ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Helping Preservice Special Educators Scaffold the Reflection Process
Author: Poel, Elissa Wolfe
Date: 2013-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Preservice Teachers,Reflection,Preservice Teacher Education,Action Research,Special Education Teachers,Knowledge Level,Educational Legislation,Federal Legislation,Disabilities

Teacher candidates, because of their lack of experience, often display signs of apparent understanding which leads to professional practice and behaviors that are blind, impulsive and many times not appropriate. Through dialogue and reflection, the authors became concerned as to how to scaffold a richer learning opportunity that would lead toward a more effective and engaging practice. In order to deepen teacher candidate pedagogical understanding, the authors implemented an action research project to address the issue. In this article, the authors characterize action research, share their lived experiences regarding how they have improved their professional practice in preparing special education teacher candidates by creating a systematic process for reflection, and describe how to use the KALH (Knowing, Affective, Learning, and Happening) to assist pre-service teachers in their attempt to scaffold their learning. Provided are (a) what we learned from the action research, and (b) examples regarding how the KALH reflection strategy might be used by following the reflection process.
Information Needs and Information Seeking Behavior of Teachers of Special Education in Shillong, India
Author: Laloo, Bikika
Date: 2013-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Information Needs,Information Seeking,Special Education Teachers,Teacher Qualifications,School Culture,Teaching Methods,Questionnaires,Demography,Disabilities,Computer Use,Internet,Libraries,Use Studies,Information Sources,Conferences (Gatherings),Seminars

Teaching itself, though noble, is a challenging profession. Such a profession calls upon not only the intellectual capacities of the teacher, but the physical and emotional as well. In short, it is a unique profession. Teaching differently-abled students (special education), is even more challenging. By virtue of their teaching a special group of people, the special education teachers' information needs and information seeking behavior are quite different from those of other teachers. This study tried to explore these unique needs of Special Education teachers in three Special Education schools in Shillong, Meghalaya and found that there do exist information needs and information seeking behaviors that distinguish Special Education teachers from other types of teachers, such as, for example, the need for information on the medical conditions of students and the teachers' seeking information from medical professionals. Special education teachers in Shillong are not very different from those in other parts of the world with regard to their qualifications, work culture, teaching methods and information issues.
Digging Deeper into the Culture of Writing: Do Mentor Texts Inspire Male Students to Write?
Author: Gericke, Natalie Judith
Date: 2013-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Males,Writing (Composition),Mentors,Kindergarten,Grade 1,Emergent Literacy,Writing Workshops,Student Motivation,Teacher Role,Student Surveys,Student Attitudes,Observation,Student Interests,Program Effectiveness

In a growing trend in schools across the country, girls are out-performing boys in the area of literacy. Some researchers would support a disconnection regarding specific topics taught in the literacy curriculum and the interests of boys (Gurian &amp; Stevens, 2004). In our kindergarten and first grade classrooms, we have observed a difference in the participation between boys verses girls during writer's workshop. In this article, we share our experiences, as two primary teachers, in utilizing mentor texts and mini-lessons to teach writing to our male kindergarten and first grade students. We will share research on Early Emergent literacy and gender within the classroom. We discuss our findings on how infusing mentor text into writer's workshop mini-lessons motivated our male students to write using author's craft. The research and our findings helped us answer the question: &quot;How can we use mentor texts and teacher guided mini-lessons to help kindergarten and first grade boys use author's craft in their writing to show expression?&quot; The goal of this article is to provide early childhood educators examples of writing lessons using mentor texts that will motivate male students to write.
Leveraging Lighting Color, Temperature and Luminosity for Improving Classroom Learning
Author: Mott, Michael Seth
Date: 2013-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Lighting,Color,Classroom Environment,Grade 3,Elementary School Teachers,Action Research,Teacher Researchers,Correlation,Cognitive Ability,Student Motivation,Journal Writing,Case Studies,Teacher Attitudes

This short article addresses a preliminary exploration of a third grade teachers' action research applied to the use of a dynamic lighting system for improving educational performance in the classroom. Dynamic lighting offers teachers' four light settings: focus, energy, calm, and normal. Prior research has revealed a positive relationship between dynamic light use and student cognition, motivation and concentration. What is not known is how a teacher should make use of the four settings throughout the day during all of the activities, content-area learning, and transitions in students' experience. Teacher data (journal entries) was collected for one year. Case study analysis methodology was utilized with the unit of analysis consisting of the teachers' perceptions within the boundaries of light setting selection and classroom context. Pattern recognition analysis shed light on how to make use of all four settings of the dynamic light system.
Pre-Service Teachers and Participatory Action Research: Students, Community, and Action
Author: Mencke, Paul
Date: 2013-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Preservice Teachers,Participatory Research,Action Research,Student Research,Education Courses,Activism,Advocacy,Learner Engagement,Critical Theory,Research Projects,Preservice Teacher Education,Qualitative Research,Grounded Theory

