------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

1.-  REDUCING SEXISM IN THE CLASSROOM

 

Reducing Sexism in the Classroom

By Gladys A. Juncos

 

 

Introduction

 

The practice of assigning masculine gender to neutral terms comes from the fact that every language reflects the prejudices of the society in which it evolved, and English evolved through most of its history in a male-centered, patriarchal society. Like any other language, however, English is always changing. One only has to read aloud sentences from the 19th century books to sense the shifts that have occurred in the last 150 years. When readers pick up something to read, they expect different conventions depending on the time in which the material was written.  Writers in 1990s need to be not only aware of the conventions that our readers may expect, but also conscious of the responses their words may elicit. In addition, they need to know how the shifting nature of language can make certain words awkward or misleading. The use of “man, his , him” in English to indicate both genders can be seen as a remnant of sexism in our culture reflected in our language. These differences between men’s and women’s discourse are the result of stereotypes, which are changeable and changing. The stereotypes have their basis in our cognitive abilities, as proposed by cognitive psychology and semantics.

 

‘Women are Intuitive, Men are Logical’

 

The split in our thinking between "masculine" and "feminine" is probably as old as language itself. Human beings seem to have a natural tendency to divide things into pairs: good/bad, light/dark, subject/object and so on. It is not surprising, then, that the male/female or masculine/feminine dichotomy is used to classify things other than men and women. Many languages actually classify all nouns as "masculine" or "feminine" . This is perfectly natural; it is part of the way categorization works in language. This does not, however, mean that it is right. It is probably unimportant whether a table or a chair is thought of as masculine or feminine. It may not even be very important these days whether we think of the sun as male and the moon as female (like the ancient Greeks) or vice versa (like most of the German tribes). However, when we start associating abstract concepts like Reason or Nature with men and women, we run into serious difficulties.

 

The association of Reason with men and Nature with women is well-known, and has been widely criticized. Aristotle defined Man as a "rational animal", and by that he really meant men, not human beings. Unlike Plato, he saw women as less able to reason, hence less "human" and more "animal". In Europe, well into the twentieth century, women were generally seen as somehow intellectually deficient. An English woman recently became Oxford's oldest graduate because although she had completed her degree course in the 1920's, at that time the university did not award degrees to female students. Presumably it would have decreased the status of the university to award degrees to an intellectually inferior sex!

 

Nearly all societies, from hunting and gathering tribes to post-industrial nations, offer some kind of compensation to those who lose out in the status game. For example, among the practically matriarchal Zuni Indians of New Mexico, the economically powerless men were credited with the ability to make rain. Black slaves in the American South were thought to be naturally stronger (which they generally were), better at music and dancing (which they may have been) and more cheerful (highly unlikely for slaves, but a good justification for treating them badly). In the same way, women are compensated for their supposed inability to think rationally by a mysterious "women's intuition". Attempts were made to justify this in biological terms; women were seen as naturally more emotional and/or in touch with Nature because of their strange biology. ( hormones,  or whatever). This was about as scientific as the Zuni Indians' theory that men could make rain.

 

Men and women are, of course, biologically different. There are even significant differences in male and female brains; women, for example, have a thicker corpus callosum (the thing that connects the two halves of the brain). However, it is a giant leap from observing that there are neurological differences between the sexes to assuming that these differences correspond to the classic Reason/Nature or logic/emotion dichotomies. In fact, some of these differences may even indicate the opposite. The left hemisphere of the brain generally deals with linear processing, as found in language and some types of mathematics, and this hemisphere develops faster in girls than in boys. The old "11 plus" test of verbal reasoning used in British schools was actually adjusted to bring boys' scores up to the level of girls'! Whatever the case, it is a mistake to look at people's brains and then decide that they must think in a certain way; it would be far better to try and find out how people actually think, and then to see if this corresponds to brain structure.

 

 

 

Differences in Language Between Men and Women

 

 

Everybody knows that there are of perceived differences in the way men and women talk. Men talk in a deep voice, they swear, they are born orators, while women talk in a high voice, they are gossips or nags. It would be interesting to study (and we will) if these perceived differences are actually attributable to the speaker’s gender and what the other causes are. As Simone de Beauvoir put it, “one is not born, but rather becomes, a woman”, and how we speak   is something that is acquired, something that one is taught at early age.

 

 

Anatomical Differences

 

It would be useless to pretend that men and women are anatomically identical. Consequently, their vocal tracts will also be different, not just between sexes, but also within the same sex. Since men are usually bigger than women, we would expect men to have a deeper voice, in the way a cello is bigger and has a deeper sound than a violin. But studies have shown that it is hormones, rather than the size of the speaker that influence the way one speaks. Just look at the three tenors: José Carreras is small, Plácido Domingo is of average size, Luciano Pavarotti is very big, but still, all three are tenors. Needless to say, it is widely recognized that a boy’s voice drops about an octave when he reaches puberty. Women also feel their voices change when their hormone balance is changed.

 

Some studies claim that there are large psychological and social pressures on boys/men to sound different from women, i.e. to talk with a deeper voice, while other studies claim that it is the women who are distorting their normal voices.

 

Sometimes social adjustment is quite deliberate: Margaret Thatcher had to go through a training program  so as to lower her voice, thus hoping to command more respect when addressing the Commons at the dispatch box.

 

 

Other Differences

 

There are of course many more perceived differences between men and women’s discourse that have nothing to do with the anatomy of the speaker, such as different styles in conversation . We will see some examples in SPEECH PATTERNS. Here social factors will play an even greater role than in the differences discussed before and again the binary male- female is not enough to explain these differences. If we use the dichotomy   Nature versus Culture we have all but suppressed the factor Nature from our discussion of the differences between men’s and women’s discourse. The other factors are related to the notion “Culture” in its most elaborate meaning: everything that transcends the biological roots of Mankind

 

 

 

Historical Comments on the Word “Man”

Man once was a truly generic word referring to all humans, but has gradually narrowed in meaning to become a word that refers to adult male human beings. Anglo-Saxons used the word to refer to all people. One example of this occurs when an Anglo-Saxon writer refers to a seventh-century English princess as "a wonderful man." Man paralleled the Latin word Homo, "a member of the human species," the Old English word for adult male was waepman and the old English word for adult woman was wifman. In the course of time, wifman evolved into the word "woman." "Man" eventually ceased to be used to refer to individual women and replaced wer and waepman as a specific term distinguishing an adult male from an adult female. But man continued to be used in generalizations about both sexes.

 

By the 18th century, the modern, peculiar sense of man was firmly established as the predominant one. When Edmund Burke, writing of the French Revolution, used men in the old, inclusive way, he took pains to spell out his meaning: "Such a deplorable havoc is made in the minds of men (both sexes) in France. . . ." Thomas Jefferson did not make the same distinction in declaring that "all men are created equal" and "governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed." In a time when women, having no vote, could neither give nor withhold consent, Jefferson had to be using the word men in its principal sense of "males," and it probably never occurred to him that anyone would think otherwise. Going over modern dictionaries it is easy to indicate that the definition that links "man" with males is the predominant one. Studies of college students and school children indicate that even when the broad definitions of "man" and "men" are taught, they tend to picture images of male people only. We would never use the sentence "A girl grows up to be a man," because we assume the narrower definition of the word man. The examples below seem disconcerting precisely for this reason:

 

 

*"Development of the Uterus in Rats, Guinea Pigs, and Men" (title of a research report)

 

*"The Pap test, which has greatly reduced mortality from uterine cancer, is a born to mankind."

