Teaching in the Zone

I am going to help a teenager in learning about the new technology. In order to make sure that the individual is able to understand whatever I will be teaching him, I will first and foremost engage him in a conversation about the new technology (Newman, 2007). I will therefore get to know what he knows about the new technology, and what he is not familiar with about the new technology. This will therefore enable me to be able to understand the types of methods which I should employ in order to enable the individual to fully understand the new technology. Secondly, I would build the individual’s knowledge through scaffolding, whereby I would first and foremost teach the individual through what he knows in order to get what he does not know. In so doing I will be able to use the prior knowledge that the individual has about the new technology, in order to enable him to connect with the new teachings.

Thirdly, I would research on the previous topics which the student has learnt concerning the new technology. This would therefore enable me to be able to use the topic when I start to teach the individual on a new concept (Newman, 2007). This will therefore help in making the individual to be able to connect to the new technology, through using the previous topics which he had learnt earlier on in class. Finally, I would use scaffolding to provide developmentally appropriate support, through using the previous topics which regard technological development that the individual had learnt previously in class. Internalization of speech will therefore occur, in order to understand if the individual has been able to understand what the new technology is really about.

Reference

John Henry Newman. (2007). Chapter 9 Newman Reader: The National Institute for Newman Studies.

Bad teacher relationship

Introduction

Teachers play important roles in ensuring students grow academically, mentally, emotionally and physically. Children spend time with teachers even more than they spend with their families. Teachers therefore are responsible for the academic and social development of children. Positive teacher relationships enables children feel safe and appreciated and thus ensure that the learning environment is the best for the children. Teachers who form positive bonds with children are able to involve children actively in the classrooms. On the other hand teachers who have bad relationships with children lead to poor academic performance and social development in children. Therefore this paper will focus on bad teacher relationship and using the Bronfenbrenner’s model, explain how the bad relationships affect children learning and development.

Some students and teachers develop good relationship from the start while others take time (Scarlett, Ponte & Singh, 2009). Unfortunately other some teachers and students do not develop positive relationships because of some ongoing conflicts between them (Vitto, 2003).  Poor or rather bad relationships are resulted due to bonds being broken because of some conflicts. Teachers can fight with students for some reasons such as; students failing to finish assignments in time, students disobeying the teachers, students coming late for lessons or missing the lessons, some teachers being insensitive, teacher bullying, and some teachers being discriminative among other many reasons (Scarlett, Ponte & Singh, 2009). Some teachers form poor relationships with students even where students do not pose any danger towards the teacher. Teachers are expected to ensure they form good and working relationships with the students so that students can grow all round and eventually perform well academically. It is the role of the teacher to mend broken relationships with students since teachers should exercise good judgment with students (Scarlett, Ponte & Singh, 2009).

Personally the bad teacher relationship would affect me as a student since I look up to teachers as my role models and seek advice from them.  I ensure that I avoid circumstances that will lead to conflicts between me and the teachers. For instance I ensure I hand in my assignments in time, get along with the teachers well since I show them respect and I do not fail to attend the classes. I have seen some of my classmates fight with the teachers over the same issues over and over again while the conflicts can be prevented by the students. I have not witnessed cases of teacher bullying, teachers handling students badly or teachers being discriminative in our school. This shows that in my school, teachers are provoked by students since students fail to do whatever is right and instead end up fighting with the teachers. Being an obedient student has enabled me form strong relationships with almost all teachers and this has boosted my academic performance. I treat teachers as my second parents and rely on them for advice and this has worked out for me. I not only get along with the teachers but students as well showing that good teacher relationship ensure a student grows all round and feels appreciated at all times.

Bronfenbrenner came up with the Ecological Systems Theory that explains that characteristics of the external environment which the child is exposed to and the inborn character traits of a child determine the growth and development of that child (Shaffer, 2009). This theory shows the importance of exposing a child to multiple ecological systems so that the child can understand its development on individual basis. The child first adapts to the home ecosystem before moving towards the school and other large ecosystems which all determine the type of growth and development the child will exhibit. The theory is focused on different levels with the first level being the microsystem which is the smallest and immediate environment the child survives in (Shaffer, 2009). This includes the child’s home, school, surrounding community and the peer groups. This shows that as children we are affected by many things including the environment we are exposed to by our parents. In my case I was able to learn many things during my childhood since I was taken to a daycare that had many children since my parents were both working.

I had made good friends during my childhood where we used to play together and this ensured I grew and developed all round. My parents were supportive and would guide me so that I would not end up failing in life since I wanted to become successful just like them. According to Bronfenbrenner’s model children should be exposed to the right environments full of good friends, families where parents are actively involved. My parents were supportive thus I did not experience bad relationship with my parents in the past. Bronfenbrenner says in his model that the workplace of some parents may give pressure to the parents such that they end up mistreating their children (Shaffer, 2009). I grew up in a peaceful community free from discrimination. My parents installed some beliefs and ideas in me and taught me how to respect other people since all people are equal. I went to school with similar beliefs where I respect teachers and students thus end up creating good relationships with them. Bronfenbrenner notes that the type of culture and beliefs the child is exposed to will eventually be the culture the child adapts (Shaffer, 2009).

Recommendations of processes and strategies for future decisions

• Parents should ensure they expose their children to the right cultural practices and beliefs so that children can grow knowing and doing what is right (Vitto, 2003). In addition they should not let workplace and other issues affect the relationship they have with the children since children needs parental love, care and support.
• Students should be obedient to their teachers since they have been taught on whatever is right and wrong.
• Parents and teachers should support the children and ensure they understand the children in order to realize when the children are going through problems.
• Parents and teachers should pay close attention to the children in order to tell when a child is going astray since children are influenced by their peers and can end up doing the wrong things.
• Teachers should ensure they create good relationships with the teachers without being discriminative since all children need love and support from parents and teachers (Vitto, 2003).

Conclusion

From the above discussion, we can conclude that children are important and adapt to the behaviors they are exposed to. This means that teachers and parents have roles of ensuring they guide the children and ensure they grow and develop in the right way. Teachers should be good to children since poor teacher relationship results to poor academic performance, growth and development. This means that teachers have to ensure they get along with children well and in return children should respect and obey both teachers and parents. Bronfenbrenner in his model shows the importance of exposing children to the right environments since they will grow practicing whatever is right thus maintain good relationship with both parents and teachers.

References

Scarlett, W. G., Ponte, I. C., & Singh, J. P. (2009). Approaches to behavior and classroom             management: Integrating discipline and care. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.

Shaffer, D. R. (2009). Social and personality development.

Vitto, J. M. (2003). Relationship-driven classroom management: Strategies that promote student             motivation.

ED.704.5

            Development appropriate practice is a method that is involved in teaching that is deeply connected to research of the manner in which young children develop and also learn and is generally referred to as an efficient early education. It has a framework that is designed to inspire optimal learning as well as development of the young children.

