<p> Within the genre of young adult literature, a growing trend is the use of epistolary messages through electronic methods between characters. These messages are set apart from the formal text of the narrative of the novel creating a break in the text features and layout of the page. Epistolary texts require a more sophisticated reading method and level of interpretation because the epistolary style blends multiple voices and points of view into the plot, creating complicated narration. The reader must navigate the narrator&rsquo;s path in order to extract meaning from the text. In this hermeneutic study, I examined the text structures of three young adult novels that contained epistolary excerpts. I used ethnographic content analysis (Altheide 1987) to isolate, analyze, and then contextualize the different epistolary moments within the narrative of the novel. The study was guided by two research questions: 1. What types of text structures and features did authors of selected young adult literature with epistolary interruptions published since 2008 use across the body of the published work? 2. How did the authors of selected young adult literature situate the different text structures of interruption into the flow of the narrative? What happened after the interruption? I used a coding system that I developed from a case study of the novel <i>Falling for Hamlet</i> by Michelle Ray (2011). Through my analysis I found that the authors used specific verbs to announce an interruption. The interruptions, though few in number, require readers to consider context of the message for event, setting, speaker, purpose and tone as it relates within the message itself and the arc of the plot. In addition, following the interruptions, the reader must decide how to incorporate the epistolary interruption into the narrative as adding to the conflict, adding detail, ending a scene, or simply returning to the narrative. . Therefore, the interruptions in epistolary young adult novels incorporated the text or literacy practices of young adults. Such incorporation reflects the changes in literacy practices in the early 21^st century that may render novels of this style a challenge to readers in creating meaning. The study further incorporates Bakhtin&rsquo;s theory of heteroglossia (1980) that a novel does not contain a single language but a plurality of languages within a single langue and Dresang&rsquo;s Theory of Radical Change (1999) of connectivity, interactivity, and access. Texts of this nature offer teachers of reading opportunities to guide students through text features to synthesize information in fiction and non-fiction texts. </p>

With the spread of English as an international language, near native-like accuracy is no longer regarded as a necessary goal for the pronunciation class. This Report discusses the current status and goals of pronunciation instruction in ESL and EFL contexts. Second, it reviews research findings supporting the new focus on intelligibility, and examines instructors’ pedagogical challenges and opinions on how to teach English pronunciation. Third, it evaluates Korean textbooks currently used to teach English pronunciation in Korea and discusses how instructional materials and resources can enhance oral proficiency in EFL contexts. Lastly, it presents a list of pedagogical implications and suggests a best practices approach to English pronunciation instruction in EFL contexts. / text

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The purpose of this study was to assess the characteristics of music education in Jamaican public schools and to investigate possible inequalities in access to music education programs based on school level, school locale, and school enrollment. A questionnaire, gathering information on a broad range of educational factors related to the music programs and music teachers was sent to the 977 public schools in the country. Of the 320 schools that replied, 105 offered music programs. Follow-up interviews were conducted with 25 selected music teachers from schools with music programs. Schools were classified as elementary or secondary, rural or urban, and small or large. Music programs existed in approximately a third of public schools in Jamaica, mainly in secondary, urban, and large schools. Teachers in these groups were predominantly male and music specialists, while teachers in elementary, rural, and small schools were mainly classroom teachers, female, and had been teaching for significantly longer than their counterparts. Approximately 10% of teachers providing music instruction reported not having any formal training in music. Secondary, urban, and large schools had more choral programs and entered a higher number of pieces in competitions than their counterparts. Music examinations of the Caribbean Examination Council were done in only a few secondary schools and most students were successful. Respondents generally considered resources and facilities for music programs inadequate, and viewed colleagues, administration and parents as being supportive of music programs, but considered the national government to be unsupportive. Most teachers had not encountered students with disabilities in their music classes. This study is timely within the context of current initiatives in education in the country such as the Reform of Secondary Education program and the report by the Task Force on Educational Reform in Education. It is hoped that deficiencies will be addressed to continue the long tradition of a vibrant music culture in Jamaica, and to ensure access to high quality music programs for every child. / text