 

Even when authors insist that "man" is a general term of all humans, they can lapse into meaning it as a term for only males:

 

*"As for man, he is no different from the rest. His back aches, he ruptures easily, his women have difficulties in childbirth . . . "

 

 

Once you've started to recognize the problems that can arise with using "man" as a generic pronoun, how can you prevent confusion? One way is by substituting "human," "humankind," "people," or another word that does not involve any specific gender.

 

 

 

The Pronoun Problem

 

 

The first grammars of modern English were written in the 16th and 17th centuries. They were mainly intended to help boys from upper class families prepare for the study of Latin, a language most scholars considered superior to English. The male authors of these earliest English grammars wrote for male readers in an age when few women were literate. The masculine-gender pronouns did not reflect a belief that masculine pronouns could refer to both sexes. The grammars of this period portray no indication that masculine pronouns were sex-inclusive when used in general references. Instead these pronouns reflected the reality of male cultural dominance and the male-centered world view that resulted.

 

"He" started to be used as a generic pronoun by grammarians who were trying to change a long-established tradition of using “they” as a singular pronoun. In 1850 an Act of Parliament gave official sanction to the recently invented concept of the "generic" he. In the language used in acts of Parliament, the new law said, "words importing the masculine gender shall be deemed and taken to include females." Although similar language in contracts and other legal documents subsequently helped reinforce this grammatical edict in all English-speaking countries, it was often conveniently ignored. In 1879, for example, a move to admit female physicians to the all-male Massachusetts Medical   Society was effectively blocked on the grounds that the society's by-laws describing membership used the pronoun he.

 

Just as "man" is not truly generic in the 1990s, "he" is not a true generic pronoun. Studies have confirmed that most people understand "he" to refer to men only. Sentences like "A doctor is a busy person; he must be able to balance a million obligations at once" imply that all doctors are men. Imagine what it would be like if we were to continue reading: "A doctor is a busy person; he must be able to balance a million obligations at once. Dr. Jones is no exception.  He has a clinic to run, medical students to supervise, and a husband with polio." In this context, the realization that Dr. Jones is a woman comes as a surprise to many readers. To push the point further, check out this sentence: "The average American needs the small routines of getting ready for work. As he shaves or blow-dries his hair or pulls on his panty hose, he is easing himself by small stages into the demands of the day." The first image that comes to mind is a transvestite, not the average American woman. As a result of the fact that "he" is read by many as a masculine pronoun, many people, especially women, have come to feel that the generic pronouns excludes women. This means that more and more people find the use of such a pronoun troublesome.

 

 

Solving the Pronoun  Problem

 

 

“They” as-Most people, when writing and speaking informally, rely on singular they as a matter of course: "If you love someone, set them free" (Sting). If you pay attention to your own speech, you'll probably catch yourself using the same construction yourself. "It's enough to drive anyone out of their senses" (George Bernard Shaw). "I shouldn't like to punish anyone, even if they'd done me wrong" (George Eliot). Some people are annoyed by the incorrect grammar that this solution necessitates, but this construction is used more and more frequently.

 

He or She--Despite the charge of clumsiness, double-pronoun constructions have made a comeback: "To be black in this country is simply too pervasive an experience for any writer to omit from her or his work," wrote Samuel R. Delany. Overuse of this solution can be awkward, however.

 

Pluralizing--A writer can often recast material in the plural. For instance, instead of "As he advances in his program, the medical student has increasing opportunities for clinical work," try "As they advance in their program, medical students have increasing opportunities for clinical work."

 

Eliminating Pronouns--Avoid having to use pronouns at all; instead of "a first grader can feed and dress himself", you could write, "a first grader can eat and get dressed without assistance."

 

Further Alternatives--he/she or s/he, using one instead of he, or using a new generic pronoun (thon, co, E, tey, hesh, hir).

 

Avoid peopling your examples exclusively with one sex.

 

Use parallel forms of reference for women and men: e.g. do not cite a male scholar by surname only and a female scholar by first name plus surname or construct examples with a cast of characters like executive “Mr. Smith” and his secretary “Mary”.

 

Avoid consistently putting reference to males before females. Not only does this order convey male precedence, in English and in French it will put males in subject position and women in object position.

 

 

The Practical Side

 

 

This is not about freedom of speech; there is no rule insisting on gender-neutral language. This is an issue of audience and awareness. Gender-neutral language has gained support from most major textbook publishers, and from professional and academic groups such as the American Psychological Association and the Associated Press. Newspapers like the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal avoid such language. Many law journals, psychology journals, and literature journals do not print articles or papers that use gender-inclusive language. If you anticipate working within any of these contexts, you will need to be able to express yourself according to their guidelines, and if you wish to write or speak convincingly to people who are influenced by the conventions of these contexts, you need to be conscious of their expectations.

 

Examples taken from Sarah Werner, and *The Handbook of Nonsexist Writing* by Casey Miller and Kate Swift (New York: Lippincott, 1988)

 

 

Reducing Sexism in English by David A. Lillie

 

 

 

For many years researchers have felt frustrated by the built-in sexism in English, the result of having pronouns corresponding to male and female or neuter objects, but none that refer inclusively to male or female. In the past, most likely due to our society's patriarchal structures, the male pronouns "he, his, him" were used for this purpose, and the noun "man" was used to refer to all humans. Our English education is supposed to train us to accept these words as referring to both genders when used in a "neutral" context. A careful study by Janet Shibley Hyde ("Children's Understanding of Sexist Language," Developmental Psychology - Journal of the American Psychology Association, 1984) shows that this often doesn't happen, and that all age groups studied, from 5 years old to 20 years old, and both genders, are much more likely to write stories about male subjects when prompted by sentences using the supposedly gender-neutral male pronouns. Her summary states, "...it is clear that the tendency for subjects to think of males when they hear "he" in a gender-neutral context (story-telling data) is present from first grade through the college years. ...The contributions of language to sex role development are deserving of considerably more attention, both theoretical and empirically."

 

After trying a variety of ways around this problem, such as using "he or she," s/he, "himself or herself," etc., or alternating paragraphs with male and female pronouns, David Lillie  decided that what is needed is to extend the English language. Now that this situation has been recognized, there is no need to continue to write clumsy expressions or confusing gender references. We can simply coin new words that mean what we want, declare their definitions, and begin the process of spreading them around the world until they are commonly used, just like other words which are constantly being added to the language.

 

 

 

 The correction of this problem has been attempted by various techniques, none of which are felt to be satisfactory. This paper provides the simple solution (perhaps difficult to implement) of adding new, gender neutral pronouns (wom, wem, hes, hir, hirs) to the language to be used specifically for this purpose. The current gender specific words would continue to be used to refer to people of known gender.