            This form of teaching approach guides the curriculum development since this approach necessitates that the teaching must be able to meet the children’s needs. In this case, the teachers must be well acquainted with this developmental appropriate practice and this act as guidelines for the teachers thus enabling them to achieve the objectives that are challenging as well as achievable (Gestwicki 2013). DAP is thus a continuous activity of learning where the teachers continues to apply it in early childhood education so as to encourage excellence of the children’s education through the proper and decisive decision making process that is based on the knowledge about each child and the development standards integrated with knowledge of efficient early learning practices (Gestwicki 2013).

            Early learning standards refer to research based approaches on early care and also on education programs based on the age and the development of the child. This therefore forms the base for the curriculum, evaluation, teaching and the intervention within the early childhood education and care.  States as well as education programs should follow the early learning standards because they provide reasonable expectations that govern a child’s growth, development and his or her learning in early childhood classes. Therefore when applied in the curriculum, it offers a guideline to the teachers so as to assist them in creating and sustaining developmentally suitable experiences for the children that will strengthen their thinking  and continued achievement as learners.

References

Gestwicki, C. (2013). Developmentally appropriate practice: Curriculum and development in early education. Cengage Learning.

Creating Learning Environments

            Playgrounds over the years have grown a great deal. Slides are one of the most well-liked playgrounds and they are designed by use of plastics or steel. They are usually established with both similar as well as rollers features. They are either in the straight or in curved form while others are joined with larger structures as other slides usually stand alone. Spinning playgrounds are the most recent form of playgrounds and they are exceptional from the common roundabouts. They are composed of straight poles that are bent at the top. For safety purposes for the children, they are usually structured with platforms that are located at the bottom. These playgrounds work through the pulling of the spinning equipment towards an individual’s centre of gravity. These playgrounds are alternative solution to the unsafe merry go round playgrounds.  Balance beam is another form of playground and they involve development of balance sense among the children. These playgrounds thus offer a grand ground level play activities as they also support in the improvement of dexterities. Hanging activities are other forms of playgrounds hat are designed for all children across all ages. Climbing activities are other forms of the most exciting playgrounds for children. They usually have three most important configurations that are the flat feature planes that have bubbles where the children will be able to hold as they climb. There are others that are have cargo nets features and others are featured with bar lattices that are small and they look like the monkey bars with angles.

            Outdoor activities are essential for activities that enhance cognitive development such as music, art and language. As children spend and interact more with their natural environment during their outdoor activities, they are capable of seeing the manner in which everything in nature has its own true purpose in life (Bullard 2010). Thus, as children participate in most of these outdoor activities, they start to appreciate nature and as a result of this they are able to encourage a long term positive outlook about their natural environments and thus they can be able to sustain, manage as well as conserve it even in the future as they grow up. Hanging activities were my favorite playground activities. This is because it is more fun hanging and twisting as they offer a lot of skills.

            There are numerous outside activities that are available for young children besides the use of the playground equipments. They include, the flying of kites, playing with dolls through offering them with dolls that they may wash and dry them while they are outside, playing mind games while in the outside setting. Other activities include the plying of musical instruments in an outside field as they play in a band. Provision of chalks so that they can play with them as they draw shadows and provision of different colored papers so that they can be involved in airplane making activity are other outside activities for children. Burring of items under sand and giving out equipments to the children so as to act as archeologists do, hanging of a hoop from a tree as you gather the children to throw the balls over the loop. Finally, one can offer mazes as well as hopscotch on the field and carrying out bubble activities.

References

Bullard, J. (2010). Creating Environments for Learning (1st ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education

Syllabus report

This syllabus shows that there is a lot attention paid in its preparation given that it is detailed to an extent and offers direction on how the content will be covered throughout the learning period.  Its preparation seems to have adhered to some policies on what should be included or some requirements that should be adhered to. Such things are indicated by the contents in the syllabus and the formatting of the whole text can be followed through by the students.

The detailed course outlines is arranged in a systematic manner so that students can know where to begin on their studies and proceed throughout the semester. It also indicates the tests which will be done and when they will be done to have the students prepare for them.  With its detailed content, test periods and lecturer information indicates that the syllabus is prepared by an individual who is in tandem with requirements of the learning institution. A clear message is being communicated to the students about the lecturer’s seriousness in the classroom and that he is following some given guidelines when preparing the syllabus.

 The effectiveness of such a syllabus with indicated periods, with activities that will determine the evaluation methods enable the students to remove the apathy which can work against the faculty’s expected learning outcomes. The syllabus also longer to indicate that the students will have much work to do and the lecturer is able to be thorough (D'Antonio, 2007). Creating such a comprehensive and creative syllabus means that the professor will even be approachable and has the interest of the students at heart given that he was once an undergraduate.

Reference

D'Antonio, M. (2007).If Your Syllabus Could Talk. Retrieved from: http://www.chronicle.com/article/If-Your-Syllabus-Could-Talk/46604

Student Enrollment Management

Introduction

Strategic enrollment management is referred to as an essential planning component for fresh growth at college or university level (Bontrager, & Hossler, 2014). This is because it is primarily concerned   with the growth of facilities and the academic program. SEM particularly focuses the best things for students in attaining success while developing the numbers of enrollment while stabilizing the revenues in the institution.  Based on the recent studies the success of students is normally grounded on the retention and institution graduation rates (Seidman, 2012).  This therefore implies that the recruitment of students is based on the likelihood of the students to graduate.  While the price remains  to be widely accepted  in  most  privately  operated  and selected  institutions, this is a common  practice  that occurs for most of  the public institutions  like  the community  colleges.  A realistic tactic  enrollLS

Curriculum and Instructional Design

Curriculum design and instruction design are both based on specific principles to which the involved activities and materials should adhere such as equity and accessibility. Such principles help educators in their struggle for mainlining control over instructional and curriculum decisions which are increasingly becoming dictated standards sets at the national and state level.  The curriculum and instructional designs are developed out of similar materials and comes in form of scripted textbooks, proficiency tests, and other instructional materials.  The design of instruction and curriculum comprises of a lot of inputs from the teachers since they are in a learning environment that offers supports to contextual learning and teaching. There are two basic dimensions to the assessment of instructional and curriculum materials. Policy dimension involves educational ministries having policies by which resources and materials are created and then adopted. The instruction design ensures that the curriculum content is put into the context for understanding by the students so as to develop and sustain considerable and meaningful learning (Chiarelott, 2006).

In addition, instruction design focuses is basically process oriented and is concerned with what information to be communicated especially after the development of a curriculum. It can be said that instructional design highlights the need to be accountable so as to validate the progress of the learner towards certain set objectives. While curriculum design will focus on learning content, the instructional design will focus on the ensuring that the content delivered to the learners achieves the set learning objectives. Instructional design is thus concerned with the method to be used in the delivery of curriculum content (Chiarelott, 2006). A new name for Instructional Design would be Learning Experience Design which could relate to the learner.

Reference

Chiarelott,C.(2006). Curriculum in context: designing curriculum and instruction for teaching and learning in context.Wadsworth.

