Category: Education 2143

Research Organization: Concept Map

The concept maps are the software tools that may be effectively used for the systematization of information and its storage (Martelo, 2011). The developed concept maps include the main ideas introduced in the reviewed articles. The tool allows the readers to arrange the information in a particular structure and identify the cause-and-effect interrelations between the concepts. The use of the concept maps is efficient in the case when a researcher needs to keep in mind and investigate a large amount of information. It provides an opportunity to add new concepts and interrelations between them or easily make corrections.

The given concept map represents the summary of the study by Greenfield (2013) investigating the elementary school teachers perceptions of linguistically diverse students. The map indicates that students academic performance may be largely affected by the teachers perceptions which, in their turn, are influenced by the social and cultural contexts in which a specialist works, the personal experiences, the personal characteristics, and values.

The case study findings make it clear that the teachers frequently perceive the linguistically diverse students in terms of language deficit and lack of language proficiency (Greenfield, 2013). Moreover, the students are associated with the challenges in the assessment of their abilities that may lead to the misappropriate referral to the special education programs. Thus, the comprehension of teachers perceptions and their interrelations with the diverse students development may facilitate the teaching and learning intervention aimed at the improvement of educational outcomes for all elementary students.

The concept map summarizes the main ideas introduced in the study by Brown and Inglis (2013) analyzing the main constructs of teachers professional realization and the extent of its impact on the students developmental outcomes. It is observed that teachers level of competence influences the students academic achievements. Nowadays, the officials attempt to improve both academic performance in children and professional performance in teachers through the adoption of new policies and the introduction of educational standards.

The findings of the case study demonstrate that the teachers can achieve better results in professional development through participation in programs that provide a sufficient level of support, assist in the generation of vision for learning, and professional growth. In case the given aspects of teachers development process are considered in training, the significant effectiveness and efficiency increase can be achieved. And when the professional development and realization are associated with sustainability, it is possible to improve the students performance as well.

Conclusion

The concept maps proved to be effective tools for summarizing information and patterning the ideas based on the character of interrelations between them. By looking at the designed concept map, the researcher may deploy the concepts to the particular contextual situations and expand the information through the inclusion of new thoughts.

References

Brown, A., & Inglis, S. (2013). So what happens after the event? Exploring the realisation of professional development with early childhood educators. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 38(1), 11-15. Web.

Greenfield, R. A. (2013). Perceptions of elementary teachers who educate linguistically diverse students. The Qualitative Report, 18(47), 1-26. Web.

Martelo, M. L. (2011). Use of bibliographic systems and concept maps: Innovative tools to complete a literature review. Research in the Schools, 18(1), 62-70. Web.

Summary of William Zinssers article College Pressures.

College Pressures is an article written in 1979 by William Zinsser of Branford College. The author focuses on pressures faced by college students caused by their dire need to succeed (Zinsser 2). Zinsser identifies the four types of pressures that work on students: economic, parental, peer, and self-indulged ones. Economic situation sums up to a big expenditure such that even if a student decides to do part-time jobs in the course of his or her studies, and full-time jobs during the summer, he/she will not manage to clear all the debts by the time he or she finishes college (Zinsser 3).

Parents want the best for their children; they want them to pursue prestigious courses like law and medicine. Peer and self-indulgent pressures are related: Many students tend to overwork themselves because of what others are doing. This ends up exerting much tension on these young people, so that they may fit in their circles of friends as well as make the best out of themselves.

Cantor on Universities: Benefits of the universities

In Civic Engagement: The University as a Public Good, Nancy Cantor, the Chancellor of the University of Illinois, discusses the benefits of the universities in our societies. What stroke me most when I was reading this article is that it does not only enlarge the leadership skills and initiatives but also discusses the benefits of diversity in academia. I mean, people should know that there is a diversity ad we all should realize it and benefit from it.

