More than a Change of Heart free essay sample

â€Å"I’m not related to you!† My twelve-year old self made this sentiment perfectly clear to my father across the kitchen table. I wanted absolutely nothing to do with his half of my family tree. I would have been mortified if anyone had found out that my Uncle Jeff would soon become â€Å"Aunt Joanne†. The news could not have come at a worse time. I was just about to enter middle school, the biggest adjustment I would make since starting kindergarten. Now I had to figure out how to handle this family situation as well. Couldn’t Jeff have timed this better for my sake? Was that really too much to ask? He was going to tear apart the family with this news, not to mention his marriage with Barbara, my favorite aunt. Over the next few weeks these angry thoughts took a front row seat in my mind, resulting in hasty scribbles in my journal about how horrible and inconsiderate Jeff was and unexpected outbursts at friends and family. We will write a custom essay sample on More than a Change of Heart or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page In the coming months this juvenile anger subsided and my curiosity about thesituation grew. Since Jeff and Barbara lived in Boston, I couldn’t keep tabs on the small physical changes that my uncle was going through. Instead, multiple changes were thrown at me all at once. During one visit, his pierced ears and the lack of his trademark facial hair were the first indications that this was no joke; he was actually going to go through with becoming a woman. At this point I started to acknowledge that I would someday be okay with this decision. That came sooner than I anticipated. A few months after seeing Jeff with his pierced ears, I met Joanne. She was the same height as Jeff, wearing size 11 women’s shoes and a short brunette wig. Her voice was higher than his, but her smile was also wider and her hug tighter than Jeff’s had ever been. She was genuinely happy and comfortable as a woman. That day I surprised myself by becoming the first in my family to begin accepting that the person who stood in front of me was the same person I had known and loved all of my life. These days I see my aunt Joanne more regularly. I am comfortable with the woman she is today and the confidence with which she carries herself. She is the first transgender member of the boards of Point Foundation and of Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, as well as a columnist for â€Å"The Advocate†. Joanne’s openness about her transformation has helped me to be comfortable speaking to others about transgender people and my experiences with them. Of the many things her involvement in the LGBT community has taught me, the most important has been to embrace everyone’s differences, whether it be race, religion, sexual identity, or even something as simple as someone’s taste in music. My appreciation is much greater now for the unique qualities that each person brings to a relationship. Living in my very homogenous community, had I not gone through this with Joanne, I would have been ill-prepared for interactions outside of my town with people of completely different backgrounds and experiences. My world has been exponentially expanded, and I’m more willing than ever to meet new people and embrace our differences. I know now that having a transgender aunt will never define me, but that my aunt’s transformation helped to bring out positive traits in me that more accurately define my character. I am emotionally stronger, I stand up for what I believe is right, I am loyal to my friends and family, and I am a more patient, accepting person. I am proud of myself for becoming one of Joanne’s biggest fans and supporters. Most of all, I am grateful that Joanne and I could embark on our journey into womanhood together.

Stora Enso Co financial analysis

Stora Enso Co financial analysis A.In what ways has the company you have chosen made use of international financial market as a source of finance.Stora Enso is an integrated paper, packaging and forest products company producing publication and fine papers, packaging boards and wood products, areas in which the Group is a global market leader.Stora Enso sales totalled EUR 12.8 billion in 2002. The Group has some 42 500 employees in more than 40 countries in five continents and about 15 million tonnes of paper and board annual production capacity. Stora Enso's shares are listed in Helsinki, Stockholm and New York.Stora Enso serves its mainly business-to-business customers through its own global sales and marketing network. A global presence provides local customer service. Customers are large and small publishers, printing houses and merchants, as well as the packaging, joinery and construction industries worldwide. The main markets are Europe, North America and Asia.English: Stora Enso Baienfurt Mill Deutsch: Stora ...The Group has production facilities in Europe, North America and Asia. Its modern production capacity and the good integration between raw material, energy and efficient processes ensure production continuity.Stora Enso is committed to developing its business towards ecological, social and economic sustainability. This commitment is demonstrated through its values and its environmental and social policy, and has been recognised by selection for the Dow Jones DJSI World and DJSI STOXX sustainability indexes since they were launched in 1999. Stora Enso had the highest score in this sustainability ranking among forest products companies in 2002 . Stora Enso is also included in the FTSE4Good index.In the future, companies will be measured by more than just financial success. That is why we created the FTSE4Good Index Series, a family of benchmark and tradable financial indices.FTSE4Good indices have been designed to measure the performance of companies that meet globally recognized.. .

