Kimberly Eick

691
May 27, 2014
APA Writing Practice
1. Reference citations: Paraphrase four ideas (two from each source) in your own words
from the excerpts given. Varying your presentation, provide in-text citations for each
paraphrase.
In reading the Reducing Class Size Leads to Individualized Instruction, in the
Educational Leadership, 2009, author is John A. Zahorik gives an insight to the
advantages of reduced classroom sizes. The advantages range from a family like setting
to completing grade level curriculum before the end of the school year to knowing the
needs of the students and meeting those needs.
After reading Marsh and Willis excerpt in Curriculum: Alternative Approaches,
Ongoing Issues, on page 323 I learned that in order to assign accountability to one
teacher for a lesson taught is inaccurate. The accountability to responsibility should be
shared with the personal involved in creating the lesson as well as the teacher.
Accountability can only go as far as the people will accept responsibility for.

2. Seriation within a paragraph: From the Marsh and Willis article, give three short reasons
why teachers cannot control everything in the curriculum. Write introductory sentences
to the issue, followed by the seriation. Remember to cite your source. (See p. 41 of
Cheryl Prentices APA manual.)
After reading the Marsh and Willis (1995) article I deducted three reasons why
teachers cannot control everything in the curriculum that they teach. First, they do not
create their own entire curriculum. Second, they cannot control the audience. Lastly,
teachers cannot control the environment that they teach in. With these three reasons it is a
wonder that teachers are able to accomplish what teaching they do.
3. Seriation, numerical list: You will use your own experience, not the print sources, to
complete this task. Briefly describe your role as a professional. Provide some
introductory sentences and then, using complete sentences, list the three most important
aspects of your work. (See page 42.)
I am currently employed as a High school CD teacher. I have 12 students on my
case load. I have 5 paraprofessionals working in my classroom. If I had to choose three of
my most important aspects of my work they would be in order of importance:
1. I need to be a good listener, for me this is the most important because without
the ability to listen you lose the students as well as the paraprofessionals
respect and the communication.
2. I need to be flexible, I never know how my students are going to come to
school, how there night /morning was, if they got enough to eat I need to
remain flexible to accommodate my students needs.
3. I need to be a good planner/ organizer, every day I need to have multiple plans
and ideas going to keep the students going and excited to learn.

My classroom has been compared to a circus with me as the ringmaster. I have various
levels and abilities all working at the same time.
4. Short quotations: Give four short quotations, two from each source. Preface two quotes
with a sentence in your own words. In the other two, make the quotation part of a
complete sentence. This is to give you practice in APA writing style.
In the current education setting smaller classrooms have proven to be a benefit to students as
well as teachers. According to Zahorik (2009) Teachers come to know students personally, and
they have a much greater understanding of each students place in the learning cycle. He
continues by stating (2009) stress is reduced; enthusiasm and satisfaction increase, and
educators begin to implement teaching procedures that they know will benefit students.
Teachers do not always develop their own lesson plans. In Curriculum: Alternative
Approaches (323), Various individuals and groups, therefore, ordinarily share responsibility for
the intended and actual curricula. Therefore teachers should always be held responsible for
sound practice, there is always the temptation, nonetheless, to hold them responsible for what
their students do or do not learn. (323)
5. Long or block quotations: Give two long quotations, one from each excerpt. Compose
an introduction for each of the quotes. (40+ words)
Smaller classroom settings have many benefits as stated by Zahorik (2009) Although
individualization is the main product of teaching in small-size classes, some increase in the use
of hands-on activities, such as manipulative activities, interest centers, and cooperative groups,
occurs because of less student misbehavior and greater teacher enthusiasm. These activities,
then, also contribute to increased student achievement.
Responsibility and accountability can only go so far as to what standards people are held to.
According to Marsh and Willis (1995), Efforts to fix responsibility for what happens in
education have been growing steadily since the 1970s under the name of accountability. The
basic rationale for accountability is that when people are held responsible for their performance,
their weaknesses can be identified and eliminated. Accountability does not work, however, if
responsibility cannot be fixed.

6. References: On a separate page, construct a reference list in APA style. You will need to
use correct formatting for the two articles in this packet.
Marsh, C. J., & Willis, G. (1995). Curriculum: alternative approaches, ongoing issues.
Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall.
Zahorik, J. Class Size Leads to Individualized Instruction. Educational Leadership, 57,
51.