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1 – 10 of over 19000Evan Ortlieb and F.D. McDowell
Reading comprehension levels of elementary students have not significantly improved in the twenty-first century, and, as a result, the need for systematic and intensive reading…
Abstract
Purpose
Reading comprehension levels of elementary students have not significantly improved in the twenty-first century, and, as a result, the need for systematic and intensive reading interventions is as high as ever. Literacy clinics are an ideal setting for struggling readers to experience success through the implementation of a cyclical approach to individual assessment, planning, instruction and evaluation. Yet, additional research is needed to create current and relevant models of literacy clinics for today’s diverse learners. This paper aimed to measure the effects of an experimental approach to reading comprehension instruction for third graders within an off-campus literacy clinic; the intervention involved a scope and sequence of comprehension strategies in which students had to demonstrate skill mastery before progressing to the next skill.
Design/methodology/approach
This investigation used a classic controlled experiment design by randomly assigning half of the literacy clinic participants (30) to either a control or experimental group. The previous year-end’s Criterion-Referenced Competency Test (CRCT) scores of the participants were used as indicators (or base lines) of each participant’s preexisting level of reading achievement.
Findings
There was a statistically higher achievement rate in the experimental group as measured by the CRCT statewide assessment with a Cohen’s effect size value (d = 0.79) suggested a moderate to high practical significance.
Practical implications
This study’s findings are relevant to those involved in literacy remediation, including literacy clinic directors, preservice educators and curriculum directors.
Originality/value
This paper is one of a kind in that it is the first to trial a scope and sequence of evidence-based comprehension strategies for comprehension improvement in primary school students. The findings call for major changes to thinking about how we improve students’ reading skills by focusing on depth rather than breadth.
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To explain how reading, rewinding a story in reverse order, and then rereading allows a reader to contextualize information, acquiring not only major themes and events but also…
Abstract
Purpose
To explain how reading, rewinding a story in reverse order, and then rereading allows a reader to contextualize information, acquiring not only major themes and events but also details and other literacy characteristics of the literature selection.
Design/methodology/approach
A representation of sequencing structures is discussed including world-related, concept-related, inquiry-related, learning-related, and utilization-related. In addition, the instructional design aspects of backwards sequencing are discussed.
Findings
Just as a level or stud finder uses a back-and-forth approach for finding the most suitable position, so does the backwards sequential approach to reading comprehension. By slowing down and focusing on parts before the whole, students are more likely comprehend content.
Practical implications
The importance of prediction towards comprehension has been recognized for decades. However, using a learning design that features reading a story once, then revisiting the story structure components in backwards order, and finally reading it again, allows for precise and complete learning. This theory has research and pedagogical implications for students of all ages.
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Julia B. Lindsey, Rachelle Kuehl and Heidi Anne Mesmer
Purpose: The purpose of this chapter is to provide research-based information to foster positive discussions about the need for phonics and phonemic awareness instruction in the…
Abstract
Purpose: The purpose of this chapter is to provide research-based information to foster positive discussions about the need for phonics and phonemic awareness instruction in the primary grades. In order to read, students must possess secure knowledge of the alphabetic principle (i.e., that speech sounds are represented by combinations of letters in the alphabet) as well as the ability to aurally separate the distinct sounds (phonemes) that make up words.
Design: In this chapter, the authors provide essential definitions of phonics and phonemic awareness terms, highlight peer-reviewed research and best instructional practices, and clarify findings in relation to the recently renewed controversy over how to effectively teach reading to young children. The authors draw from respected research journals and years of classroom experience to provide recommendations to literacy teachers.
Findings: Explicit, systematic phonics instruction is crucial for beginning readers because most children will not intuit phonics concepts. To set the stage for phonics instruction (connecting speech sounds with their written representations), students must understand how to separate sounds in words. Therefore, instruction in phonemic awareness must be given independently of alphabetic representations; that is, students need to be able to hear the distinct sounds before mapping them onto written words. Once a student has mastered this understanding, however, instructional time need not be devoted to its development.
Practical Implications: This chapter contributes to the literature on phonics and phonemic awareness by clearly explaining the differences between the two concepts and their necessary inclusion in any beginning reading program. It includes practical activities teachers can use to develop these understandings in the classroom and provides research evidence to support their use.
