Analyzing the Overall Panorama of Research Articles

When analyzing Research Articles (RA), one should focus on the rhetorical patters, linguistic tools, and the formatting styles required in academia to understand the defining features that make RAs different from other types of academic texts (Swales & Feak, 1994; APA, 2010). The purpose of this paper aims at identifying the main characteristics of a RA about an e-learning project and comparing and contrasting the supporting evidence found therein.

            One of the aspects that one can start analyzing in a RA is its structure, i.e. how the content is organized in the text to fulfill the academic requirements. Most RAs consist of several sections, which, according to Swales and Feak (1994), match up with different text types to denote the purpose which they are written for. These sections are identified as the abstract, introduction, methods, results, discussion and conclusions. However, the first distinguishing aspect one may identify when analyzing Chang and Lee’s (2010) work is its sections designations. Even though they used different names to label the parts of their article, they provided a rationale, for example, in the Background to explain the choice of the topic and the importance of their study, which would be the first move of the introduction - creating a research space - in Swales and Feak’s (1994) model and would correspond to the general-specific text type that moves from the central topic towards the particular issue in discussion.

            Another distinguishing feature identified in this work is the absence of some sections, giving the article a sense of incompleteness. This appears to be related to the fact that the writers’ purpose is to present a plan of how they would conduct their research project and to gain approval from the university authorities or tutors-to-be. Therefore, one might infer that this type of RA shares many of the characteristics of an academic proposal since the researchers included a Methods section, named Project Framework, which, in Swales and Feak’s (1994) terms, depicts how researchers would carry out their study, outlining the different steps in their project and anticipating some possible drawbacks they may encounter in their near future.

            Based on the limited evidence analyzed in Chang and Lee’s (2010) article, it can be concluded that their work seems to comply with many of the requirements of academia to identify their work as a RA. Moreover, many of the sections seem to follow the standards to write academic articles proposed in Swales and Feak’s (1994) model regardless of their sections designations. 

References

APA (2010). American Psychological Association Publication Manual (6^th ed.). American Psychological Association. Washington, DC.

Chang, C., & Lee, G. (2010). A major e-learning project to renovate science leaning environment in Taiwan. TOJET: The Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology, 9 (1), 7-12. Retrieved June 2011 from www.tojet.net/articles/911.pdf

Swales, J.M., & Feak, C.B. (1994). Academic writing for graduate students: Essential tasks and skills. A. Harbor, (Ed.). Michigan, MI: The University of Michigan Press.

A Comparative Analysis: Are all Abstracts the Same?

            When looked up in a dictionary, the term abstract is simply defined as “a short summary of a report, speech, or academic paper” (The Macmillan English Dictionary, 2002) or “a short written statement containing only the most important ideas in a speech, article, etc.” (Longman Online Dictionary, 2011). Such definitions do not acknowledge some distinguishing aspects, such as structure, purpose and language, which play a big part when it comes to defining abstracts. This paper aims at describing those aspects, based on Swales and Feak’s (1994) theory of academic writing, and carrying out a thorough analysis of four abstracts from medicine and education papers. The degree to which those features are present in one field of study or the other will be analyzed, and a conclusion as to how much field-related they might be will be reached.

            Depending on their format, abstracts can be classified as structured or unstructured. Both types are organized into sections in correspondence with the main parts of the paper, i.e. Introduction, Methods, Results and Discussion. However, they show a central difference: whereas structured abstracts are rather long and provide separate paragraphs with headings for each section, unstructured ones are composed of one single paragraph with a couple of sentences for each section. On the basis of the data provided by the abstracts analyzed in this work, it can be suggested that structured format seems to be preferred in medicine papers, in which the steps of research are detailed and the findings seem to be the most relevant information from the very beginning. On the other hand, abstracts in education papers appear to be unstructured and shorter, the results are mentioned by the end of the abstract - as it is the case in Almerich et al.’s (2005) abstract – or they are not mentioned at all – as in King’s (2002) text.

