Integrating Emerging Writers into the Post-Remedial College: A Consideration of Accelerated Learning Programs

For nearly thirty years the field of composition studies has struggled to address the needs of at-risk students who attend the two-year community college. While some states have opted to eliminate “remediation” programs, others have developed unique approaches to working with students who need support in order to succeed in college level courses. Out of the necessity for alterations to traditional “developmental” writing courses and programs, the Accelerated Learning Program model came into existence. In 2007 at the Community College of Baltimore County Dr. Peter Adams and his colleagues set out a plan to redefine the field of traditional “developmental” writing by creating an accelerated learning model that incorporated the concepts of mainstream education alongside a co-requisite course pairing. In order to create the best opportunity for at-risk students to succeed, Dr. Adams and his colleagues linked a traditional developmental course with a standard freshman composition credit-bearing course. While the original Accelerated Learning Program model has changed over time its basic tenets and mission are the same; it is designed to help at-risk students succeed through their writing course sequence in order to persist through their educational goals. Furthermore, ALPs also attempt to reverse the negative labeling practices that at times brand students and emotionally impact their relationship to their literacy practices. This dissertation chronicles the history of “remediation” while discussing the issues that labeling can have on students’ academic lives. By reviewing a variety of approaches to traditional “developmental” writing and examining my own literacy narrative history, I work toward defining the problems surrounding traditional approaches to “remediation” at the two-year college. Based on my experiences as a “developmental” student who becomes a teacher of “developmental” students, I began to realize how inefficient the approaches to “remediation” were at my institution. After learning about the Accelerated Learning Program, I became focused on implementing one at Suffolk County Community College, and this dissertation discusses that process. Additionally, given the negative labeling practices, I argue that instead of calling students “basic,” “developmental,” or “remedial,” the field should pivot toward using terms that empower at-risk student writers

R. Glade Music: A Digital Portfolio of Professional Studio Services

A digital portfolio website will be launched and continuously updated, featuring content produced by R. Glade Music, either in part or exclusively, including video, audio, and images, centered around professional studio services. The intended audience of this digital portfolio is primarily future employers, including: music performance solutions teams, recording studio managers, festival bookers, and university faculty. Peripheral audiences for the digital portfolio include artistic collaborators, like-minded researchers, and fans of R. Glade Music’s productions.https://remix.berklee.edu/graduate-studies-production-technology/1178/thumbnail.jp

Student-Centered Learning: Functional Requirements for Integrated Systems to Optimize Learning

The realities of the 21st-century learner require that schools and educators fundamentally change their practice. "Educators must produce college- and career-ready graduates that reflect the future these students will face. And, they must facilitate learning through means that align with the defining attributes of this generation of learners."Today, we know more than ever about how students learn, acknowledging that the process isn't the same for every student and doesn't remain the same for each individual, depending upon maturation and the content being learned. We know that students want to progress at a pace that allows them to master new concepts and skills, to access a variety of resources, to receive timely feedback on their progress, to demonstrate their knowledge in multiple ways and to get direction, support and feedback from—as well as collaborate with—experts, teachers, tutors and other students.The result is a growing demand for student-centered, transformative digital learning using competency education as an underpinning.iNACOL released this paper to illustrate the technical requirements and functionalities that learning management systems need to shift toward student-centered instructional models. This comprehensive framework will help districts and schools determine what systems to use and integrate as they being their journey toward student-centered learning, as well as how systems integration aligns with their organizational vision, educational goals and strategic plans.Educators can use this report to optimize student learning and promote innovation in their own student-centered learning environments. The report will help school leaders understand the complex technologies needed to optimize personalized learning and how to use data and analytics to improve practices, and can assist technology leaders in re-engineering systems to support the key nuances of student-centered learning

An Analysis of the Impact of Continuous Progress Curriculum on Student Achievement

There has been an emphasis on educators to improve student achievement, particularly in low socioeconomic schools. The latest research encourages educators to use student data to drive instruction. The purpose of this study was to determine if using data to arrange students by academic performance improves academic achievement. A middle school in Mississippi has implemented Continuous Progress Curriculum to group students based on multiple data points. Throughout the school year, data from tests and assignments are analyzed by teachers and administrators. Based on the data, students are moved to the most appropriate performance level that will address the skills and content the student needs to improve academic achievement. The study revealed an increase in student achievement

English Is It! (ELT Training Series). Vol. 4

English Is It! (ELT Training Series) was created with a view to providing opportunities which can make up, somehow, for this gap. The aforementioned members are the permanent teaching staff in the group, they investigate their different areas of expertise in their classes, expose them to the group and make proposals, which are later turned into articles

Increasing student achievement with cooperative learning, curriculum changes, and portfolio assessment

The purpose of this project was to determine if student achievement could be approved by curriculum changes within a cooperative learning framework and the use of portfolio assessment. Students in two classes were involved in the study. Both classes received the same instruction, worksheet and quizzes. In addition, one class worked individually to complete the worksheets to prepare for weekly quizzes. The other class used the cooperative learning technique - Student Teams Achievement Divisions. The cooperative learning students worked in groups of four to complete the worksheets to prepare for the weekly quizzes. The goal was to have everyone in the group learn the material to have the highest team average score on the quiz and to gain improvement points. Improvement points were awarded each week and a record of the results posted for each team. A statistical analysis of the second marking test scores of the classes showed a significant difference in their level of achievement. It was established that the noncooperative learning class demonstrated a higher academic level of achievement. Students were given a pretest and a posttest before and after the unit to measure cognitive gains. The results of the analysis of the pretest and posttest results represent a reduction in the gap between the two classes. Further time is needed to determine the impact of keeping a portfolio on the achievement of the less motivated chemistry student

