This systematic literature review investigates peer feedback in EFL education. Findings on practices, effects and teacher- and student perceptions of peer feedback are drawn together and thereby a multifaceted understanding of the phenomenon in EFL-related research is offered. The purpose of the study is to review and systematize previous research in order to enhance the understanding of peer feedback practices, effects and perceptions. Ten articles of practices, effects and perceptions were selected for this systematic literature review. The findings indicate that peer feedback is effective as it contributes to students’ written and oral L2 development. Organized feedback from teachers is more effectful as it gives learners clear instructions of what to focus on. Therefore, the teacher has an important role in peer feedback practices in order to make it as efficient as possible. Teacher- and student perceptions were both positive and negative. Teachers reported learners’ ability to identify errors in peer’s performance as a benefit. Yet, lack of knowledge, incompatibility with the educational system and learners’ low proficiency level were reported motives for not using peer feedback in their EFL classroom. Students perceived peer feedback as useful as it improved their L2 learning. Organized peer feedback was particularly highlighted. Lack of confidence due to limited proficiency level, interpersonal relationships, motivation and time were reported as difficulties in peer feedback practices. Further research in the field of the teacher role in peer feedback is requested.

Increasing numbers of English-language learners (ELLs) with limited literacy skills in middle schools have resulted in a high percentage of long-term English-language learners (LTELLs). The problem of LTELLs, ELLs who have attended school in the United States for more than 6 years and have not met the state ESL exit criteria, is addressed in this study. Cummins' concept of second language acquisition and Vygotsky's zone of proximal development theoretical frameworks were used in this qualitative case study to explore the perceptions of 6 Title I middle school teachers. The purpose of this study was to explore middle school teachers' perceptions of LTELLs and their impact on classroom instruction. The research questions investigated how middle school teachers perceived the limited literacy skills among LTELLs and respectively how middle school teachers perceived the effect of LTELLs on their classroom instruction. Data were collected through interviews and document analysis, and analyzed with descriptive analytical techniques Findings from the data indicated that middle school teachers' misconceptions about LTELLs, a lack of knowledge of LTELL and second language acquisition, and a lack of linguistic support, contributed to the limited literacy skills among LTELLs. The resulting project, a white paper, focused on recommendations for the stakeholders on how to address the issue of limited literacy skills among LTELLs. This study's contribution to social change includes a better understanding of LTELLs and their learning needs, as well as addressing teachers' misconceptions about LTELLs and second language acquisition. The results and recommendations provide suggestions that, if implemented, may improve ELLs' academic achievement and reduce the number of LTELLs.

Walden University College of Education This is to certify that the doctoral study by Joye Elfreda Henry has been found to be complete and satisfactory in all respects, and that any and all revisions required by the review committee have been made. Review Committee Dr. Gloria Jacobs, Committee Chairperson, Education Faculty Dr. Jerita Whaley, Committee Member, Education Faculty Dr. Mark Earley, University Reviewer, Education Faculty Chief Academic Officer Eric Riedel, Ph.D. Walden University 2018

This systematic literature review investigates translanguaging in ELT.Previous findings on effects, teachers’ perceptions and students’ perceptionsare investigated and reported in this review, as well as systemized in order toenhance the understanding of translanguaging, its use in the ELT classroomand perceptions of the concept. Ten articles from varying countries wereselected for this systematic literature review. The studies included wereconducted using different research methods and with varying approaches tothe term translanguaging. The observed effects of translanguaging weregenerally positive and the findings indicate that translanguaging is beneficialto students’ communicative skills and comprehension, increasingparticipation and confidence, as well as providing additional support forlower proficiency students. However, the findings also show translanguagingto have negligible effects when it comes to the actual language skills of thestudents. Furthermore, both teacher and student perceptions oftranslanguaging presented mixed opinions. While several teachers seetranslanguaging as a resource, many see languages as mutually exclusive andopt not to include the use of any languages other than the target languages.Students are shown to consider their linguistic resources important, but theyare hesitant to use translanguaging out of fear that it will be an obstacle totheir target language learning opportunities. Lacking professional trainingand institutional support for translanguaging is clearly visible in the findingsof both teacher and student perceptions. Further research is necessary inorder to generalize results and obtain findings applicable to ELT in aSwedish upper secondary school context.