            A brief digression from the main topic is allowed here to mention the fact that the abstracts from medicine analyzed here do not use the term Discussion to introduce their last section; Conclusion is used instead. Although there seems to be some substantial difference between these two concepts, Swales and Feak (1994) prefer not to go deep into classification, “we will not distinguish between these two terms, since the difference is largely conventional, depending on traditions in particular fields and journals” (p.195). As this analysis is carried out in the light of Swales and Feak’s (1994) theory – and medicine is not our field so as to delineate a definition of the terms – it has been decided to keep them as synonyms for the purpose of our study; we acknowledge, though, they may differ from one field to another.

            Swales and Feak (1994) suggest a second criterion for classification depending on the information provided in the abstract. In the light of their theory, abstracts can be indicative or informative. “Indicative abstracts merely indicate what kind of research has been done. Informative abstracts additionally give the main results.” (p. 81). As it was stated above, medicine abstracts are prone to highlight the results of research; thus, they could be well classified as informative. In the field of education, however, there seems to be a preference for indicative abstracts. On the limited data available, we have found general summaries in which results are briefly mentioned – as it is the case in the paper on Information and Communication Technologies – or they are not mentioned at all – as in the paper about DVDs.

            Another aspect which seems to be relevant when analyzing abstracts is language. Graetz (1985) proposes the following items:

1.    The use of full sentences

2.    The use of the past tense

3.    The use of impersonal passive

4.    The absence of negatives

5.    The avoidance of abbreviation of abbreviation, jargon, symbols and other language shortcuts that might lead to confusion. (as cited in Swales & Feak, 1994, p. 212)

Swales and Feak (1994), however, disagree on the second item. They claim that “tense usage in abstracts if fairly complicated” (p. 212) and that present simple and present perfect are also used in Research Papers (RP) summaries, especially in opening sentences and conclusions. The following opening sentences and conclusions from abstracts illustrate their point:

The integration of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in education supposes that faculty must possess competencies for it. […] Therefore, the personal and contextual factors influence in the knowledge of techno-logical resources on the part of faculty (Almerich et. al, 2005 p.127). Whether the treatment of patients with hypertension who are 80 years of age or older is beneficial is unclear. It has been suggested that antihypertensive therapy may reduce the risk of stroke, despite possibly increasing the risk of death [...]. The results provide evidence that [...] (Beckett et. al, 2008, p.1887).

            The abstracts analyzed in this work are made up of full sentences and self-contained structures. Nevertheless, incomplete sentences can be found in the Methods section of the abstract about cardiac stress testing, in which some nominal phrases are used: “Setting: Acute care hospitals in Ontario, Canada, between 1 April 1994 and 31 March 2004” (Wijeysundera et al., 2009, p.1). The same can be seen in the subsections Design, Setting, Interventions and Main outcome measures. As regards the use of impersonal passive, a linguistic resource “necessary to describe process” (Swales & Feak, 1994, p.63), our analysis suggests that they are more frequent in medicine than education RP abstracts. This could be explained on the basis that, in medicine, the process of research and the results are far more relevant than who carries them out, the agent.

            Another aspect mentioned above is the avoidance of negative structures. It is advisable to use “appropriate negative forms” (Swales & Feak, 1994, p.18) such as little or few instead of not much or not many. Only one negative structure is found in the abstracts analyzed herein: “score methods were used to reduce important differences between patients who did or did not undergo preoperative stress testing” (Wijeysundera et al., 2009, p.1). Nevertheless, alternative words, as the ones suggested, seem to be used in most cases in spite of negative sentences. Finally, abbreviation, acronyms and shortcuts are in general avoided in the four abstracts. In those very few cases in which acronyms are used, they are either well-known to the reader, such as “DVD has vastly replaced traditional VHS as the movie medium of the new millennium” (King, 2002, p.1), or clear reference to their meaning is provided so as to make reading smooth “[i]n an analysis of subgroups defined by Revised Cardiac Risk Index (RCRI) class” (Wijeysundera et al., 2009, p.1).

