English as a Second Language and Children’s literature : An empirical study on Swedish elementary school teachers’ methods and attitudes towards the use of children’s literature in the English classroom

Previous research has shown multiple benefits and challenges with the incorporation of children’s literature in the English as a Second language (ESL) classroom. In addition, the use of children’s literature in the lower elementary English classroom is recommended by the Swedish National Agency for Education. Consequently, the current study explores how teachers in Swedish elementary school teach ESL through children’s literature. This empirical study involves English teachers from seven schools in a small municipality in Sweden. The data has been collected through an Internet survey. The study also connects the results to previous international research, comparing Swedish and international research. The results suggest that even though there are many benefits of using children’s literature in the ESL classroom, the respondents seldom use these authentic texts, due to limited time and a narrow supply of literature, among other factors. However, despite these challenges, all of the teachers claim to use children’s literature by reading aloud in the classroom. Based on the results, further research exploring pupils’ thoughts in contrast to teachers would be beneficial. In addition, the majority of the participants expressed that they wanted more information on how to use children’s literature. Therefore, additional research relating to beneficial methods of teaching English through children’s literature, especially in Sweden, is recommended.

Authentic Texts in English Language Teaching : An empirical study on the use of and attitudes towards authentic texts in the Swedish EFL upper elementary classroom

International assessments indicate that Swedish students achieve high results in reading, writing and understanding English. However, this does not mean that the students display oral proficiency, despite an emphasis on functional and communicative language skills in the current English Syllabus. While a previous literature study by this researcher has shown that authentic texts are a way to increase these skills, most of the results shown are from an international viewpoint. Thus an empirical study was conducted within Sweden with the aim to examine the use of authentic texts in the Swedish EFL upper elementary classroom. Twelve teachers have answered a questionnaire on how they use authentic texts in their language teaching, as well as their opinions about these as a teaching tool. Additionally, 37 students have answered a questionnaire on their attitudes about authentic texts. Results indicate that all of the teachers surveyed see authentic texts as an effective way to increase students’ communicative competence and English language skills; however, only a few use them with any frequency in language teaching. Furthermore, this seems to affect the students’ attitudes, since many say that they read authentic texts in their free time, but prefer to learn English out of a textbook at school. These findings are based on a small area of Sweden. Therefore, further research is needed to learn if these opinions hold true for the entire country or vary dependent upon region or other factors not taken into consideration in this study.

Flipped classroom and learning strategies

This paper seeks to answer the research question "How does the flipped classroom affect students’ learning strategies?" In e-learning research, several studies have focused on how students and teachers perceive the flipped classroom approach. In general, these studies have reported pleasing results. Nonetheless, few, if any, studies have attempted to find out the potential effects of the flipped classroom approach on how students learn. This study was based on two cases: 1) a business modelling course and 2) a research methodology course. In both cases, participating students were from information systems courses at Dalarna University in Sweden. Recorded lectures replaced regular lectures. The recorded lectures were followed by seminars that focused on the learning content of each lecture in various ways. Three weeks after the final seminar, we arranged for two focus group interviews to take place in each course, with 8 to 10 students participating in each group. We asked open questions on how the students thought they had been affected and more dedicated questions that were generated from a literature study on the effects of flipped classroom courses. These questions dealt with issues about mobility, the potential for repeating lectures, formative feedback, the role of seminars, responsibility, empowerment, lectures before seminars, and any problems encountered. Our results show that, in general, students thought differently about learning after the courses in relation to more traditional approaches, especially regarding the need to be more active. Most students enjoyed the mobility aspect and the accessibility of recorded lectures, although a few claimed it demanded a more disciplined attitude. Most students also expressed a feeling of increased activity and responsibility when participating in seminars. Some even felt empowered because they could influence seminar content. The length of and possibility to navigate in recorded lectures was also considered important. The arrangement of the seminar rooms should promote face-to-face discussions. Finally, the types of questions and tasks were found to affect the outcomes of the seminars. The overall conclusion with regard to students’ learning strategies is that to be an active, responsible, empowered, and critical student you have to be an informed student with possibilities and mandate to influence how, where and when to learn and be able to receive continuous feedback during the learning process. Flipped classroom can support such learning.

Using Swedish in the EFL-classroom : An Interview Study on Swedish Upper Secondary Students’ Attitudes towards Teachers’ L1 use in the EFL-classroom

There is very little focus in previous research on first language (L1) use by teachers in the upper secondary English as a foreign language (EFL) classroom from the students’ perspective. In this context and from a Swedish perspective, this thesis examines what attitudes students in the Swedish upper secondary school have towards their teachers’ use of L1 (Swedish) in the EFL-classroom. The method used was qualitative semi-structured interviews, where nine students in total were interviewed. The collected data was then coded, thematized and categorized. The results show that the students mainly believed Swedish should be used when teaching vocabulary, when teaching grammar and for classroom management. They did not believe the L1 should be used by them in questions and answers and in general talk in the classroom. They also endorsed an overall judicious use of Swedish by their teachers and that their use of this language should be adjusted to the specific teaching group. Finally, it can be concluded that further research is needed on how the L1 can be used judiciously in particular situations and on what attitudes students of varying proficiency and age, as well as students who do not have Swedish as their L1 have towards teachers’ L1 use in the EFL-classroom.

