Category: Teaching

Background

The rate of teacher turnover in many schools within Ohio has remained high over the past years. According to Moore (2012), this high turnover rate is attributed to the low morale of teachers in this field, and other challenges that teachers face while undertaking their duties. The high turnover rate has negatively impacted the quality of learning for learners with disabilities. These learners require close attention from the teachers, but with the reducing population of teachers in most of these schools, it becomes difficult to give these learners personalized attention. This has affected the quality of education in most schools.

Significance of the study

In this study, the focus is to conduct an assessment of the high turnover rates of teachers in Ohio, and how this affects the quality of education in this state. The significance of this study is to offer a policy adviser to the relevant stakeholders in the education sector so that a solution to this problem can be found within the shortest time possible. This will help address this problem of poor quality education.

Theoretical and conceptual framework

In this study, it will be relevant to use some of the relevant theories in order to enhance an understanding of the topic. The research will use some of the motivational theories to explain why most teachers consider shifting to other professions and some of the stressors they state as their main reasons for doing this.

Appropriateness of the method and design selections

Qualitative research was considered appropriate because of its descriptive nature. This research design will allow the participants to describe their experience in their own words, and this will help in identifying the specific issues related to the research problem (Candy, 2004).

The general topic of the study

The general topic for the study is the teachers’ turnover rates in schools within Ohio and its impact on the quality of education.

The general problem

The general problem is to identify the impact of high turnover rates of teachers within Ohio that have affected the quality of education within this state. This study will investigate how the dwindling number of teachers in most of the schools in Ohio affects the style of learning.

The specific problem to study

The specific problem in this study is the need to identify the stressors that make Ohio teachers consider other professions. The research will also seek to identify how these stressors can be managed in order to reverse this negative trend.

Evidence that the problem actually exists

According to Golafshani (2003), there is a serious shortage of teachers within the state of Ohio. The effect of a limited number of teachers has heavily been felt in special schools such as the schools for the deaf and blind. This has affected the quality of education rendered to these learners. In his research, Tewksbury (2009) notes that there is a rising number of Ohio teachers who are moving to other jobs, such as banking, because they consider teaching as a stressful job.

The gap in the literature

The existing literatures have extensively discussed the problem of teachers’ shortage within Ohio and many other states within the United States of America. However, this literature has not adequately addressed the issue of teachers’ turnover rate within this state and some of the consequences associated with it.

Research questions

When conducting research, it is always important to come up with specific research questions that will be able to guide the process of collecting data. The following are some of the research questions that will be used in this study.

1. Does a learning style have more influence on the performance of learners with learning disabilities than it does on normal learners?
2. Is there any significant difference in the academic performance of various institutions due to their unique learning styles?
3. What are the effective learning styles that influence the learning outcomes of students with learning disabilities?

How answering the research questions helps achieve the study purpose

Finding specific answers to the above questions will make it possible to understand if there is a direct relationship between the learning style and the performance of learners with disabilities. This will help in defining the relevance of having enough teachers within these institutions (Ronfeldt, Loeb & Wyckoff, 2013).

Central phenomena will be studied

The central phenomenon in this research is how the rate of teachers’ turnover affects the learning style. This way, it will be easy to determine how this learning style affects the quality of education for children with disabilities in Ohio.

How achieving the purpose helps solve the problem

By achieving the purpose of this research, it will be clear to understand the reasons why many teachers consider other professions, and how this trend can be changed to help address its negative impact on the quality of education among the disabled learners.

How this study addresses the challenges, extends theory, practice, methodology and the research results, or knowledge development

The research study will contribute heavily in understanding the challenges faced by teachers in Ohio that make them quit the profession. It will expand the knowledge on teacher engagement and enhance understanding of some of the theoretical models of motivation. From this study, it would be easy to understand how the increasing unpopularity of teaching as a profession is affecting the learners. This research will also propose methods that can be practiced to address this problem.

Method and design to be used to achieve the study purpose and address the studied problem

The design chosen in this study is qualitative research. This design is descriptive in nature and will enable the participants to give their independent views on the issues under investigation. This way, it will be easy to collect different perceptions of the specific issues in this research.

Scholarly sources that demonstrate the expertise of research method and design

According to Ronfeldt, Loeb, and Wyckoff (2013), it is important to identify scholarly sources that would support the study method used in the study. The research used scholarly journals of education, books published on the topic, and other relevant online sources. These sources provided insightful information for this study.

Appropriateness of the method given the problem and the purpose of the study

Given the fact that the purpose of this study was to investigate the reasons for the high turnover rates of teachers in Ohio and its impact on the quality of teachers, qualitative research was considered the most appropriate approach. It will enable the participants to understand the key issues in this research.

Searching the literatures to collect germinal and current data on the problem

According to the research by Ronfeldt, Loeb, and Wyckoff (2013), searching for the relevant literatures was very important in this study. In this study, the research considered it important to use the school library to gather germinal and current data on this topic to address the research problem. The library provided some of the books and journals needed for this research. Online sources also proved to be important in this study. Some of the recently published journals and books are readily available in online libraries.

The most germinal and recent research findings on the problem

Following intensive research on this topic using some of the recently published sources, it is clear that the teacher turnover has been high within Ohio over the recent past. This claim was confirmed by the primary data that was collected from the field. Most of the teachers cite lack of motivation, and poor remuneration as some of the major reasons why they consider other alternative jobs from teaching (Cassady, 2011).

How answering the research questions help achieve the study purpose

It is important to find answers to the research questions in order to be able to have relevant information about the research topic. The research questions seek to determine how the turnover rates of teachers affect the learning style that is currently used in these schools. From the response obtained, it would be easy to come up with policy measures that can be used to address the problem in order to enhance the quality of education in Ohio.

Population to be studied

This research targeted a population of 100 participants who were to be sampled through a stratified sampling method. There were three strata chosen for this study. The first stratum was that of headteachers. The research needed 20 headteachers from different schools. The second stratum included the school teachers. The research settled on 50 teachers. The third stratum had disabled students, where 30 learners were selected.

References

Candy, S. (2004). Learning styles: An overview of theories, models, and measures. Educational Psychology, 24(4), 420-444.

Cassady, J. (2011). Teachers’ Attitudes toward the Inclusion of Students with Autism and Emotional Behavioral Disorder. Electronic Journal for Inclusive Education, 2(7), 1-23.

Golafshani, N. (2003). Understanding Reliability and Validity in Qualitative Research. The Qualitative Report, 8(4), 597-607.

Moore, C. (2012). The Role of School Environment in Teacher Dissatisfaction among U.S. Public School Teachers. Sage Open, 1(1), 1-16.

Ronfeldt, M., Loeb, S., & Wyckoff, J. (2013). How Teacher Turnover Harms Student Achievement. American Educational Research Journal, 50(1), 4-36.

Tewksbury, R. (2009). Qualitative versus Quantitative Methods: Understanding Why Qualitative Methods are Superior for Criminology and Criminal Justice. Journal of Theoretical and Philosophical Criminology, 1(1), 38-58.

Introduction

This paper analyzes the article by A. Hawkins, C. R. Graham and M. K. Barbour, labeled “‘Everybody is their own Island’: Teacher Disconnection in a Virtual School”. The article deals with the issue of online K-12 education and its participants’ perceptions of it. In our paper, we will look into the article’s persuasiveness, its study design, literary devices employed in the text, the presence of personal points of view, and, finally, the research’s appropriateness for its intended audience.

How Convincing Is the Article?

The article in question is written rather convincingly. The authors give a good explanation of the problem in the introduction and conduct a considerable literature review. The article is based on approximately 40 sources, which also adds to the credibility of the materials. The research itself, even though being limited to eight participants only, provides such quotes from the interviews and discusses such issues that it is clear that these problems are encountered by most if not all online teachers. The recommendations that the authors offer appear to be able to at least partially solve the discovered problems.

Is the Article Consistent with Qualitative Study Designs?

The article uses the qualitative study methodology. In particular, it is consisted with the phenomenological study design, exploring the feelings of the participants that they experienced in relation to their online teaching activities by conducting semi-structured interviews and coding the obtained data to analyze it and identify the important themes. The research is presented according to the widely-used format for such studies, which includes an introduction, a literature review, a description of methodology and findings, and a discussion of the results. The phenomenological design is appropriate for the studied issues, for the aim was to explore the personal feelings of participants of the online schooling process.

Literary Devices in the Article

Although the article does not employ many literary devices (which is appropriate and desired for formal accounts of researches, because the frequent use of such devices might in many cases make the text ambiguous), some of them are employed in the text as quotes of the participants’ responses in order to better communicate the feelings of the interviewees, which is of importance for this kind of study. For instance, the metaphor which says that in online studying “everybody is their own island” was not just cited in the text (Hawkins, Graham and Barbour 137), it was even made a part of the title of the article.

Personal Points of View in the Article

The authors of the article do not express their personal point of view much, complying with the standard requirement to be objective and state the facts. However, they often quote and explain the personal feelings of the study’s population, which is appropriate and required for a phenomenological study. Having given the account of these personal feelings according to the identified themes, the authors were able to draw objective conclusions using the personal points of view of the participants.

Appropriateness for the Intended Audience

The formal style of the article, the proper order of information and its confirmation either with scholarly literature or with the quotes of the participants make the article an adequate account of the research. Being objective, clear and well-structured, the article is written appropriately for the intended audience, which includes researchers of educational issues, teachers, and educators.

Conclusion

As we were able to see, the text provides an adequate account of the conducted research. Being rather convincing, it is written according to the phenomenological qualitative research design. The article employs some literary devices while quoting the participants, which better reflects their opinions. Even though the text contains personal points of views of the study’s population, it is still objective thanks to the adequate use of the methodology. The article, being well-structured and clear, is appropriate for the intended audience, and is likely to be helpful in the future attempts to improve the situation with the investigated issue.

Works Cited

Hawkins, Abigail, Charles R. Graham and Michael K. Barbour. “‘Everybody is their own Island’: Teacher Disconnection in a Virtual School.” The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 13.2 (2012): 123-144. Print.

The aim of the present paper is to connect the theoretical foundations of oral and written feedback in ESL teaching to the practical activities that take place in my classroom. The class in question is a writing course attended by nineteen students of diverse cultural backgrounds: primarily Indian but also Chinese and Middle Eastern. In such a context, written feedback on student work is a more efficient and effective tool as it serves both formative and summative assessment purposes, saves the instructor’s time, and helps students solidify and retain their knowledge.

Given the substance of the course, most assignments completed by the students are, naturally, related to writing. Deciding on the type of feedback to provide to students can be quite a challenge: written feedback tends to be more time-consuming and open to interpretation, meaning that misunderstandings can arise in the process. However, as far as oral feedback is concerned, most classrooms do not provide adequate settings to provide it to students (Celce-Murcia, Brinton & Snow, 2014, p. 232).