            On the basis of the present analysis, it can be concluded that abstracts are more than short summaries. They are complex texts, with their own linguistic and structural rules. As Swales and Feak (1994) put it, “[s]ometimes [...] writing a summary becomes a task in itself” (p. 105). Slight differences may be found from one field to another, depending on the characteristics of research and the purpose of the text. Medicine abstracts, for instance, seem to be long, structured and informative; whereas abstracts in the education field appear to be short, unstructured and indicative, in some cases. There seems to be no difference as regards the linguistic features analyzed, though. Passive voice, complete sentences and absence of negatives appear to be some of the characteristic structures shared by RP abstracts, regardless of their field of studies. Whether the findings of this work can be extended to all medicine and education abstracts is subject for further study based on extensive data, probably, and in the light of alternative theories.

References

Almerich, G., Suárez, J. M., Orellana, N., Belloch, C., Bo, R. & Gastaldo, I. (2005). Diferencias en los conocimientos de los recursos tecnológicos en profesores a partir del género, edad y tipo de centro [Abstract]. Relieve, 11 (2), 127-146. Retrieved May 2011 from http://www.uv.es/RELIEVE/v11n2/RELIEVEv11n2_3.htm

Beckett, N., Peters, R., Fletcher, A., Staessen, J., Liu, L., Dumitrascu, D., … Bulpitt, C. (2008). Treatment of hypertension in patients 80 years of age or older [Abstract]. The New England Journal of Medicine. Retrieved May 2011 from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18378519

King, J. (2002). Using DVD feature films in the EFL classroom. [Abstract]. ELT Newsletter, 88. Retrieved May 2011 from http://www.eltnewsletter.com/back/February2002/art882002.htm

Longman Online Dictionary. (2011). From http://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/abstract_2

Macmillan English Dictionary (1^st ed.). (2002). Macmillan Publishers Limited

Swales, J.M., & Feak, C.B. (1994). Academic writing for graduate students: Essential tasks and skills. A. Harbor, (Ed.). Michigan, MI: The University of Michigan Press.

Wijeysundera D. N., Beattie, W. S., Elliot, R. F., Austin, P. C., Hux, J. E., Laupacis, A. (2009).

Non-invasive cardiac stress testing before elective major non-cardiac surgery: Population based cohort study. [Abstract]. BMJ Journals. Doi: 10.1136/bmj.b5526. Retrieved May 2011 from http://www.bmj.com/content/340/bmj.b5526.full

How to Distinguish the Results, Discussion and Conclusion Sections in Research Papers (RP)

Research Articles (RA) or Research Papers (RP) are divided into several sections: abstract, introduction, methods, results, discussion and conclusion. In general terms, the results section presents the outcomes of the research while the discussion section namely interprets the meaning of these findings. The conclusion, on the other hand, shows the recapitulation of the major ideas of the RP. This paper will analyse the results, discussion and conclusion sections of two RAs: One in the field of medicine and another one in the field of education. The text features and the linguistic aspects will be taken into consideration following Swales and Feak’s (1994) theory of academic writing.

The results and discussion sections are descriptive in nature. Swales and Feak (1994) explain that these two sections might stand on their own or might be blended together. The writer compares results, provides explanations and critiques assumptions but does not interpret the outcomes of the research. In the medicine RA, for instance, the results section appears as a separated text unit in which complete explanations of the study are depicted to provide a detailed analysis of the data gathered. For example, Vu et al. (2010) not only present the results they obtained after their research work but also critique previous assumptions about the causes of uterosacral ligament (USL) of earlier analysis:

When the peritoneum was incised at its crest, it was evident that the strip of the fold from the crest was only a duplication of the peritoneum. The USL was considered to begin when connective tissue was first encountered as the peritoneum was “peeled” off from the incision.  (p.1124)

Both the medicine paper and the education article present the results section as a distinct unit. Whereas the traditional designation as ‘Results’ appears in the medicine paper, the education RA uses ‘The same correlation appears’ to designate the results section as such. In other words, the results are explained in a separate section under a different name. Another similarity found in both papers is the descriptive nature of the results sections. For example, Gorard (2006) compares and contrasts the results of the previous studies in the value-added of primary schools with the results of the present study by changing a variable, i.e. by reducing the number of students in schools. Thus, regardless of the section designation, the results sections of these RA seem to comply with the academic requirements since, as Swales (1998) would put it, they summarize the data gathered in the research without evaluating or interpreting their meanings (in Pintos & Crimi, 2010).  

