This is a critical point. Allowing middle class families to pick and choose where there kids should go without valid reasons (i.e. work) can hurt high poverty schools.
Residential poverty tends to be concentrated, and successful school integration requires either a district with enough socioeconomic diversity within its boundaries or a group of neighboring districts which, when combined, have enough diversity to facilitate an interdistrict integration plan.
ndividual success stories and a review of research suggest that it is possible, by offering all students a single challenging curriculum, to reduce the achievement gap without harming the highest achievers (Burris, Wiley, Welner, & Murphy, 2008; Rui, 2009).
In the middle grades, students at City Neighbors start their day with half an hour of highly specialized, small-group instruction called intensive. Intensive provides an opportunity for extra support or enrichment in different subjects, allowing teachers to meet different students' needs while still teaching most of the academic time in mixed-ability classrooms.
Sounds like an intervention block, something many buildings have or are looking at.
small but growing number of schools are attempting to boost the achievement of low-income students by shifting enrollment to place more low-income students in mixed-income schools. Socioeconomic integration is an effective way to tap into the academic benefits of having high-achieving peers, an engaged community of parents, and high-quality teachers.
A 2010 meta-analysis found that students of all socioeconomic statuses, races, ethnicities, and grade levels were likely to have higher mathematics performance if they attended socioeconomically and racially integrated schools (Mickelson & Bottia, 2010).
Research supporting socioeconomic integration goes back to the famous Coleman Report, which found that the strongest school-related predictor of student achievement was the socioeconomic composition of the student body (Coleman et al., 1966).
nd results of the 2011 National Assessment of Educational Progress in mathematics show steady increases in low-income 4th graders' average scores as the percentage of poor students in their school decreases (U.S. Department of Education, 2011).
a number of studies have found that the relationship between student outcomes and the socioeconomic composition of schools is strong even after controlling for some of these factors, using more nuanced measures of socioeconomic status, or comparing outcomes for students randomly assigned to schools (Reid, 2012; Schwartz, 2012).
Rumberger and Palardy (2005) found that the socioeconomic composition of the school was as strong a predictor of student outcomes as students' own socioeconomic status.
Socioeconomic integration is a win-win situation: Low-income students' performance rises; all students receive the cognitive benefits of a diverse learning environment (Antonio et al., 2004; Phillips, Rodosky, Muñoz, & Larsen, 2009); and middle-class students' performance seems to be unaffected up to a certain level of integration.
A recent meta-analysis found "growing but still inconclusive evidence" that the achievement of more advantaged students was not harmed by desegregation policies (Harris, 2008, p. 563).
he findings suggested that, more than a precise threshold, what mattered in these schools was maintaining a critical mass of middle-class families, which promoted a culture of high expectations, safety, and community support.
istricts have chosen to let school boundaries reflect or even amplify residential segregation.
Panteleeva, Y., Ceschi, G., Glowinski, D., Courvoisier, D. S., & Grandjean, D. (2018). Music for anxiety? Meta-analysis of anxiety reduction in non-clinical samples. Psychology of Music, 46(4), 473–487. https://doi.org/10.1177/0305735617712424
Anxiety affects up to 28.8% of the population in Western countries
nxiety disorders are the most prevalent mental illnesses worldwide
Moreover, in the last decade, there has been a growing interest in an evidence-based approach to studying the impact of music listening on anxiety, as measured by self-report measures (subjective reactions toward a stressful situation) or psychophysiological markers (objective indicators of anxiety, such as increasing heart rate).
"Students who take part in physical exercises like star jumps or running on the spot during school lessons do better in tests than peers who stick to sedentary learning, according to a UCL-led study.
The meta-analysis of 42 studies around the world, published in British Journal of Sports Medicine, aimed to assess the benefits of incorporating physical activity in academic lessons. This approach has been adopted by schools seeking to increase activity levels among students without reducing academic teaching time."
The online learning paradigm grid from Stephenson and Coomey’s meta-analysis of online learning research articles identifies 4 quadrants where the opportunities for learning range from teacher-controlled to learner-managed and from specified tasks through to open-ended and strategic activities.
"Pedagogically I needed a way to describe the diversity of pedagogical approaches and how they could all have a place within the practice of a teacher. It certainly lead to a lot of thinking and reflection .."
Stanford University Study of Writing - Some interesting findings with regards to pupils ability to choose appropriate register/tone/vocabulary depending on their audience...
Four other studies (three of which are dissertations) assessed behavioral treatments forMPA on music students. Grishman (1989) and Mansberger (1988) used standard musclerelaxation techniques, Wardle (1969) compared insight/relaxation and systematic desensi-tisation techniques, and Deen (1999) used awareness and breathing techniques
A systematic review of all available treatment studies for music performance anxiety was undertaken.
reported that 24% of musicians frequently suffered stage fright, defined in this study as themost severe form of MPA, 13% experienced acute anxiety and 17% experienceddepression.