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Hamid Abdirad and Carrie S. Dossick
The purpose of this paper is to inquire into the reasons why Construction Operation Building Information Exchange (COBie) has not become mainstream across the construction…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to inquire into the reasons why Construction Operation Building Information Exchange (COBie) has not become mainstream across the construction industry despite the significant attempts to promote it.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper framed and compared the normative model of COBie to a descriptive model of COBie. The normative model was based on the assumptions and planned procedures outlined in the COBie documentation. The descriptive model was developed through a case study of COBie implementation, with ethnographic observations, interviews and artifact analysis as the data collection methods and thematic analysis as the data analysis method.
Findings
The comparative analysis of the normative and descriptive models showed that the underlying normative assumptions of COBie can be challenged in its implementation. In the case study, implementing COBie disrupted the conventional practice of few participating firms as the data requirements and the expected sequences and timelines of tasks were not aligned with the industry norms for exchanging data. Furthermore, the normative model of COBie could not account for the unanticipated variability in the internal routines of firms for submittal production.
Practical implications
COBie, as an instruction-based model, may not provide enough flexibility for some firms to adapt to its requirements such that COBie tasks become integrated with their existing workflows. COBie tasks may become additional efforts, and at times, conflict with the industry norms and firms’ routines, and therefore, disrupt the efficiency goals.
Originality/value
This paper provides empirical evidence to clarify why implementing COBie has not been as efficient for all industry players as expected.
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Anna Young-Ferris, Arunima Malik, Victoria Calderbank and Jubin Jacob-John
Avoided emissions refer to greenhouse gas emission reductions that are a result of using a product or are emission removals due to a decision or an action. Although there is no…
Abstract
Purpose
Avoided emissions refer to greenhouse gas emission reductions that are a result of using a product or are emission removals due to a decision or an action. Although there is no uniform standard for calculating avoided emissions, market actors have started referring to avoided emissions as “Scope 4” emissions. By default, making a claim about Scope 4 emissions gives an appearance that this Scope of emissions is a natural extension of the existing and accepted Scope-based emissions accounting framework. The purpose of this study is to explore the implications of this assumed legitimacy.
Design/methodology/approach
Via a desktop review and interviews, we analyse extant Scope 4 company reporting, associated accounting methodologies and the practical implications of Scope 4 claims.
Findings
Upon examination of Scope 4 emissions and their relationship with Scopes 1, 2 and 3 emissions, we highlight a dynamic and interdependent relationship between quantification, commensuration and standardization in emissions accounting. We find that extant Scope 4 assessments do not fit the established framework for Scope-based emissions accounting. In line with literature on the territorializing nature of accounting, we call for caution about Scope 4 claims that are a distraction from the critical work of reducing absolute emissions.
Originality/value
We examine the implications of assumed alignment and borrowed legitimacy of Scope 4 with Scope-based accounting because Scope 4 is not an actual Scope, but a claim to a Scope. This is as an act of accounting territorialization.
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Anne R. Diekema, Caitlin Gerrity and Paula Mitchell
Ideally, information literacy instruction is sequenced throughout students’ academic careers, reinforcing and building on earlier instruction. The purpose of this exploratory…
Abstract
Purpose
Ideally, information literacy instruction is sequenced throughout students’ academic careers, reinforcing and building on earlier instruction. The purpose of this exploratory study is to identify structural problems that potentially impact student learning. This research surveyed school librarians and academic instruction librarians along the K-20 pipeline to capture information about their instruction programs, their pedagogical approaches and their perceptions on student information literacy skills at points of transition.
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses a 58-item survey instrument to capture the perceptions on elements of information literacy instruction from school librarians and academic instruction librarians in the state of Utah. The exploratory survey generated 255 eligible responses.
Findings
The study identifies several areas where the information literacy pipeline has challenges: staffing, scheduling, curriculum integration, teacher collaboration and student assessment. Suggestions for improvement include providing educational support for paraprofessionals, facilitating cross-institutional collaboration and creating a scope and sequence document that spans the entire educational spectrum paired with specifically teaching for transfer.
Research limitations/implications
The study was limited to surveying the perceptions of library employees who teach students information literacy as part of a school or university. Study findings imply that better support for information literacy learners requires increased collaboration across the pipeline.
Originality/value
Information literacy education is often siloed – in the way it is taught, studied and discussed. This research is unique in that it explores the information literacy pipeline as a whole, as each level of instruction is related to the next and studying a single section might obscure larger issues.