            Nevertheless, both RAs seem to have a similarity in their structure as both of them employ graphs in their results sections. Swales (1998) explains that writers summarize data with photographs and graphs and integrate them with texts to correlate the results of the studies (in Pintos & Crimi, 2010). According to APA conventions (2010), graphs and figures are used to supplement information provided in the text. In the medicine RA, for instance, the photographs illustrate the process of the research, referring to the reader to them as a visual source to accompany the descriptions. Therefore, the use of photographs in this paper seems to follow APA requirements (2010) as they were used to communicate specific information about the subject matter.

Similarly, in the education RA, scholars opted for a graph to display the statistical results of their analysis and “to show that the same relationship, previously noted in the DfES value-added figures for secondary schools in England, also appears in the DfES value-added figures for primary schools” (Gorard, 2006). Once again, graphs are included in the result section to support communication and to summarize data that would be too loaded if it were presented in written form. Hence, either photographs or graphs aid the reader to have examples of representative data in the results sections of RAs (Swales & Feak, 1994).

Swales and Feak (1994) explain that the results and discussion sections of RAs are typically marked by the use of different tenses. In the medicine RA, for example, the experimental outcomes included in the results section are written in the past tense to describe the medical procedures: “in all specimens, the ligament was thin at its free border” (Vu et al., 2010, p. 1125). In contrast, the discussion sections of RAs are written in simple present to discuss the research findings.  Gorard (2006), for example, uses the present tense to discuss the correlation of the dependent and independent variables in his analysis. As a way of illustration, he explains that “[t]here is a very clear quasi-linear relationship between the KS2 raw-score for any primary school and its eventual value-added score”. Hence, the utilization of the past or present tenses helps the reader identify the nature of the research outcomes and the different sections of the RAs as well.

It is in the conclusion sections of RAs where results are interpreted and evaluated. Generally, conclusion sections are persuasive-argumentative texts. According to Pryle (2007, in Pintos & Crimi, 2010), the purpose of this type of text is to convince the reader of the particular view on the issues under analysis. In the medicine RA, the conclusion section is very brief, if compared to the previous sections, and it cautiously claims the advancements of the research findings over previous studies. As Vu et al. (2010) assert “[o]ur findings on neurovascular relations are largely consistent with previous studies” (p. 128). While the conclusion section of the RA in medicine comprises a single section at the end of the paper, the conclusion section of the education RA is blended with the discussion. Here, not only does Gorard (2006) discuss and compare the results of his analysis but also evaluates the favourable impact of the last results on the British educational system, stating that:

The use of additional information about the social background of pupils is likely to decrease [...] making the relationship between school intakes and school outcomes stronger. (p. 5)

Moreover, a language aspect to be taken into account, especially in the conclusion sections, is the use of modal auxiliaries or useful expressions to claim probability or possibility. As Swales and Feak (1994) would put it, these phrases help writers to weaken the strength in their statements. Expressions such as “It might be [..]” or “It is also possible to [...]” (Gorard, 2006, p.4) are typically used to signal probability or possibility, respectively, whereas, the expressions “we agree with the sectional names [..] but we do not see them as equal sections of previous studies” (Vu et al., 2010, p. 1126) are found in the medicine RA to moderate the strength of their statement. All in all, academic writers should be cautious when evaluating result findings, to establish distance, and most importantly, to persuade the reader of the value of the writers’ claims.

In conclusion, both RAs seem to share textual and linguistics features typical of the results, discussion and conclusion sections. It should be noted that the medicine RA appears to be better organised in comparison to the education RA since the three different sections appear isolated and qualify for the principles of text-types. On the contrary, the education RA includes one section for the results and another one for the discussion and conclusion as a single unit. Both papers, however, seem to use typical phrases to denote possibility or certainty when claiming statements. 

