The Thumb Through: Recent Episodes
Jeshua Noel
Education research made approachable. Hosted by Jeshua D. Noel. Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/thumbthrough/support
We’re back! This episode is all about the effects of experiential education programs, those that take students out of the classroom and into a new learning environment, such as a museum or learning center. This is a summary and review of an article titled Museums as Classrooms: The Academic and Behavioral Impacts of “School in the Park,” conducted by Johanna Lacoe of UC Berkeley, as well as Gary D. Painter and Danielle Williams of USC. You can read their full article by copying and pasting the following link into your browser: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2332858420940309
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Today’s episode covers a meta-analysis designed to quantify the impact of graphics specifically on reading comprehension, with surprising and interesting results.
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Researchers argue that arts integration could make up for the decreased emphasis in arts and humanities instruction in public education; the idea is to teach core subject matter and skills by means of the arts and humanities, ultimately teaching about both.
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More than half of community colleges are taught by part-time faculty. This study estimates the effects of part-time faculty vs full-time faculty on students’ current and subsequent course outcomes in developmental and gateway courses.
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Despite the growing representation of Latino students in US schools, the education system continues to fail to identify reliable programs to serve Spanish-speaking English learners. DLL is an intervention that offers one-on-one native language literacy instruction for 12 to 20 weeks to each school’s lowest performing first graders, and we discuss its effectiveness here.
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This research focuses on the influence of the earliest factors in one’s childhood on overage attendance in Nepal, where this issue is understudied and growing more significant.
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When the social and technological landscapes change rapidly or dramatically, art and literature change alongside them. James B. Carter discusses this phenomenon in a contemporary context, addressing the technologies that have empowered authors to develop “multimodal reading experiences,” as well as the subsequent restructuring of social conventions, which has created a new “tradition of interaction in young adult literature. ~ Merchandise: https://teespring.com/stores/thethumbthrough
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The literature on diversity and inclusion in young adult literature is plentiful. It is often rich in emotional impact and meticulous in its attention to detail. However, outside of acknowledgement and advocacy, what high quality work is actively being done to provide readers with characters and experiences representative of widely varying background, and what does it look like? Antero Garcia, editor of The Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, addresses these questions in his 2017 article, “Worlds of Inclusion: Challenging Reading, Writing, and Publishing Science Fiction and Fantasy-Based Young Adult Literature.”
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Reading online and diving into a book are clearly very different experiences, but what specific aspects of the reading process are impacted by such a change in medium? Today’s article is all about that. Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2liuQcPLwnWYLKOisfXCmW
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What does STEM mean to you? The purpose of this research was to discover the similarities and differences in what teachers consider to be STEM education, and how they conceptualize it as a whole. Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2liuQcPLwnWYLKOisfXCmW
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Twitter allows temporal engagement patterns that fit teachers’ individual contexts, professional needs, and learning preferences to engage in teacher learning both “just in time” and “just for me” instead of a traditional “just in case” learning approach. Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2liuQcPLwnWYLKOisfXCmW
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-thumb-through
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Twitter: https://twitter.com/jeshuadnoel
Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/thumbthrough/support
Today we’re discussing the first national survey of its kind to shed light on research use among a critical group of policy makers: local education leaders. Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2liuQcPLwnWYLKOisfXCmW
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-thumb-through
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Because traditional body count ratios do not account for support staff who work in multiple schools, such ratios seem to substantially overestimate the intensity of school psychology and social work resources available to students. Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2liuQcPLwnWYLKOisfXCmW
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The total number of full-time teachers in rural areas in China has decreased from 3.23 million in 2012 to 2.81 million in 2017, with an averagely decreasing rate of 2.754 %, annually. Meanwhile, the illiteracy and semi-illiteracy rate of the rural young and middle-aged labor force is as high as 23.48%.
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2liuQcPLwnWYLKOisfXCmW
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Cheating threatens the reliability of test results, the meaning of grades, and, most importantly, the learning of students. If student performance is evaluated based on appearance of results, rather than on the process and strategies employed to solve problems along the way, students are more likely to engage in cheating.
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2liuQcPLwnWYLKOisfXCmW
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One-third of course time in the average CFL course is spent on handwriting practice. What impact does this practice really have on the primary goals of word acquisition and communication?
Researchers: Xiwen Lu, Korinn S. Ostrow, Neil T. Heffernan
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How Writing Shapes Thinking: A Study of Teaching and Learning was written by Judith Langer and Arthur Applebee and published in 1987 by the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE). This collaborative work is concerned primarily with the contributions of written language to learning processes and cognitive development. Applebee and Langer argue that writing allows for careful consideration and articulation of ideas, demands organization of thought, and encourages meaningful reflection on one’s ideas. Thus, the teaching of writing impacts the “thinking requirements” for students.