The male words would then be properly used only to refer to known male beings.

 

 

 

Pronunciation should distinguish them from existing words, especially the words they replace.

•They should have some connection to existing words to make them easy to remember. Where possible, they should incorporate letters from both the male and female gender words.

 

 

 

The Coins

 

New Word followed by Construction

 

wom, womkind this word is composed of the letter "w" from woman, "m" from man, and "o," which is the symbol of the circle, signifying unity and connection. The opposite order of the letters, "mow," can't be used, as it is a common existing word. This word would also be used as a syllable to replace the use of "man" in words like Chairman, Mailman, etc. Pronounced as wom in wombat.

 

wem derived from wom, but using "e" for the plural, as in "men." (could also be used for unisex bathrooms). Pronunciation rhymes with "hem."

 

"hes" this word consists of the letters in "she," which also contains "he," but in a different order to make a new word. Pronunciation rhymes with "fez."

 

"hir "takes letters from "her" and "him," combined to make a new word. Pronounced "here" to distinguish it from "her."

 

"hirs "the possessive form of her has an "s" added when there is no object, as: "That scalpel is hers." By always having the "s" for the possessive, it is similar to the masculine form - "his."

 

To summarize, here are my suggestions for replacing the old words with new, gender inclusive words:

 

 

Old followed by New

 

 

man, mankind wom, womkind (pronounced as wom in wombat)

 

men or women wem (rhymes with hem)

 

he or she hes (rhymes with fez)

 

him or her hir (pronounced same as here)

 

his or her(s) hirs (pronounced same as here's)

 

himself or herself hirself

 

chairperson chairwom

 

(other obvious compound words may be created as needed)

 

 

 

Sample Gender Neutral Text

 

Old Way, "Neutral" Male Pronouns: -- No man is an island unto himself

 

It was good to see that mankind had achieved equality of the sexes in English. Now, whenever someone read a book or listened to a speech, he would not feel ashamed of himself, or lose any of his dignity because of the way his gender was used or ignored. Of course, no one can really take away inherent human dignity from him, it is his from the moment of birth, and is only obscured by the oppressive actions of men or women in his life.

 

Old Way, Inclusive but Clumsy: -- No man or woman is an island unto himself or herself

 

It was good to see that mankind had achieved equality of the sexes in English. Now, whenever someone read a book or listened to a speech, he or she would not feel ashamed of himself or herself, or lose any of his or her dignity because of the way his or her gender was used or ignored. Of course, no one can really take away inherent human dignity from him or her, it is his or hers from the moment of birth and is only obscured by the oppressive actions of men or women in his or her life.

 

Alternative Way, Reworded and Incorrect Plurals: -- No one is an island unto themself (themselves?)

 

It was good to see that humanity had achieved equality of the sexes in English. Now, whenever someone read a book or listened to a speech, they would not feel ashamed of themselves, or lose any of their dignity because of the way their gender was used or ignored. Of course, no one can really take away inherent human dignity from another, it is theirs from the moment of birth and only obscured by the oppressive actions of others in their life.

 

New Way: -- No wom is an island unto hirself

 

It was good to see that womkind had achieved equality of the sexes in English. Now, whenever someone read a book or listened to a speech, hes would not feel ashamed of hirself, or lose any of hirs dignity because of the way hirs gender was used or ignored. Of course, no one can really take away inherent human dignity from hir, it is hirs from the moment of birth and is only obscured by the oppressive actions of wem in hir life.

 

 

Implementation

 

These new gender inclusive pronouns could achieve rapid acceptance if used by only a few people in the media, writers, teachers, etc. Each early use of them will require a preface to explain their use, and perhaps a footnote on each of them the first time it is used. After that, readers will pick up the idea quickly. This requires some extra effort by authors and editors, but it is better than the current situation, where concerned (or resistant) authors may spend from one paragraph to a full page explaining why they do or don't make any attempt to correct this flaw in English. I have also heard lecturers spend five minutes at the beginning of their talks explaining why they use one pronoun (either male or female), rather than try to include both.

 

A sample paragraph to include at the beginning of an article or the inside cover of a pamphlet might be:

 

To simplify the text while avoiding unintended gender references, the words "he or she" are replaced by "hes," "him or her" by "hir," "his or her(s)" by "hirs," "man" (as in mankind) by "wom," and "men or women" by "wem." These words will be footnoted for the first occurrence to aid in this translation. Gender  neutral "man, he, him, his, etc." Are not used in this text.

 

At some point, these newly coined words will be used in schools and popular songs, and we will no longer need the excuses, prefaces or footnotes.

 

Speech Patterns

 

The table below shows that social reality is at issue here and the fact that  the language we use powerfully conditions our processes

 

 

Men

Women

They speak in a louder voice

They speak in a softer voice

They use loudness to emphasize points

They use pitch and inflection to emphasize points

They sound more monotonous in speech

They sound more emotional in speech They use approximately 5 tones when talking

They interrupt others more and allow fewer interruptions

They interrupt others less and allow more interruptions

They disclose less personal information about themselves

They disclose more personal information about themselves

They make direct accusations (i.e., "You don't call")

They make more indirect accusations. They use "why", which sounds like nagging (i.e., "Why don't you ever call?")

They make more direct statements and "beat around the bush" less often

They make more indirect statements

They use less intensifiers

They use more intensifiers such as "few", "so", "really", "much", "quite"

They make more declarative statements (i.e., "It's a nice day.")

They make more tentative statements and use "tag endings" or upward inflections which make statements sound like questions (i.e., "It's a nice day, isn't it?")

They use more interjections when changing topics (i.e., "Hey!", "Oh", "Listen!")

They use more conjunctions when changing topics (i.e., “and”, “but”, “however”)

They ask fewer questions to stimulate conversation

They ask more questions to stimulate conversations

They rarely discuss their personal life in business

They tend to establish more business relationships through discussing their personal life

 

 

 

Conclusion

 

 

Writing and speaking in non-sexist terms is important to avoid excluding numbers of readers ( who simply switch off) . Researchers, social workers, and educators can introduce  bias unintentionally by using terms of language, examples or jokes that are not relevant to large sections of the population which the researcher wants to reach ( or thinks have been included). Language categorizes. If it didn’t it wouldn’t work, as you would have to have a separate word for everything in the world. Categorization works largely through prototypes, stereotypes and   maybe even archetypes, and these types frequently use metaphorical and symbolic imagery borrowed from other categories. Nature tends to be seen, metaphorically as a woman, but that doesn't make her ( or rather it a woman). The modern personification of logic is Star Trek’s Mr. Spock, pointy-eared, unemotional, and of course male. This does not mean, however that to be logical you need to be unemotional, pointy –eared or masculine. What researchers, like any intelligent people, need to do, is analyze and criticize the false polarization and dubious metaphors that distort our thinking, not repeat them in a different form.