Abstract

The number of students with low proficiency in reading is becoming more prevalent and even with that they are expected to keep up with the rest of their grade level peers. This impacts the child negatively and ends up having low self-esteem and at times anger issues. In the school that this study will take place, the curriculum is challenging in the sense that students are required to reach 80 percent on an assessment before they can move on to a new lesson.  This is a task that many students are uncomfortable with, and requires constant review of concepts and retaking assessments several times. They start falling behind and have a hard time catching up with their peers. The 12-wek study intended to determine the effectiveness of implementing direct instructions as an intervention for special education students towards increasing their reading fluency skills. The study was conducted with six middle school special education students using an AB research design. The participants were given an Easy Curriculum Based Measurement reading fluency probe. During phase 1 of the study which lasted for six weeks where the respondents received explicit reading instructions. The researcher conducted the same probe at the end of two, four and six weeks. In the second phase, which was also six weeks long, the participants were initiated through direct instructions. The same probe was administered again after two, four and six weeks. It was anticipated that direct instructions would increase the reading fluency on average more effectively than explicit instruction, however; the results indicated that there was no significant correlation between the two instruction methods.    

Effects of Direct Instruction on Reading Fluency

 In increasingly diverse school districts based on issues such as ethnicity and culture, a one size fits all approach is becoming the norm. Direct instructions come in handy to the special student by helping their fluency. Studies have been done in all academic areas and show great success levels of direct instructions. A total of 37 studies were done and 34 of the found that students under direct instruction method perform better as compared to those using other programs.Additionally,90% of 45 studies done on students under the disability category noted direct instruction’s positive effects towards their studies (Marchand-Martella et al., n.d.). There is evidence that suggests that some middle school students struggle in the area of reading fluency. It is imperative that instruction meets the individual needs of students. The practice of direct instruction in special education classrooms, is beneficial with the learning process of these disabled children (Shippen et al., 2005). The direct instruction process permits the student to concentrate on the reading problem and follow a guided practice approach. This approach is composed of scripted lessons, choral student responses, and application of clear signals to understand the response made by the pupils. A feedback system is a part of this process.  The progress of learning of the students can be evaluated efficiently. It is further evident that the middle school students with inefficient reading ability require the application of direct instruction to fill the gap (Spencer & Manis, 2010).

Primary Elements of Reading

Phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension are the major elements associated with the process of reading. The concept of phonemic awareness is the process of understanding how words are composed and how distinct sound units blend together to result in pronunciation (Chiang & Lin, 2007).  Phonemic awareness is essential for developing the reading ability of a child and this is found to be weak in children with reading disabilities (Suggate, 2014). The guidelines that dictate the association between alphabets while spelling a word are considered as phonics which is evident to be connected with the word decoding ability of the concerned child. Fluency is indicated as the accuracy of reading reflected by a student. It is also evident that the ability to read fluently is connected with the process of reading comprehension (Drecktrah & Chiang, 1997). Fluency in reading is observed to be the major limitation of the children with learning disabilities. Vocabulary is defined as the word power of an individual and the acts of speaking, listening, reading and writing are connected with vocabulary.  Vocabulary should be included within the teaching process of direct instruction (Drecktrah & Chiang, 1997). It is also observed as repeated exposure to new vocabulary enhances the learning efficiency of the children in special education system. Comprehension is reflected as the ability to construct new sentences by reasonable connecting works. This element is identified as significant in the process of intentional interaction of the reader with the text (Spencer & Manis, 2010).

Theoretical Background

The practice of direct instruction in the classroom has been considered as a systematic approach towards improving the participation level of the concerned children. With reference to the instruction given it is observed that the teacher generally allows the student to repeat the correct answers and also evaluates the student by delivering them with feedback on their respective performance. This practice of teaching has been found to be beneficial with respect to the reading fluency of the concerned pupil (Lee & Yoon, 2015).The following theory is important in addressing the intervention needed to curtail academic failures by special students as a result of learning disability.

Stage Theory of Reading Development

The Stage Theory of Reading Development ties in to the problem in that it explains the requirement of intervention in the learning process of the children with learning disabilities in order to minimize the occurrence of academic failures (Carnine & Silbert, 2012). This theory depicts that reading should be included within the teaching process accompanied by systematic instruction.  This particular theory has proposed six distinct stages starting from stages zero to stage five (Carnine & Silbert, 2012). The stage zero is considered as the pre reading stage whereby emphasis should be given towards the child’s growth in terms of knowledge and the fluency in spoken language with a control over the vocabulary and syntax issue. The students up to six years of age are included within this stage. The next stage includes the children studying in grade one and two and the children at this stage are observed to understand the association between alphabets and alphabet sounds. In stage two it is evident that the children are capable of recognizing the complicated phonetic elements and should be fluent in oral reading (Berkeley, Scruggs & Mastropieri, 2009). Stage 3 is marked as the vocabulary and reading developmental stage of the children wherein the students should be capable of reading variety of texts. Stage 4 has been marked as the student’s high school phase whereby the student should be capable of analyzing the text read. The last stage reflects the capability of the student with respect of reading skill followed with capable of analysis and judgment (Lloyd, Cullinan, Heins & Epstein, 1980).  Students with reading or learning disabilities do not follow the mentioned developmental stages of the proposed theory and are in need of direct instruction model in this respect (Beers, 2003).

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this research is to explore the importance of direct instruction on fluency in middle school special education students. This study aims to understand how the reading fluency skills of middle school special needs students are effected by direct instruction. This research also tends to fill the gap that exists in integrating special students that have learning disabilities into the education system and to eradicate the failures that have been common for such cases.  The hypothesis of this study is that every special child has a chance to academic excellence regardless of their disability.

Methods

Participants

The study will consist of five participants. Each will be in the 7th-8th grade at the time of the study. They all reside in Iowa, but have been enrolled in CRSD.  They also attend the Iowa Virtual Academy.  The Iowa Virtual Academy is a public virtual school that currently has 305 students in grades K-12.  The school has a high population of students with a low socioeconomic status. The percentage of students that qualify for the federal free-and-reduced lunch program in the school is 67.2 percent.  The district’s average is 35.1 percent. Four participants are Caucasian and one is Native American.

The participants receive a majority of their instruction in a virtual setting. However, the participants in this study will be receiving face to face instruction in meeting room at a local library. The library is within four blocks of each participant.  This is important because it will allow them to walk or ride their bike each day thus showing up for the sessions in good time.

The participants will consist of four boys and one girl.   Each will be labeled as:  Participant A, Participant B, Participant C, Participant D, and Participant E.  This is to assure confidentiality of all of the participants. 

Participant A is a 13-year-old student.   He will be in the 7th grade during the time of the study.  He has an IEP and goals in the areas of reading, math, and writing.  He struggles with reading fluency and is several years behind his peers.  He struggles with decoding words, basic phonics skills, and will often skip words that he does not know. He finds it really challenging to utter some words such as athletics.