Participatory Action Research (PAR) has a history of empowerment, transformation, and healing (McIntyre, 2008). Its limited use in teacher education must be addressed, and this study shows pre-service teachers' overwhelming enjoyment in completing a PAR project. An outline of classroom methods demonstrates how the project was implemented, and 41 student responses are analyzed from a secondary &quot;Community and Cultural Context of Education&quot; course. Findings indicate 73% concluded PAR was great or enjoyable, and included are reflections about transformational experiences, reasons for not enjoying PAR, and ideas to improve the project. Implications for continued study suggest a need for further inquiry through interviews, pre-service teachers' likelihood of using PAR in future classrooms, and PAR in method or content courses.
Silencing Reading, Silencing the Boys: Using Action Research to Investigate Silent Reading Programs and Its Effects on Boys&apos; Literacy Skills
Author: Velluto, Rachel
Date: 2013-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Males,Action Research,Reading Programs,Literacy Skills,Sustained Silent Reading,Preservice Teacher Education,Learner Engagement,Adolescents,Secondary School Students,Questionnaires,Student Attitudes,Foreign Countries,Observation

Despite the vast amount of literature regarding boys and their underperformance in the literacy realm, only some research indicates that boys' low literacy levels may be attributed to unchallenged literacy classroom practices. Sustained Silent Reading (SSR) is a free voluntary reading program in which students are expected to read (usually books) for a period of time. Observing an SSR period during the teaching practicum as a pre-service teacher, the unstructured nature of the lesson disengaged many of the boys. In the lesson, the students are expected to select a book from the library and read in silence for the duration of forty minutes. How is one to know if our students are engaging in reading practices without some form of dialogue between their peers and the teacher that enables them to share their individual understanding? In the action research, the aim was to explore whether such a program is a vehicle for the production of critical literacy skills for male adolescents or if an accepted pedagogical practice, such as SSR is prohibiting our boys from attaining literacy in our schools. This paper refers to Kemmis (2009; 2006) to examine the guiding principles of action research.
ReQuest in the Secondary History Classroom: How Does the Introduction of a Purposeful Reading Technique Effect Comprehension of Text?
Author: Peleaux, Jeffery
Date: 2013-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: History Instruction,Reading Comprehension,Reciprocal Teaching,Reading Strategies,World History,Textbooks,High School Students,Questioning Techniques,Instructional Effectiveness,Tests,Content Area Reading,Qualitative Research,Action Research

This quantitative, action research study sought to explore the effects of introducing the ReQuest reading comprehension technique to students who are accustomed to using a world history textbook and the initiate-respond-evaluate questioning pattern to acquire basic historical information. Data collected from a series of paired sample quiz scores indicates that the ReQuest method shows promise as part of a purposeful, reciprocal teaching method when reading comprehension of expository text is the explicit goal of the classroom teacher. The results of this exploratory study support the literature on the use of explicitly taught reading strategies and suggests that further investigation of the ReQuest technique in the social studies classroom is warranted.
Student-Centered Empowerment of Teacher-Centered Practices: An Action Research Project
Author: Clegorne, Nicolas
Date: 2013-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Theory Practice Relationship,Action Research,Public Colleges,Participant Observation,Student Personnel Workers,College Faculty,Foundations of Education,Postsecondary Education as a Field of Study,Student Centered Learning,Graduate Students,Conventional Instruction

This action research reflects a narrative inquiry into the age-old debate concerning the relationship between theory and practice in educational settings. The unique perspective we add to this discussion is our distinct vantages. One researcher is a faculty member and the other is a student-affairs practitioner both working in a large public university. The insights we gleaned from this inquiry were drawn from our participant observation of a Foundations of Higher Education course. The course enrolled 22 students (many of whom worked full-time as student affairs practitioners) and we challenged them to engage theoretically dense material with the expressed aim of considering the connections between the class material and their day-to-day interactions as higher education practitioners.
University-Based Collaborative Pre-Service-Mentor Teacher Teams: A Model for Classroom-Based Inquiry
Author: Beebe, Ronald
Date: 2013-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Preservice Teachers,Cooperating Teachers,Cooperation,Urban Schools,Classroom Research,Teacher Researchers,Models,Student Teachers,Pilot Projects,Grounded Theory,Preservice Teacher Education

