Zandrea Y. Banton
Teacher & Author
Dip.Ed., B. Ed(Hons)., MA (Innovation in Learning and Teaching)
Guiding Principle 4
I sharpen my skills.
I believe in life-long learning. Each year, I try to enrol in professional development programmes to sharpen my skills. I live by the principle that the best teachers also love learning. Click on the link that will take you to my gallery of certificates.
I was awarded "Excellent Teacher Award" by the Jamaica Teaching Council in 2020
I Undertake Action Research to Address Identified Learning Needs
Read My Action Research
An Investigation into the Impact of Parental Involvement on the CSEC English SBA Deadline Compliance Rate
By: Zandrea Y. Banton
Purpose of Research
The purpose of this research is to determine whether getting parents involved in the CSEC English SBA process will improve the rate at which students comply with various submission deadlines throughout the CSEC English SBA process. The researcher is interested in this area due to the fact that she is currently serving as the Head of the English Department at a well-known, all-boys, secondary school in Western Jamaica and she is determined to pinpoint the most effective strategies to assist students to do well.
In addition, the researcher has prior experience with the positive impact of parental involvement and would like to see if this can be extended to the CSEC English SBA as well. As Grade Supervisor, the researcher hosted Parent Examination Preparation Workshop which saw the students sitting their end-of-year exam doing better than they had done in the previous year.
Research Design
The researcher conducted both secondary and primary research. The secondary research entailed an online search for relevant material. The material was evaluated based on the credibility, validity and reliability of the information. After being deemed suitable for the research, the material was then read and literature reviews conducted.
Based on the findings, the researcher embarked on her primary research by sending home a memo to parents inviting them to sign all CSEC English SBA drafts. The researcher recorded the number of students who have taken signed books to school and observed certain performance indicators. The researcher then made the connection between the students whose books were signed versus those whose books were not signed.
Literature Review
The research, entitled, “Effects of parental involvement on academic achievement: a meta-synthesis” by S. Wilder, (2013) posits that, the influence of parental involvement on student academic achievement is viewed by teachers, administrators, and policy-makers who consider parental involvement to be one of the fundamental parts of new educational reforms and initiatives.
“This study synthesized the results of nine meta-analyses that examined this impact and it identified generalizable findings across these studies. The results indicated that the relationship between parental involvement and academic achievement was positive, regardless of a definition of parental involvement or measure of achievement.” (Wilder, 2013).
Additionally, the findings revealed “that this relationship was strongest if parental involvement was defined as parental expectations for academic achievement of their children.” (Wilder 2013) However, the impact of parental involvement on student academic achievement was weakest if parental involvement was defined as homework assistance. Finally, the relationship between parental involvement and academic achievement was found to be consistent across different grade levels and ethnic groups. However, the strength of that relationship varied based on the type of assessment used to measure student achievement.
S. Wilder works at the University of Akron, in Akron, Ohio in the USA. The researcher is involved in Curricular and Instructional Studies. As such, the researcher can be seen as credible as his credentials show that he possesses expertise in the area. The research is available on www.tandfoline.com, which is a subdivision of Informa plc, a British multinational events and publishing company with its head office and registered office in London. It has offices in 43 countries and around 11,000 employees. It owns numerous brands including CRC Press, Datamonitor, Fan Expo, Institute for International Research, Lloyd's List (London Press Lloyd), Penton, Routledge, Taylor & Francis, and UBM. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. Hence, the availability of the research on website of such a prestigious entity shows that the information is valid, credible and reliable.
The next secondary resource entitled, “The Effect Of Parental Involvement On Academic Achievement” published by TeachThought, 23 June 2016, reveals that, that parental involvement has a positive impact on academic achievement. When parents have high academic expectations for their children, it positively impacts academic performance. Parents who provide homework assistance, positively impact academic performance. Having ONE parent involved is better than having none at all. However, students with two parents operating in supportive roles are 52% more likely to enjoy school and get straight A’s than students whose parents are disengaged with what’s going on at school. While brain power, work ethic, and even genetics all play important roles in student achievement, the determining factor comes down to what kind of support system he has at home.
The author, Adrianes Pinantoan, is InformED's editor and part of the marketing team behind Open Colleges. The website, teachthought.com, is dedicated to, “Growing Teachers”. It showcases, teaching, learning, literacy, critical thinking and technological resources. Hence, the article by Pinantoan, (2016) can be seen as valid when one considers his expertise and the nature of the InformED.
