Choose an article of your local newspaper and write a critical review of it using four steps

of raising vital question, gathering further information, reflecting open mindedly, give
your own conclusion.
Vital information:
The newspaper article “The Deadly Fallout” written by Bunny McDiarmid was published in the Sunday Star-Times
on August 1st, 2010. I accessed it through the Hollins library database, EBSCO host. McDiarmid was a Greenpeace
chief helping to relocate people living in Rongelap, one of the Marshall Islands, to safer spaces in 1985 via the
ship Rainbow Warrior, after the devastating effects left from nuclear testing done by the United States
government in the 1950’s. The article talks about the history of the nuclear tests, the long-lasting health and
environmental effects on the Marshall Islands, and the current state of it all regarding the United States
government and financial aid to the Marshall Islands. The author brings in her own experiences, as well as
concrete data to address the topic. I will outline the main points brought up in this newspaper article, discuss the
author’s credibility, and analyze the information given while focusing on the nuclear effect on the environment in
the Marshall Islands and how it is related to the politics of it all.
Gathering further information:
The article starts out with the author explaining her role, as a Greenpeace chief in helping the Rongelap people
relocate. She mentions the first-hand experiences she had with the people and how after years of enduring health
issues such as cancer and birth defects, they no longer believed they were safe on their island so they chose to
uproot their lives and move to another island where they had no land rights. McDiarmid then goes on to outline
the history of the U.S. nuclear tests performed in the Marshall Islands, which was a UN Trust territory under the
care of the U.S. One of the largest nuclear tests was Bravo in 1954 and the fallout from the test rained down on
many other islands, including Rongelap, where the people living there were not informed or evacuated
beforehand despite the known risks from radiation exposure by the U.S. government. Two days after the Bravo
test, the people of Rongelap were finally evacuated and three years later were moved back to their home island
because the U.S. government said it was safe. However, the U.S. military confirmed that there was still above
average radiation on the island and as one military report said: “the habitation of these people will afford most
valuable ecological radiation data on human beings.” The newspaper article then goes on to mention more
recent challenges the Rongelap people face when confronting the U.S. to take responsibility for the decades of
damages the Marshall Island people have faced.
Reflecting open mindedly:
I believe this was a very well written newspaper article that included a lot of concrete information, trustworthy
data, and the invaluable insight that only someone who has had first-hand experience can contribute.
Own conclusion:
Overall, this newspaper article shows how the United States had taken advantage of the Marshall Islands,
disregarded the health of the people and the environment, and used it for their own militaristic gains to test
nuclear power. Even though this was done in the 1950’s, the effects can still be seen today in the continued
distrust by the Marshallese towards the United States government and the health and environmental effects that
are still prevalent today. It is important to recognize that the people of the Marshall Islands are still battling today
with the devastation to their homes, cultures, and land and the United States still needs to take complete
responsibility of it and put in the right amount of money and effort into helping clean up the islands and righting
the wrongs.
Explain the theory of exclusion and marginalization. Discuss how education affects and
gets affected by social exclusion.
Social exclusion is a process. It can involve the systematic denial of entitlements to resources
and services, and the denial of the right to participate on equal terms in social relationships in
economic, social, cultural or political arenas. Exclusionary processes can occur at various levels
within and between households, villages, cities, states, and globally. This is an actor-oriented
approach which is useful because it points to who is doing what and in relationship with
whom. It also provides information for international development agencies to identify those
dynamic processes already extant which they could aim to strengthen or minimize. In a
situation where there is a disparity in social power relationships, the question of who has the
prerogative to define, who is the definer and who is the defined, becomes a site of conflict.
Barry distinguishes between the “fact of exclusion” and “cause for concern” with social
exclusion. This is because there are forms of social exclusion which are voluntary, and hence
those individuals who voluntarily exclude themselves should not be forced to include
themselves. That is, there is a fact here that some person is socially excluded, but because they
have chosen to do so, this fact gives us no cause for concern.
Marginalization usually talks about social inequality. Social inequality is in the form of
hierarchy. To illustrate the social condition, many sociologists have used the term social
stratification. The theory of social stratification was first proposed by Kingsley Davis and
Wilbert Moore in 1945. The social stratification elaborates the division of unequal population
in the form of upper class and lower class or layers depending on financial condition, wealth,
gender, ethnicity, power, status, age or some other characteristics. Consequently, there seems
an unequal sharing of rights, privileges, duties and responsibilities among the social groups.