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As described on the front of his Francis Andrew March Award for Distinguished Service to the Profession of English Studies, “Graff invites all parties...to gather where the intellectual action is, to join the fray of arguments that connect books to life and give studies in the humanities educational force” (The Association of Departments of English, 2011).
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Today we’re discussing the research of Darling-Aduana on the categories of online learning for marginalized K-12 students and the impact of such courses on their attendance in school.
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2liuQcPLwnWYLKOisfXCmW
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YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC456j-LX9UqPFwhvZJaLNdQ
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Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/thumbthrough/support
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2liuQcPLwnWYLKOisfXCmW
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-thumb-through
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Colleges are quietly ranking prospective students based on their personal data.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/10/14/colleges-quietly-rank-prospective-students-based-their-personal-data/
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Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2liuQcPLwnWYLKOisfXCmW
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Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/thumbthrough/support
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2liuQcPLwnWYLKOisfXCmW
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Three pro tips on how to not freeze to death on the playground. Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2liuQcPLwnWYLKOisfXCmW
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University students report high levels of stress. Although causal work is limited, one popular approach to promote stress relief is animal visitation programs (AVPs).
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Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2liuQcPLwnWYLKOisfXCmW
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Increasingly, children are engaging in early literacy experiences through digital devices. This raises questions about how electronic reading compares to print reading. Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2liuQcPLwnWYLKOisfXCmW
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Formative assessment is a frequently recommended practice; this intervention provides a practical, targeted way to do it. Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2liuQcPLwnWYLKOisfXCmW
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leaflet-for-educators-looking-to-learn-more/
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Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/thumbthrough/support
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2liuQcPLwnWYLKOisfXCmW
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leaflet-for-educators-looking-to-learn-more/
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This study examines how university websites present financial information to the public. Researchers sought to characterize patterns in the scope and quality of tuition information on institutional websites and to understand how these patterns might influence individuals’ conceptions of tuition and costs. Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2liuQcPLwnWYLKOisfXCmW
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leaflet-for-educators-looking-to-learn-more/
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This study estimates the degree to which time spent on science and the breadth of science topics/skills covered predict science achievement in the earliest grades of elementary school. Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2liuQcPLwnWYLKOisfXCmW
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leaflet-for-educators-looking-to-learn-more/
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Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2liuQcPLwnWYLKOisfXCmW
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Genetics research is becoming more prominent and beginning to intersect with education research. While many previous intersections have been harmful, the current era of genetic research provides novel features and possibilities. Collaboration between those in the social and biomedical sciences could be the key to regulations and research designs that emphasize equity. This study comes from researchers who disagree about the promises and pitfalls of the involvement of genetics research in education research, with the goal of building a productive dialogue on the topic. These researchers do agree, however, that more in the education research community should be aware of the history and current realities and potential of genetics research, especially with regard to molecular genetic data. Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2liuQcPLwnWYLKOisfXCmW Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leaflet-for-educators-looking-to-learn-more/ Merchandise: https://teespring.com/stores/leaflet-2 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC456j-LX9UqPFwhvZJaLNdQ Website: https://leafletreview.wordpress.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/leafletpodcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/leafletreview/
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Today we review the studies from each chapter we've looked at so far, as well as the conclusions drawn in the end. Much beyond the English classroom, writing supports more complex thinking and learning about the subjects that students are expected to learn. Written language makes a contribution to content learning and can support the more complex kind of reasoning that is increasingly necessary in our complex information-based culture. Thoughtful argument must be prioritized over simple recitation. Students must be judged on how they reason and learn in addition to what they know. These expectations must be communicated clearly to students and to the community. Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2liuQcPLwnWYLKOisfXCmW Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leaflet-for-educators-looking-to-learn-more/ Merchandise: https://teespring.com/stores/leaflet-2 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC456j-LX9UqPFwhvZJaLNdQ Website: https://leafletreview.wordpress.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/leafletpodcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/leafletreview/
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The College Board has tweaked the Adversity Score, but can it undo the damage it’s caused? A fight over gifted education in New York is escalating to a national debate over school segregation. Chinese parents say intense competition forces them to send their children to after-school tutoring programs. Classroom field trips in VR become a national trend. US universities face a federal crackdown on foreign financial influence.
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Chris Tatem hosts Cross Examined Life, a podcast encouraging respectful disagreement and thorough discussion of issues. In this episode, we talk about free will, the illusion of linear time, gun control, the ideal age of death, and more. Listen to Cross Examined Life: http://www.crossexaminedlife.com/ This episode is a re-upload from a podcast I previously hosted. It seemed appropriate to place here, as respectful conversation about difficult issues is undervalued in practice and is incredibly important to our educational systems and to society in general.
