Journal article

Coco – 8/8/2012

Journal Readings

(15 % of final grade)

EDU 6523

Students will complete summaries of three journal articles & review one website

during the semester. Due dates will be announced on the Course Schedule.

JOURNAL READINGS

Journal readings should be selected from the Course Topics listed below. Publication date within the

past 4 years is expected. (Refer to the Scoring Rubric for this assignment.)

After reading the journal article, students should write a short review of the article. Part one of the

assignment should include a brief summary of the information contained in the article. (SUMMARY)

Page two should include the student’s understanding of the possible application, effectiveness or

ineffectiveness of the methods cited in the article. (APPLICATION) The application should discuss how

the information from this reading could be applied by the student to his/her own classroom situation.

APA style is the expected style for citing articles. Your article review should be no more than two pages,

double-spaced. (See format below.)

Be prepared to post a brief overview to the forum, when asked. You should be prepared to discuss what

you found interesting and informative, in addition to the points listed above.

Selecting a Journal Article for Review Careful selection of an article leads to easier reading & comprehension of the main points contained in the article. Choose a topic that is of interest to you and that you want to know more about. You will find it easier to apply what you have read to your own experience & thus, to writing your review.

If you’re not sure, use the MC library reference staff and ask for assistance finding appropriate journals. The library staff will help you locate the professional education journals. Directions for using the online access to journals will be given in the Tutorials section on the MC Moodle course page.

Helpful Tips for Selecting a Journal 1. If you see the word "journal" in the title, it's probably appropriate. 2. If you see glossy pictures or it looks like something you'd buy at a magazine rack or a teacher store, it's probably not a journal. 3. Just because it is in your school library, it might not be a journal. Mailbox and Instructor are not journals! Reading Teacher (IRA), Reading Research Quarterly, and Educational Leadership (ASCD) are examples of journals. 4. Summarizing chapters from textbooks or resource books is unacceptable. Plagiarism Avoid problems with unintentional plagiarism by putting the article aside when you are actually writing up your summary. If you've taken notes, use these notes when writing your summary. Write in your

Coco – 8/8/2012

own words with good clear definitions of the terms you want the reader to understand. That way, you will not inadvertently use the authors' words in your writing. It is considered to be plagiarism, even if it is unintentional. If you are quoting, be sure to cite it.

Try to avoid writing the summary while you read because you may find yourself following the article far too closely. This is meant to be a summary/review with application to your own teaching situation. Try to summarize the relevant high points, with enough background info to help a friend or colleague understand what the article is about. Then, discuss (in first person) how you would incorporate what you have learned through your reading.

COURSE TOPICS

The major topics of this course center on the latest research and developments in literacy and remedial

reading to assist at-risk readers in the elementary and middle years. Those topics to be considered are:

 Secondary School Teaching Today

 Thinking and Questioning: Skills for Meaningful Learning

 Teacher Professional Responsibilities

 The Classroom Learning Environment

 The Curriculum: Selecting and Setting Learning Expectations

 Planning the Instruction

 Assessing and Reporting Student Achievement

 The Thinking Curriculum: Using Teacher Talk, Demonstrations, Inquiry, and Games

 Mastery Learning and Differentiated Instruction

 Organizing and Guiding Student Learning in Groups

 Professional Development: A Continuing Process

 Problem Based Learning

 Cooperative Learning

 Authentic Assessment

 Concept Teaching

As noted above, students should select appropriate journal articles from these topics.

Format for Written Assignments –

The student must include the relevant citation information about this article. This includes the title of the article, name of journal, author, date of publication, etc. APA style is preferred.

Note: The date that you retrieved the article online is NOT the publication date.

Font: Times, New Roman, Arial or Helvetica preferred

Size: 11 – 13 points

Margins: 1” on all sides

Header: Your name (flush right top line); Course number (flush right second line)

Coco – 8/8/2012

Footer: Page number (centered)

For each section of the paper, use the bold headings given in the directions.

Use correct mechanics (spelling, grammar, etc.) APA style is preferred for citations.

If you use abbreviations, be certain that the reader knows what the reference is. (E.g. SF for

Scott Foresman)

After you have completed your paper, use the directions on the MC Moodle site to convert &

save your paper to pdf. format. Submit the paper in pdf. format ONLY. Use the link on MC

Moodle page for submission.