In my classroom, the choice has been made in favor of written feedback. The decision was made primarily because of the nature of comments that are provided on written work. While students also learn about the structural dimensions of writing, most of the provided feedback is still corrective as it aims to address grammar and spelling mistakes made by the student. Such feedback should be as explicit as possible for it to be effective (Sheen, 2010, p. 228). Generally, all the mistakes can be classified into several categories for which the professor has developed a system of notations that is easily understood by the students. The instructor favors written feedback as it also allows students some time to reflect on it (Sheen, 2010, p. 204).

The written feedback, however, does not come from the instructor alone as the students are encouraged to provide peer reviews and responses to each other. Thus, not all of the written work is always graded: at the peer review stage, students mostly provide qualitative feedback to each other instead of addressing specific mistakes. Such an approach serves the formative purpose, meaning that it is intended to promote student learning over the course of instruction (Celce-Murcia et al., 2014, p. 322).

While written feedback is the predominant approach in my classroom, oral feedback is also used as a supplementary tool. To a considerable degree, oral feedback is intended to address the structural deficiencies of the student’s work, such as the organization and structure of their paper. Oral feedback is provided during individual meetings so that the students can immediately respond to the comments. Moreover, the instructor takes notice of general mistake trends and addresses them in the classroom.

References

Celce-Murcia, M., Brinton, D., & Snow, A. (2014). Teaching English as a second or foreign language (4th ed.). Boston, MA: National Geographic Learning. Web.

Sheen, Y. (2010). Differential effects of oral and written corrective feedback in the ESL classroom. Studies in Second Language Acquisition,32(2), 203-234. Web.

Audience and Rationale

The target audience of the proposed program will be a cohort of school students (K-10). The class is situated in a low-income neighborhood, which is one of the reasons for its diversity. It consists of 17 students and comprises 6 Asians (2 boys, 4 girls), 5 Hispanic Whites (1 boy, 4 girls), 2 non-Hispanic Whites (2 boys), 3 Blacks (2 boys, 1 girl), and 1 child (boy) of mixed race (Black and Hispanic White). Notably, these groups are not homogeneous culturally, for students to practice different religions and have different cultural backgrounds. It has been acknowledged that United States schools are becoming more diverse, but still ethnic and cultural minorities face various challenges associated with their socioeconomic status, their distinctive cultural characteristics, etc. (Thompson & Wheeler, 2009).

Clearly, educators have to take these characteristics into account when developing their teaching methods as well as particular tasks. The educator has to understand the way students think and perceive the world. Moreover, the teacher has to encourage students to explore their inner worlds and understand who they are and what their place in the United States society is and/or should be (Gay, 2013). The educator also has to speak the language his/her diverse classroom will understand; otherwise, students are unlikely to meet their educational goals. In our case, this language will be English, which most of the students have been learning as their second language since primary school, and, therefore, are able to understand it almost without problems (as the class is diverse, students are used to understanding different accents), speak with minor restrictions and some grammar mistakes, and write with certain limitations connected to vocabulary.

Creativity has become an important component of education and has attracted a lot of attention in recent years (McCaslin, 2006). Teaching arts has expanded beyond art classes, and all disciplines may include elements of art teaching. At present, educators believe that creativity is not a feature people are born with but that it can be taught, and that creativity makes students more prepared to adulthood as they explore different (creative) ways to address various issues and challenges (Robinson, 2011). Jessica Wachter stresses that the development of creativity in students enables them to understand that even their weaknesses or challenges can be seen as opportunities (Everyone is an artist, 2013).

Outcomes

The program will be aimed at the development of the three types of skills of the 21^st century. These are learning, literacy and life skills. The program will involve the creative development of students with a focus on cultural aspects.

In order to do this, the students will be required to work in groups to write a scenario in which a number of cultural differences that might potentially cause intercultural disagreements will be addressed. The skill of learning and creative thinking will be developed by encouraging the students to think of possible solutions to the issue, model a situation where these solutions will be implemented, and to find information that will be helpful in that. The literacy skills will be improved by giving the students the task to formulate their thoughts on paper; students will be required to do group work and help each other with linguistic issues. The life skills will be advanced due to the fact that the students will have to overcome cultural differences, embrace diversity and learn to live and work together as mature members of American society.

Assessment

Observation will be one of the assessment measures when evaluating the progress and achievements of students. The teacher will observe (guide and assist when necessary) the way the students work on their scenarios as well as an overall project including all the stages of the scenario production. Observation will help the educator to identify some challenges the learners face during their work and help the young people find ways to address them. The students’ working process will be evaluated according to their ability to invent ways to deal with culturally sensitive situations and creatively overcome issues that might become the cause of conflict.

Students’ scenarios will be assessed in terms of language, creativity, and cultural sensitivity. The major focus will be made on the issues touched upon and the way the student will address them. Therefore, the lists of cultural biases made by students will be assessed (based on the listed biases’ correspondence to the really existing biases), the lifelikeness of the situation depicted in the scenario will be taken into account, and the way of addressing this situation and its efficiency will be evaluated.

Context Description

This project is aimed at the development of creative problem solving; a simulated experience will be utilized. Jessica Wachter notes that creativity means courage (Everyone is an artist, 2013). Hence, the educator will encourage the students to explore their own inner assumptions and prejudices and get rid of them in order not to be afraid to deal with and embrace diversity.

Students will be encouraged to write a scenario on a culturally related issue. Every learner will be involved in the writing and production of the play. Students will try to analyze some biases existing in society and work with them.

Importantly, they will not simply analyze the problem and provide a report on their research; they will have to present their findings in a creative form. Students will find a cultural or ethnic bias and try to find a solution. This will improve their life skills by showing them how to overcome prejudice and helping them live and work with people having different backgrounds. It will also teach them to find relevant information and hence to be able to learn better. Writing a scenario will enhance their writing skills and develop their creativity.

Instructional Plan Summary

The students will be divided into four separate groups according to their sex and ethnicity as follows:

Note that each group includes representatives of at least three different ethnic groups and an equal quantity of boys and girls (except for Group 2, which consists of an odd number of students).

The students will then be asked to discuss both positive and negative ethical and cultural (including religious) biases that they might have towards each other. The word “bias” will be defined as “any opinion about a person derived from the fact of their belonging to a particular group of people, and not from personal acquaintance with this person”. In each group, students will divide into subgroups by temporarily excluding one of the members of their group and identifying their biases towards the culture of the excluded member; then the excluded member will join the group again and take part in discussing these biases, assessing and acknowledging or refuting them. Each member of the group will have to undergo this temporary exclusion. Students will also be encouraged to ask their family, friends, and community in order to identify more potential biases that might exist, and then also discuss them in their groups. After that, the students will be asked to list at least five biases (at least three negatives and two positives) towards each ethnic division present in the group that they deem to be important.

Having listed the biases, the students will be asked to identify their origin and the extent to which they are true. The learners will have to consider whether or not the fact of belonging to an ethnical or cultural group guarantees that the person possesses these characteristics, and, therefore, to decide if the negative prejudices are really worth being taken into account while dealing with concrete people. After that, the learners will have to find the origins of these biases. This phase includes not only in-group discussions but also searching for additional information on the Internet and/or in libraries or other sources.

Students will also need to think of a situation in which negative biases, instead of being disregarded or properly addressed, were taken to heart and resulted in bad outcomes for the people involved in the conflict. After that, the learners will have to think carefully about whether the characteristics in question are negative indeed, and develop a way to resolve the conflict and the ways to turn these peculiarities to the advantage of (or at least a neutral outcome for) the representatives of all the ethnic groups involved. The students will then be required to write a scenario of a situation when prejudices were used against a person and resulted in a bad outcome, but then were properly addressed, which resulted in a common advantage. The best scenario will be chosen and staged; the performance should take a minimum of ten minutes.

This plan is culturally relevant, for it explores the attitudes and opinions of students towards various ethnic and cultural groups. The need to write a scenario will enhance the learners’ creativity and encourage them to innovate while looking for solutions to the issues that will arise in the process.

Evidence of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy

Tapping Home and Community Resources

While working on their project, the students will need to tap into the resources of their home and community by asking their family, friends, and people they often communicate with to identify biases that exist in these groups towards other cultural groups.

Understanding Students’ Cultural Knowledge

The program will include certain introductory sessions concerning culture and cultural biases. The educator should understand the students’ perceptions, for which purpose a number of surveys on prejudice might be used. It is important to discuss overt and covert culture with learners, for they have to be able to distinguish between these two (Thompson & Wheeler, 2009). Young people should also be able to identify how cultures affect their identities and attitudes. This will help students be more attentive to prejudice. In order to develop these skills, classes on ethnic and cultural prejudice will be given, where the crux and the origin of the biases will be exposed, and the importance of being unbiased will be explained

Addressing Cultural Competence through Reinforcing Students’ Cultural Integrity

As has been stated above, the students will implement detailed research on the issue of cultural biases. This research will involve reflection and analysis of cultural peculiarities of the group a student pertains to and cultural peculiarities of their peers. The analysis will be conducted in groups. Students will provide a brief summary of prejudices they were able to identify.

The project will encourage students to explore a variety of culturally related issues while looking for information on biases. Young people will understand the way they can address certain sensitive issues related to intercultural and ethnic interaction that arise in their life. Importantly, life in the community and peculiarities of particular ethnic and cultural groups will be discussed in class.

Building on Students’ Interests and Linguistic Resources

As the students will be asked to find the origins of certain biases, as well as the origins of corresponding characteristics (which a representative of the group the bias is concerned with might possess or not possess), they will have to explore both the history of the ethnic group the origins of the biases towards which they are looking for and the social context this group existed in during the times in which the bias was formed. The necessity to provide a summary of biases, as well as the need to write a lifelike scenario, will positively affect the linguistic skills of the learners.

Using Interactive and Constructivist Teaching Strategies

It is necessary to note that this program is based on the principles of interactive and constructivist teaching. Thus, the educator does not simply tell students about cultural issues, but students explore those issues through analysis of various resources as well as the life in their community and their interaction with peers.

The final project involves the staging of the scenario chosen by the class. All the students will participate in the production (including acting, work on the final scenario, development of costumes and stage scenery, and so on). The constructivism of this whole project comes from the fact that the students will have to work together (first – in groups, and then – with the entire class) in order to produce a lifelike scenario where they need to address the real-life issues in a way that will allow them to overcome biases and build good relationships with people from other cultural or ethnic groups.

Creativity/Innovation Strategies in the Instructional Plan

Promoting experiment and inquiry and a willingness to make mistakes

The very nature of the assignment promotes inquiry and self-analysis, showing the students that it is often extremely useful to analyze and clearly formulate your own feelings and ideas and to find out whether or not they correspond to the reality. The requirement according to which the scenario has to include a conflict situation and a way to solve it will result in a demonstration of the fact that mistakes are acceptable as long as one is willing not to persist but to find a way to solve the problem.

Encouraging the expression of personal ideas and feelings

As the students will be required to explore their own biases towards other ethnic and cultural groups present in their grades, they will need to express their own personal ideas about what these groups are like and how they feel towards these groups in general. They will also have to consider the issue of whether these ideas and feelings truly correspond to reality. After that, the students will be required to write the scenario, which means that they will also advance their skills of formulating and presenting their thoughts and opinions on paper.