Current literature indicates classroom inquiry not only enhances the training of pre-service teachers but also increases the effectiveness of mentor teachers and improves student learning. However, designing an effective &quot;collaborative&quot; model has met with less success. This study examined the experiences of ten pre-service/mentor teacher teams in urban schools who participated in designing and implementing collaborative classroom-based research conducted in their classroom. The model sought to address issues noted in previous studies related to equal participation and anxiety surrounding the research process. Findings suggest that a university-supported model employing a reflective practitioner approach enhances collaboration and promotes positive results for both pre-service and in-service teachers. Specifically, participants indicated the importance of collaboration, engagement with the teaching process, heightened awareness of student learning, and professional efficacy as significant outcomes.
Communicative Elements of Action Research
Author: Ryan, Thomas G.
Date: 2013-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Action Research,Cooperation,Nonverbal Communication,Verbal Communication,Teacher Researchers,Faculty Development

This review considers human communications as utilized within a research design; in this case collaborative action research (CAR), a derivative of action research (AR), to achieve outcomes that change, and move participants forward. The association between AR and CAR is a deliberate attempt by the author to draw attention to communicative actions within each mode. Communication herein emerges via two channels, the nonverbal and verbal which combine to produce meaning in AR and CAR as researchers investigate. CAR was defined via numerous understandings of AR which were presented as a means to develop professionally. AR as reflective practice is presented, as is reflexivity within human communication that infuses research action and teacher development.
Beyond One-Size-Fits-All ELD Frameworks: Bringing English Learner&apos;s Lives and Social Justice to the Center of K-12 Instruction
Author: Ciechanowski, Kathryn
Date: 2013-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: English Language Learners,Spanish Speaking,Language Proficiency,Academic Standards,English (Second Language),Second Language Instruction,Language of Instruction,Social Studies,Language Minorities,Lesson Plans,Planning,Social Justice,Elementary Schools,Meetings,Discussion,Discourse Analysis,Culturally Relevant Education

The author collaborated with teachers and a English Language Learners (ELL) specialist at an elementary school that had a high percentage of ELLs, primarily from Spanish-speaking heritage, where teachers were in the early stages of exploring uses of English Language Proficiency (ELP) standards for English Language Development (ELD) (Oregon Department of Education, 2006). The teachers relied mostly on pull-out ELD instruction conducted by an ELL specialist in addition to Spanish/English dual language instruction by the classroom teachers. At the time, the author wondered whether the teachers had considered a different model to integrate ELD to provide a connected and coherent program for the students. She asked whether they were inclined to explore English forms and functions within the functional contexts of the subject areas, such as science or social studies, which is important to the development of academic language with ELLs (Schleppegrell, Achugar, &amp; Oteiza, 2004). In social studies, which is the focus of this article, topics such as immigration, culture, and social activism seemed like a natural fit, not only for particular English functions (e.g., generalizing) and forms (e.g., modifying adjectives), but also for discussing the social realities of being an ethnic minority and non-dominant language group. In the part of the study reported here, questions considered included: (1) How did a teacher-researcher team plan lessons that moved beyond ELD and content to include social justice?; and (2) How did a teacher navigate the &quot;messiness&quot; of socially-relevant instruction with multiple objectives?
L1 Literacy and ESL Reading Instruction: Strategies for Maximizing Student Success
Author: Johnston, Catherine
Date: 2013-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Reading Instruction,Reading Achievement,English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Second Language Instruction,Teaching Methods,Vocabulary Development,Phoneme Grapheme Correspondence,Language Teachers,Instructional Innovation,Adult Education,Adult Students

Teaching reading to low-level English as a Second Language (ESL) students can be a challenge, according to the author. At times, teachers are teaching adult students to read in English when some in class are not literate in their first language. In such a situation, they are not mapping a sound-symbol correspondence onto a known oral language, as in native-language reading instruction, but instead teaching the decoding of language while also teaching vocabulary and oral/aural aspects of language. Furthermore, literacy students--those learning to read for the first time--are often a minority in ESL classes to students with higher levels of formal education and thus, have an advantage in learning to read--often more swiftly. Accommodating the needs of literacy students alongside &quot;traditional&quot; low-level ESL students is an organizational and pedagogical challenge for even the most seasoned ESL professionals. With these challenges and characteristics in mind, and with a commitment to maximizing the success of this vulnerable student population, the author began to focus on how her students' literacy level in their first language affected their process of learning to read in English. Her goals, based on the aforementioned concerns and her experience, for this research were: (1) To develop an understanding of how awareness of adult ESL students' Level 1 (L1) literacy and education level can inform teachers' decisions about which strategies and materials in ESL reading are most appropriate; and (2) To explore and/or invent teaching strategies, materials, and innovative practices in order to maximize students' success and progress in L2 (English) reading.
Pronunciation Problems of Chinese Learners of English
Author: Han, Feifei
Date: 2013-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Pronunciation,Oral Language,Chinese,Phonology,Second Language Instruction,Vowels,Articulation (Speech),Suprasegmentals,Phonemes,Language Rhythm,Intonation,Foreign Students

