Writing and Technology: The Effects of Experimental Instruction in First-Year College Courses

Education is a contested field of study because its purpose relates to associated political implications of either providing curriculum that critiques and analyzes history of the Americas, or, that which emphasizes and promotes a support of the American meritocracy and the righteousness of a representative democracy. Paulo Freire (2000) made the distinction that education is a combative arena, and that there are many different arguments jockeying for power. As a result of the contention, student-centered decisions are not always made and oftentimes the decisions are ones that benefit the political arena far more than the religious or social one.

Deciding that I wanted to be a teacher didn’t take much effort; deciding what kind of teacher I want to be however, takes much more thought. There are numerous educational philosophies, most of which can be traced back to one of four major perspectives: idealism, realism, pragmatism, and existentialism. All of these philosophical systems have an impact on educational thought; however, I find it hard to choose

One of my teachers once said in the beginning of the trimester that “I do not expect to change your views in the course of three trimesters, nor am I going to try. I am one small existence in the span of your whole lives, and I am insignificant” (Hizal 2015). And he was right, one year out of the 80+ that we live is so insignificant, but it does not necessarily have to be. Many teachers throughout my high school experience really opened my eyes to how many different ways our set curriculum could be taught. My world literature teacher of my senior year of high school made the class read the book The Alchemist and it really opened up my eyes. Our class did class discussions talking about the book and certain parts where we talked about our interpretations of the passages. My teacher never told us there was or was not a correct answer, rather she took on “problem-posing education [which] involves a constant unveiling of reality” (263). The Alchemist applied to all of our lives in such different ways, and many of my classmates did not expect for a book to touch them in any way that a high school required text would. My teacher also helped in that process. We all started to think about how different everyone lived life and that another person’s reality could very well be another person’s

The standard impression most people have of writers is that they can sit down and just let a perfect composition flow from their heads onto paper. In her writing career, Lamott has observed how “writing is not rapturous. In

Critical pedagogy is a philosophy that aims to foster more than just dialogue between the educators and students. It encourages “exploration, to help students move through the process of discovery by talking with them, asking questions and generally keeping up the momentum of exploration” (Elmborg, 2002, p. 458). This then effectively resolves the issue of a stagnant pedagogy, one that does not keep up with the times and needs of the students. Additionally, critical pedagogy serves to place some, or perhaps a lot of autonomy on the students’ part, attributing the means to the realization potential to them as well as the educators. As such, the only way for the educator to come to a better understanding of their students’, as well as their own

Education theory can either be descriptive like the sciences or normative like in philosophy. Education theory postulates what education processes are supposed to consist of; it sets the standards, norms, and goals in carrying out an education process. The scientific education theory gives a set of hypotheses, which have to be experimented and verified. The two approaches have produced two broad categories of education theories, which are the functionalist’s theory of education

I would like to study the politics of education in the New Britain Board of Education. I will research how they divide its power and its impact on public schools. On the Board of Education web page it states, “The mission of the Consolidated School District of New Britain is to create an educational system which will facilitate the development of students so that they may reach their fullest potential as productive human beings and be prepared to function effectively in a changing society.” In my research, I will analyze the BOE’s mission to understand its power structure. I will do this by using the interpretivist /constructivist philosophy to gather qualitative research. Additionally, I will use political party affiliation and

Postmodernism or postculturalism, a term often also used, offer a very different and much more radical version of constructivism. They are strongly opposed to the universalist premises of realism, liberalism, Marxism and post-Marxism, and are highly critical of the general phenomenon of the aforementioned modernity (Lawson, p. 145).

There are several differing viewpoints regarding educational aims namely liberal, vocational and wellbeing education. Liberal education focuses primarily on education through the means of experts, such as teachers who have specific knowledge in subject areas (Marples, 2010). This form of education allows individuals to “improve their capacity to think and understand, and….to appreciate what is worthy of appreciation” (Pring, 2004). For example, it is argued that in order to have the ability to think mathematically liberal education is necessary as it allows the individual to learn the regarded concepts that are central to these forms of

Discussions will be conducted through the lens of social constructionism. Though it must be noted that this approach will impact on my understanding of social and educational concepts, proponents of other ontologies may disagree with some of my arguments, I believe

To recap the superior writing ritual, the writer must listen to Ellie Goulding and sit on a black ottoman in a semi-dark room. When the author preforms these essential tasks before writing, he or she will have a much easier time coping with minor disturbances such as getting up or bouts of stress. When the author sits on a black ottoman while listening to Ellie Goulding, he or she will not worry about a single thing. The writer will be able to easily channel notions from the brain, onto a piece of paper or monitor screen. This writing ritual will ensure the infinite success of an exceptional

In his article “What is Education for?” David Orr posits six myths of education and refutes them with his six principles of education. The author reveals the historical attitudes which have shaped our modern education, the works of Francis Bacon, Galileo and Descartes. They imply that, in education, man and object must be separate. Orr asserts their works “laid the foundations for modern education”,

Technology is a helpful tool for teaching the writing process, and Marchisan and Alber (2001) concluded that writers can be taught to write using the writing process approach paired with tools of technology, direct instruction, and committed well-trained teachers. Graham, (2008), Graham & and Perin (2007a), and Rogers & and Graham, (2008), agreed that technology makes the process of writing easier and often provides very specific types of support. Word processing provides at least four advantages: (a) revisions are easily made, (b) publishing is professional-looking, (c) typing provides an easier means for children with fine motor skill challenges to produce text, and (d) word-processing programs have software programs, such as spell and stylistic checkers designed to reduce specific types of miscues. Other tools are speech synthesis (i.e., the writer’s spoken words are transcribed to electronic text) and word-prediction programs (i.e., the computer program reduces the key strokes by predicting the writer’s next word). This is helpful for students with difficulties with spelling and the mechanics of writing. In addition, outlining and semantic mapping software can aide with the planning process, and the use of computer networks and the Internet can help to promote communication and collaboration among writers.

Jack Whitehead has been dedicated to an action research approach, “living educational theory”, for the past 30 years. Whitehead believes that education is a value-laden activity and refers to values as these qualities, which provide meaning and purpose to our personal and professional lives. He proposes that in asking questions such as “how do I improve what I am doing?” (Whitehead, 1989, 2005), practitioners could create their own theories by communicating their educational values in their practice. He doesn’t see the educational theory the educational theory as established by the disciplines of sociology, psychology, philosophy, and history of education. Instead, Whitehead believes that the purpose of the educational research is essentially concerned with the creation and testing of educational theories: “Because I see educational theory as an account of the educational influence of educational and social formations that include learning to live values more fully, I attach great importance to those values that appear to carry hope for the future of humanity"(Whitehead, 2004, p.2).

According to this theory, critical awareness requires recognition that the social status of an individual, including educational and economic prospects and opportunities, is largely result from its race, gender, and class so the critical theorists want to raise the consciousness of these people dealing with education, knowledge, the school, and teaching and learning. Furthermore, they see the curriculum into 2 parts: the official curriculum which requires teaching subjects and specific skills, and the Hidden curriculum which imposes approved behaviors and attitudes on students through the school environment. They believe that teachers should empower themselves, because they can transform schools into democratic public spheres.