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Blogging About Summer Reading
Get PDFThe purpose of this study was to investigate what happened when grade 11 high school honors students blogged about their summer reading under the monitoring of a teacher during vacation. I proposed that an educational blog might serve as an effective tool during summer vacation to help students retain skills or learning while at a physical distance from their school and teacher. In addition to the blog’s transcripts, a pre-project survey, post-project survey,and post-project interviews provided complementary data to inform my analysis. Qualitative analysis was applied to the blog discussion entries for evidence of peer learning, scaffolding, critical thinking, and literary discussion techniques. Several particular aspects of the experience were part of the research focus:
-Did blogging provide the students with a worthwhile experience that would make them want to continue doing so in the future?
-Did blogging help to engage students in a steady reading pace so learning would continue through summer?
-Did blogging help students in their constructs of meaning through peer learning?
As no studies on this topic could be found, blogging about summer reading under an educator’s guidance and facilitation may be rarely practiced. The study’s results showed the students found the experience worthwhile enough to make them want to participate in a summer reading blog again. Although all of the students indicated they finished their books in time for school, and one student in an interview agreed the blog changed her usual summer reading pace, a limitation of the study was that there was not enough information to be certain of the blog’s influence on reading pace for other participants. Also, there was no way of knowing for certain if all the participants read the entries of their classmates, limiting my analysis for determining if everyone achieved a co-construction of learning. Another limitation of this study was in my demographics of already successful students.
However, many examples of critical thinking were found in the blog discussion entries, along with several examples of peer learning, scaffolding, and the frequent application of literary discussion techniques. The implications call for a future study to examine how less successful students may respond to a summer reading blog, and to continue analyzing the merits of teachers blogging with students during summer vacation
Gendered Patterns in High Achievement in Mathematics for Grades 4,6, and 8
Get PDFSince 2001 , No Child Left Behind (N CLB) legislation has mandated that every state test students\u27 educational progress annually, allowing each state to choose among many different instruments (Hoff, 2008). This demand for educational testing of all students has enabled the growth and availability of raw achievement data for subject areas tested and created an opportunity for a wide range of knowledge discovery. Not all states report testing results disaggregated by gender but in 2008, Hyde, Lindberg, Linn, Ellis, and Williams conducted research on data from I 0 states that do. They found the weighted mean achievement scores in mathematics showed no statistical difference between males and females for all tested grades (2 through 11) for those states\u27 data (Hyde, Lindberg, Linn, Ellis, & Williams, 2008). This finding aligns with research showing increasing parity for females in mathematics achievement (National Center for Education Statistics, 2003a).
In the current study, a northeastern state\u27s annual NCLB test results for students in 4th, 6th, and 8th grades, during the 2010-2011 school year, are the source of data. An examination of mean scores for this population shows no gender differences in mathematics achievement. Reporting achievement results solely based on the statistical mean of test scores potentially overlooks information that other examinations of the distribution may provide especially when the area of interest is high achieving students (Koerselman, 201 0). The purpose of this study is to examine extremes in high mathematics achievement testing data to determine whether inequitable patterns exist along gendered lines. The following research questions are be addressed in this research:
• Are there meaningful differences between males and females in mathematics achievement in grades 4, 6, and 8 at the upper extremes of the distribution?
• How do race, socioeconomic status, and limited proficiency in English intersect with gender at the upper extremes of achievement?
Gender issues surrounding equity in mathematics achievement have important implications for both educational systems and society. Although many elements influence the underrepresentation of women in the STEM pipeline, achievement in mathematics is positively linked to entrance into the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (Steen, 1987; Tai, Liu, Maltese, & Fan, 2006; Miller & Kimmel, 201 0). By delving deeply into one state\u27s mathematical achievement data, early evidence of concealed but influential disparities in male and female performance in mathematics may be described. This study\u27s goal is to add quantitatively to the conversation about gender and mathematics achievement. By using regression methods to unravel the extremes of achievement data by gender, it is hoped that potentially overlooked inequities will be illuminated, and in time, addressed in curricula and instructional reforms
Cathedral at Villa da Ribeira Brava
No full textVilla da Ribeira Brava, with it\u27s cobbled streets and colorful dwellings, is a popular tourist destination and the main town on São Nicolau. The cathedral in this photo has been described as imposing and is located in the town square, and holds daily mass. The narrow cobbled streets all lead away from this town square which also is home to a bust of a local philanthropist.https://digitalcommons.ric.edu/baxter_gallery/1102/thumbnail.jp
Eye on Ethics: The Elephant in the (Virtual) Classroom: The Ethical Implications of Online Social Work Eucation
No full textI have spent much of my career in social work education and value the richness and remarkable teaching moments that occur when a group of students and their professor convene in person to wrestle with difficult intellectual issues, engage in thought-provoking dialogue, and master challenging theories and practice models. There is a vast divide between the use of distance education technology to supplement classroom-based education and the online social work education programs—not just courses—launched recently by a handful of universities. While the new online model clearly has staunch supporters, it is clear that many social workers and educators are beginning to raise compelling questions about the ethical implications of this new phenomenon
Eye on Ethics: The Moral Imperative of Social Work Advocacy
No full textOne of social work’s distinguishing features is its explicit emphasis on social justice issues. In addition to the inspirational language concerning social justice included in the Code of Ethics preamble, the code also includes several specific standards concerning social workers’ ethical duty to address broader public policy issues that are germane to clients’ lives
Eye on Ethics: The Boundaries of Alternative Therapies in Clinical Social Work
No full textSocial work’s remarkable strength as a profession is in large part the result of impressive and creative advances in its models and methods of interventions. Clinical innovations should be viewed somewhat tentatively, with a commitment to critical thinking as an adequate body of sound outcome research evolves over time. Indeed, today’s clinical novelty may become tomorrow’s standard of practice. Social workers should continue their open-minded pursuit of new ways of helping, recognizing that these efforts must fall within the profession’s venerable moral tradition
Transgender Individuals: Can We Help?
No full textTransgender individuals are often marginalized and disenfranchised within society. To add insult to injury, these individuals experience much intentional and unintentional discrimination with social work clinicians and members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual community. Research and information made available to the social work profession is scarce in the realm of working and implementing change with transgenders. This article views some of the limited literature for professionals to provide a more important description of this population, known effective practices and implications for social work clinicians beginning and currently working with transgender individuals
Effects of a Simulation Educational Experience on Critical Care Staff\u27s Recognition of Stressors Affecting Performance and Use of Teamwork Skills
Get PDFHuman limitations are sources of medical error that result in injuries, deaths and cost reaching millions. Preventing human errors from reaching patients is an imperative goal of a healthcare system that desires to reduce costs and produce quality outcomes. There is a mounting body of evidence that safety culture measurement and intervention can impact the safety and quality of healthcare
Becoming An Administrator
Get PDFThis study is part of a limited but growing body of research that examines and describes the social side of pulic school administration. Most training programs that prepare public school administrators are highly effective with regard to providing students the theoretical foundation that surrounds administrative roles, but as the literature illustrates, there is a gap between theory and practice. This autoethnographical dissertation addresse this gap by providing an analytical description of what individuals do when acting as a public school administrator. Specifically, this study follows the transition into an assistant principalship and how the author was socialized into that rol
Voices Silenced, Voices Heard: Exploring Status, Discourse, and Learning in Middle School Discussion Groups
Get PDFThis qualitative study explores the relationship between the instructional methodologies one teacher used to foster the development of group skills in students and the way literature discussion groups actually functioned. This study was conducted under an ethnographic lens using a teacher-as-researcher approach. Issues of power and status in students\u27 learning opportunities are explored