My first empirical research satisfied
my curiosity about whether students at the University's Center for Multilingual Multicultural Studies
(CMMS) would respond favorably to the taking of C-tests versus conventional
Cloze tests.
The second one was to research whether
ESOL students at the 9th-Grade Center of the Apopka Highschool
(2002), would respond favorably to the use of C-tests as an ongoing learning
activity.
My third empirical research was done
for two semesters at the Zellwood Elementary School as a reading coach to remedial students in Grade 2.
I needed to know whether students in the second grade, especially those with
reading problems, could handle the taking of C-tests with my online program at ClozeOnline.
At CMMS:
C-TESTS: THEIR EVOLUTION AND FUTURE¾
A way of boosting report cards,
including the teacher’s?
Abstract
In 1982, Christine Klein-Braley researched the "suitability of
cloze tests as measures of reading comprehension" (Toegepaste
Taalwetenschap in Artikellen, 13, 49-61).
Later that year she published a paper titled, "Der C-Test, ein neuer
Ansetz zur Messung allgemeiner Sprachbeherschung" (AKS Rundbrief 4,
23-37). Now, twenty years and several thousand research pages
later, she and her disciples (Ulrich Raatz, Ruediger Grotjahn, Undine Roos,
James Coleman, and Brigitte Stemmer along with over one hundred other
researchers) speak with relative harmony about the C-Test version of the Cloze
test¾they "strongly recommend incorporating it into everyday
teaching and testing activities" (Lucy Katona, 1993). Discrepancies are minimal and contradictory
only in methods of design, not in issues of validity, reliability, frugality,
and ease of use. The purpose of this
study is to evaluate the C-test's useability in, acceptance by, and possible adaptation for the U.S. ESL market.
Introduction
In 2003, while learning about language assessment (Bailey), I was
led to develop a professional interest in this ingenious adaptation of the
cloze test¾the C-Test. I became
curious about its stage of acceptance in the United States and the degree to which our ESL
students would respond to a survey about its use. That curiosity led to this three-pronged
research involving the C-Test’s past, present, and future¾meaning the original Cloze,
the Cloze2 (original C-test), ClozeX (the nth
word deletion C-test), and now the ClozeT and ClozeTT
(their online tailored adaptations). I
hope that this study’s outcome prompts you to try them yourself and thereby
help collect additional data.
Comments
During the C-Test’s early stage of development, research showed
that there was a significant difference between testing just new words and the
inclusion of words previously learned.
The paper that best caught my attention was "The C-Test: The
Teacher-friendly way to test language comprehension" by Lucia Katona and
Zoltan Doernyei (1993). It was an update
of a study conducted in Budapest with 120 first-year English majors the
previous year. Katona and Doernyei
reported that there was a significant direct improvement in language
comprehension through the use of the then ten-year old C-Test format. They stated that the C-Test was the test of
choice (out of five2) for testing GLP (general language proficiency). Bulleted advantages were led by:
"We, therefore, recommend it to be used (a) to select and
place students in appropriate groups, (b) to assess their achievement at
end-of-term exams by selecting several typical passages from the term’s
materials, (c) to test certain grammar areas (e.g., tenses or word
formation) by including texts that contain several examples of the structures
in question, and (d) to check home reading or homework by taking
passages from the texts the students had to work on. We consider it, without doubt, the most
versatile test type."
Katona and Doernyei also suggested that students be brought into
the process of creating these tests (for fun and learning and even
competitions) because such involvement had a positive washback by "taking away
the fear of the unknown" and making the reading and learning a more integrated
process.
These are other C-test data starting with excerpts from Learning
About Language Assessment (Bailey, 1998).
The second is the rebuttal / counter rebuttal that was largely
responsible for leading me to conduct this survey. I hope to have also a few responses to my
email request on C-test updates: (My request was, "Please be so kind and
help me present the last five years of development of the C-Test [any version]
in its most accurate manner. Your expert
opinion would be greatly appreciated.")
Kathleen M. Bailey quotes her friend, Tim Hacker, who gained
experience with C-tests during a stint in Sri Lanka while teaching English to graduate
students for the Peace Corps (designed by experts from the British Council),
saying: "The C-test was at that time deemed ‘cutting edge’ for measuring
proficiency rather than achievement. The
problem was, the students hated this proficiency test like every
other; it pointed out too obviously what they did not as yet know. During the process of follow-through,
however, he started to use the tests as a learning tool rather than
testing device and found that the students began to like them . . .
especially when they were allowed to help create them."
