LATEST PROJECTS
Marinou, C. (2015)
Digital Games & Preschool Age:
An Action Research,
University of Athens
This study began as an effort to find out what children in our country think about digital games. We wanted to learn what is it that makes preschoolers interested in a game. What is it that makes the games attractive? What is it that makes some games more popular than others? What is that thing that affects the choices of children and how familiar are they with the electronic media.
It seems that children of private and public schools, despite the great social and economic differences of their families, had, in a similar way, access to a console that offered them the opportunity to engage in a similar extent with digital games. Regarding the differences encountered between the sexes, the frequency of use of digital games is not particularly affected. Major difference occurred only in gendered toy preference, which was observed in the preference of conventional games between the sexes as well.
The methodology followed (individual interviews), offered me the possibility of a qualitative research, but many elements were necessary to be analyzed in a quantitative way, as eventually happened.
This research has shown that the frequency of use of digital media by children of preschool age and the ability to use electronic devices, was not affected by the social or economic background of the family. Strong differences occurred only in gendered choices of games by children, which was also observed in the choice of conventional game between sexes.
Meanwhile, a great difference on the preference type game (friends/ conventional toys/video games) among children attending public and private schools, was obvious. The first category of children seems to have preference in playing with friends, against any other form of entertainment, while the second category of children prefers computer games. One possible explanation for this is that children attending certain private schools, live in different regions of Attica, many of them, particularly distant from the school campus, so it is quite difficult for them to get together. Perhaps, this fact has made playing with friends, a not so intimate activity.
Similarly, another difference between children who attend public and private schools was recorded. Most children in the first group said, by far, that the electronic media belong to their parents, while children attending private schools seem to own their own personal electronic means, even from pre-school age.
They seem to occur particularly pronounced differences relating to the use of new technologies, among the children of these schools. Obviously, the development of technology has reached such intense flows that abstaining from it, is almost impossible. All social groups seem to have equal access to the Internet and electronic media, which proves the importance of the integration of ICT in education, now that it is required for education to keep up with the level and interests of everyday life of a society.
"Digital Games in Preschool Age" Conference Proceedings "Education in the Age of ICT", Greek Ministry of Education, 2015.
Conference Program
Marinou, C. & Karatza Z. (2016)
ACS Educators' beliefs about
Learning Management Systems
This paper attempts to capture attitudes and opinions of teachers about using Learning Management Systems (LMS) and Content Management Systems (CMS), during the teaching process in elementary, middle school and academy classes of a school that follows an inclusive, holistic American philosophy of education within an international setting and that is located in Greece.
The data collection process was completed through an online questionnaire, distinguished through the online network of faculty members of this educational institution. Also, along with the online questionnaire, a cover letter, which informed the selected sample for voluntary participation in the conduct of research, as well as an information request for data will result from this research were sent.
The selection of the questionnaire as a data collection form was chosen because it specifies the purpose of this investigation and the researchers already understand the characteristics of respondents to manage to move forward in designing a questionnaire that will provide much information about the research questions. The questions selected are opened-ended in order to be able to collect all necessary data and closed-ended to investigate the exact familiarization of the selected population, with specific tools.
Specifically, the questionnaire was created aiming to investigate the view of teachers of this school, on the use of such software in the teaching process and whether this view is influenced by the field of their studies, the level of their degree (undergraduate diploma, master's degree, doctorate), their age and years of teaching experience, the rank (elementary, middle school, academy) they teach and finally, the subject they teach.
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Marinou, C. & Karatza Z. (2016)
Co Teaching - How to change Teaching & Learning: The Experience of classes with students
receiving OLP support.
Ethos Magazine (ACS Athens)
Differentiated instruction is still in great need of development and implementation in the Greek educational system. The concept of specialized education to address the needs of students with learning difficulties is seen, for the most part, as the parents’ responsibility and inclusion techniques are not often incorporated within regular classroom instruction and activities. The Optimal Learning Program at ACS Athens has been running since 2006, to provide students with the individualized support they need to reach a high standard of academic achievement and personal progress, by delivering support services as detailed in students’ Individual Learning Plans through Full or Partial Inclusion. After working with students in the OLP classroom (Partial Inclusion), and familiar with each student’s unique learning style, strengths and weaknesses, we committed to spending time in the students’ homeroom, alongside the core teacher, and helped provide differentiated strategies within the mainstream classroom. During the Optimal Learning Program we worked one-on-one with students to develop specific skills, such as reading and writing comprehension and critical thinking skills and we also assisted students with content.
