This paper is a research proposal with an extensive literature review that investigates the effects that ability grouping has on students? academic achievement and other factors, especially on students with lower ability.
Abstract This paper explains that the question of the whether it is beneficial or not to separate students according to aptitude or ability level has been extensively discussed and researched, but the evidence has supported of both sides of the argument. The author plans a quantitative study of approximately 3000 students in the seventh and eighth grade, half of which are in heterogeneous learning situations, and the other half are in homogeneous learning situations according to ability level. The paper states that the research hypothesis is that ability grouping, in comparison to alternate forms of placement, will result in different levels of self-esteem, academic self-concept or efficacy for studying, test anxiety, and academic achievement for those students in the ability groups versus those who are not, as well as differences between those students in high versus low ability groups.
Table of Contents
Introduction and Literature Review
Purpose of the Study
Research Questions
Hypothesis
Research Method
Sample Characteristics
Data Analysis
Timetable
Limitations
Significance of the Research
From the Paper "Tracking is the most extreme form of ability grouping. This type of grouping involves sorting pupils according to a standard measure of achievement or ability, such as achievement tests, IQ, or GPA. Pupils are arranged into "tracks" ranging from the highest ability to the lowest ability, and often remain in these homogeneous groupings for the entirety of their schooling, regardless of any performance differences between subjects. Also, mobility between tracks is rarely possible, which results in students remaining in the same track throughout their education, irrespective of changes in academic, personal or social factors."
This paper is a research proposal providing an extensive review of literature about the ability to read and describing a research methodology to evaluate the predictor effects of short-term memory and language ability.
Abstract This paper explains in detail the process of reading and the many factors that can contribute to problems in learning to read. The paper details evaluating the predictor effects of short-term memory and language ability by testing children of low socioeconomic status between the ages of three and four years on reading skills. The author points out that, if the relationship of short-term memory and language ability is predictive, this knowledge might be helpful to the clinician in deciding which children to refer to intervention programs.
Table of Contents
The Meaning of Reading
Proper Reading Development
Decompose Reading
Alphabetic Principle
Passage Comprehension
Normal Reading Ability in Children Ages 6-10
Early Development to Promote Reading
Language and Reading Ability Dyslexia, a Common, Worldwide Phenomenon
Hyperlexia
Receptive and Expressive Language
Short Term Memory and Reading Ability Dyslexia and Memory Correlated
Types of Attention
Short-term Memory and Environmental Factors
Purpose of the Study
Rationale
From the Paper "Genetic factors also play an important role in future reading and learning disabilities. Though the specific genetic influences such as identification of a phonological awareness gene have yet to be identified, certain lingual characteristics are inherited. Bishop studied a cohort of children from 86 families. The children presented with language impairments. The hereditary problems could be identified through a test of non-word repetition. Such a hereditary relationship was not found among respondents among respondents from the general population. The study concluded, that non-word repetition, inherited or not, is indicative of potential reading and learning disabilities."
Abstract This paper explains that, whether considered a negative or positive value, sport confidence and perceived ability do lead to improved performance. The author points out that observational learning, which contributes to acquiring the sport skills needed, as well as to developing sport confidence and to determining an athlete's perceived ability, according to Bandura, includes attention, retention, motor reproduction, and motivation. The paper relates that one aspect virtually all the researchers seemed to have accepted a priori was that the sport experience is correlated with skill, but that, from a scientific standpoint, skill defined as ?individual ability and performance" affects self-confidence and self-efficacy.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Sport Confidence and Perceived Ability Similarities
Differences
Relationships with Other Theories
Conclusion
From the Paper "Further, two of three principles involved in social learning apply particularly well to the sport model. First, individuals will be more likely to adopt a behavior being modeled if they value the results adopting that behavior will produce. Second, they are more likely to adopt the behavior if the model is either similar to or admired by the individual and the behavior has functional value to the individual. This model seems to be more inclusive, and thus more universally applicable, than many other models."
Abstract This paper examines how learning is acquiring knowledge or developing the ability to perform new behaviors. It is common to think of learning as something that takes place in school, but much of human learning occurs outside the classroom, and people continue to learn throughout their lives. In particular, it looks at how a variety of factors determine an individual's ability to learn and the speed of learning.
