Dr.

Mary Ransdell, Fall 2010

There is a valid reason you are asked to complete a research paper for a course. This opens your eyes to research literature in your field to which you should become acquainted. Unsupported claims present your work in a very bad light. Research papers require you to provide credible sources that support your beliefs, thoughts and even your opinions. You may have a valid opinion or think that what you believe is also a well-known fact or widely held opinion. However, this may not be so. If it is your opinion, say, In my opinion, and severely limit this in your paper.

*APA requires DOUBLE SPACING, but PPT won't do this.

Unless you have a terminal degree (i.e., EdD or PhD), you must cite a source offering support for each of your claims. Dont even think about not doing this! Do not assume you know what you are talking about. You know what is said about the word ASSUME.
*APA requires DOUBLE SPACING, but PPT won't do this.

Teachers in todays classrooms have to be substitute parents to their students because many children come to school without having a strong consistent influence at home. Todays children need help with academics, social skills, and even hygiene. It isnt just the children in schools in poor neighborhoods, but children in the better neighborhoods as well. Teachers must find time to provide reading and mathematics help for students in their classrooms. Children from homes in striving schools do not have someone at home to read to them.
*APA requires DOUBLE SPACING, but PPT won't do this.

Note subject and verb agreement in a sentence Note correct use of the apostrophe Note correct forms of singular and plural nouns Note passive voice vs. active voice (I prefer active) See APA guidelines (OWL: Purdue Online Writing Lab) for these and other instructions such as:
Abstracts and title pages Formatting (indenting paragraphs, single space after a sentence, and quotations of 40 words, pagination) Levels of headings and running heads Punctuation and capitalization (in the documents text, for references, for titles, and citations within the text)

*APA requires DOUBLE SPACING, but PPT won't do this.

In order to teach character education themes and skills, many middle school teachers use classical literature (Edgington, 2002; Santoli & Wagner, 2004) with their students believing that the classics present the themes considered pillars of our society (e.g., forgiveness, honor, truth, trust). A students listening comprehension level is at least two grade levels above his/her instructional or reading comprehension level (Biemiller, 2003; Perkins, Powell, & Key, 2006). Nationally, the pass rate for first time candidates is 39% (Judy Volpe, personal email).

*APA requires DOUBLE SPACING, but PPT won't do this.

Berry (2002) challenged the attribute lists by highlighting that while these attributes are important they appear to have a singular focus on content knowledge (page 1).

*APA requires DOUBLE SPACING, but PPT won't do this.

Ransdell (2005, p. 4) states. Some students view cooperative learning with a dose of skepticism. This is often from higher-achieving college students or those with type-A personalities who express discomfort with group work if they remember bad experiences with such activities in a P-12 classroom.

*APA requires DOUBLE SPACING, but PPT won't do this.

Use et al. only when citing a source with three to five authors and ONLY after listing all of the authors the first time in the text.
Few college professors have any training in lecture methodology (Brinkley, Dessants, Flamm, Fleming, Forcey, & Rothchild, 1999).... Brinkley et al. (1999) claim that many college professors teach using the same methodology as that with which they were taught.

*APA requires DOUBLE SPACING, but PPT won't do this.

Journal articles (if the title of the journal contains the word Journal in it. Books published by professional organizations such as the International Reading Council, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, or the Association for Childhood Education International. Websites that are clearly linked to the professional organizations or a printed Journal.
*APA requires DOUBLE SPACING, but PPT won't do this.

Lesson plan websites (if planning a lesson, you can use these to glean the germ of an idea, but site them) Websites dedicated to providing quick tips, definitions, or information for teachers Wikipedia or other online sites where anyone can modify the text Short articles of less than 5 pages and no citations from others especially those touting a particular product or technique Websites providing only the abstract of an article go to the whole article Short pamphlets either printed or online Conversations with your mentor or a colleague
*APA requires DOUBLE SPACING, but PPT won't do this.

Berry, B. (2002). What it means to be a highly qualified teacher. Southeast Center for Teaching Quality. Retrieved from http://www.teachingquality.org/resources/pdfs/definingH Q.pdf Biemiller, A. (2003). Oral comprehension sets the ceiling on reading comprehension. American Educator (Spring). Retrieved from http://www.aft.org/pubsreports/american_educator/spring2003/biemiller.html. Brinkley, A., Dessants, B., Flamm, M., Fleming, C., Forcey, C., & Rothchild, E. (1999). The Chicago handbook for teachers: A practical guide to the college classroom. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press.

*APA requires DOUBLE SPACING, but PPT won't do this.

Edgington, W. D. (2002). To promote character education, use literature for children and adolescents. The Social Studies 93(3), 113-116. Perkins, J. H., Powell, A., & Key, S. (2006). The power of vocabulary knowledge: Social studies, science and mathematics. Tennessee's Children, 1(1), 25-30. Ransdell, M. (2005). The lure of lectures vs. the call of cooperative learning in college classrooms. Essays in Education 14(Summer). Retrieved from http://www.usca.edu/essays/ Santoli, S. P., & Wagner, M. E. (2004). Promoting young adult literature: The other real literature. American Secondary Education, 33(1), 65-75. Volpe, J. (November 19, 2005). Personal email communication. (NOTE: Judy Volpe was at the TN Office for NBPTS, and was a credible source for that article.)

*APA requires DOUBLE SPACING, but PPT won't do this.

The best place to go is noted below. You can search quickly and easily for the information needed.
OWL: Purdue Online Writing Lab found at http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/ 560/01/

*APA requires DOUBLE SPACING, but PPT won't do this.