Category: Education

They Treat Girls Differently, Dont They? is an article by Timothy Harper. The article highlights the lives of girls in the American education system. Harper reveals that teachers in schools have subconsciously developed a gender bias in the ways they treat their male and female students. According to Harper, the social environment in schools promotes faster learning for male students than their female counterparts. Teachers, focus on developing the intellectual abilities of the boys, and they fail to consider the individual learning needs of the female students. This phenomenon commences from grade school through to college, and it has placed girls at a disadvantage in developing competence in their professions. Teachers should give girls more attention by allowing them to be successful in class.

Bias in teachers

Harper claims Boys get more attention in the classroom than girls (86). This gender bias is revealed in the early stages of education in the grade schools, whereby the teachers have more interactions with the male students. A study by the American Association confirmed Harpers sentiments by revealing that science teachers in various institutions prefer using boys in their demonstrations in class rather than girls. This gender-based selection of participants in class work not only slows down girls learning ability, but it also erodes their self-confidence. Some critics claim that boys get more attention than girls because they are more disruptive; hence, teachers find it necessary to tone down their aggression. Harper quotes David Murray, who says that &boys are far more disruptive, and what they get is more negative attention (88).

While boys are found in both extremes in curriculum performance, it is clear that teachers take closer focus on their performance than they do for girls. This leaves most girls in the average performing bracket, and their social skills in class are adversely affected by the lack of participation in practical class work. Studies reveal that there is a difference in learning between boys and girls. While boys are likely to assume aggressiveness in learning from the early stages of learning, their female counterparts develop shy personalities. This shy personalities cause girls to portray lower interest in competing with the boys in academics. Teachers should give the girls more attention in class to boost their confidence, and foster cooperation in class work (Harper 88).

Dee says that &teachers consistently privilege boys over girls& (529). This claim means that while critics have stepped out to condemn gender bias in teaching strategies in schools, a common stereotype that boys will always be better than girls always reigns. Dee reveals that advocates for equality in the education system cannot actualize if the social stereotypes take the center stage in the debate. While there are some reports claiming that girls are achieving higher success than the boys, it is apparent that more girls complete their education with low self-esteem and self-confidence because of gender bias in teacher-student interaction. Dee also reveals that teachers are in the limelight of discouraging girls from taking part in practical lessons in class. Teachers provide boys with constructive comments that involve praise, criticism on their misconceptions, and remediation

(Dee 529). This provides the boys with an advantage over their female counterparts in succeeding in their academics. Stromquist conducted a research aimed at finding out whether there is validity in the claim that girls and boys learn differently. Stromquist claims that &boys enjoy more challenging interaction with teachers, dominate classroom activities, and receive more attention that girls through criticism& (8). When boys and girls in different learning stages are placed under similar social settings in school, the boys are likely to assume an aggressive character, whereas their female counterparts develop shyness. This phenomenon should gain recognition from teachers, and they should help the girls by giving them more attention in class (Stromquist 8). The current American education system lacks viability in influencing girls to become high achievers in challenging subjects because teachers are under the influence of gender stereotypes. Teachers need to be aware of gender differences with reference to the need for attention in class (Kommer 248).

Conclusion

The current education system has provided learning opportunities for both boys and girls. The system promotes competition between boys and girls for academic excellence leading to professionalism in different fields. One of the challenges facing the American education system is gender bias in schools, propagated by teachers subconsciously. Studies reveal that teachers provide more personal attention to the male students than the female students. This bias in teaching is portrayed through engaging more boys in practical lessons, giving the boys constructive criticism on school work, and encouraging boys to pursue more challenging subjects. This discriminating method of teaching leaves girls in a desperate situation that erodes their self-esteem and self-confidence, and this discourages them from becoming competitive. Studies also reveal that there is no difference between learning abilities between boys and girls; thus, girls should receive the same attention as the boys in classrooms. Treating girls differently is direct gender discrimination, whether it happens consciously or unconsciously; hence, teachers should be trained to provide equal learning chances for boys and girls. Equality can only be attained by giving girls more chances to become successful in their academics.

Works Cited

Dee, Thomas, S. Teachers and the Gender Gaps in Student Achievement. The Journal of Human Resources 42.3 (2006): 528-554. Print.

Harper, Timothy. They Treat Girls Differently, Dont They? Major Themes for Modern Writers. Ed. Weiner, Harvey, S. Harlow: Longman Publishing Group, 2007. 86-94. Print.