 

Bibliography

 

Miller, C. And K. Swift. The handbook of non-sexist writing. The Women’s Press, 1980, 1988.

Poynton, C. Language and Gender: making the difference. Oxford  University Press, 1989.

 

 

Maggio, R. The non-sexist  word finder, a dictionary of gender-free usage. Beacon Press, 1988.

 

 

Coates,J. Women, men and language. Longman,1989.

 

Sunderland, J.Exploring gender: questions and implications for English language education.

Prentice Hall, 1994.

 

 

About the Author

 

Gladys A. Juncos is a graduate teacher from ISFD N° 21 “Dr Ricardo Rojas” Moreno, Buenos Aires, and holds a B.A. in English Language from Universidad del Salvador.Teacher trainer at Colegio Ward, curriculum designer and coordinator for the areas of EFL at Ministerio de Defensa, CMN. Collaborated in the methodological suggestions included in the teacher´s edition of “Let´s Know Each Other”. Lecturer at ISFD “Almafuerte”,The Afrikaans Language  Museum and Monument, Paarl, Western Cape, South Afrika.Guest writer in an issue of a magazine distributed among English teachers “English Teaching in Aotearoa” ( Maori name for New Zealand), and runs her own language school.

 

 

© by Gladys A. Juncos  

 

 

-----------------------------------------------------------------

 

2.- HOTS & LOTS: HIGHER ORDER THINKING SKILLS
                       AND LOWER ORDER THINKING SKILLS

 

Higher-Order Thinking Versus Lower-Order Thinking Skills: Does School-Day Scheduling Pattern Influence Achievement at Different Levels of Learning?

M. Craig Edwards

Gary E. Briers

Texas A&M University

 

 

Abstract

Historically, one of the most constant features of America’s high schools is the structure of the school day. However, in the 1990s, “The most visible and perhaps significant change in the organization of the high school is the block schedule” (Cawelti, 1997, p. 41). There have been conflicting results regarding the effects of block scheduling on student achievement. Researchers in agricultural education have supported instructional practices that improve student learning at higher levels of cognition. Yet, little is known about the effects of scheduling on agricultural education and its influence on student cognition. This study compared higher- and lower-order thinking skills (HOTS and LOTS) achievement of students enrolled in animal science on a Traditional schedule to the achievement of students on a Block schedule. The responding sample

included 45 teachers representing 23 Traditional scheduled schools with 341 students and 22 Block scheduled schools with 325 students. Student achievement was measured by two

examinations/scales based on an extension of Newcomb and Trefz’ (1987) “levels of learning” model. The scales consisted of 33 HOTS and 23 LOTS items. Teachers answered a questionnaire describing themselves and their schools. Student achievement was slightly more than half of the “conventional” 70 % passing standard. T-tests revealed that neither HOTS nor LOTS performance of students on a Traditional schedule was significantly different than that of the Block scheduled students. Multiple regression analyses with hierarchical order of entry were performed. The moderator variables student length of FFA membership and teacher tenure significantly explained student variability for both levels of achievement (longer FFA membership and longer teacher tenure resulted in greater achievement); the scheduling variable Traditional

versus Block did not explain additional student variability in achievement. One could not

conclude that one schedule was superior to the other in improving student achievement.

 

 

Introduction/Theoretical Framework

 

Elmore (1995) stated, “Over the past decade the United States has been engaged in the most sustained period of educational reform since the Progressive Era” (p. 356). Evidence of impetus for reform has been well documented by reports such as Prisoners of Time (National Education Commission on Time and Learning, 1994) and Breaking

Ranks: Changing an American Institution (NASSP, 1996). These reports called for a restructuring of the American educational system, and frequently targeted “time” and its use in school-day scheduling patterns as a basic element to be altered. Moreover, learning theorists (Bloom, 1974; Carroll, 1989) have stated that time and its use is a

significant and essential component of student learning. Karweit and Slavin (1981) maintained “the ambiguity of the research studies to date, make the continuation of studies of time and learning important” (p. 158).

 

Researchers (Carroll, 1990; Kirby, Moore, & Becton, 1996) have maintained that one of the most constant features of America’s high schools is the structure of the school day. In support, Carroll (1990) contended, “For threequarters of a century–a period characterized by immense social, political, economic, and technological changes–the

high school has not changed its basic form of organization” (p. 360). Moreover, investigators have said, “The way time is organized in schools may have contributed to the educational deficiencies in American education identified in such reports as A Nation at Risk” (Wortman, Moore, & Flowers, 1997, p. 440). This “basic” or “traditional”

school-day schedule is one in which students attend between six and eight classes each school day, with a class lasting approximately 50 or so minutes (York, 1997).

However, Cawelti (1997) concluded, “The most visible and perhaps significant change in the organization of the high school is the block schedule” (p. 41). DiRocco (1998/1999) asserted, “Intensive schedules [i.e., block scheduling] can be a powerful catalyst for change and for improved instruction in our secondary schools when implemented properly” (p. 83). Although many “variations” of block scheduling exist (Canady & Rettig, 1995), two of the more common are the Modified A/B (Alternating Day) Block Schedule and the Nine-Week Accelerated (4X4) Semester Block Schedule. On the Modified A/B Block Schedule, the school day is divided into four instructional blocks of approximately 90 minutes each. Students alternate class attendance between “A” day classes

and “B” day classes, and may be simultaneously enrolled for as many as eight different courses. On this schedule, most courses meet every other day for an 18-week semester. On the Nine-Week (4X4) Block Schedule, the school day is also divided into four instructional blocks of about 90 minutes each, but students attend the same four classes

each day for the nine-week period.

 

Watson (1998) asserted, “In a block schedule, the [learning] tasks can be designed to take more time, be of greater depth, [and] require more inductive or higher-order thinking skills” (p. 97). Torres and Cano (1995) stated, “The use of thinking skills in problem situations is universally recognized as a prominent objective for all educational

academies” (p. 46), including agriculture. Moreover, researchers Cano and Newcomb (1990) concluded that agriculture teachers “should purposefully create learning situations which assist in the development of higher cognitive abilities in students” (p. 51).

 

Bloom, Engelhart, Furst, Hill, and Krathwohl (1956) described six levels of cognition, that is, levels of thinking often referred to as Bloom’s Taxonomy. This approach to describing thinking behaviors delineated cognition into lower- and higher-order thinking skills and conceptualized them in a hierarchical fashion (Bloom et al., 1956;

Newcomb & Trefz, 1987; Torres & Cano, 1995; Whittington, Stup, Bish, & Allen, 1997).

 

Using Bloom’s model as a framework, Newcomb and Trefz (1987) developed a similar model for classifying cognitive behaviors into “four levels of learning”: remembering, processing, creating, and evaluating (Figure 1). Whittington et al. (1997) stated,

“Research supports the theory that thinking at higher levels of cognition (thinking critically) is an indispensable skill and must be reinforced in schools” (p. 47). Cano and Martinez (1989) recommended, “Students of vocational agriculture should be challenged to develop stronger cognitive abilities and critical thinking abilities at higher levels

through the instruction they receive” (p. 364). However, Cano (1990) stated that there was “a paucity of findings regarding vocational education students’ level of cognitive performance. Specifically, research in determining the level of cognitive performance of vocational agriculture students was lacking” (p. 74). Whittington (1995)

recommended that additional research was needed to investigate non-teacher variables that may be influencing the level of cognition obtained during instruction.

