Action Research: Samples

The Relationship between the Strategy of Knowledge Folders and Study Skills, Clara J. Heyder

Filling the Gap: Phonological Awareness Activities for a Montessori Kindergarten, Shauna A. Aranas

The Effects of Reading Fluency in the Elementary Montessori Classroom, Melissa R. Bullerman and Ashley M. Godinez

Academic urban legends

1. Ole Bjørn Rekdal

Abstract

Many of the messages presented in respectable scientific publications are, in fact, based on various forms of rumors. Some of these rumors appear so frequently, and in such complex, colorful, and entertaining ways that we can think of them as academic urban legends. The explanation for this phenomenon is usually that authors have lazily, sloppily, or fraudulently employed sources, and peer reviewers and editors have not discovered these weaknesses in the manuscripts during evaluation. To illustrate this phenomenon, I draw upon a remarkable case in which a decimal point error appears to have misled millions into believing that spinach is a good nutritional source of iron. Through this example, I demonstrate how an academic urban legend can be conceived and born, and can continue to grow and reproduce within academia and beyond.

• academic shortcuts
 
• academic urban legends
 
• citation practices
 
• iron
 
• spinach

Bauerlein et al. (2010) claim that we are currently experiencing an ‘avalanche of low-quality research’, and academia has become an environment where ‘[a]spiring researchers are turned into publish-or-perish entrepreneurs, often becoming more or less cynical about the higher ideals of the pursuit of knowledge’. Whether the current state of affairs is better or worse than before, it seems reasonable to assume that corner-cutting is an unfortunate side effect of publication pressure and competition for academic positions and scarce resources, especially in milieus where counting publications is more important than reading and evaluating them. In this article, I explore a particular set of corner-cutting techniques that reveal much about strategies of reading, writing, and citation, as well as the development of academic urban legends.

The Effect of Mandatory Reading Logs on Children’s Motivation to Read, Sarah S. Pak and Allyson J. Weseley

The Effect of Mandatory Reading Logs on Children’s Motivation to Read 

Sarah S. Pak and Allyson J. Weseley

Abstract

Reading logs have become a practice in many elementary schools. Although lack of autonomy undermines intrinsic motivation (Lepper, Greene, & Nisbett, 1973), no study has examined the effect of logs. Second and third-grade students (N=112) were assigned either a mandatory or voluntary log and surveyed about their motivation to read at baseline and after two months. Students with mandatory logs expressed declines in both interest and attitudes towards recreational reading in comparison to peers with voluntary logs, and attitudes towards academic reading decreased significantly from pre to post test across conditions. Future research should explore alternate ways to promote reading.

Keywords: reading, motivation, reading logs

The Leveled Library; When Is It Time to Remove the Scaffold?

The Leveled Library; When Is It Time to Remove the Scaffold?

Winning the battle but losing the war? Behind the science of early reading instruction.

Winning the battle but losing the war? Behind the science of early reading instruction.

Progressive Labels for Regressive Practices, Alfie Kohn

Progressive Labels for Regressive Practices, Alfie Kohn

How Key Terms in Education Have Been Co-opted

These 18 practices are proven effective for teaching reading by Heinemann Publishing

These 18 practices are proven effective for teaching reading by Heinemann Publishing