Nurturing the Confidence to Try

It is important to remember that teenagers are often reluctant to work on projects, especially those involving creativity, as students are afraid of being misunderstood or mocked. The educator has to inspire students to start and complete their projects. Jessica Wachter stresses that everyone has the creative potential and it is enough to take courage to try (Everyone is an artist, 2013). Students should watch the video with Wachter’s talk, which can inspire young people.

The discussion of the influence of culture on people will involve contemplating various literary works by different authors. Students will be encouraged to analyze each other’s biases and provide a friendly, reasonable evaluation of their thoughts.

Helping Learners Find Their Creative Strengths

Apart from encouraging students to try, the teacher should also help them find their creative strengths. Many young people lack confidence and tend to think that creativity cannot be taught or trained; they are reluctant to explore their creativity. Hence, the teacher has to identify the strength of each student and help them use it.

During discussions, the teacher has to pay attention to each student’s ideas and interests. The learners will be asked to write a scenario. They will be free to choose from a wide range of topics. More importantly, they will also choose any type of situation they like. Their creativity will be further developed by finding a way to properly address the problem coming from real experience in their scenario. The teacher should explain the importance of taking the stand and communicate ideas to make sure that all voices are heard. Furthermore, the final project presupposes a wide range of tasks including writing, acting, putting makeup, creating costumes and scenery, and so on. All students will be able to participate and explore their creativity when completing these tasks.

Conveying an Understanding of Phases in Creative Work and the Need for Time

Finally, the students should understand that any creative work as well as any task at all requires specific time and often consists of phases. At the beginning of the program, the educator will show a chart where the stages of the program will be provided. The educator will explain that each stage is important and cannot be omitted. The educator has to make sure that students understand that planning is necessary even when working on creative tasks.

While working on their plays and especially while working on the final project (the scenario), students will also develop a plan where they highlight major stages of their work. The educator and students will have a discussion on the benefits of making plans and following them. This will help students to manage their time properly when working on creative tasks.

Reference List

Everyone is an artist: Jessica Wachter at TEDxDesMoines. (2013). Web.

Gay, G. (2009). Teaching to and through cultural diversity. Curriculum Inquiry, 43(1), 48-70.

McCaslin, N. (2006). Creative drama in the classroom. Boston, MA: Pearson.

Robinson, K. (2011). Out of our minds: Learning to be creative. Westford, MA: Capstone.

Thompson, N.E., & Wheeler, J.P. (2009). Diversity in the family and consumer sciences classroom: Teaching and learning strategies. Journal of Family & Consumer Sciences Education, 27(2), 56-62.

A big idea is a concept or statement that is core to the study of mathematics. It connects various topics in the mathematics syllabus into one big idea. The concept of big ideas focuses on breaking down the mathematics curriculum into subsections that can be taught and learnt easily. The advantages can be assessed in two perspectives in terms of the importance to the student and teacher because the big ideas concept focuses on making learning and instructions easy and understandable (Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority, 2014).

One of the major advantages that a student enjoys from this concept of learning mathematics is the connection between new and known ideas being learnt. At a higher level of learning, students learn about fractions which are just a continuation of the learning sections which started at pre-school (Charles, 2005).

Big idea’s help students relate what was taught in the first year to the subsequent ones. This aspect has high importance because it makes learning fast for the student (Knowing and Learning Mathematics, 2001). Secondly, the learner benefits from the big ideas focus by being provided with the opportunity to explore concepts thoroughly. Ontario Education (2006) stated that programs that are organised around big ideas provide cohesive learning opportunities that will allow students to explore mathematical concepts in depth. This allows students to embrace the conceptual foundations of mathematics.

Apart from being an advantage to the learners, Charles (as cited by Siemon, Bleckly and Neal, 2012) claims that focusing on big ideas and the links between helps to deepen teacher knowledge and confidence for teaching maths. Another advantage of the big ideas to the teacher is categorization of topics. Categorization of topics is very useful as it will assist the teacher when teaching mathematics using connected ideologies. The related topics of study are taught in a connected way according to the concepts of big ideas (Van-de-Walle, Karp, & Bay-Williams, 2013). Big ideas can make selecting instructional decisions and identifying prior learning easier.

Chosen Big Idea: Numbers

Numbers are the baseline and determinants of the perspectives in mathematics. Being able to understand and work with numbers is essential in every aspect of everyday life. Understanding numbers means being able to estimate, measure, calculate mentally, to compute using different ways and use calculators when necessary. Furthermore, understanding numbers is important for students to be able to make sense of a problem as well as making sense of solutions (Booker, Bond, Sparrow and Swan, 2010). A great sense of numbers helps student’s make sense of the world around them.

To simplify numbers, they can be classified into whole, counting or integers. The practise of counting identifies the tally of thing available at an instance. Primarily, the final number of a tally identifies the amount of items or things present. The items presented in a group are represented by a specific symbol and word. Each symbol is a representation of integers. There are many points between integers in a number line. The lowest integer is zero while the lower counting number is 1. The whole numbers are related strictly to certain point of a number line. These numbers help in identifying the positions of items by the use of position like second and third. These key understandings form the basis of the ‘Big Ideas’ of numbers.

Quantity, operational sense, relationships and representations are all Big Ideas of numbers that students must learn to be successful in all other areas of maths. Firstly, the big idea of quantity is identifying how much there is of something. Having an understanding of quantities represented by whole numbers, decimal numbers, fractions, and percents is the foundation of all mathematics (Ontario Education, 2006).

Quantity

Quantifying numbers is an imperative aspect in order to understand their values. This practise commences within the primary grades where learners are introduced into the value of 2-3 digit numbers (Smith & Adams, 2009). For instance, students are taught to compare values of these numbers using such phrases as ‘more than’, ‘less than’, and ‘equals’ among others. A step further, the junior grades are made conversant with quantification of multi-digits including the percents, decimals, fractions and integers. The instructions are aided by such enhancements as picture and practical involvement of learners especially in instilling the concept of fractions and their values.

The most paramount techniques of enlightening learners of the junior grade on value of whole numbers involve the use of place values. For example, the number 4967 has 4 thousands, 9 hundreds, 6 tens, and 7 ones that quantifies that strength of each digit in the number. When students learn that the place values exceed by a multiple of 10, the meaning of each digit becomes elaborate. The decimals apply a similar concept where each digit is associated with the place values for quantification. However, quantifying fractions is related to its closeness with zero. In junior grades, these basic values are preceded by the meaningful quantification involving distances, mass, weight, temperature, and time among others.

Operational Sense

Knowing and valuing numbers is practically essential, but sensibly too basic for the numbers operations. Students of the primary grades are introduced to concepts of addition and subtraction where they count, combine, and partition numbers (Tainsh, 2002). Their subtraction and addition habits make meanings for multiplication and subtraction. This understanding is attributed to use of repeated addition and subtraction of equal parts. However, the actual multiplication techniques kick in the junior level where an understanding of grouping starts (The Oxford University Press, 2014). Furthermore, the learning is reinforced by rules and principles. For instance, any number multiplied by zero gives an answer 0. Adding a number repeatedly from zero gives the multiples of that number.

Relationships

Relating numbers and developing a sense of their sequences assists students to establish solid connections in mathematics. The relations enable a strong adherence to the number system as well as its operations (Tainsh, 2002). In the junior grades, the learners get a basis of identifying why some fractions are lower of higher than others. For instance, 3/10 is greater than 1/5 since 1/5 is equal to 2/10. This enlightenment makes it easy to compute using numbers. All the four operations of adding and subtracting introduced in the primary grades are applied for junior grades while involving huger numbers. The relations of fractions, numbers, percents, and fractions are also met here at the junior level. For instance, 17% is equal to 17/100 and 0.17.

Representation

Numbers can be represented in various ways for simpler understanding and recognition of their value. For instance, 169 can be represented by 13². On the other hand, the huge figures like 6000000 can be represented as 6 millions. The other one is about ratio that involves the use of a sign ‘:’. For instance, 2:3 may imply 2 for every 3 things. These strategies make the reading of numbers and their writing easier and not confusing. The placement of digits and their values acts as quantifiers (Siemon, Bleckly, and Neal, 2012). For instance, when considering 6 in 760 and 560000, the first represents 6 tens while the second is 6 ten thousands. However, a clear understanding is imperative for distinction between whole numbers and decimals. The decimal point represents the separation. For fractions, teachers provide many concrete models to elaborate the fraction concept.

Concept Map

Note: All codes taken from ACARA (Australian Curriculum and Reporting Agency), 2014.

Curriculum Links

References

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2014). Web.

Charles, R. I. (2005). Big Ideas and Understandings as the Foundations for School Mathematics. APS Mathematics Teacher 6(2), 1-6.

Knowing and Learning Mathematics for Teaching: Proceedings of a Workshop (2001). The National Academies Press,12, 6.

Nelson, T. (2002). Mathematics Education: A Summary of Research, Theories, and Practice. New York: Oxford.

Siemon,D., Bleckly, J. and Neal, D. (2012). Working with the Big Ideas in Number and the Australian Curriculum: Mathematics. Web.

Smith, D., & Adams, S. (2009). If…: A mind-bending new way of looking at big ideas and numbers. New York: St. Martin’s Press.

Tainsh, R. (2002). Numbers. New York: Priddy Bicknell/St. Martin’s Press.

The Oxford University Press. (2014). Web.

Van-de-Walle, J. A., Karp, K. S., & Bay-Williams, J. M. (2013). Elementary and Middle School Mathematics: Teaching Developmentally. New York: Pearson.

The dissertation paper under analysis is called “Teacher Collaboration in Context: Professional Learning Communities in an Era of Standardization and Accountability” written by Karen Benson and approved in June 2011. The work explores the outcomes of the recently implemented education reform. Benson’s dissertations focus on such aspects as strict accountability, the emphasis of standardization of curriculum components and materials, pedagogy approaches and the use of standardized tests to evaluate learning and measure teacher, administrator and school performance (2011). The author admits that the result of the standardization and closer attention towards the performance of educators was the appearance of collaborative unions of the teachers created with the purpose of the exchange of knowledge and information to improve teaching techniques and strategies. In the paper, Benson (2011) conducts an investigation of the teachers’ cooperation within the collaborative groups that practice regular comparison of performances and the learners’ results.

Objectives and Research Problems

The dissertation has two main objectives. The first purpose of Benson’s research was to examine how teachers react to the participation in the collaborative professional learning communities where the practice of comparison of the academic performance and results of the learners is held often. The second objective of the inquiry was to discuss questions about the impact of standardization of pedagogy, curriculum and assessment practices produced on the educators. The teachers’ reactions to higher levels of accountability and transparency, their interpersonal relations and interactions were studied. The questions raised by the author are very timely since the reforms of the American system of education forced many teachers to change their habitual approaches to work and get out of their comfort zone. In other words, such practice as professional collaboration is not very common among educators who are used to working alone. Evidence-based comparison and analysis of the educators’ results held in collaborative groups are likely to create tension and alienate some of the participants.