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Lots and lots to talk about...
An online campaign named #ClearTheList is spreading on Instagram to help people pitch in to stock a teacher’s classroom for the start of the school year.
The office of a black employee at the Department of Education was allegedly vandalized earlier this week in an event that some department employees are calling a racist incident.
Australia's most populous state said it will ax a Chinese-funded education program that teaches Mandarin in schools amid fears over potential foreign influence.
Enduring less-than-ideal living conditions is something of a rite of passage for many college students. While the cost of higher education keeps rising, though, outpacing inflation every year since 1985, maintenance of student dormitories at many institutions has not always kept up. In interviews and exchanges with dozens of students across the country, heating and cooling issues were the most frequent complaints. But some reported much more serious problems, including vermin and mold.
President Trump signed a measure on Wednesday that seeks to remove the bureaucratic barriers for permanently disabled veterans to qualify for student loan forgiveness, which he said would save 25,000 wounded warriors an average of $30,000.
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Bastian and Fuller set out to examine schools with varying start times, with the goal of answering two important questions. Do later high school start times predict students’ engagement with school and their achievement in school? Do later high school start times have larger impacts on the engagement and achievement outcomes of disadvantaged student subgroups? They examined a diverse set of students and schools across urban and rural settings, including 410 unique high schools and 770,623 individual students.
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Researchers examine the relationship between what students do during study tasks and what they remember later.
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Good morning! Today we discuss the prospects of online public education, Google’s new additions to college search, the potential problems with implementing ethnic studies at the K-12 level, a proposed textbook merger, and how late-night pizza parties just got even cooler.
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Tony Vincent is a pioneer in digital learning .He had a classroom website before many classrooms had internet access.In 2005 started one of the first podcasts from an elementary school. Tony has authored books, produced videos, developed an iPad app, and blogged about learning and technology over the course of several years. He is also the creator of Learning in Hand, the platform where you can find and interact with his plethora of web content for educators.
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Over 80% of community college students plan to transfer to a four-year institution, but less than 35% achieve that goal. With this in mind, researchers set out to identify characteristics of students and institutions that entail success in transferring. Summary and review of: Jabbar et. al (2019). Complex Pathways to Transfer: A Qualitative Comparative Analysis of the Transition from Community College to 4-Year University
AERA Open
April-June 2019, Vol. 5, No. 2, pp 1-17
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This chapter describes a deeper study into the effects of various classroom tasks on learning through text
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Good morning! Today we’re discussing four articles, including claims that high-profile massacres have created ambient, worsening anxiety about gun violence on K–12 campuses, a Georgia superintendent who donated his bonus to pay for students’ college application fees, the “crackdown” on foreign teachers in China, and Apple’s continued roll-out it digital student ID’s.
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Students classified as English Learners have maintained lower and high school graduation and 4-year college attendance rates in the United States since the classification was created. There are more than 4.8 million ELS in U.S. public schools. Only 67 percent graduation on time, and less than 20 percent attend four-year colleges after graduation. The goal of Johnson’s research is to identify the causal effects of initial EL classification on high school graduation and college enrollment.
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Student responses to note-taking, short answers, and essays look different, but is the thinking different? If so, how?
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Good morning! Today we’re discussing three articles. “The $300 textbook is dead,” says the CEO of textbook maker Pearson. ~ Make-believe companions can teach children more than just how to play pretend. ~ Three Reasons Classroom Practice Conflicts With Evidence On How Kids Learn
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Advances in and implications of scientific research need to be communicated broadly, but few scientists receive training in communication/teaching of their findings.
To what extent have positions for science education specialists as change agents within science departments persisted and evolved over the past decade? Summary and review of: Johnson (2019). The Effects of English Learner Classification on High School Graduation and College Attendance. AERA Open April-June 2019, Vol. 5, No. 2, pp 1-23 Website: https://leafletreview.wordpress.com/ Support: https://teespring.com/stores/leaflet-2 Medium: https://medium.com/@leaflet Twitter: https://twitter.com/leafletpodcast
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This chapter looks at the teachers as individual professionals in the midst of changing their approaches. - The extent to which teachers made changes in their conceptualization of writing as a tool for learning related to their ideas of their roles as teachers and the students roles as learners.
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Good morning! Today we’re discussing a number of articles. The first deals with a group of academics who spent $1.35 on an effective program to make middle school less “awful.” We also discuss a new EdTech marketplace concept, the exploitation of certain financial aid loopholes, Alaska’s revoking of numerous scholarships, and one university instructor’s case for teaching students to lie for political means.