I liked the letter by one of the students for a Michigan Student Assembly who shared her experience of rooming with a person of a different race: One more blind spot disappeared in the slow way things happen when real integration finally occurs (Cantor 24). Universities provide an environment where people from different races, ethnic groups, backgrounds, and generations can talk, reason, and argue together to come up with a harmonious conclusion. Arts are a good example of building continuous exchanges among people in universities. They help one to get a concept quickly, which would have taken more time to learn.

Works Cited

Cantor, Nancy. Civic Engagement: The University as a Public Good. Liberal Education 90.2 (2004): 18-25. Print.

Zinsser, William. College Pressures. The Norton Reader. Pasadena, CA: Norton-Simon Publishing, 1978. Print.

The concept of a literature term paper is so varied and multi-faceted that one can hardly identify the topic and form and structure of the term paper as soon as they are assigned to writing this type of academic work. There are thousands of types of literature term paper ideas, and the main complexity is to choose the best idea for the term paper to be a success. When picking an idea for a term paper in literature, one has to be completely sure that they know the genre, knows the author and understands the message behind the literary piece he or she is analyzing.

Combining all those elements may contribute to the success of a term paper in literature; hence, it is often hard to blend all of them for a successful paper. The present article aims at showing the shortest path to successful ideas in the field of literature term papers.

The focus of a literature term paper

All term papers in the literature are about literature, authors of literary pieces, or literary works. Therefore, the author of a term paper like this has to identify the scope of his or her attention first of all. The main mistake of writers is to start with the detailed analysis of the authors biography, works, and life, and then proceed to a detailed analysis of one of his or her literary works. This way, the focus cannot be clearly established, as the writer shifts attention from one point to another, without any preference. It is better to focus on a term paper either on the author or on the work, which will add readability and value.

The personal view in a literature term paper

When writing literature term papers, the writer has to be perfectly sure that the message of the literary piece is clear for him or her. Therefore, it is next to impossible to complete a high-quality term paper after reading several reviews or excerpts from the work; in case resources allow it, the writer has to get acquainted with the literary piece in detail, adopt a personal judgment about it, and recognize the literary devices used by the author. A skilled and experienced tutor will surely recognize the ideas duplicated from the popular reviews on the book, novel, or verse. If no writers personality is felt in the analysis, there is a high risk of getting much lower grades.

The goal of the chosen science lesson is clearly identified. Students have to share their knowledge about availability of water changes habitats and explain how the existing water availability in the environment could affect the living organisms. The lesson is effective when students and teachers use the same materials to analyze if students comprehend the material at the required level (Parkinson, 2014). The teacher succeeded in integrating different content areas into the science lesson including reading, watching, and searching activities.

Though no technology was incorporated into the lesson, the teacher proved the necessity to clarify what students know about the subject. Safety requirements were met (Hudson, 2015). Besides, the teacher did not focus on the science standards because it was necessary to explore the theoretical part concerning the availability of water in the environment. At the beginning, it was necessary to introduce minimum requirements because students had to share their own ideas and understanding of the material (Frost & Toplis, 2010). The teacher offered the material of specified pages and asked students to observe and explain what they saw in the picture. Such approach did not require the usage of special standards and techniques but helped to clarify how students saw and understood science.

Finally, a certain attention was paid to the additional suppliers and handouts used by the teacher. For example, two types of texts were used: one text was taken from the students guide, and another text was taken from the teachers guide. The number of pages was identified so that the students and the teacher could find the material quickly. The Internet search and the available educational videos about the effects of drought were offered to students as the main contributions to the discussions.

The assessment of students was developed with the help of the Wrap It Up questions. Students had to answer a number of questions in their science notebooks to test themselves and clarify if they learned the required material in a proper way. That assessment approach, as well as a certain attention to self-work, differentiated the lesson considerably. The teacher wanted to check students readiness to work independently in the chosen scientific field. The results of the work could be observed after the evaluation of the students answers.

In general, the chosen science lesson was successful enough. It helped to introduce a new topic to the students and make then the direct participants of the discussion. It was not enough to explain new terms and mention some rules. It was necessary for students to understand their personal abilities in the chosen field. The offered plan could be used in the future. Still, some improvements should be offered. For example, it is possible to provide students with some general science standards at the beginning of the lesson and introduce several short quizzes during the lesson. Such quizzes could support those students, who are not good at discussing and sharing their opinions in public, and help them demonstrate their level of knowledge gained during the class.