Participant B will be in the 8th grade during the duration of the study. She has an IEP and goals in the areas of reading, math, and writing.  She struggles with reading fluency and is several years behind other grade level peers. She is older for her grade level in comparison to her peers.  This is due to her being held back several times.  She will turn 16 during the fall of her 8th grade school year.  She struggles with decoding, basic phonics skills, and will skip words she does not know.

Participant C is a 13 year old student.  He will in the 8th grade during the time of the study.  He has an IEP and goals in the areas of reading and writing.  He moved from Georgia at the beginning of the school year.  He struggles with reading fluency and is two grade levels behind his peers.  He has troubles with decoding and will attempt to read words, but will often skip over them if he can’t get it the first time around. In most cases reading is laborious to him.

Participant D is a 13 year old student. He will be in the 7th grade at the time of the study.    He has an IEP and goals in the areas of: reading, writing, and math.  He struggles with fluency and is several years behind his peers.  He has been gradual increasing his skills in decoding, phonics, and identification of sight words. However, there is still a two year discrepancy between him and his peers. His reading speed is too slow and feels demotivated every time he tries to read.

Participant E is a 12 year old student. He will be in the 7th grade during the time of the study.  The student has an IEP and goals in the areas of writing and reading.  He struggles in the area of reading fluency.  He is around two years behind his grade level peers.  He has knowledge of some phonics and decoding skills.  However, he does readily use them when he is reading.  He has a low engagement level and often lacks the effort needed to fully complete tasks. He finds reading laborious and becomes irate whenever he is asked to read.

The participants were not picked at random. An email was sent out to the parents of each middle school student that is currently receiving special education services (see Appendix A). The email indicated the reasoning behind the study. Further, approval was also sought from IRB as well. The researcher followed up by calling the parents of each middle school student that is currently receiving special education services. Throughout the call, the researcher indicated the reasoning behind the study and how it would be implemented.  All five parents volunteered their child to take part in the study.  The parents and participants will not receive any money or reward for participating. 

 There will be two phases in the study, experimental and baseline.  During the first phase the researcher will implement explicit reading instruction.  During the second phase the researcher will be implementing direct instruction through the High Noon curriculum.  All participants will concurrently take part in each stage. They are not representative of the general population. They were selected on the basis that they have an IEP and are currently on the researcher’s class roster.   All participants are currently receiving specialized services and accommodations in the area of reading fluency.  

Apparatus and materials

The study will be broken into two phases.  During Phase 1 participants will take part in one hour lessons Monday thru Friday. These lessons will likely take place sometime in the morning and at the same time every day, 9am to be specific.  All participants have been provided a laptop computer, an apparatus that will be essential for school purposes.  They will be asked to bring that computer with them each day. During the six weeks of this phase the participants will receive explicit instruction in the areas of: word work, phonics, vocabulary, and decoding. They will be asked to complete worksheets, take part in small group activities, and complete individualized assignments.  All assignments will be completed during class. Some will take longer than one class period to complete.  In this situation, participants will continue where they left off.  If a participant finishes before the rest of the, they will continue working on assignments for other classes.

Regular checkpoints will be given to assure that all students have mastered the content of the lessons.  They will have the ability to review and retake if they are not able to reach the 80 percent mastery level. If the mastery level is not met in class, they will be asked to review at home and master it at a later time. Participants will have access to all checkpoints online. The overall instructional theme will focus on renewable resources, recycling, and conservation.  All topics will supplement the information that participants will be learning in their science coursework. The individual interests of the participants will be considered when selecting course materials.

 Each participants will be given paper copies and directions for each given task.   All participants will also have access to all copies in a computer file format. Participants will complete writing tasks using Word and will also have the option to complete tasks using a paper and pencil.  Other assistive technologies, including Chrome applications, will be used on an individual basis.   They will use a Google text to speech application when needed to read any unfamiliar words. In some cases participants will be asked to complete assignments and projects completely online.  This will include teacher made activities in the Study Island program.

During Phase two all participant will be instructed using High Noon Level 2. High Noon is a comprehensive reading program that uses direct instruction methods.  Each lesson consists of review followed by the introduction of a new phonics skill. Each participants will be provided with a paper copy of the student workbook.  Copies with enlarged print will be made to accommodate any participants if needed.  Bookmarks, page guides, or highlighting pens will also be provided if needed.

An Easy Curriculum Based Measurement probe (to assess the level of improvement in the children) will be administered to each participant before the start of Phase 1 and every two weeks after until the end of the study, Appendix B. The grade level of each probe given may vary on an individual. However, each participant will take the same grade level probe throughout the duration of the study. Each participant will be provided a paper copy of a reading passage.  The administrator will also have a copy in order to mark any incorrect or omitted words as the participant is reading, Appendix C.  The font size of print will be increased to meet the needs of any participants.  A bookmark will also be available for any participant that have difficulty keeping their place while reading.

A timer on a cell phone or computer will be set for one minute. The timer will be manually started when the participant starts to read their first word.  At the end of one minute a buzzer will sound.  This will signal the participant to stop reading. The number of words that were correctly read will be entered into Iowa IDEA. The correct words per minute that are read will be entered in the same location after each probe is administered.   It will allow the researcher to date, graph, and add notes to each data point that is entered. At the end of each phase the data from each participant will be entered into an Excel Spreadsheet. This will allow the researcher to compare the data between all participants.  The average increase in correct words read will be calculated for each phase.  The average from each phase will then be compared to see if there were any changes in the correct words read.         

Procedure

The fluency rate of each participant will be assessed before the start of Phase 1.  An Easy Curriculum Based Measurement reading fluency probe will be administered to each participant.  Participants will complete the probe in a classroom setting and have face to face contact with the administrator. The probe will accessed online at www.easycbm.com and printed off.  Each participant will have a paper copy of the reading passage to read from.  The researcher will have a paper copy to mark any words that were omitted, read incorrectly, or to write any notes.

The grade level of the reading probe will vary by participant.  Each participant will be given a reading fluency probe that matches their independent reading level.  They will be given a reading probe that matches their unique level for the duration of the study. For each fluency probe a participant will be asked to read the reading passage that is provided to them.  They will be directed to read it aloud and try to read any words that are unfamiliar to them.  They will also be directed to skip over any words that they cannot or choose not to make an attempt to read.

A timer will be set on a cell phone for one minute.  It will be manually started when the participant starts to read their first word.  A buzzer will sound at the end of the minute. This will indicate that the participant may stop reading. At the end of one minute the researcher will calculate the number of correct words that were read during the one minute. This will include all words that were self-corrected during the testing period. The number of words that were correctly read will be entered into Iowa IDEA.  This will allow the researcher to date, graph, and add notes to each data point that is entered.

During Phase 1 the dependent variable will be the fluency rates of each of the participants.  The independent variable will be the explicit reading instruction that will be implemented for participants.  The variable will be the same for all participants. Instruction will take place for one hour five days a week.  The time this instruction will take place will be determined at a later time. This will allow the researcher to work with other teachers to find a time that works for all participants.  Throughout this phase of the study participants will take part in small group reading instruction.  All five participants will be in this small group. Explicit reading instruction will be implemented.   Participants will be asked to complete several worksheets and quizzes. They will also take part in any projects that may include working with a partner or small group.  In some cases they will be asked to complete activities using a computer and internet resources. Directions or samples will be given to all participants to complete these tasks.