By
contrast, Abdoljavad Jafarpur (1995) attempts to refute certain claims about
C-testing. Specifically, on page 195 of his article, he attributes the
following five claims to Klein-Braley and Raatz (1984):
1.
it
is easy to construct and to score C-tests;
2.
adult
native speakers should obtain virtually perfect scores;
3.
the
deletions affect a representative sample of the text;
4.
even
previously untried material produces satisfactory reliability and validity
coefficients; and
5.
C-tests
have face validity.
In the conclusion of his article (page
209), J states his findings with respect to these five claims:
1.
it
is easy to construct and to score C-tests; but
2.
native
speakers do not achieve perfect scores;
3.
the
deletions do not affect a representative sample of the text: different deletion
starts and deletion ratios produce different tests, which is suggestive of the
invalidity of the procedure;
4.
previously
untried material demonstrates satisfactory reliability but does not show
acceptable validity against cloze testing; and
5.
C-tests
do not possess face validity.
Ashley Hastings counters with, "There is general agreement on
point (1). As for the remaining points, the purpose of this [her] paper is to
show that J has apparently misconstrued both the essence of the C-testing
procedure and the claims made about it; that his study relies on instruments
that are wholly inadequate to address the issues raised; and that he has
consequently failed to make a case against C-testing. Link http://www.su.edu/icfs/indefense.htm
leads to a detailed summary of what Jafarpur actually tested and Raatz’s
comments in rebuttal. J’s data in Table
1 demonstrates clearly that, if nothing else, the C-test’s mean score (using "exact"
scoring) was equal to the conventional cloze test (using "acceptable"
scoring), which is a remarkable improvement over the low scores of the "exact"
cloze.
Details
Jafarpur’s
criticism of the C-Test brought to mind the all-important question of student
satisfaction and student reactions here in America . . . and not under the name
of "C-Test" but under a variation of its original name—under cloze-something or
something-cloze. Since we are dealing with
partially deleting every 2nd or nth word, I settled on Cloze2
(for the original C-Test), on ClozeX (for the nth word
deletion), and on ClozeT and ClozeTT (for their
tailored adaptations). I wanted to know
which of these tests would give ESL students the greatest feeling of
accomplishment. To this end, I set out
to do the following:
First,
I canvassed textbooks for standardized vocabulary lists and noted that only at
the "academic" level was there some consensus.
The other lists (mostly categorized as Level 1, 2, 3 and 4 lists) were
too varied to meet validity requirements.
I settled, therefore, on using the UNIVERSITY WORD LIST augmented
by words included in some lists but not others.
In other words, I decided to consolidate all lists termed "academic" or
"scholastic" to create my primary table to search against.
For
one variable, I chose to include the middle spectrum of the 10,000 most common
words (words from the 3000 and 5000 lists).
For the other [variable], I changed the order of the three selected
formats to see whether sequential variances would influence the scores and
feedback. I chose this higher level of
proficiency because it might be only at this higher level that students will be
smart enough to select "more" rather than less.
To
research student satisfaction through not only paper tests but also via LANs
and the Internet, I commissioned the best programmer I could find (Rob Craig,
the developer of Euphoria) to create for us the user-friendliest program
imaginable. Well, he did; ctest.screenbot.biz
(now http://clozeonline.us) was up and
running in time for this round of research.
It created the formats B and C of the paper tests and successfully
administered all online retakes.
The
main task was to find a school willing to give permission for me to administer
the test and then collect feedback.
Since the focus was on student satisfaction, it didn’t really matter
whether a school had an adequate testing lab; what mattered was that we had a
large sample and provided for a random distribution of the three versions of
the test. My preliminary agreement from
Dr. Myrna Creasman at CMMS (Center for Multilingual Multicultural Studies) was
to let me coordinate this data collection during the second week of their next
group of students—the last week of June 2003.
("More Details" covers what actually happened and what conclusions I was
able to reach.)
The
last preparatory task was to create a post-test questionnaire that was brief
but valid. I needed it to be
professional but friendly and meaningful without appearing to pry. In addition to asking the obvious preference
questions, I needed to ask about the clarity of my instructions, their
perceived learning style, their preferences about number of truncated words per
line, and to what extent they were in agreement with reviewing while testing
the words or tasks of the week.
More Details
THE
FACILITY
To
establish what I had to work with, I first made an appointment with the
administrator of the language school to collect current vocabulary tests,
settle on dates and timeframe, go over the data-collection format, and get a
list of all students in the participating classes. I also needed to know whether I would get
permission to ask participants to do an online retake of the test . . . this
time not randomly assigned but randomly selected. (I needed to determine whether online testing
affects questionnaire responses.)
DESIGN
OF TEST
Once
in possession of the facility’s word list, I turned to Brown’s (1995a) list of
similar studies and searched for ideas.