References

Frost, J., & Toplis, R. (2010). Learning to teach science in the secondary school: A companion to school experience. New York, NY: Routledge.

Hudson, P. (2015). Hudsons guide for teaching primary science. Queensland, Australia: Australian eBook Publisher.

Parkinson, J. (2014). The effective teaching of secondary science. New York, NY: Routledge.

Synopsis of the first article

This article by ONeil (2011) is a guide for teachers to enable them to assist their students in attaining visual literacy skills. The article has placed attention on picture books that make use of both pictures and text to convey information. It shows that the use of pictures is important, especially for children, because it helps in better understanding and interpretation of the conveyed message. The different parameters of picture books have been discussed in this text to help the reader gain insight into picture book information. According to Wolf (2003) cited in ONeil (2003), the tone, meaning, and interpretation of a picture is attributed to the culturally constructed meanings of color, composition, and stylistic approach. Different interpretations can be derived from a single picture text based on different cultures. For example, Western culture places certain meanings with different colors: red signifies heat, excitement, and danger, while blue is used to indicate calmness, coolness, and iciness. Picture and text interaction is deemed important in picture books, and the following models are used: reinforcing, describing, establishing, and reciprocal. The colors can depict various things like the mood, tone, and atmosphere of a place.

This article also shows that composition is important in interpreting picture books. The positioning, personality, and behavior of the different characters displayed in any picture help in building the plot and roles played by the different characters. The nuances of any picture books can be recognized through shared discussions between students and their peers, students, and their teachers as well as students and their parents. Social interaction and observation are proposed as ideal ways of understanding the various elements in picture books and related literature. It is important to engage in a thorough study of visual literature. Children understand better when images and signs are used as noted from Lewis (2001) cited in ONeil (2011); the world of children is filled with images that are in varied hybrid combinations with text and sounds.

Synopsis of the second article

This article by Halladay & Neumann (2012) shows the need for an interdisciplinary approach towards learning and teaching. This is meant to enhance the students learning experiences because certain elements emerge across certain disciplines. For example, comprehension strategies are used while reading and solving mathematical problems. In both areas of learning, students are required to make predictions, make connections, determine the importance and monitor understanding (Halladay & Neumann, 2012). Making of predictions is governed by the details of the content as well as prior background personal knowledge. Monitoring strategies are used as a means of solving comprehension problems such as word recognition errors, vocabulary usage errors, and errors while making inferences. The rationale is that it involves examining the text again and critically going through the interpretations made out of reading. Another strategy that has been discussed in reading and mathematics is determining importance. This entails picking the most important parts of a text and separating them from the appealing and extraneous details. Making connections entail relating a text to that which revolves around the reader (s). In all these strategies, the teacher is seen as a bridge to good comprehension. Learning is centered on the students by giving them room to familiarize themselves with their experiences and belief systems. The use of more than one comprehension strategy is deemed more beneficial compared to just using a single strategy. The strategy of flexibility applies in this case. A teacher can pose questions covering various strategies at once. In order to strengthen childrens understanding of literacy, the use of a common language across subject areas is necessary. This way, children will develop their language since a single word can be used in multiple contexts across the subject areas.

Comparison of the two texts

In both articles summarized above, there is a connection between objectives used in the two. In both, an integrative approach is advocated. Whereas the first article aims to use an integrated approach of pictures and text to reinforce and help in the understanding of literature, the latter uses mathematics and reading in illustrating the integrative approach. In both reading and mathematics, strategies used to interpret and solve problems are the same. This helps to reinforce the understanding and comprehension of both disciplines.