Participants will be given a reading fluency probe throughout Phase 1. One will be given to each participants at the end of 2, 4, and 6 weeks.  This probe will be the same probe type that was given at the start of the phase. The level of the probe given to each participants may vary based off of the reading levels of each participant.    Each participant will be given probes in this chronological order. At the end of this phase the data from each participant will be entered into an Excel Spreadsheet. This will allow the researcher to compare the data between all participants.  The average increase or decrease in correct words read will be calculated for each two week testing period in this phase.  The averages of each participant will then be compared to themselves and the other participants taking part in the study.

During Phase 2 the dependent variable will stay the same.  The reading fluency rates will be assessed every two weeks during this phase.   All students will be instructed using High Noon curriculum as explained in the materials section. All participants will be placed into level 2 of the program.

High Noon is a comprehensive reading program that uses direct instruction methods.  Each lesson consists of review followed by the introduction of a new phonics skill. It is then followed by varying reading, spelling, and writing activities.  All materials will be provided to each of the participants. The researcher will be implementing the direct instruction materials throughout this phase. The researcher has several years of experience using various direct instruction curriculums. However, has only about a year of experience using the curriculum that will be used in this study. The researcher has also been trained in several different direct instruction curriculums.  The duration of each individual trainings ranged from one to two weeks.

 Easy Curriculum Based Measurement probes will administered after weeks 2, 4, and 6 of this phase. These are the same probes that will be administered throughout the duration of the study.   The protocol will be the same as it was in the first phase. When each participant has completed a probe the data will be entered in Iowa IDEA.

Data Analysis

At the end of the phase the all data will be entered into an Excel Spreadsheet. The data will then be averaged for each two week testing period. The averages will then be compared within each participant and to the rest of the participants in the study. Increases or decreases in the correct words will be noted.

Results

The study was an AB research design administered through dependent samples t-Test with data collected once for every two weeks over a period of 12 weeks. The results which were obtained from the number of words that each student managed to read per minute indicated that respondents under explicit instruction had an average score of -1 in terms of frequency at which they managed to read the words per minute. On the other hand, the respondents under direct instruction managed an average score of 1.17. Precisely, one of the students under explicit instruction read 58, 53 and 49 words for tests 1, 2 and 3 respectively whereas under direct instruction, the student read 60, 62 and 64 words for tests 1, 2 and 3 respectively. The mean change for the explicit instruction students was -1.67 and the standard deviation was 15.37. On the other hand, the mean change for students under direct instruction was 5.00 whereas the standard deviation was 1.25 as exhibited by figure 1 & 2. There was such a significance difference between the two groups of the students. With such a difference, it was proved that direct instruction increases reading fluency on average more effectively compared to explicit instruction.      

Figure 1;

Figure 2;

References

Associates, O. (2016). Behaviorism Theory: Education Curriculum and Learning Resources. Funderstanding.com. Retrieved from http://www.funderstanding.com/theory/behaviorism/

Beers, K. (2003). When Kids Cannot Read: What Teachers Can Do. Portsmouth: NH: Heinemann

Berkeley, S., Scruggs, T., & Mastropieri, M. (2009). Reading comprehension instruction for students with learning disabilities, 1995-2006. Remedial and special education, 31(6), 423-436. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0741932509355988

Carnine, D., & Silbert, J. (2012). Challa’s model. Reading Development. Retrieved from http://www.education.com/priont/chall-model-readingdevelopment/

Chiang, H., & Lin, Y. (2007). Reading Comprehension Instruction for Students With Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Review of the Literature. Focus On Autism And Other Developmental Disabilities, 22(4), 259-267. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/10883576070220040801

Drecktrah, M., & Chiang, B. (1997). Instructional Strategies Used by General Educators and Teachers of Students with Learning Disabilities: A Survey. Remedial and Special Education, 18(3), 174-181. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/074193259701800306

Lee, J., & Yoon, S. (2015). The Effects of Repeated Reading on Reading Fluency for Students With Reading Disabilities: A Meta-Analysis. Journal of Learning Disabilities. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0022219415605194

Lloyd, J., Cullinan, D., Heins, E., & Epstein, M. (1980). Direct Instruction: Effects on Oral and Written Language Comprehension. Learning Disability Quarterly, 3(4), 70. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1510677

Marchand-Martella, N., Kinder, D., & Kubina, R. (n.d.). Nifdi.org. Retrieved 8 October 2016, from http://www.nifdi.org/resources/news/hempenstall-blog/hempenstalls-referenced-documents/345-special-ed-di/file

Shippen, M., Houchins, D., Steventon, C., & Sartor, D. (2005). A Comparison of Two Direct Instruction Reading Programs for Urban Middle School Students. Remedial and Special Education, 26(3), 175-182. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/07419325050260030501

Spencer, S., & Manis, F. (2010). The Effects of a Fluency Intervention Program on the Fluency and Comprehension Outcomes of Middle-School Students with Severe Reading Deficits. Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, 25(2), 76-86. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-5826.2010.00305.x

Suggate, S. (2014). A Meta-Analysis of the Long-Term Effects of Phonemic Awareness, Phonics, Fluency, and Reading Comprehension Interventions. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 49(1), 77-96. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0022219414528540

Watson, S., Gable, R., Gear, S., & Hughes, K. (2012). Evidence-Based Strategies for Improving the Reading Comprehension of Secondary Students: Implications for Students with Learning Disabilities. Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, 27(2), 79-89. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-5826.2012.00353.x

Winn, J. (1994). Promises and Challenges of Scaffolded Instruction. Learning Disability Quarterly, 17(1), 89. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1511107

Appendix A

Dear learning coaches,

            As part of my graduate program I will be completing a research project.  The project will likely begin in the fall of next school year, and will last twelve weeks.  The purpose of the research is to explore the use of direct instruction during your child’s reading instruction. Direct instructions bring about improved learning abilities and it is for this reason that your child’s progress will be monitored to in a quest to improve his ability. I will be calling you later this week to explain the details and to address any questions or concerns.

                                                                                                            Thanks,

                                                                                                            Amy

Appendix B

Student Copy                                                                            Form 5-1

One day, Alice’s teacher, Mr. Jacobs told the class they would be making crossword puzzles. Mr. Jacobs split the class in two groups. The first group of students had to make crossword puzzles about the food chain. The second group had to make crossword puzzles about the human body. Alice was happy when she got put in the second group. She loved learning about the human body. It was her favorite part of science class.

After the groups were formed, Mr. Jacobs gave each group articles about their topic. Students selected ten important words from the articles as the answers to their puzzles. Then, they created answer keys on pieces of graph paper.  The answers were placed on the graph paper both up and down the squares and across the paper. Then, the students wrote clues to go with each of the words. The first word Alice chose for her puzzle was brain. Her clue for brain was “This organ is wrinkled and helps you to think. The word goes up and down on the paper.”