Classroom of students watching demonstration of closed-circuit TV

Students watch monitors that show a voltage meter being filmed in the Automotive Dept by department head William C. H. Meyer as part of a demonstration of a new technique in closed-circuit television. This is one of a series of photographs accompanying a press release about the development and demonstration of the new technique at the New York Trade School. Original caption reads, "In a classroom on another floor, students all have "front row" seats for the demonstration. Camera concentrates on close-up of a meter, where readings show the result of the voltage-regulator check. Instructor (standing at microphone) is Arthur Richards." Black and white photograph with accompanying caption.

Automotive Classroom at the New York Trade School

Black and white photograph of an empty classroom of the Automotive Department at the New York Trade School.

Social Media, Privacy, and the Academic Classroom

We live in a world full of social media and portable technology that allows for the effortless access to, and sharing of, information. While this constant connection can be viewed as a benefit by some, there have been recent, sometimes embarrassing, instances throughout the world that show just how quickly any expectation of privacy can be destroyed. From pictures of poorly dressed shoppers at a grocery store to customers recording interactions with their servers at restaurants, the internet is full of media (all with the potential to go viral) created and posted without consent of all parties captured. This risk to privacy is not just limited to retail and restaurants, as being in any situation amongst people puts you at risk, including being in an academic classroom. Anyone providing in-class instruction, be they professor or librarian, can be at risk for this type of violation of privacy. In addition, the students in the class are also at risk for being unwittingly captured by their classmates. To combat this, colleges and universities are providing recommendations to faculty regarding this issue, such as including suggested syllabus statements about classroom recording by students. In some instances, colleges and universities have instituted formal policies with strict penalties for violators. An overview of current privacy law as it relates to an academic setting is discussed as well as recent, newsworthy instances of student recording in the classroom and the resulting controversies. Additionally, there is a discussion highlighting various recommendations and formal policies that have been issued and adopted by colleges and universities around the country. Finally, advice is offered about what librarians can do to educate students, faculty, and staff about the privacy rights of others and the potential harm that could come from posting to social media and the open web images and video of others without their consent.

April 2000: Internet Caveats, Electronic Classroom

http://digitalcommons.winthrop.edu/dacusfocus/1010/thumbnail.jpg

A case study approach to classroom experiential learning of problem structuring methods

The proposed research aims at consolidating two years of practical experience in developing a classroom experiential learning pedagogic approach for the problem structuring methods (PSMs) of operational research. The results will be prepared as papers to be submitted, respectively, to the Brazilian ISSS-sponsored system theory conference in São Paulo, and to JORS. These two papers follow the submission (in 2004) of one related paper to JORS which is about to be resubmitted following certain revisions. This first paper draws from the PSM and experiential learning literatures in order to introduce a basic foundation upon which a pedagogic framework for experiential learning of PSMs may be built. It forms, in other words, an integral part of my research in this area. By September, the area of pedagogic approaches to PSM learning will have received its first official attention - at the UK OR Society conference. My research and paper production during July-December, therefore, coincide with an important time in this area, enabling me to form part of the small cohort of published researchers creating the foundations upon which future pedagogic research will build. On the institutional level, such pioneering work also raises the national and international profile of FGVEAESP, making it a reference for future researchers in this area.

Potential scenarios for Internet use in the mathematics classroom

Research on the influence of multiple representations in mathematics education gained new momentum when personal computers and software started to become available in the mid-1980s. It became much easier for students who were not fond of algebraic representations to work with concepts such as function using graphs or tables. Research on how students use such software showed that they shaped the tools to their own needs, resulting in an intershaping relationship in which tools shape the way students know at the same time the students shape the tools and influence the design of the next generation of tools. This kind of research led to the theoretical perspective presented in this paper: knowledge is constructed by collectives of humans-with-media. In this paper, I will discuss how media have shaped the notions of problem and knowledge, and a parallel will be developed between the way that software has brought new possibilities to mathematics education and the changes that the Internet may bring to mathematics education. This paper is, therefore, a discussion about the future of mathematics education. Potential scenarios for the future of mathematics education, if the Internet becomes accepted in the classroom, will be discussed. © FIZ Karlsruhe 2009.

From the classroom to the workplace: Three decades of evidence for Latin America

Includes bibliography.

Classroom discipline, classroom environment and student performance in Chile

This paper assesses the extent to which teachers’ actions in the classroom influence the school environment. The assessment is based on a statistical analysis of videotaped classroom observations of 51,329 teachers. The classroom environment was found to have a significant influence on students’ performance. More specifically, the teacher’s ability to handle the class as a group is consistently more significant than other measures of class environment. It was also founds that the overall school environment is a better predictor of students’ test results than the environment in the classrooms of the students whose test results are being reported. This suggests that the most effective course of action would be to improve the overall school environment, although individual teachers have less control over this factor.