(SKKN HAY NHẤT) the necessity and usefulness of designing course outlines for basic writing and academic writing for gifted students at luong the vinh high schogol

SỞ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO TRƯỜNG THPT CHUYÊN LƯƠNG THẾ VINH Mã số: SÁNG KIẾN KINH NGHIỆM The necessity and usefulness of designing course outlines for Basic Writing and Academic Writing for gifted students at Luong The Vinh High School Người thực hiện: BÙI NGỌC XINH Lĩnh vực nghiên cứu: Quản lý giáo dục : ………………………………………… Phương pháp dạy học môn: Tiếng Anh Phương pháp giáo dục : ………………………………… Lĩnh vực khác: …………………………………     Sản phẩm đính kèm:  Mơ hình  Phần mềm  Phim ảnh  Hiện vật khác Năm học : 2015-2016 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com SƠ LƯỢC LÝ LỊCH KHOA HỌC I THÔNG TIN CHUNG VỀ CÁ NHÂN Họ tên: BÙI NGỌC XINH Ngày tháng năm sinh: 21/07/1969 Giới tính: Nữ Địa chỉ: 103/33 đường 30/4, phường Trung Dũng, Tp Biên Hòa, tỉnh Đồng Nai Điện thoại: 0918.155005 E-mail: phantrongnghiasgd@gmail.com Chức vụ: Tổ phó CM Nhiệm vụ giao : Giảng dạy môn Tiếng Anh cho lớp 11 Anh 11 Anh Đơn vị công tác: Trường THPT Chuyên Lương Thế Vinh II TRÌNH ĐỘ ĐÀO TẠO - Học vị (hoặc trình độ chun mơn, nghiệp vụ) cao nhất: Thạc sĩ - Năm nhận bằng: 2007 III KINH NGHIỆM KHOA HỌC - Số năm có kinh nghiệm: 24 năm - Các sáng kiến kinh nghiệm có năm gần đây: The effectiveness of group work in teaching reading Motivating students to practice listening skill through English songs to decrease students’ tense while listening, make them feel more interested in listening and enrich their vocabulary How to help gifted students find essay writing easy and how to help them write more effectively How to help gifted students write essays dealing with “Describing People” more effectively Helping gifted students gain benefits from extensive reading LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com Title The necessity and usefulness of designing course outlines for Basic Writing and Academic Writing for gifted students at Luong The Vinh High School LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com Title: The necessity and usefulness of designing course outlines for Basic Writing and Academic Writing for gifted students at Luong The Vinh High School I./ INTRODUCTION Besides having to study the text book designed by Ministry of Education, gifted students at Luong The Vinh High school have to learn a great number of other items ( e.g practical grammar points, idioms, phrasal verbs, etc ) and polish up on the four skills (Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing) As a teacher, I realize that there is a must in developing a course outline to help students achieve specific academic goals A course outline helps students know what they will learn, what they will obtain and what they will have to during the course, which enhances their collaborations with the teacher A course outline contains detailed information about how to teach a course, discussion questions, specific activities for learners and assessment methods This innovation focuses on the course outlines for Basic Writing and Academic Writing II./ RATIONALE OF THE STUDY A The importance of writing to gifted students / college students Writing skill plays a very important role and gifted students / college students need good writing skills as Oshima and Huge point out that “ The most important aspect of a college education is to learn to communicate clearly and effectively That is why general college education prerequisites include a number of composition and reading courses that you must complete before you graduate.” LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com B./ The importance and necessity of designing and producing a curriculum and a course outline for students A curriculum usually contains a list of courses and learning objectives which help learners know what they expect to learn in order to achieve specific academic goals And McGill.CA points out that, “Course outlines are intended to provide students with an overall plan for a course to enable them to function efficiently and effectively in the course.” (McGill.CA 2016: 3) C / The importance and necessity of designing and producing a course outline for Writing ( Basic Writing & Academic Writing) How to write well and effectively and meet the expectations of the readers is a major concern for many students So teachers should teach them how to write A course outline for writing makes teachers follow what they have planned to teach their students and prevents teachers from neglecting to perform their duties And McGill.CA points out that, “A course outline is a document that benefits students and instructors It is an essential piece when designing any course Writing it guides the instructor’s development of the course.” D / How to design a course outline: According to McGill, “A course outline can be divided into sections.” General information  Number and title of course, number of credit  Name and title of the Instructor  Day, place and time of regular classes   Prerequisites - particular courses, specific knowledge or skills a student should know before beginning the course (e.g., use of the computer, ability to read architectural plans, etc.) Calendar course description LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com McGill Policy Statements The following statement must be included in all course outlines We must value academic integrity Therefore, all students must understand the meaning and consequences of cheating, plagiarism and other academic offences under the