University of Phoenix Material

Reliable Sources Worksheet

Locate two sources in the University Library on a topic of your choice. Provide the required information for both sources.

Source 1

• Author: Zimmerman, Barry J., Bonner, Sebastian, Kovach, Robert • Date: 19970301 • Title: Developing self-regulated learners: Beyond achievement to self-efficacy. • Publication: Book; Authored Book

Write a 100- to 150-word response to each of the following questions:

• Is the source reliable? How do you know?

Yes, the source is reliable due to the fact that the Authors of the book are Graduates from City University of New York. The authors graduated with degrees in psychology. The book is in the PsycINFO database, which means that it is a reliable source. The Full Text Database is PsycBOOKS, Which is The American Psychological Association. There are only scholarly and professional titles published by APA; Which also includes recent titles in psychological and behavioral science. PsycBOOKS.com is upgraded monthly which to me would mean that all the information is currently up to date. The PsycBOOKS® database is produced and copyrighted by the American Psychological Association (APA).

• Is the information relevant to the topic?

Yes, the information is relevant; This source shows that teachers have many ways to look at grading papers. The information also shows how a teacher may use the grammar and sentences starches to gage how much time the student put in to the paper. As we read on, we see the author has some good ideas on how to improve the student’s studying and writing skills; this source also gives tips to teachers to push their student to their full potential. The author gives the teacher tools to work with to be a self-regulated learner. We have a good grasp on some new ideas in teaching tools and how not to give up and move forward to move ahead.

• Does the information reflect a bias on the author’s part? If so, what is the bias?

The author tells the reader to look for signs of poor writing, like run on sentences, bad punctuation and more. The author then goes on to suggest that this is a sign of a writer who did not spend any time on researching or preparing for the project. I found that to be misguided information. This suggests that the students who have fallen through the cracks are lazy and need to be graded for the lack of effort. The author did not think of (or apparently even care that) the student just might have difficulty learning. As a student who has this type of difficulty, I found myself getting upset. The author also says to ‘ask the writer, to tell the teacher. how they thought they did.’ And then to add or take away grade points in response to the students’ answer.

Source 2

• Author: Hanson, Trudy L • Date: Fall 2004 • Title: An oral storytelling approach to teaching writing in the primary grades • Publication: Storytelling, Self, Society

Write a 100- to 150-word response to each of the following questions:

• Is the source reliable? How do you know?

Yes, this source is reliable; this article helps those that have poor writing skills and gives the reader a great way to learn how to write better. The whole focus of this article is to pin point a way to write easier and be a great writer. It is a well-rounded article about how students in elementary school may be taught to write for an hour a day to help improve their writing. It can be sent up the latter to higher education levels, as well and even be a good habit to teach in college this is why I feel it is a very reliable source.

• Is the information relevant to the topic?

The information in this article is relevant the topic it describes. This publication explains how students who are in elementary school can benefit from writing for an hour a day. This article explains that the techniques described would help improve writing skills not only in the elementary levels can be carried ahead into junior high and high school where it could develop other student skills even more.

• Does the information reflect a bias on the author’s part? If so, what is the bias?

Yes, this article describes in detail maybe a bit too much on how writing for a minimum of at least an hour a day. This publication is very interesting in this regard and the author is very adamant of teaching your children to write for an hour a day. It seems however her ideas have not caught on in schools in a wide spectrum. Even though the author has promoted her ideas around to a variety of different educational institutions.