Current U.S. Supreme Court Justices History

Current U.S. Supreme Court Justices History The United States Supreme Court- often referred to as SCOTUS- was established in 1789 by Article Three of the United States Constitution. As the highest U.S. federal court, the Supreme Court has discretionary appellate jurisdiction to hear and rule on cases decided by all lower federal courts and state court cases that involve federal law, as well as original jurisdiction over a smaller range of cases. In the U.S. legal system, the Supreme Court is the highest and final interpreter of federal laws, including the Constitution itself. Under federal law, the full Court consists of the Chief Justice of the United States and eight associate justices who are all nominated by the President of the United States and confirmed by the Senate. Once seated, Supreme Court justices serve for life unless they retire, resign, or are removed after being impeached by Congress. Why Nine Justices? The Constitution did not and still does not specify the number of Supreme Court justices. The Judiciary Act of 1789 set the number at six. As the nation expanded westward, Congress added justices as needed to deal with cases from the growing number of judicial circuits; from seven in 1807 to nine in 1837 and to  ten in 1863. In 1866, Congress- at the request of Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase- passed an act stipulating that the next three justices to retire would not be replaced, thus reducing the number of justices back to seven. By 1867, two of the three justices had retired, but in 1869, Congress passed the Circuit Judges Act setting the number of justices to nine, where it remains today. The same 1869 law created the provision under which all federal judges continue to receive their full salaries after retiring. In 1937, President Franklin D. Roosevelt proposed a substantial and controversial enlargement of the Supreme Court. His plan would have added one new justice for every existing justice who reached the age of 70 years and 6 months and refused to retire, up to a maximum of 15 justices. Roosevelt claimed he wanted to ease the stress of the Court’s growing docket on elderly justices, but critics saw it as a way for him to load the Court with justices sympathetic to his Great Depression-busting New Deal program. Calling it Roosevelt’s â€Å"court-packing plan,† Congress rejected the proposal. Nevertheless, having been elected years before the adoption of the presidential term-limiting 22nd Amendment, Roosevelt would go on to appoint seven justices during his 12 years in office. Current Supreme Court Justices The table below shows the current Justices of the Supreme Court. Justice Appointed In Appointed By At Age John G; Roberts(Chief Justice) 2005 G. W. Bush 50 Elena Kagan 2010 Obama 50 Samuel A. Alito, Jr. 2006 G. W. Bush 55 Neil M. Gorsuch 2017 Trump 49 Brett M. Kavanaugh 2018 Trump 53 Sonia Sotomayor 2009 Obama 55 Clarence Thomas 1991 Bush 43 Ruth Bader Ginsburg 1993 Clinton 60 Stephen Breyer 1994 Clinton 56 * On June 20, 2018, Justice Anthony Kennedy, a crucial swing vote on the Supreme Court, announced his retirement effective July 31, 2018. Kennedy’s departure gave  President Trump the opportunity to appoint his second Supreme Court justice during just his first two years in office.   On July 9, 2018, President Trump nominated 53-year-old Brett M. Kavanaugh to replace Justice Kennedy on the Supreme Court. Appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit by President George W. Bush in 2003, Judge Kavanaugh is considered a conservative, thus setting up a probable Senate confirmation battle and possibly solidifying the court’s conservative majority for a generation. Though she recently announced her intention to serve through 2020, the now 85-year-old liberal-leaning Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is expected to be the next justice to retire. In announcing Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination, President Trump described him as â€Å"one of the finest and sharpest legal minds in our time,† and declared him a jurist who would apply the Constitution â€Å"as written.† In accepting the nomination, Judge Kavanaugh, who once clerked for Justice Kennedy, promised that as a Supreme Court justice, he would â€Å"keep an open mind in every case.† But he also declared that judges â€Å"must interpret the law, not make the law.† On Saturday, October 6, 2018, the Senate voted along party lines 50-48 in favor of confirming the nomination. Later the same day, Brett M. Kavanaugh was sworn in as the 114th Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court by Chief Justice John Roberts in a private ceremony. A Brief History of the US Supreme Court or SCOTUS As the final and ultimate legal interpreter of the U.S. Constitution, the Supreme Court of the United States, or SCOTUS, is one of the most visible and often controversial organizations in the federal government. Through many of its landmark decisions, like banning prayer in public schools and legalizing abortion, the Supreme Court fueled many of the most passionately heated and ongoing debates in America’s history. The U.S. Supreme Court is established by Article III of the U.S. Constitution, which states, â€Å"[t]he judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one Supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish.† Other than establishing it, the Constitution spells out no specific duties or powers of the Supreme Court or how it is to be organized. Instead, the Constitution empowers Congress and the Justices of the Court itself to develop the authorities and operations of the entire Judicial Branch of government. As the very first bill considered by the very first United States Senate, the Judiciary Act of 1789 called for the Supreme Court to consist of a Chief Justice and only five Associate Justices, and for the Court to hold its deliberations in the nation’s capital. The Judiciary Act of 1789 also provided a detailed plan for the lower federal court system merely alluded to in the Constitution as â€Å"such inferior† courts. For the first 101 years of the Supreme Court’s existence, the justices were required to â€Å"ride circuit,† holding court twice a year in each of the 13 judicial districts. Each of the then five justices was assigned to one of three geographical circuits and traveled to the designated meeting places within the districts of that circuit. The Act also created the position of U.S. Attorney General and assigned the power to nominate Supreme Court justices to the President of the United States with the approval of the Senate. The First Supreme Court Convenes The Supreme Court was first called to assemble on Feb. 1, 1790, in the Merchants Exchange Building in New York City, then the Nations Capital. The first Supreme Court was made up of: Chief Justice John Jay, from New York Associate Justices John Rutledge, from South CarolinaWilliam Cushing, from Massachusetts|James Wilson, from PennsylvaniaJohn Blair, from Virginia|James Iredell, from North Carolina Due to transportation problems, Chief Justice Jay had to postpone the first actual meeting of the Supreme Court until the next day, Feb. 2, 1790. The Supreme Court spent its first session organizing itself and determining its own powers and duties. The new Justices heard and decided their first actual case in 1792. Lacking any specific direction from the Constitution, the new U.S. Judiciary spent its first decade as the weakest of the three branches of government. Early federal courts failed to issue strong opinions or even take on controversial cases. The Supreme Court was not even sure if it had the power to consider the constitutionality of laws passed by Congress. This situation changed drastically in 1801 when President John Adams appointed John Marshall of Virginia to be the fourth Chief Justice. Confident that nobody would tell him not to, Marshall took clear and firm steps to define the role and powers of both the Supreme Court and the judiciary system. The Supreme Court, under John Marshall, defined itself with its historic 1803 decision in the case of Marbury v. Madison. In this single landmark case, the Supreme Court established its power to interpret the U.S. Constitution as the â€Å"law of the land† of the United States and to determine the constitutionality of laws passed by Congress and the state legislatures. John Marshall went on to serve as Chief Justice for a record 34 years, along with several Associate Justices who served for over 20 years. During his time on the bench, Marshall succeeded in molding the federal judicial system into what many consider to be todays most powerful branch of government. Before settling at nine in 1869, the number of Supreme Court Justices changed six times. In its entire history, the Supreme Court has had only 16 Chief Justices, and over 100 Associate Justices. Chief Justices of the Supreme Court Chief Justice Year Appointed** Appointed By John Jay 1789 Washington John Rutledge 1795 Washington Oliver Ellsworth 1796 Washington John Marshall 1801 John Adams Roger B. Taney 1836 Jackson Salmon P. Chase 1864 Lincoln Morrison R. Waite 1874 Grant Melville W. Fuller 1888 Cleveland Edward D. White 1910 Taft William H. Taft 1921 Harding Charles E. Hughes 1930 Hoover Harlan F. Stone 1941 F. Roosevelt Fred M. Vinson 1946 Truman Earl Warren 1953 Eisenhower Warren E. Burger 1969 Nixon William Rehnquist(Deceased) 1986 Reagan John G. Roberts 2005 G. W. Bush Supreme Court Justices are nominated by the President of the United States. The nomination must be approved by a majority vote of the Senate. The Justices serve until they retire, die or are impeached.  