What is the most urgent issue that you see in your educational practice? What would be the question you would like to ask in the research project? In my current educational practice the most urgent issue that I see amongst the students is motivation. In the Basic Skills Reading class, there is a large spectrum of students ranging from 18 year olds to students in their mid-thirties who have never taken any college classes. After this particular class the students still have to complete one more basic skills class before they can enter English 101. While some students are very motivated to learn the basic skills that will help them succeed in more advanced classes throughout college, a large majority have very low motivation in this class. I have heard many students state that they only need to pass the class with a “C” because this class “doesn’t mean anything so they don’t really need to try.” My Action Research student is one of these students with low motivation who really struggles with the academics in this class as well as his attitude in and out of the classroom. The question I would like to ask in the research project is “How can I help to motivate this student to do well in class and move from performance goals to mastery-oriented goals?” I would like Edgar to have a more positive attitude towards this class and all his others where he focuses more on what he is learning and how he can use it in the future rather than just getting a “C” grade so he can pass.
I can think of several “urgent” issues in my educational practice, but one that I know is quite pressing for my students is the issue of vocabulary. Lexical knowledge allows students to read more difficult (and often more interesting) texts, to write using more precise language, and to contribute more readily and more articulately in conversations. Lexical mistakes, more than syntactical or semantic mistakes, can lead to misunderstandings and miscommunication. This can be quite frustrating for students. Yet as an educator, teaching vocabulary can be quite challenging. Simply giving a definition does not allow students to truly learn a word. Further, most research suggests that students must encounter a word several times before they have acquired it. It is necessary, therefore, to continue teaching a word many times before students can be expected to understand and use it appropriately. With this in mind, I am using my Action Research as an opportunity to explore new ways in which vocabulary can be taught. I am trying to determine the best theoretical framework for developing vocabulary learning activities. I am currently working with an adult student who is incredibly motivated to learn vocabulary, and this has helped to make the process quite enjoyable for both of us. In the future, I would be interested in exploring vocabulary teaching with students who are less motivated, as I imagine that the approach may need to be different, or at least account for more variables.
Q.: What is the most urgent issue that you see in your educational practice? What would be the question you would like to ask in the research project?
The most urgent issue that I need to work on in my educational practice is to effectively include all student’s viewpoints and stances during my lessons. As a teacher, sometimes I feel like I am juggling with time, content and classroom management, and that relegates the role of investigative research to a second plan. By investigative I mean the aspect of teaching that interprets what students already know about a certain topic, how they perceive it, what they think about it, their conceptualizations and hypothesis. Having worked in multicultural classrooms, I always felt that time constraint was depriving me from making such findings, and, consequently, mediating and facilitating students’ learning process based on diverse perspectives. Having a multicultural background myself I consider it valuable to have access to different ways of thinking and perceiving things. My question as an educator is: how can I adequately take advantage of the cultural differences and riches represented in a diversified classroom by providing students as much access as possible to different perspectives? How to manage and reconcile investigation, deeper discussion, time constraints, and pre-determined content and subject matter?
Study Question: What is the most urgent issue that you see in your educational practice? What would be the question you would like to ask in the research project?
I think the most urgent issue would be, how to get the students away from thinking about the grade, and focus on just learning? I have realized in the classroom I am currently in, the students are more worried about getting a high score rather than just simply learning. I would like to some how try and move my students away from the anxiety they have about their averages and get them to take in the lessons. I think that although they are scoring high they are not learning. Or better yet they are not taking away as much as they can. I think what they know is momentarily and will soon fade. They are studying for the test, not to build on their language skills. I would like to show them that although they are scoring high, they are not building their language skills, and the grade they receive will be for nothing. If they cannot improve their on their English, what does the grade they receive even matter?
STUDY QUESTION: What is the most urgent issue that you see in your educational practice? What would be the question you would like to ask in the research project?
As a language teacher, the urgent issue in my educational practice is what to teach. In my previous language teaching, the goal for each lesson was focused on either some new vocabulary or new sentence structures. However, those were very abstract linguistic knowledge. For children, language knowledge itself was not fun. They have a hard time to remember any new words or grammar in a formal classroom setting. Nobody learned their native language this way. The nature of language is that it can be used as a social tool to share life experiences or ideas. Now that they have a first language to use, what is the point of using another language? In my research project, I would like to ask how to make second language learning more interesting, functional and practical. How to elicit students’ curiosity of another language and culture? How to make the abstract language knowledge more approachable for the students?
STUDY QUESTION: What is the most urgent issue that you see in your educational practice? What would be the question you would like to ask in the research project?
