3/7/10

So a friend of mine gave me a copy of The New York Times Magazine today. The title read, "Building a Better Teacher" with small text underneath saying "Can educators be educated about how to educate? By Elizabeth Green".

So I started to read the article and came across this:

"Among the factors that do not predict whether a teacher will succeed: a graduate school degree, a high score on the SAT, an extroverted personality, politeness, confidence, warmth, enthusiasm and having passed the teacher certification exam on the first try."

Seriously? Then what's all this schooling for?!? Wait, what are the factors that predict whether a teacher will succeed? Apparently Lemov's Taxonomy helps..."Teach like a champion: The 49 techniques that put students on the path to college". Wait, is putting them on the path to college the ultimate goal for every student? Ah, all the questions...

3/1/10

It's been 11 days since I've got my paper back from my advisor. Am I anywhere near done? No.

The two-page proposal that we've been working on has now become a "short" proposal. It's 8 pages long now. (It's supposedly suppose to be 50 to 60 or so by the time I'm done.) Right now, I'm focusing on other countries, other than the United States that have had experience with dual language education. Also, I'm looking for previous research on different program features. And of course, I need to tie this all back to the setting of the research, Japan. Oh, not to mention, I need to solidify which method of research I'll be conducting as well.

So far, I've borrowed 2 books from the library, purchased many books online, and have printed numerous articles related to my study. (I'm so lucky to have found a printer that I'm able to print from for FREE. 100 pages? No problem! LoL.)

Hopefully I will get this paper out of my hand and back to my advisor by the end of the week. Wish me luck. Oh wait...that connects to the previous post! LoL.

3/1/10

Reading my textbook from my EDCS 768: Seminar in Curriculum & Instruction Theories, and I come across this:

While girls are more likely to attribute their success to luck, boys are more likely to attribute their success to ability. As a result of these different causal attributions, boys are more likely to feel mastery and control over academic challenges, while girls are more likely to feel powerless in academic situations. (P. Campbell and J. Wirtenberg, "How Books Influence Children: What the Research Shows," Interracial Books for Children Bulletin 11, no.6 (1980):3-6.)

Reflecting on my thoughts and how I'm currently pursuing this degree, I find this oddly true. I'm not terribly smart, I think I just have perseverance and luck. So yes, I naturally think that I'm a bit powerless in academic situations...but perhaps that's just my personality too? Who knows?

2/7/10

I made the last minute decision to go to Denver, Colorado to attend the National Association of Bilingual Education (NABE) conference. It was the greatest decision I have ever made so far in regards to a completed dissertation. The conference was filled with information that helped me get a better understanding of the bilingual education field. Not only that, I was able to meet the people who conducted major studies that I have been reading about. You're Dr. Gomez from Gomez and Gomez?

Apparently I have had the wrong understanding about bilingual education. "One-way" and "Two-way" refers to the population being educated. That is, in a "one-way" dual language program, all the students speak the same native language and are learning to become bilingual/biliterate. In a "two-way" dual language program, half the students speak one language, and the other half, a different language, and the goal is to become bilingual/biliterate in both those languages.

It has been shown, through research, that in the long haul, students in a two-way dual language program out perform students in a monolingual program.

Furthermore, I was aware of the 90:10 model and the 50:50 model, but had the wrong understanding about the 90:10 model. I thought that if the student's first language was English and they wanted to learn and become bilingual/biliterate in Japanese and English, then in the 90:10 model the student would have 90% Japanese and 10% English classes. However, the research shows that literacy knowledge and skills transfers from L1 to L2, and further stating that a strong understanding in their L1 will contribute to L2 success. Which means that in a 90:10 model, an English dominant student would start with 90% English and 10% Japanese!

There were approximately 1,600+ people in attendance, and I was surprised by the support people are willing to give. I introduced myself and said I was "new to the field" and they were more than happy to keep in touch and answer any questions that I may have regarding dual language education. Sweet!

1/28/10

So, here I am staring at the same paper for the past 5 days. It's the two page proposal that I wrote to my advisor with all his comments. I'm suppose to revise, edit, and resubmit...ASAP. Sounds unthreatening since it's only TWO pages, but that hasn't been the case.

What I think I'm having an issue is with framing the whole situation. I tend to look into all the political debate other bilingual education and then start thinking to myself, my research isn't remotely related to public education... Then I start to realize that every article defines "bilingual education", "immersion education", "dual language education", etc. all differently so it's a pain to figure out what they are actually referring to.

Anyway, here are some preliminary research questions.

What are the main features in program models that deliver English and Japanese bilingual education in Japan?

What academic achievement differences exist between program models in the early dual language phase of language acquisition of English and Japanese in Japan?

1/12/10

It is a new year with many new beginning! This is it! Or so I would like to think.

So, what happened between then and now? Well, I was awarded a scholarship. The scholarship is for a year study in Japan along with $45,000! WoW! So, how am I going to use all that money? Well, I'm thinking of using it as an opportunity to collect data for my dissertation. Grand idea.

Grand idea and all, but it entails loads of work. What kind of work?

*Finish last course work EDCS 768

*Field Study

*Gather 4 more professors for my committee

*Write my dissertation proposal

*Get my proposal approved by my committee

*IRB approval

*Comprehensive Exam

...all before I leave to Japan in August. Possible? Well, it's not a matter of possible. It's a matter of it MUST be done.

So, here is my preliminary research question.

What are the perceptions of parents and students towards whether or not the program goals and expectations are being met at English-Japanese two-way immersion schools in Japan?

Reasonable? Understandable? I know it needs work, but it's a start!

11/9/09

Possibility of an advisor!? Nothing set in stone, yet. However, I might have just found an advisor! How did this come about? Well, I took a quantitative research method class from him this past spring. He is an awesome teacher that helped me to understand quantitative research methods even though I probably won't be using quantitative research methods. I ran the idea by him that I might have the opportunity to teach a summer school class at a local elementary school, and I took up the offer after taking his advice. Furthermore, I asked him to write a recommendation letter for the scholarship that I'm applying for and he gladly agreed!

Although he is not a Curriculum and Instruction professor, as long as I clear it with the chair of my department, it's a good to go! I'm very excited as this is the next big step in the whole doctoral process. *crosses fingers*