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Summary and review of:
Samudra, et. al (2019). Coviewing Educational Media: Does Coviewing Help Low-Income Preschoolers Learn Auditory and Audiovisual Vocabulary Associations?
AERA Open
Aprl-June 2019, Vol. 5, No. 2, pp. 1-12
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This chapter examines the ways in which writing was successfully incorporated into the classrooms of the collaborating teachers.
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Good morning! Today we’re discussing two interesting articles. The first argues for tuition-free college for Americans on the basis that it could be the most affordable option for the nation at large, and the second explores the unfair dismissal of rural America by recent college grads.
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The purpose of this research is to map the spatial distribution of public school closures and the opening of charter schools in Detroit, in order to address the following question: how might these spatial patterns cluster to create "hot spots" of public school closures and/or charter school openings? Understanding spatial patterns of public school closures and charter school openings can help communities and leaders manage both.
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Today’s review revolves around the primary goals and concerns of each teacher involved in the research we’ve been preparing to delve into, and how these intellectual launchpads influence the use of writing in the classroom, before and during the studies described throughout the book.
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Good morning! Sal Khan, founder of Khan Academy, sat down for an interview with EdSurge at a Las Vegas conference recently. Here we discuss the intents and highlights of that conversation. We also take a look at how college opportunity cost varies geographically across the U.S. and what’s happening with the student loan forgiveness program for public service professionals.
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Summary and Review of:
Nguyen, Redding. (2018). Changes in the Demographics, Qualifications, and Turnover of American STEM Teachers, 1988-2012
AERA Open
July-September 2018, Vol. 4, No. 3, pp. 1-13
Website: https://leafletreview.wordpress.com/
Support: https://teespring.com/stores/leaflet-2
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Last week we talked about the intentions and implications of the fundamental research on student writing that takes place throughout this work. Here we discuss the structure and methods of the research we’re about to jump into.
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Good evening! Today we’re discussing two articles: “The Education Deserts of Rural America” and “A high school principal wouldn’t call the Holocaust a ‘factual, historical event.’ Now, he’s apologized.”
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In this week’s episode we discuss the importance of historical context in geospatial educational research. We look at developing maps for use as research tools, rather than just as a means to represent data found in historical docs. Summary and Review of: Kelly. (2019). A Map Is More Than Just a Graph: Geospatial Educational Research and the Importance of Historical Context AERA Open January – March 2019, Vol. 5, No. 1, pp. 1-14
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Welcome to Leaflet Study! This is the first episode of our series on How Writing Shapes Thinking by Judith Langer and Arthur Applebee. Here, we introduce and discuss at length the problems and questions of research that Langer and Applebee seek to understand and solve throughout their collaborative efforts. About the book: " In this groundbreaking study, Langer and Applebee analyzed writing assignments and their teaching across the curriculum in U.S. secondary schools to see how they support learning. "To improve the teaching of writing, particularly in the context of academic tasks," they argue, "is also to improve the quality of thinking required of school children." But they further show here how differences in the kinds of writing students do lead students to do different kinds of thinking and learning. " - WAC Clearinghouse Free PDF: https://wac.colostate.edu/docs/books/langer_applebee/langer_applebee.pdf Leaflet Website: https://leafletreview.wordpress.com/
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Good morning! Today we’re discussing advice from Ken Alford’s session at the 2019 Annual Teaching Professor Conference, as well as looking at some data from Pew Research on summer jobs for teachers. Articles Discussed: https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/teaching-and-learning/best-teaching-advice/ https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/07/01/about-one-in-six-u-s-teachers-work-second-jobs-and-not-just-in-the-summer/
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Good morning! Today we’re discussing accusations of grade inflation in the math department of a low-income district in the Bronx, as well as Alexa’s newly developing role in education.
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Summary and Review of:
Vartainen, et. al (2018). Teachers’ Insights into Connected Learning Networks: Emerging Activities and Forms of Participation
AERA Open
July - September 2018, Vol. 4, No. 3, pp. 1-17
Website: https://leafletreview.wordpress.com/
Merch: https://teespring.com/stores/leaflet-2
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Good morning! Today we're discussing Serene Gallegos, leader of the Ignite My Future in School (IMFIS) initiative, an educational program designed to help instill computational thinking in American students and expand STEM skills within their curriculum. We're also looking at the disconnect between providing access and providing support for refugees enrolled in higher education programs, as well as an argument that district leaders should be professionally trained to make the most of their schools' money.
