Geometry for the disadvantaged

1967 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-6
Author(s):  
Billy J. Paschal

One day a critical Visitor came by the elementary school where an experimental research study in teaching modern mathematics to disadvantaged first graders was being conducted in order to see how the children were doing. She selected a little boy who was a repeater and asked him what they were studying. He proudly stood up and without hesitation said, “Circul ar regions, rectangular regions, and triangular regions!” The little boy, with his big eyes sparkling in anticipation, anxiously awaited another question that never came. The critic smiled in speechless amazement and left the room.

Author(s):  
Alp Aslan ◽  
Anuscheh Samenieh ◽  
Tobias Staudigl ◽  
Karl-Heinz T. Bäuml

Changing environmental context during encoding can influence episodic memory. This study examined the memorial consequences of environmental context change in children. Kindergartners, first and fourth graders, and young adults studied two lists of items, either in the same room (no context change) or in two different rooms (context change), and subsequently were tested on the two lists in the room in which the second list was encoded. As expected, in adults, the context change impaired recall of the first list and improved recall of the second. Whereas fourth graders showed the same pattern of results as adults, in both kindergartners and first graders no memorial effects of the context change arose. The results indicate that the two effects of environmental context change develop contemporaneously over middle childhood and reach maturity at the end of the elementary school days. The findings are discussed in light of both retrieval-based and encoding-based accounts of context-dependent memory.


Author(s):  
Amal Msimeer ◽  
Eman Elmejie ◽  
◽  

This paper presents an experimental research study in which the two researchers aim to promote learner autonomy in language learning by means of learner-produced learning materials. The study was conducted at the Department of English in the Faculty of Arts in Misurata, Libya during the academic term-spring 2018. The participants were 50 Libyan students who major in English and they were all enrolled in semester 2 and studied Grammar II course. The participants were required to produce their own learning material which was about a particular grammar item. Semi-structured interviews with the participants were undertaken to know about their reaction towards the experience of taking responsibility to create a learning material, what autonomous strategies they were able to develop while designing the learning materials, what type of learning materials they were able to produce. The findings of the current study revealed that learner autonomy can be fostered in EFL classes in Libya and that Libyan students can develop some autonomous learning strategies. It is concluded that learner-produced learning materials can be a successful and an effective tool to promote learner autonomy in EFL (English as a foreign language) classes.


Author(s):  
Margarita K. Ermakova ◽  
Larisa P. Matveeva ◽  
Natalya R. Kapustina

Aim. To study the prevalence of bronchial asthma (BA) symptoms among elementary schoolchildren in the Udmurt Republic in the dynamics over 20 years. Materials and methods. A comparative study of the prevalence of BA was carried out. A questionnaire was administered to 2899 parents of first-graders, using the international standardized ISAAC program. Results. The prevalence of BA symptoms on the ISAAC program among elementary schoolchildren in the Udmurt Republic in 2020 was 7.70.2%, being significantly lower than in the previous studies of 2002 and 2009 (p0.001). Conclusion. There was a further downward trend in the prevalence of AD symptoms in younger schoolchildren. The difference between the current symptoms of the disease and the established diagnosis remained rather significant. Reliable (p10.001) increase in the number of children with dry cough, not related to cold, and children with bronchospasm connected with physical load was revealed.


2009 ◽  
Vol 111 (8) ◽  
pp. 1894-1915
Author(s):  
Leigh Mesler

Background/Context A review of the literature demonstrates that grade retention often fails to improve the academic and socioemotional outcomes of retained students. Although little empirical work on peer tutoring has focused specifically on retained students, the literature suggests that those students who act as peer tutors often experience improved school performance and self-concepts. Purpose of Study This work developed out of a concern that elementary school students being held back to repeat a grade, or retained, were not benefiting academically from non-promotion. The purpose of this action research study was to identify and implement an intervention that would improve the academic and socioemotional outcomes of a twice-retained third-grade student. Setting This study took place in a New York City public elementary school. Intervention The intervention involved implementing a 12-week peer tutoring program in which a retained third-grade student tutored a struggling classmate in mathematics. Research Design This is an action research study in which the author conducted research and implemented an intervention in her own classroom. Results After serving as a peer tutor, this student experienced increased math achievement, an improved self-concept, and better classroom behavior. These results suggest that having struggling students serve as peer tutors may be effective in improving both their academic achievement and socioemotional outcomes.


2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Noura Marouf ◽  
Adi Irfan Che-Ani ◽  
Norngainy Mohd Tawil

<p>School grounds are critical places because they are some of the few play areas available for children to develop and transfer peer culture. Moreover, school playtime, which is often called “recess”, offers children daily opportunities for physical activity in the outdoor environment. During school years, age has always been presented in the studies on children as a fundamental component of their development. Children of different ages are interested in different play styles and have various play priorities. However, few studies have compared play patterns in children within age groups. This study explores play behaviors during recess in elementary school children overall, and secondly examines the differences in the play behavior of children, considering first graders who enter elementary school and the last graders. This study uses quantitative design and naturalistic observational approaches. An ethnogram recorded the observations of the play activities preferences of the children. The results of this study showed that girls spend the majority of their recess talking and socializing with peers generally. Older children, particularly those in grades fifth and sixth, spend more time socializing than other age groups. Children in the first grade spent much time in active free play, such as chasing and running, during recess and tend use their playtime as an opportunity to perform a physical activity; therefore the significance of combining recess and provisions for physical activity to reach health goals becomes clearer. These findings are interesting considerations for further research; such information could help to develop appropriate interventions to improve the recess.</p>


1970 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 9-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert H. Geeslin ◽  
Patricia W. York

This article presents the results of the administration of the Nelson-Denny Reading Test to three populations: (1) two groups of elementary school teachers assigned for inservice training, (2) elementary school teachers who volunteered for inservice training and also volunteered to participate in a research study, and (3) teachers participating in a summer institute. Findings indicate minimum functional literacy skills among some teachers assigned to inservice training, and evidence that even some participants in teacher trainer institutes function at levels barely literate. These findings indicate the necessity for more strict evaluation of persons completing preservice training, applying for teacher certification, applying for continuing contracts, and serving in the classroom.


1993 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 433-457 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nick Ialongo ◽  
Gail Edelsohn ◽  
Lisa Werthamer-Larsson ◽  
Lisa Crockett ◽  
Sheppard Kellam

AbstractIn light of putative developmental constraints, some have argued that prior to the middle to late elementary school years children's reports of depressive symptoms represent nothing more than transient developmental phenomena. In an earlier study of an epidemiologically defined sample of first-grade children, self-reported depressive symptoms proved relatively stable and significantly related to adaptive functioning. In the present study, we follow that cohort of first graders longitudinally and assess the prognostic value of self-reports of depressive symptoms in first grade with respect to depressive symptoms and adaptive functioning in the late elementary school years. We also assess whether or not children's reports of depressive symptoms demonstrate greater stability and are more highly associated with adaptive functioning in the middle to late elementary school years. First-grade depressive symptoms were found to have significant prognostic value in terms of levels of depressive symptoms and adaptive functioning in fifth grade, with the strength of prediction varying by gender in the former. Although there was a moderate increase in short-term stability from first to fifth grade, it remained consistently strong across first, fourth, and fifth grades. The magnitude of the relationship between depressive symptoms and adaptive functioning also remained consistent over time. These findings on stability, caseness, and prognostic power attest to the significance of children's self-reports of depressive symptoms in the early as well as the middle to late elementary school years.


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