For the past few months we have been working towards creating the ideal environment for students’ academic growth by providing support and guidance to the students that need it within their mainstream classrooms. We will provide a brief overview of the characteristics of Co-Teaching and analyze several challenges that we encountered during our journey. It is true, after all, that Co-Teaching seems to be a simple strategy for including diverse learners, but in reality it is a complex teaching strategy that requires much planning, commitment and deep knowledge of the class dynamics.
Educators are developing many alternative teaching methods to better help their increasingly diverse students reach their potential in an inclusive environment. Among all these options, Co-Teaching is emerging as a very effective approach. Co-teaching occurs when two professionals, a content expert and a learning specialist, partner in delivering instruction, in a way that responds to differences in readiness, interest and learning profiles, and it meets the needs of all students in the classroom. In addition, Co-Teaching is supported by brain research and constructivist theories and should be carefully planned to be an effective approach that allows all learners to feel successful. In this article, four Co-Teaching models are examined:
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One Teach/One Observe - during the Beginning Stage at the start of the teachers’ collaboration,
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One Teach/One Assist and Alternative Teaching - during the Compromising Stage and,
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Station Teaching - during the Collaborating Stage, after Co-Teaching skills and relationships have strengthened.
The research took place in two classrooms of ACS Athens Middle School (Science 7 ESL and Math 6). Both researchers were familiar with the content of the subject and had worked previously with the students in the Optimal Learning Program. In addition, both researchers hold Elementary Teaching degrees that provide special education knowledge as well.
For Co-Teaching to occur between two professionals there has to be a time when both educators are available, so that they can meet and discuss how they are going to work together. This has been one of the hardest parts of this journey. In Science 7 ESL, we didn’t have a great deal of face-to-face communication outside of class, but rather corresponded through emails and quick discussions just before the Co-Teaching class. We managed to reach sufficient planning, however, and while we believe that the current model was quite effective, we understand that more time is needed. We didn’t only focus on specific students, but on the whole class, and according to general students needs. We mostly formed groups of students in OLP (mixed or not), when using the Alternative Teaching model. We worked with groups of students in OLP, ESL students or students that were struggling in the specific subject areas. In Math 6, we joined forces later in the year and for this reason we followed the “One Teach/One Assist” model for a longer time period. The curriculum was designed by the content teacher and the special educator followed through in her lead. The special educator focused on those students enrolled in OLP and their specific needs. In both Science 7 ESL and Math, we have been visiting the classes twice per week, for the whole period discussed.
The only way to assess whether our methods effectively supported the students was to observe their grades and their overall engagement within the classroom. This method gave specific students the opportunity to be taught in an intense and individualized manner and with greater instructional intensity. Also, the full time inclusion had a significant advantage compared to the partial inclusion. Students did not have to be pulled out of their class, so they were not negatively stigmatized and thus felt more connected with the rest of their class. Help was provided to students not enrolled in OLP as well: There were many students in the ESL program who faced difficulty understanding the content taught and were chosen to work in groups with the students of the OLP as well. We were able to see significant findings for grades, higher scores in tests, higher rate of attendance and lower rate of school suspension. The students we worked with started interacting significantly more with the teachers within the class environment, while receiving more individual instruction during Co-Teaching and feeling more connected with their peer group.
While the teachers' relationship was strengthened, we transitioned from one delivering instruction and one observing or assisting a group of struggling students, to both teachers being actively involved in instruction, and students rotating from teacher to teacher.
The good news is that students had a positive response to Co-Teaching, as they saw their grades improving and they felt more self-assured to participate in class, all the while becoming more confident about their answers and ideas. The hardest thing that two co-teaching professionals are asked to do is to design a program that meets the needs of all students in one class, and while also addressing differences in readiness, interest and learning profiles. It is believed that for a co-teaching method to be successful and effective, it must be planned very carefully. It requires both professionals to work effecitvely together and establish a special relationship that allows them to respect and understand each other, while setting personal and team goals, to increase the achievement levels of all students.
Having two minds facilitate a classroom community allows students to connect with different personalities. Co-teaching allows more opportunities for small group and one-to-one learning, and stronger modeling during lessons. Additionally, it is interesting to note that co-teaching experience is beneficial not only for students but also for teachers. Teachers need to work hard with each other to maintain fluidity and must have open communication with one another in order to learn from each other’s expertise and expand the scope of their teaching capacity. Co- teaching, encourages two teachers to bounce ideas off each other in order to deliver the strongest, most creative lessons. When students experience their teachers working together, they understand the power of respect amongst peers.