Even social values and privations also occupy inequality. Moreover, social power and influences
become unequal and different among the members of society. The patterns of stratification
change from time to time. Basically there are two major inequalities. First, inequality goes at
individual level and the other at social level. Thus, marginalization is the theory of class and
caste differentiation in society.
Effects of social exclusion on education
Education is one of the most important factors affecting the development of children. It has
great intrinsic significance as access to education is an important right and being educated is
an important and very valuable capability. In addition, getting educated is an important
participatory process for children and equal access for all to this process allows participation
in, and respect by society. In fact, many of the early calls for mass education in the 18th and
19th centuries viewed the inclusionary nature of the education process, and the fostering of
citizenship through education as more important than the skills one may acquire through
education. 28. Conversely, education can be a source of exclusion for children and thus carry
with it the intrinsic problems this involves. This is particularly the case if, for some children, it
fails to meet the standard called for in the Convention of the Rights of Children of
‘development of the child’s personality, talents, and mental and physical abilities to their fullest
potential.’ It can also be exclusionary if the process of education fails to promote equal
participation and access. In addition, educational policies can (instrumentally) promote (or fail
to stem) social exclusion as adults. This can happen through educational policies that
promote social exclusion among children which then translates to social exclusion as adults, or
policies that are not necessarily exclusionary but fail to prepare some disadvantaged children
adequately to be well-integrated in the economic and social life of adult society.
Observe a classroom of social studies for five days, write down teaching strategies used in the classroom
and explain with strategies help most in promoting critical thinking among students?
The social science curriculum over the past years has changed drastically both in content and
methodology. It has often been noticed that there is an increasing gap between the promises
made in the curriculum and what is happening at the level of the child’s perception. Therefore,
selection and organization of resources to enable students to develop a critical understanding
of society, is a challenging task. Teaching should be seen as an opportunity for teachers and
students to learn together, thus developing a democratic culture within institutions. There are
many useful teaching strategies to support effective teaching in social sciences. Some of them are
Video conferencing: Video conferencing, as well as Face timing, is quickly becoming a staple
in many classrooms. These amazing pieces of technology are a powerful tool teachers can use
to engage their students in social studies topics. Teachers love them because they have the
ability to connect students with experts across the globe. Video “chatting” allows students to
connect with their peers around the world and learn about different cultures and traditions, as
well as be able to work together with these students to talk about relevant issues.
Activity based learning: This method is based on doing some hands-on experiments and
activities. The students become active learners rather than passive recipients of information.
The children are provided the opportunity to explore by their own so that the learning
becomes joyful and long-lasting.
Social science lab: Well equipped Social Science Lab not only helps in creating and
maintaining a much needed congenial atmosphere for effective learning, it provides a work
room for the students- teachers because activities and the practical solution of problem
characterize every unit or topic. The permanent display of important maps and globes, pictures
and charts and constant reference to them by teaching is sure to make the teaching of social
studies effective, lively and interesting.
Library: Effective teaching of social science is crucially linked to the efficient functioning of the
school library and of teachers who are trained to use the resources that the library provides. It
is the major resource centre for learning activity. The library is therefore; set aside to meet the
appetite for learning and to feed the hunger for understanding. Students can be assigned to
read some items in the library to broaden their understanding of what the teacher has taught
in the classroom.
Strategies helps in promoting critical thinking among students: There are many teaching
methods and resources available to teach Social Science subject. There is the need to select
appropriate methods to achieve the desired objectives. The resources can be determined by
what is available and relevant to the students’ age, ability and interest. However, it should be
noted that cooperative learning and activity based learning are the best methods of teaching
Social Sciences but combination of the other methods would definitely help in achieving the
desired instructional objectives.
Present a review of theories given by Dewey (1933), Kolb (1939), and Schön (1983)
regarding reflection and reflective practices.
Dewey (1933)
John Dewey is thought to be the founder of reflection as it relates to personal learning. Dewey
(1933) states that an experience is an interaction between the individual and the environment.
An experience first includes more than participation in activities; experience could be reading a
book, taking lecture notes, or talking with others. Secondly, an experience contains what
Dewey referred to as continuity, a continuous flow of knowledge from previous experience.
Learning, therefore, is a continuous and cumulative process. Prior learning becomes the fodder
for further understanding and insight. Dewey acknowledges that imagination, belief, and
stream of consciousness are certainly part of our thinking activities, yet they do not necessarily
contribute to learning and even less to lifelong learning. Dewey defines reflection as the active,
persistent, and careful consideration of any belief or supposed form of knowledge in light of
the grounds that support it and the further conclusions to which it tends. Reflection is active.