The upshot, I proceeded to develop the three attached testing
packets. Each consists of clear
instructions to set the pace, an easy-to-read sheet for casting their vote, and
a one-sheet test for testing the 40+ new vocabulary items in three different
formats.
NOTE: I settled on calling
the conventional cloze test (of one fully blanked-out word per statement) format
A, its prime derivatives, formats B and C.
To
permit the use of the same questionnaire for all three versions of the
test, I chose to have all three types of cloze tests on the same sheet
but in a varying order, i.e.: Version 1
uses the format order A:B:C, Version 2 uses the order B:C:A, and Version 3 uses
C:A:B.
DAY OF TEST
On
the day of the test, I randomly assigned the three versions of the test and
asked that everyone turn to page 2 (the Data Collection Sheet) while I read
page 1. I proceeded to read the
instructions and asked that no one look at the rest until asked to start. The instruction, survey, and test sheets were
stapled in such a manner that the test sheet was facing down while the
instruction and survey sheets were facing up.
The time allotted to the test was 20 minutes plus an additional 5
minutes for filling out the questionnaire.
NOTE: "Random assignment" consisted of distributing the packets from a
previously shuffled stack (stacked ABC, ABC, etc.) in a sequential manner so
that no students sitting next to one another had the same version of the test.
After everyone was finished, I picked up
the test sheets, thanked everyone for agreeing to help with the research, and
finished by asking them to again read the instructions and then fill out the
questionnaire. I said, "The instructions ask that you place a check mark or ‘x’
on the line before the word(s) that best describe your preferred choice of
answer. When you’re through, keep the
instructions and hand the other up front."
I also told the class that a compilation of the data would be available
at the site within 30 days.
ONLINE RETAKE
This
vital part of the survey is simple: Sometime within seven days of the test,
students logon, enter the STUDENT domain of teacher BLUM, select one of the
three "research" tests, engage their keyboard’s "Insert" feature, and proceed
to type the missing characters over the underscores of the partially deleted
words. When finished, they click
Submit. The program lists the number of
correct answers. If less than 100%
correct, student is invited to go back and replace more underscores. For this research, two additional tries are
acceptable (to test its purported usefulness as a user-friendly teaching
tool). Upon completion of the third try,
the student clicks on "Give up" and then selects "Research participants click
here" to load a brief version of the feedback questionnaire.
NOTE: Only those responses are counted that match one of the addresses
collected during the paper test; therefore, urge students to make a note of it
on the take-home page.
In
Summary
It looks like Christine Klein-Braley and her disciples were right
in saying that there was a better way than the standard cloze [Format A in this
study]. It looks as though partially
deleting words and no cheat list is indeed better, or at least perceived to be
better, than completely blanking words that are listed in a table just
above. It also seems that the C-test is
in fact accepted in the USA, at least it was by this first group of
students at CMMS (albeit by reverting back to its original name—CLOZE).
CONCLUSION
To accommodate "Exit" surveys, it is now more than just "prudent"
to ask for student input; it has become a requirement. Therefore, since the tailored cloze (C-test)
formats have proven to increase at least the perception of learning, using them
for feedback requests might be indeed a very smart idea. Future tests may bring different results but
for now, data supports the usefulness of the next generation of cloze tests,
especially when used on an ongoing basis as a learning tool. I, for one, will continue to collect
pertinent data on this issue. I hope you
do, too.
At the Apopka 9th-Grade Center:
For this research project, I wanted to see whether I could succeed
in getting access to ESOL students in High Schools for collecting data on using
C-tests as a learning device. I started without a focused agenda, but was soon
led to use "possible gender differences" for supplying the competitive
environment I needed to create enthusiasm for the tasks.
To help recreate a similar research at other high schools, I
decided to share the emails that led to the successful conclusion of the project.
The students’ sentences started out rather flawed but they
improved virtually every week. Toward the end of that semester, they were
submitting their sentences in paragraph form and had no objection to my editing
of their sentences to make them sound more native-like. Both groups, no matter
how drastically I revised their sentences, were better at restoring the missing
characters of their own sentences than they were in restoring the missing words
in sentences created by the other group.
The outcome: Though it took me several months, this group of 18
ESOL students changed from being defiant and uncooperative to a group of
enthusiastic youngsters who could not wait to get started with their weekly
task. In essence, they met me in their computer lab (four at a time), restored
the missing characters of both groups of sentences and paragraphs, and then
went back to class to collaborate on what to do for the following week.
I am including the first few emails from the students and the
various emails to and from their teacher to help give a holistic picture of
what actually happened.
13 Sep 2003
Hi, Debra.
