I C A N
Studying the emotions and thoughts by using psychoanalysis
Most students struggle with analysis — observing a set of facts and interpreting what they mean. Given that almost any writing assignment, from a school book report to a college dissertation, requires analysis, it’s incumbent on teachers to help students improve their analytical skills.
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ICAN knows this really, really well!
Students often do a fairly decent job of identifying facts to analyze, but they fall short of generating a complete analysis that draws a persuasive conclusion from those facts. The key to closing this gap is to teach the fundamentals of analysis outside a writing assignment.
The ICAN Fundamentals of Analysis
We teach the skill separately
All too often, teachers assume students can complete a task like “analyze” even though they haven’t been taught how to do it.
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Pointing out where the skill is missing in a paper is the easy part. What really matters is teaching the skill to students outside of an assignment so that they understand it. Learning the skill in a separate setting helps them see how to apply it, then truly master it.
Practice first
Before assigning an essay that requires analysis, ICAN teachers do an analysis activity in class where they ask students to analyze a general topic where opinions are likely to vary. Visual pieces are quickly consumed and often enable students to generate thoughtful analysis quite easily.
Teachers should first select a piece for analysis and then ask students to interpret the piece in the classroom. Before starting an analysis as a class, ask students to write their interpretations down independently.
Pushing for evidence to support conclusions
Getting students to dig into the reasons why their evidence proves their arguments helps them see the level of analysis they need to fully develop a point. Teachers should explain to students that pointing out their reasons for reaching a conclusion may feel obvious, but it is this step that shows how all the evidence relates — and it varies by person because each of us interprets facts differently.
Reviewing analysis in writing
After students understand what true analysis looks like and they have completed their written assignments, have them bring drafts into class to review with peers. In the workshop, ask students to identify each piece of evidence they see in their partner’s writing. Next, ask them to go through and find the point of analysis for all the evidence that connects it back to their argument. If it doesn’t exist, then the analysis isn’t present or complete. This process allows them to see where they can expand their analysis to better connect their ideas to the thesis or central point.
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Ultimately, analysis is a difficult concept for students to master because they often think that identifying evidence is analysis. However, once students have been shown an easy way to dissect evidence and connect it back to a central point, they can apply this skill in more complicated arguments and texts. This process will help make their writing more complete and interesting, and it will develop a fundamental skill they will need throughout their academic careers.
The Importance of Analysis
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To analyze means to break something down into its parts and examine them. Analyzing is a vital skill for successful readers. Analyzing a text involves breaking down its ideas and structure to understand it better, think critically about it, and draw conclusions.
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Having a strong grasp of data means you can save time by not relying on others to pull data, make dashboards, automate simple tasks, and derive insights. Likewise, without the analytical skills to make data-driven decisions, it’s very easy to make wrong decisions which are very costly in terms of time and money.
Data Analysis is Utilized at ICAN
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Data analysis can provide a snapshot of what students know, what they should know, and what can be done to meet their academic needs. With appropriate analysis and interpretation of data, educators can make informed decisions that positively affect student outcomes.
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Data Analysis is a process of inspecting, cleansing, transforming, and modeling data with the goal of discovering useful information, suggesting conclusions, and supporting decision-making. Data analytics allow us to make informed decisions and to stop guessing.
ICAN has The Analyzer! By using data analysis, it is used to get the accurate level of the student in the following criteria:
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4 Macro Language Skills: Reading, Writing, Interview and Listening(Comprehension and Note-Taking)
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5 Articulation Skills: Narrative, Descriptive, Expository, Argumentative and Persuasive
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Fundamental Language Skills: Grammar and Vocabulary