The average tenure for Justices is about 15 years, with a new Justice being appointed to the Court about every 22 months. Presidents appointing the most Supreme Court Justices include George Washington, with ten appointments and Franklin D. Roosevelt, who appointed eight Justices. The Constitution also provides that â€Å"[t]he Judges, both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices during good Behaviour, and shall, at stated Times, receive for their Services, a Compensation, which shall not be diminished during their Continuance in Office.† While they have died and retired, no Supreme Court justice has ever been removed through impeachment. Contact the Supreme Court The individual justices of the Supreme Court do not have public email addresses or phone numbers. However, the court can be contacted by regular mail, telephone, and email as follows: U.S. Mail: Supreme Court of the United States1  First Street, NEWashington, DC 20543 Telephone: 202-479-3000TTY:202-479-3472(Available M-F 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern) Other Helpful Telephone Numbers: Clerks Office: 202-479-3011Visitor Information Line: 202-479-3030Opinion Announcements: 202-479-3360 Court’s Public Information Office For time-sensitive or urgent questions please contact the Public Information Office at the following number: 202-479-3211, Reporters press 1 For general questions that are not time-sensitive, email: Public Information Office. Contact the Public Information Office by US Mail: Public Information OfficerSupreme Court of the United States1 First Street, NEWashington, DC 20543

CMT3321 Coursework 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

CMT3321 Coursework 2 - Essay Example cesses and spaces for people find themselves stretching the provisions of prototyping elements to communicate and explore what it will require to integrate or understand the design concepts that are being developed. In this project, prototype has been used as a representation of the model made prior to the final artifact. It has been created to direct the design decisions and design process of the game. Generally, prototypes range from illustrations (sketches) and various kinds of models at different levels-â€Å"works like†, â€Å"behaves like† â€Å"looks like†-to find and find and inform on the propositions relating to the model and its background (Wilson, 2010). Within the modeled interactive system, prototype is key activity. Many a group of researchers and designers have been acting in extending the limits of prototyping the provisions of traditional techniques. They have also developed the understanding of the importance of different kinds of prototypes. For example, Hill and Houde discuss different purposes for archetypes as being important in the function an artifact all will achieve, its â€Å"feel and look† and how the system will be configured. Other works have described such as different degrees of reliability, archetypes for various audiences and designs for use in the setting of participatory models. Experience, in the context of prototyping, refers to the subjective, complex and dynamic phenomenon in an activity. Whether in the classroom or general environment, experience in prototype design depends on the perception of several characters of a model, interpreted via filters connected to contextual elements. With respect to the prototype used in this project, the perception of experience relates to Hill and Houde’s description of experience as the â€Å"feel and look† of a system or product. However, experience surpasses the feel and look of a system. The game designed in this project has the ability to serve an extra function in the life of the

Production Lab exercise Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Production Lab exercise - Essay Example During the first round, I observed that most people still do not know what they are supposed to do. In fact, when the first order came in, many people were suggesting different ideas on how to accomplish the work, making things more difficult and complicated for me. Moreover, the first material that came in was not for the first order but rather, for the third order. This makes things even more confusing for me and for worker assembly 1 because both of us have to work together. It was really frustrating because I know that the rest of the material handlers were waiting for me to get my materials and pass it to them. After a while, I and my assembly worker got the hang of it and we got better and faster. We communicated better with the production control people and I communicated better with my assembly worker. The first round went well after all, as my team managed to finish all orders with no leftover inventories. This lowered our production budget and increased our profits. We mana ged to get $18 a minute for our first round. Then came the second round with a whole bunch of orders. It was making me a little nervous and anxious because our orders increased from 3- 5 to approximately 10-15. I felt so conscious seeing my assembly worker and the rest of the material handlers waiting for me to hand over something to them.