Kommer, David. Boys and Girls Together: A case for Creating Gender-Friendly Middle School Classrooms. The Clearing House 79.6 (2006): 247-251. Print.

Stromquist, Nelly, P 2007, The Gender Socialization Process in Schools: A cross-National Comparison. Web.

This article is focused on learning concepts applied to math and science. According to the author, the push to improve science and math education dates back to the 1960s. Efforts were put together to develop sure concepts to help students learn these two subjects.

However, the author notes that not much has been achieved. According to the author, focus should not be on what an individual lacks in learning capacity. Instead, learning concepts should focus on a students unique capabilities (Carrey, 2000). These frameworks are alternative concepts, and they are covered by several learning theories.

The author defines concepts as units of mental representation. These, the author says are used to actualize theories of learning. Different concepts can be combined to form a complex structure of representations (Carrey, 2000).

In such a structure, a learner can be able to give explanations and make inferences. In addition, the author asserts that most cognitive scientists agree that concepts are complex structures used in the learning process.

Another issue raised by the author is a learners ability to distinguish between a belief and a concept. Children are not able to employ intuition or scientific theories in learning.

Therefore, they may find it easier to learn through beliefs according to the article. The article also articulates that the way concepts are learnt changes with age. These conceptualization skills start changing from the time one is a child up to the time they are around twenty years of age.

Finally, the author claims that the search for effective teaching concepts to be applied when learning math and sciences has many implications.

For example, there is a challenge of diagnosing a childs abilities in order to come up with effective concepts. In addition, the author challenges the classroom culture in which the students are not engaged in constructing explanations and building to an understanding.

Relation to Piaget and Vygotsky Theories of education

Careys article bears both similarities and differences to Piagets and Vygotsky theories of education. First, Piagets theory of learning emphasizes on the need for individuals to adapt to their environment (Dimitriadis & Kamberelis, 2006). This can be accomplished through assimilation and adaptation.

This process involves changing the cognitive process for it to accept something from the environment. According to Piaget, that is how learning is accomplished. The author of the above article emphasizes that the way concepts are learnt changes with age.

Change in age can also be interpreted to mean change in environment. Piaget states that learning is best achieved when there is a balance between accommodation and assimilation. Individuals have different abilities of achieving this balance.

This is similar to the authors claims that learning depends a lot on an individuals abilities. The main difference between Piagets theory and the authors claims is that Piagets theory is dependent on external or environmental based processes. The author of the article claims that learning depends mostly on internal processes of conceptualization.

Vygotskys theory of learning claims that social interaction is a vital tool in student learning. According to Vygotsky, students learn from each other and from adults through social interaction (Dimitriadis & Kamberelis, 2006).

The above article infers to social interaction in its claim that learning can be through either concepts or beliefs. Most learning beliefs are impacted through adults-children social interactions. Therefore, the article confers that such interactions might influence learning.

This learning theory claims children employ internalized dialogue to help them learn. This can be a form of mental representation, a tool the author of this article claims is vital in learning. Vygotskys theory depends on human interaction. However, the author of the article does not list social factors as important in the learning process.

Other Research

Many studies have been carried out on learning concepts and associated theories. Carreys work on science and math learning concepts can be compared and contrasted with Fleers work. Fleers research was on the relationship between everyday concepts and scientific concepts in play-based programs (2009, p. 281).

Both works investigate concepts used in learning. In Carreys case, the question is how learning concepts can be used to improve techniques used in teaching math and science. Fleers research sought to find out how concepts are formed in play based environments.

Carreys research is focused mainly on how different concepts are structured to enable learning. Fleers work, on the other hand, focuses on how interaction with a specific environment can influence the concepts formed. In this case, the environment is a playground.

A notable difference between the two studies is that while Carreys research focuses on a teaching aspect, Fleers focuses on a learning aspect. Carrey is finding out how concepts can be used to improve teaching. On the other hand, Fleer is seeking to find out what concepts children use to learn specific tasks.

Carreys research establishes that learning concepts changes with time. Fleer establishes that concept formation depends on material and physical attributes of the environment. Therefore, according to Carreys research, different age equals different concepts. For Fleer (2009), different physical environments result into different concepts (p. 300).

