Guidelines for Writing a Commencement Address The draft you write for consideration does not need to be a final version, but should give the panelists a clear idea of what you plan to say in your speech. The traditional commencement address has had content which reflects back on the class's experiences and also gives advice or guidance for the future. The tone should be one which inspires and motivates the listeners. Although the Commencement Address is directed at the graduating class, the message needs to be meaningful and appropriate for the adult audience present as well. Content, language, or style which parents or grandparents might find offensive is not suitable for a Commencement Address. Humor can be an effective minor element of a Commencement Address. The predominant message, and consequently the predominant writing style, should be serious, thoughtful and inspirational. Format: This a general map of graduation speeches. It is not required. Feel ...
Early in my teaching career, I was given the opportunity to move into the honors and accelerated English classes. It was an awesome experience, and I learned quite a bit about good and bad teaching through my experience with those very motivated and ambitious students. After a number of years however, I knew it was time for a change, and I transitioned into the role of a reading specialist and began to work with students who really struggled both with reading and with school. It was a dramatic shift. In my honors classes, students would want to argue over a point they missed on their essays, papers, and tests. In my reading intervention classes, students weren’t interested about how or why they lost a point here or there, they were more interested in why they had to do the assignment or activity in the first place. I learned real quickly that before I could do anything to help them develop their academic literacies, I had to g...
Another academic practice that contributes to growing a student's self-efficacy is that of goal setting. Goal setting has actually received a considerable amount of attention within the field of educational research. In fact, Locke and Latham (1990) consolidated that research into some important findings about what goal setting offers students. Goal setting allows students to focus their attention and direct it toward a future target. It prepares them to adjust their effort to account for the demands of a given task and it enables them to develop persistence in long-term projects. Successfully working towards a goal promotes creative thinking in relation to unexpected obstacles, and establishes a reference point from which growth or progress can be measured. Research within the field also suggests that students are more willing to invest in cla...
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