This is what I was talking
about this morning:
I set up a sample of what
we started to discuss last Friday. You are welcome to use it forever for any of
your classes if you allow me to stay on line so to speak (receive a copy of the
emails) to collect data for my research. If you like the idea, I'd be glad
to come in for a couple of weeks to help the students in the back (one at a
time) to put in their share of the data. I'll also edit the input so it
is free from errors ... and do anything else that'll help everyone get started
to add this tried and proven teaching tool. We don't have to tell anyone
that it came from Europe. :-)
Regards.
Joe
17 Sep 2003
I briefly glanced over what you sent me. I've been so crazy busy,
but it looked interesting. I would definitely need you to come in and get
us started because I just simply don't even have an extra minute to fit this in
if I were to do it myself. Give me a few days to read it over and I'll
get back with you. Deb Berlan
17 Sep 2003
Deb,
If we decide to try this,
let's arrange for me visiting one of your more advanced classes late some
Friday and allow me to address them for about 7-10 minutes. I will be able to
tell whether that class is the right one to start with. You can help me by
playing the game of checking them out. If I like their attitude and answers, I
will donate whatever time is required to get them started on this American version
of a study that changed European task-based learning strategies.
Just name the Friday. This
Friday will work if you start mentioning my coming today and have each
student bring in a list of three or four words they have to keep looking up in
a dictionary. I'll work with these individual sheets when I get there. And I
would check tomorrow to see how they're doing.
I am already excited ...
for both of us.
Have a good one.
Joe
18 Sep 2003
I won't see them today. However, I will ask them tomorrow about it
and see if they seem interested. After, I'll set up an appointment with you for
the following week. I have a couple of questions: How much computer
access do I need? I only have 2 computers. Also, do the kids need to
have computers in their houses? Finally, how much class time do I need to
devote to this in order to get an accurate account? I have a lot of
curriculum that I must follow and I just want to see how to tie it onto my
required work. Deb
18 Sep 2003
Sounds good. Just make sure
you don't promise them that I will work with them without me first getting
some firsthand feedback.
They must feel that they "qualify" for the extra attention and
training ... that's assuming you are OK with that.
> I have a couple of
questions: How much computer access do I need? I only have 2
computers.
>>> We need only
one--the one they use to enter their work to be practiced over the weekend ...
saved on a diskette in the A: drive.
> Also, do the kids need
to have computers in their houses?
>>> A few of them
do; the rest can piggyback by forming teams. I would let them work this out
themselves. Besides, I can give them a couple of loaners (laptops).
> Finally, how much
class time do I need to devote to this in order to get an accurate
account?
>>> I
would let the students do all the work. All you really need to do is look at
your email (channeled into a special
folder) for review and comments (usually confined to praise) first thing Monday
morning. You need to know who is who by the name they use to sign on with
... but that's a given, I am sure. Naturally, if they are not able to
(collectively) edit their work correctly, you'll need to edit it yourself
before pasting the input into the test creator. Your time on the computer should
not take longer than a couple of minutes.
Do let me know what the
computer situation is like, so I know whether I have to ready a loaner or two.
24 Sep 2003
I spoke with the kids and they seemed interested. I will not
be here tomorrow so this Friday it will be too much. Can you come next
Friday, 10/4, during 6th pd. at around 12:30pm? The students want you to come give
an overview and explain to them what the program is all about and what it
entails. I only have 2 computers in that class. Let me know what you think. Deb
Berlan
24 Sep 2003
Sounds like a good
plan. I'll be there a little before to check out the computers, if that's all
right.
Please tell the class that
I am very excited over the prospect of setting this up for them, and also that
I'll need three volunteers who will be my original helpers. Naturally, the
intent is to have everyone able to explain and do what needs to be
done to successfully create this new data for ESL learning environments.
You're an angel. Thanks.
2 Oct 2003
I just wanted to confirm that you are coming this Friday,
10/3, at 12:45. I also need to know how much time I need to devote on this
tomorrow so I can do my lesson plans accordingly. Let me know. Also, I think we
will definitely need loaner computers. I sent out a parent latter in both
languages and I've received some back. The rest promised me that they will give
it to me tomorrow. Deb
2 Oct 2003
It looks like we're making
progress. As to time, you're the boss. I can get by with just 15 minutes but
will take as much as you like. I will bring with me a diskette with file names
for each week's data, and I will bring a sheet with instructions. I will
go over what the sheet states, get feedback from them along the way, and wrap
it up with a few of them typing in some data. What could take as long as you
would like is the group activity for dressing up each other's sentences
(before, during, or after the entry).
I'll see you tomorrow.
3 Oct 2003
Ok. I'll see you later today. I can devote approximately 1/2
hour on this. I think that once I understand the concept, I will pace
myself better.