 

Block scheduling has been accompanied by conflicting results regarding its effect on student thinking skills and achievement (Wortman et al., 1997). Kirby et al. (1996) found agriculture teachers to be “neutral or undecided” (p.357) when responding to the statement “Student achievement has improved with block scheduling” (p. 358).

However, Brannon, Baker, Morgan, Bowman, and Schmidt (1999) concluded, “Agriculture teachers agreed that as a result of block scheduling learning is more meaningful for all students” (p. 197). Yet, little is known about the effects of scheduling on secondary-level agricultural education and its potential for influencing the cognitive development of students (Kirby et al., 1996; Wortman et al., 1997). Is there a difference in achievement for students enrolled in an agriscience course, depending on the school-day scheduling pattern?

 

 

Purpose/Research Questions

 

The purpose of this study was to compare the higher- and lower-order thinking skills achievement of students enrolled for a secondary-level course in animal science on a Traditional school-day schedule to the achievement of students enrolled for the course on a Block schedule basis (i.e., Modified A/B (Alternating Day) and Nine-Week

Accelerated (4X4) Semester Block schedules). These research questions guided this study:

 

1. What are selected characteristics of students enrolled in and instructors teaching a secondary-level course in animal science?

2. What is the level of achievement for HOTS, as described by Newcomb and Trefz (1987), for students enrolled in animal science? a) Does level of achievement for HOTS of students on a Traditional schedule differ from that of students on a Block schedule?

3. What is the level of achievement for LOTS, as described by Newcomb and Trefz (1987), of students enrolled in animal science? a) Does level of achievement for LOTS of students on a Traditional schedule differ from that of students on a Block schedule?

4. Do moderator variables, e.g., student and teacher variables, explain variation in student achievement, and does scheduling pattern significantly explain variation in student achievement after effects of moderator variables have been removed?

Methods/Procedures

 

This was a descriptive study that employed the causal-comparative method to describe and explore possible cause and-effect relationships between school-day schedules and the achievement of intact groups. Gall, Borg, and Gall

(1996) stated that “the major advantage of the causal comparative method is that it allows us to study cause-and effect relationships under conditions where experimental manipulation is difficult or impossible” (p. 383).

 

The target population (Gall et al., 1996) consisted of students enrolled in and the instructors teaching the agriscience course Animal Science (AGSC 332) in Texas public schools during the fall of 1998. Schools that had offered/taught this course for the school years 1996-97 and 1997-98 (n = 388) were obtained from the Texas Education Agency and served as the sampling frame. The “experimental units” for this study were individual agriscience classes and teachers, but individual students were the sampling units within an agriscience class. This was a form of cluster sampling, which, according to Gall et al. (1996), “is used when it is more feasible to select groups of individuals

rather than individuals from a defined population” (p. 227). The responding sample consisted of 45 “volunteer” teachers and schools, representing 23 Traditional scheduled schools with 341 students and 22 Block scheduled schools with 325 students. Because the data for this study were provided by a volunteer sample, the results are

generalizable only to subsequent similar volunteer samples.

 

The students completed a two-part instrument. Part one consisted of selected demographic items, e.g., length of FFA membership. The second part of the instrument was an end-of-course achievement examination. Glaser (1963) maintained that achievement tests were appropriate for determining “the degree to which the student has attained criterion performance” (p. 519). The examination was developed from recommended curriculum materials for the agriscience course Animal Science (AGSC 332) (Instructional Materials Service, n.d.; Instructional Materials Service, 1998). It included 56 multiple-choice items selected for content validity in the areas of nutrition,

reproduction, health, and management of domestic animals. Three agricultural educators—a curriculum specialist, a classroom teacher, and a measurement specialist—reviewed the items for clarity and content.

The examination was divided into two scales based on an extension of Newcomb and Trefz’ (1987) “levels of learning” model (Figure 1). The two scales consisted of 33 higher- and 23 lower-order thinking skills items, respectively.

The LOTS portion of the examination was made up of remembering and processing items; the HOTS scale contained items at the creating and evaluating levels of learning (Newcomb & Trefz, 1987). The Cronbach’s coefficient alpha reliability estimate for the LOTS scale was .79, while the HOTS scale had a reliability estimate of

.78. Finally, teachers responded to a questionnaire that included selected multiple-choice items describing themselves and their schools.

A researcher-developed packet consisting of student questionnaires/examinations, teacher questionnaires, pre-coded scan sheets, and postage-paid return envelopes were mailed to the participating teachers. Due to varying end-ofcourse dates, two mailings were necessary. Teachers administered the student questionnaires/examinations and

completed their questionnaires at or about the same time. The student scan sheets were coded so that they could be identified with their teacher and school-day schedule. The returned scan sheets were inspected to ensure the number codes were still intact. Following scanning, the data were entered into a Microsoft Excel 97 spreadsheet file and

then imported into an SPSS 7.5 data file. T-tests were performed to compare means and explore differences for research questions two and three, with an a priori alpha of .05. Multiple regression analyses with hierarchical order of entry of predictor variables were performed to answer question four.

 

Results/Findings

 

As seen in Table 1, slightly more than one-half of the participating students were male and nearly 44 percent were female. Almost 70 percent of the students were Anglo, while three-in-ten identified themselves as “People of Color.” Slightly more than three-in-ten had never been an FFA member, and approximately seven-in-ten had been members for one or more years. Nearly three-fourths indicated at least “some experience” with domesticated animals, while slightly more than one-fourth said they had “little” or no experience (Table 1).

Nearly 90 percent of the teachers were male while slightly more than one-in-ten were female (Table 1). Concerning their education, the teachers were nearly evenly divided, that is, slightly less than half held only a bachelor’s degree while a slight majority had earned a master’s degree. Years of experience as an agriscience teacher was also nearly

evenly split with slightly less than half of the teachers having taught 12 or fewer years, and slightly more than half indicating 13 or more years of service. When asked about years of service at their current school, a slight majority replied that they had taught at their current school for 10 or fewer years, while slightly less than half indicated 11 or more years of service (Table 1).

1 8

Table 1.

 

 

 

Table 2.

 

 

Table 3.

 

 

 

 

 

To determine if school-day scheduling patterns significantly explain variability in student achievement after the effects of selected student and teacher variables were removed, multiple regression analyses with hierarchical order of entry of variables were performed. These procedures were done to control initial non-equivalence in the two

research groups. Correlation analysis revealed that there was a statistically significant relationship between the student variable length of FFA membership and end-of-course higher- and lower-order thinking skills achievement,

r = .53 and r = 46 (p < .01), respectively. That is, the greater the length of time the student had been a member of the FFA, the better they performed on the higher- and lower-order thinking skills achievement examination items.