Increasingly, Chinese students are pursuing their studies abroad in English-speaking countries, such as the USA, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand. Despite the fact that they have studied English as a compulsory subject for a number of years and have passed multiple English proficiency tests, many still find it is difficult to communicate well in spoken English. One of the major obstacles for oral communication is English pronunciation, which hinders many Chinese students' ability to be understood by native speakers or English learners from other language backgrounds. Foreign language (FL) learners' mispronunciations are not random, as a foreign accent produced by learners largely reflects the phonetic features and intonation characteristics of their first language (L1) (Avery &amp; Ehrlich, 1992; Ohata, 2004; Swan &amp; Smith, 1987). This article first examines some of the differences between Chinese and English phonological systems and then summarizes some of the English pronunciation problems for Chinese learners. The article will ideally help TESOL practitioners become aware of the way in which learners' L1 backgrounds may influence their English pronunciation. In particular, it is useful for English teachers with Chinese students in understanding the phonological differences between English and Chinese, as well as the major problematic areas in terms of pronunciation.
Student Use of Concordancers for Grammar Error Correction
Author: Mull, Jaci
Date: 2013-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Grammar,Error Correction,English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Second Language Instruction,Teaching Methods,Indexes,Computer Software,Generalization,Case Studies,Intensive Language Courses,Journal Writing,Interviews,Foreign Students,College Students,Worksheets

Concordancers are software programs that allow users to search for all occurrences of a word or sequences of words. Early descriptions of the potential for student concordancing were given by Tim Johns, who called it Data Driven Learning (DDL). Johns (1991) explains DDL as an investigation allowing students to form their own questions about the language, ask for authentic language samples via a concordancer, and use those language samples to help them find an answer to their question. DDL relies on the students to form their own generalizations about the language once they are presented with samples of the target language. The authors conducted a small case study to investigate how English as a Second Language (ESL) students with little prior training could do with a concordancer when correcting grammar errors. In this article, they first provide some background information about student use of concordancers. Then they describe the methods and results of the study, and discuss suggestions for future research and how to teach concordancing to students.
Analysis of Misconceptions in High School Mathematics
Author: Schnepper, Lauren C.
Date: 2013-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Secondary School Mathematics,Misconceptions,Formative Evaluation,High School Students,Error Patterns,Mathematics Instruction,Mathematics Achievement,Instructional Effectiveness,Action Research,Interviews

The objective of this action research study was to explore the use of formative assessment (daily quizzes), including identification of student weaknesses or lack of understanding, along with instructional correctives that are different from previous instruction, to help students attain the intended learning goals. Part of the exploration was to determine if the use of this formative assessment focusing on &quot;error types&quot; improved student achievement. The analysis of the data from this study as compared to other &quot;error type&quot; studies supports the conclusion that student achievement does improve when systematic errors are identified from the formative assessment and analyzed. This data was then used to respond to individual learning needs. The majority of the errors studied resulted in improved student achievement after these errors specifically were addressed with focused instruction guided by the formative assessment.
Colliding Theories and Power Differentials: A Cautionary Tale of Conducting Action Research While Student Teaching
Author: Conner-Zachocki, Jennifer M.
Date: 2013-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Action Research,Student Research,Student Teaching,Student Teachers,Elementary Education,Literacy Education,Cooperating Teachers,Teacher Student Relationship,Power Structure,Student Role,Teacher Researchers,Observation

Accounts of student teachers engaging in action research are abundant. Few of those accounts, however, provide insights into the challenges that this context might pose for an action researcher. Using narrative research methods, this study shares the story of one pre-service elementary education teacher who, with the permission of her supervising teacher and student teaching partner, made plans to teach a New Literacies Studies unit during her fourth grade student teaching placement and engage in action research in order to reflect on teaching and learning during that unit. Ultimately, philosophical tensions underpinning the student teacher and supervising's understandings of literacy and literacy instruction, as well as power differentials that often define the student teacher/supervising teacher relationship, undermined the student teacher's role as action researcher. Implications for student teachers engaging in action research and their university mentors are discussed.