I think the most urgent issue I see in my educational practice that I need to work on is to rely less on using assigned textbooks. As a teacher, institutions may expect us to reuse their required textbooks to teach our classes but we may find them to be lack in certain areas. For example, the dialogue for practicing conversations in English may not be authentic enough or the articles provided are either too simple or advanced for some students. I have realized this as I work on my Action Research, the explanations that the math textbook my student is using does not provide clear and simple explanations certain lesson. When not assigned a textbook to use, I tend to research and write up my own material that breaks down certain concepts and makes connections to previous lesson topics. However, with the student I am working with right now I am required use his assigned book. I am finding it difficult to determine when it is acceptable to deviate any from the text that will be accepted by the institution and my students parent. How do I convince them that allowing me to modify or even use other sources will be beneficial for the student? Are there other ways to teach without relying on the assigned textbook?
What is the most urgent issue that you see in your educational practice? What would be the question you would like to ask in the research project?
The most urgent issue I see in my educational practice is assessing student needs. This is especially for bilingual students. I would like to ask the question of how do I assess bilingual student needs? I have had two experiences teaching bilingual students, and both times I have had difficulties assessing their student needs. When I learn in class the importance of content based lessons, or meaningful interaction I tend to rely too much on topics, or conversation. That leaves me to kind of guess at the grammar aspect of the lessons. Without a correct grasp of the student`s level, or needs it is very difficult to create an objective for the lessons. Grammar has always been a difficult area to teach, and it is especially hard for bilingual students.
Q: What is the most urgent issue that you see in your educational practice? What would be the question you would like to ask in a research project?
R: So this is a little unfair because I'm already doing AR and I have already identified critical thinking as an urgent issue. Many students -- too many -- have mastered the process of school. They show up, they do what they are told. Maybe this is a consequence of the type of discipline and direct-instruction they have experienced in their education, but whatever the reason, students do little questioning or evaluating. They are stuck at the bottom of Bloom's Taxonomy. Yet, we want them to graduate as thinkers and as creators of new knowledge and ideas. We want them to be innovators and inventors and leaders. These are roles that require critical thinking, so introducing that in the educational practice is certainly important, if not urgent.
What is the most urgent issue that you see in your educational practice? What would be the question you would like to ask in the research project?
ReplyDeleteIn my current educational practice the most urgent issue that I see amongst the students is motivation. In the Basic Skills Reading class, there is a large spectrum of students ranging from 18 year olds to students in their mid-thirties who have never taken any college classes. After this particular class the students still have to complete one more basic skills class before they can enter English 101. While some students are very motivated to learn the basic skills that will help them succeed in more advanced classes throughout college, a large majority have very low motivation in this class. I have heard many students state that they only need to pass the class with a “C” because this class “doesn’t mean anything so they don’t really need to try.” My Action Research student is one of these students with low motivation who really struggles with the academics in this class as well as his attitude in and out of the classroom. The question I would like to ask in the research project is “How can I help to motivate this student to do well in class and move from performance goals to mastery-oriented goals?” I would like Edgar to have a more positive attitude towards this class and all his others where he focuses more on what he is learning and how he can use it in the future rather than just getting a “C” grade so he can pass.
I can think of several “urgent” issues in my educational practice, but one that I know is quite pressing for my students is the issue of vocabulary. Lexical knowledge allows students to read more difficult (and often more interesting) texts, to write using more precise language, and to contribute more readily and more articulately in conversations. Lexical mistakes, more than syntactical or semantic mistakes, can lead to misunderstandings and miscommunication. This can be quite frustrating for students. Yet as an educator, teaching vocabulary can be quite challenging. Simply giving a definition does not allow students to truly learn a word. Further, most research suggests that students must encounter a word several times before they have acquired it. It is necessary, therefore, to continue teaching a word many times before students can be expected to understand and use it appropriately. With this in mind, I am using my Action Research as an opportunity to explore new ways in which vocabulary can be taught. I am trying to determine the best theoretical framework for developing vocabulary learning activities. I am currently working with an adult student who is incredibly motivated to learn vocabulary, and this has helped to make the process quite enjoyable for both of us. In the future, I would be interested in exploring vocabulary teaching with students who are less motivated, as I imagine that the approach may need to be different, or at least account for more variables.
ReplyDeleteQ.: What is the most urgent issue that you see in your educational practice? What would be the question you would like to ask in the research project?