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Sue Oakes Verlaan and Wolfram Verlaan
Purpose: To describe how a reading response unit that encourages students to generate their own questions to assigned reading using sequenced instruction can serve as a basis for…
Abstract
Purpose: To describe how a reading response unit that encourages students to generate their own questions to assigned reading using sequenced instruction can serve as a basis for literary analysis, providing students with a much needed sense of purpose for and authentic engagement with a writing assignment.
Design: Educational reform efforts have focused significant attention on engaging students in assignments, –with the implication that educators connect the purpose and relevance of assignments to the students’ backgrounds and interests. Although educators have typically attempted to forge this connection via the topic or material around which an assignment is centered, the authors argue that purpose, relevance, and engagement are achieved more readily through developing the students’ own thinking about a given topic; their own thinking rather than a given topic, thus becomes the basis for the assignment.
Findings: The authors detail the sequence of instruction they employed to implement a reading response unit in an accelerated sophomore English class, the goal of which was to help students develop a literary analysis essay. The authors discuss how the structure and sequencing of the assignment led to increasing student purpose and engagement.
Practical Implications: Detailing the steps of a reading response unit designed to prepare students for literary analysis based on their own ideas can provide insights to current writing teachers and teacher educators regarding ways in which they can design/modify their assignments to be more purposeful and therefore more engaging for those they teach.
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Vacharapoom Benjaoran and Sdhabhon Bhokha
The 4D CAD model has been accepted for better conceptualizing and comprehending the sequences and spatial constraints in a construction schedule. The purpose of this paper is to…
Abstract
Purpose
The 4D CAD model has been accepted for better conceptualizing and comprehending the sequences and spatial constraints in a construction schedule. The purpose of this paper is to identify the deficiencies of the visualization of the 4D CAD model and to propose improvements.
Design/methodology/approach
The presentation abilities of the existing 4D CAD model are analyzed and compared with the other conventional methods, namely Gantt chart, network diagram, and the calendar. Four aspects of the visualization are addressed, namely the overview of a schedule, the duration of an activity, the relationship of an activity, and the project progress tracking. The proposed improvements employed different visual properties of 3D CAD objects such as color, line weight, and line type to represent the different activities' performing statuses. A prototype of the 4D CAD model with enhanced visualization was developed on a construction project case.
Findings
The model evaluation showed that this development could enhance the visualization of the 4D CAD model and provide a more informative construction schedule.
Original/value
It is anticipated that the 4D CAD model with these enhancements can substitute for conventional presentation methods of construction schedules.
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Mike Duggan and Richard Blayden
Experience in the development and start‐up of new capital projects has shown that many of the difficulties encountered from an operations and maintenance perspective could have…
Abstract
Experience in the development and start‐up of new capital projects has shown that many of the difficulties encountered from an operations and maintenance perspective could have been mitigated or avoided through better scoping, planning and preparation of the appropriate organizational capability. Describes the history of development and packaging of a variety of principles, practices and methodologies designed to ensure that operations and maintenance issues are addressed early in the project and developed in parallel during the engineering design and construction phases. The objective is to ensure that at start‐up, all of the appropriate organizational systems, procedures and information requirements are in place and being used effectively by knowledgeable people working together in a safe and collaborative organizational environment. This allows the people to focus fully on the commissioning and on‐going sustainable operation of the new facilities to ensure productivity, cash flow and profitability of the new business.
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Janice Huber, M. Shaun Murphy and D. Jean Clandinin
As we engaged in this research, we returned to the earliest uses of the term curriculum making that we could find. We were not surprised to learn that curriculum making is most…
Abstract
As we engaged in this research, we returned to the earliest uses of the term curriculum making that we could find. We were not surprised to learn that curriculum making is most commonly used to refer to making the planned or mandated curriculum (Jackson, 1968) and not in reference to the curriculum making in which teachers and children engage in classroom and schools (Clandinin & Connelly, 1992). However, in our search, we read Cremin (1971), who drew our attention to William Torrey Harris, a school superintendent in the St. Louis school system in the United States during the 1870s. As Cremin wrote,What is of special interest is rather the analytical paradigm. There is the learner, self-active and self-willed by virtue of his humanity and thus self-propelled into the educative process; there is the course of study, organized by responsible adults with appropriate concern for priority, sequence, and scope; there are materials of instruction which particularize the course of study; there is the teacher who encourages and mediates the process of instruction; there are the examinations which appraise it; and there is the organizational structure within which it proceeds and within which large numbers of individuals are enabled simultaneously to enjoy its benefits. All the pieces were present for the game of curriculum-making that would be played over the next half-century; only the particular combinations and the players would change. (p. 210)