Abstract/Notes: This article revisits research on reading automaticity and fluency with the goal of helping beginning reading teachers put confirmed research findings into current classroom practice. The article examines the concepts of automaticity and fluency, how both impact the development of skillful reading. The article reviews research on: a) reading strategies children use, and b) repeat reading teaching strategies to develop fluency. Case scenarios illustrate key findings. Based on the research and case scenarios, four conclusions are drawn: 1) The terms automaticity and fluency are often interchanged; the concepts are not the same; 2) Understanding the differences between automaticity and fluency can impact repeat reading teaching strategies; 3) There is an assumption that rapid word recognition is the same cognitive process as automatic word decoding; and 4) There are two pathways to fluent reading, rapid word recognition, and automatic decoding ability. The article presents a theoretical model which aligns with childhood learning theories, offering teachers a variation in repeat reading teaching strategies. Rather than repeating reading the same text, opportunities to read slightly different, decodable text improves decoding, builds fluency, and thus strengthens children’s reading comprehension of complex text.

Language: English

DOI: 10.4236/ce.2018.96062

ISSN: 2151-4755, 2151-4771

Abstract/Notes: The aim in the research was to investigate the effect of Montessori-based STEM education on the self-directed learning skills of pre-service pre-school teachers. A mixed method was employed in the research. The sample of the research consisted of 53 pre-service teachers enrolled in the Pre-school Teacher Education Programme at a mid-sized state university in northeast Turkey. During the research, Montessori-based STEM education was given to the pre-service teachers for two hours per week over 14 weeks. The Self-directed Learning Skills scale was applied to obtain the quantitative data and the Semi-structured Interview Form was used for the qualitative data in the research. After coding the data in content analysis, the themes of the coded data were written down. In order to contribute to the validity of the research, direct quotations from the participant group were included in the findings section and participant confirmation was carried out. In order to contribute to the reliability of the data analysis, the consistency of the results with each other was checked by five experts during the data analysis. The aim was to contribute to the reliability of the study by explaining the data collection and analysis sections in detail. At the end of the research, it was observed that there was a significant difference between the self-directed learning skills pre-test and post-test scores and that the qualitative analysis results supported this difference in direction with the development. These developments were determined from the statements by the pre-service teachers in their interviews stating that the training contributed greatly to their personal and social development and helped them gain learning and teaching skills about a subject. In line with the results obtained, it can be concluded that pre-school teacher candidates' self-directed learning skills such as self-confidence, perseverance, self-planned learning, and self-assessment were developed by Montessori approach-based STEM education. / Araştırmada Montessori yaklaşımı temelli STEM eğitimlerinin; okul öncesi öğretmen adaylarının öz yönetimli öğrenme becerileri üzerindeki etkisi incelenmiştir. Araştırmada karma yöntem kullanılmıştır. Araştırmanın örneklemini Doğu Anadolu’ nun orta ölçekli bir ilindeki devlet üniversitesinin Eğitim Fakültesi Okul Öncesi Öğretmenliği Bölümünde öğrenim gören 53 öğretmen adayı oluşturmuştur. Araştırmada öğretmen adaylarının öz yönetimli öğrenme becerilerindeki değişimi belirlemek amacıyla tek grup öntest sontest deseni oluşturulmuştur. Araştırmada nicel verilerin elde edilmesinde “Öz Yönetimli Öğrenme Becerileri” ölçeği ve nitel veriler için de “Yarı Yapılandırılmış Mülakat Formu” kullanılmıştır. Araştırma süresince toplamda 14 hafta boyunca haftada 2 ders saati olmak üzere adaylara Montessori yaklaşım temelli STEM eğitimleri verilmiştir. Araştırmada elde edilen nicel verilerin analizi ilişkili örneklem t testi ile nitel verilerin analizi ise içerik analizi ile yapılmıştır. İçerik analizinde verilerin kodlaması yapıldıktan sonra, kodlama yapılan verilerin temaları yazılmıştır. Araştırmanın geçerliliğine katkı sağlamak için, bulgular bölümünde katılımcı grubun doğrudan alıntılarına yer verilmiş ayrıca katılımcı teyidi gerçekleştirilmiştir. Veri analizinin güvenirliğine katkı sunmak için, veri analizi esnasında beş uzman tarafından sonuçların birbiri ile tutarlılığı kontrol edilmiştir. Araştırma sonucunda öz yönetimli öğrenme becerilerinin öntest ve sontest puanları arasında, anlamlı bir farklılık olduğu ve yapılan nitel analiz sonuçlarının da bu farkı gelişim yönünde desteklediği gözlenmiştir. Bu gelişimler öğretmen adaylarının mülakatlarında eğitimlerin kişisel ve sosyal gelişimlerine oldukça katkı sağladıklarını, bir konu hakkında öğrenme ve öğretme becerisi kazanma konusunda yardımcı olduğunu belirten ifadelerinden tespit edilmiştir. Elde edilen sonuçlar doğrultusunda Montessori yaklaşımı temelli STEM eğitimlerinin okul öncesi öğretmen adaylarının özgüven, sebat gösterme, kendi kendine planlı öğrenme, öz değerlendirme yapabilme gibi öz yönetimli öğrenme becerilerinin geliştiği yorumu yapılabilir.