Study Type

Benson’s study is focused on the exploration of the teachers’ reactions towards the newly introduced practices of collaboration. The author mentions that higher accountability and transparency may have two different sides and produce opposite effects on the participating educators. For instance, some of the teachers might benefit from collaboration and obtain new knowledge in their career field, some might help others improve and acquire a new perspective on their work, but many may feel extreme pressure and discomfort related to the public exposure of their students’ results followed by discussions and evaluations.

Since Benson’s work is focused on the investigation of the teachers’ reactions to particular situations and circumstances, it is possible to state that the paradigm of her research is based on positivist philosophy focused on the interdependency of people and the world around. As to the methodology of the study, Benson (2011) emphasizes that selecting one appropriate method is not enough to build a successful inquiry. The key to a good dissertation is the accurate selection of the scholarly approach to the researched issue which will affect the way an author interprets their findings, the use of literature and methods. Benson’s work is ethnographic qualitative or interpretative research using interviews for the participants as a source of data.

Data Collection Procedures

The dissertation under analysis is an ethnographic study, which means that the author was focused on the collection of information from the participants and evaluating it taking into consideration their values, responses to the situations, personal experiences, and behaviors. The method of the collection of qualitative data chosen by the author is the interview. All of the participants of the study were one by one inquired about their perceptions and reactions to the collaborative practices including the public exposure of the results of their work (Benson, 2011). The purpose of interviewing was to understand the meaning the teachers construct their work and experiences. The interviews contain information about the educators’ personal experiences concerning collaboration with their peers. It is emphasized that the participants’ subjective ideas and points of view were researched.

Results and Analysis

To ensure the variety and validity of the results, the author interviewed diverse participants (teachers of high, middle and elementary schools with different economic conditions from across a whole district). All of the participants were highly experienced (more than 15 years of practice in public schools). The interviewer employed typical and specific grand-tour questions and examples or experience and mini-tour questions (Benson, 2011). The teachers were to look through the hard copies of their interviews and add remarks if needed. This was an ethically appropriate measure so that the participants knew their experiences and answers were not misinterpreted or distorted.

Since Benson’s study is ethnographic, there was a need to group and code the collected data. For this, the author chose Barone’s typology which included such categories for the participants’ responses as complying, embracing, coping, subverting, negotiating, collective resistance, and escaping (Benson, 2011). The author specifically focused on the signs of cooperative and competitive school cultures in the responses of the teachers. Benson’s task was to process the received information and then work out a cultural interpretation of the meaning the interviewees assign to situations and behaviors. Describing and analyzing the data Benson intended to stimulate further discussion of the challenges in modern education. The author practiced the “self-conscious method” critically evaluating the responses she decided to use in her study to ensure better objectivity (Benson, 2011).

The cohesion of the Study

The study is very focused on the subject and reflects on all of its aspects. The author discusses the causes of the problem she researches, and then she provides a literature review, shares her own impressions and concerns, preparation for the research, data collection, and analysis of the results. The dissertation is very cohesive; all of the chapters concentrate only on the research problems. All of its sections and subsections are interconnected and have one common subject.

Author’s Approach and Logic

The author discusses her evaluation and lengthy recalibration of the paper in order to achieve better objectivity, to present bias-free data. This was done with the purpose to stimulate the future discussions of the most vital problems in the field of education, the newest changes and how they change the professional environments for the teachers. As the author of ethnographic qualitative research, Benson kept her main focus on the scientific interpretation and categorization of the responses she collected during the interviews with the participants.

Besides, the author remembered about the ethical standards and requirements. Benson thought through the ways of preserving the anonymity of the participants of her study so that their responses could not affect their careers and positions in any way. The author included both positive and negative responses of the participants to demonstrate the multiple effects of standardized learning and assessment produce on the teachers. Benson showed that many educators had mixed feelings about this policy and it was perceived as equalizing and generalizing, erasing the students’ and teacher’s uniqueness, limiting and often frustrating practice.

Need for Further Investigation

The need for the preservation of the teacher’s uniqueness and identity is one of the problems that still remain unattended. Benson often remarks that teachers may be reluctant about sharing their personally developed lessons, techniques and materials with their groups because such altruism would erase their individual approaches. The adoption of national and common core standards is another aspect Benson views as a potential field for further research. There is on the opinion that standardization of the modern education is designed to improve the performance of the students with the worst results, yet the high performers are often left unmonitored which leads to the reduction of the numbers of excellent learners and promoting average results (Dahlin, Xiang, Durant & Cronin, 2010).

Conclusion

The dissertation by Benson is focused on the exploration of the teachers’ responses to the higher accountability and transparency in contemporary education forcing them to collaborate with the peers and have their results exposed to the public. The study is cohesive and provides bias-free information and valid data from diverse participants. The study contains detailed descriptions of every stage of the research and contains valuable recommendations for further research.

Reference List

Benson, K. (2011). Teacher Collaboration in Context: Professional Learning Communities in an Era of Standardization and Accountability. (Doctoral dissertation). Web.

Dahlin, M., Xiang, Y., Durant, S., & Cronin, J. (2010). State standards and student growth: Why state standards don’t matter as much as we thought. Web.

Language Learning Goals and Rewards

Language learning has several specific characteristics in comparison with virtually any other academic discipline studied in the classroom. A major difference is that, in classrooms, learners receive specific knowledge that they may further primarily apply to their work-related activities. In language classrooms, on the other hand, learners are given something they will use all the time, not only in their work but also in interpersonal communications and even their thinking processes can be affected if they learn to think in an additional language (Gibbons 2015). The word ‘given,’ however, may not be fully applicable in this context because language cannot be taught—it has to be learned, i.e., it requires committed efforts and active engagement from the learner (Murray & Christison 2011). To achieve it, it is needed to address the goals of language learning and the way they are explained by teachers and perceived by learners.

From my own teaching experience, I have seen that learners display excitement and even delight when they first manage to express their coherent thoughts in a foreign language. Conversations are encouraged, and at some point, I saw students become very excited when their vocabulary and speed of speaking English allowed them to express their opinion. There was one student who was either too shy to talk or too self-conscious about his English, so he would only talk in class when I specifically asked him to. He was always prepared, so he knew all the words we had studied, but he would rarely say anything apart from phrases from the textbook. When he finally felt that he could talk to his classmates in English, even with the simplest phrases and still with mistakes but outside the contexts of situations studied in the textbook, on a variety of subjects, he became amused, relaxed, and active.

I think the ability to communicate is exactly the main reward of learning an additional language. It is what should be stressed when formulating the goals of language learning. Ellis (2013) demonstrated that language teachers who are also successful language learners are less critical about language competence and try to find more rewards for the people they teach. One of such rewards is the ability to express oneself and be understood by a person with a dramatically different cultural background.

As English is becoming a global language, it is becoming more diverse. Murata and Jenkins (2009) use the term ‘English users’ and stress that meanings in English are constantly creatively negotiated because of the cultural differences among users. But what remains important is that they understand each other, and the feeling of effective, successful communication is what is capable of igniting the passion for language learning, which is why it should be promoted as the main goal for learners and teachers.

Language and Culture

Cultural differences are what many language teachers are afraid of. It is the fear of saying something that will be perceived as offensive, of being misunderstood or gravely misunderstanding one’s students (Duff & Talmy 2011). Besides, in diverse classrooms, learners from different backgrounds can even have conflicts because of cultural differences. However, come to think of it, to have a conflict and argue, the conflicting people should speak the same language. Therefore, they already have something in common, which increases the chances for them to understand each other. It is one of the main features of language learning: balancing between cultural specificity, where values may be different, and a common context, where at least meanings are shared. To understand this, it is helpful to turn to Kramsch’s (2014) five language- and culture-related concerns of teachers.

First, it is important to assess the cultural meaning of a linguistic sign, i.e. how people speaking the same language or different languages think differently because particular concepts are decoded into different meanings for them. Second, the opposite process (Luke & Freebody 1999) should be addressed, too, i.e., how cultural frameworks encode messages into particular linguistic signs. Third, it can be observed that culture not only affects communication but is also affected by it, i.e., cultural frameworks can be reconstructed through language. Fourth, this analysis of language and culture should be critically evaluated by examining how it is affected by language and culture because, in analyzing, a researcher cannot use inexistent language or step outside any cultural context, which is why he or she is affected by language and culture, too (Fairclough 2013). Finally, all of this should be translated into practical methods that can be applied to actual teaching processes.

In my teaching experience, I have repeatedly seen misunderstandings among learners. In many cases, they did not understand the causes of their misunderstandings because they did not have enough experience of foreign language learning, which is why they were not prepared for the traps of cultural differences (Moran, Abramson & Moran 2014). I found it extremely effective to explain a misunderstanding. One time, in my class, two students misunderstood each other because the same word meant different things in their languages but, when I asked them to explain to the whole class what each of them had meant by the word, the confusion was over and a valuable example was, therefore, presented to all the students.

Cultural differences, however, may be far more challenging than this in a learning process. Still, similar to my example, the very analysis of them can turn out effective. When a difference is explained in one language that everyone understands, it bridges culturally different contexts and contributes to a better mutual understanding.

Learner Identity

In their attempt to define learning, Murray and Christison (2011) use the concept of transformation as they suggest that learning transforms an individual through his or her interactions with society and changes his or her beliefs and behaviors. For educators, it is important to understand that learning is a process of change, and there are three major considerations in it: the initial state of a learner, the process, i.e. how the change will be carried out, and the desired outcome (Shields 2012). For better education, all three require studying but at the very beginning, a teacher should take into account what he or she is going to transform—or rather, assist in the transformation. That is the learner’s identity.

When I taught at a rather diverse group of people, I once asked all of them what they would have told me if I had asked them who they were (right after their name and perhaps occupation because those are the things people think are expected to be heard in response). The answer to this question is not exactly one’s identity, as identity is a more complex notion (Hogg 2016), but this exercise helped me understand that not only do people have different identities, but their identities come from different areas. While for some, religion and ethnicity seemed to be the number one consideration, for others those were family or interests.

Murray and Christison (2011) stress that it is crucial in the learning process to consider the identity of a learner because failure to do so may lead to the emergence of barriers between the learner and the knowledge that teachers should help him or she obtain. I agree, but upon reviewing relevant literature and having my own experience, I also think that a teacher should help learners adopt, in addition to existing identities, the learning identity (Norton 2012), i.e., help learners identify as learners. One of my students once refused to pronounce a particular word, explaining it by the fact that she was a Muslim. As far as I understood, she thought that what the word meant was a sin, which is why saying the word was sinful, too. I did not make her pronounce anything, but in a private conversation, I asked her what else she was apart from being a Muslim. We established that she also was a woman, a representative of a certain ethnicity, a member of her family, and a few more things we listed together. And, of course, she was a student. I suggested to her that being a student, a learner, was an identity, too, and it did not mean that this identity would have violated the principles associated with her primary identity. But it did mean that learning gave her new opportunities along with new knowledge.

Discovering and promoting the identity of a learner to learners who already have many different identities can be beneficial for their effective cooperation with the purpose of learning and transforming together.

Additional Language Acquisition

Like many benevolent teachers, I tend to employ teaching strategies that I found effective in my learning. At some point in my education, I understood that certain ways of explaining things to me helped me grasp them better than other ways. I realized what the right approach to me was. And I first approached my students the same way, as I thought—if it had helped me learn, it must help them, too. But my teaching experience provided different evidence.

People learn differently. It is one of the main ideas a teacher can learn about learning (Dirksen 2015; Murray & Christison 2011; Riding & Rayner 2013). The concepts of learning styles and learning strategies show not only that there are various ways to learn, but also that some ways are more effective for some people than other ways. These differences are especially vivid in language learning.

From my own experience, I know that some people prefer to spend a lot of time with the textbook and educational materials, as they learn all the words and phrases, read texts, study rules, and do exercises. Only upon gaining some confidence, they become more active in class discussions. Others, on the other hand, prefer to talk more, despite making mistakes and lacking words sometimes, to learn from the context (Cohen 2014). And these are only two examples out of a wide range of behaviors one can see among additional language learners. However, with a variety of understandings of how language acquisition occurs, one thing that most researchers agree upon is that language acquisition should be regarded as a social process (Breen 2011; van Lier 2000). Therefore, learning should be associated with the interaction.

Learning takes commitment and determination. Teachers should understand that we demand a lot from our students: we take their time and efforts, and we need to ensure that learning is efficient, i.e. that the efforts made by the learners are adequately translated into their knowledge (Mitchell, Myles & Marsden 2013). For this purpose, it is necessary to find an individual approach to every learner and ensure that the way you teach is the best way for him or her to learn.

The Four Skills Model

One may not notice it in his or her first language or stop noticing it after achieving proficiency in an additional language, but there are many different linguistic processes that people perform in their everyday life. All those processes constitute language knowledge, but it might be helpful to regard them separately to gain a better understanding of how a language works. The primary division of language skills is into two categories: receptive and productive (Gibbons 2015). The first category includes reading and listening, and the second includes writing and speaking.

In the four skills model of language learning, it is recognized that those processes are different and require different kinds of attention and effort of a learner (Rost & Candlin 2014). Therefore, it is possible to approach improving language knowledge by tackling problems in one of these areas separately, e.g. assigning readings to a student who experiences difficulties with processing large amounts of information in a foreign language or encouraging a student who speaks English slowly and unconfidently to talk more during a class discussion (Cook 2013). In the context of this differentiation between different skills, one may ask: Are they separate skills?

The answer is probably no (Celce-Murcia 2001), as it is unlikely that there is a person for whom English is an additional language and who can read Shakespeare’s plays without a dictionary but cannot understand a single word of English when hearing it from another person. The skills are interconnected, and it is especially true for learners because they learn them all at the same time. Moreover, there is never just one process working (Hinkel 2011). Sometimes, as my students would listen to a taped conversation in English, they would draw something in the air with their fingers. The movements were unconscious, but I noticed them and understood what they meant: students were picturing how the text they were listening to would be written—to understand it better. When doing tests, some of my students would move their lips, trying to silently pronounce the sentences they saw written on the paper—to understand their meaning better or to apply the correct grammatical form. Harmer (2007, p. 265) stated that ‘it would make no sense to teach each skill in isolation’ because they are often applied simultaneously in different combinations.

However, the cognitive differences among the four skills should not be underestimated. I met a student once who told me that, when speaking English, he was like a smart dog: he understood everything but could not say a word. It seemed counterintuitive, but it is not impossible. A person who is always exposed to a language but never needs to speak it may develop an unbalanced knowledge. Balance is exactly what is pursued in the differentiation among the four skills. As part of his or her work, an educator should ensure that a learner can equally effectively express himself or herself and understand others.

Curriculum Planning and Classroom Experience

Curriculum planning is a major component of designing how learning will be organized. It is not only listing educational materials but also choosing a philosophy and a strategy of delivering knowledge. In fact, ‘delivering’ knowledge is not the only way to regard classroom experience. It is rather appropriate to talk about creating an environment where learning occurs because learning is more of an interactive process than a receptive one (Gibbons 2015; van Lier 2000). Murray and Christison (2011) identify four major principles of curriculum planning: linguistic, subject-matter-based, learner-centered, and learning-centered; each has advantages and disadvantages.

The model that I think is the most convenient and effective for me as a teacher is learning-based. The classroom experience that I strive to shape is the feeling of being together in a given place and interacting with a clear purpose to learn. A curriculum is, therefore, not a rigid plan but rather a statement of purpose and intention. Learning objectives may change according to the needs and requests of the learners, which I highly encourage, but the overall philosophy of establishing an environment of learning should always be followed, which corresponds to Vygotsky’s idea of ‘scaffolding’ (Gibbons 2015; Kayi-Aydar 2013; Yazdanpanah & Khanmohammad 2014).

One of my students once told me that he wanted to learn in the classroom, not to chat. He thought my way of teaching was flippant and lacked the provision of hard knowledge as he imagined it. I explained that language was not hard knowledge, and ‘chatting,’ in fact, could be much more effective than memorizing tons of materials. Fortunately, he eventually liked my classes, but I think many teachers may face this problem and the answer here is to explain from the very beginning that classrooms for language learning are rather interactive environments than lecture halls.

Reference List

Breen, MP 2001, ‘The social context for language learning—a neglected situation?’, Studies in Second Language Acquisition, vol. 7, no. 2, pp. 135-158.

Celce-Murcia, M (ed.) 2001, Teaching English as a second or foreign language, 3rd edn, Heinle & Heinle, Boston, MA.

Cohen, AD 2014, Strategies in learning and using a second language, Routledge, New York.

Cook, V 2013, Second language learning and language teaching, Routledge, New York.

Dirksen, J 2015, Design for how people learn, New Riders, San Francisco.

Duff, P & Talmy, S 2011, ‘Language socialization approaches to second language acquisition: social, cultural, and linguistic development in additional languages’, in D Atkinson (ed), Alternative approaches to second language acquisition, Routledge, New York, NY, pp. 95-116.

Ellis, E 2013, ‘The ESL teacher as plurilingual: an Australian perspective’, TESOL Quarterly, vol. 47, no. 3, pp. 446-471.

Fairclough, N 2013, Critical discourse analysis: the critical study of language, Routledge, New York.

Gibbons, P 2015, Scaffolding language, scaffolding learning: teaching second language learners in the mainstream classroom, Heinemann, Portsmouth.

Harmer, J 2007, How to teach English, Pearson Education, Essex.

Hinkel, E (ed) 2011, Handbook of research in second language teaching and learning, Routledge, New York, NY.

Hogg, MA 2016, ‘Social identity theory’, in S McKeown, R Haji & N Ferguson (eds), Understanding peace and conflict through social identity theory, Springer, New York, NY, pp. 3-17.

Kayi-Aydar, H 2013, ‘Scaffolding language learning in an academic ESL classroom’, ELT Journal: English Language Teaching Journal, vol. 67, no. 3, pp. 324-335.

Kramsch, C 2014, ‘Language and culture’, AILA Review, vol. 27, no. 1, pp. 30-55.

Luke, A & Freebody, P 1999, ‘A map of possible practices: further notes on the four resources model’, Practically Primary, vol. 4, no. 2, pp. 5-8.

Mitchell, R, Myles, F & Marsden, E 2013, Second language learning theories, Routledge, New York.

Moran, RT, Abramson, NR & Moran, SV 2014, Managing cultural differences, Routledge, New York.

Murata, K & Jenkins J (eds.) 2009, Global Englishes in Asian contexts: current and future debates, Palgrave Macmillan, London.

Murray, D & Christison, M 2011, What English language teachers need to know, Routledge, New York.

Norton, B 2012, ‘Identity and second language acquisition’, in CA Chapelle (ed), The encyclopedia of applied linguistics, John Wiley & Sons, Somerset, NJ.

Riding, R & Rayner, S 2013, Cognitive styles and learning strategies: understanding style differences in learning and behavior, Routledge, New York.

Rost, M & Candlin, CN 2014, Listening in language learning, Routledge, New York.

Shields, CM 2012, Transformative leadership in education: equitable change in an uncertain and complex world, Routledge, New York.

Van Lier, L 2000, ‘From input to affordance: social-interactive learning from an ecological perspective’, in JP Lantolf (ed), Sociocultural theory and second language learning, Oxford University Press, New York, NY, pp. 245-260.

Yazdanpanah, M & Khanmohammad, H 2014, ‘Sociocultural theory and listening comprehension: does the scaffolding of EFL learners improve their listening comprehension?’, Theory & Practice in Language Studies, vol. 4, no. 11, pp. 2389-2395.

Introduction

Reading is a vital skill necessary for successful studying. Reading is not simply the ability to recognize signs and know their meanings. It is a complex activity that requires attention, memory, knowledge of the language, and motivation. The acquisition of this skill may become rather challenging for students. The task of any teacher is to do everything possible to make the process of learning reading easy and pleasant. The role of the teacher should not be underestimated when it comes to teaching reading. A teacher is a coach who is expected to provide efficient guidance necessary for becoming a successful reader. In the following paper, a graphic organizer that categorizes the seven pillars of effective reading instructions will be created.

Graphic Organizer

Seven pillars of effective reading instructions may be regarded as a framework that guides the teacher’s activity in teaching reading skills. The teacher should rely on those pillars to choose the most efficient strategies for students to overcome reading challenges.

Teacher Knowledge

According to Reutzel and Cooter (2011), teachers should be aware of various approaches to teaching reading skills. I realize the significance of this pillar. My current practice in this area concerns following the Common Core Standards. Also, I read different kinds of research about helpful ways to improve the reading skills of students.

Assessment

In this area, I prefer following some of the practical recommendations suggested by Denton (n.d.). For example, I make notes on every student’s speed of reading and the number of words read in one minute. Also, I may ask children to explain the meaning of some words to check their comprehension and vocabulary (National Reading Panel, 2006).

Evidence-Based Instruction Practices

I always explain to the students the aims of the lesson and their responsibilities. Also, I believe that every classroom should have a library with printed materials for reading.

Response to Intervention

I divide children into small groups to meet their various needs. For example, one group includes those who have problems with skimming and scanning. This group will receive the task that is directly connected to the improvement of skimming and scanning.

Family and Community Connections

I communicate with parents of children and provide them with pieces of advice about the necessary monitoring of particular activities. Also, I recommend what home reading materials are most appropriate for the child.

Motivation and Engagement

I organize reading tasks in the form of plays or team works. For example, children have their roles in dialogues, and they should read them without mistakes and with proper intonation.

Technology and New Literacies

My common practice includes letting children use their smartphones to search for particular information on the Internet. Also, I may give them the link to the text and ask to find specific information.

Conclusion

Teaching reading may become a difficult task for any educator. Still, this skill is crucial for the further studying and academic accomplishments of students. Seven pillars of effective literacy educators form a guide for the proper organization of the learning process, providing differentiated instructions, and assessment of students’ achievements.

References

Denton, C. (n.d.). Classroom Reading Instructions that Support Struggling Readers: Key Components for Effective Teaching. Web.