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The purpose of this study was to identify existing relationships between the perceptions of novice teachers regarding their teacher preparation programs, the support given to teachers from their schools, and the purpose of school. The study took place in Northeast Tennessee. Seventeen teachers from three different school systems participated in individual qualitative interviews, which lasted about one hour each. The finding corroborated the theory analyzed for this study and revealed areas for improvement in all levels of the education system. Teachers suggested meaningful changes to teacher preparation programs, including changes to general prerequisites and reorganizing education programs around meaningful field experience connected with adequate theory. Teachers suggested school districts to refine some programs they already have in place and improve their support. When prompted about the purpose of school, most teachers found a lack of connection between the expectations of school from state level and the purpose of school. The suggestions given by teachers matched the suggestions given by research regarding what needs to change to achieve the purpose of school.

Student behavior problems in school and classroom settings are of great concern to parents, teachers, and school administrators. These behaviors range from talking out and noncompliance to more serious behaviors such as violence and vandalism. Effectively managing student behavior problems lays the foundation for creating a safe school environment and is a critical concern for all teachers. A school wide positive behavior intervention and support system (PBIS) is an effective and proactive way to prevent misbehavior. All teachers and staff teach and reinforce a specified set of positive behaviors. These positive behaviors are expected of each student. This study analyzed teachers' perceptions of one aspect of a school-wide PBIS, a written praise note system associated with four identified social skills. The participating elementary school served 655 students in 1st through 6th grade. At the request of the school, Kindergarten students and teachers were not included. During the 2012-2013 school year, the number and type of praise notes were analyzed on several levels: (a) all students, (b) students categorized by grade level, and (c) students who received one or more office disciplinary referrals (ODRs). When analyzing the praise notes written by teachers, on average—across the school year—each student received an average of approximately 12 praise notes. During that same time frame, on average, each of the students who received an ODR received 7 praise notes. Based on this data, in comparison to the general student body, students who were identified as exhibiting problematic behaviors tended to receive fewer written praise notes from teachers. Focus groups were conducted with the participating teachers to determine their perceptions of the feasibility and effectiveness of their school's written praise note system, as part of a PBIS system. Overall, teachers perceived the participating school's praise note system as effective in preventing the majority of classroom behavior problems. The majority of teachers expressed their support for both the feasibility and effectiveness of awarding praise notes and reported fitting praise notes in with their daily classroom routines. This research implies that teachers are able to use a written praise notes systems to meet the general behavior needs of most students (Tier 1). However, based on focus group discussions, a few teachers also reported having challenges when attempting to implement the praise notes with fidelity. The majority of teachers identified the need for additional individualized strategies to address the needs of students with more severe behavioral challenges. Implications of this research indicate the need to consider additional options to reinforce desired behaviors of children with more extreme behavioral challenges.

In recent years, there has been converging evidence on the relation between nature experiences and learning. Although outdoor experiences are not just seen as leisurely activities anymore, barriers, such as lack of resources or travel time can hinder the propagation of more outdoor educational programs. This study explores a relatively new outdoor educational setting that can help overcome these difficulties by decreasing the amount of resources, input and energy necessary to set up such measures: the educational forest garden. With lower maintenance in creating an environment that resembles an authentic ecosystem, the question remains if forest gardening can foster similar learning outcomes than those reported in other educational settings. A qualitative study in a Swedish mini-forest garden was employed to explore what types of learning are possible in this new type of setting. Interviews with two educators and eight children were conducted to find out what perceptions and experiences they communicate after spending time in the mini-forest garden. The educator’s ideas were compared with children’s accounts and observational notes on their behavior to see if there was a difference in perception and experience. Examples for learning were found in three different dimensions: cognitive, emotional and social. The explored categories were ecological literacy, language learning, attention; being comfortable outdoors, respect and care, awareness of surroundings, co-creation, teacher-student interaction, gender differences and free play and imagination. The findings indicate an overlap between teacher’s and children’s experiences and perceptions in almost all categories and similar beneficial learning outcomes with forest gardening to other outdoor educational endeavors. Along with the potential for self-development, forest gardening may be a new way to successfully teach in the outdoors with less input or resources. Although a small scale study that should not be generalized, the study gives insight to educators’ and children’s voices in a new outdoor educational setting and can help overcome the lack of children’s voices in research in general. At the same time, it adds to the limited amount of research on forest gardening and potentially helps to increase the popularity of forest gardening as a new outdoor educational method.