Code of Student Conduct and Disciplinary Procedures Learning outcomes Course goals or objectives; clear statements of the knowledge, competencies or skills you expect students to have acquired by the end of the course (e.g., "By the end of this course students should be able to synthesize information from " or "make predictions" or "solve problems" etc.) Course content  A description of the topics to be addressed in the course  A concept map or graphic representation of the content of the course  The rationale for the sequence of the course, especially if there is not an assigned text in chapter sequence (e.g., an historical approach with topics arranged chronologically, a progression from simple to more complex procedures or concepts, or a series of theoretical principles followed by applications)  If appropriate, explain what the course is not about or what topics will not be covered Instructional method  Provide a brief description of instructional approaches that will be used during the course (e.g., lectures, seminars, laboratory or clinical activities, group projects, etc.) LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com  All instructors are strongly encouraged to conduct mid-course evaluations Advising students of mid-course evaluations ahead of time will likely lead to more constructive feedback Course materials (Textbooks and teaching aids)  Specific information should be provided about required texts, including title, author(s), edition number and where they can be purchased or borrowed  Additional materials should be noted if they are part of the required reading (It should be clear what is required reading as opposed to suggested reading)  Recommended readings should also be listed It is helpful to the students to indicate the relationship of each reading to a particular topic in the course This can be accomplished by grouping readings according to topic and/or class session Assignments and evaluation (Assessment Methods)  A description of the means of evaluation to be used in the course A clear statement of what percentage of the final grade each assignment and exam will represent ● ● The criteria and procedures for arriving at each contributing score The consequences of a delayed presentation or late paper Are extensions possible? What are acceptable circumstances for a delay? Are there penalties? ● The topic or name of each assignment Explicit information about assignments (e.g., length, breadth) can also be provided as part of the course outline, but this may be more easily provided later in the course, as assignments are presented ● E / The aim of the innovation: LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com - To let students know what they will learn and obtain at the course - To teach gifted students some basic academic writing skills - To help them write well and effectively - To help them find essay writing easy - To help them develop more confidence in their ability to write - To help them show their skills in organising their ideas systematically F./ The participants of the study 52 students of the two English classes (grade 11) of LTV high school were chosen to take part in the innovation The innovation was carried out in writing periods of the two semesters of the school year The reason why the students of the two English classes (grade 11) were chosen as the participants of the study were that: - They are gifted students - They usually have to write essays - They are interested in writing - They often have to sit exams of English around the year III./ PROCEDURES Learning to write well is a step-by-step process As Oshima and Huge point out that “ The ability to write is not a talent one is born with.” “In writing, content is more important than mechanics, but mechanics is important too.” ( From the Course book : Teaching Reading & Writing – SEAMEO – page 104 ) COURSE OUTLINE 1: BASIC WRITING General information - Title of course: Basic Writing LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com - To be applied to Semester - English Class 11 - School year 2015-2016 - periods / week (Every Monday afternoon) Course Description The course aims to enable students to develop and write good sentences and different types of paragraphs Students are given grammatical issues that are related to the kind of writing being practiced Also, various kinds of exercises help students avoid grammatical mistakes and be able to produce logical and grammatically correct sentences The course acquaints students with the structure of a complete paragraph, which consists of a topic sentence, supporting sentences and a concluding sentence The course also covers different types of paragraphs namely definition, process analysis, descriptive, opinion, narrative and paragraphs in an essay that students have to master after finishing the course Learning Outcomes Upon the successful completion of the course, students will be able to: Write grammatically correct sentences without common mistakes related to sentence structures and punctuation; Work individually or in groups and share ideas through collaborative activities; Edit the texts in writing assignments; Write various kinds of paragraphs under time pressure; and Take advantage of the writing process to write a complete paragraph with cohesiveness and coherence Course Content Outline of Topics to be covered Period Topics References Home/Class assignments - Course introduction Teacher will LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com distribute a set of copies of Materials on Grammar Lesson 1: Rules : a Title