Also, in both texts, critical and creative thinking is emphasized. Whereas in the former article, pictures are used in the generation of the plot, students are asked to monitor comprehension by detecting areas of concern and filling gaps. In both articles, making inferences is important to help in understanding the problems in the pieces of literature. Questions are shown in both articles to be a guiding criterion in the interpretation of texts and pictures. In the case of picture books, questions like what is the position of the character are used while in the case of comprehensions, questions like What does this figurative language connote? are used.

However, there are some contradicting elements in the two articles. Whereas in the former article, students are required to identify certain nuances, students are required to think aloud and make predictions in the latter article. In the former article, trying to understand the different messages being communicated by the style, colors, and composition used is essential. In the latter article, however, the emphasis is on trying to picture what cannot be seen. Interpretation of text is based on knowledge gained from the story and personal knowledge concerning the text at hand. Also, in interpreting the meaning of pictures, there is no need for predictions because a picture will communicate fully by just looking at it. In other words, a whole chapter can be summarized by a single picture. The two articles conflict in the perspective of the essence of personal knowledge in making predictions, whereas this is not the case for visual literacy. Visual literacy uses standardized denotations like red for danger.

In the former article, discussions are deemed important for decoding and for the explicit understanding of pictures, but this has not been proposed to be the case in the later article. Pictures make use of color, shapes, style, and composition to delineate what the author wants, as indicated in the first article, words and vocabulary are used in comprehensions according to the second article. In just the same way existing knowledge is used to understand new knowledge in reading and mathematics, existing meaning attached to usual shapes and color help in obtaining new knowledge from pictures. The difference, however, is that whereas existing knowledge is always taking a new form each time, existing knowledge does not change. This is why, according to the former article, pictures have been recommended for children. Red will always signify danger or joy. Therefore, the meaning will never change. It all depends on the style and composition used.

Comparison of the two texts to Roe/Smith/Burns Text

Roes, Smith & Burns (2011) indicate the various processes in reading and the reading product, all of which have been applied in both articles. Sensory entails the use of the senses, and in the two articles, observation is evident. Visual literacy entails looking at a picture and interpreting it based on ones perception. Reading entails reading through and interpreting the text based on their perceptions. By Roe et al. (2011), both articles have shown that visual literacy and reading and mathematics employ the sensory, perceptual, thinking, experiential sequential, learning, association, affective, and constructive aspects.

The teacher has been shown in both articles functioning as a mere facilitator. This is by Roe et al. (2011) emergent literacy. In the two articles, the teacher is presented as trying to communicate through the students thinking processes, whereas in Roe et al. (2011), the teacher provides opportunities for continued growth in trying to understand literature. The use of multiple forms of literature is deemed important in language development. This is the case in both articles because an integrative approach is sought to reinforce learning. Pictures are used in addition to the usual texts, while mathematics and reading are both used to help towards language development.

The two articles augment Roes et al. (2011) perspective on word recognition. The use of pictures, which are easy to understand, helps a reader in understanding the meaning of texts used together with the picture. Also, the use of unfamiliar words together with other words help the reader to make out the meaning of the unfamiliar words. The same applies when words are used in some peculiar way, like Jane beat herself up. The word beat herself up seems preposterous.

Vocabulary development is one aspect of reading and mathematics that is deemed important. However, worth noting, as detailed by Roe et al. (2011), the vocabulary used should be iterated. The latter article has attempted to propose the essence of using the comprehension strategies in all disciplines, which would be ideal in vocabulary development. The difference between the use of comprehension strategies and not using these strategies is that the use of these strategies helps students to think beyond the surface level, but to critically think about each and every word. This is in comparison to not using comprehension strategies because students tend to skip the difficult words as they are a headache.

Background experience and ones belief system play a great role in how an individual comprehends text because literature tends to share thematic ideas. Certain forms of words are used concerning particular themes, and depending on their owns background experience with such words determines how well this individual will comprehend texts better. This also holds true in the case of pictures and illustrations. Individual experiences determine how these individuals interpret different situations and circumstances.

A new style of literacy learning has been adopted in each article in accordance with the use of technology by Roe et al. (2011). In one article, visual literacy is used to help understand the content better while in the other one, connections with other disciplines are used. The use of mathematics also entails visual representation but in the form of numbers. This is also following what has earlier been referred to as forms of literature (multimedia products).