The purpose of this project was to explicate specialized knowledge a successful teacher utilizes while making decisions in complex classroom environments and obtain her professional explanation of how she employs this knowledge in these same complex situations. This research is based on teacher narrative and story about managing events that occur in classroom settings and contexts, the enacted curriculum. This is similar to research and practice that has been progressing in medicine and aeronautics concerning "naturalistic decision making" and "situation awareness." In these fields case method has been used to examine, illustrate, or tap stores of knowledge that have remained secluded. Although intended for use by doctors or pilots the theoretical parallels are compelling for research in teaching and exposition of specialized teacher knowledge. Such research and specialized knowledge might be employed by the novice professional/practitioner or even by experienced individuals in quickly changing, dynamic classroom systems and environments. Issues of perception, cognition, and decision making processes in contexts which contain elements of risk, complexity, and constant change are central to this research. In addition, the unique capability of cases, story, and narrative to give individuals (particularly female professionals) voice, and their ability to get at and unpack specialized knowledge is utilized. For this project narrative data were collected in stimulated recall interviews about thirty different contextual case decisions a first grade teacher made during the course of a regularly occurring, two-week curriculum unit. These data were then transcribed for use in various steps of a cognitive task analysis similar to Critical Decision Method. Findings demonstrated evidence that this teacher recognized and described external and internal cues possessing potential, perceived, or real influence on the situation in which she intended her program of action to be enacted. In the narrative, these cues were reported by the teacher as knowledge that had undergone processes of "chunking" and "differentiation," processes which order and assign immediate or long term significance to events/cues in teacher's knowledge schemata. It was also found that this teacher utilized stories as a means of ordering and making sense of cues in her event structured knowledge.

<p> This qualitative study explored how incorporating picture books into a fourth grade reading program can enhance literacy instruction. Ten fourth grade students read, listened to, and shared twenty selected picture books over a twelve-week period in the classroom setting. The data sources included: observations, conferences, group discussions, student work samples, open ended comprehension assessments, a researcher-generated questionnaire, and a reflective journal. Data analysis using the constant comparative method yielded 38 codes and generated four themes. The themes reflected that picture books: promoted the use of comprehension strategies (visualization, activating background knowledge, determining importance, questioning, inferring, making connections and synthesizing); facilitated the instruction of literary elements; fostered student literary essay writing; and enhanced visual literacy, aesthetic awareness, and reading enjoyment. The study supports Rosenblatt&rsquo;s reader-response theory, whereby multiple interpretations of literature are valued. Implications for the classroom as well as for further research are presented.</p>

Knowledge bases require a considerable investment of time and money to construct. For many applications the dual use of a knowledge base in an expert system and in a teaching system would be cost effective. This research addresses the issue of whether a single knowledge base that can be used effectively in an expert system can form the basis of a functionally effective teaching system. To understand what is meant by a "functionally effective" teaching system a review of computer-aided instruction and intelligent computer-aided instruction systems has been carried out. From this, a list of twelve functional requirements were identified that should be met by the subject knowledge contained in a teaching system, and therefore by a dual-purpose knowledge base. A review of expert systems was also undertaken, and this resulted in the generation of the hypothesis that the deep knowledge approach to the construction of expert systems could be used for the construction of a dual-purpose knowledge base. A test system, DR MECHO, was constructed from the MECHO program, which solves problems in the domain of statics. This new system included: a deep knowledge base; a meta-interpreter, to provide explanations of the reasoning process of DR MECHO; and a set of actions, referred to as teaching actions, which could replace some of DR MECHO's usual problem solving operations with student input. The performance of DR MECHO as an expert system, and its ability to meet the functional teaching requirements, were evaluated. DR MECHO performed well as an expert system. It also met most of the teaching requirements. The main underlying reasons for the latter were: its performance as an expert system, the explicit structuring of the knowledge base, and the observance of the "no function in structure" principle (the latter two being characteristics of deep knowledge systems

This study aims to examinet he changesin students'p erceptionso f and attitudes towards learning English in a Malaysian college. Firstly, it aims to investigate how the attitudes of students towards learning English changes during the critical transition period from secondary school, where the medium of instruction is in Malay, to college, where the medium of instruction is English. Then, it examines students' perceptions of their English language classroom environment and teaching methodologies used, the relationship of students with their teachers in both secondary school and college. It also investigates their perceptions of the influence of home background on learning English. Finally, it considers the influence of teacher attitudes on students' attitudes towards learning English. The study focuses on 100 students enrolled in a first level English course during their first semester in Petra College (a pseudonym), and the lecturers teaching these students. Data for this study were collected by student's weekly journals and interviews with students and lecturers. Analysis of the data was done qualitatively using an interpretive approach. The aim of using this approach was to provide a view of the second language learning process that is focused on perceptions of the learners. The findings revealed that there was a difference in students' perceptions of and attitudes towards learning English in secondary school and in college. Students' attitudes towards learning English seemed more positive in college. The students perceived that the environment in college was more conducive for learning English, and they noticed difference between the strategies used by their secondary school teachers and college lecturers. The findings suggest that secondary school teachers used a more structured audio-lingual approach and were not empathetic towards their students' language needs. On the other hand, the lecturers in college used more cooperative and interactive approaches and were perceived to be more empathetic towards students' language needs. The home background of students seemed to considerably influence their perceptions and attitudes towards learning English as well. The implications from the study suggest that teaching methodologies, the classroom environment, the school social environment, and the family background could influence students' perceptions of and attitudes towards learning English.

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