Articles Discussed:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/meimeifox/2019/06/21/how-a-former-teacher-is-improving-stem-education-in-americas-schools/#2b18480ebc7e
https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/world-view/human-rights-discourse-and-refugee-higher-education
https://www.educationnext.org/equipping-school-leaders-spend-wisely-education-dollars/
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Summary and Review of: Jaeggi, Shah (2018). Editorial Special Topic: Neuroscience, Learning, and Educational Practice – Challenges, Promises, and Applications. AERA Open January – March 2018, Vol. 4, No. 1, pp 1-4
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Summary and Review of:
Bavelier, et. al. (2017). The Impact of Action Video Game Training on Mathematical Abilities in Adults
AERA Open
October-December 2017, Vol. 3, No. 4, pp. 1-13
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We've got all kinds of things to talk about today. A new book, "Unequal Higher Education" draws attention to the large gaps separating the haves and have-nots in American higher education, and proposes solutions across the board. The U.S. Education Dept proposes to ease rules on accreditation for colleges and universities. We look at strategies for spreading innovation in American K-12 education. Massachusetts parents sue the state over their education funding formula. A rewrite of sex education standards in Texas could include lessons on contraception and gender identity.
Website: https://leafletreview.wordpress.com/
Articles Discussed:
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Rewrite-of-Texas-sex-education-standards-could-13990300.php
https://www.masslive.com/news/2019/06/massachusetts-parents-will-sue-state-over-education-funding-formula.html
https://www.forbes.com/sites/barbarakurshan/2019/06/12/the-work-of-ecosystem-enablers-spreading-innovation-in-k12-education/#f03b10668436
https://www.chronicle.com/article/How-the-Education-Dept-Is/246472
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2019/06/12/authors-discuss-new-book-inequities-american-higher-education>
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Good morning! Today we're exploring how AR can be used in educational settings, as well as potential concerns about this technology going forward. We're also looking at the impact of education, which is greater than that of age-structure, even in developed nations, on long-term economic growth.
Website: https://leafletreview.wordpress.com/
Articles Discussed:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/06/190610151940.htm
https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2019/06/10/how-is-augmented-reality-being-used-in-education/#300677850281
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Summary and Review of:
Cobb. (2018). Placing the spotlight on Open Educational Resources: Global phenomenon or cultural guise?
The International Education Journal
Comparative Perspectives Vol. 17, No. 3, 2018, pp 15-29
https://openjournals.library.sydney,edu,au/index.php/IEJ
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Good morning! Today we're discussing Unicaf University, an African institution founded in 2012 with programs in fields like business, education and health care management, and the efforts of American colleges and universities with prison education programs to use technology to deliver instruction to incarcerated individuals, even with strict limitations on internet access in correctional facilities.
Website: https://leafletreview.wordpress.com/
Articles Discussed:
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/07/education/learning/online-higher-education-opportunities-africa.html>
https://www.edsurge.com/news/2019-06-06-technology-is-helping-prison-education-programs-scale-what-s-the-catch
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Good morning! Today we're discussing the Trump administration's new budget plans for refugee centers that house minors, the significance of sounding out words in teaching children to read, and Tom Siebel's strategy to promote furthering of education in his company.
Website: https://leafletreview.wordpress.com/
Articles Discussed:
https://www.npr.org/2019/06/05/730082911/administration-cuts-education-and-legal-services-for-unaccompanied-minors>
https://www.forbes.com/sites/susanadams/2019/06/05/billionaire-tom-siebel-is-offering-his-employees-the-most-generous-education-benefit-ever/#58aee4b73af9
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/06/phonics-not-whole-word-best-teaching-reading/591127/
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Good morning! Today we're discussing Democratic candidates responses to the historic wave of teacher strikes and protests, the long-term effect of the Great Recession on state funding for higher-ed, state spending comparisons in K-12 districts, and how Dr. Seuss changed American education forever.
Website: https://leafletreview.wordpress.com/
Articles Discussed:
https://www.governing.com/topics/education/gov-state-education-spending-revenue-data.html
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2019/06/05/public-higher-education-continues-feel-pinch-great-recession-decade-later
https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2019/06/04/729423163/what-economists-think-about-democrats-new-education-proposals
https://www.newyorker.com/books/under-review/how-dr-seuss-found-himself-at-the-forefront-of-a-debate-over-education-in-america
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Good morning! Today we're looking at the problems with America's scientific education in public schools (and how to improve it), Walmart's new education benefits, how UNICEF is using big data to close the education divide, and West Virginia's sweeping new education bill.
