Using comprehensive literacy instructional modules for literacy instruction with students with disabilities

This research study examined the use of comprehensive literacy instruction within a self-contained ID-mild Special Education classroom. Comprehensive literacy consists of daily instruction in word study, comprehension, and writing, with an additional period of time during each day for self-selected reading. Comprehensive literacy instruction was examined using self-study methodology on teaching practice through the analysis of lesson reflections, class schedules, and an autobiography of professional teaching experience. Three case studies of student performance across a semester of instruction were analyzed using data on literacy tasks, literacy assessment, and classroom observations. Results support the promotion of effective comprehensive literacy instruction for students with learning disabilities. Student performance increased in word identification, in reading stamina, and in engagement in word study and writing. Two cases showed an increase in comprehension (increased performance levels), in writing complexity, and in language use. Self-study of practice revealed the importance of using a literacy program that provides guidance in developing student centered instruction, and the complexity of negotiating the teacher role in providing effective student focused planning, implementation, and assessment

Bringing the Court into the Classroom: Suggestions for How to Craft Exercises for Upper-Level Courses Using Real Practitioners\u27 Briefs

When I came to teach after practicing for over a decade, I wanted my students to learn to write by using materials from real clients and cases. I quickly found that’s easier said than done. But through experimentation and discussions with experienced colleagues, I found several successful ways to put students into the role of writing parts of a “real” brief—one that uses a real case and real facts—for short, in-class exercises in upper-level courses. Several articles tout the benefits of using briefs as examples, an enthusiasm I join. But this article focuses on using cases, and especially briefs, as part of in-class writing exercises. It starts with a section that describes some of the types of exercises an instructor might use and how they fit into a legal writing class. It then describes the benefits and challenges from using briefs in class; it discusses the logistical problems of how to time these exercises and how to find briefs; and it outlines in-class exercises I’ve found effective

Cost-effective applications of power factor correction for nonlinear loads

This material is posted here with permission of the IEEE. Such permission of the IEEE does not in any way imply IEEE endorsement of any of Brunel University's products or services. Internal or personal use of this material is permitted. However, permission to reprint/republish this material for advertising or promotional purposes or for creating new collective works for resale or redistribution must be obtained from the IEEE by writing to [email protected]. Copyright @ 2005 IEEEThe objective of this paper is to propose a new approach for designing passive LC compensators by using the penalty function method as an optimization tool. The performance of the cost-effective passive LC compensator for a constant load depends on the appropriate inductor and capacitor selection. Several design methods are reviewed and a novel design methodology is proposed in this paper. By using the proposed method, the designer can quickly find appropriate parameter values to meet the desired circuit performance. Simulated results show that an appropriate combination of the inductor and capacitor selected by the proposed method can meet the desired power-quality requirement. Different cases of design examples are shown in this paper to verify the performance of the proposed design methodology

Prompting discussion : writing prompts, habits of mind, and the shape of the writing classroom.

Much of the important writing students will be tasked with in their college careers calls upon them to approximate the writing styles academics and professionals use to shape and advance their respective fields. Many disciplinary values are encoded within the such texts. Learning these styles can be difficult for students who lack the experience and ingrained habits that their instructors may take for granted. In most cases, college writers are outsiders peeking in from the outskirts of academic and professional discourse. Also, the “Expert Blind Spot” (Ambrose et. al) can make college instructors oblivious to the nuances of the writing styles they take for granted, which can make acquisition of those styles difficult for their students. These factors can lead to students feeling that different courses/disciplines are giving them contradictory lessons in writing, which often leads them to pay more attention to the differences in teachers instead of the differences in disciplinary habits. These conflicts or contradictions in instruction can become “double binds,” which are intractable roadblocks caused by the inability to reconcile two contrary commands or signals. This project utilizes Genre Theory, Activity Theory, and research in writing across the disciplines to examine conflicts and double binds students face in the disciplinary writing classroom and what role writing prompts play in ameliorating or exacerbating those difficulties. It does so by tracing across four disciplines (philosophy, psychology, nursing, and biology) several common conflicts and double binds encountered at the intersection between ideal academic writing and the realities of the classroom environment (and in the case of one chapter, the complicated boundary between academia, the classroom, and the workplace). This dissertation illuminates common conflicts and double binds inherent in disciplinary writing instruction and makes an argument for effective writing prompt design as an important mediating tool in promoting effective thoughtful student writing. When students know what the rules of the assignment are, they can act more confidently within those boundaries and more easily gain disciplinary awareness and confidence as authors and agents

Self-writing as a tool for change: The effectiveness of a psychotherapy using diary

There is an abundance of literature investigating the relationship between self-writing and well-being in cases of trauma or life-changing events, but no such research has assessed the value of keeping a daily diary in promoting small changes, describing an individual's identity in its slow, but realistic evolution. This study examined how the use of diary as a narration tool contributed to improving a patient's awareness of his personal emotions and feelings during a course of psychotherapy. It investigated the changes occurring in the prevailing writing style of a 200-page diary written by a patient suffering from hypochondria over a period of two and a half years. Sentences relating to the need for change, to the self, to suffering and to the function attributed to the self-writing activity were analyzed on the basis of specific criteria deriving from dialogical self theory, which conceptualizes ways to adopt new identity positions during the course of change. Respondent validation identified a good correspondence between the findings of the textual analysis and the writer's own point of view. Results showed an improvement in awareness of moods and feelings. Identity positions became more integrated and writing more enjoyable. These findings demonstrate the potential of innovative use of diary writing as a longitudinal tool for consolidating strategies for change and as an additional means for assessing psychotherapy efficacy. Writing a diary proved effective both in supporting the patient's personal reflections and changes and in making it easier for him to share his thoughts with the therapist