4 Oct 2003
Thank you, Debra, for
letting me finish setting up the files on the disk in the A: drive.
As you could see from your
email, I ran a couple of tests and everything is working.
If I were you, I'd give
this a try myself, note the time I took, and guess at the time
they might take. If you
then feel that this week they can do theirs in class, then you'll
know this thing is going to
work when they do it from home over the weekend. And,
while some don't as yet
have their own computer, it would be certainly be better to
let them do it in
class than not at all.
As to the computers, I'll
make it my business to get what you need. It'll be the best bribe to keep them
on the path. The condition will be a simple one: we'll get an automated confirmation
of their performance that week or we'll take the computer back. You seem to be
tough enough to enforce that. :-) Besides, you can always blame me.
The two young ladies (who
instantly understood how to upload the test each week)
are delightful. If you give
me their names again, I'll drop them a little note of thanks
for offering
to volunteer.
Have a great weekend!
Joe
In case you left your sheet
at work, the address for the test is http://ctest.screenbot.biz.
You sign in as though you
were a student, put BERLAN under teacher and you're in.
The test/activity we
created on Friday is labeled 031003-9a. It was created in the default setting of
having every 2nd word partially deleted. We'll use this date/class file name
for this setting and add a letter or number for other formats.
If it's OK with you,
let's use this default setting for the first few weeks. This is how
this
whole system became popular
and many believe that it is still the best of the settings.
Time will tell to what
extent any of them are true for our ESL students.
13 Oct 2003
Sorry that I haven't been able to chat with you at length about our
"little ESOL project." Last week was insane. This week is going
to be the same. It's FTE time and that means $ for the school form the
government and I'm in charge of ESOL and I have to fix all the errors, so I'm
very overwhelmed. Anyway, I wanted you to know that I'm designating at
least 15 minutes of each Friday for them to write their sentences and do
peer editing and then Hang and Anh will do the computer work in their
house. There is no school this Thursday and Friday so we'll
resume the 24th with our sentences. If you want to come on that day and
surprise the kids with the wonderful news that you have loaner computers for
them, I think it would be great! Just let me know.
13 Oct 2003
Debra, I have one set in
the car to bring over for display if you like. The rest can be picked up at the
Zellwood Auction place (next to the little restaurant and truck stop). I bought
them from Manny, their computer person; or ask for George, his boss. To pick
one up, all they'll need is one of my business cards with their name printed on
it. I'll bring you seven today and you can make a list of the names who need
one. Whatever is right.
20 Oct 2003
Thanks for your support. I gave the cards out like you asked and
told the kids where to go. We'll just plan on you visiting us on Friday 10/24 at
1:30.
Hope you are enjoying yourself abroad! Deb
21 Oct 2003
Debra, the attached is a
report to my class mates on what happened in Brussels.
It might be interesting to
you as well. What I like best about the update from the
puppeteers is the fact that
they have nothing much other than the "C-test" to test
native/near-native
competence for both teachers and grad students. The quoted
79% is meant to be their
minimum. Most native speakers can guess accurately
to almost 100%. While ESL
students can't read with a high degree of accuracy,
they are not presumed to be
able to read fast enough for academic requirements.
I'll see you on Friday.
Should anyone have problems
with pickup, assure them that I will take care of things
and probably bring all of
them when I come. If need be, I can drive two or three of them home and deliver
en route. We'll get this going yet.
Take care.
23 Oct 2003
Hi Joe, Thanks so much for sharing that with me. It was very
interesting material. I will discuss it with you when I see you. I'm
assuming that you are coming tomorrow at 1:30pm. See you then.
25 Nov 2003
It looks like our
youngsters are still waiting for something. For the life of me,
I don't know what everyone
is waiting for. It should take less than 5 minutes,
probably just three. Why
don't you have one of them do one in front of you.
It looked like everyone
knows HOW.?
Call me at my cell, if you
need help with it. I know we can do this!
27 Nov 2003
Debra, the girls did manage
to upload the sentences. Tell them I am proud of them.
I did the edits and changed
the frequency of the deletions to 7 (every 7th word is now truncated).
(I made the promise that
we'd start with that and work our way closer to the standard of
every 2nd word.)
Now all we need is someone to
start. :-) I make you a deal;
I'll buy you lunch if
you're the first ... being a pacesetter is not a bad role model.
2 Dec 2003
I really came down on them. I guess I'll see you Friday. I hope you
had a nice Thanksgiving..
5 Dec 2003
Debra, Ms. Pool seemed very
much OK with the idea. She put a link
to the site on her network
so anyone can access it from the desktop.