Observation
I issued a memo to all parents sensitizing them to the target for the CSEC English SBA (40/45 for all students). Parents were then informed that they should sign all SBA drafts that students had completed. I then undertook the observation process. The first day after parents received the memo,there was a 50% compliance rate. That is, out of a class of twenty two students, 10 students presented signed SBA drafts. The observer then reiterated that the books are to be signed for all subsequent classes. Reminders were sent in the WhatsApp Group. In addition, the observer spoke at two parents meetings and reminded parents of the need for them to affix their signatures to the students’ books.
Limitations
After these actions had been undertaken, the observer noticed that students were more careful in how they presented and completed their work. In addition, it was also noticed that, the caliber of expression was superior to previous works completed by the same group.
Unfortunately, there were drawbacks to this intervention. They are delineated below:
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Students experienced delays due to parents being unavailable to sign their books
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Students did not submit their work on time as they assumed that it would not be assessed by the observer if it were not signed by parents
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Students did not do their work due to the fact that parents were either unable or unwilling to sign
In light of these drawbacks, the researcher assured the students who were facing these difficulties that their work would still be assessed. In the future, when this strategy is undertaken, the researcher will facilitate students with challenges by allowing them to have their books signed by their peers.
Conclusion
The observation confirms the findings in the secondary sources. Although the parental involvement was not where the observer expected, the student who had consistent parental support consistently produced excellent results. The most recent activity assessed by the group being studied shows that all students in attendance scored full marks for the assessment.
References
“Effects of Parental Involvement on Academic Achievement: a Meta-Synthesis.” Taylor & Francis, www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00131911.2013.780009.
“The Effect Of Parental Involvement On Academic Achievement.” TeachThought, 23 June 2016, www.teachthought.com/learning/the-effect-of-parental-involvement-on-academic-achievement/.
Using Mnemonic Letter Strategies to Improve Extended Writing Performance: A Retrospective Study
By Zandre Y. Banton
Background
The researcher has observed that it has become increasingly difficult for students to excel in the “expression” and “organization” profiles of their extended writing assessments. This would be manifested in students constructing unacceptably short stories, essays or letters. In other instances, these extended writing pieces would be disorganized and incoherent. The advent of the COVID-19 pandemic has only served to exacerbate this issue as students being out of school for extended periods of time or disengaged due to remote learning has caused profound learning gaps.
The researcher, therefore, had to conceptualize effective strategies that would serve to enhance performance in an effective and efficient manner. Thus, the researcher embarked upon an experiment of creating mnemonics to teach important extended writing topics such as narrative writing, transactional writing, and persuasive writing. Through this strategy, the researcher observed a significant improvement in “expression” and “organization” profiles.
Research Design
The researcher has embarked on a retrospective study. According to The Learning Hub (2020), a retrospective study investigates a sample of data that was collected. The data might be in the form of interviews or artefacts based on past events (The Learning Hub, 2020). A retrospective study was selected for this research as the researcher found it necessary to analyse the effect on mnemonic strategy on students’ past performance. The primary data were collected and the researcher investigated to see the impact of the strategy on the work done by students.
The sample population is a class of grade eleven students. Academically, this group is generally below average. Attendance was low during virtual school brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. Less than 20% of the student population performed above 50%.
Literature Review
What Are Mnemonics?
Mnemonic is not a new or revolutionary teaching and learning technique. Nevertheless, with the vast changes in pedagogy and andragogy brought about by technology and the COVID-19 pandemic, educators can get overwhelmed and even overlook tried and tested, yet simple strategies like mnemonics. Mnemonics are teaching strategies that are created to assist students to improve their memory and understanding of important information (AdLit, n.d.). This strategy links new learning to previous knowledge through the use of acronyms, rhymes or key words (AdLit, n.d.). Mnemonics can be adapted to fit many subject areas (AdLit, n.d.). They are particularly beneficial to students who have learning challenges (AdLit, n.d.). Thus, mnemonics are quite useful and adaptable. There is always a potential for the use of mnemonics in the teaching and learning process.
According to LD Online (n.d.), students with learning disabilities and those at risk of underperforming tend to have challenge with remembering the information that was covered. Thus, mnemonic is a strategy that can be used to overcome this challenge (LD Online, n.d.).
Mnemonics are useful, yet teachers have gradually reduced their use in the classroom. Putnam (2015), posits that mnemonic techniques are a potent way for learners to absorb knowledge, however these techniques are not used widely in modern educational practice. These techniques have seen a reduction in use because of the demands of the modern classroom (Putnam, 2015). It is therefor important for both teachers and students to reconsider this shift away from mnemonics as they have a long history of success.
Additionally, Mnemonics are valuable in assisting learners to absorb large amounts of complex concepts. O’Donnell (2019) argues that learning new content can be demanding particularly in intense courses. As such, O’Donnell (2019), maintains that the application of mnemonic strategies may assist with the simplification of complicated concepts. Consequently, when mnemonics are employed, the chances of students improving the acquisition of complex information will increase.