Discussion

This research answers basic questions on concepts that can be used to teach math and science. It also offers satisfactory explanations on how concepts relate to the learning process.

However, the article does not shed light on the concepts that are currently employed in teaching math and science. This means there is no way of comparing the current concepts and the ones that author propose.

References

Carrey, S. (2000). Science Education as Conceptual Change. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology 21(1), 1319.

Dimitriadis, G. & Kamberelis, G. (2006). Theory for Education. London: Routledge Publishing

Fleer, M. (2009). Understanding the Dialectical Relations Between Everyday Concepts and Scientific Concepts Within Play-Based Programs. Sci Educ 39, 281-306.

The works that are reviewed in this paper discuss Reggio Emilia approach to documentation and assessment. Primarily it suggests the method of interpreting learning-related documentation in the process of teaching rather than at the end of it. The aim of such interpretation consists in involving children in the development of theories that give meaning to events and objects in their world (Gandini & Kaminsky, 2004, p. 5). Gandini and Kaminsky (2004) interview Brenda Fyfe (the Dean of the School of Education at Webster University) who confirmed that at that moment, the traditional approach was more common, even though the ideas of Reggio Emilia were slowly gaining followers.

Reggio Emilia approach requires re-defining the notions of learning, teaching, documenting, and evaluation. Learning, in this case, together with teaching is regarded as a collaborative inquiry, a process of ongoing collaborative action research (Gandini & Kaminsky, 2004, p. 7). Reggio Emilia methods encourage self-assessment and peer and parent involvement, all of which is meant to ensure the collaborative and ongoing nature of a childs research of the world. Fyfe points out that the reciprocity of such learning-teaching process allows building a specific, respect-based kind of relationship between the children and adults. Reggio Emilia documentation is also opposed to the classical judgment evaluation tool. Instead, it is described as the traces that make learning visible so that it can be interpreted and re-interpreted. As pointed out by Fyfe, these traces are incomplete, and some information about the learning is lost, but what remains can and should be used to enhance learning process (Gandini & Kaminsky, 2004, p. 6).

According to Rinaldi (2001), such an approach offers a number of advantages, including the tacit demonstration of students learning strategy, self-assessment and revisiting opportunities, and memory reinforcement. As for evaluation, instead of focusing on instructions, Reggio Emilia approach suggests paying attention to the way the child carries out the instructions, to the thinking process and its specifics. Rinaldi (2001) puts great importance on assessment as a way to demonstrate that their documentation (narration) has a value and can be interpreted by the assessor. This aspect also has the effect of improving the relationship between children and teachers and enhances the understanding and openness of both parties. As a result of the interaction of all these elements, the pedagogy of relationships and listening is created (Rinaldi, 2001, p. 79). Listening in this case can be defined as sensitivity, openness, and emotion that enables effective communication in general (and that of theories in particular).

Rinaldi (2001) provides an interpretation of the teachers competency in the context of Reggio Emilia approach; Gandini and Kaminsky (2004) describe the attempts at the actual practical application of the theory. It can be concluded that the key practical application difficulty is the time organization. Fyfe provides a number of time management strategies that can be used in practice (for example, extensive planning). Another issue is the avoidance of focusing on the documentation only: while it is an important part of the learning process, the interpretation of traces should not substitute teaching.

Another practical challenge is the process of teacher training. From the personal experience, I can conclude that despite the logical and emotional appeal of the Reggio Emilia approach, the traditional methods are still dominating in modern education system. It seems obvious that the traditional documentation and assessment system are much easier to maintain. Also, while the presented articles provide a number of practical tips along with the theoretical content, it appears that teachers would benefit from focused training in the field. In other words, to be able to create an atmosphere of collaborative research together with children, the culture of such an approach to the process of studying and the students (as equally interested and capable subjects) seems to require some self-development. As for the methods of this approach, their advantages appear to be very tangible, and their enhanced effectiveness seems to speak in favor of attempting to adopt them.

References

Gandini, L., & Kaminsky, J.A. (2004). Reflections on the Relationship between Documentation and Assessment in the American Context: An Interview with Brenda Fyfe. Innovations in Early Education: The International Reggio Exchange, 11(1), 5-17.

Rinaldi, C. (2001). Documentation and Assessment: What Is the Relationship? In C. Giudici, C. Rinaldi, & M. Krechevsky (Eds.), Making Learning Visible: Children as Individual and Group Learners (pp. 78-89). Reggio Emilia: Reggio Children.

