Hello there, this time I'm sharing a vignette to illustrate Arikan's (2011) view on passive learners and teacher centred teaching.

VIGNETTE

A class of 22 students at a private school. Mrs. Vera delivers a class about prepositions of movement, strictly following the textbook. She shows some posters, and has students completing exercises on the book. They exchange views, having peer feedback. The problem arises when they have to draw a map and write directions on their folders. A group of students starts asking the teacher why they did not try this activity on their laptops, designing maps online and creating a web which would be part of a game. The rest of the class is really eager to try the experience, and seems excited about the idea. Unfortunately, Mrs. Vera is not technology-friendly and feels afraid of getting lost. She tells students “Ok, next class”. Students complain about always postponing internet activities. Disappointed gazes along the classroom. The ring bells. As explained by Arikan (2011), students continue to be passive learners who learn through teacher-centered activities.

Reference

Arikan, A. (2011). A Small-Scale Study of Primary School English Language Teachers’ Classroom Activities and Problems. 2nd International conference on new trends in education and their implications, 27-29 April, 2011. Retrieved from http://www.iconte.org/FileUpload/ks59689/File/053.pdf.

Academic Summary

English Language Classroom Activities and 

Problems in Turkish Primary School

Arikan (2011) in “A Small-Scale Study of Primary School English Language Teachers’ Classroom Activities and Problems” propounds an analysis of classroom activities to “identify what happens in English language classrooms in Turkey so that further action takes place to improve the quality of teaching and learning” (Arikan, 2011).

It is stated that the aim of the study is to identify the types of English language teaching activities carried out in Turkish primary schools along with the problems teachers face while teaching. A number of 46 primary school English language teachers participated in the study by answering to an online questionnaire.

According to Arikan (2011), results seem to suggest that vocabulary, speaking, and pronunciation are considered as the most important domains and skills in Turkish classrooms. This fact is supported by teachers’ reports on specific types of activities, such as filling in the gaps or students reading aloud which outnumber other tasks like watching videos, or project work, for instance.

In contrast, students’ knowledge of culture, writing, and grammar appear to be considered of less importance. Arikan (2011) states that students’ activities like rhymes and poems, creative and free writing have received the lowest scores in teachers’ reports. This implies students continue to be passive learners in Turkish classrooms (Arikan, 2011 ).

Regarding teachers’ needs to improve their teaching, Arikan (2011) proposes in his paper that poor physical conditions lessen the quality of their classroom teaching. The highest mean scores for teachers’ needs are having smaller classes to teach, followed by having new technologies such as computers or DVDs.

Arikan (2011) concludes that Turkish teachers want their students to be competent in vocabulary and speaking. However, participants’ answers show that students continue to be passive learners who learn through teacher-centered activities. Lastly, he questions the importance to culture of the language learned and taught.

Reference

Arikan, A. (2011). A Small-Scale Study of Primary School English Language Teachers’ Classroom Activities and Problems. 2nd International conference on new trends in education and their implications, 27-29 April, 2011. Retrieved from http://www.iconte.org/FileUpload/ks59689/File/053.pdf.

Book Critique on Academic Writing: A 

Handbook for International Students

Academic Writing: A Handbook for International Students (Bailey, 2006) is a book that acknowledges written demands faced by students and is geared towards aiding students to meet the standards of the academic world. Bailey (2006) recognizes the fact that international students not only have to fulfill academic language requirements but also “they need to adopt new conventions of style, referencing and layout” (Bailey, 2006, p. 8).  This volume can serve as a practice tool, to be worked either with the guidance of a teacher or by students themselves.

When making smart book choices, parameters such as practicality, clarity and organization are key concepts to be taken into account. Particularly remarkable it is the adherence to the aforementioned criteria in Academic Writing (Bailey, 2006). It provides students with a wide variety of writing models, including CVs, letters and essays. Besides, “[it] explains the writing process and covers key writing skills such as referencing and paraphrasing” (Bailey, 2006, p. 1). Regarding organization, it has been wisely organized in alphabetical order so as to display an easy access.

