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Author: Publisher: ISBN: Category : Languages : en Pages : 620
Book Description
The purpose and objectives of this qualitative teacher research (Hubbard, Power, 1993) is to explore my teaching by examining the purposeful writing of my students as I consider the following questions:1. How does a teacher actualize a system of beliefs in a specific classroom context?2. How do fourth grade children evolve as writers over the school year?3. How is writing measured on district developed benchmark writing tests and the Georgia Criterion Referenced Competency Test?4. What are fourth grade children's perspectives on purposeful writing?I teach from a humanistic perspective (Rogers, 1980) and these principles lead me to emphasize purposeful writing, which I define as writing that has its roots in topics and feelings the writer cares about, and writing experiences that have a clear function and audience. I analyzed the students' writing using a 6-trait 4-point writing rubric. Authentic assessment at the state and district level was not provided for the children and writing ability was not measured authentically other than in the classroom. Major conclusions of this study include:1. Purposeful writing increased children's enjoyment of writing;2. Student oral presentations of prewriting are an effective method for the revision and editing of their written work;3. Written language is a tool for self-expression. This tool should be applied in ways that encourage learners to develop and define themselves;4. Students were most satisfied with the inquiry projects that encouraged them to answer their own questions;5. In light of increased feedback, students were more willing to rework their papers multiple times to develop a clear message;6. In response to a desired connection with peers, students chose to communicate more in writing;7. Students worked at and valued the art of storytelling and presentation of material that mattered;8. Students took more risks in their writing; and9. Reflecting on student writing provided many opportunities to actualize my belief system as a teacher in the classroom.
Author: Publisher: ISBN: Category : Languages : en Pages : 620
Book Description
The purpose and objectives of this qualitative teacher research (Hubbard, Power, 1993) is to explore my teaching by examining the purposeful writing of my students as I consider the following questions:1. How does a teacher actualize a system of beliefs in a specific classroom context?2. How do fourth grade children evolve as writers over the school year?3. How is writing measured on district developed benchmark writing tests and the Georgia Criterion Referenced Competency Test?4. What are fourth grade children's perspectives on purposeful writing?I teach from a humanistic perspective (Rogers, 1980) and these principles lead me to emphasize purposeful writing, which I define as writing that has its roots in topics and feelings the writer cares about, and writing experiences that have a clear function and audience. I analyzed the students' writing using a 6-trait 4-point writing rubric. Authentic assessment at the state and district level was not provided for the children and writing ability was not measured authentically other than in the classroom. Major conclusions of this study include:1. Purposeful writing increased children's enjoyment of writing;2. Student oral presentations of prewriting are an effective method for the revision and editing of their written work;3. Written language is a tool for self-expression. This tool should be applied in ways that encourage learners to develop and define themselves;4. Students were most satisfied with the inquiry projects that encouraged them to answer their own questions;5. In light of increased feedback, students were more willing to rework their papers multiple times to develop a clear message;6. In response to a desired connection with peers, students chose to communicate more in writing;7. Students worked at and valued the art of storytelling and presentation of material that mattered;8. Students took more risks in their writing; and9. Reflecting on student writing provided many opportunities to actualize my belief system as a teacher in the classroom.
Author: Michael McManus Publisher: LAP Lambert Academic Publishing ISBN: 9783659777271 Category : Languages : en Pages : 252
Book Description
The purpose and objectives of this qualitative teacher research (Hubbard, Power, 1993) is to explore my teaching by examining the purposeful writing of my students. I teach from a humanistic perspective (Rogers, 1980) and these principles lead me to emphasize purposeful writing, which I define as writing that has its roots in topics and feelings the writer cares about, and writing experiences that have a clear function and audience.