Tracking in education system refers to a concept of grouping learners according to their academic abilities (Education Week, 2004). In tracking system, learners are grouped and categorized into different classes according to their intellectual abilities (Education Week, 2004).

This means that a certain class will only have learners who have same abilities. In this paper, we will assess the advantages and disadvantages of the tracking system in education as we try to investigate whether the system encourages or discourages racism in the US.

The tracking system has both strengths and weakness. Scholars argue that one of the advantages of the system is that it allows instructors to determine teaching methods and the teaching pace.

For talented students, the system favors them in that the teacher is able to meet their needs based on their abilities (Education Week, 2004). For learners with equal abilities, the teacher can efficiently apply certain teaching methods at a certain pace.

The system can be reliable for students with special needs since they need certain pace and certain teaching method.

Secondly, since the system allows students to be categorized according to their intellectual abilities, it reduces chances of learners loosing self-esteem (Perrucci and Wysong, 2008).

Once students are grouped according to their abilities, they only compare their performance with that of their peers reducing chances of lowering individual self-esteem, which may result from comparison of individual performance with others (Perrucci and Wysong, 2008).

If low-performing students compare themselves against highly performing students, they may lose confidence and reduces chances of improving academically.

In addition to this, this system of education allows gifted students to improve in terms of academic achievements (Education Week, 2004).

According to a research, when talented learners were tracked they produced better results than similar-ability learners in non-tracked system of education did (Kulik and Kulik, 1992).

In a tracked system, when talented students spend more time with their peers with similar abilities, they tend to improve their attitude and consequently improving performance.

However, when they are mixed with less gifted students, the high-ability learners tend to achieve lower grades. The system tends to be good for talented students (Education Week, 2004).

On the other hand, the system has a number of weaknesses. One of the weaknesses is that, the highly performing, successful, and experienced teachers are usually assigned to highly performing classes while inexperienced tutors are assigned low-performing classes (Perrucci and Wysong, 2008). Therefore, the system favors unfair placement of tutors.

Another major disadvantage of this tracking system in education is that it may lead to cases of stigmatization of low-performing pupils (Perrucci and Wysong, 2008).

Because of widespread stigmatization, such low-performing students tend to develop negative attitude worsening the situation. A research conducted revealed that such students tend to feel that they are doomed or it is their destiny to perform poorly. This is also because their teachers tend to impose this attitude upon them.

Finally, the tracking system in education tends to group students according to social class, economical status, and ethnicity among other factors (Farley, 2009).

It appears that high-performing class is only composed of students from high-income families while low-track class appears to be composed of learners from low-income earners (Farley, 2009).

Mostly, low-income earners are African Americans and hence the system is discriminating. This grouping of learning does not really reflect the academic performance (students abilities).

In conclusion, the tracking system of education is one system that definitely supports issues of discrimination considering that it categorizes students based on race, social-status, and other minority aspects.

In general, the system brings segregation among learners based on race and social-economics status, which is one form of discrimination.

The opinion is that, low-performing students should be encouraged by raising performance standards for them and may be by using reward system to encourage them achieve academically.

Reference List

Education Week. (2004). Tracking. Web.

Farley, J.E. (2009). Majority-Minority Relations. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice hall.

Kulik, J., & Kulik C. C. (1992). Meta-analytic findings on grouping programs. Gifted Children Quarterly 36 (2): 7377.

Perrucci, R. & Wysong, E. (2008). New Class Society: Goodbye American Dream? Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield.

In their book Creating the Opportunity to Learn authors Wade Boykin and Pedro Noguera discuss and examine the academic achievement gap that exists in the American educational system. Boykin, the director of the graduate program in the psychology department at Howard University and Noguera, a professor of education at the New York University state that the achievement gap can be divided into three dimensions. These dimensions are the gap between the level of education between the minority and majority, the American and European students, and he gap between the existent knowledge and the necessary knowledge for becoming successful.

Authors begin their study with a set framework for a better understanding why the book like Creating the Opportunity to Learn is written, intersecting the theories of race and education that are common in the current pedagogy practice. Furthermore, they examine the possible reasons for the achievement gap and evaluate the current studies for finding out the ways of addressing and solving the issue. According to Boykin and Noguera, Finding ways to close (or at least reduce) the achievement gap  the disparities in test scores and academic outcomes that follow well-established patterns typically corresponding to the race and class of children  has been a national priority for nearly a decade (6).

