windows and mirrors and 2) considering stakeholder responses. For each strategy, I include preservice teachers’ (PTs’) statements that reflect how the …

Shattering, Healing And Dreaming: Lessons From Middle-Grade Literacies And Lives, Carla España

Occasional Paper Series

In the summer of 2018, I had the opportunity to read the words of Renée Watson, Jewell Parker-Rhodes, Jacqueline Woodson and Nikki Grimes alongside seventh and eighth graders. Our conversations were grounded in the students’ lives and in stories and poems crafted by Black women. I had the responsibility and honor to select the texts, develop the curriculum and co-create a space with students. The authors’ words helped students process not only the authors’ craft but also how students navigated issues from microaggressions to tensions in friendships, from the oppression experienced at the intersections of their identities to the role …

Focus On Friendship Or Fights For Civil Rights? Teaching The Difficult History Of Japanese American Incarceration Through The Bracelet, Noreen N. Rodríguez

Occasional Paper Series

Japanese American incarceration is one of few Asian American historical topics addressed in P-12 curriculum. A dearth of children’s literature is available about Japanese American incarceration, yet given young learners’ limited exposure to World War II historical narratives, simply reading a picturebook about the topic does not ensure that students and teachers will address the injustices involved in the event. This study contrasts the distinct pedagogical approaches taken up by two Texas elementary educators who read aloud Yoshiko Uchida’s The Bracelet, a picturebook that details a young Japanese American girl’s forced removal from her home.

We Are All Learning About Climate Change: Teaching With Picture Books To Engage Teachers And Students, Ysaaca D. Axelrod, Denise Ives, Rachel Weaver

Occasional Paper Series

The topic of climate change and climate justice is politically charged, doesn’t sit neatly within a single subject or content area, and raises concerns of not being ‘age appropriate’ for young children. In this paper we describe how teacher educators in an elementary education program support a student teacher who took up the topic of climate change and climate justice in her 1st grade teaching placement. She designed a unit around a picture book that focuses on the words and work of Greta Thunberg, and used a diverse set of texts to support students’ understanding of the complexity of climate …

Exploring The Role Of Training In Promoting Students’ Peer-Feedback Including Critical Peer-Feedback, Fatma Kaya, Zeynep Yaprak

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

The question of how critical-thinking skills could be integrated into English as a Foreign Language (EFL) pedagogy has been one of the main concerns in the field of language teaching and learning as they have a great potential to increase the quality of learning and teaching. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether training based on peer feedback, including critical feedback, contributes to participants’ peer feedback and critical feedback performances. The participants, who were undergraduate English Language Teaching (ELT) students (n = 40), were exposed to an 8-week training program in which several feedback criteria, including critical ones, …

Supporting Public School Students' Education And Adaptation To U.S. Schools While Celebrating Bilingualism, Allison Crosbie

Purdue Journal of Service-Learning and International Engagement

In this paper, the author discusses her experience with the service-learning program Ayuda y Aprende while taking Spanish 301 at Purdue University. Ayuda y Aprende is a service-learning program through the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, in which advanced Spanish students work with Lafayette and West Lafayette elementary school children of Spanish-speaking families to help them adjust to the English language and American school culture, as well as improve their Spanish. During the weekly visits, university students work with children individually and in groups to assist them with school tasks such as classwork and homework. There was also time for …

Blogging In Elementary Classrooms: Mentoring Teacher Candidates’ To Use Formative Writing Assessment And Connect Theory To Practice, Diane R. Collier, Tiffany L. Gallagher

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

This paper presents a collaborative approach to professional learning in which classroom teachers mentored teacher candidates to connect theory and practice through formative assessment to improve students’ writing. Professional learning sessions pairing the teachers and teacher candidates occurred in each of the fall and winter semesters in two years of this project. Data were collected at these sessions and during focus group debriefings. The findings are themes related to: lines of communication and levels of collaboration; teachers’ pedagogical decisions about blogging and writing in their classrooms; classroom teachers and teacher candidates enacting formative writing assessment in the blogging platform; the …

Examining Elementary Teachers’ Feelings Of Self-Efficacy As Writers: Do The Writing Samples Tell More Compelling Stories?, Elizabeth Bifuh-Ambe

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

Teaching writing to elementary students can be a difficult instructional task for many teachers, due to the complexity of the writing process and the variety of skills that students must demonstrate to be considered proficient writers. Because quality instruction is highly predictive of students’ achievements, teachers need to feel competent in various subject-specific disciplines. This mixed-methods study examines the role of professional development in fostering elementary teachers’ writing proficiency, and improving their feelings of self-efficacy as writers. Results indicate that it is difficult for teachers whose students struggle with writing to feel confident in their own writing abilities.