Language: English

DOI: 10.19160/e-ijer.1038793

ISSN: 1309-6265

Abstract/Notes: School readiness is an important concern for parents and teachers because it is a multifaceted process which encompasses all the developmental areas and various skills of children rather than only focusing on cognitive and literacy skills. In particular, preschool and first grade teachers experience the positive and negative sides of the process of school readiness. In this study, basic qualitative research was used to compare teachers' views about school readiness. The participants were 35 preschool and 35 first grade teachers and a semi-structured interview protocol developed by the researchers was used to collect data. Qualitative analysis was performed at the end of the study and according to the findings, the following five main themes were determined: definition of school readiness, the effective people and institutions in the school readiness process, preschool education for school readiness, the difficulties encountered in the school readiness process and suggestions for effective school readiness. Also, the findings showed that preschool and first grade teachers tended to have similar views related school readiness.

Language: English

ISSN: 1303-0485

Abstract/Notes: Education is the basic necessity to any society. According to a Tamil poet, the deeper we dig, the more we discover. The role of teacher also involves the character building of the taught apart from designing and implementation of the curriculum. Teachers cause desirable and anticipated revolution in the society silently. In short, a teacher inspires and shapes the destiny of the nation in class rooms. Realizing the above facts, the teaching profession is considered as the noblest profession in India. Ethiopian Journal of Education and Sciences Vol. 3 (1) 2007: pp. 97-102

Language: English

DOI: 10.4314/ejesc.v3i1.42001

ISSN: 1998-8907

Abstract/Notes: Multigrade teaching – the teaching of more than one grade of pupils in one class by one teacher – is a feature of education systems the world over. It dates back to the origins of formal education, and it was not up until the late 1800s that the teaching of one grade in a classroom (monograde) at a time became prominent. Despite this development, multigrade teaching remains a reality and, for some learners, especially in developing countries, is the only way they can access education, write TSAKANI CHAKA and EVERARD WEBER.

Language: English

ISSN: 1726-9709

Abstract/Notes: We explore the use of video and photo elicitation in a research study undertaken to understand the way in which preschool teachers perceive and construct their provision of children’s educational experiences. We explore the value of visually elicited interviews based on video footage and photographs captured during teaching and learning in four classrooms in two preschool settings in Kenya. Through visually elicited interviews, both the teachers and the researcher constructed meaningful conversations (interviews) to explore preschool teachers’ practical experiences and their beliefs, understanding and interpretation of developmentally appropriate educational practices. This paper targets the possible value of and contribution made by visual data generation procedures, as well as their inherent challenges, in order to add to the body of knowledge on visually elicited interviews.

Language: English

DOI: 10.15700/saje.v32n4a661

ISSN: 2076-3433

Abstract/Notes: This article discusses in detail the Maria Montessori system and its peculiarities in the development of fine motor skills in children, the advantages and importance of Montessori pedagogy - a non-traditional method for the development of today's child's personality.

Language: English

DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6564410

ISSN: 2094-280X

Abstract/Notes: The paper presents a description and comparison of the undergraduate student teacher training and kindergarten teacher continuing education in the Montessori Method of Education encompassed in formal education in Slovakia and the Czech Republic. The theoretical part of the paper aims at depicting Montessori education, still an attractive pedagogical direction in both countries, in a thorough, unconventional and innovative way. Even though Montessori education has been rooted worldwide for centuries, in Slovakia and the Czech Republic it presents relatively new alternative education, considering that an integrated school system, introduced in these countries in 1948 and lasting almost to the end of20thcentury, did not allow the use of other alternatives in addition to the mainstream education. A description of (preschool) education in both countries and an analysis of kindergarten teacher's personality and his/her lesson plans are included in the theoretical part of the paper. The empirical part contains pedagogical research of qualitative design, conducted in Slovakia and the Czech Republic in order to identify and map the current state, level and possibilities of formal education of pre-service and in-service teachers in Slovak and Czech kindergartens.

Language: English

DOI: 10.5937/IstrPed2101137S

ISSN: 2217-7337, 2406-2006

Abstract/Notes: This quote by Maria Montessori piques the imagination in today’s educational field where we still struggle to find an answer to the question of quality. What makes a good teacher? How do we teach people to teach? To listen to the wisdom of Maria Montessori, among others, is to suggest the answer doesn’t lie in training requirements. Although well-meaning, some methods of training approach teaching as a one-size-fits-all approach. Yet, there are myriad techniques for teaching and no one method works for all teachers or all students. Indeed, good teachers use a variety of techniques (Intrator & Kunzman, 2006). Unfortunately, our search for objective standards by which to measure quality teaching has overlooked the fact that the root of teaching lies not in simple methodology, but in the messy business of human relationships. Embracing this means recognizing that who we are and how we relate to the world around us makes a difference in our teaching (Palmer, 1998).

Language: English

ISSN: 1946-0406

Abstract/Notes: Discusses the benefits of mixed-age grouping for children's social and cognitive development and reservations parents sometimes have about mixed-age groupings. Also discusses issues that teachers need to consider when implementing mixed-age groups: children's personal care routines; furnishings; children's language, motor, creative, and social development; and the needs of adults. (BB)

Language: English

ISSN: 0044-0728