The book includes four major parts: 1) the writing process, 2) the elements of writing, 3) accuracy in writing, and writing models. Although Bailey (2006) allows for the development of thinking skills through the exercises in the first section, it would have been better if he had included more varied ones in order not to appear monotonous. Of greater concern is the absence of APA convention details. Bailey’s (2006) book might be more complete if he had included an explicit account about documenting styles in the handbook.

As a conclusion, Academic Writing: A handbook for international students is great aid for those students striving for academic writing success. In spite of its trivial flaws, this book might be a suitable guide for academic writing since it covers different types of texts and, of greater importance, it contributes to students’ educational development in general.

Reference

Bailey, S. (2006). Academic Writing: A handbook for international students (2 ed.).  Taylor & Francis e-library.

Academic Summary 

Writing for Wikipedia to Enhance Academic Writing

In “Writing for the World: Wikipedia as an Introduction to Academic Writing” Tardy (2010) argues about the challenges academic settings pose on second language (L2)  students’ genre repertoires. The article entangles academic writing for L2 writers propounding a project which encompasses writing an article for the web-based encyclopedia site Wikipedia (www.wikipedia.org).

The article, on the one hand, accounts for some of the main characteristics of Wikipedia. The idea of collaborative process of writing is introduced by describing the word wiki etymologically. Wiki is explained thus in terms of a web-based space which can be modified by any user, regardless of their level of expertise. In the article it is also provided data about Wikipedia general overview, such as origins, language editions, articles published.  

According to Tardy (2010), it is highly motivating for students the goal of publishing their own articles on Wikipedia, making them available to a worldwide audience. Therefore, she recommends an assignment that involves students composing their own Wikipedia articles. She also outlines a series of steps for the development of the task. The first steps comprise research stages, such as to exam Wikipedia, to get familiar with the web-site, to gather information about potential topics.

The following steps of the assignment proposed by Tardy (2010) involve the very process of academic writing. In the first place, outlining and paraphrasing, stage that focuses on organizing the article according to fixed structures.  It requires students to follow conventions identified in other articles, to include the sources, and then to move to the paraphrasing step. In the second place, drafting, step which involves working with source citations, covering all sources informally integrated into the text, as developed by the author. 

Last stages involve revising, formatting sources, polishing and publishing. At this point students will carefully analyze content organization, style, citation, spelling, vocabulary, grammar, punctuation, and will work on hyperlinks. Feedback is suggested to be provided by peer review, guided by a rubric system in which students are guided by questions they have to answer about academic writing parameters.

As a conclusion, the article seems to convey the notion that academic settings requirements posit higher demands in L2 students. Accordingly, the author offers a project that involves writing for Wikipedia serves as a tool for introducing and developing academic writing skills in a quite stimulating fashion. Furthermore, in composing a text for Wikipedia, students gain a real sense of audience and feel both challenged and gratified.

References

Tardy, C. (2010). Writing for the World: Wikipedia as an Introduction to Academic Writing. English Teaching Forum, 1 pp. 12-18.

 Docummentation - APA Style

 Hi everyone. In this piece of writing I analyse a work written by Delvit,  Murray, Terzoli, Zhao and Mini (2005) in terms of its adherence to APA conventions for in-text citations, signal phrases and references as well.

Documentation of Sources in Academic Writing 

   The American Psychological Association (APA) establishes rules and procedures that regulate participatory mechanisms within academic discourse communities. APA documentation relies on a combination of in-text citations and a reference list at the end of papers (University of Minnesota, 2010). Citing sources is not only a tool for avoiding plagiarism, but for providing back up to ideas, and thus, a higher degree of credibility to a piece of writing. In-text citations techniques encompass paraphrasing, citing an author or authors, organization as an author, personal communication, indirect resources, electronic sources and sources without a page number. The purpose of this paper is to delve into "Providing Increased Access to English L2 Students of Computer Science at a South African University " written by Delvit,  Murray, Terzoli, Zhao and Mini (2005) in terms of its adherence to APA conventions for in-text citations, signal phrases and references as well.