References

Halladay, J. L., & Neumann, M. D. (2012). Connecting Reading and Mathematical Strategies. The Reader Teacher, 65 (7), 471-476.

ONeil, K. e. (2011). Developing Visual Literacy for Greater Comprehension. The Reader, 65 (3), 214-223.

Roe, A., Smith, S., & Burns. (2011). Teaching Reading in Todays Elementary Schools (11^th ed.). Belmont: Wadsworth Publishing.

Summary

Evaluation of an ESL English Course Book: A Step towards Systematic Vocabulary Evaluation, an article by Azadeh Nemati was a study meant to evaluate an English textbook used to teach pre-university students in the state of Karnataka, India. The study included 26 pre-university instructors that were recruited randomly from 12 public and private schools.

The 26 pre-university teachers included in the study were asked to fill a questionnaire that was meant to capture their opinion on the effectiveness of the English textbook used to teach pre-university students. The study analyzed vocabulary in the book to establish whether it included words that are frequently used, and those that are rarely used.

The findings of the study indicated that 70 percent of the pre-university teachers in the state of Karnataka approved the course book used to teach English. The results from vocabulary analysis indicated that to teach ESL students effectively, it is crucial to change the method of presenting text in English books used to teach ESL students. Texts that are easy and frequently used should be placed at the beginning of a book, while texts with rare and difficult vocabularies should appear at the end.

Evaluation

The aim of the above article was to determine the best text for teaching English to students who speak other languages. The article is organized in a coherent manner. The researcher starts by defining what a course book is, and then goes ahead to provide some literature review that gives background information on the study. For example, in the literature review the author demonstrates the importance of having a course book to teach ESL students. The research also indicates that the texts used to teach ESL students should try as much as possible to cater for the needs of individual learners because people learn differently.

The article is a primary study, and the author clearly states the sampling procedure used, the number of participants, the method used to collect data, and how data were analyzed. The audience targeted by the researcher is teachers who teach English language learners. The article provides useful information for ESL teachers because it stipulates the best text to be used in teaching ESL students. This helps is solving the controversy on the best method to teach English language learners. The language used by the researcher is standard and simple to understand. The researcher does not use too much jargon that may confuse readers.

Critique

The article provides useful information on the best text and vocabularies to use in teaching ESL students, but it has some shortcomings especially in term of methodology. First, the data obtained through administering questionnaires to pre-university teachers were mainly opinion on whether the textbook used to instruct ESL students was effective. Opinion is subjective, and cannot be used as evidence to make a conclusion that the textbook was effective.

Second, the number of participants included in the study was small. The 26 pre-university teachers included in the study could not have effectively represented all pre-university English teachers in the state of Karnataka, India. Moreover, the researcher did text analysis on one English book. Analyzing a single book cannot generate enough evidence to make one suggest the best text and vocabularies that should be used in teaching English language learners. The research would have been better is the researcher used a larger sample and analyzed several books.

Executive Summary

This report was commissioned by the students of Prince Sultan University to propose improvements in online college registration in this educational institution.

The report describes the development of an online college registration system in the university. In particular, it focuses on the previous challenges that were faced by learners such as the inability to select courses via the Internet. Furthermore, this paper details recent developments in this system. The findings are primarily based on the results of the interview which was conducted among students. The respondents were asked to express their views about the improvement of online college registration at Prince Sultan University.

The key recommendation concern the information provided about different courses. In particular, the administration of Prince Sultan University should provide more details about the benefits of each course and the requirements which a student has to meet to sign up for it.

Online college registration

Purpose of the report

This report is aimed at describing the development of an online registration system at Prince Sultan University. In particular, it is necessary to describe the problems which were previously faced by students and show recent developments in this system. Finally, this report provides recommendations for further improvements in online college registration.

Introduction and background

Previously the students of Prince Sultan University were able to register only through the Students Affair Office. For instance, a person, who wanted to his/her schedule, had to wait for a substantial amount of time to settle this issue. The lack of an online registration system resulted in continuous lines and inconveniences for many students as well as faculty.