National Reading Panel. (2006). Teaching Children to Read. Web.

Reutzel, D., & Cooter, R. (2011). Teaching Children to Read: The Teacher Makes the Difference. London, UK: Pearson. Web.

Introduction

Academic service-learning is one of the approaches that have been widely used for the preparation of teachers. In part, this method is based on the premise that these people should take an active part in the life of the community in order to understand the various challenges, to which students and their parents can be exposed. Furthermore, in this way, one can better understand the experiences of children who may come from diverse backgrounds. This paper is aimed at assessing service learning from the perspective of Paine’s theory. Moreover, one should show how this experience can help educators improve the learning of children from diverse social, cultural, or racial groups. Overall, one can argue that service-learning enables pre-service teachers to see various dimensions of diversity and avoid stereotypical thinking. More importantly, the knowledge and skills acquired in this way are critical for enhancing students’ academic performance and raising their self-esteem. These are the main benefits that should be examined in greater detail.

Overview of Paine’s theory

Overall, the theoretical framework developed by Lyle Paine relies on the premise that teacher’s understanding of diversity can be divided into several categories, namely, contextual, individual, pedagogical, and individual views (Paine as cited in Bell, 2007, p. 124). For example, some educators believe that diversity can be primarily explained by individual differences between students and their unique character traits (Bell, 2007, p. 124). Therefore, teachers should not make generalizations when thinking about people coming from diverse backgrounds (Bell, 2007, p. 124). In turn, many teachers believe that diversity is rooted in the “categorical affiliation” of a person (Bell, 2007, p. 124). In this context, the word categorical refers to such notions as gender, race, class, religion, and so forth. These factors shape the experiences of individuals.

Thus, one should focus on these specific criteria in order to understand and meet the needs of students as best as possible. In turn, this theory implies that diversity can be attributed to a variety of contextual factors affecting an individual. For instance, one can speak about such issues as the value system adopted in society, the economic situation within a country, behavioral norms, perception of gender, sexuality, and so forth. Finally, many educators believe that the differences among students should affect the instructional methods used by teachers. These are the main aspects of this theory. This model has profound implications for educators. By relying on its principle, teachers can better understand various aspects of diversity. Moreover, this model can assist them in understanding the needs of children. The main advantage of this approach is that it enables educators to see the complex experiences of students and their major concerns.

Overview of service-learning

Service-learning can be viewed as an important experience for students who intend to become teachers. These people need to take an active part in the life of the community in order to see how complex social environments are functioning. There are several benefits to this approach. First of all, students have an opportunity to evaluate many of their preconceived notions in a more critical way (Baldwin, Buchanan. & Rudisill, 2007, p. 315). For instance, some people can believe that low-income parents do not attach much importance to education. The main problem is that this statement is based on the stereotype which leads to the victimization of many students (Baldwin, Buchanan, & Rudisill, 2007, p. 323).

Additionally, service-learning enables students to understand their ethical and social responsibilities. For example, they need to know that some children can be much more vulnerable due to economic difficulties than others. Therefore, the duty of a teacher is to pay more attention to them. Additionally, this experience is critical for the intercultural competence of teachers. It should be noted that in many cases, students maintain contact predominantly with the representatives of cultural groups that are most familiar to them (Tagen, Mercer, Spooner-Rane, & Hepple, 2011, p. 70). As a result, they find it difficult to interact with people having a different background. In turn, service-learning helps them overcome this lack of confidence. Finally, it is important to mention that service-learning contributes to the development of leadership skills which are also critical for the professional qualities of a teacher (Chambers & Lavery, 2012, p. 133). These are the main details that should not be overlooked.

Analysis

Understanding individual differences

Overall, people, who focus on individual aspects of diversity, assume that differences between individuals manifest in an idiosyncratic way (Bell, 2007, p. 124). They cannot be explained only by the cultural, social, or gender characteristics of a person. Therefore, a teacher should focus on the character traits that make a student unusual. This is one of the perspectives on diversity. In turn, participation in community activities enables the student to understand that one should not make excessive generalizations while analyzing the behavior or values of people. In many cases, pre-service educators tend to have rather simplistic views on people who may represent certain social classes or cultural groups (Ryan, Carrington, Gitta, & Healy, 2009, p. 155).

In turn, when they interact with the representatives of diverse groups, they will see that it is necessary to consider the individual differences between people. So, they will take into account this issue and avoid stereotypes when working in the classroom. To a great extent, this skill will help them become better educators. In the future, they will be able to identify the individual needs of children as well as their concerns. In turn, children will feel more comfortable at school. Moreover, they will attach more importance to the arguments of educators. They may also avoid such pitfalls as truancy, smoking, or drug abuse. Secondly, they will be more motivated to learn. This is one of the main aspects that can be distinguished.

Categorical aspects of diversity

Categorical understanding of diversity implies that the differences between people can be explained by the impact of such factors as social class, race, gender, and so forth (Bell, 2007, p. 125). Furthermore, service-learning enables students to see how this influence manifests itself in various cases. Awareness of these factors is indispensable for teachers. In turn, by participating in community activities, students will be able to identify the needs of a specific social, racial, or cultural group. Very often, teachers can lack this knowledge (Bamber & Hankin, 2011). Apart from that, this experience can help teachers understand the risks to which a person can be exposed due to poverty, lack of educational resources, discrimination, and so forth (Boyle-Baise & Langford, 2004). In turn, this skill will also be critical for their professional development in the long term. As educators, they will better identify at-risk students whose learning can be impaired owing to various adverse factors (Campbell, 2008; Donahue, 1999). By shielding these students from these risks, teachers can enhance their academic performance and protect them from the adverse influence of peer pressure. This is one of the arguments that can be put forward.

Contextual views on diversity

Apart from that, one should not overlook the contextual understanding of diversity. This view implies that the differences between groups and individuals are often socially constructed (Bamber & Hankin, 2011). In many cases, these differences are the result of the conventions that people tacitly accept even without questioning them. In particular, one can speak about the classification of people according to such criteria as race, gender, or ethnicity. Overall, this approach implies that teachers should understand how and why certain differences emerge. In turn, service-learning can increase the students’ awareness of the impact of social conventions on the experiences of individuals. They will see that differences can be explained by the norms to which people are supposed to adhere.

For example, the differences between males and females can be attributed to the gender norms existing in the society. By taking part in community activities, students can better identify those cases when differences between people are artificially constructed. In turn, this skill can be of great value to future teachers who should help students by raising their self-esteem. This issue is relevant to people who can be victimised due to social conventions. The problem is that in many cases, students’ choices of subjects at school or colleges are shaped by gender. In turn, an educator should make sure that children can nurture and realize their talents. By acting in this way, teachers make students more engaged. In turn, a teacher can make the learning process more fulfilling. This is another detail that can be singled out.

Pedagogical perspective

Finally, it is vital to remember pedagogical views on diversity. According to this perspective, the differences between individuals should influence the strategies adopted by students (Bell, 2007, p. 125). For example, these differences can shape the design of the curriculum (Orlich, 2012, p. 41). The main peculiarity of service-learning is that future educators can get a better idea of the issues that are of the greatest importance to the representatives of various groups (Donahue, Bowyer, & Rosenberg, 2003). In some cases, educators will be able to incorporate these issues into classroom discussions. This strategy can bring several benefits to students. For example, they will not have stereotypes about different ethnic or cultural groups. So, they will gain a better idea of the complexity of modern society. This is one of the educational outcomes that should not be overlooked by future teachers.

Conclusion

On the whole, this discussion indicates that service-learning is important for the professional development of teachers. In particular, the experience gained can throw light on various dimensions of diversity. In particular, students can see that differences between people can be explained by various factors related to the social environment and idiosyncratic traits of a person. The main advantage of service-learning is that it enables educators to empower students. Moreover, their learning process can be made more engaging. Thus, service-learning can offer plenty of opportunities to future educators.

Reference List

Baldwin, S., Buchanan, A., & Rudisill, M. (2007). What Teacher Candidates Learned About Diversity, Social Justice, and Themselves From Service-Learning Experiences. Journal of Teacher Education, 58(4), 315-327.

Bamber, P., & Hankin, L. (2011) “Transformative learning through service-learning: no passport required”, Education + Training, 53(2), 190 – 206.

Bell, C. (2007). We Know it’s Service, But What are They Learning? Preservice Teachers’ Understandings of Diversity. Equity & Excellence In Education, 40(2), 123-133.

Boyle-Baise, M., & Langford, J. (2004). There are Children Here: Service Learning for Social Justice. Equity & Excellence in Education, 20(37), 55-56.

Campbell, E. (2008). The Ethics of Teaching as a Moral Profession. Curriculum Inquiry, 38(4), 357-385.

Chambers, D., & Lavery, S. (2012). Service-Learning: A Valuable Component of Pre-Service Teacher Education. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 37(4), 128-137.

Donahue, D. (1999). Service-learning for preservice teachers: Ethical dilemmas for practice. Teaching and Teacher Education, 15 (6), 685-695.

Donahue, D., Bowyer, J., & Rosenberg, D. (2003). Learning With and Learning From: Reciprocity in Service Learning in Teacher Education. Equity & Excellence in Education, 36(1), 15-27.

Orlich, D. (2012). Teaching Strategies: A Guide to Effective Instruction. New York, NY: Cengage Learning.

Ryan, M., Carrington, S., Gitta, S., & Healy, A. (2009). Taking a ‘reality’ check : expanding pre-service teachers’ views on pedagogy and diversity. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 37(2), 155-173.

Tagen, D., Mercer, K., Spooner-Rane, R., Hepple, E. (2011). Exploring Intercultural Competence: A Service-Learning Approach. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 35(11), 62-72.

Introduction

The fact that teaching is one of the most stressful occupations seems to be undoubted. Teachers have to cope with a large scope of multi-faceted challenges such as poor discipline, huge amounts of paperwork, discouraging students’ results, etc. As a consequence, it often turns out that a young specialist is unable to continue effective performance due to the stress and the work burnout. The key problem resides in the fact that the outcomes of stress are equally negative for both a teacher and students. A professional that is discouraged is highly unlikely to maintain an atmosphere favorable for consistent children’s development.

To find alternative solutions to resolve this problem, it is, first and foremost, critical to identify the key causes of stress. Thus, for instance, some experts believe that the main reason why a teacher experiences a strong moral pressure is the abundance of responsibilities he or she is expected to bear (Hartney, E, 2007). Other specialists point out the factor of the so-called “troubled students” that creates extra stress for a teacher’s performance and leads to meltdowns (Long, 2006). Also, it is the excessive amounts of paperwork a teacher is obliged to carry out that do not only distract him or her from the core activity but also create the feeling of general fatigue and exhaustion.

Moreover, as well as any other employee, a teacher has to operate within a certain community the integration into which is not always an easy task. Otherwise stated, such a common problem as the misunderstanding and the lack of support in the professional community might also play a critical role in increasing the general tension. The last, but not the least, is the factor of the overstated expectations that might distort a teacher’s positive approach when contradicting the reality (Barnes, 2002). As a result, it is considered critical to take into account all the stress factors while working out an effective program aimed at reducing teachers’ stress and burnouts.