Outline:
Factors That Influence Learning Ability Age
Motivation
Prior Experience
Intelligence
Learning and Developmental Disorders
From the Paper "Learning is usually most efficient and rapid when the learner is motivated and attentive. Behavioral studies with both animals and people have shown that one effective way to maintain the learner's motivation is to deliver strong and immediate rein-forcers for correct responses. However, other research has indicated that very high levels of motivation are not ideal. Psychologists believe an intermediate level of motivation is best for many learning tasks. If a person's level of motivation is too low, he or she may give up quickly. At the other extreme, a very high level of motivation may cause such stress and distraction that the learner cannot focus on the task. "
Abstract This paper discusses the problems associated with abilities grouping in the schools. The author begins by explaining the reasoning and history of abilities grouping and then goes on to examine the negative consequences of such a system. The paper then argues that, instead of abilities grouping, assessment must be linked to more appropriate examples of actual intelligence levels, rather than structured and biased tests.
From the Paper "The arguments in favor of abilities tracking attest that when instructors are given a group of students who are comparable in their abilities they then have less struggle teaching them. Additionally, proponents of ability tracking also claim that the value of tracking, to identify those who are in need of additional help is crucial to their later success, even if that later success is inclusive only of remedial expectations. Some experts argue that ability grouping is not ability tracking and that the milder form of (ability grouping) is actually very helpful to students and instructors, as it attempts to meet needs with abilities, not only on the part of the student but also on the part of the educator."
Abstract This paper is about the affect of reading (both amount and ability) on a child's development of writing ability. It explains how reading and writing are related and explores the correlation between the two. It contains three charts.
From the Paper "The Magic Spell (a title). There was two boys. They wanted to go fishing, so they went to the forest. Tommy put a pole in the water and fell in" (Cox, Shanahan, & Sulzby, 1990, p. 65). This example of a poorly written text, composed by a poor reader in the third grade, contrasts sharply with the well-written text of a good fifth grade reader: Cities have thousands of people in them. The people live very close together and some next to tall buildings. There is a lot of noise and people running around. People live in big cities, because they are close to where they work and they think they will have a better life. There are also many choices about work, play, and housing. There are usually three main parts in a city. There is a downtown, which is busy. It has many stores, skyscrapers, and apartments. The industrial area has many factories, pollution, warehouses, and small houses. The residential area has many homes and small businesses. Some cities grow by their natural resources like oil, trees, or gas. Houston, Texas grew with those. Chicago, Illinois grew with transportation crossroads ? where roads, airways, and rivers meet. These are some of the things that made small cities become big cities (Cox et al., 1990, p. 64). Not only is there a striking difference in length between the two texts, there is also a large difference in cohesiveness, general flow of ideas and overall quality. The first story, written by a poor reader, lacks a cohesive plot or story line. For example, in the second sentence, the author says the boys want to go fishing; however, he then has them go to a forest, rather then a pond or lake, which would be more appropriate to fish in. Also, the title ("The Magic Spell") has nothing to do with the actual content of the text. Cox et al. (1990) gave this text the lowest quality score (one) and a cohesive harmony score of zero (p. 65)."
Abstract The paper is presented in the form of an experiment which was designed to test the spatial ability of six male and six female rats using the Morris water maze, in order to see if a gender difference was present. The paper describes the experiment - it shows that surrounding the submerged platform were four geometric cues and each rat ran three training and six testing trials on the first day, then six testing trials on the second day. Results showed that there was no significant difference in gender spatial ability. The paper attributed this finding to the fact that many variables were not controlled.
From the Paper "Since its creation by Richard G. M. Morris, the Morris water maze (MWM) has helped researchers understand the spatial ability of rats. Many scientific experiments done using animals are aimed to predict the outcome of human beings when presented with the same situation. The studies done using the MWM were meant to reflect on the spatial ability of humans as well as of other species. These studies wanted to answer the basic question of "how does an organism reach its goal object if they cannot see it"? Rats were used in these experiments for many practical reasons. Rats are easy to handle and care for. Rats have a shorter lifespan than humans, for example, do. They will reach "adolescence" after six months while humans typically reach adolescence after twelve years. The following literature tests different groups of rats placed in different situations, the difference between male and female rats? spatial ability, the difference between male and female rats with age as an important factor, and the difference between male and female rats after a brain impairment."