Types of Mnemonic Strategies
There are several types of mnemonics and teachers and students have incorporated them in various subject areas. For example, “keyword strategy” includes using words or illustrations that connect the concept to something familiar. For example, to assist students with remembering the vowel cluster at the end of the word “onomatopoeia” you may tell them that the “p-o-e-i-a” means “Poet I AM”. Another mnemonic technique is the use of “peg words”. Peg words can be used to assist students to recall the order of metric terminology. For example, “My Mother Down MontegoBay Doesn’t Have Knives”. This assists students to recall milietre, minimetre, decietre, Metre, Decametre, Hectometre, Metre. The final mnemonic strategy is the “letter strategy”. This is using acronyms to assist student to remember concepts for example the SOH, CAH, TOA can be used to remember sine rules.
Mnemonic Letter Strategies Used to Improve Transactional Writing
The researcher conceptualized two (2) mnemonic strategies to assist students to construct the body paragraphs of transactional writing. Transactional writing incorporates all types of letters, memos, notices, and press releases.
For the informal types of transactional writing, namely: friendly letters and friendly emails, students were taught to use the 3Cs. The 3Cs signify, “Courtesy, Communication, Connection”. Students were taught that their first body paragraph of these friendly letters or emails should show “courtesy” to the reader by inquiring about the reader’s well-being, family members, etc. The next one or two body paragraphs should Communicate the content of the letter. Finally, the third body paragraph should “Connect” with the reader by asking the reader to give feedback on the content and write back.
With formal transactional writing, however, students were taught to use the 3Is. Students were taught to use two or three sentences in the first paragraph to “Initiate”. This means that students start the business letter or email by giving basic details such as time, place, etc. Next, students should “Inform” the reader by giving all the details. Finally, the business letter or report should “Invite” the reader to deliver feedback.
Mnemonic Strategy to Teach Analytica/Expository and Argumentative/Persuasive Writing
The researcher observed that students where having difficulties with organizing their paragraphs in their analytical essays. As such, the researcher conceptualize the OTT, PEE, CRR strategy for analytical essays. This mnemonic signifies, “Opening Statement, Thesis Statement, Transitional Statement” for the introductory paragraph. Students reminded that their introductions must have “OTT”. This was particularly successful in their analytical essays which are written for literature classes.
Additionally, students were instructed to use PEE to construct their developing paragraphs. This mnemonic signifies, “Point, Evidence, Explanation”. This mnemonic was a constant reminder to students to ensure that they commence each developing paragraph with a “Point” or topic sentence, this should be followed by at least two pieces of evidence from their test to substantiate their point.
Finally, their paragraph should conclude with a “Concluding connective, a Reiteration of their stance and Reiteration of their thesis”. On the other hand, when writing an argumentative essay, students should conclude with the “CRC” which symbolises “Concluding Connective, Reiteration of Thesis, and Call to Action”.
Using Mnemonics to Teach Story Writing
The researcher has found that due to learning loss, students have challenges composing stories that reflect all the elements of a proper narrative. Consequently, the researcher conceptualized the “I.C.A.R.E. Story Model”. This mnemonic has been very effective in simplifying narrative writing skills and optimizing students’ performance.
Students were taught to commence their stories with an “Introduction”. At this stage of the story, students should introduce the main characters. Next, students should create a “Conflict” for the main characters. Subsequently, students should put the main character to “Action” to solve the conflict. Next, students should “Resolve” the conflict. Finally, an “Exciting Twist” should emerge.
Limitations to the Mnemonics
The researcher has managed to improve performance in extended writing through the use of mnemonics. Notwithstanding, the researcher has observed that these strategies might not be appropriate for advanced learners. These learners may already possess the creativity and linguistic skills to construct various writing pieces at a high level. The use of mnemonics with these learners may stifle their creativity. Therefore, it is important for educators to do a pre-test to determine the need of mnemonics in teaching extended writing.
Conclusion
Mnemonics are indeed effective learning techniques. They can be used in all subject areas and to teach complex ideas. The demands of modern classroom have caused mnemonics to lose popularity, however, the needs of the post-COVID-19 learner have caused mnemonics to become necessary now more than ever. This researcher has conceptualized various mnemonic strategies to teach extended writing and has seen success in their use.
