Feedback Strategies from a Student's Perspective
This classroom research project examines the effectiveness of formative feedback strategies in discussion classes. Formative feedback is a form of feedback where students identify their language problem and are given a chance to practice their weakness (Tuttle and Tuttle, 2012). In other words, formative feedback quickly “fixes” behaviors. The aim of this project was to understand student’s perceptions after receiving formative feedback. Students responded to a questionnaire that asked them to evaluate the feedback they had received and whether they could use the feedback in future activities. While over 90% of the students stated that formative feedback was helpful, less than 60% of the students reported that it was the most helpful activity
Teaching Language in Context
ion Abstract nouns are usually compared to concrete nouns such as table, flower, and pencil— things we can see and touch. There are certain abstract nouns that have a function similar to nominalisation in that they can be used to capture a stretch of surrounding text, compacting it into a single term. Abstract nouns such as problem, idea, fact, concept, issue, result, process, cause, and reason are often used in this way. These are sometimes referred to as ‘shell nouns’, ‘catch-all nouns’ or ‘summarising nouns’. While their dictionary meaning can be defined in a general way, their specific meaning can only really be interpreted in relation to the surrounding text. If I refer to an issue, for example, I would need to clarify the nature of the issue by referring to the particular context. In the problem-solution Geography report above, for example, the author has written: The issue at this location is that when the river is in full flow during the wet season, the outer bank erodes at a greater rate. Having specified the meaning (underlined above) of issue in this context, the author can now move on and simply use the term issue rather than continually restating when the river is in full flow during the wet season, the outer bank erodes at a greater rate. 10_DER_TLC2_03686_TXT_LAY.indd 309 11/06/16 3:01 PM 310 PART 2: Learning about Language Such terms can be used to create cohesion in texts. In this case, for example, issue can be used to constantly refer to the matter outlined, e.g.: The issue at this location is that when the river is in full flow during the wet season, the outer bank erodes at a greater rate. This issue has caused concern ... The issue with the river bank ... We can see from this example that such abstract nouns can be used as cohesive devices, constantly referring back and forth to the point in the text where the issue has been elaborated. Designer Note: Typesetter, three arrows need to be added to this text. Please see the attached file.
Science fairs as learning tool for teaching excellence
Science fairs are usually considered to be a pedagogical and cultural activity that involves the students actively. Gifted students need challenges to further develop their skills while maintaining the motivation level. Science fairs may provide the informal environment that will request and allow these students of excellence to challenge themselves by developing a scientific research project. Despite being well known in different countries, in Portugal first steps are being made on the use and implementation of science fairs as effective pedagogical tool. In this work, we will present a 4 years study that was developed on a Portuguese school with the main goal of evaluating the advantages of this informal way of teaching. The study includes an analysis of the evolution of the students’ knowledge that have participated, or visited, the different science fairs. Some advices for the implementation of these projects will be given. The motivation of the students was monitored as well as the knowledge and skills effectively improved by this activity.