Rules Additional Grammar Activities b Capitalization Rules c Punctuation Rules -Exercises on Capitalization and Punctuation 2, ,4, Lesson : 5,6 ,7,8, The Basics of 9, 10,11, Sentence Construction 12, 13,14 a Phrases Teacher will distribute a set of copies of materials on Grammar - Noun phrases Additional Grammar Activities - Prepositional phrases - Verbal phrases - Appositive phrases - Exercises on Phrases b Clauses - Independent clauses - Dependent clauses : kinds of dependent clauses c Sentence Structures - Simple sentences - Compound sentences - Complex sentences - Compound- complex sentence d Pronoun Usage - Practice e Subject / Verb Agreement - Practice f Parallelism 15 - Practice 10 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com -Analyzing and Writing Supporting Sentences - How to write Good Concluding Sentences TEST : Paragraph Structures (Elements of a paragraph) 25 Lesson : Definition Paragraphs - What is a Definition Paragraph? - How to write a good definition paragraph 26 Timed Writing # 1: 27 Teacher’s feed back on Teacher will distribute a set of copies of materials Homework Writing Assignment #1: Creative Writing Assignment #1 28 Teacher will distribute a set of copies of materials Lesson 8: Process Analysis Paragraphs - What is a Process Analysis Homework Writing Assignment #2: Creative Writing Paragraph? - How to write a good Process Analysis paragraph Additional Topics for Writing 29 Teacher’s feed back on Assignment #2 30 Lesson 9: Teacher will Descriptive Paragraphs distribute a set -Supplementary Materials on Grammar for Further Practice on Materials learned 12 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com -What is a Descriptive Paragraph of copies of -Homework Writing - How to write a good Descriptive materials -Assignment # : paragraph Descriptive Paragraph Writing 31 Teacher’s feed back on Assignment #3 32 Lesson 10 : Teacher will Assignment # : Opinion Paragraphs distribute a set Opinion Paragraph - What is an Opinion Paragraph? of copies of Writing - How to write a good Opinion materials Paragraph 33 Teacher’s feed back on Assignment #4 34 Lesson 11: Teacher will Narrative Paragraphs distribute a set -Assignment # : of copies of Narrative Paragraph materials Writing - What is a Narrative Paragraph? - How to write a good Opinion Paragraph 35 Teacher’s feed back on Assignment #5 36 Lesson 12: Teacher will Paragraphs in an Essay Putting it distribute a set All Together of copies of What does an Essay Look Like? materials Supplementary Materials on Grammar for Further Practice on Materials learned An Essay Outline The Thesis Statement Supporting Ideas Different Kinds of Essay 13 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com Organization 37 Final Test Instructional method Various methods are applied to to improve students’ knowledge, to promote students’ participation and collaboration in a supportive learning environment Lectures ( activities that involve teacher-centred transmission models), discussions and taskbased activities ( student-centered constructivist models) will bring a variety of inputoutput procedures to reach the target of quality learning Course materials Suggested Textbooks and Materials: - Bailey,(2003) Academic Writing – A handbook for International Students- by Nelson Thomas Ltd - Folse, K S., Muchmore-Vokoun, A., & Solomon, E V (2010) Great writing 2: Great paragraphs (3 edn) Heinle/Cengage Learning rd - Folse, K S.,Solomon E V & Palinkas B S (2008) Top 20 – Great grammar for great writing (2 ed.) Heinle/Cengage Learning nd - Boardman, A C., & Frydemberg, J (2002) Writing to Communicate (2 ed.), nd Longman - Hogue, A (2001), First Steps in Academic Writing, HCMC Publisher - Oshima, A., & Hogue, A (2002) Introduction to Academic Writing (2 ed.), McGrawnd Hill - Pavlik, C., & Segal, K M (2007) Interaction Writing & (4 ed.), McGraw-Hill th - Ruetten, K M (1986), Refining Composition Skills, Mac Millan - NewYork Assignments and evaluation (Assessment Methods) 14 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com Assessment criteria for writing a paragraph: Criteria The structure of a paragraph - consisting of basic elements: a topic sentence, supporting sentences (details, examples etc.) and a concluding sentence (if necessary) The content of a paragraph - Being suitable for its kind - Ideas: clear, comprehensible, logical - Only one main idea for a paragraph - Cohesiveness - Coherence - Lexical resource (spelling, good meaning,) - Grammatical range and accuracy - Sentence structure - Punctuation Percentage 30% 40% 30% Below is a table of abbreviated letters teachers can use to point out mistakes when marking students’ writing Symbol Sp VT SV Pl Prep WF WW WO Punc Pa Frag Art C/U SS Meaning Spelling Verb tense Sub-verb agreement Plural Preposition Word form Wrong word Word order Punctuation Parallelism Fragment Article Count /uncount Noun Sentence structure 15 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com COURSE OUTLINE ACADEMIC WRITING General information - Title of course : Academic Writing - To be applied to Semester - English Class 11 - School year 2015-2016 - periods/week (Every Monday afternoon) 2.Course Description Upon completing the course on Basic writing, students are instructed to improve their accuracy and fluency in writing together with their ability to develop academic writing The purpose of this course is to help students understand the structure of a paragraph and components of an essay Students are introduced to practical and efficient approaches to acquire the skills, strategies, and