The proposed program, “Think Positive, Think Stress-Free,” bases on the assumption that it is more rational to re-shape teachers’ perception of stress rather than try to eliminate all the stress factors from the school environment. Hence, the program implies addressing the four critical problems that are apt to have a particularly negative impact on a teacher’s stress-free performance: the paperwork, the children factor, the community problems, and the defeated expectations. It is considered reasonable to address the stress problem complexly and perform a positive change in the settled behavior patterns. In other words, it is proposed that a teacher gains the skill of coping with different stress situations in the course of the program.

The program is mainly targeted at young specialists to prevent them from quitting work by providing some useful techniques for coping with stress. In the meantime, the program might be, likewise, applied to work with experienced professionals to assist them in re-shaping their attitude to the stressful environment at work.

The program’s timeline is targeted at one month, within which each week is devoted to learning to cope with a particular stress aspect. The program’s curriculum comprises seminars, common discussions and practical classes in the framework of which teachers will be offered to take part in the role-games and find solutions for real-life situations. The key target of the proposed program resides in helping teachers re-shape their general vision of the work-related stress and outline some alternative solutions for everyday problems.

A particular emphasis is put on the assessment element. Hence, it is presumed critical to carry out both a preliminary and post-evaluation to point out the positive changes and indicate potential weaknesses in the proposed program.

The key specificity of the proposed program resides in the fact that it tries to address the problem complexly paying due regard to all the stress factors that a teacher is likely to face at work. Also, it is considered critical that the program makes a particular focus on re-shaping the vision of problems rather than eliminating the causes. Hence, it is expected that the positive attitude to challenges that will be obtained upon the program’s completion can be highly assistive not only in the teaching field but also in the non-occupational spheres of life.

Goals and Objectives

The key goal of the proposed program resides in raising job satisfaction in teachers by improving their ability to cope with stress. It is presumed that the increase in their job satisfaction will have a positive impact on their general performance and, thus, contributes to the educational process’s refinement. Therefore, the proposed program is designed to address all types of stressors and ensure a complex approach to the solution of the problem.

The proposed program targets a series of objectives:

1. an average score in the Perceived Stress Scale reduces to 5 maximum;
2. the average response to the “Support” items from Job Stress Scale is “strongly agree” or “mildly agree”;
3. teachers learn some useful techniques to optimize the paperwork;
4. teachers come to know each other better upon the course’s completion;
5. teachers develop their approaches to coping with stressors in class;
6. teachers learn to set objective and realistic aims to avoid defeated expectations.

Research

Stress Roots

First of all, it was considered critical to define the roots of the stress in order to point out potential solutions. A detailed literature review has shown that experts have varied opinions regarding the main causes of stress and burnouts in teachers. Thus, for instance, Gold and Roth (2013) suggest differentiating between professional and personal stressors (19). The fact that the causes of stress can be determined not only by the objective drawbacks of the educational system but some individual factors signifies that the elimination of all the risk factors is utterly impossible. Hence, while working out a stress reducing program, it will be more rational to focus on re-shaping the perception of stress.

In the meantime, in order to provide teachers with some useful techniques and methods, it is critical to ensure that these techniques address all types of stress. Otherwise stated, it is important to define the main stress determinants. First of all, the major part of experts agrees upon the fact that one of the most powerful stressors is an excessive paperwork. Thus, according to Herman and Reinke (2014), the majority of teachers report the constant increase in paperwork obligations when asked to indicate the key source of stress (18).

Another factor that is emphasized by experts is the so-called community factor. Hence, Reddy (2007) points out that in accordance with his research, a negative environment in the professional field has a strong impact on teacher’s motivation and general performance; it also reduces the level of job satisfaction (146). The latter remark is particularly important as it shows the interconnection between teachers’ stress and their performance.

In addition, a large scope of scientific research is devoted to the analysis of such stress factor as defeated expectations. Hence, there is an opinion that young specialists set excessively high expectations that are soon defeated by the reality (Gauthier, 2015). Otherwise stated, young graduates are initially determined to receive the highest results possible from their students. Meanwhile, what they have to face, in the course of the first year of practice, is a low motivation, critical discrepancies between the desires and the abilities, and the lack of interest in the subject on the part of the students. As a result, a teacher feels ultimately discouraged, and a large percentage of specialists prefer to give up.

The last but not the least is the so-called “children factor”. Experts point out that a significant part of stress comes from the students’ behavior and the attitude to studies that they show in class (Gohen, Manion, & Morrison, 2004). The disrespect or the misbehavior on the part of the students is a powerful stress factor as it makes a teacher distract from the core activity and occupy with the problems non-related to teaching itself. As a consequence, a significant part of the class’s time is spent on establishing silence and order, the teacher fails to meet the initially set curriculum deadline, and the general education process shows worse progress than it could have shown.

Therefore, it might be concluded that there are four main groups of stressors:

Current Statistics

The overview of the relevant statistical data has shown that the scale of the stress-related problems in teaching is concerning. Hence, most of the experts agree upon the point that the teaching career acquires negative implications due the stressful environment that have a negative impact on the people’s desire to get occupied in the relevant field.

Recent research has shown that an average teacher is absent from work for about 26 working days per year, whereas a large percentage of these teachers report the significant decline in their mental health due to the excessive stress pressure. The most concerning finding generated in the framework of this research resides in the fact that 76% of teachers consider quitting their jobs due to the unfavorable and stressing environment (Espinoza, 2015). The described figures signify a strong possibility of losing a large part of valuable and high-qualified employees in the nearest future unless the problem is timely addressed.

Whereas the research, overviewed above, shows that stress tends to determine teachers’ decisiveness to quit, another recent survey has pointed out that it also becomes a negative factor that prevents graduates from starting a career in the teaching field. Thence, according to the recent statistics, more than 10 thousand graduates refused to apply for the position of a teacher, and this number keeps growing (Cockroft, 2015).

Otherwise stated, stress reduction seems to be a critical mission that is aimed at not only improving the general teachers’ performance, but preserving the job itself – as long as the image of a teacher’s job implies negative connotations, it is predictable that fewer people will express willingness to build their careers in the relevant field.

As a result, the following interconnection might be viewed:

Measuring Techniques

As long as the problem of work-related stress in teachers seems to be evident, the question, consequently, arises regarding the assessment techniques that might assist in performing a profound evaluation of the problem’s size. There is currently a wide scope of various measuring scales aimed at assessing the level of stress.

First and foremost, one of the most wide-spread measuring techniques is Occupational Stress Inventory–Revised Edition (OSI-R). The method was initially generated by Osipow and Spokane and is aimed at assessing the three key aspects of the occupational field: work-related stress, psychological pressure, and resource challenge (SIGMA, 2016). The Occupational Stress Inventory–Revised Edition (OSI-R) includes 14 different scales (SIGMA, 2016):

Occupational Stress

• Role Overload.
• Role Insufficiency.
• Role Ambiguity.
• Role Boundary.
• Responsibility.
• Physical Environment.

Psychological Strain

• Vocational Stress.
• Psychological Strain.
• Interpersonal Strain.
• Physical Strain.

Coping Resources

• Recreation.
• Self-Care.
• Social Support.
• Rational / Cognitive Coping.

The results of the test allow developing a stress “profile” of an employee. In the meantime, the application of this method is apt to have some disadvantages. Thus, the technique does not contain any precise questions; instead, it suggests teachers evaluate their level of stress for different aspects. However, some of the aspects might be unclear so that there is a strong possibility that teachers will provide inaccurate information due to the lack of understanding.

Another popular technique is the Perceived Stress Scale developed by Sheldon Cohen. The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) is a commonly applied psychological technique aimed at evaluating the perception of stress (Cohen, Kamarck, & Mermelstein, 1983).

The measuring scale contains 10 concise questions designed to indicate how unpredictable variables affect respondents’ lives (Figure 3). The key benefit of this technique resides in the fact that all the questions are simply formulated, and the potential responses are easy to understand.

In addition, the proposed items are of a general nature. Otherwise stated, they are free of the specific context relevant to particular communities; thus, the test can be applied in any occupation field. Meanwhile, this technique has a critical drawback – all the questions are posed to retrieve the information within one-month period only. In addition, the scale was worked out almost half a century ago and might fail to consider some important variables.

Lastly, one of the most efficient measuring techniques is the Job Stress Survey (JSS). The 30-item scale designed by Spielberger is aimed at evaluating the work-related stressors and their causes. The method is currently applied to various business or educational settings (Statistics Solutions, 2016). It is essential to note that the proposed scale is rather complex; therefore, it is considered rational to search for the alternative simplified variants of the method.

Hence, for instance, a group of Portuguese researchers has developed a shorter JSS scale preserving the initial concept. Their scale (Figure 4) contains questions that imply a non-direct measuring of stress in employees (Alves, Chor, Faersteinc, Lopes, & Werneckd, 2004). The key benefit of this technique resides in the fact that the questionnaire addresses all types of the stress-related problems with clear and simple definitions.

Solution Practices

It is essential to note that the problem of stress reduction in teaching environment has been widely addressed by the scientific community. One of the most complex studies has been carried out by Netherland researchers. The experts have performed a consistent analysis of different types of interventions aimed at reducing work-related stress: cognitive-behavioral, multimodal, and organization-focused. Whereas the latter two interventions were focused on eliminating the objective stressors from the working environment, the first intervention implied re-shaping employees’ perception of stress and changing the ineffective behavioral patterns in stress situations.

According to the research findings, the cognitive-behavioral approach turned out to be the most effective stress reducing intervention (Klink, Blonk, Schene, & Dijk, 2001). Therefore, it can be assumed that the key aim of a potential stress reduction program should reside in helping teachers change their vision of the existing stressors, make a shift to the positive approach and assist them in learning some useful techniques of stress management.

Another important research was carried out by American scientists. Jennings and Greenberg (2008) performed a detailed analysis of the factors that have a significant impact on the teacher’s stress-free performance. The study has shown that those specialists that possess the so-called social and emotional competence (SEC) are more likely to cope with stress situations that appear in class. The researchers point out that there is a close interconnection between a teacher’s SEC and the ability to resist stress and burnouts (Jennings & Greenberg, 2008). Hence, it might be concluded that a stress reduction program should be, first and foremost, aimed at helping a teacher improve the emotional competence.

Program Outline

Program Description

The proposed program is aimed at helping teachers develop the resistance to stress and burnouts. The program is based on a complex approach to address all types of stressors: the student factor, the community factor, the defeated expectation and the paperwork.

The program is designed for the four-week period, within which each week is devoted to the development of the techniques assistive in coping with a particular type of stressor. In order to ensure consistent evaluation, it is recommended that the teachers complete several tests to identify the preliminary level of stress and assess the post-results.

The implementation of the program is highly cost-effective. Thus, minimal expenses are required, and the curriculum does not set any strict limitations regarding the settings. Otherwise stated, the courses can take place in any available classroom or outside.

