So, starting off our first blog discussion: What did anyone find interesting or what questions arose from the reading? For instance, on page 65 near the bottom of the page I wanted to know: How can triggers of low expectations and stereotypes (which is a societal and cultural phenomenon) be explicitly removed and what would that look like in an individual classroom setting?
And to tie back to our best practices thread, what practices in this chapter did you see that were positive? Which practices were less positive and how might we work to change them? Or how might it be done better?
I thought that the passage on page 65 was very interesting also. I think that the first step a teacher can take to diminish the effects of stereotype threat is to explicitly state that you have high expectations for all students in the class, and that you believe that all students are capable of achievement at the same level. Knowing that their teacher has faith in their abilities can really change students' attitudes. When I took Math in Elementary School, I learned that many students believe that their abilities in math and other subjects can be inherited. They believe that if their parents struggled in school that there is something innate that determines ability. It is up to the teacher to dispel this notion, and reassure students that their achievement depends on themselves, not on their parents, race, or "track." Students notice when a teacher treats students of different abilities or races differently from one another. Teachers need to be aware of this, and praise and push academically all students equally.
ReplyDeleteAs both books mention, another way to get rid of low expectations and stereotypes is to stop ability tracking in schools altogether. Those students in lower tracks know that their teachers expect less of them, and that they are getting "easier" material to learn than those students in advanced courses. They sense that their teachers expect them to be rowdy, and possibly troublemakers. In my experience, teachers of lower track classes display less trust in the students. If all students were integrated into the same classrooms, this bias and difference in expectations would diminish.
Above, Katelyn mentioned tracking as a negative practice, so I would like to expand this idea even further. On page 52 Linda Darling-Hammond states that tracking begins as early as kindergarten. To a certain extent, parents have some control over tracking at an early age based on the school or programs they enroll their children in. I do not have a problem with parents wanting to do what they believe is best for their child and utilizing all the available resource. What I find shocking is the educators that begin the tracking process at such a young age. How can you look at the faces of such small children and determine who should be more successful? In this chapter, Darling-Hammond mentions that the teacher and the way he or she teaches the curriculum has more of an affect on standardized tests than socioeconomic status. I think it is time that we stop using socioeconomic status as an excuse for lower achievement. Of course there will be special considerations with students in a lower class, but it is no reason to replace college prep classes with vocational training (another theme that Darling-Hammond noted in Chapter 2).
ReplyDeleteIn regards to the second part of the question, "Which practices were less positive and how might we work to change them?" I think all teachers need to take more time with students who may be struggling rather than send them off to a lower tier and expect them not to succeed. All educators need to put on their clinical teaching hats. Clinical teachers enjoy teaching and believe they can make a difference in the life and learning of a student. They work hard to tailor the curriculum to the student's needs. They are formally and informally assessing their students to get them up to the desired level. Another way to improve would be integration as Katelyn also mentioned. Students often times are the best teachers. It doesn't make sense to put students into different tracks when everyone has something to learn from and teach to their fellow peers.
Haley's comment about tracking starting in Kindergarten reminded me of a different section from LDH, about early learning opportunities addressed on page 33. "30-40% of children enter kindergarten without the social or emotional skills and language experiences to initially be successful in school". It makes me deeply disappointed to think that falling through the cracks of the education system can start so early. Thinking that children may not have a chance to excel and are behind before they start school could be why there are so many "low preforming students", maybe they where never given a chance to excel and move from they "low track" to the middle or higher "track" because they were labeled as "low" performers from the start. LDH's section on limited early learning opportunities makes me wonder if programs like "Pre-K for SA" will have a long term impact in the readiness of students to enter school and not be labeled as "unprepared or low performers"?
DeleteI think Katelyn's idea about having high expectations for all students and making that explicit would be very helpful to remove the low expectations and stereotypes some teachers hold. I also believe students come into classrooms with preconceived notions about subjects they are better at and as teachers I think we need to try to help students understand they can learn anything. Additionally I think race needs to be addressed in the classroom to eradicate stereotypes of students for teachers and classmates. In a Sociology class I took last semester I learned a lot of people don't know that race is not biological, but a social construct meaning there is not a biological gene distinct from one race to another. I think this concept would help students realize the commonalities with different classmates versus the differences.
ReplyDeleteAn interesting concept LDH pointed out was the attention the achievement gap gets in America compared to the "opportunity gap." In other education classes we've discussed a sense of entitlement students with a higher socioeconomic status receive from their parents. Higher SES students are brought up with certain cultural advantages lower SES students are denied such as going to a museum or vacations to other countries. Classes should be integrated so students have a chance to share their experiences with each other and improve every student's learning. Another difference in educational resources is the lack of expert teachers in the poorer school districts. How do you think this problem with a lack of well-qualified teachers in mainly minorities schools should be solved or addressed?
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ReplyDeleteTwo thoughts as I'm following this thread:
ReplyDelete1. ISA has untracked classes - all are on the Pre-AP or AP curriculum. There is a problem in math with tracking based on 8th grades courses - and still - all the other courses are integrated, included, and therefore have high expectations and have to come with scaffolding, differentation, student support, etc.