knowledge that are very necessary for academic writing especially for writing various kinds of essays such as Comparison and Contrast, Cause and Effect, Argumentative, Descriptive etc 3a Course Objectives No Course Objectives The main goal of this course is to: Equip students with a complete review of paragraphs and show how they are similar to short essay structures; Help students to sharpen their ability to write essays effectively; Acquaint students with the elements that affect the quality of a written product such as grammar, vocabulary, organization as well as coherence and cohesiveness; Give students many chances for practicing peer-editing; Develop students’ ability to respond in writing to materials read independently; Improve students’ ability to generate language, synthesize and compile ideas from different materials 3b Learning Outcomes 16 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com No 6 Learning Outcomes Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to: Understand and analyze authentic essays to improve the language and concepts and to enrich vocabulary needed for their own essays; Know how to use vocabulary precisely and to produce a variety of sentence patterns / structures in order to express ideas in acceptable and comprehensible academic English; Take advantage of the writing outlines to produce their own pieces of writing; Know how to make use of writing skills such as using transitional expressions in order to connect ideas in essays coherently and cohesively ; Know how to make an outline or edit texts in written assignments; Work in pairs or groups and exchange ideas through collaborative peer-editing activities; Write well-written essays under time pressure; Produce various types of essays Course content Outline of Topics to be covered Period Topics References Home/Class assignments 2, Introduction to the Course Teacher will Review of previous knowledge – distribute hand- paragraphs, coherence, cohesion outs for review Lesson Essay Structure Teacher will The Basics of Essay Structure distribute a set of - Introduction copies of materials Supplementary Materials for Further Practice on Materials learned *The basic purpose of the introduction: 17 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com How to produce General Statement How to produce Thesis Statement - Body What includes in the body of an essay? - Conclusion The purpose of the conclusion - Practice on writing thesis statements on given topics - Sample essays 4,5 Lesson Supplementary Materials for Further Practice on Materials learned Editing and Revision - Step 1: Correct all mechanical errors - Step 2: Check your supporting ideas -Step3: Check the sophistication and variety of your grammar and vocabulary Lesson Introduction to Different types Teacher will of essays distribute a set of - Descriptive Essays copies of materials - Comparison Essays - Cause- effect Essays - Classification Essays - Argumentative Essays - Expository Essays 18 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com - Narrative Essays 7,8 Lesson Descriptive Essays Teacher will Describing people distribute a set of -Essay outline - Words and expressions for copies of materials describing a person’s physical appearance - Original Student Essay - Composition skills Describing places - Language material - Composition skills Teacher’s feed back on Original Student Essay 10, 11 Lesson Comparison Essays - Focus on Organization - Making an outline Teacher will Essay outline distribute a set of copies of materials Suggested topic: Fruits vs Vegetables - Original Student Essay Suggested topics : - Public vs Private Transportation - Connectives and transitional -Go on vacation vs Stay at home phrases - Language focus : comparatives, Superlatives, and Parallel Structures 12 Teacher’s feed back on Original Student Essay 13, 14 Lesson Cause- Effect Essays Teacher will Essay outline 19 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com - Organization distribute a set of - Supporting details copies of materials - Brainstorming and outline practice - Original Student Essay Suggested topic: Why so few Suggested topic: What are the students read causes of poor water quality for newspapers? many people around the world? -Connectives and transitional phrases - Sample essays 15 Teacher’s feed back on Original Student Essay 16 ,17 Lesson Teacher will Classification Essays distribute a set of - Organization copies of materials - Supporting details - Brainstorming and outline practice Suggested topic: - Essay outline - Original Student Essay Suggested topics : Methods of studying Reason for attending (or not for a final exam attending) university - Sample essays 18 Teacher’s feed back on Original Student Essay 19 , 20 Lesson Teacher will Argumentative Essays distribute a set of - Organization: copies of materials A General Plan for the Whole Argumentative Essay - Counterargument and Refutation - Essay outline - Original Student Essay Suggested topics : Is there too much 20 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com - Outlining pressure on - Connectives and transitional teenagers to go to phrases college? - Words and Expressions to Describe Some Basic Concepts - Suggested topic : Should cigarettes and other tobacco products be outlawed - Sample essays 21 Teacher’s feed back on Original Student Essay 22, 23 Lesson Expository Essays Teacher will - Organization : distribute a set of A General Plan for an copies of materials Expository Essay - Exposition Texts for Study - Essay outline - Original Student Essay Suggested