References

APA (2010). American Psychological Association Publication Manual (6th ed.). American Psychological Association. Washington, DC.

Gorard, S., (2006). Re-analysing the Value-added of Primary Schools. Retrieved April 2010 from http://www.york.ac.uk/media/educationalstudies/documents/research/Paper15Value-addedinprimaryschools.pdf

Pintos, V., & Crimi, Y. (2010). Unit 3: The research article: Results, discussions, and conclusions. Universidad CAECE, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Retrieved May 2011, from

http://caece.campusuniversidad.com.ar/mod/resource/view.php?id=8526

Swales, J.M., & Feak, C.B. (1994). Academic writing for graduate students: Essential tasks and skills. A. Harbor, (Ed.). Michigan, MI: The University of Michigan Press.

Vu D., Haylen B. T., Tse K. & Farnsworth, A. (2010). Surgical Anatomy of the Uterosacral Ligament. Department of Educational Studies. International Urogynecology Journal, 21, 1123-1128.   Doi:10.1007/s00192-010-1147-8. Retrieved April 2010 from http://www.med.unsw.edu.au/SOMSWeb.nsf/resources/POM1002/$file/Sept2010.pdf

Is There a Common Pattern for Research Papers?

In academic writing, Research Papers (RP) and Research Articles (RA) are structured in several sections. This paper will analyze the introduction and the method sections of two research reports, one belonging to the field of education and the other to the field of medicine. Comparisons between the two papers will be discussed and analysed.

According to Swales and Feak (1994), effective introductions should be written to grab the reader’s attention (as cited in Pintos & Crimi, 2010b). In order to accomplish this purpose, the writer should follow some structural patterns when composing. For example, an introduction opens with a general discussion of a topic and gradually moves to the specific details in question. The Create a Research Space model (CARS) developed by Swales and Feak (1994) involves three main moves that depict this progress from the general to the specific issues when writing introductions.

The first move identified as creating a research space “introduce[s] previous research in the area” (Pintos & Crimi, 2010b, p. 28) and expresses the state of the arts of the fields of studies under analysis. In the RPs analyzed in the present work, this move is placed in the very first paragraphs of the introductions. Key phrases such as “[m]uch has been written about” (Gorard, 2006, p. 3) or “[t]here have been some previous studies to identify the USL’s anatomical relationships” (Vu D., Haylen B. T., Tse K. & Farnsworth, 2010, p. 1123) are used by the authors to make it clear that the topic addressed has been studied before, though some gaps in the theory call for further studies, and make their work worth considering, as suggested by the second move.

After the state of the arts is acknowledged in the first move, the gaps in the available theory are highlighted and the necessity for further investigation is posed. Swales and Feak (1994) coin the phrase “establish the niche” (as cited in Pintos & Crimi, 2010b, p. 28) to refer to this move in which authors “turn to present their motivations for the study” (Pintos & Crimi, 2010b, p. 28). One more time, there seems to be a parallel between the two papers analyzed herein, since both authors make overt reference to this need for further study. Gorard (2006) argues that “researchers should be more concerned with developing and using indicators of the scientific importance of their results” (p. 3) and he adds that “they could ask whether what they have found fits observations elsewhere” (p. 3). Similarly, Vu D. et al. (2010) go on to say that:

The published descriptions of the anatomy of the USL have differed widely. The proximal attachment has been the subject of controversy with some believing it connects to the sacrum while others postulating an attachment o the sacrospinous ligament and coccygeus. While some authors, distinguish between the USL and the so-called (as there is controversy over terminology) cardinal ligament (CL), others refer to a less defined “uterosacral-cardinal ligament complex. (p. 1123)

Finally, it is in the third move that the purpose of the paper is clearly announced. Once the gap is revealed, researchers introduce their own investigation work to fill the gap in theory or, Swales and Feak (1994) would put it, to occupy the niche (as cited in Pintos & Crimi, 2010a, p. 28). Once again, there exist some key phrases such as “our aim is” (Vu D. et al., 2010, p. 1124) or “this paper illustrates these points” (Gorard, 2006, p. 3) to introduce the aim of the researchers, and both papers seem to coincide in this aspect too.