Her suggestion is the same
as mine: let them have access to the site
any time of the week. Maybe
sending four at a time is a good working
number. Trial and error
will lead us to find a good norm for others.
Next week, I'll go over and
hold their hands while they do one. I told the
guys that it is up and
working from any of the lab computers. If they come
when I am not there, they
are expected to have a permission slip.
Let me know when you want
me to meet them.
Thanks again so much for
supporting this project. The chances are now
in its favor. Once we get
our kids trained, I'll probably offer Ms Pool and
the rest of
the staff/teachers a training session on using the site for their
own classes. Time will
tell.
Let me know when.
9 Dec 2003
I spoke with her today about everything and she seemed fine. I was
so happy. I just want to speak with you briefly on how we should do it. I
have to run to a mtg. But, I'll be in touch unless you are still planning on
coming. Deb
10 Dec 2004
Well, we survived the
ordeal. Ms Pool was OK with the chaos of two classes
trying to get things done,
but it will be better next week. I'll be out of town,
but I am sure they'll be
OK. You might want to insist that the ones who left before
hitting the SUBMIT button
when the bell rang, do theirs in class before the
weekend. You can tell from
your emails which ones forgot to do that. I can be in on
Friday to help.
The three technical snags
were: (they are now corrected)
1. There can be no spaces
in their name. Simple remedy: use first name only.
2. The email address needs
to be in lower case, contain the @ sign, and finish with
a
legitimate .xxx ending, e.g., x@x.com (In
fact, why don't we ask that the entire
class use this same one. It will be the easiest way to keep classes apart.
3. The teacher's name must
be in UPPER case, in this case, BERLAN.
Other things to remember:
1. Once they click in the
text area to get the cursor active, they should use
the four
arrow keys only. Using the delete and back-space keys in the
INSERT
mode, louses things up.
2. Every time they click on
SUBMIT, the INSERT feature needs to be reset. This is
not my
doing; it is a feature of the keyboard.
(I found out since then
that the Firefox browser doesn’t even support the [Insert] key, which was
largely responsible for our creating an off-line version of the program that doesn’t
need that keyboard support.)
10 Dec 2003
I teach on Wed. at 10:21 to 11:03 or 12:32-1:14pm. You can come whenever. Or on Friday at 7:45-9:38 and 12:15-2:01. I hope this time, it'll get them
motivated. Deb
21 Dec 2003
> I'm glad that Ms.
Poole is ok with this.
>>> Would she be
the one to decide whether my research could be offered to other classes as
well?
> So, I'm happy that
you're willing to help me. We have finals this week so don't come until January
7th at 10:21-11:03.
>>> I'll see you
on the first Wednesday in January.
6 Jan 2004
Hi, Joe. We're back in school. . . . About continuing your research
if it's just within my ESOL dept., I can still help you. I will remain as Dept.
Head, so they say. Are you coming on Wed.? Hope you had a nice holiday.
Deb
6 Jan 2004
Debra, it's good to see you
back. It sounds like you're feeling better again.
Yes, I can be there
tomorrow. Tell me when to be at the lab. I need this to be the final
trial run before we collect
data.
On advice from a new
professor last night (Dr. Siva), I would like to simplify this and use just
the gender variable, i.e., do the boys in class do better at this
than the girls?
If you're OK with this,
we'll have separate sets of data uploaded each week
(one by the guys and one by
the gals). All take both tests the following week.
This will help discern
whether there is a correlation between guessing accuracy
and sentence structure
differences between the genders.
I am copying Dr. Siva to
keep him posted on our progress.
Thanks.
Joe
6 Jan 2004
Joe, you can come tomorrow from 10:21 to 11:03. I plan on sending them in groups of 3
or 4 at a time and just quickly send them back so that I can send the next
group due to time constraints. You can go directly to the Media Center or I am now in Portable 16 (new
location). Let me know. I'll be in my office before then. 407-905-5500 x
2780 if you need me. As far as your research, whatever you decide to do is fine
with me. Deb
7 Jan 2004
Debra, I was pleased with
the youngsters today. The scores don't look too hot,
but everyone did better
than previously. I think there is hope.
My next visit needs to be
during the sentence-writing period. The only change:
We'll have the guys
proofread and upload their own sentences. The result will be
two files for each week ...
no more sentences, still only one per student. We'll
name one
"yymmdd-9m" and the other "yymmdd-9f". Like I said before,
we'll track
whether the gender issue
influences their performance on guessing the
missing characters.
The rest should be the
same; they use the vocabulary words of the week
along with others they tend
to forget. And there is really no reason why they can't
each create their sentence
while doing something else. What do you think?
Were there any comments I
should know about?