A New Ending for Romeo And Juliet Essay -- William Shakespeare

New Ending Act V, Scene III Verona. A churchyard; the monument of the Capulets. Enter Romeo and Paris. Paris This is that banished haughty Montague, That murdered my love’s cousin, with which grief It is supposed that fair creature died, And here is come to do some villainous shame To the dead bodies. I will apprehend him. Stop thy unhallowed toil vile Montague. Can vengance be pursued further than death? Condemned villian, I do apprehend thee. Obey and go with me, for thou must die. Romeo I must indeed, and therefor came I hither, Good gentle youth, tempt not a desperate man For thou nor any man shall prevent me from being with my love tonight, Put not another sin upon my head By urging me to fury. O be gone For I shall know not what I do but rather do what I must A madman’s mercy bid thee, run away. Paris I defy thee! For thou hast done my love great injustice. Romeo Her love is mine! Your love she shall never be! [they fight] [Paris is slain] Romeo Forgive me good sir For again, I know not what I do Inside the tomb of Capulet Romeo O Fair Juliet why must thou torture me so For even in death thy beauty is paralleled only by the stars in the sky. O Lord what great injustice hast thou done to thee For my love is gone And no greater crime against me can thou think of. Tis our familes’ to blame Not us. For they are blinded by tradition and driven by hatred. O but it matters not. Soon shall I be with thee and soon shall I once again be merry, For to live forth be n...

Reading Philosophies

Reading Philosophies Katy J. Kaldenberg Grand Canyon University: EED-470 Curriculum, Methods and Assessment: Literacy and Language Arts K-3 Monday, March 11, 2013 Reading Philosophies Chart Reading Philosophy| Brief Description| Reading Activities| Reading Assessments| Constructivist Reading Instruction| Constructivists view the student as an active participant in the learning process who constructs a personal meaning from each experience (Ying-Tien & Chin-Chung, 2005). One Constructivist reading activity for teaching a student a new word is that the student is taught to use picture cues to learn to read (Ying-Tien, & Chin-Chung, 2005). For example, if the student cannot read a word, he or she is taught to look at the picture then go back and to the word and guess the meaning. Another activity for constructivist reading instruction would be that the teacher would have students work in small groups to discuss a book that was read to the class. The small groups of students may then als o create their own story. Constructivist reading assessments would include the teacher collecting daily performance samples of work, observing and recording student’s behavior, audio and videotaping students in different situations, and building a portfolio filled with information about each student (Ying-Tien & Chin-Chung, 2005). The evaluation process is for the teacher, parent, and child. Conferences can also be held to discuss progress. | Explicit Reading Instruction| Explicit reading instruction is teacher directed (Goeke, 2009).The teacher uses explanation and demonstration to teach specific reading skills and strategies (Goeke, 2009). The teacher also provides corrective feedback to his or her students as the students attempt to apply the new knowledge (Goeke, 2009). | An example of explicit reading instruction would be that the teacher would state the sound and spelling of a specific letter-sound correspondence and then demonstrate by modeling how to read words that i nclude that feature to the class (Taylor, Peterson, Pearson, & Rodriguez, 2002).The students then would practice but only after the teacher has modeled the process first. A second example of explicit reading instruction would be to teach decoding to students that have deficits in word reading. A third example of explicit reading instruction would be having students use the mnemonic DISSECT (Discover the context, Isolate the prefix, Separate the suffix, Say the stem, Examine the stem, Check with someone, and Try the dictionary) to read unknown words (Adams & Engelmann, 1996). The teacher would teach each strategy step explicitly (Adams & Engelmann, 1996).An important part of explicit reading instruction is that the teacher always describes the strategy, provides the rationale for its use, and states how and when to implement a strategy explicitly to the students and the instruction is always implemented systematically (Adams & Engelmann, 1996). | Explicit reading assessments would in clude having student answer multiple-choice questions about selected text passage; decoding assessments can also be given (Taylor, Peterson, Pearson, & Rodriguez, 2002).One example of a decoding assessment would be that the student is given isolated words one at a time, and the student is asked to say the word aloud. The words selected for a decoding assessment should be words that are within the student’s spoken vocabulary, and should contain a mix of phonetically regular and phonetically irregular words (Goeke, 2009). Another type of assessment is that of standardized tests such as the Diagnostic Assessments of Reading (DAR) and the Florida Assessments for Instruction in Reading (FAIR). | Reading Philosophies Summary The educational realm is not free from disputes.Disputes