Author: Stacey M. Templeton Publisher: ISBN: Category : Languages : en Pages :
Book Description
Development in writing, motivation to write, and student self-perceived writing ability all play pivotal roles what students are able to produce. The National Commission on Writing in America’s Schools and Colleges (2003) placed writing at the center of educational reform, calling upon the educational system of the nation to participate in a “writing revolution.” Data support this call to arms: the National Assessment of Educational Progress reported that only 23% of fourth graders wrote at the “proficient” or "advanced" levels; the majority of children—61% of fourth-grade students—wrote at the “basic” level; 16% of fourth graders produced “below basic” writing (U.S. Department of Education, 1999). To address these concerns about the state of writing in America, this study investigates a content-area writing intervention, Reflection/Exit writing, and its effect on three student writing outcomes: (1) student self-perceptions; (2) writing development as measured in quantity; and (3) writing development as measured in quality. Freiberg (1993) developed Reflection/Exit writing to help teachers establish a calm, productive end to class, bring closure to their lessons, and enable purposeful reflection on the learning for the day the learning of the day during the last five to six minutes of class, by asking students to reflect on what was learned that day. This mixed-methods case study included a sample of 56 fourth grade students, in both bilingual and traditional (ESL) classrooms, in a predominately Hispanic, low SES elementary school. Two intervention classrooms taught by fourth grade Math/Science teachers and two comparison classrooms taught by fourth grade Language Arts/Social Studies teachers were the units of analysis and multiple points of data were examined for each classroom. A concurrent, parallel mixed-methods design was employed, utilizing qualitative and quantitative methodologies, which were analyzed through three different strands of research. In Research Strand 1, samples were analyzed for compositional fluency, or length, by calculating the number of words and syllables to determine if students were able to produce a greater quantity of writing over time. Research Strand 2 was used to determine if the intervention affected the quality of student writing over the study period through the use of the state's holistic writing rubric (used from 2003-2011; The Texas Education Agency, n.d.) and through content analysis procedures. The holistic rubric considered writers’ focus and coherence, organization, and development of ideas. Content analysis procedures assessed writers’ cognitive development in writing, through the themes of: (1) planning; (2) knowledge telling; and (3) knowledge transforming (Flower and Hayes, 1981; Bereiter & Scardamalia, 1987). In Research Strand 3, students' writing self-perceptions were measured through the Writer Self-Perception Scale (Bottomley, Henk, & Melnick, 1997/1998). Results indicate that when implemented with fidelity, Reflection/Exit writing improved the quality of student writing, as measured through content analysis and scale scores on the state's holistic writing rubric. In the case of the high-fidelity intervention, improvements in writing quality from pre-post intervention, as measured on the holistic rubric, were significant (p = .002), with a large effect size (ɳ2 = + .54; see Cohen, 1998). Comparison group classrooms and the low-fidelity intervention classroom did not have significant gains in the quality of writing from pre-post intervention. Between groups (intervention vs. comparison), there was a significant difference between students’ change in writing quality, as measured on the holistic writing rubric (p = .005; ɳ2 = + .17). Students in the high-fidelity intervention group also demonstrated improved writing quality through content analysis measures, with higher levels of cognitive development in writing at post-intervention. Comparison classrooms and the low-fidelity intervention classroom made little growth in cognitive development in writing. Comparison classes observed statistically significant gains in the length of the writing samples from pre-post intervention, as did the high-fidelity intervention classroom. Between groups, however, there were no statistically significant differences in the change in writing length. There were also no statistically significant differences in students’ writing self-perceptions in either comparison or intervention classrooms. This study demonstrates that when Reflection/Exit writing is implemented with fidelity, students in the intervention classroom outperformed comparison group students in writing quality on the holistic rubric and in their levels of cognitive development in writing. When the intervention was implemented without consistency or fidelity, there were no notable changes in student writing quantity, quality, or self-perceptions. This study sets an important precedent—student growth in writing should be analyzed through multiple lenses and from various ways of knowing. Implications for this study include the expanded use of Reflection/Exit types of writing to improve the quality of student writing. Preparing for a post-secondary-ready environment builds at the early grades; writing skills are a necessary building block for future success (National Commission on Writing in America’s Schools and Colleges, 2003). Most students can write adequately, but few can write at a high degree of proficiency (Institute of Education Sciences, 2008). This study implies there is a need for content-area teachers (e.g. Math/Science teachers) to dedicate a few minutes each day writing about what students learn across the curriculum in order to improve writing quality. Future research should examine the use of Reflection/Exit writing with bilingual-only populations, as an intervention for LEP students, as well as its expanded use with different ages of learners.
Author: Ross Young Publisher: Routledge ISBN: 1000298841 Category : Education Languages : en Pages : 206
Book Description
This book explores what writing for pleasure means, and how it can be realised as a much-needed pedagogy whose aim is to develop children, young people, and their teachers as extraordinary and life-long writers. The approach described is grounded in what global research has long been telling us are the most effective ways of teaching writing and contains a description of the authors’ own research project into what exceptional teachers of writing do that makes the difference. The authors describe ways of building communities of committed and successful writers who write with purpose, power, and pleasure, and they underline the importance of the affective aspects of writing teaching, including promoting in apprentice writers a sense of self-efficacy, agency, self-regulation, volition, motivation, and writer-identity. They define and discuss 14 research-informed principles which constitute a Writing for Pleasure pedagogy and show how they are applied by teachers in classroom practice. Case studies of outstanding teachers across the globe further illustrate what world-class writing teaching is. This ground-breaking text is essential reading for anyone who is concerned about the current status and nature of writing teaching in schools. The rich Writing for Pleasure pedagogy presented here is a radical new conception of what it means to teach young writers effectively today.