Moreover, Boykin and Noguera discuss the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation and state that even within the ten years of increased awareness and mandatory focus on achieving success caused by the legislation, the problems of the malperformance and the achievement gap have not been solved. Authors then suggest that while NCLB was not an absolute solution, its adoption did constitute a radical break from the idea that the relationship between race and intelligence was immutable (Boykin and Noguera 7).

Book Structure

Creating the Opportunity to Learn is divided into three sections. The first section provides an insightful overview for the readers that have little knowledge about the achievement gap in the country. The authors focus on the separation between the voluntary and involuntary minorities that do worse at school than the voluntary. The second section focuses on the research review, however, although there is an extensive analysis based on the level of elementary schools there was, unfortunately, no research that came from the level of high schools. The reasons for this may be the actual lack of research from the high school level that relates to the three gaps discussed in the book, or the presented analysis has some shortcomings. The third section of Creating the Opportunity to Learn was grounded on the strong idea that the interaction between the teacher and the student in the classroom is also very important. Authors state, A substantial body of research has shown that improving the quality of instructions is the most effective way to boost student achievement (Boykin and Noguera 187).

Target Audience

In general, Creating the Opportunity to Learn is an excellent resource for teachers and school administers as well as anyone else interested in this particular topic and the psychology of education. On the other hand, some of the strategies presented in the book may sound simple and obvious. However, they go deep into the psychology of the strategies and explain why exact strategies may work for certain situations.

Critique

I disagree with some of the points that authors mention in the book. There is a misleading claim illustrated in the book, namely, the fact that the US students do very bad in their academic achievements compared to students from other countries. If the scores are to be divided by race, then Asian and White students seem to do well compared to other countries. This suggests that the U.S. educational system works brilliantly for the specific races. The issue of the malperformance of American students is linked to the minority groups achievement gap. Paying extra attention to the mentioned point is necessary because of the fact that the opponents of the US educational system use aggregate numbers to over exaggerate the current state. Thus, when expanding on the topic of the U.S. educational system, one should keep in mind that the minority populations that receive less attention from the system negatively influence the average.

In Creating the Opportunity to Learn Wade Boykin and Pedro Noguera discuss the examples of school districts that are either successful it not. Their discussions suggest that in the majority of unsuccessful schools teachers blame parents for the poor success of the students. While its human nature to shift the blame on someone else, in reality, some schools just cannot fix every issue that contributes to poor academic achievement. Thus, the fact that authors do not pay attention to the mesosystemic factors is somewhat disappointing.

With this said, Creating the Opportunity to Learn is a rare book that provides a detailed review of the achievement gap that exists in public schools. It can be considered to a roadmap for those interested in educational psychology or the specific topic of the achievement gap.

Works Cited

Boykin, Wade, and Pedro Noguera. Creating the Opportunity to Learn: Moving from Research to Practice to Close the Achievement Gap. Alexandria, VA: ASCD, 2011. Print.

Rubric to Assess Oral Presentations

Objective

At the end of the twelfth grade, students will:

• Will be able to compare our ways of life and those of other groups of people in the past and present;
• Need to know how various institutions are changed and sustained, as well as how they influence cultures, societies, and individuals;
• Define concepts, skills, and content related to anthropology, sociology, and psychology (Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, n. d.).

Rubric to Assess Written Reports

Objective (K-12)

At the end of the twelfth grade, students will:

• Will be able to compare our ways of life and those of other groups of people in the past and present;
• Need to know how various institutions are changed and sustained, as well as how they influence cultures, societies, and individuals;
• Define concepts, skills, and content related to anthropology, sociology, and psychology (Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, n. d.).

References

Borich, G. (2007). Effective teaching methods: Research-based practice. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Mertler, C. A. (n. d.). Designing Rubrics for Your Classroom. US: Bowling Green State University.

Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. (n. d.). Wisconsin Academic Standards. Web.

Rubric Terms (n. d.). Web.