2. Jazmin's question about the lack of well-qualified teachers particularly in schools with students of color or students with challenging socioeconomic backgrounds brings to mind an editorial I read recently - here's a line and a link: "It is negligent to perpetually deny our most vulnerable students access to fully certified and experienced teachers through public policy."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/08/27/how-the-public-is-deceived-about-highly-qualified-teachers/?fb_action_ids=10202153728147839&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=aggregation&fb_aggregation_id=288381481237582
And I should have said with #1 that - therefore - we know it's possible to have untracked schools - and ISA is not the only one! Plus they also have a lottery admissions system too!
ReplyDeleteThe question mentioned the low expectations and stereotypes that are associated with students and Katelyn mentioned having high expectations for students in the classroom. I think that this is essential in order to help students succeed. I can think of several special teachers whose classes I worked harder in than other teachers. What was special about those teachers was that while they taught it was evident that they cared deeply and thought very highly of all of their students. Those teachers wanted me to succeed, so I wanted so much to succeed for them.
ReplyDeleteI usually think of qualification as something that is mostly knowledge and the teacher qualification that Darling-Hammond discusses is "certification, subject-matter background, pedagogical training, selectivity of college attended, test scores, or experience" (LDH 43). Is having high expectations for students something that great and qualified teachers learn or is it a natural quality of passionate and qualified teachers? I think it's probably both.
Maybe a part of this issue is that the teachers that are more qualified are the ones who planned to be teachers (and therefore planned the education they needed and the required path to become qualified teachers) and the less certified or alternative certification teachers are those who did not plan to be teachers or decided to become teachers more as an afterthought. Then it would make sense that the more qualified teachers are more passionate about teaching and perhaps more caring towards their students, pushing students further with high expectations.
To preface what I'm about to say, I absolutely don't agree with tracking systems - I think they're detrimental to a child's learning development, as well as their self-confidence. I think the method that Dr. Breidenstein mentioned that they use at ISA with no tracks, just electives, is the ideal for a successful school to nurture productive and motivated students. My school was similar in that it didn't have "tracks" per se, however there were math classes that were either identified as enhanced (for slower learners) and advanced (for gifted math students). The middle road for everyone else didn't have a name, so we referred to it as "normal" math. Giving classes different names is similar to the tracking system because if you were not a part of the "normal" math, that meant you weren't normal. I myself had to join the enhanced group after I couldn't handle trigonometry with the middle group. The quality of teacher was far different - he let the students walk all over him and rarely taught anything and rather just gave good grades. I never actually learned math due to this environment.
ReplyDeleteTo play devil's advocate, I want to mention what I viewed at Jackson middle school pre-AP english class. This is an elective class that any 8th or 7th grade student can take, regardless of their ability. I also don't really like this system, because as I observed the range in student aptitude for the subject ranged too much for the teacher to be able to control. She told me that some students are not ready for the material and that it's holding back the other students because she can't continue to move on when many students are far behind. Therefore, I think both sides of this can be argued, but that there must be some way that the advanced students aren't held back, but also that the slower learners don't feel any different from the other students. I, however, cannot think of the solution to this conundrum.
Can anyone else think of other ways to teach to a class of varied level learners (after all you can have as many learning styles and comfort with different subjects as you have kids in the classroom)? How do you make sure every student gets what they need? Maybe include activities such as group work/discussions/reviews or study groups of topics or peer tutoring?
DeleteI think that one way to learners of all levels is to structure the class in a way that 1. The teacher introduces/teaches the new concept 2. The class works in groups 3. The class does individualized work. Within the group work and individual work, there should be a variety of activities. One day the activity could be more visual and the next day it could be more hands on or even a combination of learning styles. One thing that Trinity education has taught me is the power of autonomy. I think giving students the option to choose how they execute a concept really allows students to process the information and learn. For example, letting students create posters with lots of images if they are more visual, letting students write papers if they prefer, or even allowing oral presentations. I think students become more engaged when they have a say.
DeleteI'd be curious about how you (Elizabeth) describe the need for the teacher to be "in control"... Haley offers some great suggestions - in fact a vision - for the students to be more "in control" of their learning - autonomy. Perhaps when teachers learn to give up control (and can you really control someone's learning?) and share it and hand it over and also provide structures and practices -- a philosophy and practices - then... I think these themes echo through RHS and some of the panels and discussions we've been having? Because if you really think about it - is everyone ever in the same place? How can 10, 20, 30 students -- or even 2 -- share the same knowledge and skills?
DeleteI think we all agree that tracking harms students in the classroom. However, Elizabeth's example of her experience with an untracked class poses a problem for educators to address the different students' learning levels and students who are being disadvantaged. I think as teachers, it is our job to establish a cohesive curriculum in which students are learning to their full potential. I've learned in other educational classes that some teachers address this learning differentiation by giving different options for homework or projects. The options range from easy to hard with the students deciding their work load. The problem would be students always choosing the easiest option, but if teachers tell students about the high expectations they have, I think students would continually push their abilities further. If schools were to get rid of tracking there has to be a way to deal with teacher's limitations in teaching diverse learners. How do you think schools should handle preparing teachers for diversity?
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