When we reflect we examine prior beliefs and assumptions and their implications. Reflection is
an intentional action. A demand for a solution of a perplexity is the steadying, guiding factor
in the entire process of reflection. The function of reflective thought is, therefore, to transform
a situation in which there is experienced obscurity, doubt, conflict, disturbance of some sort
into a situation that is clear, coherent, settled, harmonious. Reflection starts with discomfort
during an experience and leads a person to a balanced state. It takes time and focus to reach
clarity of thought. Dewey writes that reflection “gives an individual an increased power of
control”. It “emancipates us from merely impulsive and merely routine activity…It converts
action that is merely appetitive, blind and impulsive into intelligent action”. It is not enough
just to have an experience. Reflection directs that experience to learning and deeper insights.
A key point is that informed action follows this reflective thinking process and leads to more
ideas and therefore generates more experience on which to reflect. “Reflective thinking impels
to inquiry”.
David Kolb’s (1939)
David Kolb’s (1939) theory of experiential learning elaborates the process by which adults learn
from their experience. Below Kolb’s model illustrates the four stages of learning from
experience:

The first phase in the Kolb cycle—concrete, “real world” experience—means direct, practical
experience that results in “knowledge by acquaintance” as opposed to “knowledge about”
something. Concrete experience precedes reflective observation of that experience. The next
phase, reflective observation, involves focusing on what that experience means and its
connotations in light of past learning. In the third phase, abstract conceptualization, learners
relate their reflective observations to what they already know: extant theories, preconceived
notions, and embedded assumptions. During active experimentation, the last phase before the
cycle begins again, the learner applies new concepts and theories to the real world. For Kolb,
learning is a cycle that perpetuates more learning. Reflection is the engine that moves the
learning cycle along its path to further learning, action, and more reflection. Without it, the
learner is “stuck” in the experience without gaining any new understanding.
Schön (1983)
Schön (1983) was interested in how and when professionals use reflection to build professional
knowledge and expertise. Schön’s work appeals to professionals who teach professionals
because he distinguishes between the static knowledge found in textbooks and the dynamic,
adaptive knowledge that the expert uses in clinical and professional settings. To bridge this
gap, pre-service professionals need guided practice. Given the dynamic, complex, and
unstructured settings in which professionals work, developing reflective capacity is essential.
Schön’s initial work was geared toward those who educate professionals. He asserts that in the
past, professional practice programs have delineated the profession’s “espoused theories” to
novices. Yet these theories may make sense in the textbooks but may not actually be applied
in daily practice. The theories that guide daily decision making, the “theories-in-use,” are
contextually specific, idiosyncratic, and often not mentioned in textbooks of professional
practice. Over and over again the theories-in-use are tested and developed to become proven,
sometimes even unconscious, ways of performing. One of Schön’s central concerns is how to
help novices learn the theories used by experts in real life settings. Schön identified two types
of reflection: reflection on action, which is undertaken retrospectively, and reflection in action,
which is essentially ‘thinking on your feet’. He also proposed that by repeatedly carrying out
the process of ‘reflecting on action’ can help practitioners to build upon previous experiences
and scenarios. This leads to the creation an extensive repertoire of rehearsed interventions.
When new or unexpected situations occur in practice, this repertoire enables the expert
practitioner to respond rapidly and instinctively in an appropriate manner.
Wrote a personal note about how you reflect in daily life? Write down a detailed
reflection on a day spent in teaching or managing a school activity. Develop the reflective
report of an event using Gibbs model.
Personal note of reflection in daily life
Our personal values greatly define the experience of our lives. They drive us forward and help
us make decisions. I reflect in these ways
1) The simplest way to reflect is by tuning in to the present moment. Set aside 5 to 10
minutes daily to sit in silence. This helps train your mind to slow down and engage with
the here and now. Mindfulness meditation also raises your self-awareness.
2) A powerful aspect of reflection is its capacity to show your good fortune. This doesn’t
necessarily mean money or power. Instead it refers to the simple details that come
together to make a life well-lived. Start a daily gratitude practice, and within a matter of
time you will start to feel much more positive about your life.
3) Reflection can help you connect with the activities you engage in daily. Keep a
notebook with you and make a few notes about the thoughts, feelings, and ideas that
came to you after significant experiences. Over time, you may learn to spot patterns in
your mood or even figure out the causes of negative and positive thoughts.