Website: https://leafletreview.wordpress.com/
Articles Discussed:
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/03/learning/editorial-winner-limiting-science-education-limiting-ourselves.html
https://bigthink.com/videos/michio-kaku-2638674345
https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2019/jun/04/walmart-boosts-education-benefits-20190/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicholasfearn/2019/06/04/how-unicef-is-using-big-data-to-close-the-education-divide/#604950476a02
https://thinkprogress.org/west-virginia-senate-passes-sweeping-education-bill-to-ban-teacher-strikes-3c8c7ba83f06/
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Good morning! Today's topics of interest are the impact of education level on physical and mental health, the struggle to create meaningful education in fast-paced courses, and the warning received by Chinese students studying in the U.S. to be vigilant as the Trump administration steps up restrictions on academic visas amid growing trade tensions between the two countries.
Articles Discussed:
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/03/upshot/education-impact-health-longevity.html
https://www.edsurge.com/news/2019-06-02-the-failure-of-fast-education
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-06-03/china-warns-students-on-growing-risks-of-seeking-u-s-education
Website: https://leafletreview.wordpress.com/
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Summary and review of:
Park. (2013). All the Ways of Reading Literature: Preservice English Teachers’ Perspectives on Disciplinary Literacy.
National Council of Teachers of English
English Education, V45 N4, July 2013
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/9dce/c609583e471f25ee1e1338be722ba443cff7.pdf
Transcript:
Park’s goal was to explore and analyze the perspectives of preservice educators on the teaching of disciplinary literacy to adolescents. Over the course of two years, she collected projects from students in her teacher preparation program and conducted six interviews. She reviewed the interview transcripts and the projects extensively, eventually organizing her student’s works and remarks thematically.
Teaching disciplinary literacy invites students to become active participants in the particular discipline being studied. Historians and linguists are likely to have different approaches to, different ways of reading, the same texts. Disciplinary literacy instruction acknowledges this and asks that students exercise reading in a variety of mindsets and with an array of intentions, each correlating to the discipline being studied generally.
The primary goal of disciplinary literacy instruction is to increase student achievement across areas of content. A student with a passion for literature must learn how to read proofs analytically as a mathematician and to question validity of claims and context as a historian. Furthermore, this increased flexibility of perspective allows students to question the work of each discipline as a knowledge-generating researcher in that field would, rather than to accept as fact all information and interpretation presented in the classroom.
Park requires that her preservice teachers, in their reflections on disciplinary literacy instruction, try out a new medium or genre in order to ensure depth of learning and encourage creative reconstruction of their beliefs. This reminds me of Bentley’s Supernovas and Superheroes: Examining Unfamiliar Genres and Teachers’ Pedagogical Content Knowledge (2013), in which it is argued that exposure to unfamiliar genres improves student writing proficiency, and that ELA teachers should write in unfamiliar genres as a means of developing further pedagogical content knowledge. In fact, reading with the intent of increasing pedagogical content knowledge is one example of disciplinary literacy in action. Reader intent informs both navigation, retention, and interpretation when reading informative text.
While many of Park’s preservice teachers recognized the value of teaching disciplinary literacy, they expressed concerns about their abilities to actually instruct accordingly, given the diverse background knowledge of students in public schools. Perhaps predisposition outweighs one’s ability to take the role of an active member in each discipline studied, and to read relevant texts accordingly. It is also worth noting that a strong focus on disciplinary literacy may not be compatible with the cognitive flexibility expected of adolescent students. Students transition from one discipline to another throughout the day anywhere from four to eight times. It may not be appropriate to expect their methods as readers to switch so seamlessly.
Park closes by suggesting further research on the active use of disciplinary literacy instruction is necessary, focusing not only on “what students take away from disciplinary learning communities but also what they bring into them.” (Park, 380)
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Summary and review of:
Gottfried, Robinson, Scott. (2019). Taking It to the Next Level: A Field Experiment to Improve
Instructor-Student Relationships in College.
AERA Open
January-March 2019, Vol. 5, No. 1, pp. 1–15
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/2332858419839707
Transcript:
Nearly 50% of all undergraduates in the United States do not graduate. This study suggests the improvement of instructor-student relationships as an effective means of decreasing this percentage. Instructors and students were both surveyed comprehensively on their personal lives, community involvement, and preferences regarding student-teacher interactions. Students and instructors with commonalities were then paired and continuously reminded of their commonalities, asked brief questions about the details behind their answers, and information on how they might use these similarities to foster meaningful interactions throughout the semester.
These interventions did not increase student retention or exam scores, and did not decreased drop-out rates within the group of study. However, the exploratory analyses involved in the study provide evidence that instructors tend to report more positive relationships with high-achieving students, and that a given student is more likely to report a positive ISR (instructor-student relationship) than the instructor involved.
As an aspiring high school educator, maintaining positive instructor-student relationships is paramount to my work. This article encourages me to take care in how I handle and display these interactions, in order that I treat students with equal respect and value, providing each student with the academic challenge and guidance needed for the thriving of each individual student.