Phenomenological Study Of Students' Psychomotor Ability In Practicum Learning Using Nvivo Software

The Covid-19 pandemic caused teachers to experience difficulties in assessing students' psychomotor abilities in online learning. Application of learning practicum activities with strategies to improve student skills and assist teachers in assessing their psychomotor abilities. This study aims to determine the psychomotor abilities of students on the rate of reaction during practicum learning activities at SMAN 8 Semarang. The basis of this study was the use of qualitative methods with a phenomenological approach. The sampling technique applied was purposive sampling with a sample of 14 students of class XI MIPA 5. Data were collected through observation, interviews, and documentation. The results of data analysis with the help of NVIVO software showed psychomotor skills with different levels of ability in the aspects of moving, manipulating, communicating, and creating. However, the difficulty lies in all sub-indicators of psychomotor abilities, including the ability to measure volume, measure solution temperature, listen to opinions, analyze problems, and compile practicum reports

Comparison of Teacher\u27s Attitudes of Disciplinary Instances in Technology Education and Teen Living Classes

In order to properly compare the disciplinary instances of the eighth grade technology classes to the other elective classes, certain objectives must be met. These include: 1. Determine the disciplinary instances of eighth grade students in technology education; 2. Determine the disciplinary instanced of eighth grade students in other elective classes, in this study, teen living will be used; 3. Determine if a significant difference in disciplinary instances exists between grouping methods

CLA_2018-2019_Deans_Report

CLA 2018-2019 Deans Repor

Teachers educators perceptions of authentic assessment tasks in cooperative learning groups: trends and challenges

Nowadays, teachers are facing increasing demands in their work: dealing with diverse groups, supporting the learning process, taking into account the students needs, interacting with students parents …etc…These challenges require student teachers to be prepared for real professional contexts of their profession. It also requires teacher’s educators to be well aware of these challenges.The aim of this study is to identify the assessment tasks teachers’ educators assign in cooperative learning groups. It also aim at finding out what are their perceptions of an authentic assessment task in cooperative learning and how they evaluate its degree of authenticity according to the five-dimensional framework of an authentic assessment (the task, the social context, the physical context, the assessment result, the criteria and standards)developed by (Gulikers & al, 2004).This qualitative study deals with the trends in teachers’ educators’ assessment task practices.We conducted it in Norway and France due to our mobility as a student of the Erasmus Mundus Master- Mundusfor. Our sample population comprises 11 teachers’ educators either from teacher education for vocational education and training or from general teacher education. They work in university colleges in Norway and teachers training centers in France called Institut Universitaire de Formation des Maîtres (IUFM).Our theoretical background is informed on the one hand by the socio-constructivist nature of cooperative learning that states that learning is a process of successive stages, an interaction between the individual and his environment, with his peer and his teacher (Dyste, 2008) . It is also informed by theories of authentic assessment that posits that discourses, products and performances must have value or meaning beyond success in the training center and reflect professional practices (Newman, Wehlage, 1993). We then asked our participants to reflect on their practices. We used semi-structured interviews to collect the data and proceeded to their discourses content analysis according to an a priori coding based on our research questions (types of assessment tasks, authenticity dimensions, and challenges). Results show that the most common assessment tasks used by the teachers’ educators in cooperative learning groups are :( 1) group oral presentations (2) seminars,(3) group research works,(4) oral or written self-reflection tasks,(5) weblogs, (6) group projects and (7) portfolios. These assessment tasks are generally, either prescribed by the curriculum and the national program, or used instinctively by teachers’ educators who have perceived the potential of these tasks to induce some professional competences during the training. In addition, during the assessment tasks, the teachers’ educators sometimes assign some tasks individually to the student teachers inside the group. However, they consider them as authentic meaningful interactions as the student teachers cannot fulfill their assignments without cooperating with their classmates. The teachers’ educators consider those isolated works and reflections inside the cooperative group as useful for the future professional development of the student teachers.The teachers’ educators attach the same importance to our five elements of authentic assessment tasks. However, the physical context, which is rated as the same with the criteria and standards, does not all the time meet their expectations in terms of adequate teaching and learning resources material. The other difficulties are most of the time expressed in terms making students tolerant to peer-assessment on the one hand, and ensuring individual accountability and the group goals when the tradition in grades giving in their respective educational system consists in whether awarding individual grades or group grades on the other hand. The results suggest that cooperative learning has positive effects in preparing student teachers, and more authenticity in the assessments tasks will provide prospective teachers with the necessary competences to tackles the challenges of their profession. This can only be done with well-trained teachers’ educators constantly reflecting on their practices. Our results also imply that teachers’ educators consider the acquisition and the development of professional competences by the prospective teachers as a collaborative and cooperative endeavor that should involve policy makers and professional of Education. The role of stakeholders in teacher education for providing necessary funds, infrastructures for the teachers training centers is seen to be crucial for meeting real-world practices. Some interesting impulses for theoretical and practical further research suggest investigating on a larger sample on the following questions : student teachers’ perceptions of authentic assessment tasks in cooperative learning groups; who should decide on authenticity in education among the stakeholders?; do simulated school-based assessment tasks really account for authentic assessment? The answers to these research questions will certainly provide ways for improving teaching practices in teacher education.Mundusfor Erasmus Mundus Master Degree - Education of Professionals in Educatio