topic: Suggested topic: Pretend you will Pretend that you are a traveler live till 100 years of Which country would you return age Describe what to? the world will be - Sample essays like when you turn 100 24 Teacher’s feed back on Original Student Essay 25, 26 Lesson 10 Narrative essays Teacher will - Organization distribute a set of - Story for Study copies of materials - Essay outline - Original Student Essay Suggested topic: 21 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com -Basic Descriptive and Narrative Something Skills embarrassing that - Time and tense in a Narration happened to you - Transitional phrases : Spatial Order Suggested topic: Your most exciting moment playing sports - Sample essays 27 Teacher’s feed back on Original Student Essay Writing on topics of different types of TESTS essays Instructional method Various methods are applied to to improve students’ knowledge, to promote students’ participation and collaboration in a supportive learning environment Lectures ( activities that involve teacher-centred transmission models), discussions and taskbased activities ( student-centered constructivist models) will bring a variety of inputoutput procedures to reach the target of quality learning Course materials : Textbooks and teaching aids: Suggested Course Materials: - Bailey,(2003) Academic Writing – A handbook for International Students by Nelson Thomas Ltd - Oshima, A., & Hogue, A (2006) Writing academic English (4 ed.) (The Longman th Academic Series, Level 4) USA: Longman - Oshima, A (1997) An introduction to writing academic English USA: Longman - Soles, D (2007) The Essentials of Academic Writing USA: Longman 22 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com Assessment Methods: a./ Task description: Students are asked to write an essay at time allowed ( 60 minutes) in class The topics will be on the essay types that students have learned from lesson to lesson 10 (descriptive, comparison, and cause and effect essays etc.) b./ Assessment criteria -Task achievement : Organization (30%) Structural integrity: opening, paragraph construction, closing -Content: ( 40%) Main ideas Reasoning Coherence and cohesion (Paragraphs are clear, logical and organized Good use of transition words; firstly, secondly, therefore etc.) - Lexical resource , Grammatical range and accuracy : 30% Word choice, comprehensibility, sentence construction, grammar and mechanics -Below is a table of abbreviated letters teachers can use to point out mistakes when marking students’ writing Symbol Sp VT SV Pl Prep WF WW WO Punc Pa Frag Art C/U SS Meaning Spelling Verb tense Sub-verb agreement Plural Preposition Word form Wrong word Word order Punctuation Parallelism Fragment Article Count /uncount Noun Sentence structure 23 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com IV / FINDINGDS Questionnaire Students are required to give feedback on the following question What did you think about the course outlines on Basic Writing and Academic Writing the teacher gave you? A./ Statements SA The course outline is useful resources that you can consult 87 % throughout the duration of the course The course outline contains a number of important clues about 65% what your teacher expects you to learn during the course The course outline contains information about the structure of 67 % the course and its requirements The course outline is like a roadmap with directions for 12 % succeeding in the class You gain more confidence in 56 % writing A N 5% 4% 19 % 16 % 25 % 8% 56 % 21 % 21% 23% D SD 11 % B./ Other comments ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… 24 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com V./ CONCLUSION In teaching, the creating of a course outline or a course syllabus is very necessary It keeps both teachers and students aware of all aspects of the course and prevents any surprises throughout the semester The course syllabus functions as a roadmap with directions for succeeding in the class In order to help gifted students to achieve their purpose and to help gifted students write well and more effectively, we should / must develop a well-organized course outline and follow it strictly Students will become more motivated if learning materials and teachers’ way of teaching meet their expectations, needs, abilities and interests The writer of this piece of writing Bùi Ngọc Xinh 25 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com VI / REFERENCES - Bailey, (2003) Academic Writing – A handbook for International Students - Morley –Warner, T 2000 Academic Writing is CREA Publications - McGill CA, Teaching and Learning Services, Teaching McGill @/ Course Preparation and Design - Oshima, A & Hogue, A 1997 Introduction to Academic Writing Addison Wesley Longman - Insider Writing – 2006-2007 LinguaForum, Inc - The Course booklet Teaching Reading and Writing Regional Language Centre Singapore 26 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ... Writing and Academic Writing for gifted students at Luong The Vinh High School LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com Title: The necessity and usefulness of designing course outlines. .. activities for learners and assessment methods This innovation focuses on the course outlines for Basic Writing and Academic Writing II./ RATIONALE OF THE STUDY A The importance of writing to gifted students. .. outlines for Basic Writing and Academic Writing for gifted students at Luong The Vinh High School I./ INTRODUCTION Besides having to study the text book designed by Ministry of Education, gifted students