Author: Jeff Zwiers Publisher: Corwin ISBN: 1544394152 Category : Education Languages : en Pages : 210
Book Description
The “communication effect” is what happens when we saturate our classrooms with authentic communication, which occurs when students use language to build up ideas and do meaningful things. For starters, authentic communication deepens and increases language development, learning of content concepts and skills, rigor and engagement, empathy and understanding of others’ perspectives, agency and ownership of core ideas across disciplines, and social and emotional skills for building strong relationships. And these are just the starters. With The Communication Effect, Dr. Jeff Zwiers challenges teachers in Grades 3 and up to focus less on breadth and more on depth by grounding instruction and assessment in authentic (rather than pseudo-) communication. This book provides: Ideas for cultivating classroom cultures in which authentic communication thrives Clear descriptions and examples of the three features of authentic communication: 1. building up key ideas (claims and concepts); 2. clarifying terms and supporting ideas; and 3. creating and filling information gaps Over 175 suggestions for using the three features of authentic communication to enhance twenty commonly used instructional activities across disciplines Additional examples of not-so-commonly-used activities that embody the three features Suggestions for improving four different types of teacher creativity needed to design effective lessons, activities, and assessments that maximize authentic communication Our students deserve to get the most out of each minute of each lesson. Authentic communication can help. As you read The Communication Effect and apply its ideas, you will see how much better equipped and inspired your students are to grow into the amazing and gifted people that they were meant to become.
Author: Management Association, Information Resources Publisher: IGI Global ISBN: 1522516255 Category : Education Languages : en Pages : 2224
Book Description
The delivery of quality education to students relies heavily on the actions of an institution’s administrative staff. Effective leadership strategies allow for the continued progress of modern educational initiatives. Educational Leadership and Administration: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications provides comprehensive research perspectives on the multi-faceted issues of leadership and administration considerations within the education sector. Emphasizing theoretical frameworks, emerging strategic initiatives, and future outlooks, this publication is an ideal reference source for educators, professionals, school administrators, researchers, and practitioners in the field of education.
Author: Mary Bogs Publisher: ISBN: Category : Classroom management Languages : en Pages : 44
Book Description
This action research project studied the impact of the purposeful teaching of organizational skills upon a classroom. The study was conducted in a fourth grad classroom at the beginning of the school year. Data sources collected in a fourth grade classroom at the beginning of the school year. Data sources collected during the five week study included student and parent surveys, interviews, checklists of strategies implemented, and the researcher's field notes and observations. The purpose of the study was to intentionally incorporate a set of strategies, organizational skills of the students. Patterns found within the data indicate that the teaching of organizational skills was a worthwhile investment. Organizational skills, modeled by the classroom teacher, became a part of the classroom daily routine. These acquired skills can be used in other aspects of a student's life, and have a positive affect on student self esteem.
Author: National Research Council Publisher: National Academies Press ISBN: 0309324882 Category : Social Science Languages : en Pages : 587
Book Description
Children are already learning at birth, and they develop and learn at a rapid pace in their early years. This provides a critical foundation for lifelong progress, and the adults who provide for the care and the education of young children bear a great responsibility for their health, development, and learning. Despite the fact that they share the same objective - to nurture young children and secure their future success - the various practitioners who contribute to the care and the education of children from birth through age 8 are not acknowledged as a workforce unified by the common knowledge and competencies needed to do their jobs well. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 explores the science of child development, particularly looking at implications for the professionals who work with children. This report examines the current capacities and practices of the workforce, the settings in which they work, the policies and infrastructure that set qualifications and provide professional learning, and the government agencies and other funders who support and oversee these systems. This book then makes recommendations to improve the quality of professional practice and the practice environment for care and education professionals. These detailed recommendations create a blueprint for action that builds on a unifying foundation of child development and early learning, shared knowledge and competencies for care and education professionals, and principles for effective professional learning. Young children thrive and learn best when they have secure, positive relationships with adults who are knowledgeable about how to support their development and learning and are responsive to their individual progress. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 offers guidance on system changes to improve the quality of professional practice, specific actions to improve professional learning systems and workforce development, and research to continue to build the knowledge base in ways that will directly advance and inform future actions. The recommendations of this book provide an opportunity to improve the quality of the care and the education that children receive, and ultimately improve outcomes for children.
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Author: Michael McManus
Author: Stacey M. Templeton
Author: Ross Young
Author: Jeff Zwiers
Author: Management Association, Information Resources
Author: Mary Bogs
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Author: National Research Council