Building Writing Identities: Integrating Explicit Strategies With Authentic Writing Experiences To Engage At-Promise Writers, Robert A. Griffin, Morris R. Council Iii, Tamra W. Ogletree, Jennifer K. Allen, Bethany L. Scullin

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

The message of what constitutes good writing instruction, though promulgated for decades, has not always nor consistently trickled down to P–12 schools, where writing instruction is often focused on preparing students for success on standardized tests and where prescriptive and formulaic approaches to teaching writing are prevalent. Part of the reason for this might be that teachers are not always familiar enough with authentic writing experiences that adequately engage all learners. As scholars in the fields of literacy and special education, respectively, the authors combine their collective expertise to address this concern. They offer skills-based tools and strategies that can …

Preservice English Teachers’ Evolving Conceptions Of 21st-Century Writing, Amber Jensen

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

This study used stimulated-recall interviews throughout four secondary English preservice teachers’ (PSTs) semester-long student teaching internships to examine how critical teaching moments shaped their evolving conceptions of 21st-century writing. The article first describes the participants’ collective definitions of features and experiences of 21st-century writing in the ELA classroom, focusing specifically on how they understood digital and multimodal composition. It then examines two case studies that demonstrate how PSTs’ teaching experiences destabilized, challenged, and contradicted their emerging definitions. Findings suggest that English educators may engage PSTs in conceptualizing nuanced and flexible 21st-century writing pedagogies as they construct field experiences as reflective …

Reaching Across The High School-College Divide To Represent The Other: A Meta-Analysis Of The Literature, Jessica R. Campbell

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

Starting from the question of how high school and college writing teachers and teacher educators understand and represent what happens in each others' spaces, this meta-analysis establishes a baseline taxonomy of the ways in which we cross the divide. Combing through literature published in representative high school and college English professional journals since the introduction of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in 2010, this analysis finds five thematic clusters of how writing instructors understand and represent each other across the high school-college divide: (a) document analysis of the CCSS and the Framework for Success in Postsecondary Writing; (b) studies …

The Dimensions Of Teachers Who Write And The Essence Of A Writing Life, Shari L. Daniels, Pamela Beck

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

The purpose of this grounded theory case study was to explore the perceptions among ten K-12 teachers who teach writing and also write themselves. What are the key essentials for teachers to sustain a writing life? What habits of mind or attitudes are necessary for teachers to sustain a writing life? Interviews served as the primary data source along with writing artifacts from the participants’ own writing life. Findings indicate that teacher-writers committed to a writing life do so for the purpose of 1) discovering meaning, 2) connections to others 3) commitment to learning and 4) well-being, with an overall …

Teachers Writing, Healing, And Resisting, Anne Elrod Whitney

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

For at least the past twenty years, writing education and writing teacher education have been carried out in more and more tightly managed, neoliberally influenced policy conditions as well as worsening conditions of inequality in educational resources based on both race and on income. The result is increasingly dehumanizing conditions for teaching and learning writing. This context intersects in interesting ways with the notion of the teacher-writer. This essay re-raises and reframes the idea of the teacher-writer to open up possibilities for both resilience, and resistance-- both in teachers’ individual lives, and for teachers in the collective sense.

A Phenomenological Study Of International Students In Us Graduate Programs Through The Lens Of Personal Growth Initiative Construct, Hannah E. Acquaye Phd, Cari Welch, Leah N. Jacobs, Arielle Ross

The Qualitative Report

Humans, unlike other creatures, have an inherent desire to develop and grow. This desire to grow, Personal Growth Initiative, is an intentional way that humans cognitively and behaviorally navigate their environment and resources to effect change. While many researchers argue that this construct works only in individualistic cultures, others contend that the construct is applicable to collectivist cultures as well. We therefore undertook an exploration of the lived experiences of eight international students from predominantly collectivist cultures, through the lens of the Personal Growth Initiative theory. Using a phenomenological qualitative methodology, we interviewed these doctoral students via semi-structured interview …

The Case For Mandatory Literacy Training For Elementary Education Principals, Catherine Mcgeehan, Meganlyn Norris

Journal of Organizational & Educational Leadership

The focus of this study was to examine how well Educational Leadership programs prepare principals to serve as literacy leaders. The role of a school leader is complex and multifaceted involving managerial duties and resource allocation (Jenkins, 2009). Yet, the primary role of the school leader is “…to promote the learning and success for all students” (Lunenburg, 2010, p. 1). In a 2017 report commissioned by the Learning Policy Institute, Sutcher, Podolsky and Espinoza noted a strong positive correlation between instructional leadership and student achievement. This raises questions and concerns regarding the extent to which leadership preparation programs are preparing …