Regarding the methods section of RPs, Pintos and Crimi (2010b) state they are mainly characterized by “following the principles of process paragraphs [and by] mak[ing] use of passive voice” (p.p. 33-34). These linguistic and textual features are illustrated in both papers; in the case of medicine, for example, the observations and procedures carried out during the medical research are registered using the past passive while in the paper of education the past passive is used to compare the findings of the two correlational studies. 

Another textual feature found in the method section is the use of headings to open the new section of the paper. Swales and Feak (1994) divide this section in three: “a) participants, b) materials, c) procedures” (as cited in Pintos & Crimi, 2010b, p. 34). Even though the methods sections in both papers are included under the heading methods, the medicine RP includes materials and methods under the same headings and uses subheadings to refer to the specific terminology used and the procedures conducted during research. On the other hand, the three subheadings are not included in the paper of education - the participants, the materials and the procedure are integrated as part of the main section. 

One last characteristic of methods sections seems to be that they take account of the types of research studies being conducted. In the education paper, for example, the researchers analyze the relationship between two variables and how they correlate, features commonly covered in correlational researches and especially found in the Social Science (Water, n.d., cited in Pintos & Crimi, 2010a). In contrast, the medicine paper seems to have many of the distinguishing characteristics of a descriptive research study since it describes the specific features of the phenomenon under analysis and the “interrelationships of phenomena and changes that take place as a function of time” (Key, 2002, cited in Pintos & Crimi, 2010a, p.11).

All in all, after both research papers have been analyzed and contrasted, it can be concluded that whereas their introductions are alike – in terms of general to specific organization of information and moves distribution – and their methods sections share a style in the use of passive voice and some formal linguistic patterns, there are still some differences as regards the use of headings, maybe due to field-specific prescriptions. What is more remarkable, the kind of research carried out. The medicine paper is purely descriptive but the education paper undertakes correlative research. What remains to be analyzed now is whether the characteristics outlined above can transcend this work and be regarded as field specific, i.e. from medicine or education, or they simply apply to the two particular cases considered here.

References

Gorard, S., (2006). Re-analysing the Value-added of Primary Schools. Retrieved April 2010 from http://www.york.ac.uk/media/educationalstudies/documents/research/Paper15Value-addedinprimaryschools.pdf

Pintos, V., & Crimi, Y. (2010a). Unit 1: Defining concepts in research. Universidad CAECE. Buenos Aires. Argentina. Retrieved April 2010, from http://caece.campusuniversidad.com.ar/mod/resource/view.php?id=9459

Pintos, V., & Crimi, Y. (2010b). Unit 2: The research article: Introduction, literature review and method sections. Universidad CAECE. Buenos Aires. Argentina. Retrieved April 2010, from www.caece.campusuniversidad.como.ar/mod/resource/view.php?.d=8517

Vu D., Haylen B. T., Tse K. & Farnsworth, A. (2010). Surgical Anatomy of the Uterosacral Ligament. Department of Educational Studies. International Urogynecology Journal, 21, 1123-1128.   Doi:10.1007/s00192-010-1147-8. Retrieved April 2010 from http://www.med.unsw.edu.au/SOMSWeb.nsf/resources/POM1002/$file/Sept2010.pdf

How can teachers have a voice to be heard in a discourse community?

     Are teachers’ experiences meaningful sources for knowledge generating? Peripheral participation is closely connected with the notion of discourse community and their implications seem to have a salient role in academic contexts (Leve & Wenger, 1991; cited in Pintos & Crimi, 2010). The purpose of this paper is to explain the concepts of discourse community and peripheral participation and how they are related. 

     Peripheral participation is a concept used to refer to the less equal opportunity new members of a discourse community hold to legitimize their knowledge within the community (Leve & Wenger, 1991; cited in Pintos & Crimi, 2010). Whereas the term discourse community refers to a group of people that gathers together to share views, experiences, and use specific language conventions related to a particular field of knowledge (Bizzel, 1992; Harris, 1989; as cited in Pintos & Crimi, 2010).