Abstract This is a reaction paper that involves analyzing three articles on tracking, segregation and ability grouping. The three articles highlight the unfairness of the education system in which students from minority and poor socioeconomic backgrounds are over-represented in low-ability classrooms.
Abstract At a rally on September 9, in Dayton, Ohio Senator Barack Obama gave a speech on "A 21st Century Education". The author of the paper uses that speech as a platform to examine and analyze Senator Obama's abilities as a public speaker. The writer describes Obama's use of words and imagery and examines their effects on the audience. He goes on to show how Obama uses his linguistic ability to establish his credibility and promote the image of a caring, forward thinking, everyday American in an attempt to win support not only from Democratic party supporters but also Republicans.
From the Paper "Besides revealing character qualities, Obama uses ethos to establish his credibility as a leader who makes wise decisions. He includes a bit of his track record when he brings up the successful law he passed in Illinois to double the number of charter schools in Chicago, and his plan to do the same thing nationwide. He mentions several statistics about the literacy rates in America and the rate of jobs offered to different levels of education to raise awareness of our current state, and more so to show that he is educated and passionate about this issue. He further shows his ability to solve this problem by mentioning a couple of programs he had developed last year, such as the Service Scholarship fund to solve the problem of finding good teachers."
Tags: democratic president senator republican, american dream, elections public
Abstract This paper studies the issue of grouping students into different levels for the purpose of academic study. It provides research for and against the idea, as well as raising sociological issues such as the effects on children from disadvantaged backgrounds and parental opposition to such a policy.
From the Paper "The questions at the core of the ability grouping and 'tracking' dispute is how to best educate large numbers of students with different backgrounds and aptitudes. It is hard to determine validity, for every opponent of ability grouping and tracking there is a supporter. For every research study contradicting ability grouping or tracking, there is research stating that the idea is best for all students. It seems that logic, emotions, research, and bureaucracy all clash on the advantages and disadvantages of this issue. For the purposes of this paper ability grouping relates to when students are clustered together within classes based on their skill, such as Level 1 readers and Level 2 readers. Tracking refers to the cluster of students between classes that take courses in subjects that convey a difference in a childs' talent. Classes that are considered in the tracking realm would be Advanced Placement (AP) English, College Prep (CP) English, and Regular English. Classes that follow that pattern are also referred to as Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3. Parents of students involved in higher-level classes think that those classes are the only ones in which their child can succeed. Parents of children in lower level classes sing a different tune. In the end who is right? It becomes a tennis match; sadly the students are the ones who lose. "
Abstract Through an analysis of the language acquisition process and a brief review of experiments designed to teach chimpanzees complicated linguistic communication, this essay argues that language ability is both environmental and biological.
From the Paper "At least the majority of us take our speech and linguistic abilities for granted. We rarely pause to consider why it is that man has the ability or capacity for complicated linguistic communication while other creatures, even those that most resemble human beings, do not. If the majority of us have not considered this question, a minority have. These are the anthropologists, the linguist and the psychologist. These three groups of academic researchers have examined the question of man's ability for complicated linguistic communication versus the inability of other creatures and have arrived at two different conclusions. Some have argued that the human ability for linguistic communication is a consequence of their having a unique biological ability for languages learning and communication. Others disagree, insisting that it is not a consequence of any inherent ability but of environmental training. As one tries to evaluate which of these points of views, or theories is the more accurate, on finds that evidence points in both directions, leading one to conclude that the unique human ability for languages is both biological and environmental in nature."
Abstract This paper examines several studies which suggest a physiological basis for the differences in men's and women's spacial abilities. Several studies are described in detail, including their experimental setting and outcomes. The author concludes by evaluating the available research findings and stating that these differences have a concrete physiological basis.