ReplyDeleteThe most urgent issue that I need to work on in my educational practice is to effectively include all student’s viewpoints and stances during my lessons. As a teacher, sometimes I feel like I am juggling with time, content and classroom management, and that relegates the role of investigative research to a second plan. By investigative I mean the aspect of teaching that interprets what students already know about a certain topic, how they perceive it, what they think about it, their conceptualizations and hypothesis. Having worked in multicultural classrooms, I always felt that time constraint was depriving me from making such findings, and, consequently, mediating and facilitating students’ learning process based on diverse perspectives. Having a multicultural background myself I consider it valuable to have access to different ways of thinking and perceiving things. My question as an educator is: how can I adequately take advantage of the cultural differences and riches represented in a diversified classroom by providing students as much access as possible to different perspectives? How to manage and reconcile investigation, deeper discussion, time constraints, and pre-determined content and subject matter?
Study Question: What is the most urgent issue that you see in your educational practice? What would be the question you would like to ask in the research project?
ReplyDeleteI think the most urgent issue would be, how to get the students away from thinking about the grade, and focus on just learning? I have realized in the classroom I am currently in, the students are more worried about getting a high score rather than just simply learning. I would like to some how try and move my students away from the anxiety they have about their averages and get them to take in the lessons. I think that although they are scoring high they are not learning. Or better yet they are not taking away as much as they can. I think what they know is momentarily and will soon fade. They are studying for the test, not to build on their language skills. I would like to show them that although they are scoring high, they are not building their language skills, and the grade they receive will be for nothing. If they cannot improve their on their English, what does the grade they receive even matter?
ReplyDeleteSTUDY QUESTION: What is the most urgent issue that you see in your educational practice? What would be the question you would like to ask in the research project?
As a language teacher, the urgent issue in my educational practice is what to teach. In my previous language teaching, the goal for each lesson was focused on either some new vocabulary or new sentence structures. However, those were very abstract linguistic knowledge. For children, language knowledge itself was not fun. They have a hard time to remember any new words or grammar in a formal classroom setting. Nobody learned their native language this way. The nature of language is that it can be used as a social tool to share life experiences or ideas. Now that they have a first language to use, what is the point of using another language? In my research project, I would like to ask how to make second language learning more interesting, functional and practical. How to elicit students’ curiosity of another language and culture? How to make the abstract language knowledge more approachable for the students?
STUDY QUESTION: What is the most urgent issue that you see in your educational practice? What would be the question you would like to ask in the research project?
ReplyDeleteI think the most urgent issue I see in my educational practice that I need to work on is to rely less on using assigned textbooks. As a teacher, institutions may expect us to reuse their required textbooks to teach our classes but we may find them to be lack in certain areas. For example, the dialogue for practicing conversations in English may not be authentic enough or the articles provided are either too simple or advanced for some students. I have realized this as I work on my Action Research, the explanations that the math textbook my student is using does not provide clear and simple explanations certain lesson. When not assigned a textbook to use, I tend to research and write up my own material that breaks down certain concepts and makes connections to previous lesson topics. However, with the student I am working with right now I am required use his assigned book. I am finding it difficult to determine when it is acceptable to deviate any from the text that will be accepted by the institution and my students parent. How do I convince them that allowing me to modify or even use other sources will be beneficial for the student? Are there other ways to teach without relying on the assigned textbook?
What is the most urgent issue that you see in your educational practice? What would be the question you would like to ask in the research project?
ReplyDeleteThe most urgent issue I see in my educational practice is assessing student needs. This is especially for bilingual students. I would like to ask the question of how do I assess bilingual student needs? I have had two experiences teaching bilingual students, and both times I have had difficulties assessing their student needs. When I learn in class the importance of content based lessons, or meaningful interaction I tend to rely too much on topics, or conversation. That leaves me to kind of guess at the grammar aspect of the lessons. Without a correct grasp of the student`s level, or needs it is very difficult to create an objective for the lessons. Grammar has always been a difficult area to teach, and it is especially hard for bilingual students.
Q: What is the most urgent issue that you see in your educational practice? What would be the question you would like to ask in a research project?
ReplyDeleteR: So this is a little unfair because I'm already doing AR and I have already identified critical thinking as an urgent issue. Many students -- too many -- have mastered the process of school. They show up, they do what they are told. Maybe this is a consequence of the type of discipline and direct-instruction they have experienced in their education, but whatever the reason, students do little questioning or evaluating. They are stuck at the bottom of Bloom's Taxonomy. Yet, we want them to graduate as thinkers and as creators of new knowledge and ideas. We want them to be innovators and inventors and leaders. These are roles that require critical thinking, so introducing that in the educational practice is certainly important, if not urgent.