     According to Wenzlaff and Weiseman (2004), group work and cohort-based programs can provide instances for teachers to be part of their own learning process and have their voices to be heard. Teachers believe themselves empowered to generate knowledge, following academia requirements, by having authentic experiences and reflecting upon their teaching practices. Therefore, empowering teachers with opportunities to have a voice not only provides them with opportunities to sense community membership but also to define discourse within the community (Clark, 1994; cited in Kelly-Kleese, 2004).

     All in all, promoting self-reflection not only would it help teachers to grow professionally but also it would provide an opportunity to legitimate knowledge, and thus a right to be heard within a community (Hoffman-Kipp, Artiles & Lopez-Torres, 2003; Kelly-Kleese, 2001). To sum up, the implication of the notions of discourse community and peripheral participation is inherently related to foster knowledge making in academic settings.

Reference

Hoffman-Kipp, P., Artiles, A. J., & Lopez Torres, L. (2003). Beyond reflection: teacher learning as praxis. Theory into Practice. Retrieved September 2010, from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0NQM/is_3_42/ai_108442653

Kelly-Kleese, C. (2001). Editor’s Choice: An Open Memo to Community College Faculty and Administrators. Community College Review. Retrieved September 2010, from

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0HCZ/is_1_29/ai_77481463

Kelly-Kleese, C. (2004). UCLA community college review: community college scholarship and discourse. Community College Review. Retrieved September 2010, from

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0HCZ/is_1_32/ai_n6361541

Pintos, V., Crimi, Y. (2010). Unit 1: Building up a community of teachers and prospective researchers. Universidad CAECE: Buenos Aires, Argentina. Retrieved September 2010, from http://caece.campusuniversidad.com.ar/mod/resource/view.php?id=6856

Wenzlanff, T. L., & Wieseman, K. C. (2004). Teachers need teachers to grow. Teacher Education Quarterly. Retrieved September 2010, from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3960/is_200404/ai_n934940 5

A critique about the implications graphic organizers may have in content-based instruction

    In the article Q & A: What’s the big deal with graphic organizers? Ellis (2004) depicts the most frequent uses of Graphic Organizers (GOs) and their effectiveness in content-based classrooms. After conducting research work in educational settings for almost 30 years, Professor Ellis (2004) addresses his last findings to educators who are enthused to implement visual devices in content-based classrooms. This article appears to be an easy-reading source that helps the reader to have an overview of the benefits of GOs in instructional contexts.

    The layout of the article is structured with headings which are written in the form of frequently-asked questions. In so doing, Ellis (2004) clarifies the doubts many of the teachers commonly pose about the regular uses and implications of GOs in content-based classes. Even though the presentation of his conclusions seems to be clearly organized and well-structured, he does not include visual input to make his findings visually appealing. It would have been more eye-catching if Ellis (2004) had included examples of GOs to have illustrations of how they look like. However, an involved reader may refer to his website where he posts resourceful instructional materials for teachers to implement in their practices.

    Throughout this exploratory article, Ellis (2004) limits the scope of his research work to the pedagogical benefits GOs have for the development of reading comprehension strategies. Ellis (2004) explains that using GOs in content-based classes assists learners “to grapple with core ideas of the content and develop… understandings of [the content]” (p.1). Besides, he highlights that not only do visual learners benefit from using GOs but also auditory learners respond positively in reading comprehension lessons. He states that implementing GOs aids students to grasp the meaning of content through illustrations accompanied by the aural explanation provided by the teacher (Ellis, 2004).

    Whereas the discussion of this article centers on the topic of increasing reading strategies in content-based learning environments by means of GOs, little are the implications drawn in relation to the effectiveness of GOs in other language skills. Scholars and researchers such as Hall and Strangman (2002) broaden the scope of the application of GOs to develop written strategies and vocabulary expansion, for instance. At this point, Ellis (2004) does not particularize much but briefly explains further uses of GOs to brainstorm ideas at the beginning of the writing process, for example, as “they serve as effective devices for helping students focus on the relationships between main ideas and details” (p.3). Despite his concise explanations, the reader is invited to further explore following a list of selected works provided at the end of the article. 