4) By taking a walk down memory lane you can get in touch with who you used to be and
allow this information to help you improve. Then, you can create daily and monthly
reflection practices that move you closer to making positive changes in your life.
Detailed reflection on a day spent in teaching
Here are some things that I learned during my time as a student teacher. During my
student teaching experience, I spent a lot of time preparing each lesson plan. I worked
hard to research different ways to present the information for each lesson. I looked for
activities that my students would enjoy, and I made sure that I had all of the materials
and other things that I needed before class started. Even then, there were always things
that would go wrong. Technology would fail. Students would complete activities quicker
than planned. As such, I realized that I needed to be prepared as much as possible, but,
more importantly, I needed to prepare to be flexible. You never know what’s going to
come up or what will catch the students’ attention. When created lessons, remember
that you need to be prepared for changes. Figure out alternative activities in order to
help your day go as smoothly as possible and allow your students to gain the most
from the lessons. As I talked to other teachers about lessons that I was working on, they
had plenty of suggestions for activities that I could use. I loved getting ideas for tried
and true activities for my students, but I also enjoyed the tips and ideas that they could
provide to help me grow as a teacher. They could also help you land a teaching job,
too.
Gibbs model
The process is essentially a cycle or loop, containing the following six elements:
 1) DESCRIPTION: This element requires a factual description of the incident. At this stage,
no conclusion is drawn; the focus is on the information; that too which is relevant. Some
prompt questions are: What happened? How did it happen? Where? When? Who else
was there? Did someone react? How did they react? Why were you there? What did you
do? What happened at the end? This builds up the background and a better
understanding of the incident.
2) FEELINGS: Here any emotion felt during the incident is discussed. Questions like, what
did you feel before the incident? During it? After it was all over? What do you think
other people felt? What do you feel about the incident now? What do you think others
feel about it now? Helps answer this part accurately. For writers, it’s cautioned to not
make this part wordy and chatty.
3) EVALUATION: Objectively evaluate the situation. What went well? What did not? What
were the negatives and the positives of the situation? How did you and the others
contribute to it? For writers, this is a good part to add in theories and references as
they evaluate and judge the incident.
4) ANALYSIS: Think about what might have hindered or helped the situation. This part can
be improved by referencing to a literary article (for writers) or a previous experience, if
needed to. Link the theory and experience together.
5) CONCLUSION: Consider what you learned from the situation. What else could you have
done in that situation? What skills will help you cope with it better next time? How
differently would you react if you face a similar situation again? If the outcomes were
negative, how would you avoid that? If the outcomes were positive, how could you
improve it for you and everyone else?
6) ACTION PLAN: This area deals with the plan of how to effectively handle and improve
the situation next time. Any training, skill, or habit that can equip you with handling the
situation better if it occurs again? Is there something more to be learned for a better
outcome? Work out the areas that need work and thrive to improve in them.
Gibbs’ Reflective cycle model is used in various situations and is useful in evaluating it.
Reflection is used to improve understanding and proof of practice-based learning. It is
regarded as a valuable instrument to use after critical occurrences have jumped out at help
practitioners and let pupil reflect on encounters and create new learning and form new ideas.
What is an action research? What types of problem are addressed in action research?
Develop a short proposal to conduct an action research on a specific problem?
Action Research (AR) is an idea, which you can apply to improve your own teaching practice,
as well as other aspects of academic work such as curriculum design and course evaluation.
Action research refers to a wide variety of evaluative, investigative, and analytical research
methods designed to diagnose problems or weaknesses whether organizational, academic, or
instructional and help educators develop practical solutions to address them quickly and
efficiently. Action research may also be applied to programs or educational techniques that are
not necessarily experiencing any problems, but that educators simply want to learn more
about and improve. The general goal is to create a simple, practical, repeatable process of
iterative learning, evaluation, and improvement that leads to increasingly better results for
schools, teachers, or programs.
Types of problems in action research:
Through action research the researcher collects data to diagnose problems, search for
solutions, take action on developed solutions, and monitor how well the action worked. The
four types of problems addressed in action research are:
1) Individual Research
 Individual action research is research conducted by one teacher or staff member.
This type of research is conducted to analyze a specific task. A teacher may wonder if
implementing group activities within an English class will help improve learning. The
teacher alone performs research by implementing a group activity for a certain length of
time. After the action is performed, the teacher analyzes the results, implements changes, or
discards the program if not found to be helpful.
2) Collaborative Research
Collaborative research involves a group of people researching a specified topic.