Sources and methods

While preparing this report, I interviewed several of my fellow students who expressed their opinion about the ways of improving the online registration system in the university. Furthermore, I relied on academic sources (Tatnall & Visscher, 2009; Tsai 2008) which show information technologies can facilitate the educational process and improve cooperation between teachers and students.

Main Body

Current Status and achievements

Recently, several changes have been made to improve the work of the online college registration system. Currently, students can log on to the universitys website and choose the subjects, which they want to take during this semester. Apart from that, they can learn about different courses, which are available to them. Overall, it is possible to argue that these changes have been of great help to the students. This is how the process of online registering has evolved. This trend indicates that the administration of Prince Sultan University attempts to establish the most innovative practices in this educational institution.

The problems that were encountered

The interview, which I conducted, indicates that some problems were not resolved completely. For example, some of the students feel that the administration of Prince Sultan University should provide more detailed information about different courses and materials. They need to know more about the syllabus, requirements for the course, and its relation to the students chosen major. In other words, before the selection of a subject, students must understand how it will help them achieve professional goals. This information must be available via the Internet.

Conclusions and recommendation

The system of college online registration has recently become much suitable for students needs. Yet, one can make several recommendations which can improve the functioning of this system:

1. To provide detailed information about different courses so that students knew what kind of knowledge or skills they could acquire by taking them. This will enable them to make more informed decisions.
2. To describe the requirements which a student has to meet to sign up for the course.
3. To provide more information about various degrees and courses which a student needs to take to obtain the degree. Secondly, the administration of Prince Sultan University needs to provide guidelines to prospective learners, especially if we are speaking about the selection of courses.

By implementing these changes, the administration of the university will promote the interests of teachers and students. Overall, one can say that effective utilization of information technologies is an indispensable condition for the functioning of educational institutions and Prince Sultan University should take full advantage of this opportunity.

Reference List

Tatnall A. & Visscher A. (2009). Evolution of Information Technology in Educational Management. NY: Springer.

Tsai C. (2008). College of Extended Learning Online Registration System. California State University.

While conducting research or looking for some information, undergraduates can turn to various sources such as the Internet, databases, books, and so on. However, not all the sources should be considered trustworthy or relevant and can be used in academic research. To ensure that students have access to reliable data, Ashford University allows them to use Ashford Library throughout their time in this educational institution. The library offers a variety of academic resources available to all the undergraduates.

It is necessary to be able to sort through the huge variety of different means to get acute information. At first, it seems that conducting scholarly research is a challenging task; however, if a student knows the difference between kinds of sources and is aware of effective search practices, obtaining the needed data would be easy. There are two types of resources that students frequently come across during their studies, which are scholarly and popular sources (Ashford University Library, n.d.). Their purpose of the two types of sources is different as well as their reliability. For instance, the scholarly sources (such as certain books, scholarly journals, scientific publications) include a bibliography, while the popular sources do not.

The scholarly, academic or peer-reviewed journals contain articles that are written by academics or other experts in professional fields. They present the original research or the experimentation part of it to the group of scholars in this field and inform how the topic covered in the article was analyzed. An article usually goes through the peer review process before it is published in scholarly journals (Ashford University Library, n.d.).

During the review, the experts in this field analyze the substance, scientific significance, and scholarly soundness of the article. The popular sources, in its turn, dwell on how a specific topic has influenced the local population. It should be noted that both types of resources could be used in academic research.

Before conducting the research in the Ashford University Library (in databases, FindIt@AU search tool), it is crucial to define the main topic of the research. Then the topic should be broken into the key concepts so that it is easier to find the relevant information in the system (Ashford University Library, n.d.). It is advisable to enter one keyword (put in quotation marks) per search box to ensure the most precise results.