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Motamedi. (2019). Mastery Learning: An Effective Teaching Strategy
Tarbiat Moallem University
http://www.nyu.edu/classes/keefer/waoe/motamediv.htm
Transcript:
This study is an evaluation of mastery learning as a teaching strategy, written by Vahid Motamedi, Assistant Professor of Educational Technology at Tarbiat Moallem University in Tehran Iran. I list these details because it only seems appropriate, given the nature of mastery learning, to do so. The globally-connected world we live in today is one in which mastery learning has the highest potential.
Instructional methods based on the mastery learning philosophy require each student to master a certain level of performance before progressing to the following unit of study. The achievement of these levels becomes the constant factor in the classroom, while time spent in each unit varies on an individual basis. Independent study is emphasized, and the educator primarily takes the roll of small-group study facilitator and one-on-one tutor.
Mastery learning is designed to keep students from progressing through units of study without a comprehensive understanding of the preceding components of study. For example, one cannot be expected to thrive in an Algebra class without first developing a proper, deeply-ingrained understanding of arithmetic.
The technological progress of the past several decades has allowed achievement based independent study, the most efficient model for mastery learning, to thrive. When every student has access to information and engaging content on the internet, though my preference is that the educator in such a classroom create this content himself, students are able to be much more productive in the classroom than previously thought possible.
I recently observed in a Sp.Ed. Elementary classroom. While students were rotating through “learning centers” I noticed that, at one of the centers, four different children with varying reading levels were listening to four different audiobooks, each suited to his/her level. This would simply not be possible without the philosophy of mastery learning and the technology of the modern classroom coming together.
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Summary and review of:
Bentley. (2013). Supernovas and Superheroes: Examining Unfamiliar Genres and Teachers’ Pedagogical Content Knowledge
English Education, V45 N3
http://www.ncte.org/library/NCTEFiles/Resources/Journals/EE/0453-apr2013/EE0453Super.pdf
Transcript:
This study furthers research suggesting that exposure to unfamiliar genres improves student writing proficiency. The focus here, however, is not on students, but on ELA teachers. Bentley argues that developing, examining, and improving upon writing skills is paramount to the professional development and long-term success of ELA educators. A firm focus on writing in unfamiliar genres has been shown to improve student proficiency and morale, by “leveling the playing field.” Challenging ELA teachers in a similar way allows them to increase ELA pedagogical knowledge by taking on the role of a writer exploring new terrain, as their students often are, and ought to be.
Bentley’s study was a comprehensive case-study, involving a small group of teachers from one educational setting. Representation of the average American ELA teacher is not the goal; the aim is to provide meaningful insight on professional development strategies for ELA teachers in general.
Teachers involved in the study expressed increased empathy for their ELA students, and learned the importance of seeking support as a writer (a relationship in which they have primarily worked on the opposite end).
The major implication of this study is that ELA teachers need more time, space, and encouragement to write creatively as part of their professional development, with a strong focus on exploring unfamiliar genres. Having experience as a writer in several genres provides educators with the pedagogical content knowledge required to teach several genres well. This insider experience is much more valuable than mere knowledge of the traditional conventions and functions of each genre of literature, as viewed from afar.
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Summary and review of:
Bassok, Latham, & Rorem. (2016). Is kindergarten the new first grade?
AERA Open, 1(4), 1-31.
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/2332858415616358
Transcript:
This research uses two nationally representative data sets to compare kindergarten classrooms in public schools from 1998 to 2010, seeking to understand whether (and if so, how) recent years have shown increased academic expectations and a reduction in hands-on, playful activities. Changes in assessments, classroom organization, time management, teaching philosophies, and pedagogical methods were studied. The research shows that academic expectations for kindergarten students are higher than ever before, that more time is spent studying verbal and mathematical content, as well as assessing students on their progress in these areas, and that significantly less time is devoted to the arts and sciences (as well as to play in general).
While research suggests that early childhood education has important long-term implications for students, this article admits that it is not clear which aspects of the early learning classroom are most significant. There is where the debate about a focus in early childhood on academic content comes into play. While school-readiness is important, students may not be developing social, physical, and regulatory skills as much as in previous generations of early childhood education. Large-scale empirical evidence for either side is lacking, with the extremes of each focused more on “impressions” and “narratives.” This is a dangerous game, and thorough, conclusive research is needed. Unfortunately, this article does not provide such research. Instead of studying the short-term and long-term academic progress of students who received differing styles of early-childhood education (while controlling for socioeconomic factors), the methods described rely almost entirely on personal surveys taken by current early-childhood educators. These teachers are likely to have chosen their “side” already, to have adhered to their desired narrative. The impact that even a handful of educators in such a position could have on the research described is cause for caution in evaluating its results.