Preparatory Stage

Before implementing the program, it is essential to carry out the relevant assessments. Thus, teachers will be offered to complete the Job Stress Scale (Figure 4) and the Perceived Stress Scale (Figure 3). The JSS findings will provide general insights of a teacher’s attitude to work and stress while the PSS results will help to indicate particular problems. It is considered that a teacher capable of coping with stress is likely to have 0-12 scores in the Perceived Stress Scale.

Schedule

Week 1

Description

During the first week, the teachers are to solve the problems related to the abundance of paperwork, which causes additional stress during each term. The lack of time can increase the nervousness in the teachers, so the target is to give the teacher a chance to reduce the stress caused by a large scope of documents and tables they are obliged to complete every month.

Activities

The coaches will meet every member of the teaching staff in order to collect all the necessary information concerning their personal attitude towards this problem. They will ask the questions referring to the advantages and the disadvantages of paperwork. After that, the teachers will have a special meeting devoted to the abundance of the paperwork. The trainers are to give information related to all the peculiarities of working with papers.

They will revise the material and learn new information about the changes in the document executions. Realizing that they cannot get rid of the paperwork, the teachers will be offered to find alternative solutions to optimize their performance. For example, the teachers that give lessons on the same subjects may share the paperwork among a small group. Moreover, they can create integrated teaching programs that will save their time considerably.

During this week, the coaches will have a debate devoted to this problem. The coaches will divide teachers into two groups. Each team will be supposed to offer the most optimized solution for coping with a particular type of documentation. Teachers will share their experience and adopt the best practices from one another. It is critical that the teachers are able to discuss this issue properly in a friendly atmosphere. Later on, the coaches will hold an origami master class to release the general tension. The teachers will use the old papers and documents. This fun activity will soften the stress connected with this factor.

Finally, the coaches will divide the teachers into small groups, they will sum up the ideas discussed during the week and add the points not mentioned during this period. They will find the solutions which can help them reduce the time spent om paperwork without changing the core concepts of the educational system and its regulations.

Benefits

First and foremost, the teachers will be able to share their skills in coping with paperwork. It is expected that every teacher will contribute by offering an effective method of document management. The optimization of the paperwork will save assist in saving time, giving the teachers a lot of opportunities to spend it on improving their teaching methods.

It is also proposed that the school authorities give two extra days during the period of holidays in order to enable the teachers to fill in all the necessary tables, or to write detailed reports on the process of studying. The teachers will feel more encouraged and supported; as a result, they will not experience excessive stress at the end of each term.

Week 2

Description

This week is devoted to stress caused by the so-called “student factor”. In the course of this week, the teachers will discuss various problems related to children, their motivation and the general attitude to studies. It is considered critical that this week will help the teachers realize they all have common problems and encourage them to unite in their solutions.

Activities

The coaches will start the new week with a short seminar devoted to the low-motivated children, misbehavior, the lack of respect, etc. They will help the teachers to revise the well-known psychological material as well as to get acquainted with the new tendencies in educational practices.

Later on, the coaches will suggest the teaching staff create colorful projects illustrating their ideas about increasing motivation. As well as in the course of the previous week, the teachers will be divided into several groups. In such a manner, they will have fewer difficulties completing the tasks and get to know each other better that will have a positive impact on the general environment in the community.

After that, they will have a day devoted to sharing their vision of the problem. They will also visualize the problem trying to imagine low-motivated or misbehaving children as positive personalities, accidentally bewitched by an evil wizard. The teachers will have to pretend to be the only heroes capable of unspelling them. Hence, they will observe the problem from some new standpoints, and it will help them to find effective solutions.

During the presentation process, the coaches will give the teachers special note boards (ex. “I like the way you are”). The teachers will be able to hang these note boards in their classrooms as the source of extra inspiration. In addition, their task will reside in writing notes on the board, where they will express positive feelings towards children: the reasons why they are grateful to all of them or a particular student. They should write something new every day, and try to involve children in all the possible ways. The notes with positive implications can be applied to the board, whereas the negative notes should be prohibited.

Moreover, the coaches will help teachers find new methods of relaxation which they can employ during their lessons in order to eliminate stress in both the adults and the children. The teachers will likewise have a chance to create a plan of organizing school takeover days so that the children with low motivation level and misbehavior can be involved in the teaching process on this day.

Finally, the teachers will also be encouraged to have the day of the so-called self-analysis. Under the supervision of the coaches, they will have an opportunity to analyze stressful situations connected with students, and indicate the drawbacks in their own behavior patterns. These patterns will be commonly discussed, and the potential improvements will be targeted. Thus, the teachers will be able to observe the stressors from different perspectives, share their skills with the colleagues and adopt the best practices from the latter. In addition, they will be proposed to take part in a role-playing game to work out different situations in the lessons, in the framework of which, each teacher should perform the role of a child.

Benefits

The revision of the theoretical basis and the acquaintance with the new teaching practices will let the teachers develop new approaches and techniques. In addition, the teachers will have a chance to analyze their behavioral patterns and find the current flaws. It is considered that the methods of visualization will assist in creating a positive attitude towards difficult situations and motivate adults to overcome stressful situations easily so that they will have enough energy for creativity. Lastly, the group work will have a positive impact on the community environment – the teachers will learn to understand their colleagues through the intense communication.

Week 3

Description

The third week is devoted to the atmosphere inside the teaching community. Thus, the principal activity is aimed at solving the problems that exist among the members of the teaching staff and prevent them from an effective cooperation. This week plays an important role as the stress caused by misunderstanding or prepossessions in the community can influence the productivity of a teacher to a great extent. Thus, the coaches will encourage the teachers to participate in the team-building exercises.

Activities

At the beginning of the week, the coaches will hold a game called “The Way I see You.” The teachers will be welcomed to gather in a circle. According to the game’s concept, they are supposed to pass an orange to each other. As soon as the coach says “stop,” the person holding the orange should address the colleague next to him or her, naming the professional advantages that the latter possesses. All the participants will have a chance to ask him or her personal questions, and the teacher should be honest in the responses to the colleagues.

Later on, the coaches will organize a common discussion that will have an unconventional character. In the course of the discussion, each teacher will be expected to share his most unsuccessful experience in teaching. The main aim of this group talk resides in elevating the trust and the sincerity in the community. Sharing their negative experience, the teachers are likely to sympathize one to another. In addition, this method will help the teachers develop a more tolerant attitude towards their own mistakes and the colleagues’ faults.

A significant focus throughout the third week will be placed on encouraging the teachers to join in the common activities. Thus, the teachers will be proposed to create a special chart that will include important dates that will signify their picnics, trips, celebrations, etc. It is considered that the common activity in the framework of the informal environment will help to develop friendlier relationships among the colleagues. To set a positive example, the coaches will organize an informal lunch for teachers on the last day of this week.

Benefits

The methods employed in the course of the third week are expected to be particularly useful for young teachers who often experience the problems of the integration into the new team. With the help of the outlined tasks, they will receive a chance to gather more information regarding their colleagues.

Hence, the common interaction will increase the inner unity among the teaching staff. In addition, the positive attitude along with the readiness to help each other developed through common activities will be beneficial for resolving the work-related problems. Lastly, in spite of the fact, that the key aim of the week resides in improving the relations between the community members, the teachers will inevitably share valuable professional experience while completing a particular task. As a consequence, the week is supposed to be beneficial in terms of both professional and personal development.

Week 4

Description

During this week, the teachers are supposed to analyze the inner conflicts that appear due to the contradictions between their expectations and the reality. In other words, the activities of this week mainly address such stress factor as defeated expectations. As long as the disappointment that is particularly typical of young teachers leads to crucial outcomes, it is considered critical that the teachers learn to set objective and realistic aims and shape their expectations in accordance with the real environment.

Activities

First and foremost, the coaches will organize the motivating lecture concerning the benefits of being a teacher. Special psychologists invited to the lecture will support the teachers having problems with the loss of motivation. After that, the teachers are to fill in the table divided into two big columns. In the first column, they should write down all the possible advantages and in the second one, they should note the disadvantages of being a teacher. The coaches will analyze the results and write them down on the blackboard and count the identified “pros and cons.” After that a common discussion will be held, in the course of which, the teachers will try to turn the defined drawbacks into the benefits.

During this week, the coaches will likewise organize the meeting with the school authorities. The teachers will be able to discuss those objective drawbacks that they defined on the first day: the school schedule, the day offs, and the paperwork. The authorities will have an individual task to find alternative solutions to encourage the employees.

In the middle of the week, the coaches will invite those teachers from other schools who have shown some achievements in the professional field. They will be able to inspire the colleagues, and describe their vision of targeting.

Upon the week’s completion, each teacher will be welcomed to compose a list of the short-term objectives basing on the practices adopted in the course of the activities. The teachers will also have a chance to represent their target lists in front of the colleagues and explain the rationale for every aim set. The members of the community might comment on the plans of their colleagues and provide the piece of advice if necessary.

Benefits

The activities of the week are expected to remind the teachers of the benefits of their work and the prospects it offers. In addition, the productive interaction between the teaching staff and the school authorities can establish a more favorable atmosphere inside the school – the teachers will receive the essential feedback and the necessary support. Moreover, it is assumed that the activities of the week will assist the teachers in performing a more rational targeting and avoiding, in such a manner, disappointment and frustration.

Program Assessment

The program’s efficacy will be assessed with the help of the following indicators:

• the scores gained in the Perceived Stress Scale;
• the scores gained in the Job Stress Scale;
• the number of days off required due to the burnout;
• the number of common activities the teachers organizes within their community;

It is suggested that the outcomes are evaluated in three stages:

• immediately after the program’s completion;
• in six months;
• in a year.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it should necessarily be pointed out that the problem of stress and burnouts in teachers hurts various variables: teachers’ performance, community environment, students’ motivation. Hence, this problem needs to be addressed timely and complexly.

It is assumed that the proposed program will assist teachers in re-shaping their perception of stress, working out effective stress reduction techniques and eliminating the negative behavioral patterns. Also, the large scope of group activities is likely to help young teachers get better integrated into the new community and develop a tolerant attitude towards their colleagues.

The program’s implementation does not require any considerable expenses or high-cost equipment. Hence, the program can be potentially implemented in any environment. In the meantime, it is critical that all the community members, including the school’s authorities, participate in the program to ensure consistent interconnection and effective solutions to the problems.

Reference List

Alves, M.G., Chor, D., Faersteinc, E., Lopes, C., & Werneckd, G.L. (2004). Short version of the “job stress scale”: a Portuguese-language adaptation. Revista de Saude Publica, 38(2), 1-7. Web.

Barnes, R. (2002). Positive Teaching, Positive Learning. New York, New York: Routledge. Web.

Cockroft, S. (2015). Four out of 10 new teachers don’t last a YEAR in the classroom because they are put off by ‘exhausted and stressed colleagues’ says union boss. Daily Mail. Web.

Cohen, S., Kamarck, T., & Mermelstein, R. (1983). A global measure of perceived stress. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 24(1), 386-396. Web.

Espinoza, J. (2015). ‘Stress pushing teachers to leave profession,’ figures show. Telegraph. Web.

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