    All in all, this is a commendable article for teachers interested in implementing GOs as another pedagogical tool to encourage strategic processes in reading comprehension and content learning. The clearly well-structured presentation of this article appears to favour an easy-reading source of information to be up-to-date with the last contributions in language teaching. The author also provides a list of useful resources for those eager to on-going survey. Even though this article delves into the most frequently-used applications of GOs, it is a noteworthy teaching resource so as to have the first explorations of the implementation of GOs in learning contexts.

References

Ellis, E. (2004). Q&A: What’s the big deal about graphic organizers? Makes sense strategies. Retrieved October 2010 from http://www.graphicorganizers.com/images/stories/pdf/Q&AGraphicOrganizers.pdf

Hall, T., & Strangman, N. (2002). Graphic organizers. National center of accessible instructional materials. Retrieved October 2010 from http://aim.cast.org/sites/aim.cast.org/files/NCACgo.pdf

My first unexpected challenges with adult learners

It was my first experience as a graduate teacher of English and I felt almost shaking to meet new students. The first lesson began, sparking eyes and doubting faces were staring at me, my first students. We had lessons two days a week very late in the evening. There were about 40 adult learners from low social classes and with out-of-school commitments to fulfill. I expected to find obstacles in the classroom, as we may always have in any school. At first I thought that the generation gap between my students and I could be a difference to reconcile and that students with mixed abilities were common features in adults; however new challenges were set.

Regularly, the number of students per class was thirty out of forty. Absences had become a common issue after a month. Sometimes some of them missed two consecutive lessons and other times they were absent for a fortnight. Even though the problem persisted, I felt it was time for an exam. I came to the decision to set a date for the first test in English. The day finally came and the test was submitted, but, as I expected, many of the students were absent that day.  Despite the quite good results in the test, I noticed that many of my students could not follow my lessons due to their periodic absences. Undoubtedly, neither generation gap nor language knowledge was my challenge any longer; quite the opposite, absentees emerged as conflicting situations to tackle necessarily.

The first term had passed, and yet, the problem continued. I could not see progress in my students; on the contrary, they became de-motivated and even frustrated. I sought help and informed the principal about the situation. As he heard attentively the problem I had, he commented that it was a common encumbrance my colleagues also faced. He also added to continue with my lessons and innovative strategies were welcomed. I started to promote self-paced learning by constant rehearsal and recycling. I brought supplementary activities for those who missed some lessons to complement the absence of face-to-face language instruction. Little by little, changes were introduced.

For the second term, I aimed at enriching our bonds, and as a teaching goal I tried to enhance social interaction through group work and games. I also opted to recycle the contents we had been dealing with during the first term by exposing them to varied input materials. I could see that exposure helped those who were absent not to feel at a loss. My learning objective was for them to see language as a tool for communication and to have, through English, some fun after a hard working day for most of them. Although many of them missed a number of lessons, the constant recycling and the variety of tasks aided them to start noticing progress.

Progress could be smoothly perceived in their attitudes in the class as well, they felt motivated and we enjoyed our lessons. My students and I strengthened our relationship and we started to feel like a tiny community of great adults. We shared day-to-day experiences and sometimes we even spent the breaks eating biscuits with mate. Surprisingly, one of those evenings, I received an invitation from them. A field trip had been organized by the teacher of History and I was invited to accompany the group. I felt so glad to travel with them that I eagerly accepted. It was the most enjoyable school outing and memorable experience I had ever had in my first year as a teacher.

I learned a lot from this experience. Problems always arise in any teaching context. Missing lessons due to absentees in the evening-shift schools is one of the foremost challenges a teacher may cope with. Regardless the subject one teaches, we, teachers, are individuals capable of constructing great learning communities. I also learned that we can shape and build up small classroom identities to make the most of our students and our teaching practices.