Mediators of Inequity: Online Literate Activity in Two Eighth Grade English Language Arts Classes

This comparative case study, framed by Cultural Historical Activity Theory and sociocultural understandings of literacy, investigated students’ online literate activity in two eighth grade English Language Arts classes taught by the same teacher - one with a scripted literacy curriculum and the other without. During a year-long research project, we used ethnographic methods to explore the nature of middle school students’ literate activity in each of these classes, with particular attention to the mediators evident as students engaged in online literate activity. Specifically, this article addresses the following research question: What mediators were evident within and across each of the classes and how did these mediators influence students’ online literate activity? In addressing this question, we illustrate how particular configurations of mediators – even those operating within the context of the same school and same teacher – significantly influenced the nature of students’ online literate activity and the literate identities available to students. This study reinforces the importance of attending to the influence of offline mediators in school settings. Without such attention, students’ formal education is likely to be transferred online rather than transformed online

Alternative Strategies for Teaching Mathematics

Underachievement in mathematics is an ongoing issue in schools across America. Many students, beginning at the elementary level, are not motivated in mathematics and perform poorly. Part of the reason for this problem may be due to poor attitudes towards mathematics and poor teaching strategies in mathematics. In order to begin to remedy this problem of poor mathematics motivation and achievement, elementary teachers need to be aware and implement the best teaching practices. Research validates the best teaching practices of games, use of manipulatives, real life application, differentiated instruction, and integrating technology into mathematics instruction. Once aware of the best practices, teachers can begin to implement them in their own classrooms which will begin to remedy the problem of low mathematics motivation and achievement among students throughout America. Furthermore, this research will aid college professors in highlighting the best teaching practices in their instruction. Professors can then include this instruction in their teaching and pass this knowledge on to their students, pre-service teachers, thus making them more confident and knowledgeable as future elementary school teachers

“Keskustele parisi kanssa”:speaking skills in the Finnish national core curriculum and oral exercises in Spotlight 9

Abstract. Speaking skills are considered increasingly more important in foreign language teaching, but textbooks, the most used teaching materials, do not always offer satisfactory exercises for training them. This thesis is a case study examining the objectives for speaking skills in the new Finnish national core curriculum for basic education and oral exercises in the Spotlight 9 book series. The research was conducted by close reading the curriculum to identify the central objectives for speaking skills in grades 7–9 and conducting a content analysis of the oral exercises collected from the Spotlight 9 books to find how the exercises meet the objectives related to the different focus areas. The findings show that the central focus areas of speaking skills in the curriculum are communication, cultural aspects of communication, communication strategies, and pronunciation. Of these focus areas, Spotlight 9 includes most exercises for practising communication, consistently featuring numerous exercises that enable authentic communication, and cultural aspects of communication, while featuring little material for practising communication strategies or pronunciation. Compared to earlier research on the topic, the amount of communicative exercises was surprisingly large, while the small number of exercises for pronunciation and communication strategies was in line with earlier findings.Tiivistelmä. Suullisten taidot ovat nousseet vieraiden kielten opetuksessa tärkeään osaan, mutta oppikirjat, eniten käytetty opetusmateriaali, eivät aina tarjoa tyydyttäviä tehtäviä suullisten taitojen opetukseen. Tämä tutkielma on tapaustutkimus, jossa tutkitaan suullisiin taitoihin liittyviä perusopetuksen opetussuunnitelman perusteissa asetettuja tavoitteita vuosiluokilla 7–9 sekä suullisia tehtäviä Spotlight 9 -kirjasarjassa. Tutkimusmetodeina toimivat lähiluku ja sisällönanalyysi. Tutkimus toteutettiin lähilukemalla perusopetuksen opetussuunnitelman perusteet keskeisten suullisiin taitoihin liittyvien tavoitteiden tunnistamiseksi sekä analysoimalla Spotlight 9 -kirjojen suullisia tehtäviä ja sitä, miten hyvin opetussuunnitelman tavoitteet niiden kautta toteutuvat. Opetussuunnitelman keskeiset suullisiin taitoihin liittyvät tavoitteet vuosiluokilla 7–9 liittyvät vuorovaikutukseen, viestintästrategioiden käyttöön, viestinnän kulttuurisiin piirteisiin ja ääntämiseen. Tutkimustulosten perusteella Spotlight 9 -kirjoissa näistä sisältöalueista parhaiten edustettuja ovat vuorovaikutus, johon liittyviä harjoituksia kirjoissa on säännöllisesti ja runsaasti, sekä viestinnän kulttuuriset piirteet. Viestintästrategioihin ja ääntämiseen liittyviä tehtäviä kirjoista löytyi vähän. Aiempiin alan tutkimuksiin verrattuna kommunikatiivisten tehtävien määrä oli yllättävän suuri, kun taas ääntämiseen ja viestintästrategioihin liittyvien tehtävien pieni määrä oli linjassa aiempien alan tutkimustulosten kanssa