on reading instructional practices have been ongoing for more than half a century. On one side of this debate is composed of those who believe that students learn best when they are able to discover and c onstruct the essential information for themselves. This type of instruction is often called student-centered or constructivist instruction (Confrey, 1990). On the opposite side of this debate are those who believe that students only thrive when full, explicit instruction is given and student should not have to discover essential content (Goeke, 2009).This type of instruction is often referred to as direct or explicit instruction (Goeke, 2009). When speaking about reading instruction, this debate has often been coined as the â€Å"reading wars†. Constructivist Reading Instruction is derived from the theory of constructivism. One could assume that constructivism is derived from Piaget’s own reference to his views as being a â€Å"constructivist† or possible from Bruner’s description of learning discovery as â€Å"constructionist† (Gruber & Voheche, 1977).Some other terms that have been used to reference a constructivist way of learning include genera tive learning, situated learning, authentic learning, and educational semiotic (Wittrock, 1985; Cunningham, 1992). Constructivists believe that all learning should be student centered. They think that knowledge is obtained only during a meaning-making search where the student is involved in the process of constructing their own interpretations of their experiences.Constructivist generally agree that students much construct their own learning, all new learning is dependent on the student’s existing understanding, social interaction plays a critical role in learning, and authentic learning tasks are necessary for learning to be meaningful (Bruning, Schraw, & Ronning, 1995; Pressley, Harris, & Marks, 1992). According to constructivists, in order for a student to construct new meaning he or she needs to make every effort to make sense of all new experiences and then must relate those to experiences to what is already known (Confrey, 1990).Constructivists also claim that a catalys t for acquiring knowledge is dialogue and social interaction facilitates understanding (Brown, 1994). Constructivist teachers aim to provide cooperative learning tasks and peer tutoring for their students. Constructivist teacher often believe that students learn faster when they are actively involved in dialog with their peers about significant problems (Brooks & Brooks, 1993). The constructivist classroom would be filled with students roaming about the classroom obtaining supplies, conferring with peers or the teacher, and working on self-directed projects (Brooks & Brooks, 1993).Constructivist teachers pride themselves in asking big questions, providing time for student to think and explore to find answers (Brooks & Brooks, 1993). In an actual classroom, there are many flaws involved in practicing constructivist instruction. The first major problem is that often only the brightest students make the discovery that is needed (Pace, 2011). Another issue is that many students become f rustrated. This frustration many cause some students to disengage and other students may simply copy whatever their peers are doing regardless in either case the students never actually discover anything (Pace, 2011).A third issue is that some students may believe they have made a discovery but in fact, they have only learned a misconception (Pace, 2011). These misconceptions can then interfere with future learning and problem solving (Pace, 2011). Studies have shown that once a student has believed one of these misconceptions that even after they have been show the correct answer they are still likely to recall the original discovery and not the correction (Pace, 2011). Along with the above four issues studies have shown that constructivist instruction can result in an increase in achievement gap (Pace, 2011).Decades of research has validated that explicit instruction is much more effective for reading instruction when compared to constructivist reading instruction. Kirschner, Swel ler, and Clark (2006) states, â€Å"After a half-century of advocacy associated with instruction using minimal guidance, it appears that there is no body of research supporting the technique. In so far as there is any evidence from controlled studies, it almost uniformly supports direct, strong instructional guidance rather than constructivist-based minimal guidance. Kirschner, Sweller, and Clark (2006) also reports, â€Å"†¦ Not only is unguided instruction normally less effective; there is also evidence that it may have negative results when students acquire misconceptions or incomplete or disorganized knowledge. † Research has shown that when teaching new skills and content to students, providing explicit instructions accompanied with practice and feedback is more effective than requiring students to discover many aspects of what they are to learn (Hall, 2002). Explicit instruction is teacher directed.The teacher provides the students with a full explanation of the n ew skill or concept that the student is required to learn (Hall, 2002). The teacher also uses a variety of accommodations such as lecturing, modeling, videos and other media, and demonstration to provide the students with proper guidance (Hall, 2002). Students need to be explicitly shown what to do and how to do something first and then they need to be given the opportunity to practice doing it while they receive corrective feedback from the teacher (Hall, 2002). Extensive research supports explicit instruction’s success as an evidence-based practice.Adams and Engelmann (1996) found thirty-seven research publications validating the effectiveness of explicit instruction. These research publications all reported that explicit instruction had a significant outcome on reading instruction. Research also found explicit instruction to be as valuable for typical students, as for students with disabilities. The National Follow-Through Project studied multiple models of instruction to determine the most effective instructional models for students who were economically disadvantaged (Rosenshine, 1995; Taylor, Peterson, Pearson, & Rodriguez, 2002).The results concluded that children who received explicit instruction in literacy and mathematics scored above those taught with other approaches. An additional result was increased self-esteem due to success in school (Rosenshine, 1995; Taylor, Peterson, Pearson, & Rodriguez, 2002). The National Follow-Through Project belonged to a group of studies on teacher effectiveness, which determined that explicit instruction effectively taught students what they needed to learn (Rosenshine, 1995; Taylor, Peterson, Pearson, & Rodriguez, 2002).Baumann and Duffy (2001) reported on five years of research that showed that reading skills and strategies are most effectively taught with systematic and explicit instruction. In conclusion, explicit instruction is vital for initial instruction in skill acquisition (Goodman, Goodman, & Hood, 1989). This is especially the case for struggling readers, who often require intense support to acquire reading skills (Goodman, Goodman, & Hood, 1989). Beginning reading instruction should emphasize explicit instruction, particularly for phonics instruction (Goodman, Goodman, & Hood, 1989).Constructivist instruction is important when generalizing skills to other contexts (Goodman, Goodman, & Hood, 1989). It can also be used when children explore children’s literature. Story structure can be taught with constructivist instruction and may be more meaningful to children than teaching it explicitly (Goodman, Goodman, & Hood, 1989). The Whole Language Movement is built upon Constructivist principles (Goodman, Goodman, & Hood, 1989). References Adams, G. and Engelmann, S. (1996).Research on Direct Instruction: 25 years beyond DISTAR. Seattle, WA: Educational Achievement Systems. Brooks, J. G. & Brooks, M. G. (1994). In search of understanding: The case for constructivist classroo ms. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Brown, A. L. (1994). The advancement of learning. Educational Researcher 23: 4-12. Bruning, R. H. , Schraw, G. J. & Ronning, R. R (1995). Cognitive psychology and instruction, 2nd ed. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Baumann, J. F. , & Duffy, A.M. (2001). Teacher-research methodology: Themes, variations, and possibilities. The Reading Teacher, 54, 608-615. Confrey, J. (1990). What constructivism implies for teaching. In R. B. Davis, C. A. Maher & N. Noddings (Eds. ), Constructivist views of the teaching and learning of mathematics (Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, Monograph No. 4, pp. 107-122). Reston, VA: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. Cunningham, D. J. (1992). Beyond educational psychology: Steps toward an educational semiotic.Educational Psychology Review 4: 165-194. Goeke J. L. (2009). Explicit instruction: Strategies for meaningful direct teaching. Boston: Merrill/Pearson . Goodman, K. , Goodman, Y. & Hood, W. (1989). The whole language evaluation book. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Hall, T. (2002). Explicit instruction. Wakefield, MA: National Center on Accessing the General Curriculum. Retrieved Wednesday, March 13, 2013 from http://aim. cast. org/learn/historyarchive/backgroundpapers/explicit_instruction. Kirschner, P. A. , Sweller, J. , & Clark, R. (2006).Why minimal guidance during instruction does not work: An analysis of the failure of constructivist, discovery, problem-based, experiential and inquiry-based teaching. Educational Psychologist, 41, 75–86 Pace, D. (2011). Best practice: The use of explicit instruction and culturally responsive teaching. Insights on Learning Disabilities, 8(2), 5-14. Pressley, M. , Harris, K. R. , & Marks, M. B. (1992). But good strategy instructors are constructivists! Educational Psychology Review 4: 3-31. Rosenshine, B. (1995). Advances in research on instruction. Journal of Educational Research, 88, 262â⠂¬â€œ268.Stanovich, K. E. (1994). Constructivism in reading education. Journal of Special Education, 28(3), 259. Taylor, B. M. , Peterson, D. S. , Pearson, P. D. , & Rodriguez, M. C. (2002). Looking inside classrooms: Reflecting on the â€Å"how† as well as the â€Å"what† in effective reading instruction. The Reading Teacher, 56, 270–279. Wittrock, W. C. (1985). The generative learning model and its implications for science education. Studies in Science Education 12: 59-87. Ying-Tien, W. , & Chin-Chung, T. (2005). Effects of constructivist-oriented instruction on