It is important for stakeholders to reconsider the assessment methods that are used in online education. Previously, online education was the reserve of a few individuals and it served as a supplement for traditional classrooms. Currently, online education operates in large scale where a single classroom can have more than a hundred thousand students. The fast-rising nature of online education has prompted some colleges to adopt this educational system out of the fear that they will become irrelevant. Consequently, most online education providers lack enough preparation when venturing into this mode of education hence the need to reconsider the assessment methods that are used in this form of learning. Online education is the only form of modern learning that was introduced in a period when higher education was free for all. Some elements of higher education feature traces of discrimination against women and minorities but online education does not have these aspects (Segers, Dochy and Cascallar 29). The shift from the analog systems to the digital era has also had a significant impact on online education. Therefore, the assessment methods that are used by online students should feature both the new freedoms that have been accorded to online education and the advanced elements of the digital age.

Two specific assessments that might be used by online instructors include quizzes and online journals. These two assessment methods can be used for an online American Literature course. The America Literature course examines the literary contributions that have been made by literary-icons since the early days of the American nation. The course will focus on the literary, historical, philosophical, and cultural elements that have shaped American Literature. At the end of this course, students should be able to; read, examine, and understand the literary works that make up American literature. In the second learning outcome, learners are expected to recognize the philosophical, literary, and cultural aspects that have shaped American literature throughout history. As a third learning outcome, learners should be in a position to perform a literary analysis for any work that falls under the category of American literature.

When measuring these outcomes, an online journal is a formative assessment method that should assist online instructors in determining their students levels of reflection and self-analysis. An online journal is often a web-based tool that consists of the students first-person views about a particular subject. The student can use the journal to improve his/her writing and/or reflection skills. The journals can also be used to accomplish the goals of the second and third learning outcomes in the America Literature course. For example, a student can post an online journal about his/her philosophical reflections about a novel from the eighteenth century.

Quizzes are summative assessments that can be used by online instructors to point out what a student has learnt. Unlike the online journals, quizzes are used as an assessment of learning as opposed to them being assessments for learning (Achtemeier and Finnegan 10). In an online literature course, the goal of the instructor should be to use various formats and a randomized question bank to minimize the probability of cheating among students. Essay questions are also very important in this assessment method. Quizzes are mostly useful for assessing the first learning outcome of the American Literature course. Learning assessment in an online environment can be perfected by ensuring that incidences of malpractices and irregularities are minimized. In addition, the verifications that are common in other aspects of digital communication such as online shopping should also be applied to online-education.

Works Cited

Achtemeier, Sue and Catherine Finnegan. Considerations for developing evaluations of online courses. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks 7.1 (2009): 1-13. Print.

Segers, Mien, Filip Dochy, and Eduardo Cascallar. Optimising new modes of assessment: In search of qualities and standards, Dordrecht, Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2011. Print.

Have you ever thought of an influence that the laptops and cell phones are having on the productivity of the students performance? With the decreasing price of various portable computing appliances, such as laptops and cellphones, and the extensive accessibility of wireless connection to the cyberspace, the mentioned devices are more commonly discovering their paths into school classrooms and obtaining more and more popularity (Should schools allow cell phones, 2014).

The author of the article wants to draw the attention to the existing problem of the using of the electronic devices in classes and their impact on the efficiency of the classwork of the students. Almost every student that possesses a personal computer or a working cell phone during class uses it for non-academic purposes; as a result, the author has difficulties with concentrating on the main points of the educator. The question of the academic enthusiasm of the students and the problem of impossible teamwork of the classmates arise (Ramage, 2015). The diverting nature of personal computers and cell phones is destructively distressing teaching space surroundings; therefore, the author proposes an effective measure that will prevent the abstractness of the students. The author believes that a campus-wide ban on personal computers and smartphones will be more efficient that various others forms of restriction; improve the learning and training environment of the schoolroom, and in a long perspective, increase the academic enactment of existing users of personal computers and smartphones in class.

The audience of the article is the Faculty Senate. The source of the essay is the personal observations of the author and the results from the previous forms of restriction of personal computers and smartphones in class. The purpose of the essay is to suggest a fresh perspective on the existing problem from a student that is suffering from the excessive use of laptops and cellphones in classrooms from the academic point of view.

The objectivity of the writer is confirmed by the accessory to the students that are currently gaining knowledge in the classroom (Fried, 2008). The author uses ethos of the essay by showing his credibility to the reader and the close relationship with the subject. The ethos highlights the individual opinion of the author more than the genuine content of his dispute.