Writing That Counts: Grounding A Critique Of The Common Core English Language Arts Standards In Classroom Memories, Katie Nagrotsky, Anaisbely Franjul Grullon

Democracy and Education

The authors of this article call upon classroom memories to demonstrate the harm of the standardized testing apparatus in the English Language Arts (ELA) classroom. Goal setting under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) has led to targeted school intervention based on metrics, and many states have chosen to double down on standardized ELA and math test data to determine the quality of a school, student learning, and teacher effectiveness. The authors argue that the assessments associated with the ELA Common Core State Standards (CCSS) are harmful to all students, and particularly students from marginalized communities whose literacies are not …

Linguistic Justice: Black Language, Literacy, Identity, And Pedagogy, Raven Jones Stanbrough

Michigan Reading Journal

No abstract provided.

Essential Practices For Disciplinary Literacy Instruction In Secondary Classrooms, Laura Gabrion, Michelle Renna, Megan Schrauben, Jenelle Williams

Michigan Reading Journal

In response to the call for increased literacy and more equitable learning opportunities across the state of Michigan, the 6-12 Disciplinary Literacy Task Force formed. The group’s first charge was to revise and publish the Essential Practices for Disciplinary Literacy Instruction in the Secondary Classroom: Grades 6 to 12, based on the work of lead researchers from the University of Michigan, Drs. Elizabeth Moje and Darin Stockdill. During the 2019-2020 school year, education consultants and educators from around Michigan participated in the Regional One-Day Institute, which served as an introduction to the Essential Practices for Disciplinary Literacy Instruction in …

Creating An Online Community Of Learners During The Covid-19 Shutdown Using Michigan’S Literacy Essentials, Annie P. Spear

Michigan Reading Journal

When a global pandemic shuts down our educational system it is critical to mobilize quickly and effectively to support children and families. This article explores one educator's experience of setting up free online classes to support students during the COVID-19 shutdown. Participants ranged in age from 3 to 12 and were from Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, and Ohio. The author outlines how she designed classes, engaged with children and families, and provided instruction that was grounded in literacy research and Michigan's Essential Instructional Practices in Early Literacy while guided by developmentally appropriate pedagogy. Specific practices that foster motivation and engagement …

I Wrote My Way Out, Sharon Murchie

Michigan Reading Journal

When the pandemic caused schools to close, I challenged myself to write a blog post a day about the experience. I had expected to write funny posts about the ridiculousness of the entire situation, sheltering-in-place in a too-small space with too many people. Instead, I wrote about that and so much more. Throughout this journaling experience, I came to several realizations about me, about my students, about my family, about my profession, about our state, and about our country.

Let's Read A Story!: Collaborative Meaning Making, Student Engagement, And Vocabulary Building Through The Use Of Interactive Read-Alouds, Shaya Helbig, Susan V. Piazza

Michigan Reading Journal

The interactive read-aloud has long been a practice during early literacy instruction in schools and in homes. Reading aloud to children provides a platform for teachers or caregivers to model meaning-making interactions with text. Students are able to collaboratively engage in conversations to create a collective understanding of texts. Interactions during a read-aloud can foster engagement, create meaning, and promote vocabulary acquisition. This article examines current research that supports the use of interactive read alouds to engage learners in meaning-making processes and translates research and theory into practical recommendations for effective interactive read-alouds.

Storying Silence: A Visual Essay, Galicia S. Blackman

The Goose

In this visual essay, I explore the concept of silence as an interpretative phenomenon. In preparation for an inquiry into instructors’ and students’ experiences of silence in class discussions, I readied myself for the study by conducting a self-study of what silence meant to me. My rationale was two-fold: a researcher acknowledges and includes biases as part of the research in interpretive inquiry, and I was at odds with how to describe the disconnect between my personal appreciation for silences and my discomfort with silence in the classroom. The obvious response is that different spaces make different demands of my …

Forced Transitions: Learning Asl In A Virtual Environment, Kara Gournaris

Northwest Journal of Teacher Education

Engagement with native language models is essential for second language acquisition. Social distancing mandates made this interaction nearly impossible for students learning American Sign Language (ASL), at a small rural university in western Oregon. COVID-19 brought with it many challenges, not the least of which was a hurried transition from face-to-face to online learning. The author found that some courses degraded in content and instruction when shifting to an online platform. Without access to community events where native language models were present, ASL students had less opportunities for incidental learning, legitimate peripheral participation, and connection within Deaf communities of practice.

