Kouider Mokhtari

Assessing students' Metacognitive Awareness of Reading Strategies

This article describes the development and validation of a new self-report instrument, the Metacognitive Awareness of Reading Strategies Inventory, which is designed to assess adolescent and adult readers metacognitive awareness and perceived use of reading strategies while reading academic or school-related materials. There were 3 strategy subscales or factors: Global Reading Strategies, Problem-Solving Strategies, and Support Reading Strategies. The reliability and factorial validity of the scale were demonstrated. After a brief review of the literature, the development and validation of the instrument are described, and its psychometric properties are discussed. In addition, directions for administering and scoring the instrument are provided, and suggestions for interpreting the results obtained are offered. Finally, the scales implications for reading research and instruction are discussed.

ARE STUDENTS' LEARNING STYLES DISCIPLINE SPECIFIC?

In the study reported in this article, we examine the extent to which community college students learning style preferences vary as a function of discipline. We were interested in knowing whether gender and academic performance play a role in student learning style preferences. The learning style preferences of 105 community college students (47 males and 58 females) were measured in four disciplines (i.e., English, mathematics, science, and social studies) using a modified version of the Kolb Learning Style Inventory IIa (Kolb, 1995), which was aimed at determining learning mode orientations: concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualization, and active experimentation. The results revealed significant differences in students learning styles preferences across disciplines, but not for gender. In addition, student learning style preferences varied by academic performance as measured by GPA. These findings have important implications for community college teaching and research.

Portfolio Assessment in Teacher Education: Impact on Preservice Teachers' Knowledge and Attitudes

Cet article presente un travail de recherche sur lefficacite des carnets dappreciation pour levaluation des progres des eleves, de leurs competences et de leurs performances en classe. Les chercheurs se sont interesses principalement a lusage que font les enseignants en formation de ces carnets

“I'm Not Sure I Can Handle the Kids, Especially, the, uh, You Know Special Ed Kids”

Abstract In this article, we report the results of a study aimed at evaluating the impact of an inclusionary field-based experience on the attitudes of preservice undergraduate elementary education majors towards children with exceptionalities. We were interested in finding out whether such experiences lead to more positive attitudes towards exceptional children in the regular classroom. The attitudes of three intact groups of elementary preservice teachers (n=55) were measured before and after completion of either a traditional methods course or a field-experience course. The results revealed no statistically significant differences among the three groups of students with respect to their attitudes towards exceptional children in the regular classroom. These findings suggest that changes in the attitudes of preservice teachers towards students with disabilities will require more than simple exposure to these students in the regular classroom. Such findings support prior research suggesting that complete integration and acceptance of students with disabilities will happen only if we see long-term changes in the attitudes of educational professionals (Antonak & Larrivee, 1995). “I feel comfortable teaching math and reading, but Im not sure if I can handle the kids, especially, the, uh, you know special ed kids. (Anonymous college student)

Children’s use of drawing as a pre-writing strategy

In this study the writing products of 60 third-grade students, who drew before writing a story on a self-selected topic, was compared with the writing products of 59 third-grade students who wrote without drawing. The students in the group which drew before writing tended to produce more words, more sentences and more idea units, and their overall writing performance was higher than the students who wrote without drawing. These findings were consistent for boys as well as girls. Implications for writing research and instruction are discussed.

Developing a Reading Teaching Efficacy Instrument for Teacher Candidates: A Validation Study

Abstract This article describes the development and validation of a teaching efficacy scale, the Reading Teaching Efficacy Instrument (RTEI). The instrument, which is inspired by existing teaching efficacy scales, measures two constructs: self-efficacy, which examines teacher candidates feelings about their ability to teach reading, and outcome expectancy, which examines their beliefs in their ability to impact students reading development. The instrument has adequate psychometric properties, thus making it a reliable and valid instrument for measuring teacher candidates self-efficacy beliefs and outcome expectancy beliefs toward the teaching and learning of reading. The paper provides directions for administering and scoring the instrument and offers suggestions for interpreting its results.

Literature Study Groups: Literacy Learning “With Legs”

This article reflects the following This We Believe characteristics: Meaningful Learning — Challenging Curriculum — Multiple Learning Approaches Ryan Orwig’s task was to go into an existing classroom at an urban school with significantly low reading scores and conduct book clubs with the students once a week. An experienced teacher and graduate student, Ryan was a graduate research assistant in a partnership of teachers, administrators, and university faculty working together to create a dynamic learning community aimed at increasing students’ literacy learning and motivation to read and write. Ryan wrote: