Update on Thesis Progress...

Over the past few weeks, I have been trying my very best to get "ahead of the game" and pump out the majority of my WSCU coursework and many of the steps of writing the Critical Analysis of Research Paper (CARP), my Master's Thesis, by the end of March. Currently, I am 38 1/2 weeks pregnant with a baby due on April 5th. This challenge of finishing my coursework by the end of March that I have put myself up to has presented multiple obstacles for me along the way, including being overly tired, multi-tasking, working ahead, and feeling (at times) a little overwhelmed and not knowing if I am even capable of finishing what I feel that I need to and by when.

Today, is the first day in this process in which I really do feel like I CAN DO IT! Although I am still in the process of fixing and making changes to my drafts of Chapters 1 - 5, I finally believe that I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I have received news that  the content in my chapters is good, and that means that minor (though they may be time-consuming) changes are all that's left in the process of finishing this chapter in my life.

I am currently working on my thesis abstract, the list of figures used, and the appendix (whatever this may be???)… Once these are finished, it is just a matter of putting all the pieces of the puzzle together and finalizing my final combined submission of my studies and practices for the last 8 months.

We're getting there people! We're getting there! :)

Update on Research...

I am to the point now that I feel comfortable stopping my research because I have a plethora of sources that I have utilized in my Outline/Draft of Chapter 2. I have accumulated, over the last 6 months or so, over 30 pieces of reference which I am been able to utilize in support of my personal research topic, all of which are included within my submitted Chapter 2 Outline/Draft. I feel that I have collected a wide variety of pieces of data from both national and international sources, and I finally feel ready to conclude and wrap up the majority of this particular aspect in my thesis’/master’s program’s journey.  

“Culture, Motivation, and Reading Achievement: High School Students in 41 Countries” (Chiu & Chow)

Article Title:
“Culture, Motivation, and Reading Achievement: High School Students in 41 Countries”

Authors:
Ming Ming Chiu & Bonnie Wing Yin Chow

Permalink:
https://ezproxy.western.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=psyh&AN=2010-08882-001&site=eds-live

APA Citation:
Chiu, M. M., & Chow, B. Y. (2010). Culture, motivation, and reading achievement: High school students in 41 countries. Learning And Individual Differences, 20(6), 579-592. doi:10.1016/j.lindif.2010.03.007

Summary:
This was an interesting article about a massive study concerning how both the cultural values and family cultural capital is linked to student/adolescent motivation and reading achievement. It is spot on concerning the topic of my own personal research study, but included far more in-depth analysis and details than I particularly needed for the purposes of my master’s thesis. It does a great job of analyzing almost 200,000 fifteen-year-old students from all around the world, examining various factors exhibiting an effect on overall reading achievement. This article included breakdown between males and females, as well as family support.  All in all, this study supports the ideas that both culture and family are highly linked to student achievement and performance in reading, all around the world. Additionally, it concludes that there is a major clash between genders, highlighting the increasing achievement gap between the two groups. This study went more in-depth than I needed when looking at family support/influence as extrinsic motivators towards achievement and performance in reading.

Principles and Practices for Building Academic Self-Efficacy in Middle Grades Language Arts Classrooms

Article Tite:

"Principles and Practices for Building Academic Self-Efficacy in Middle Grades Language Arts Classrooms" 

Authors:

Erin McTigue and Jeffrey Lieu

Permalink:
https://ezproxy.western.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edb&AN=59529952&site=eds-live 

APA Citation (taken from WSCU Library Website):
McTigue, E., & Liew, J. (2011). Principles and Practices for Building Academic Self-Efficacy in Middle Grades Language Arts Classrooms. Clearing House, 84(3), 114. doi:10.1080/00098655.2010.543191

Summary:
This is a short, but interesting article about promotion both self-efficacy AND self-esteem within quality instruction in the middle school language arts classroom. It briefly describes a multitude of reasons for why middle school students generally struggle with both, and the majority of the article focuses on what the teacher can do to positively affect and promote progressive changes in self-efficacy and/or self-esteem in order for students to be more successful in the language arts classroom. There are six major focuses that the article identifies as things that within the teacher's control in order to promote self-efficacy (the primary focus of the article): 

• Creating a safe and democratic classroom environ- ment
  
• Integrating social and emotional learning into literacy assignments
  
• Monitoring and assessing students’ academic self- efficacy
  
• Modeling self-efficacy within academic learning
  
• Providing effective feedback
  
• Facilitating self-evaluation and goal-setting 
  

 I am really fond of this particular article for two reasons: the first is that it primarily focuses on WHAT teachers can actively (and seamlessly) do within their regular classrooms to promote self-efficacy and increased internal motivation of students; secondly, the article boasts a wide variety of references in which I am able to continue and further my research.