The author applies the statistics in order to support his arguments: an informal survey by a Georgetown University law professor who bans laptops in his classroom indicated that 70% of his students welcomed the ban (Cole, 2008, para. 2). Moreover, the author uses the investigation that was conducted by the researchers from Stanford University and reveals the connection between multitasking and the academic success (Ophir, Nass, & Wagner, 2009); and a study by Benbunan-Fich and Truman (2009), which revealed the percentage of non-academic use of the personal devices in class.

The emotion manipulation of the author lies in the designation of the impossibility of successful study in an environment where the electronic devices are widely used. The tone of the paper is critical, however, informal. Therefore, the language choice is not fully appropriate for the formal appeal to the administration, even though the author makes an effort of implementing the compound words and turns of phrase.

A campus-wide prohibition personal computers and smartphones would most likely assist in establishing more constructive and unified classroom atmosphere; moreover, it would deliver an absolution for students from the countless interruptions that they are facing in the modern technical era.

Works Cited

Berbunan-Fich, R., & Truman, G. (2009). Multitasking with laptops during meetings. Communications of the ACM, 52(2), 139-141.

Cole, D. (2008). Why I ban laptops in my classroom. Web.

Fried, C. B. (2008). In-class laptop use and its effects on student learning. Computers and Education, 50(1), 906-914.

Ophir, E., Nass, C., & Wagner, A. D. (2009). Cognitive control in media multitaskers. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 106(37), 583-587.

Ramage, J. B. (2015). The Allyn & Bacon guide to writing. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc.

Should schools allow cell phones? (2014). Web.

The peer review cycle consists of several necessary stages. The researcher comes up with an original idea and then starts looking for information to support the idea. The critical stage after the lit review is the actual research, collecting original data, making tests. The next stage is writing a manuscript. After the manuscript is ready, it should be sent to the editor who directs it to the peer reviewers. After the article is approved by the peer reviewers  it will be published. The editors role is to check the articles contents. The article will be approved if it contains an original idea and is creative; the ideas of the article have to be put clearly for future readers. The editor determines what the journal will publish. The peer viewers are also called referees; they are independent experts. They will have to identify the articles value and the accuracy of the research methods.

Peer-reviewed articles must contain the authors credentials and are published by academic sources. A peer-reviewed work in the field of social or natural science will contain an introduction, background and theory, methods of research and discussion; it will submit results and form a definite conclusion  all these points will be separated as sections (Evaluating Information Sources, 2013). Peer-reviewed works are written in academic style; they begin with an abstract and have a reference page in the end. Since peer-reviewed works are published for the professionals to read  they can be easily found on the websites of universities or scholarly libraries, in academic databases, such as EBSCO or ProQuest.

The method of writing research papers called APA style is named this way because it was recommended by the American Psychological Association (APA) for writing papers in social sciences. The writers of articles in social sciences have to follow a list of instructions and standards. These particular standards were chosen because the APA style is based on two main requirements. The choices of tenses are based on the idea that the paper in social science is describing something that has already been stated as accurate. This is why past or present perfect tenses are used in the works citations.

The other fundamental rule is putting the year of publication. It has to be mentioned together with the name of the source or the author that is being cited. The names of the authors and sources have to be put in the reference list. To direct the readers attention to these sources, in-text quotations have to be used. As an example, in the article, I have summarized Hoff et al. (2013) noted that distracted driving caused by texting or speaking on the phone is a significant problem for public safety.

Another way of citing a source is a direct quotation. Direct quotes have to stand out of the rest on the sentence; this is why they are generally put into the quotation marks. When the writer of the paper is using direct words of the author of the source that is being referred to the quotation marks are necessary; otherwise, the quotation will be registered as plagiarism. As an example of properly put a direct quote, I will use the article I have summarized: the purpose of it was to identify the frequency and perception of DDB in adults (Hoff et al., 2013).

Reference List

Evaluating Information Sources. (2013). Lloyd Sealy Library. Web.

Hoff, J., Grell, J., Lohrman, N., Stehly, C., Stolzfus, J., Wainwright, G., & Hoff, W. S. (2013). Distracted driving and implications for injury prevention in adults. Journal of Trauma Nursing, 20(1), 31-34.

Overview and Introduction

Cultural diversity is a source of strength as well as weakness for many societies around the world. A multi-cultural society has the advantage of having a rich cultural environment but this diversity in culture can also be a source cultural tension and conflict (Fisher, 1994).