O presente trabalho trata das referências musicais de alunos da rede pública na cidade de São Paulo. A partir de um levantamento que envolveu 1.482 estudantes de cinco escolas estaduais, buscamos observar se os professores reconhecem estes componentes da cultura jovem, isto é, se sabem o que é, se respeitam e se já utilizaram ou entendem que é possível fazer uso de tais referências no processo de ensino-aprendizagem. O estudo se localiza no campo de convergência entre a Comunicação e a Educação e é pautado pela ideia de que as canções e artistas, como elementos que circulam em dado estrato social, podem ser utilizados na mediação das relações humanas, por meio do posicionamento crítico, que dê condições aos indivíduos de exercer sua autonomia, de construir o conhecimento na negociação de sentidos e na compreensão de que o processo de ensino-aprendizagem se estrutura na reciprocidade. Os instrumentos de pesquisa aplicados aos educandos foram o questionário e a observação direta. As informações obtidas nesta primeira etapa passaram por processo de organização e análise para posterior utilização em grupos de discussão promovidos com os educadores. Também foram realizadas entrevistas individuais e levantamento bibliográfico. Os resultados apontam que a grande maioria dos indivíduos que compõem a amostra mantém relação estreita com a música. O barateamento das tecnologias digitais e a proliferação de smartphones alteraram as formas de interação com os artistas e do consumo das canções, que se tornaram mais individuais, customizadas e móveis. Um dos impactos diretos das transformações é o crescimento da circulação dos conteúdos disponibilizados pelas mídias na escola e, inclusive, na sala de aula. Os professores, por sua vez, revelam um baixo reconhecimento a respeito das práticas de escuta dos estudantes: sabem pouco e demonstram relativo respeito em relação aos hits, aos compositores, grupos, cantores e intérpretes que fazem sucesso nas turmas em que dão aula. Além disso, as experiências de utilização destes produtos culturais como suporte pedagógico são pontuais. Entre os motivos para o fenômeno, está a aceleração social do tempo, que amplia as exigências pelo contínuo lançamento de produtos novos e cada vez mais perecíveis, assim como limita a possibilidade dos docentes de se manterem atualizados, uma vez que eles já têm de lidar com as pressões diárias de sua vida pessoal e profissional. / The work presented herein with the musical references of public school students in the city of São Paulo. We have conducted a survey with 1,482 students, from five \"Estate schools\" (Sao Paulo\'s Estate administered schools), in which we sought to observe if the teachers brought to their attention and cognition, the recognizing of these musical reference components prevalent on the youth culture, that is, whether they know what they are, whether they respect and whether they have already used or understand that it is possible to use such references in the teaching-learning process. The study is located in the field of convergence between Communication and Education and is guided by the idea that songs and artists, as elements circulating in a given social stratum, can be used in the mediation of human relations, with the aid of critical self-positioning to support the conditions necessary for individuals to exert their autonomy, in order to build the knowledge while in the negotiating of the senses, and in the comprehension that the teaching/learning process structures itself in reciprocity. The research instruments applied to the students were a questionnaire and simply the direct observation were the tools used to determine the results of this research. The information obtained in this first stage went through a process of organization and analysis for later use in discussion groups promoted to educators. Individual interviews and bibliographic surveys were also carried out. The results indicate that the great majority of the individuals that have a close relationship with music. The cheapening of digital technologies and the proliferation of smartphones have altered the forms of interaction with the artists and the consumption of the songs, which have become more individual, customized and mobile. A direct impact of these transformations can be seen in the growth of content circulation made available by the media in schools, and classrooms. Teachers, on the other hand, show a low level of recognizing their student\'s listening practices: little they know of it, and the respect they show is relative to how little they know of the hits and personalities which are successful amongst their students. In addition, the experiences of using these elements as a pedagogical tool are timely. Among the reasons for the phenomenon is the social acceleration of time, which expands the demands for the continuous launch of new and increasingly perishable products, and limits the possibilities for teachers to keep up to date, since they already have to deal with the daily pressures of their personal and professional life.

In 1 urban Tennessee school, students in Grades 3 through 5 had not met adequate yearly progress in reading for the past 5 years. The purpose of this case study was to explore teachers' perceptions of current district-recommended teaching practice in reading. The research questions related to current instructional strategies, teaching practices, challenges, and perceptions of current instructional strategies and changes needed to improve students' reading achievement. This study was grounded in the constructivist theoretical framework of Vygotsky. Twelve educators from Grades 3 through 5 and a reading specialist participated in this study. The data were collected from interviews, minutes from professional learning community meetings, and the district guidelines for instruction. Data analysis included open coding to determine common patterns and development of common themes. Findings indicated that teachers described the district learning strategies and guidelines as aligned with the reading curriculum map, and they saw the reading specialist as a valuable resource. Teachers specified that although they were trained in district-recommended strategies, they needed more professional development and support to implement the reading strategies effectively. Teachers wanted job-embedded professional development (PD) to help them develop expertise in implementing effective reading instruction to increase student achievement. To address this, a professional learning community PD project was created. Participation in the PD project may help teachers to implement reading instruction using research-based strategies in accord with district guidelines to improve student reading achievement.