As a pre-school teacher, research such as this plays an important role in my lesson planning, my organization, and my pedagogical approach. Currently, my intention is to help students develop:
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Academic skills
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Interpersonal skills
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Motor skills
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Intrapersonal skills (ethics, self-control)
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Creative expression
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Basic understanding of nutrition and wellness
The implications of such research, when it is done thoroughly and carefully, is meant to inform pedagogical approach to appeal to different aspects of development and to the specific needs of each student and class. Creative activities and free-play are widely recognized as a great time for students to learn problem solving skills. The article describes the changes in the organization of space and management of time in the early-childhood classroom. Finally, the research deals with the increased use of assessments in early-childhood education, with the intention of evaluating its effectiveness and engages in the analysis of data from a variety of classrooms.
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A summary and review of:
Helm, Mueller-Kalthoff, Nagy, & Moller. (2016). Dimensional comparison theory: perceived subject similarity impacts on students’ self-concepts.
AERA Open, 2(2), 1-9.
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/2332858416650624
Transcript:
This article is a study of the relationship between subject similarity and the academic self-concepts of students. An academic self-concept is defined as a person’s perception of his/her own academic abilities in general, or in a specific subject, based on his/her previous experiences. The authors suggest that, for example, two students with identical math grades will have very different self-concepts in regards to math, based on their English grades. The student with a high English grade is likely to have a low mathematical self-concept, and the student with a low English grade is likely to have a high mathematical self-concept, even if the two students have the same grade in their math course. This is due to the harsh contrast between the pursuits and purposes of math-related and verbal courses and concepts. Students who believe that the abilities necessary to thrive in mathematical and verbal courses are exclusive of each other demonstrate massive differences in self-concept for differing subjects. Students who see a positive correspondence between verbal and mathematical ability demonstrate an academic self-concept that is more consistent throughout the study of varying subjects.
The article admits that causal assumptions cannot be made based on this research. It is possible, perhaps likely, that the average student surveyed is simply reflecting his/her experiences as the starting point of his/her response. Convincing a student who excels in verbal subjects and achieves average grades in mathematical subjects that the two share a positive correlation will not necessarily raise his grades in math, nor lower his grades in verbal courses. Likewise, convincing a student who thrives in both areas that the two share a negative correlation is unlikely to make them “choose” which to excel in. The positive and negative correlations between mathematical and verbal subjects are just as likely the result of each student’s academic experience as they are the cause.
It is my aim as an educator to encourage students to challenge themselves, and to explore new possibilities. Too often, students are pushed only to follow their strengths, and not to face their weaknesses for the sake of improvement and overcoming. A student who has always scored high on English exams is told to pursue the Humanities, rather than to figure out what is going on with his math scores, and to ask how he might bring them up the same standard. Two academic skill-sets need never to be entirely exclusive of each other.
It is suggested that educators engage in interdisciplinary instruction. This would be largely beneficial in encouraging students to strive for their best work in all courses, rather than “zeroing in” on a verbal or mathematical track so early in their academic career that their general education is hindered by narrowness.
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Summary and review of:
Lubis. (2018). The progress of students reading comprehension through wordless picture books.
Advances in Language and Literary Studies, 9(1), 48-52.
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1166954.pdf
Transcript:
The research described in this article was conducted to study the various “sense-making” strategies of a six-year-old interpreting the contents of wordless picture books. Such books are a unique medium. The entire story must be expressed via illustration. This often leaves details, like dialogue, the thoughts and intentions of characters, and the relationships between events to be imagined or discovered by the reader. Such a process brings the reader’s understanding of the world into play in a way other books usually do not.
The qualitative data of this research was systematically reviewed, and carefully analyzed/categorized. Interpretation of visual cues and “sense making” of wordless stories is broken down into categories such as “Sense-Making through Active, Playful Behaviors” and “Sense-Making through Intertextuality.” Bias in the data collection is unlikely, but the choice of specific books for the research is a subjective decision. This research was published in the peer-reviewed journal Advances in Language and Literary Studies.
I was surprised at the use of intertextual thinking by the participants. Explicitly connecting one text to another, thinking dialectically, is often reserved for higher education or at least high school level literature classes. It was fascinating to see this happen naturally, and to be reminded that, when exposed to multiple stories within a short period of time, it is a process that needs no blatant encouragement.
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For educators and soon-to-be-educators looking to learn more, without taking the time to sift through research papers. With weekly breakdowns of up-to-date educational research, The Thumb Through will help you stay on top of your field. Our first episode, "How Students Make Sense of Wordless Picture Books" is dropping early tomorrow morning!
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