After the students finished creating the clues, they wrote numbers on the squares where the words started. Next, the students shaded the squares that had no letters. After everyone finished, they exchanged crossword puzzles. The students solved each other’s puzzles, using the clues. Alice was happy.  This had been a fun, creative assignment.  She could not wait to tell her friends in other classes about it.

Appendix C

Reading Running Record Symbols and Marking Conventions

            Processing

Question 1

The strategy increases the ability of students to process information through providing grounds for imagination and analysis of the given information.  As students engage in reading they utilize the symbols or details in the text informing and marking different concept based  on their capability to process ideas.  This helps in developing own ideas from what is provided which creates a greater opportunity of a deeper learning processing (Jensen, & Nickelsen, 2008).  In addition, it permits students to generate answers for questions that may arise during learning and processing of learning.  There is a deeper connection that occurs between the text and individuals generally.  This allows the students to develop deeper processing or the capability to think in a deeper form.

Question 2

This strategy can be utilized in other curricular areas in helping individual students to gain the areas concepts.  In the context of grade level for individuals who are in lower grades, they can help them in developing their thinking, understanding and interpretation skills.  The curricular areas are beneficial in complementing learning and if the students understand the concept behind these areas the capability of processing learning theories is heightened (Jensen, & Nickelsen, 2008).

Question 3

In order for the processing speed of the students to be increased, they should be involved continuously in all learning activities.  Increasing participation helps in motivating the students thus developing their interests to understand the taught concepts. Practicing specific skills is an additional strategy that helps in developing the processing speed of most students as the tendency of repeating activities makes it automatic (Jensen, & Nickelsen, 2008).

Question 4

Cross-curricular association in class can be increased through engaging in activities that represent the interests of every student.  This will help in ensuring that every individual is fully incorporated without fail which increases the capability to understand concepts easily (Jensen, & Nickelsen, 2008).

            References

Jensen, E., & Nickelsen, L. A. (2008). Deeper learning: 7 powerful strategies for in-depth and longer-lasting learning. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Kinesthetic Activities

Question 1

I believe it is essential for students to move around as this allows the mind to process information.  In addition, this is the opportunity of interacting and discovering new concepts that may help to learn teach (Campbell, 2016).  Based on research when students are engaged in moving this permits their brain to think in a different way. Wen language is connected to actions it is understood in a better way as the goal of learning is directly linked to the objectives of engaging in movement.

Question 2

In a normal class, my students utilize at least 20 minutes sited while the rest of the sessions while the rest of the time is spent through the incorporation of interactive activities.  This is to permit the students to digest everything that they have taught more effectively (Campbell, 2016).

Question 3

In order to keep students actively, I normally utilize interactive programs such as the use discussions and interactive teacher students programs.  The use of outdoor observation is another approach that enhances the students understanding and ensuring that learning becomes interesting (Campbell, 2016).

Question 4

There is normally a huge difference when students spend their time sited on their seats versus when they spend time in activity. This is mainly because the students normally respond quickly to learning and their processing and understanding capability is increased (Campbell, 2016). The engagement of the students is additionally high when they participate in activities during the day.

Question 5

It is not enough for students to just get up to grab something or turn something in rather than remaining sited. This gives the brain the opportunity to relax and processes the given information in class.  In addition moving and touching something develops the capability of an individual to understand concepts easily through creating visuals in mind (Campbell, 2016).

            Reference

Campbell, K. (2016). Incorporating movement in the classroom keeps students and their brains engaged in learning.

Retrieved from https://www.amle.org/BrowsebyTopic/WhatsNew/WNDet/TabId/270/ArtMID/888/ArticleID/390/Get-Your-Students-Moving.aspx

Critical Thinking

Question 1

Critical thinking is essential for students to know and develop in class learning as it is a part of logical thought generation.  This process, therefore, necessitates assessing and developing individuals thought (Cox, 2016).  It is, therefore, important for students to understand and develop critical thoughts in school because it helped in developing mental skills and this helps in developing better decisions when they are faced with situations that are challenging.  Through these students become problem solvers as they are continuously able to improve self-intellectual skills (Cox, 2016).  Critical thinking helps in understanding the general role of learning as well as that of thinking in general.

Question 2

In order to ensure that students develop critical thoughts, one of the most effective ways to use is brainstorming before explaining what the activities involve.  Regardless of the subject that the students are to be taught about they should be permitted to read and learn before being taught.  In addition, one should not jump quickly to offering help to students when they are faced with learning challenges.  They should thus be permitted to think and give their own suggestions of solutions.  This will help in developing decisions that are based on own thoughts (Sicinski, 2016). One can also provide group changes via classification and categorization of subjects.  Through grouping opportunities, students are able to relate quickly to one another thus developing their individual skills.

Question 3

Some subjects that may help in developing the student’s critical abilities skills can be technology.  This is an interesting subject in which most individuals are highly interested in. understanding the concept would mean that they are able to understand the learning concepts.  The other subject can be based on social issues where individuals can easily relate with (Sicinski, 2016).

Question 4

I think that one strategy that you should incorporate in you reaching plan in order to develop the critical thinking skills of students is the use of comparing and contrasting (Sicinski, 2016).  Students need to understand each topic their significance and compare this with those of a different topic. This helps in developing thoughts based on the acquired information.

            Reference

Cox, J. (2016). Teaching Strategies to Promote Critical Thinking.  Retrieved from http://www.teachhub.com/teaching-strategies-promote-critical-thinking

Sicinski, A. (2016). Critical thinking Skills. Retrieved from http://blog.iqmatrix.com/critical-thinker

Graphic Organizers

I plan to utilize graphic organizers as both teaching and learning tools in order to ensure that students are successful learners. When the tools are well integrated into class they will work to develop the experiences of students in the class which will ensure that students will be able to understand information more.  Through developing great visuals in class visual graphics will help in supporting students through developing connections between literacy and students understanding.  This will help in developing cognitive as well as language capabilities of the students in general (TCH, 2016).

Graphic organizers fit into the general themes of deeper learning because they are successful and significant tools that help in arranging content as well as ideas.  This helps learners in understanding the provided information in an easier form.  Students are always at a higher level capable of understanding and internalizing information when the strategy used is more than instructional approach.  Instructional approach is well known to be responsible for reduced capability to understand concepts.  This reduces the interactive capability of students since they normally work to fulfill the provided instructions and not their interests or desires.  Graphic organizers are essential as it presents information via the utilization of both spatial and visual details (TCH, 2016). With the utilization of graphics, students are fully able to internalize the information that they have learned in class.  Instructional information is more likely to be forgotten by students as compared to when information is supported by visuals this is mainly because the information is well supported by graphics content.  Visuals help in developing better processing and assessing opportunities through evaluating the particular degrees of development that a student has attained within a given period.