 

Moreover, similar analysis demonstrated that there was a statistically significant relationship between the teacher variable teacher tenure and HOTS achievement (r = .34, p < .05). As a teacher’s length of tenure increased, the HOTS achievement of their students increased. (The variable “teacher tenure” combined an instructor’s years of experience as an agriscience teacher and their tenure at their current school. The resulting scale had a reliability coefficient estimate of .86.) Therefore, because of positive associations with student achievement, these two moderator variables were entered into a multiple regression analysis equation as step one in a hierarchical order of

entry procedure. Then, to determine if school-day schedules significantly explained additional student variability for end-of-course achievement, the scheduling pattern variable was entered in step two of the procedure. Thus, step two included the variable Traditional versus Block.

 

In Table 4, step one portrays regression of the variable HOTS achievement on the variables student FFA membership and teacher tenure. A statistically significant amount of student variability for HOTS achievement was explained by this entry: R2 = .324, F = 10.046, p = .000. But, when the variable Traditional versus Block schedule

was entered, there was not a significant contribution to the explanation of variance, R2 Change = .000, F = .020, p =.888. Further, when the dependent variable LOTS achievement was regressed on the independent variables entered in step one, i.e., student FFA membership and teacher tenure, the amount of variance explained was R2 = .231, F = 6.324, p = .004 (Table 4), which was significant at an alpha level of .05. The variable Traditional versus Block schedule was entered into the regression equation in step two; it did not explain additional student variability for LOTS achievement, R2 Change = .002,

F = .103, p = .750 (Table 4).

 

Table 4.

 

 

 

 

 

Conclusions/Implications/Recommendations

 

Glaser (1963) contended “achievement tests are employed to discriminate among treatments, that is, among different instructional procedures [e.g., scheduling patterns] by an analysis of group differences” (p. 520). This study compared the higher- and lower-order thinking skills achievement of students enrolled for a secondary-level course

in animal science on a Traditional school-day schedule to the achievement of students enrolled on a Block schedule.

The end-of-course HOTS achievement for all students was only very slightly more than half of the “conventional” 70 % passing standard, while their LOTS achievement was only slightly better (Table 2). Webster and Miller (1998) found similar results for an animal science examination administered to high school seniors in 12 Midwestern States. They concluded that the students were not strongly intrinsically motivated to excel on the test, and that “this factor most likely explains why the students did not perform better on the exam” (p. 318). Moreover, was there a significant lack of “alignment” or “congruence” between the curriculum these students were taught and the course content on which they were assessed? Hoyle, Steffy, and English (1994) suggested, “the result of incongruence is normally lower test performance on the part of the students, particularly if the test has been selected because it was congruent with the written curriculum” (p. 98). The examination used in this study was based solely

on the recommended curriculum materials for the course Animal Science (AGSC 332).

 

Was this a valid procedure if the requisite “alignment” did not exist?

 

The higher- and lower-order thinking skill performance of students on a Traditional schedule was not statistically significantly greater than that of the Block schedule students (Table 3). Moreover, when multiple regression analyses with hierarchical order of entry were performed, and the moderator variables student length of FFA

membership and teacher tenure were entered in step one, variability in HOTS achievement was significantly explained (Table 4). However, in step two, when the scheduling pattern variable Traditional versus Block was entered, there was no additional significant explanation of student variability (Table 4). Further, in the case of LOTS achievement, when the moderator variables student length of FFA membership and teacher tenure were entered in step one, variability in LOTS achievement was significantly explained (Table 4). Similar to HOTS achievement, in step two, when the scheduling pattern variable Traditional versus Block was entered, there was no

additional significant explanation of student variability in LOTS achievement (Table 4).

 

Based on these findings, one could not conclude that one school-day schedule was significantly superior to the other for the purpose of improving end-of-course achievement of students. Recommendations for future practice and research include the

following:

 

1. This study suggests that there may be an “incongruence” between the actual curriculum materials that teachers used to teach animal science and the recommended instructional materials. Hoyle et al. (1994) stated,

“curriculum mapping can reveal what was taught, in what order, and for how long . . .” (p. 90). So, a form of “curriculum mapping” should be used to identify the curriculum materials used by the instructors for this course. It might also be useful to examine the relationship between this study’s teachers’ use of the recommended materials and the performance of their students.

 

2. This study should be “replicated” using quasi- or experimental design procedures that will control potential extraneous variables (i.e., student length of FFA membership and teacher tenure), and thereby improve the generalizability of future results.

 

3. This study did not find a significant difference in the performance of learners depending on which school-day schedule pattern they received instruction. Would this result have been similar for other agriscience courses?

Mindful of this, it is recommended that this study be replicated for other agriscience courses.

 

4. Are there other moderator variables that significantly explain student variability in end-of-course achievement for the secondary-level course Animal Science? Further research should be performed to determine if additional variables do exist.

 

5. As a component to the study that yielded these findings, Edwards and Briers (in press) found that there was a significant difference in the achievement of students, when two different “block” scheduling patterns (i.e., Modified A/B and Nine-Week (4X4) Semester) were compared. In addition to the two patterns investigated by

that study, it appears that there are numerous “variations” of block scheduling regimens (Canady & Rettig,1995). Therefore, it is recommended that a two-part study be conducted. The purpose of the first part would be to identify and describe these varied block-scheduling patterns. Then, in part two one might conduct additional

comparative studies to determine if there are significant differences in student achievement depending on the learner’s school-day schedule.

 

6. Although the relationship between the use of school-day time (i.e., scheduling patterns) and student performance remains ambiguous, researchers (Canady & Rettig, 1995; Carroll, 1994) have suggested that there is a causal relationship between the use of block scheduling and an improvement in school climate (i.e., classroom environment), and further, the important role that “climate” can play in the behaviors of students and

teachers (Bloom, 1974; Hoyle et al.,1994; Kruse & Kruse, 1995). So, research should be undertaken to investigate how changes in school-day scheduling patterns may positively influence factors that comprise a school’s “climate,” and, subsequently, create learning environments that are more conducive to improved student achievement. For example, instructors teaching on different scheduling patterns may be exhibiting different teaching behaviors that are related to their students’ performance. Case studies or other qualitative techniques could be conducted profiling the teaching behaviors of these instructors.

 

References

 

Bloom, B.S. (1974, September). Time and learning. American Psychologist, 29(9), 682-688.

Bloom, B. S., Engelhart, M.D., Furst, E. J., Hill, W.H., & Krathwohl, D.R. (1956). Taxonomy of educational objectives - handbook 1: Cognitive domain. New York: David McKay Company, Inc.

Brannon, T., Baker, A., Morgan, J., Bowman, K., & Schmidt, B. (1999). The impact of integration of vocational and academic activities on agricultural education in Kentucky. Proceedings of the 49th Annual AAAE Southern Agricultural Education Research Meeting, 49, 187-199.

Canady, R.L. & Rettig, M.D. (1995). Block scheduling: A Catalyst for change in high schools. Princeton, NJ: Eye on Education.