    In the first place, paraphrasing can be defined as using our own words to express someone else's ideas, whilst still preserving the main ideas of the original source (The University of Australia, 2008). The authors of the aforementioned article have mostly resorted to paraphrasing techniques. According to the sixth edition of the APA manual (2010), paraphrased in-text citations that make reference to a study should include the author's name and the year of publication in parenthesis. A close examination to Dalvit et al. journal article reveals that APA conventions in these aspects have been followed. 

     Additionaly , concerning citing an author or authors, a case of noncompliance with the APA conventions in a book entry is observed. The sample is Sweetnam-Evans, 2001, particularly, where the absence of the ampersand sign between the authors' surnames is contemplated. (Dalvit et al., 2005, p. 74). Angeli et al. emphasize that when citing a work by two authors it is advisable to use the word "and" between the authors' names in the text and the ampersand in the parenthesis (Angeli et al., 2010). 

      Furthermore, in-text citations may also contain signal phrases. In such phrases only the date of the quoted source should be placed in parenthesis (APA, 2010). According to Indiana University of Pennsyvania, readers should be able to move from the author's own words to the quotation without feeling an abrupt shift. Signal phrases provide clear signals to prepare the readers for the quoted words (Indiana University of Pennsylvania, 2014). Dalvit et al. have used just one signal phrase, "according to", which appears twice throughout the article. In relation to this, scholars suggest to vary signal quotations, rather than using the same signal phrases repeatedly. (University of Minnesota, 2010)

     In the fourth place, APA documentation comprises references, term that pertain to reference lists at the end of any paper, covering each cited source in this latter. Although Dalvit et al. had alphabetically ordered the reference list and followed the punctuation conventions, some irregularities might be pointed out. Primarily, references are not written on a separate page from the main text and the label "References" is in bold type and is followed by a colon; it has also not been centered at the top of the page.  Besides, the entries are not double-spaced and each entry is numbered. On the other hand, electronic resources lack the year of retrieval,  only the month being read. Journal article’s entries are written in title-case format and in italics. They are advised to be written in sentence-case format instead. 

   In conclusion, participating in academic discourse communities is not a simplistic activity for it requires sticking to conventions settled by the academic world. Even though Dalvit et al. article may covey the impression of being making a great use of documentation of sources, after a deep examination it proved to have some weaknesses. Hopefully, academic writing practice provides with important tools which raises awareness about the skills an academic writer ought to have at disposal. 

References

American Psychological Association. (2010) Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.).Washington, DC.

Angeli, E. et al. (2010). In-Text Citations: Author/Authors.  (Last Edited: 21 April 2010, 07.53)

Dalvit, L., Murray, S. and Terzoli, A. (2005). Providing increased access to English L2 students of computer science at a South African University. US-China Education Review, Sep. 2005, Vol. 2 (9)

Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Signal Phrases. Retrieved from: http://www.iup.edu/page.aspx?id=62373 (27 September 2014, 5.17 pm)

The University of Australia. Building a Strong Foundation for University Life. Retrieved from: http://www.newcastle.edu.au/Resources/Divisions/Academic/Library/information-skills/foundation-portal/referencing-paraphrasing.html (27 September 2014, 8.22 am)

University of Minnesota Center for Writing. (n.d.) Quicktips: APA Documentation Style: Reference List. University of Minnesota: Student Writing Support.

University of Minnesota Center for Writing. (n.d.). Quicktips: APA Documentation Style: In-text Citations. University of Minnesota: Student Writing Support. 

University of Minnesota Center for Writing. (n.d.). Quicktips: Integrating Quotations from Sources. University of Minnesota: Student Writing Support. 

Dear All,Here I am posting an outline on "High-Quality Teaching: Providing for Rural Teachers' Professional Development" by Howley and Howley.

High-Quality Teaching: Providing for Rural Teachers' Professional Development 

Purpose: to state the features of professional development in teaching and pro & cons of teaching in rural communities.

Thesis: There are advantages and disadvantages to teaching in rural communities according to theories of professional development.

Audience: Researchers, Teachers

1. Professional development and better education

     a. Policymakers and educators

          i. improvement by professional development education across the nation

     b. epirically

          i. thin linking between professional development and better education

2. Profesional development vs instructional practice

    a.  improvement by professional development on teaching  (Sandercock, 1996; Nadolny, 1999)

    b.  successful instructional practices (Baker & Beisel, 2001; Burrowes, 2003)

    c.  persistation of traditional teaching after participation in improved instructional practice  (Caret, Birman, Porter, Desimone & Herman, 1999)

3. Three Proposed Principles of Organizational Learning 

    a.  Learning must be situated (Lave & Wenger, 1991; Wenger, 1998). 

    b. Learning requires open and sustained dialog among members of the organization (Senge, 1994). 

    c. Learning depends upon the propensity to reflect on data about organizational performance (Choo, 1998).

4. Professional learning communities 

    a. sustained programs of school-level professional development (Boyd & Hord, 1994; Hord, 1997; Hord, 1998; WaId & Castleberry, 2000). 

       i. educators assume responsibility for students' success by themselves becoming learners. 

5. Data-based improvement  

   a.  establishment of standards

      i. The Malcolm Baldrige program (Walpole & Noeth, 2002).

6. Reflective inquiry

    a. systematic examination of instructional practice 

    b. "peer coaching" and "collegial supervision" (Showers & Joyce, 1996). 

    c.  "critical friends groups" (Bambino, 2002)

    d. "working on the work" (Schlechty, 2002)

    e.  Japanese "lesson study"  (Stigler & Hiebert, 1999; Curio, 2002)

7.  Knowledge of Subject Matter

    a. School boards and administrators think teachers arrive on the job with adequate knowledge of the content they aim to teach.

    b.  teachers do not always arrive on the job with adequate knowledge of the content they aim to teach. (Ball,1988)

       i. secondary science teachers in rural schools had completed fewer subject-matter courses in science than their counterparts elsewhere (Carlsen & Monk, 1992).

       ii. other case found in teaching in schools that served poor and minority children (Jerald, 2002).

    c. teachers' knowledge of subject matter is associated with students' learning (Ferguson & Womack, 1993; Monk, 1994).

8. Graduate course work  

  a. In many states, teachers are required to renew their licenses through the completion of  graduate course work (Council of Chief State School Officers, 2000).

  b. This situation is unlikely to improve the subject-matter knowledge of the teaching workforce very much (Regan-Smith, 1994; Howley & Spatig, 1998). 

9. Preservice course work  

   a.  Course work for undergraduates

   b. a few universities have attempted to improve teacher preparation as a university-wide effort (Zeidler, 1999; Carnegie Corporation, 2001).  

10. The Rural Circumstance and Professional Development for Teachers 

       a.  broad insights from rural scholarship 

11. Structure

     a. Size 

     b. Teachers' attachments to communities 

     c. Support in addressing the problems of practice

        i. code-switching

        ii. the lack of appreciation for certain academic subjects of study, 

        iii. limited exposure to a diverse group of peers. 

      d. Additional Funding for professional development  (Theobald, 1997; Smith, 2002; Gruenewald, 2003; Sobel, 2004). 

12. Dynamics

      a. Rural places differences (Cook & Mizer, 1995).

          i. professional isolation  (Erlandson1994). 

          ii. substantive professional development

13. Cultural meanings

      a. relevance for the development of rural teachers.

          i. attachment to place;

          ii. strong commitment to community well-being;

          iii. connection to outdoor pursuits and the natural environment; 

          iv. concern for the long-term endurance and stability of life-in-place (Howley, C.B., 1997; Theobald, 1997)

14. Conclusions 

      a.  rural districts challenges

           i. subject-matter expertise

           ii.difficult professional work at the local level

           iii. attentiveness to rural practices and meanings

      b.  significant strengths

           i. structural

           ii. dynamic

           iii. cultural 

Reference

Howley, A., Howley, C. "High-Quality Teaching: Providing for Rural Teachers' Professional Development". Rural Educator. (the.FindArticles.com. 08 Aug, 2010.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa4126/is_200501/ai_n13591361/)