9 Jan 2004
I spoke with Joyce and she said that everything seemed fine. She
still felt like you need to be coming and overseeing what they need to be
doing. I think it went well. About the nitty gritty of what you want them
doing, I'll leave it up to you. I agree to whatever you decide. I have faith in
you and find you knowledgeable and competent. I know that you will make a great
ESOL teacher.
9 Jan 2004
Thanks, Debra, for
your vote of confidence. I shall do my best to deserve it.
Paragraphs 2 and 3 below
describe what we should do next week.
When may I come to your
classroom? If they already have the sentences,
I'll need no more than 10
minutes with the class and then 5 minutes each
with the two (one from each
team) who will upload the text. If we have more
than one volunteer, we'll
draw straws or something. Please don't appoint;
let them
decide. Again, thanks so very much for your cooperative spirit.
13 Jan 2004
You can come tomorrow, Wed. from 10:21-11:03. Do you need to come to my classroom
because I moved to Portable 16? If not, I'll just send them to the library. You
can call me in my room at extension 2715.
14 Jan 2004
Yes, I would like to join
you in the classroom. I am sure the office will show me how to get there. If
you have things to cover for the first part of the lesson, simply give me ten
minutes at the end. I'll see you at 10:21 but will wait to get my turn.
14 Jan 2004
Joe, I don't teach on Wed. they do AR- independent reading for the full pd. so,
you can come and talk to them. Deb
21 Jan 2004
Dear
Mr.Plum:
I'm
sending you this week sentences because I remember you told us that we have to
send these sentences to you, right?
1.
When I was little my grandmother used to tell me myths when I couldn't go to
sleep.
2.
I indolently went to school, even though I over slept.
3.
My friend was so mad that he ravaged the party.
4.
I’m affable with other people.
5.
She felt apprehensive when she saw a shark.
6.
She felt contrition for her friend whose mother died.
7.
I have received an anonymous note under my door from one of my neighbor and
theyre complaining about my little brother.
22 Jan 2004
Anh. I edited the sentences
and uploaded them as "0121-9F".
When you get the chance,
please go to the site and take the test
so I can see that at least
you understand what needs to be done.
Thanks.
Dear
Mr.Plum:
I
already try it and I got 13 out of 14 score ( I know that I got one of them
wrong because I don't know that word). So I guese that I understand what to do.
Thank you for telling me.
Anh
Lai
27
Jan 2004
Dear, Mr. Bloom.
Here are the sentences from Mrs.Berlan
class (girls)
1.
I
actually did my homework.
2.
I
was grieving when my little brother died.
3.
I
felt grief when my friend died.
4.
She
felt grief because her father died.
5.
The
mansion's driveway, in the movie, can accommodate twenty cars.
6.
My
grandma has a psychiatrist for her mental problems.
7.
My
parents taught me good ettiquette.
31 Jan 2004
Today, I went to see Mr.
Sherman. I showed him the attached proposal.
He seemed pleased with what
he read and heard, and it looks like he
plans to look in on us next
Wednesday. Naturally, if we can get both sets
of sentences in on time
(meaning no later than Tuesday) it would look better.
You might want to have TJ
send in last weeks first. This way we'll know whether
he knows how to do it. ??
1 Feb 2004
The attached my help you in
explaining to Mr. Sherman what we're doing.
It is the framing, so to
speak, for the poster display for the research forum
at UCF on March 22 &
23.
Feel free to ask or provide
input.
3 Feb 2004
Dear, Mr. Blum
Here are the sentences from Mrs. Berlan class (girls)
1.
Dogs do leave their dung anywhere.
2.
The house was revaged by a tornado.
3.
My mom sent me to the store to buy a profusion of food.
4.
The professor was a sage.
5.
I was intimidated when my teacher said I was going to repeat the grade.
6.
My crazy friend wants to annihilate all the plants in her garden.
7.
My friend died two years ago because she had leukemia.
(H)
3 Feb 2004
Debra,
as you can see, I added the feature of listing the words they missed.
Do we want them separated by commas or something or maybe just list them
one per line?
What do you think?
> Instructor: BERLAN
> Result of C-test for student: JOE
> CourseCode: 0428
> PageCode: 9F
> 14 correct out of 20
> The student clicked the SUBMIT button 1 times.
> The student was unable to identify the following words:
> grief her died mansion's grandma problems
4 Feb 2004
I think one per line. Deb
10 Feb 2004
Dear, Mr. Blum. Here are the sentences from Mrs. Berlan
class (girl)
1.
She
is my adversary.
2.
I
was really appalled when I saw this guy in TV.
3.
I
pondered at what I am going to do tomorrow.
4.
The
girl was really appalled with her mom.
5.