Educational institutions are the most affected by the potential negative impact of a multi-cultural environment, thus, creating the need to implement policies for dealing with cultural issues in schools (Freire, 1985).

The aim of this paper is to analyze critically the ways of dealing with cultural diversity issues facing educational institutions as presented in the article Diversity within Unity by Banks, Cookson, Gay and others.

The Concept of Diversity as Discussed in the Article

Diversity in the article refers to cultural, ethnic and language differences in the context of the American society. The cultural landscape in the US is becoming increasingly diversified mostly due to the high number of immigrants that join the nation each year (Feagin, 1994).

This number is estimated to be around one million. Most of the immigrants are Africans and Asians who have different cultural and language backgrounds from those of the natives of the US.

A high percentage of the immigrants are youth who join educational institutions in the country including high schools, colleges, and universities and they only use English as their second language (Dahl, 1998).

Though this influx of new cultures has the positive impact of enriching the nations cultural environment it also harbors the potential effect of dividing the country along cultural lines.

There is need, therefore, to emphasize the common aspects of all the different cultures in the US in a bid to foster cultural cohesion and create a united nation.

The best way to achieve this unity would be through encouraging multi-cultural cohesion in schools through both instruction and by emphasizing inter-cultural interactions among students (Fine, 1991).

Analysis of the Philosophical Perspectives Advocated in the Article

The article identifies various principles which the management of educational institutions in the US should implement in order to promote cultural cohesion amongst students. These principles are as follows:

Professional Development Programs for Teachers

The article advocates for teachers and educators to undergo professional development programs in which they can learn how culture, language, ethnicity and social classes affect students learning and behavior.

By taking such programs, teachers and educators will be in a good position to prevent the negative influence that culture, ethnicity, social class and language background may have on learning.

Offering Equitable Opportunities for Learning

The article calls for schools around the US to offer equal learning opportunities to students irrespective of their cultural, ethnic or social background in order to foster a sense of equality amongst students.

Curriculum

According to the article, the current curricula that are being taught in the US schools should be changed and new ones developed which embrace all cultures including the minority groups. The current curricula are biased towards the majority groups in the country.

Providing Equal Opportunities for Extra- and Co-curricula Activities

Extra- and co-curricular activities such as sports and academic associations enhance students learning and performance. Students of all cultures, races and ethnicities should be encouraged to participate in these activities so as to promote cultural interactions as well as learning.

Creation of Super Ordinate Groups

Super ordinate groups are groups whose purpose would incorporate all cultural groups. Such groups could be based on grade levels in school, age, sex, etc. Super ordinate groups create cohesion among different cultures.

Teaching Students about Stereotypes

Stereotypes result from categorization of people into groups and the belief that a persons group is superior to other groups. It is crucial to teach students about the fallacies of stereotypes and how they develop so that students can avoid believing in them.

Teaching Common Cross-Cultural Values

There are some values which are shared by all cultures such as justice, equality, and fairness. Teaching these values to students in a multi-cultural environment promotes the sense of egalitarianism amongst them which enhances social cohesion.

Imparting Social Skills on Students

Helping students to acquire social skills is one of the best ways of promoting inter-cultural interactions. Teachers should encourage students to learn and understand the behavior of other cultures as well as how to resolve and mediate intercultural conflicts amicably.

Implications of the Principles in a Specific Educational setting

According to the above principles, promoting cultural cohesion in educational institutions is necessary to avoid inter-cultural conflict. The way to achieve this is by emphasizing on the common aspects of different cultures and playing down the differences.

Recommendations and Conclusion

Cultural diversity is beneficial to a society by virtue of cultural richness but at the same time it could be a source of conflict and social tension. This situation is most apparent in schools where cultural diversity is depicted at its best.

There are various strategies that could be used to promote cultural cohesion in educational institutions not only in the US but around the world.

These strategies or principles should focus on emphasizing the similarities between different cultures and underplaying the differences.

References

Dahl, R. (1998). On democracy. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

Feagin, J. R., & Sikes, M. P. (1994). Living with racism: The Black middle-class experience. Boston: Beacon Press.

Fine, M. (1991). Framing dropouts: Notes on the politics of an urban high school. Albany: State University of New York.

Fisher, R. (1994). General principles for resolving intergroup conflict. Journal of Social Issues, 50, 47-66.

Freire, P. (1985). The politics of education: Culture, power, and liberation. New York: Bergin & Garvey.