Cano, J. (1990). The relationship between instruction and student performance at the various levels of cognition among selected Ohio production agriculture programs. Journal of Agricultural Education, 31(2), 74-80.

Cano, J. & Martinez, C. (1989). The relationship between critical thinking ability and level of cognitive performance of selected vocational agriculture students. Proceedings of the Sixteenth Annual National Agricultural Education Research Meeting, 16, 359-366.

Cano, J. & Newcomb, L.H. (1990). Cognitive level of instruction and student performance among selected Ohio production agriculture programs. Journal of Agricultural Education, 31(1), 46-51.

Carroll, J.B. (1989, January-February). The Carroll model: A 25-year retrospective and prospective view. Educational Researcher, 18(1), 26-30.

Carroll, J.M. (1990, January). The Copernician plan: Restructuring the American high school. Phi Delta Kappan,71(5), 358-365.

Carroll, J.M. (1994, March). Why more time makes more sense: Author of Copernician plan says ‘macro scheduling’ brings benefits to student learning. The School Administrator. [On-line]. Available:

<http://www.aasa.org/Front Burner/Block/block1.htm> [June 9, 1998].

Cawelti, G. (1997). Effects of high school restructuring: Ten schools at work. Arlington, VA: EducationalResearch Service.

DiRocco, M.D. (1998/1999). How an alternative-day schedule empowers teachers. Educational Leadership, 56(4), 82-84.

Edwards, M.C. & Briers, G.E. (accepted for publication, in press). Higher-order thinking skills versus lower-order thinking skills: Does block scheduling influence achievement at different levels of learning? Proceedings of the 26th National Agricultural Education Research Conference.

Elmore, R.F. (1995). Teaching, learning, and school organization: Principles of practice and regularities of schooling. Educational Administration Quarterly, 31(3), 355-374.

Gall, M.D., Borg, W.R., & Gall, J.P. (1996). Educational Research: An Introduction (sixth edition). White Plains,

NY: Longman Publishers USA.

Glaser, R. (1963). Instructional technology and the measurement of learning outcomes: Some questions1. American Psychologist, 18(8), 519-521.

Hoyle, J.R., Steffy, F.W., & English, B.E. (1994). Skills for successful school leaders (2nd edition). Arlington, VA: American Association of School Administrators.

Instructional Materials Service. (1998). Curriculum guide for animal science: Agriscience (second edition). College Station, TX: Texas A&M University.

Instructional Materials Service. (n.d.). Curriculum material for agriscience 332: Animal science (#8831B). College Station, TX: Texas A&M University.

Kirby, B., Moore, G., & Becton, L.K. (1996). Block scheduling’s impact on instruction, FFA and SAE in agricultural education. Proceedings of the 1996 National Agricultural Education Research Meeting, 23, 352-361.

Kruse, C. A. & Kruse, G. D. (1995, May). The master schedule and learning: Improving the quality of education. NASSP Bulletin, 79(571), 1-8.

National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP). (1996). Breaking ranks: Changing an American institution. Reston, VA: Author.

National Education Commission on Time and Learning. (1994). Prisoners of time. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.

Newcomb, L.H. & Trefz, M.K. (1987). Levels of cognition of student tests and assignments in the College of Agriculture at The Ohio State University. National Association of College Teachers of Agriculture Journal, 31(2), 26-30.

Torres, R.M. & Cano, J. (1995). Examining cognition levels of students enrolled in a college of agriculture. Journal of Agricultural Education, 36(1), 46-54.

Watson, C. (1998). Instructional ideas for teaching in block schedules. Kappa Delta Pi Record, 34(3), 94-98.

Webster, J.K. & Miller, W.W. (1998). Articulating high school and university level agricultural courses:Implications for educators. Proceedings of the 25th Annual National Agricultural Education Research Meeting, 25,310-320.

Whittington, M.S. (1995). Higher order thinking opportunities provided by professors in college of agriculture classrooms. Journal of Agricultural Education, 36(4), 32-38.2 3

Whittington, M.S., Stup, R.E., Bish, L., & Allen, E. (1997). Assessment of cognitive discourse: A study of thinking opportunities provided by professors. Journal of Agricultural Education, 38(1), 46-53.

Wortman, J., Moore, G.E., & Flowers, J. (1997). Student’s perceptions of block scheduling in agricultural education. Proceedings of the 1997 National Agricultural Education Research Meeting, 24, 440-447.

York, T. (1997). A comparative analysis of student achievement in block and traditionally scheduled high schools. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Houston, Houston, TX.

 

 

 

© by M. Craig Edwards and Gary E. Briers

 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

 

3.-  CREATIVITY THROUGH TECHNOLOGY IN THE ENGLISH CLASSROOM

 

 

Creativity Through Technology in the English Classroom

By Nancy Ann Zrinyi Long,

Bethune Cookman College

 

 

Abstract

 

First generation in college, low family income, and weak writing scores: This describes the students I teach at a historically black institute, Bethune Cookman College, in Daytona Beach, FL. These students dislike writing and hate grammar. Yet through technology, these students can be more motivated to write. With the use of a digital movie camera, students write and produce short films about stories they have written. A research paper becomes more interesting when students can add PowerPoint or film a background for their presentations. Even the digital photo camera becomes a source of interest as students make photographs of the people they are writing about for a biography assignment. Lessons become more meaningful when a projector with computer allows students to interact or watch examples of grammar or writing skills. So the basic grammar and composition class can be enhanced by the use of basic technology. Beyond the basic composition on the computer which is now the standard, students can use these other aspects of technology which encourage creativity, engagement, and motivation. Even for the professor, technology can inspire creativity. After having students help me videotape elderly people who talked about their lives here at the college and who knew the founder Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune, I spent the summer transposing these interviews and then researched and wrote a book called The Life and Legacy of Mary McLeod Bethune. Thanks to technology, I am now an author. Thus technology inspires students and teachers alike to aspire to higher levels of writing.

 

Introduction

 

each fall I choose students to be in my Title IV program for Student Support Services. The special criteria for selection is the following: first-generation college student, low-economic background, and developmental (remedial) level in writing and grammar according to scores on the college placement tests. These students are below college level in skills, but I place them in my college level Writing I course which offers a five day schedule and which combines the basic grammar and writing skills with the college level demands of literature and writing. This can be quite a challenging course to teach, and this is where adding technology has served as a motivational tool.

 

Digital Photo Camera

 

 

I begin the semester with students interviewing each other and writing biographies. Using a digital photo camera, students photograph each other during the interviews. I print these photos and post them on what I call the “Writing Wall.” Students type good copies of these biographies and the papers are displayed under the photos. Seeing their writing displayed under the photos seems to motivate students to work harder on the papers. I am amazed at how much time students spend just perusing the biographies of their peers.

 

Creative writing is enhanced by a photo to accompany the paper. Students are allowed to borrow the camera and take photos which relate to topics of their papers. They also help each other download pictures from the Internet for the covers of their papers. These papers are graded and revised, and the final versions are also put on display at the “Writing Wall.”

