Group items tagged

Closing Achievement Gaps: An Association Guide (NEA), (Pg, 18-19), 2015, Retrieved from http://www.nea.org/home/13550.htm Retrieved on 10/16/15 This article is extremely useful for teachers. The article delivers important information on strategies to use when trying to close the achievement gap.

List of ways that you can close the gap that can be used as a good starting point but does not provide any real substance.

This website provides tips and strategies that can be used in the classroom to help close the achievement gap. The strategies include family outreach, multiple learning opportunities and classroom support strategies

Instructional gap between black and white students and suggestions to reduce the achievement gap.

I have a problem with these comparisons, because what are we comparing? Suburban White children with Inner City Black children? I would rather see what differences occur within the same socio-economic range. Then we can discuss what the differences are and how to decrease the gap. Otherwise it's apples to oranges.

The first source I found appears to be useful for educators who may not be certified in ESOL, but have ELL students. It breaks down the different types of ELL learners and this could be important when planning and implementing activities. It also helps the teacher get to know the student better and show empathy and compassion. This article is related to "older" ELL students and our data is from a high school class, so therefore some of the solutions for success offered could help these students if implemented. I also like that it emphasizes teaching language through content. This is important because students might understand the general idea, but cannot make certain connections due to language barriers. Therefore, breaking through those barriers might be all the student need to make the connection desired. I also like that it provides questions with answers! This could be very helpful for our group!

In 2011, the NEA put out a C.A.R.E guide. This guide focuses on four areas that need to be recognized in order to close the achievement gaps in education. These areas are Culture, Abilities, Resilience, and Effort. The guide includes strategies and activities to be utilized by students and teachers in order to assist in closing the academic achievement gap that exists with low income students. EDTC 615, k-12

The achievement gap can be lowered if children are engaged in high quality play and learning before beginning kindergarten.

Caryn, I really enjoyed this article. It thoughtfully portrayed the fact that the achievement gap often starts long before students ever have their first day of kindergarten. For students who are not read to as young children, or engaged in meaningful play and projects, the first few school years are dramatically more difficult. Victoria

A 21-page study of Milton Public Schools addressing the achievement gap of special education students.

I find this interesting, considering we never question the tests. Teachers, Schools, Families, and School districts have been trying for years to close achievement gaps, yet the gap remains. I think it is time to stop discussing what we need to do and start looking at standardized tests as inappropriate.

This study suggests that policy makers need to re-examine how they view the educational gaps of students with disabilities, in that they are diverse in the range of disabilities that create these disparaties. Decision making to lessen the gap cannot look at a one size fits all solution when dealing with a heterogeneous sub-group.

This interesting article provides in depth research on retrieving an unbiased estimate of the causal effect of the Technical Support to Failing Schools (TSFS) Program on students' academic achievement. After reading this article I have a better understanding of the meaning of what TSFS is/does in efforts to estimate its program effect on students' academic achievement. The TSFS program can be applied throughout the world in various school systems by first training teachers thoroughly with the use of incorporating technology. The results in this article are noteworthy as it superseded the academic results the U.S. Title I program approach. Jennifer Smith

This article is spot on in suggesting that blended learning can help close the achievement gap. I worked in a high school with a very large population of ESL students and always felt as though I was not getting through to many of them. I would try many different strategies but not often successful. Using blended learning strategies, I feel as though I could start to really connect with my students and raise the success rate and confidence especially with my ESL students.

This research article describes how CRI is characterized by well-established best practices that ground the curriculum in the lives of its students, their families, and their communities in order to close the achievement gap.

This article discusses achievement gap and students' perceptions within the learning environment. These ideas and understandings are necessary as the teacher develops the classroom environment for learning and finds solutions for learning and instructional gaps.

This blog post explains the way to close the achievement gap in a mathematics classroom. The article touches upon stereotypes and ethnic and racial disparities, and other ways for educators to close the gap for their mathematics students.