59% of musicians in symphony orchestras reported performance anxiety severe enough toimpair their professional and/or personal functioning.
A recent study indicated that MPA is not limited to orchestralmusicians, showing that opera chorus artists are also prone to high levels of performanceanxiety
However, since not allperformers suffer the same degree of MPA, or indeed report the same levels of occupationalstress, individual differences in a range of psychological characteristics are likely to accountfor variations in the degree to which musicians experience symptoms
A large number of treatment modalities (e.g., behavioral, cognitive, pharmacological andcomplementary) has been developed for music performance anxiety (MPA)
However, areview of this literature indicates that the field is still in its infancy with respect to theconceptual and theoretical formulations of the nature of MPA and its empiricalinvestigation.
Anxiety may be triggered by conscious,rational concerns or by cues that trigger, unconsciously, earlier anxiety producingexperiences or somatic sensations.
These findings suggest that multi-modal interventions are needed toaddress the multiple difficulties experienced by test anxious individuals.
with some focusing on behavioral change, some on cognitivechange, others on reduction of physiological symptoms through the use of pharmacotherapy,and some on idiosyncratic formulations
For drug studies, the keywords were beta-blocker [Beta blockers block the effect ofadrenaline (the hormone norepinephrine) on the body’s beta receptors. This slows downthe nerve impulses that travel through the heart. As a result, the resting heart rate is lower,the heart does not have to work as hard and requires less blood and oxygen
Brodsky (1996) and Nube´(1991) were most useful.
The interventionsassessed included systematic desensitization, progressive muscle relaxation, awareness andbreathing and behavioural rehearsal
In summary, behavioral treatments do appear to be at least minimally effective in thetreatment of MPA, although the heterogeneity of the treatment approaches employedmakes it difficult to isolate consistent evidence for the superiority of any one type ofbehavioral intervention
Two studies (see Tables II and IV) assessed the therapeutic effect of cognitive techniquesalone on MPA.
A dissertation by Patston (1996) reported a comparison of cognitive (e.g.positive self-talk, etc.) and physiological strategies in the treatment of MPA. No significantimprovements on vocal and visual manifestations of performance anxiety were found foreither treatment or control groups. However, the sample consisted of only 17 operastudents who were not specifically selected on the basis of their MPA severity, and theintervention was conducted by the author, a singer and teacher, who had no training inpsychology.
Three studies (see Table III) assessed the therapeutic effect of cognitive-behavioralstrategies on MPA. Harris (1987), Roland (1993), and Kendrick et al. (1982) all reportedthat standard CBT techniques were effective in the treatment of MPA in studentsspecifically selected for study because of the severity of their MPA.
Harris (1987) and Roland(1993) reported that CBT led to reductions in state anxiety as measured by the STAI,although Kendrick et al. (1982) failed to find a significant difference between treatment andcontrol groups on this measure.
The evidence for improvements in MPA following CBT is quite consistent, althoughfurther studies with larger samples are needed to confirm this evidence.
Beta-blockers have become increasingly popular among performers in recent years. Forexample, Lockwood (1989), in a survey of 2,122 orchestral musicians, found that 27% usedpropranolol to manage their anxiety prior to a performance; 19% of this group used thedrug on a daily basis.
Nube´ (1991) identified nine studies examining the effects of various beta-blockers(Atenolol, Metopolol, Nadolol, Oxprenolol, Propranolol, Pindolol) on MPA.
The findings regarding the effects of beta blockers on otheroutcome measures were less conclusive.
A rigorous definition of MPA is needed to advance treatment. However, defining MPA as asocial anxiety (social phobia) using criteria set out in DSM-IV-TR (APA, 2000) as theinclusion criteria may be too restrictive, particularly if the musician presenting for treatmentexperiences MPA as a focal anxiety (ie does not meet other criteria for social anxiety).
Few ofthe intervention studies reviewed acknowledged that performers need a certain amount ofarousal or anxiety to maximise their performance.
None of the studies could be pooled in a meta-analysis primarily because too fewprovided sufficient data to calculate effect sizes, use of diverse subject groups andtreatments, duration and intensity of treatment, and use of disparate outcome measures
In conclusion, the literature on treatment approaches for MPA is fragmented, incon-sistent, and methodologically weak. These limitations make it difficult to reach any firmconclusions about the effectiveness of the various treatment approaches reviewed. Forsignificant progress to be made, future research will require a clear definition of MPA,consistency and strength in methodology, and the development of robust and appropriateoutcome measures.