The databases retrieve information based on the entered keywords, they do not guess or understand the meaning of the search; instead, they show direct matches to the words (Ashford University Library, n.d.). Also, it would be a good idea to search for all the keywords and concepts needed for the assignment to make sure that all the necessary information was obtained. By referring to these library guidelines, the undergraduates will be able to find the information that fits their research needs, and then proceed to work on their assignments.

To sum it up, the Ashford University Library provides for successful academic research of its undergraduates. To obtain the necessary information effectively and efficiently, the students should be aware of the best search practices that will guarantee accurate and factual results. The students should narrow down the area of research to several keywords and enter them into search boxes; thus, the system would offer reliable sources by subject. For many students time is the factor; consequently, the effective way of database searching rather than general searches on the web, will save time and ensure credible information.

Reference

Ashford University Library. (n.d.). Quick n dirty: Ashford university library. Web.

The Executive Summary

Mike has designed a graphic that will aid in illustrating the level of services approach. According to Mike, different levels of service should be used to address individual needs of students in grades k-12. The levels of service are designed in such as way the individual needs and requirements of the students are addressed.

Introduction

Talent development programs enable students to identify their talents early. Timely identification of talents will lead to their full exploitation (Gallagher, 1994). This will enable a child to excel in life. In that case, it is important to ensure that effective programs are put in place. A talent development program is a program that facilitates the identification of talents in children.

Literature Review

Levels of Service

Level 1

Level 1 entails the development of talent. This level concerns all students. The goals that have been drafted by Mike and his team indicate that the program promotes the development of talent in all children. This level ensures that all students acquire essential skills that are necessary for learning. This entails the acquisition of skills such as thinking skills. Learning will be facilitated by field trips and invitation of quest speakers.

Level 2

The second level encourages the provision of unique learning experiences to children. It is important to understand that different children have different learning requirements and needs. It is therefore important to address individual needs while giving training assistance to students. One of the goals that were drafted by Mike advocates for the provision of services to students basing on their individual needs. Students will also be equipped with problem solving skills. They are also encouraged to join groups that interest them.

Level 3

The third level focuses on the provision of assistance to gifted children basing on their abilities, skills, interest and knowledge. Children portray a wide variety of talents. It that case, it is important to offer assistance to the children by considering their abilities and potentials. As students advance in learning process, they begin to show interest in specific areas of study. Therefore, students should be encouraged to pursue courses which they are best suited to pursue.

Level 4

Students should receive training that match with their needs. There are various tools that can be used to evaluate the needs of a child. Once the needs have been accurately identified, the next step is to provide specialized attention to the children. According to the definition of giftedness, various potentialities demand specific education programs. Therefore, different approaches should be used in addressing the specific talent development requirements that students have.

Analysis

Mikes plan is comprehensive and representative. All needs of the gifted students are addressed fully. This is how the plan will look like:

• Level 1  All students will be taken through learning basics. They are given basic skills that prepare them for future levels of study.
• Level 2  Depending on a students ability, he/she is taken through lessons that are related to his/her interests and hobbies. This level is in harmony with the goals that were drafted by the team.
• Level 3  students who manage to excel in level 2 are given advanced assistance.
• Level 4  Students are given advanced training and mentorship. The students are encouraged to tackle independent inquiries on various disciplines (Renzulli, 1976).

Conclusion

The plan sufficiently gives a connection between the various levels of giftedness that students have. All grade levels have been fully addressed.

References

Gallagher, J. J. (1994). Teaching the gifted child (4th ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Renzulli, J. S. (1976). Scales for rating the behavioral characteristics of superior students. Wethersfield, Conn.: Creative Learning Press.

Summative Evaluation

Students evaluation involves both pre-test and post test assessment of a given lesson. The aim of the lesson was to diversify and improve the general level of vocabulary use amongst students. In pre-test, all students stated that they u searched for meaning of difficult words in the dictionary and half of these students were unable to gain the meaning of words contextually pre-test. The lesson intended to aid the learner in gaining meaning of difficult words contextually in a given passage. Going by the exam scores, most of the students were able to gain the meaning of words contextually, with the exception of four (4) students for whom English was a second language.

Instructional Strategy