With collaborative research, more than one person is involved in the implementation of the
new program. Typically, a group of students, larger than just one class, are tested, and the
results are analyzed. Many times collaborative research involves both teachers and the
principal of the school. This type of research offers the collaboration of many people
working jointly on one subject. The joint collaboration often offers more benefits than an
individual action research approach.
3) School-Wide Research
Action research programs are generally created from a problem found within an entire
school. When a program is researched for an entire school, it is called school-wide action
research. For this type of action research, a school may have concerns about a school-wide
problem. This can be lack of parental involvement or research to increase students'
performance in a certain subject. The entire staff works together through this research to
study the problem, implement changes, and correct the problem or increase
performance.
4) District-Wide Research
District-wide research is used for an entire school district. This type of action research
is usually more community-based than the other types. This type may also be used to
address organizational problems within the entire district. For district-wide research, staff from
each school in the district, collaborates in correcting the problem or finding ways to
improve the situation.
Action Research related to Problem Solving for Educators
Teaching has always been a challenging profession, but now we’re seeing more complex
problems related to student behavior, parental and societal expectations, financial constraints,
and professional development. The ability of the action research process to satisfy an
educator’s need for ‘fit’ may be its most powerful attribute.”I have developed a short proposal
to conduct an action research on problem solving for educators which is discussed as under:
1) Recognize the problem: “My values and beliefs as an educator are oppressed by my
passive acceptance of the status quo and the use of oppressive power to change my
identity.”
2) Accept responsibility: “I describe my contribution in promoting the status quo and my
role in using oppressive power against others… to illuminate my living contradictions.”
3) Develop a solution: “I develop a solution to transform and improve myself, influence
the transformation and improvement of the fellow human beings with whom I interact
and the social and work places I share with people.”
4) Work toward that solution: “I enact praxis in the direction of the solution I developed
from a critical theory perspective.”
5) Evaluate your progress: “I evaluate the pragmatic outcomes of the solution… and the
implications.”
6) Change and repeat: “I modify my use of power, pedagogy, valid and reliable
assessment, and leadership to maximize social justice, ethical processes and results, and
 improve performance and knowledge as a result of my emerging living educational
theory.
Write down critical essay on the current syllabus of languages taught at grade 4-6.
Current syllabus of language taught at grade 4
Language Arts
Handwriting
- Utilization of legible cursive handwriting
Oral Language (Speaking, Listening, Discussion)
- Demonstration of effective oral communication skills during presentations, including class discussions,
book reports and project presentations
Reading
- Demonstration of successful word study skills
- Effective application of phonics skills
- Demonstration of high rates of fluency and accuracy
- Effective application of a variety of comprehension strategies
- Demonstration of strategic vocabulary development, decoding base words, compound words, prefixes
and clues found in context
- Introduction to critical thinking skills
- Demonstration of effective dictionary and thesaurus skills
- Focus on a variety of reading genres
- Demonstration of strong comprehension skills with both fiction and nonfiction texts
Writing
- Continuation of focus on the further development of the Five Step Writing Process
- Demonstration of editing techniques and strategies
- Application of spelling strategies
- Recognition of word forms, sentence types and parts of speech
- Demonstration of paragraph and story writing
- Demonstration of competence with the narrative and descriptive writing.