From the Paper "Gender Differences in Spatial Orientation
The size of certain inner ear structures may be the reason why men are able to adjust themselves more accurately to their environment than women (ScienceDaily 2006). This is the finding of a study recently published and which tested the differences in the way the male and female subjects make judgments and how they orient themselves in their environment. Professor Luc Tremblay of the University of Toronto's Faculty of Physical Education and Health, which conducted the study, said that the subjects' responses to verbal instructions on how they determine spatial orientation did not remove the differences between them and this provided the basis for the assumption that the differences may be physiological in nature. Tremblay called attention to particular inner ear structures, called otoliths, which are sensitive to inertial forces, like gravity, and which are larger in men than in women and enable men to adjust better to their space or environment. The 11 male and 13 female subjects showed that there were still significant differences, with the women more drawn towards their feet and more likely to misjudge their horizontal environment. The women subjects, however, showed that they could perform better in sensory tasks and situations, such as driving a car or piloting a plane, and avoiding worst-case scenario in spatial orientation. This showed why women tend to act more cautiously towards what they sense or perceive, while men tend to take risks."
Compares characters with misused abilities in J.D. Salinger's "Franny and Zooey", Richard Yates' "Doctor Jack-o'-Lantern" and Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird".
Abstract This paper compares protagonists, Franny in J.D. Salinger's "Franny and Zooey", Miss Price in Richard Yates' "Doctor Jack-o'-Lantern" and Jem and Scout in Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird". The paper relates that each of these characters are similarly challenged not to take their uniqueness for granted by believing they are able to do something with their talents that they are not necessarily supposed to do. The paper concludes that, through these characters, it is evident that with exceptionality, humility is also necessary in order not to display one's abilities in a disproportionate manner.
From the Paper "Their mission proceeds when "Jem was merely going to put the note on the end of a fishing pole and stick it through the shutters," among other carefully thought out details to fulfill their scheme of inviting Boo out for an ice cream. Scout's suggestion of knocking on the front door is quickly declined, for it is much too simple a task to complete. Throughout the novel, Jem and Scout repeatedly demonstrate inappropriate use of their creative abilities in constantly turning everything they encounter into a higher mission."
Abstract This paper shows how many researchers identify dyslexia as a specific and significant impairment in reading abilities which is unrelated to other general or particular abilities. The present study is intended to indicate whether reading ability is significantly correlated with laterality, a hemisphere fixation that causes a weakness in the ability to associate a letter and its sound, and perception of the rhythm in sounds as possible causes and core difficulties in pathogenesis of dyslexia.
From the Paper "Dyslexia denotes significant difficulty in language function which affects the learning process in one or more of reading, spelling and writing. Accompanying weaknesses may be identified in areas of spoken language, motor skills, short-term memory, auditory and/or visual perception and sequencing. This disorder is manifested despite conventional instruction, adequate intellectual capacity, socio-economic and/or cultural background and general motivation ("What is Dyslexia"?, 1999)."
This paper argues that, because not all kids are created equal, the educational system of tracking as represented by the core curriculum approach should be abolished.
Abstract This paper explains that, by schooling low-ability pupils and high-ability pupils together, the low-ability pupils may wrongly come to understand their position in the hierarchy as a reflection of individual worth and most often do even worse academically than before. The author points out that many European schools do not employ tracking and yet their students as a rule perform better than American students. The paper stresses that, if a child runs into problems, only a careful analysis of his own personal case can ever hope to resolve the difficulties rather than imposing a core curriculum that is the same for every child.
From the Paper "Nor will dividing an individual class into ability groups necessarily alter relative performance. This method, while having the advantage of keeping the students together at least on a social level, still divides them when it comes to learning. If the teaching method used with each group is identical, the division into groups will only benefit that group for whom the teaching method is most suited. A "head start" reading program in pre-school for example, will benefit high-ability students but will likely do nothing for low-ability students who need more attention or cannot keep up with the pace. At the same time, students who flunk out of such a program will then be behind their peers. In other words instead of being on the "fast track," they will be on the road to underachievement. Once a bad apple, always a bad apple."
Tags: character, low-ability, high-ability, mathematics, research