Reference

TCH. (2016). Graphic Organizers Teaching. Retrieved from https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/large-manipulatives-in-learning

Motivation

Divergent questions are a major motivation factor for students in learning.  This is mainly because the questions can never demotivate the students based on the fact that they do not hold any specific answer.  In this nature, the students are highly encouraged to exercise their general capability to think critically and in a bored way in regard to a certain subject in class (SLC, 2016).  Divergent queries mean that the answers given by the students cannot be termed as wrong because there is no particular correct answer to the question that regards the subject in the discussion (SLC, 2016).

I plan to utilize divergent queries in tuning fine difficulties.  This is mainly because students become more motivated when the presented tasks match their skills levels. This means that the queries will not be presented in an easy way which may make them boring and in addition, they will not be too challenging as this may result in frustration.  I will additional ensure that when offering help I begin with repeating the question and not directly giving them answers. This will act as a moment of discovering through the puzzling.  I will ensure that the questions are social and directly connected to normal life situations which will, in turn, encourage the students to ensure that they do their individual best in developing solutions.  This  will motivate and encourage students  to compete against one another this keeping track or everything that they are generally expected to learn in school which will help in   keeping and maintaining a speed of processing deeper meaning  each period.  I will ensure that the divergent questions are very deep as topics become interesting as one goes deeper into them.

            Reference

SLC. (2016). Convergent vs. Divergent Questions. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/zBx4TM8niG8

Analysis of Mobile Devices in the Classroom

            New technology has changed the behavior of people in the modern society especially the students. Today students are able to use mobile devices in the classrooms to carry out multiple conversations or to multi communicate. Multi communication is the way students make use of mobile devices in class to talk with other people at the same time involving themselves in discussions that take place in class. It is also the practice of utilizing expertise to get involved into more discussion that overlaps. This essay considers the theory of self determination to foretell relating crucial, external incentive and amotivation to the application of the devices. The effect of this is that fundamental inspiration is connected to students’ having multiple communications for them to have perception in class and influence others. The research looks at investigating the conduct of students in class (Stephens, 2016).

            The authors in this article use the theory of self determination to explain the reason why students are motivated to involve themselves in the practices of multicommunicating. This is because the use of the mobile devices brings both negative and positive results. The theory is based on external and internal motivation practices to help in exploring how learning can be controlled by instructors. This is due to the use of mobile devices within a classroom setting. The article highlights that actions that are self determined and are regulated internally can be motivated by external introduction.  The concept of multicommunicating has been connected to the idea of multitasking. The study was also based on observation of target groups as well as previous studies that are directly or indirectly related. The authors have also discussed another type of motivation known as amotivation. This means like of motivation or a feeling that individual behaviors are fully controlled by the external forces. An example of this is amotivated college students who think that college education is not necessary. The students also feel that it is not important to involve themselves actively in learning requirements.  The use of mobile devices in the class has brought changes in the environment of learning because the instructors are also worried on how to manage it. This is because those students who are using it should know the impact of it to those around them. The authors show that the use of mobile devices can facilitate the process of learning but they also create a lot of problems. One of these problems is distractions caused by own phones or usage around them which leads to poor learning. The use of the devices also brings positive effects to the students who are able to self regulate. multicommunicating helps students on concurrent communication and fast switches on conversations. Mobile devices with multiple communication tools are available in an only device that make multiple communication easy. It is a unique form of multitasking that enable students find it easy to take multiple tasks at the same time. Multitasking is found hard and multicomunicating is harder as it involves talking with a lot of people. It assists people to connect to various actions of communication. The authors outline that self determination play a part in how students use mobile devices to develop their education (Stephens, 2016).

            The audience of this article is the researchers who want to find out the best ways of dealing with the realities of the students who use the devices in class. The researchers also want to use such phenomena to enhance their processes of education. I recommend that the researchers read this article in order to weigh the productive and destructive behaviors. In terms of limitations and assumptions, the authors present their particular view. It highlights that the application of this is to know how learning inspirations make it possible for multcommunicating and multitasking. The other drawback is the target group examined which included students. It might bring some irregularities in the preferred and real outcome. The other drawback is that students reported their reactions that involved bias in the study. The assumption is that the writers suppose that the study needs more and wider analysis that may expand the target group in terms of sex and age (Stephens, 2016).

            I suggest that the article provide valuable insights that are well investigated and analyzed. It shows how lectures set up a setting where mobile devices will serve to improve the ability of the students. This is to ensure that it has considerable effect on the whole education ensuring a combination of technological progress with psychological inspirational models. I find it better and sensible to say that students and lecturers would gain knowledge from the study. They will realize how mobile devices have an effect on learning capability and how to use the facts for personal growth. It would be a great help most especially to students because it can improve their learning when they consider positive motivation. They will also be able to avoid the negative effects by only concentrating on what is important for their learning. This would help them in improving their grades especially for those who are able to multitask. The instructors should also read the article because it would help them in finding out the way to guide the students. I think that this process of learning motivations and multicommunicating in class should be introduced in all the classes in the whole world because it can change the grades of the students. Technology is changing rapidly and therefore people need to embrace it. It is clear that this can make the world of learning easier and simple which would save a lot of time that would have been wasted while trying to understand some concepts (Stephens, 2016).

In conclusion, the article highlights the way mobile devices influence the learning of students and motivating them. This is made easier by multicommunicating which has both positive and negative impacts on the experience of learning. The main topic is a primary stage of the academic development. It also provides insights for opening doors for the future learners and investigators. It is my recommendation that the article be read by everyone. This is mainly the ones with the intention of understanding how inspiration of students may be conducted for the improvement of their practice in learning. The lecturers will also understand how to face the problem of mobile devices that are distracting their lectures.

References

Stephens, K. K., & Pantoja, G. E. (2016). Mobile devices in the classroom: learning motivations predict specific types of multicommunicating behaviors. Communication Education, 65(4),  463-479.

Why Students Should Not Be Forced To Finish High School

Brain Storming

Brainstorming is a creativity technique in which efforts made provide a solution mostly in an informal approach. Brainstorming is important as it encourages and individual to come up with a great idea that may seem to be crazy at first but has more value in it (Wilson, 2013). In order for Peter to come up with a story to write upon he had to brainstorm his mind so that he could come up with the right topic to write about. Peter braining storming process included identifying the major accomplishment and what it would mean. It is also important to consider if the topic does have any attribute and quality. This implies that Peter had to relate to the topic as it could identify the most difficult part of his life and why it would change the lives of other through the information to be passed on to the audience (Wilson, 2013).

The strongest personality trait had to play a role in coming up with the topic and how Peter peers had influenced the process. During this process it was important for Peter impact it will have on the audience and if they were likely to benefit from it and how it would largely contribute to their future. The topic was students should not be forced to complete high school. After keenly analyzing the topic would have a great impact as it captures the attention of many people. This is because many of the audiences that include the teachers, parents, students and the government will at least show some reaction to it. This can be considered to be significant because of the important issues the topic will address (Wilson, 2013).