- Continuation of expository, persuasive and poetry writing
- Demonstration of effective utilization of dictionary and thesaurus skills
- Evaluation of written work using the six criteria: Overall development of ideas and content,
Organization, Support, Sentence structure and sentence fluency, Word choice, Mechanics
Math
Geometry and Measurement
- Solve problems involving plane figures and various units of measurement
- Perimeter, area and volume
Number Sense and Operations
- Solve problems using estimation and rounding strategies
Other Focus Areas
- Patterns, relationships and algebra
- Computations with fractions, whole numbers, decimals
- Multi-digit multiplication and division
Science
Chemistry
- Introduces periodic table of elements
Earth Science
- Studying water, weather, climate, Earth and beyond
Life Science
- Studying vertebrates and invertebrates
- Studies on plant soil and the water cycle
Physical Science
- Friction, energy, light and matter
Social Studies
Economics
- Identify supply and demand
- Graph skills
Pennsylvania History
- Settlement patterns and timelines
- Geography and map skills
Political Science
- Branches of federal and local government
Other Focus Areas
- Local history

Current syllabus of language taught at grade 6

Language Arts
Oral Language (Speaking, Listening, Discussion)
- Demonstration of effective oral communication skills during presentations, including class discussions,
book reports and project presentations
Reading
- Demonstration of successful word study skills
- Demonstration of high rates of fluency and accuracy
- Application of effective comprehension strategies
- Demonstration of strategic vocabulary development, decoding of base words, compound words, prefixes
and clues found in context
- Demonstration of application of critical thinking skills
- Demonstration of effective dictionary and thesaurus skills
- Introduction to a variety of literary genres
- Demonstration of strong comprehension skills with both fiction and non-fiction texts
- Implementation of reading strategies appropriate for various thematic units and genres, including: Short
stories, Longer narratives, Biographies, Poetry, Reference and informational texts
- Demonstration of the ability to: Differentiate face from opinion, Understand context clues, Identify main
ideas and supporting details, Identify story and character elements, Understand and recognize point of
view
Writing
- Continuation of focus on the further development of the Five Step Writing Process
- Demonstration of editing techniques and strategies
- Application of spelling strategies
- Recognition of word forms, sentence types and parts of speech
- Demonstration of the five paragraph essay
- Introduction of expository, persuasive and critical thinking essays
- Demonstration of proficiency with the informational essay
- Demonstration of effective utilization of dictionary and thesaurus skills
- Evaluation of written work using the six criteria: Overall development of ideas and content,
Organization, Support, Sentence structure and sentence fluency, Word choice, Mechanics
- Demonstration of composing essays when provided with a standard prompt.
Math
Mathematics
- Place value and expanded form
- Add, subtract, multiply and divide whole numbers, decimals and fractions/mixed numbers and integers
- Recognize patterns, relationships
- Evaluate algebraic expressions using order of operations
- Scientific notation
- Identify and classify lines, angles and polygons
- Measure length (integrated with science)
- Perimeter and area of circles and polygons vocabulary
- Surface area of simple figures
 - Construct graphs to represent data
- Collect, organize, interpret data
 - Expected, theoretical probability including simulations, ration, proportion, percent
Science
Astronomy
- Earth and sun
- Phases, eclipse and tides
- Earth's moon
- The inner planets
- The outer planets
- Stars
- Galaxies
Inside Earth
- Plate tectonics
- Making mountains and soil
- Erosion and deposition
- Geological time
- Rock cycle
- Volcanoes
- Earthquakes
Life Science
- Classification of plants and animals
- Reproduction and growth of plants and animals
- Cells: Parts, Movements, Division and Growth, Genetics
Physical Science
- Interactions of matter and energy
- Motion, work and machines
Social Studies
Atlases
- Maps and globe skills
- Geography terms
Early Centers of Civilization
- Tigris and Euphrates Valley
- Nile Valley
- Asia and Americas
The World and Early People
- The world's geography: Landforms, Bodies of water, Climate, Population
- Early people: Hunters and gatherers, Early herders and farmers, Early settlements and cities
Western Civilization
- Ancient Greece
- Ancient Romans
Explain with examples how assessment schedules do as well as peer support and mentoring helps in
improving school performance.
Successful students typically know how to take corrective action on their own. They save their assessments and
review the items or criteria that they missed. They rework problems, look up answers in their textbooks or other
resource materials, and ask the teacher about ideas or concepts that they don't understand. Less successful
students rarely take such initiative. After looking at their grades, they typically crumple up their assessments and
deposit them in the trash can as they leave the classroom. Teachers who use classroom assessments as part of
the instructional process help all of their students do what the most successful students have learned to do for
themselves. Using assessments as sources of information, following assessments with corrective instruction, and
giving students a second chance is steps in a process that all teachers use naturally when they tutor individual
students. If the student makes a mistake, the teacher stops and points out the mistake. The teacher then explains
that concept in a different way. Finally, the teacher asks another question or poses a similar problem to ensure
the student's understanding before going on. The challenge for teachers is to use their classroom assessments in
similar ways to provide all students with this sort of individualized assistance. Assessments can be a vital
component in our efforts to improve education. But as long as we use them only as a means to rank schools and
students, we will miss their most powerful benefits. We must focus instead on helping teachers change the way
they use assessment results, improve the quality of their classroom assessments, and align their assessments with
valued learning goals and state or district standards. When teachers' classroom assessments become an integral
part of the instructional process and a central ingredient in their efforts to help students learn, the benefits of
assessment for both students and teachers will be boundless.