I
was ponderous of what to do when my friends and I were alone because we saw
somebody next to our house and we thought they wanted to harm us.
6.
The
relationship between my aunt and her boyfriend is so complicated.
7.
The
president is a formidable man because he has to work really hard to run the
whole country.
8.
All
my friend has kinky hair.
Hang
11 Feb 2004
Thank you, guys. It
looks like we made progress today.
I am sure you already know
that I really appreciate you
helping me get this project
working properly, but I wanted
to say it again . . .
THANKS!
Your five addresses are all
that I have so far, but I know we'll
soon get some more so we
can make this a true communal
learning experience. I may
not have a magic wand, but
I have helped people all of
my life to become efficient
at what they do. The
chances are that I will be able to
help you as well. Just hang
in with me and help your class
mates as much as you can. I
want your class to be one
that future classes will
want to copy.
Take care. You may ask me
questions about anything; I am
here to help. You may call
me "Coach".
19 Feb 2004
Dear,Mr
Blum
Iam sending you the sentance from ms.Berlan class
1.That mountain is precipitous because its so high.
2.I know a sorcerer that sits on a chair for kings.
3.My grandfather is a sage.
4.The door frame disintegrated around it sending out a shower of splinters.
5.I saw a movic about canibals that ate people.
6.One day, i went to school and i saw a sorceress.
7.I was very disopinted when i was young.
(E)
24 Feb 2004
Dear
Mr.Plum:
These
are this week sentences.
1.
My sister always assauges me when she wants to borrow my stuff.
2.
I will go on a vacation next week so I might stop at a place and buy some
souvenirs for my family.
3.
My room was in disarray after the party.
4.
It was very ironic that it rained today.
5.
We see a lot of heifers.
6.
My home was in disarray after someone broke in.
7.
The boy had his room in disarray.
(I)
25 Feb 2004
Things seemed to go well
today. I surely appreciate your support.
Even Cxxx seemed to be interested. It'd be great to work with a
mainstream class as well. Is there a roster of staff emails somewhere?
There's none on the Web site.
29 Feb 2004
Debra, this Wednesday I
have to be out at UCF for a seminar.
Can we try to see how well
they do it on their own? I'll come in anytime
to hook the other computer
up. There is room for it. What do you think?
Joe
Please help them on Tuesday
to bundle at least three of their sentences to
resemble a paragraph. How
well are they doing with their journal entries?
2 Mar 2004
This week has been insane. We are in FCAT so between last week and
now, it's hectic. I will try to get things done tomorrow. deb
2 Mar 2004
Please play it by ear. If
they need their attention elsewhere, so be it.
I will be out of the
country next week but I'll be accessible starting
next Friday afternoon. I
would still have them send the grouped
sentences . . . maybe have
each pick a sentence out of their journal.?
3 Mar 2004
ok. Just let me know when you'll be back. I don't really understand
how you want me to do the paragraphs with the kids. I'd need you to elaborate
on how you want that done. You are quite the jetsetter aren't you! Deb
3 Mar 2004
22 good examples of
paragraph-style submissions are at the site under [teacher] = grade2.
Why don’t you go to the
site and pretend you are a 2nd grader at the library. Click on any of the
paragraph titles and see what the test looks like. When you tell me which
textbook you use for reading in your classes, I'll select and prepare sample
paragraphs for each of the chapter stories you expect them to have read by the
end of the year. These would be used for an assessment process (if your school
were to adopt this user-friendly test).
This is not our project. We
are trying to teach the youngsters to write and eventually process their own.
The reason for my mentioning the journaling as the source of paragraphs is
because it seems the most logical thing to do. Don't they all journal on what
they did or should have learned that week?
Talk to me.
4 Mar 2004
I see what you mean. I will have to work on this Friday
because this week our teaching has been interrupted by the FCAT.
Postscript:
This
concluded the trial-and-error period. Subsequent sessions went better. I
learned what I needed to continue with my research, which is still in place
with minor modifications, but I did decide to restructure the taking of the
tests.
The youngsters had fun whenever they
were able to work in teams but they did not enjoy their one-on-one sessions
with a computer in the library.
I had to create an environment that
lent itself for having three students work together to both create and restore
the missing characters, which meant having to create a program that worked
offline . . . in a place where they could talk to one another. The library was
the wrong place for this.
It
was during my two semesters at the Zellwood Elementary School as a reading mentor to 2nd-graders in
need of help, that I implement the cooperative restoration of mutilated texts.
It worked without exceptions. It didn’t matter whether I used two or three
students on one computer, they had fun alternately guessing at the missing
characters. (Using three was better than using two when the one typing was too
busy finding the next key to participate in the guessing process.)