Evaluation

Evaluating the topic was a must for Peter as it would confirm it was worth to continue with the research (Kerzner, 2013). The evaluating process meant identifying whether the density of the words in the topic makes sense which means that there must be supporting documents that can correlate with the topic and why it is against forced education. The topic should also be able to meet the expectation of many or beyond as the topic is not difficult to identify. As a method of evaluating the topic and its relevance, Peter considered asking for help from friends, colleagues, and parents. This was important as it assisted Peter in knowing how they think about the topic and areas that require improvement as they recommended what they thought will add more value to the topic (Wilson, 2013).

Considering other children who have experienced the forced education system and what their views were.  This was important as their interests could be identified as there was a ground that they could air their concerns (Kerzner, 2013). Peter role models are a great influence on the topic as they advocate for what they think is better for the learning children. The role models evaluated Peter’s topic and gave their feedback pointing out areas that peter should mainly focus in order to have a huge impact. Reading articles pertaining the topic is an evaluation tool that helped Peter understand the topic more and better still obtain some important information that he would have missed. Evaluating the topic implies determining its goal of how relevant it is to the audience (Kerzner, 2013).

Free Writing

Peter’s audience was eager to hear what he had prepared for them. They were ready to listen and take notes as well as ask questions where they felt that the information was not clear or they need some more explanations. In order to take the topic and ensure that the audiences are satisfied with the information Peter had to practice free writing as the time to present was limited (Adams, 2013). Peter used blank pieces of paper to summarize the topic and come up with the best points. At this point, anything that came to the mind Peter wrote without minding spelling or grammar. This is evident due to the large number of drafts he had written. After writing the information he had acquired from the various research he conducted he began a new chapter of reading what he had written underlining the most relevant ideas. The process helped Peter as he was able to present the most relevant ideas to the audience that made them even more surprised as they had not viewed the topic in that perspective (Adams, 2013).

Listening to the mind assists in generating new ideas. Free writing involved clustering of information that assisted Peter in creating more thoughts relating to the topic. It involved highlighting of the dangers of having a system that forces the student to complete high school when in reality there are those that have skills outside the classroom that they can assist them in the real world (Adams, 2013). Free writing technique plays an important role as it helps in overcoming self-criticism and personal blocks of apathy. This technique helps writers like Peter of making a connection to many thoughts creating more abstract views which assist the writers to explore a particular subject in a more basic context (Adams, 2013).

Reference

In Adams, K. (2013). Expressive writing: Foundations of practice. Lanham : Rowman & Littlefield Education, a division of Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.

Kerzner, H. (2013). Project management: A systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling. Hoboken, New Jersey : John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Wilson, C. (2013). Brainstorming and beyond: A user-centered design method. Oxford: Morgan Kaufmann.

Determining the Value of Individual Students 

1. If a student misses school three consecutive weeks. The third week of his absence is the October FTE survey week. The student will be counted for FTE if work is sent home.

False. For each individual student to be counted for FTE, he/she must have attended at least one day during the FTE survey week even if the work was sent home for eligibility in FTE counting consideration.

2. If the student attends school in one district and withdraws during FTE week and enters a neighboring district during the same week. The FTE is reported in both districts.

It is true that a student who withdraws from one school and enters another school during the FTE survey week will be counted in both schools (Vern et al., 2015). To be counted for an FTE funding, the student must meet the standards such as the attendance and the membership requirements in each individual district. 

3. A student who has been ill only attends school one day during the eleven eligible attendance days and becomes ill in school and misses all but first period of his one attendance day. The student is only eligible for FTE for the period in attendance.

In this case, it is false since eligibility does not count based on the period in attendance and therefore the ill student is eligible for FTE survey only because he/she attended a single day of the six days for one to be considered (St, J. E. P., 2013).

4. To be eligible for funding, the student must attend each course at least one day during the survey count.

The statement is true since for a student to be funded for the entire day there have to be some programs under which the student who only attends two courses for the entire week is eligible. Under the program based funding, a student can be funded for the academic instructions such as the arts, sciences, math, and also the social sciences (Vern et al., 2015). Cost factor for each program is outlined and which is followed by funding students.

5. A student is enrolled through Thursday of FTE week and withdraws from one district and enters another school district in Florida on Friday of FTE. The student is ONLY counted by the district in which (s)he is enrolled on Friday.

It is true since the FTE survey for each individual student is based on the fact that the student is both a member and is in line with the attendance requirements. Each survey taken in a school, as long as the student is both a member and has attended another district school and counted again, the student is a member (Vern et al., 2015).  Membership requires only a single day of the survey week which is not the same case with the attendance which requires at least one day prior to the survey week making the statement true on FTE survey consideration.

6. A student is enrolled through Thursday of FTE week and withdraws from one district and enters another school district in Florida on Monday, the week after FTE. The first district does not count the student as eligible since he was not enrolled on Friday.

True. Eligibility is based upon daily attendance and not the period one is in and therefore the student is not on the attendance list in the first school but a member in the second school (Vern et al., 2015). The student is a member since a day is also considered if it is still the survey week and therefore the student is counted in the first school but misses out in the second district school since a requirement of one-week attendance prior to the FTE survey is a must.

7. A student is made eligible for a special education program on Friday of FTE week. The student will begin receiving services from the ESE teacher the following week. The student can be counted for FTE under a special education program since they are eligible during FTE week.

True. A student is counted for the FTE under the program of special students since the first week is eligible. A guaranteed allocation for the ESE is provided in addition to the basic FTE funds for students with a disability or exceptional cases per the FTE allocation funds for individual students (C. T., 2013).

8. A student enrolls in a school on Wednesday of FTE week and spends the day in his new classes. The student withdraws the following day and returns to their previous school in New York. The student counts for FTE.

True. The student counts for FTE since he is a member and also according to the States finance policy, there are no current perfect systems for distributing the funds released by the state and therefore there is also no way a student can lack funding since he has only changed school to attend and not the state.

9. A student, who had been enrolled in a district school, is placed in a Juvenile Justice facility on the Friday of FTE week. The student never enters a classroom but is processed through the legal process. The student is counted for FTE in the Juvenile Justice facility

True. There is a juvenile justice facility program that covers individuals who have been placed in the juvenile facility even after a day in the district school. The survey periods are the most associated outlines in covering the funding for the student in the juvenile facility (Vern et al., 2015). The first and the fourth period cover the beginning of the fiscal year, July 1st, to the beginning of the school fiscal year of 180. The fourth survey period covers the end of the school program days of 180 to the end of the fiscal year at June 30th. 

10. The student must attend a minimum of two school days to possibly be eligible for FTE funding for the entire school year.

False. The minimum attendance school days for one to be eligible for FTE funding of the school is one day and therefore the school will receive funding. These are in accordance with the fact that to be a member a student has to be available for at least a single day of the survey week.

References

Reviews, C. T. (2013). Studyguide for financing education in a climate of change by brimley,       vern r. Place of publication not identified: Academic Internet Publish.

Vern Brimley Jr., Deborah A. Verstegen, Rulon R. Garfield. (2015). Financing Education in a     Climate of Change. Pearson Education

St, J. E. P. (2013). Research, actionable knowledge and social change: Reclaiming social             responsibility through research partnerships.