Peer support is a strategy that involves placing students in pairs or in small groups to participate in learning
activities that support academic instruction and social skills. This instructional approach does not require
additional staff or extra funding. It is a research-based methodology that yields positive results related to student
achievement and a sense of “belonging” over the course of time. Peer supports provide teachers with a learning
tool to enhance instruction for students with and without disabilities. The following are three innovative ways that
peer supports can be used to meet the instructional and social needs of students with disabilities in the general
education setting. However, each of these models require upfront planning that includes selecting the right type
of strategy, utilizing it at the right time with perhaps individualized outcomes all aligned with the lesson goals. 
Collaborative Learning – An instructional strategy used to reinforce skills taught by the teacher.  This
teaching method allows time for practice, review, and opportunities for students to use higher-level
thinking skills. 
Cross-Age Peer Support is another strategy that assists with the learning in the general education
setting.  This approach typically involves older students, usually high school age, who provide instructional
support for elementary or secondary students. 
Peer modeling is another support that can be used to help students teach academic, processes and
classroom routines.  It also provides the classroom teacher opportunities to use peers to assist with
instruction, clarifying directions and give social reminders with little or no disruption to the lesson cycle.  
It is an excellent way for peers to provide appropriate behavioral models of students who need to
improve their social skills.   
Mentoring helps teachers face their new challenges; through reflective activities and professional conversations,
they improve their teaching practices as they assume full responsibility for a class. Mentoring fosters the
professional development of both new teachers and their mentors. Prospective mentors should participate in
professional development to learn about the mentoring process and what is expected of them before assuming
their duties. Appropriate training for the mentor's expanded teaching role improves the quality of a mentoring
program. Trained mentors help novice teachers plan lessons, assist them in gathering information about best
practices, observe the new teachers' classes, and provide feedback. The novice teachers reflect on their practice
and apply what they have learned to future lessons. Prospective teachers who were assigned mentors trained in
using this discussion framework demonstrated more complete and effective planning, more effective classroom
instruction, and a higher level of reflection on practice than did new teachers whose mentors had received only
an orientation program. A focused, systematic mentoring program has a positive influence on the performance of
new teachers—and is advantageous to mentors as well.
Join a group of teacher in your area or on social media. Initiate a discussion regarding
student failure. Write down the report of what did different people say and then what is
your conclusion.
A problem running through almost all of the categories is that too many students come to college without the
necessary preparation. They lack numerous academic skills, such as critical thinking, writing skills, and math and
science backgrounds. As one faculty respondent said, “Improved K–12 education in all disciplines would be a big
help in student success.” Another said, “We are preparing students to pass standardized tests in K–12 and not to
think.” Study skills; communication; core subjects like math, science, reading and writing; and the ability to learn
are necessary skills that should be learned in high school. As one faculty member stated strongly, “[Failing]
students were not pushed in high school and, therefore, failed to develop an appetite for learning and the
disciplines and skills required to succeed in an academic atmosphere.” There are categories from this survey that
do not place blame on students. Some of the faculty respondents thought that the faculty or teaching had failed,
the college had failed, or some of the courses were too heavy on content. Others thought that there were too
many problems in online education. The faculty agreed that most students had not been well prepared in high
school for college learning. There is much talk in higher education about the need for active learning to stimulate
students and faculty. But it is not an easy job to prepare an environment for active learning. In addition, active
learning requires a lot of preparation on the part of faculty members, including preparing the right materials for
learning, preparing the right activity in which to engage, preparing the right teaching approaches and strategies,
and preparing the right environment and classroom setting where students can engage in active learning. Faculty
members, especially those in institutions where research is prioritized, do not have enough time to spend on
preparing for all these things. These faculty members are under considerable pressure to conduct research and
produce results, as well as to teach large classes. Few can do both successfully, especially if there are no faculty
development programs that focus on this issue in a given institution.
To succeed, students need to have good reasons for taking a given course and for being in school. Students also
need to care about themselves and their education by setting expectations and achievable goals for themselves.
In short, academic success is not governed by a student’s cognitive abilities alone. Students need to be motivated
to want to learn and work hard at it to make faster gains and learn better than those who are bright but less
motivated (Blue 2012). Those who do care seek help and ask questions when needed. By doing so, they ensure
their own success and that their education meets their individual needs. Faculty who participated in this study
ranked student-related factors first in causing students to fail classes or drop out of college (415 times, or 68% of
responses). According to the respondents, a significant number of students come to college with poor academic
backgrounds, and they lack prerequisites for college courses. Colleges and universities enroll many students who
need remedial or developmental classes in at least one necessary discipline before taking courses for college
credit. The problem is not that of providing developmental classes at the college level, but rather, the fact that
while the majority of colleges offer developmental coursework, “statistics confirm that less than 25% of students
who enroll in remedial or developmental classes go on to finish their degrees”. Participants also indicated that
some students lack the motivation and/or the interest, and thus they fail to invest the effort, time, and energy
needed to complete college work. This situation is compounded by the fact that some students lack self-
responsibility and come to college classes with an attitude that they developed in high school, which means that
attending is enough to get a passing grade in a given course. For some students, getting an F in classes is no
longer something to be ashamed of but a cool thing that you must experience before leaving college.