Wow, what an interesting article! I'd never really considered racial inequality in math instruction before, but after reading the article, something to consider. One of the suggestions was to remove homework from math instruction due to some studetns unstable living situations. This makes sense and I think as teachers we often forget what some of our students are dealing with at home.

I really liked this article and the ideas in it. I try to celebrate the mistakes in my classroom, using them as a lesson within a lesson. I understand the point about homework, however I will continue to give my students homework. We are supposed to be preparing them for college. I don't remember one college class where most of my grade didn't come from work outside of class.

This article summarizes how one school used a blended differentiated curriculum to reduce the achievemnt gap between poor and wealthy students. What I found interesting about this approach is that the authors said, "That engagement in learning is enhanced when students' interests and choices are considered." This is a different approach to how some schools use differentiation and the change didn't happened over night. The school made a lot of adjustments, including re-writing the curriculum and setting specific learning objectives. However, they were successful because they saw an improvement in student achievement.

This is a scholarly article on the students perceptions of the climate in the gym and how it enhances their goals in physical education. It is interesting because there are times that we all have bad days, but we can't let that effect the climate of the gym if we want our students to be and feel successful!

This article explains how having data cycles as part of the school culture will increase student achievement. The data cycle consists assessment, analysis and action. Having this cycle in place will allow all stakeholders to monitor progress and make adjustments as needed to benefit student learning.

From a series of publications by the National Association of Elementary School Principals: "This white paper outlines five recommendations to help principals put student achievement data to the best possible use: 1) Make data part of the ongoing cycle of instructional improvement; 2) Teach students to examine their own data and set learning goals; 3) Establish a clear vision for school-wide data use; 4) Provide supports that foster a data-driven culture within the school; and 5) Develop and maintain a district-wide data system." Suggestions for how to implement these recommendations, along with links to video interviews and supporting documents, are given.

Having teachers experience "a day in the life of an ELL" can be powerful professional development-and at one school it's reportedly helped close the achievement gap. ELL 'Shadowing' Brings Instructional Gaps to Light, Liana Heitin (2011) Retrieved from http://www.edweek.org/tm/articles/2011/08/24/ell_shadowing.html Retrieved on 10/19/15 Great article with a fresh new idea!!!! This article tells the tale of "A teacher or administrator follows an English-language learner to several classes." I have "shadowed" in a classroom before, usually to observe the teacher. But the purpose of this shadowing is to look specifically at the student's use of academic language. Statistics show "English-language learners spend less than 2 percent of the school day improving their academic oral language." That number is completely unacceptable. I think we as teachers could all benefit from "shadowing" students. It does not have to just be ELL students we shadow. Reviewing data and becoming educated about the students who struggle would help with the shadowing process. Maybe we could start with shadowing the students who aren't improving in order to better understand why they are behind.

(Week 7: Michelle and Tolu) http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.umuc.edu/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=2&sid=537ab470-df86-45e4-b0e1-6a514e8ff2f5%40pdc-v-sessmgr05 This journal article is accessible through the link given above by accessing the UMUC library. This article reviews the literature relevant to games and simulation pedagogy in higher education. Two researchers collaborate to apply a qualitative method, coding and synthesizing the results using multiple criteria. The main objective is to study the impact of games and simulations with regard to achieving specific learning objectives. The article indicates that simulations have a positive impact on learning goals. The researchers identify three learning outcomes when integrating games into the learning process: cognitive, behavioral, and affective. This article can further instructional practices by providing g rationale for integrating simulations in academic curricula. Among the many reasons for including simulations in the classroom: they facilitate the transfer of knowledge, stimulate greater student engagement, and strengthen social development of students (Vlachopoulos & Makri, 2017). The article helps to ensure that the simulation is thoughtfully and deliberately introduced to minimize confusion and demonstrate how the simulation will reinforce course goals or objectives. References Vlachopoulos, D., & Makri, A. (2017). The effect of games and simulations on higher education: a systematic literature review [Entire issue]. International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, 14(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-017-0062-1