Honorable Mentions Copyright (c) 2013 Grand Valley State University All rights reserved. http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/coeawardhonor Recent documents in Honorable Mentions en-us Fri, 25 Jan 2013 22:21:30 PST 3600 Preserving Euskera in a Globalized World: Determining the Long-term Efficacy of Multilingual Schools in the Basque Country, Spain (Thesis) http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/coeawardhonor/3 http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/coeawardhonor/3 Mon, 30 Jan 2012 06:08:59 PST The Basque Country, Spain is a linguistically unique region where the minority indigenous language, Euskera, competes alongside the dominant state language, Castilian, and a lingua franca, English, for prestige and status. Following a history of cultural and linguistic repression and marginalization, the Basque community has, in the past 30 years, begun to reintroduce Euskera into new, multilingual school systems in order to teach, preserve and maintain their heritage language, while simultaneously acquiring English as an important language for global communication. This multimethod, qualitative study takes data from 36 survey respondents and five interview participants from the Basque Country, and triangulates those findings with Basque Country language proficiency and cultural identity data from the Basque Government, in order to better understand the long-term efficacy of multilingual secondary schools in producing alumni with high competencies in both Euskera and English. If such alumni are able to acquire and maintain high proficiencies following their departure from the linguistic structure and support system of the school environment, then such schools may provide strong models for other regions that struggle with similar sociolinguistic dynamics. Results show that there is widespread support for both English and Euskera instruction, and that while Euskera proficiencies tend to be relatively high, until the language is normalized in Basque society, Basque residents will fear the ultimate deterioration and demise of their heritage language. Meanwhile, English instruction is comparatively weak, with many students seeking extracurricular classes to improve proficiencies. It is evident that the multilingual model is favorable, yet requires some refinement, that extracurricular environments are needed for English language development and practice, and that Euskera must be made practical in order to solidify its future as a useful and common Basque Country language.

]]> Olivia Destrades Mendoza Comprehension Strategy Instruction of Narrative Texts in Elementary Language Arts (Project) http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/coeawardhonor/2 http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/coeawardhonor/2 Mon, 30 Jan 2012 06:03:42 PST Methodologies to address reading comprehension of general education students at the elementary level have been the topic of decades’ worth of educational research in literacy. Despite the proliferation of material on theory and instruction of comprehension strategies, as with narrative texts, teachers still struggle to find effective techniques to reach the low-achieving students, those who demonstrate little to no proficiency or autonomy with meaning-making skills.

Critiques of current literacy programming point to a number of concerns relating to comprehension instruction. In this document, five key components of instruction are investigated, including motivation and engagement, comprehension strategies and a conceptual framework for learning, the role of teacher and instructional framework, peer collaboration, and assessment. Reflections on current teaching practices, contemporary thinking by theorists and experts in the field of literacy education, and promising approaches to instruction shape the series of professional development workshops proposed here.

]]> Edwin Lee Vaandering Educating Teachers about the Complex Writing Processes of Preschool Students (Project) http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/coeawardhonor/1 http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/coeawardhonor/1 Mon, 30 Jan 2012 06:03:41 PST Preschool teachers traditionally view young children’s written literacy development as a linear continuum that progresses from making scribbles, to lines, to letter strings, to invented, and finally, conventional spellings on paper. This project seeks to change preschool teachers’ perceptions of children’s writing development to encompass a more broadened definition of literacy. On the path from emergent to conventional writing, young children naturally negotiate and mediate a number of symbol systems in order to make sense of their worlds and create meaning as they come to understand the complexities and intricacies of the writing process. Exploration of these symbol systems is a crucial step for children to come to understand written language. Unfortunately, with a push for teaching basic skills in the preschool classroom in preparation for the demands of kindergarten, the focus in most classrooms does not lie in an appreciation for these multiple symbol systems. This project, professional development for preschool teachers, will equip educators with knowledge of young children’s complex meaning-making processes and with practical resources, methods, and ideas for the classroom that are sensitive to children’s diverse paths to literacy.

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