Speakerly: A Voice-based Writing Assistant for Text Composition

We present Speakerly, a new real-time voice-based writing assistance system that helps users with text composition across various use cases such as emails, instant messages, and notes. The user can interact with the system through instructions or dictation, and the system generates a well-formatted and coherent document. We describe the system architecture and detail how we address the various challenges while building and deploying such a system at scale. More specifically, our system uses a combination of small, task-specific models as well as pre-trained language models for fast and effective text composition while supporting a variety of input modes for better usability.Comment: Accepted at EMNLP 2023 Industry Trac

ChatGPT and Academic Research: A Review and Recommendations Based on Practical Examples

In the academic world, academicians, researchers, and students have already employed Large Language Models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT to complete their various academic and non-academic tasks, including essay writing, different formal and informal speech writing, summarising literature, and generating ideas. However,  yet, it is a controversial issue to use ChatGPT in academic research. Recently, its impact on academic research and publication has been scrutinized. The fundamental objective of this study is to highlight the application of ChatGPT in academic research by demonstrating a practical example with some recommendations. Data for this study was gathered using published articles, websites, blogs, and visual and numerical artefacts. We have analyzed, synthesized, and described our gathered data using an "introductory literature review." The findings revealed that for the initial idea generation for academic scientific research, ChatGPT could be an effective tool. However, in the case of literature synthesis, citations, problem statements, research gaps, and data analysis, the researchers might encounter some challenges. Therefore, in these cases, researchers must be cautious about using ChatGPT in academic research. Considering the potential applications and consequences of ChatGPT, it is a must for the academic and scientific community to establish the necessary guidelines for the appropriate use of LLMs, especially ChatGPT,  in research and publishing

THE ROLE OF THE STRUCTURAL CHARACTERISTIC LENGTH IN FRC STRUCTURES

In the framework of the CEN Committee involved in the writing of the fiber reinforced concrete structure standards, a strong debate has been focused on the possibility to use a stress-strain rather than a stress- crack opening constitutive relationship, even if only the second one is physically meaningful after the cracking of the matrix. The use of a stress-strain model, even if it can be regarded as an effective simplification in many cases as it is in R/C structures, can be justified by the rough choice of a unique crack spacing in the range of 125 mm. In the paper, the modeling of different FRC cross sections and in particular of a thin-walled open cross-section profile longitudinally reinforced with steel bars like a FRC box-culvert (U-channel) highlights as only the use of a correct structural characteristic length when a simplified Navier-Bernoulli plane section model is adopted prevents the overestimation of the bearing capacity in bending. A comparison with F.E. model and previous experimental tests on full-scale structures are also proposed

Imagery,cognition and memory: The influence of mental imagery on improving reading, writing, and spelling abilities of grade 4 children with learning disabilities

Master of Arts - PsychologyA learning disability, by inhibiting learning, renders the scholastic years of a young child fraught with trying and frustrating experiences. Cases of learning disabilities that are being identified are however on the increase. Thus, with the prevalence rate growing and with the knowledge that learning disabilities in the areas of reading, writing and spelling account for a large majority of all diagnosed cases, it has become necessary to devise alternative teaching methods. The Targeted Revisualisation programme which is a high imagery based programme being one such programme that might ease the difficulties that such a child may experience. This research hence aimed to explore the link between mental imagery and memory and to further explore the effectiveness of the Targeted Revisualisation programme on reading, writing and spelling abilities of grade 4 children with learning disabilities. Using a primarily qualitative methodology, in particular the aggregative case-survey method, this aim was achieved. The sample - obtained from Japari Remedial School - constituted eight children in grade 4 who had been diagnosed as having learning disabilities in the areas the Targeted Revisualisation programme addresses. The sample strategy employed may thus be considered quota, non-probability sampling. The eight children in the sample were then assigned to either the experimental group - receiving tutoring using the programme - or to the contrast group that received traditional remedial tutoring, both of a six month duration. With the end analysis the sample illustrating that both groups benefited from their respective tutoring and that the Targeted Revisualisation programme proved an effective tool for the improving of reading, writing and spelling abilities of such children. Furthermore, it was found from this research that children with learning disabilities do use mental imagery as a learning aid for learning words and that there is indeed a strong link between mental imagery and memory

Computerisation of endoscopy reports using standard reports and text blocks

BACKGROUND: The widespread use of gastrointestinal endoscopy for diagnosis and treatment requires effective, standardised report systems. This need is further increased by the limited storage of images, and by the need for structured databases for surveillance and epidemiology. We therefore aimed for a report system which would be quick, easy to learn, and suitable for use in busy daily practice. METHODS: Endobase III is an endoscopy information system offering three different ways of report writing, i.e. standard reports, text blocks and Minimal Standard Terminology (MST). A working group of two university and four general hospitals worked as a reference group for the development of standard reports and text blocks. Guidelines from various gastrointestinal endoscopy societies were followed to compose the reports. RESULTS: Standard reports were based on a list of distinct diagnoses; text blocks were based on anatomic landmarks and individual procedures. As such, 316 standard reports were developed for upper and lower gastrointestinal endoscopy, and endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP). In this way selecting one diagnosis produces a complete report. A total of 1571 different text blocks were additionally developed for each part of the gastrointestinal tract and for procedures during endoscopy. This module allowed generation of a full report on the combination of text blocks. Reports could be composed and printed within two minutes for 90% of cases. CONCLUSION: Standard reports and text blocks are a quick, user-friendly way of report writing accepted and used by a number of gastroenterologists in the Netherlands