Synthesis writing in science orientation classes:An instructional design study

This study tested an instructional design to improve students' synthesis performance in a specific academic subject, Science Orientation, which aimed to teach students how to critically evaluate scientific debates. The design included three components: 1) students construct a task definition via a learning strategy based on comparing and contrasting texts and processes, 2) students comprehend source information via a read-stop-think-note strategy, and 3) students connect source information critically via a semantic-textual transformation strategy. After several design iterations, the instructional design was tested in a quasi-experimental experiment with a pretest-posttest. Seven 10th grade classes participated in the intervention (n=129), four in the control condition (n=86). The design seemed feasible for teachers, students completed most learning tasks as intended and evaluated the course positively. Furthermore, texts written in the experimental condition at posttest were rated significantly higher than those written in the control condition on the instructed aspects: representation of source information, intertextual integration, and critical stance. This instructional design appears to have potential for helping students improve their comprehension of scientific debates and comprehensive writing. In the discussion we propose that the instructional design might be a general format for learning to synthesize domain specific information from contrasting sources.</p

Data and measurement in Year 4 of the national curriculum: Mathematics

The activities introduced here were used in association with a research project in four Year 4 classrooms and are suggested as a motivating way to address several criteria for Measurement and Data in the Australian Curriculum: Mathematics. The activities involve measuring the arm span of one student in a class many times and then of all students once

Learners\u27 Motivational Response to the Science, PE, & Me! Curriculum: A Situational Interest Perspective

Background: The Science, PE, & Me! (SPEM) curriculum is a concept-based physical education curriculum that offers students coherent educational experiences for constructing health-related fitness knowledge through movement experiences. The purpose of this study was to evaluate students’ motivational response to the SPEM curriculum from the situational interest perspective. Methods: The study used a cluster randomized controlled design in which 30 elementary schools in one of the largest metropolitan areas in the eastern United States were randomly assigned to an experimental or comparison condition. Although all students in the 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades in the targeted schools were eligible to participate in the study, a random sample of students from the experimental (n = 1749; 15 schools) and comparison groups (n = 1985; 15 schools) provided data. Students’ motivational response to the SPEM curriculum or comparison curriculum was measured using the previously validated Situational Interest Scale Elementary. Data were analyzed using structural mean modeling. Results: The results demonstrated that the experimental group (as reference group) showed significantly higher enjoyment (z = 2.01), challenge (z = 6.54), exploration (z = 12.195), novelty (z = 8.80), and attention demand (z = 7.90) than the comparison group. Conclusion: The findings indicate that the SPEM curriculum created a more situationally interesting context for learning than the comparison physical education curriculum

Electrical Engineering Curriculum Development for Andover High School

This IQP focused on the development of an electrical engineering curriculum for Andover High School. A number of resources were referenced in order to provide students with an appropriate learning experience such as interactive lectures, textbooks, workbooks, a robot platform, lab kits and tools, online assessment tools, a field trip as well as visiting guest speakers who are engineers. Students learned basic electrical engineering concepts of voltage, current and resistance and how to use them in formulae for designing, constructing and working with circuits. The unit completed with a final assessment and gave the instructors feedback on what they took away from the curriculum

Exploring ICT integration as a tool to engage young people at a Flexible Learning Centre

The Edmund Rice Education Australia (EREA) Flexible Learning Centres aim to provide a supportive learning environment for young people who find themselves outside of the mainstream secondary schooling system. Drawing on 21st Century learning principles, the Centres aim to deliver a personalised learning experience with an emphasis on flexibility and individual choice. Provision of a comprehensive curriculum enables young people to make positive future life choices and successfully transition into employment and further training. The aim of this research project has been to work with teaching staff at a Flexible Learning Centre in North Queensland, Australia, to explore the value of integrating ICT in the form of Web 2.0 technologies to enhance young people’s engagement with the subject of science. The findings of this case study suggest that ICT integration is effective in revitalising science education interest for disengaged young people. This may have wider implications in relation to general concerns of declining student interest and participation in science in the secondary years of schooling