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Posts Tagged ‘Learning’

Learning and communicative strategies Introduction Communicative strategies are systematic techniques employed by a speaker to express his meaning when faced with some difficulty and the difficulty here refers to the speaker's inadequate command of the language used in the interaction (Faerch & Kasper, 1983:16). On the other hand, the term learning strategies has been defined as "the higher-order skills which control and regulate the more task-specific or more practical skills" (Nisbet & Shucksmith,1986:26). Based on the previously mentioned definitions, it could be said that learning and communicative strategies refer to language learning behaviors that contribute directly or indirectly to learning. I am not very concerned here with the definition of the two terms as much as I am concerned with the fact that most if not all non-native speakers and second-language learners use these strategies throughout their second/foreign language learning journey. They tend to use them to compensate for their lack of sufficient language knowledge and to get themselves out of troubles when interacting in the target second/foreign language. These are only some of the short term benefits of using learning and communicative strategies. In fact, the successful use of these strategies can promote ... [more..]

Queinnise Miller & William Allan Kritsonis, PhD    Introduction Unprecedented change is taking place in schools all over the world. Schools are increasingly being managed like businesses. Without effective strategic planning principals will be involved in crisis management (Van der Linde, 2001).  As schools engage in strategic planning, professional learning communities should be heavily depended on to help districts move from infancy to maturity in their quality of instructional and overall educational success.  By using the Ways of Knowing Through the Realms of Meaning (Kritsonis, 2003) as a guide for professional learning communities this will increase the success of professional learning communities and their impact on strategic planning.   Purpose of the Article The purpose of this article is to explore professional learning communities while taking a look at how they impact school improvement and their place in strategic planning in education.  This article will address how the Ways of Knowing Through the Realms of Meaning (Kritsonis, 2003) is implemented in the core of professional learning communities.  By utilizing the six realms in professional learning communities, leaders and teachers will be able to achieve the highest excellence possible in educational achievement.   Professional Learning ... [more..]

One of my favorite sayings is, “the trouble with communication is the belief that it actually occurs”, (unknown author).  In many organizations run by top down, command and control methods, this is particularly true. Information is parsed out based on need to know and, even more importantly, the input of those involved in the day to day operations of the organization is not requested, respected, or considered important to the overall functioning and identity of the organization.  From this view of leadership it is not surprising that far too often employees interpret for themselves the limited information that they receive and act on that information according to their own needs and values. When operations don’t proceed as expected leaders blame the workers and exert pressure on them to perform as expected which leads to resistance, further breakdowns in communication and most importantly wasted time and energy.More and more, the success of any organization is based on the ability of that organization to develop a shared meaning about what the organization is and does, to establish networks of communication in which shared meaning is developed, communicated and evolves as differences within the organization signal the need for change. This is the ... [more..]