Furthermore, faculty members at both the two-year and four-year college level agreed that time management
can make or break students’ efforts to succeed in college courses and environment. Unfortunately, many faculty
members believe that a significant number of students do not know how to manage their time and thus they end
up doing things at the last minute, taking on more than they can manage, underestimating what every class task
needs to complete, and so on.
Faculty members with whom we had face-to-face discussions about the findings of the study provided us with
deeper insight on the significance of the outcomes and their meaning. They also provided us with tips and
recommendations on how we as faculty and administration can help students by providing them with better
opportunities and options to succeed at the college level.
Conclusion:
Retention, which is one of the most critical issues facing colleges and universities today, is directly related to
students’ success and failure in school work. From the results of this study, we can conclude that participants did
hold themselves accountable for their own success or failure.
Write a reflective essay about this course elaborating what were your expectations. How did your
learning improved regarding critical thinking and refracting practice and how useful is this course for you as
a teacher.
Expectations:
1) It can meet student expectations. In some way it fits with their previous learning experiences.
2) It may be easier. A class using the deductive approach, if well planned, goes from easier to more difficult
which may be more appropriate for some learners. It can also be easier for less experienced teachers as
there is more control of outcomes.
3) The level of input language can be controlled more. Our learners’ understanding of rules can be
controlled more making sure that
the ideas they form are the right ones. In this way teachers can try to avoid learners forming incorrect
hypotheses.
4) It may be a more efficient use of time; many rules – especially rules of form – can
be more simply and quickly explained than elicited from examples. This will allow more time for practice
and application.
5) It can be designed to meet the needs of more learning styles, particularly for those
learners who have an analytical learning style.
6) It is used by many course books and it fits in better with many syllabus structures.
What improved?
Reflective teachers are more likely to develop reflective learners . Reflective practice and
reflective thinking leads to:
(1) Awareness of value and beliefs (2) Leads to inclusive environment
(3) Promotes collaboration between professionals (4) More likely to challenge and change practices
(5) Leads to seeking research, resources and advice (6) Higher quality practice and better outcome for learners
(7) It is a crucial way of learning and extending professional understanding
How useful is it?
Teachers at school and university teachers at Higher education institutions can enhance students‟
critical thinking skills by using instructional strategies that actively engage them in the learning process
rather than relying on lecture and rote memorization; focusing instruction on the process of learning
rather than solely on the content, and using assessment techniques that provide students with an
intellectual challenge rather than memory recall. To think critically means to be curious, and to
use strategies of inquiry: framing questions and searching systematically for answers. The
critical thinker thinks open-mindedly within alternative systems of thought, recognizing and
assessing, as need be, their assumptions, implications, and practical consequences, and
communicates effectively with others in figuring out solutions to complex problems. Critical
thinking is deeper than memorization and recall of factual information. When students think
critically, they think deeply; they not only know the facts, but they take the additional step of
going beyond the facts to do something with them. Critical thinking works on many levels, not
only settling for facts, but pursuing the causes for and the implications of facts.
Critical thinking means to reach a position on an issue and to defend it rationally. It means to
consider carefully the arguments of others, and to examine the logic of those arguments. If the
base line is a traditional passive-learning classroom, then the kind of active learning that results
from the traditions resulted for the old model of teaching: teacher centered. Critical thinking
implies that students sometimes go beyond the active search for information and do something
more: associate what they have learned with their own experience, compare it to other works,
question its veracity or authority, examine the logic of its argument, derive implications from it,
construct new examples of it, imagine solutions to problems it poses, examine the causes and
effects it demonstrates, and so on. Students in a critical thinking environment, after
communicating their ideas, either orally via group discussions or in writing via minute papers,
the teacher periodically ask them to reflect on what type of critical thinking his or her question
was designed to promote and whether they think they demonstrated that critical thinking in their
response. The teacher typically ask them to record their personal reflections in writing, either
working individually or in pairs; in the latter case, their task is to listen and record the reflections
shared by their partner.