 

Digital Movie Camera

 

The digital movie camera can be a miracle motivator to help students put their ideas onto film. For example, I assigned students to read the novel Kindred, which involves a young black woman being transported into the past days of slavery. The students then wrote creative essays about traveling into the past and encountering people or situations from the early days. The stories were shared with the class, and the class voted on the best stories. Groups were then formed to reenact the stories and create a ten-minute script based on the selected essay; this script was then acted out and videotaped with my movie camera. These films were later shown at a special assembly for the freshmen class as a “film fest.” The student involvement and motivation in this project was truly inspiring. Whether they were writers or editors or actors, they truly got involved in this project. Again sharing the final product through technology with others encouraged motivation.

Last semester I had a class of 20 students who had not passed the strict standardized tests required in grammar and writing. It is an understatement to say these students returned to me totally demoralized and despondent. They felt as if they were failures. After a few days of pep talks and constant reminders that they had learned a lot and made great progress, but just not enough, I resorted to a heritage theme for the semester. I brought in some elderly people who had known Dr. Bethune, the founder of the college, and I had students videotape these speakers. I sent the students out into the community to videotape and write summaries of the life stories of these elderly. Then each of them had to interview, videotape or audiotape, and write about their own family members and the family history. Interest grew as the students created their own family history of stories and anecdotes of relatives. When they saw some personal purpose in the assignments, they wrote better. The passing rate of that class jumped to 80% by the end of the semester.

 

Computer and Projector

 

My students come to college with some basic computer skills, but most do not own a computer, and some are computer illiterate compared to peers from a better economic background. I have set up three computers in a hallway which are for student use. I borrow from the tech support department a computer and projector to add variation to the classroom lessons. For example, grammar exercises can be shown on the screen and students take turns coming to the computer to fix errors in grammar. If we are reading a particular short story or play, there is a vast array of video clips, audio readings, and biographies that can be downloaded and displayed to students to capture their interest before reading a selection.

 

Research papers can be a horrible experience for freshmen and instructor alike, but using the computer and projector for step-by-step procedure in the research paper process can make the assignment less painful. Furthermore students must do a PowerPoint presentation about what they learned in their research; PowerPoint adds a powerful motivation for both presenter and audience. Students enjoy creating these programs to share with their peers. Adding technology creates a touch of creativity and makes the research paper more interesting for all.

 

Plagiarism Check

 

Turnitin research paper site is a great resource. Research papers open up a new phase in technology as the instructor now has the tool to capture plagiarism in research papers and other essays. For a few years, I would type in a phrase from a suspicious essay using quotes; unfortunately I did catch some “downright” thieves who had simply copied and pasted an essay as their own work. Such surprise showed on their faces as they would sit and look me in the eyes and say these were their own essays, and I would pull out the printed websites with the same essays written by another author with a date much earlier than what the students had written. I had a mixed feeling of smugness at catching the plagiarism and sadness at the students’ laziness and bravado to just download a paper or part of it and pawn it off as their own.

Now with Turnitin, the English teacher is even better armed in fighting the battle against plagiarism. My students must do the outline, works cited, and then a final draft of their research paper. They then sign on to the Turnitin.com site and submit their paper online. The Turnitin program shows the students what areas of the paper are

incorrectly cited or need to be cited, and what needs to be reworded. This frees me as the instructor from worrying about the plagiarism; I can grade the paper now for content and grammar. It has truly been a liberating tool in the fight against plagiarism.

 

Becoming Researchers

 

The Internet is the greatest tool for study, grammar practices, and research. Students can practice grammar skills by linking to the many sites sponsored by grammar handbook companies. These sites allow students to take tests, do grammar drills, and teach themselves in areas which they are weak. The Internet also provides a source of ideas for writing. One of the most exciting projects in my classroom has been the “Roots” project, where I have students do a family tree and trace their heritage. Several sites on the Internet provide help in genealogy. Two years ago students were writing about their families, and one girl came to class so thrilled. She had done a search on the computer and located her grandfather. This man had never seen his daughter, did not know he had a granddaughter, and had left the United States years before. The student found his name and an address in England. She told her mother and they called the man. He was the father; he decided to plan a trip to visit his newly found daughter and grand daughter during the next month. It was really exciting for this student, and for all of us in the class, to realize a writing assignment could lead to such meaningful results. Students really enjoyed researching their own family name and history, and they were motivated to write papers on what they had learned.

 

Becoming Authors

 

Audience is a key motivator to young writers. I require students to write journals, but I have found that students revise and edit much more when they post their journals on the website bulletin board. Posting their ideas for the others in the class to read and ponder makes the students truly think and write more carefully about their ideas and summaries. I do require a hard copy for me to edit and then the students can add it to their portfolio which is the compilation of all of their writings. The quality of these journals is enhanced when students know not just the teacher, but their peers, are reading their writing.

 

There is no better motivation for a student than to have a paper published. This past semester I helped several students email their papers to newspapers or magazines for publication. The thrill on their faces to see their letters to the editor in print was fulfilling to me. The biggest triumph this semester was when some students emailed their essays to a company which was printing a book on college student opinions. One of my students was chosen to be published and she spoke to an assembly and said that this recognition has changed her whole outlook about herself and her writing goals. I encourage my students to write poetry and journals in my class, but then enter these same writings for poetry contests and essay contests. With the internet, they can submit their work so easily. I tell them if they are working hard to write for my class, they might as well try to win some money or at least get their writing published to a bigger audience. Again technology helps students reach a larger audience, and this is motivation for them.

 

I myself have followed my advice. I personally began videotaping elderly people who knew Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune. After several years of taping, I transcribed the interviews and published three articles; this summer I took my laptop and while camping across the country, I wrote a biography on Dr. Bethune which was published in September. I never dreamed that I would write a book, but thanks to technology, I am an author. The book has been well received.

 

Grading

 

The final benefit of technology for me is the computerized grading. I absolutely love setting the percentages on my program Maestro, and watching it calculate the grades according to tests, portfolio, attendance and finals. Thanks to the computerized grading, I have a printout for each student; they can see their averages in each area and understand the grade that they have earned. I can print or email the grades, and I have access to many reports, such as comparisons, averages, individual achievement, etc. The computer grading programs have eased the burden of accountability and grading for me as an instructor.

 

Conclusion

 

Therefore, technology over the past five years has liberated me as a teacher and made my job much easier. Technology provides a tool to motivate the underachieving, low-skilled student who is afraid of writing and who hates grammar. Working with minority students at a historically black college, I find that these students especially need technology which engages their interest and allows them to learn in untraditional ways. If every student, rich or poor, could have his own computer and have access to the Internet, I believe the research, writing skills, grammar, and literary level of every students would be enhanced. As for the English instructor or any instructor, taking advantage of the multi-sensory instruction available with technology enhances the instructor’s ability to motivate and captivate students; it makes learning more fun and interesting for students, and education becomes more relevant.

 

This article was first published in Journal of College Teaching & Learning - September 2005 Volume 2, Number 9

 

 

©  by Nancy Ann Zrinyi Long,
Email: longnz1@earthlink.net),

 

 

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------