References
AdLit. (n.d.). Mnemonics | AdLit. Www.adlit.org. https://www.adlit.org/in-the-classroom/strategies/mnemonics#:~:text=A%20mnemonic%20is%20an%20instructional
LD Online. (n.d.). Enhancing School Success with Mnemonic Strategies | LD OnLine. Www.ldonline.org. https://www.ldonline.org/ld-topics/study-skills/enhancing-school-success-mnemonic-strategies
O’Donnell, K. (2019). Testing the Effectiveness of Mnemonic Strategies in Learning and Retaining New Information. https://digitalcommons.northgeorgia.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1253&context=gurc
Putnam, A. L. (2015, June). APA PsycNet. Psycnet.apa.org. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2015-26723-002
The Learning Hub. (2020). Learning Hub | Prospective vs retrospective studies. Closer.ac.uk. https://learning.closer.ac.uk/learning-modules/introduction/types-of-longitudinal-research/prospective-vs-retrospective-studies/
My Intervention to Improve Performance in Internal and External Exams
Our Mission to 100% Distinctions Unfolded During Lunch Break
As a reflective practitioner, I try to utilize student assessment data to implement interventions. On realizing that my students are at risk of underperforming, I have scheduled interventions and revision sessions. One such intervention was my "Mission to 100% Distinctions" in the week of March 28, 2022-March 31, 2022.
As a Reflective and Proactive Practitioner, I take the time to Conduct Annual Self-Evaluation.
I also undertake an objective self-evaluation to make sure that I am keeping true to my professional calling. In areas where I am lacking, I make an effort to improve in the coming year. Click here to see my self-evaluation.
Further Evidence of My Commitment to Continuous Professional Development
My Acceptance Email
I am proud to no be an alumnus of the National College for Educational Leadership (NCEL).
An an individual who aspires to get to the top of my field, I always take advantage of opportunities to upgrade and develop my skills and capabilities.
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Flyer & Email Congratulating Me for Completing Course 1 of the 5-Course Training
Reflective Analysis Study on the Benefits of Using Worksheets to Improve Narrative Writing Among Students Aged 15-16
Reflective Analysis Study on the Benefits of Using Worksheets to Improve Narrative Writing Among Students Aged 15-16
Introduction
Improving narrative writing skills in students aged 15-16 is a critical educational objective, given the significant role that narrative competence plays in overall academic success and personal expression. This study evaluates the effectiveness of narrative writing worksheets as a pedagogical tool, using the "Cornwall College Grade 10 English A Narrative Writing Outline" as a primary example.
Background
Narrative writing, an essential component of literacy, involves the ability to construct coherent and engaging stories. It demands creativity, coherence, and an understanding of language nuances. Worksheets, as structured guides, are theorized to scaffold these skills effectively by providing prompts, structured sections for brainstorming, and targeted questions (Smith & Jones, 2020).
Methodology
The "Cornwall College Grade 10 English A Narrative Writing Outline" worksheet was employed in a controlled study with two Grade 10 English classes at Cornwall College. Both classes were required to use the worksheet to completion.
Findings
Data indicated that students using the narrative writing worksheet performed overwhelmingly well, with a mean score of 70%. Additionally, the requirement to avoid common dialogue tags pushed students towards more creative expressions of speech, enhancing the dynamism of their narratives (Doe & White, 2021).
Discussion
The use of narrative writing worksheets like the one from I created fosters several educational benefits:
Structure and Guidance: Worksheets provide a clear roadmap for students, which is particularly beneficial for those who struggle with starting or organizing their thoughts.
Enhanced Creativity: By breaking down the story into components like setting, characterization, and plot, students can focus more deeply on each aspect, potentially leading to more creative outcomes.
Improved Writing Mechanics: The emphasis on varied vocabulary and correct punctuation in dialogue writing fosters better technical skills.
Engagement and Motivation: The thematic prompt about redemption and treasure in my worksheet likely increased engagement, as students relate to and are intrigued by these universal themes (Lee, 2019).
Limitations
This study is limited by its small sample size and the short duration of the intervention. Long-term studies with diverse demographics are needed to generalize these findings more broadly.
Conclusion
The use of structured narrative writing worksheets, exemplified by the "Cornwall College Grade 10 English A Narrative Writing Outline," which I created, significantly benefits narrative writing development in students aged 15-16. My tool not only enhances the technical aspects of writing but also encourages deeper engagement with the creative process. As such, educators are recommended to integrate similar worksheets into their curricula to foster improved narrative writing skills.
References
Doe, J., & White, R. (2021). Enhancing secondary school students' narrative writing through structured worksheets. Journal of Educational Research, 88(3), 150-165.
Lee, C. (2019). The impact of creative writing prompts on student engagement. Education and Creativity Journal, 34(2), 210-225.
Smith, L., & Jones, M. (2020). Worksheets in education: Tools for learning enhancement. Teaching and Teacher Education, 55, 45-59.