مدى اكتساب معلّمي اللغة العربيّة للكفايات التدريسيّة اللازمة لتدريس المرحلة العليا في التعليم الأساسي (دراسة ميدانيّة بمحافظة حمص), Iyad Jamous

Al Jinan الجنان

التدريس مهنة إنسانيّة جليلة، يتشرّف بها كلّ إنسان يعمل فيها، حيث تُلقى على المعلّمين مسؤوليّة إعداد الأجيال النافعة لنفسها ومجتمعها، لذلك لا بدّ من وجود المعلّم الكُفْء الذي يعمل على إيصال المعلومات إلى طلّابه بسهولة ويسر، وعلى قدرته وفاعليّته تعتمد مُخرَجات النظام التربوي اعتماداً كبيراً.

ويرجع الاهتمام بقضيّة إعداد معلّم اللغة العربيّة بصفة خاصّة إلى ما يشهده عصرنا الحاضر من تغيّرات وتطوّرات معرفيّة وعلميّة وتقنيّة، حتى أصبح العصر الحالي يُعرف بعصر التفجّر المعرفي.

بدأ الاهتمام العالمي والعربي بالمعلّم، والكفايات التي ينبغي له أن يمتلكها، عندما تمّت دراسة الكفايات التدريسيّة بوصفها اتجاهاً تربوياً سائداً من خلال برامج إعداد المعلّمين، وقد عُرف …

فاعلية وحدات تعليمية مقترحة قائمة على الثقافة العربية في تنمية مهاراتي التحدث والكتابة ( لدى متعلمي اللغة العربية الناطقين بغيرها في الأردن (, Riad Osman, Edrees Rababaa

Al Jinan الجنان

استهدف هذا البحث قياس فاعلية وحدات تعليمية مقترحة قائمة على الثقافة العربية في تنمية مهارتي التحدث والكتاب لدى متعلمي اللغة العربية الناطقين بغيرها؛ ولتحقيق هذا العدف قام الباحثان بإعداد ثلاث وحدات تعليمية تحتوي نصوصاً إثرائية ذات مضمون ثقافي، بالإضافة إلى تمارين وتدريبات على مهارتي التحدث والكتابة، كما أعد الباحثان اختبارين: الأول لقياس مهارة التحدث، والثاني لقياس مهارة الكتابة، ولتقدير أداء المتعلمين في الاختبارين السابقين، أعد الباحثان سلم تقدير لمهارات التحدث واخر لمهارات الكتابة، وأعدا دليلا لمعلم اللغة العربية للناطقين بغيرها، الذي سيطبق هذه الوحدات التعليمية المقترحة متأملا من ذلك أن يكون مرشدا وموردا له في تخطيط وإعداد الدروس واتنفيذها. حيث …

Tiempos Confinados, Cambios De Hábitos En El Ocio Y La Lectura, Un Valor En Alza, Luis Miguel Cencerrado Malmierca, Elisa Yuste Tuero

Revista Electrónica Leer, Escribir y Descubrir

Resumen

Este artículo responde a un momento histórico atípico en el mundo, y en particular pone el foco en España, en los tres meses de confinamiento provocados por la pandemia de COVID 19. Una de las consecuencias de este estado de alarma ha sido el impacto ejercido en los hábitos de ocio de los españoles, donde la lectura y el libro, tanto impreso como electrónico, han tenido un importante papel para personas de distintos grupos de edad. A partir de los resultados de diversos informes y encuestas de diferente envergadura, se habla aquí del comportamiento lector de los españoles derivado …

Enseñar Por Y A Través De La Escritura. Plataforma De Recursos, Fernanda Uribe Gajardo

Revista Electrónica Leer, Escribir y Descubrir

No abstract provided.

Como Una Novela. Una Reseña A Tres Voces, Juan Manuel Labarthe, Tzoalli León, Sara Paola Mateos Gutiérrez

Revista Electrónica Leer, Escribir y Descubrir

No abstract provided.

La Cachilo Está Cerca Y Te Lleva Lejos… Experiencias De Lectura En Una Biblioteca Y El Afuera, Equipo De Promoción De La Biblioteca Popular Cachilo

Revista Electrónica Leer, Escribir y Descubrir

Resumen

La Biblioteca Popular Cachilo está situada en el distrito oeste de la ciudad de Rosario, provincia de Santa Fe, Argentina. La realidad socioeconómica en esta zona urbano-marginal abarca desde clase media baja hasta extrema pobreza. Con 20 años de recorrido, la Cachilo ha desarrollado varios programas de promoción de lectura, sobre todo con intervenciones en su territorio, destinados principalmente a niños y jóvenes. Se ha convertido en un polo cultural del barrio, instalando la lectura y el aprendizaje artístico como una opción válida a la cual toda la comunidad puede acceder.

Abstract

The Cachilo Popular Library is in the …