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donero37

Closing the Achievement Gap - Educational Leadership - 38 views

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    In order to increase the achievement levels of minorities and low income students, there are three components that are the focus: high standards, a rigorous curriculum, and effective educators.
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    Caryn, I like that this article not only realistically talks about the historic and growing achievement gap, but that it also provides potential solutions. Not surprisingly, most of the solutions whether they be standards, curriculum, or teacher-based are all easily manageable. The only trick is to actually get some forward momentum on this decade's old issue. Victoria
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    Caryn, I'm reminded of the old educational psychology experiment where teachers were given false information about student abilities. Teachers who were told that a class was full of 'high performing' pupils ended up doing more high end assignments and pushing the students to do better while teachers were told their pupils were 'low achieving' did remedial assignments and barely pushed them to improve. I teach in a very diverse and low SES school, but I always do my best to assume that all of my students are able to do the high level work I assign in Physics. I also agree whole heartedly when then article claimed that teachers have to give extra help to students who are already at a disadvantage. My students do quite well when they apply themselves, but often that means they have to see me during lunch, after school, or even on Saturdays (when I work at a Saturday school program). Many students have jobs to help out their families or need to be home right after school to babysit siblings or to cook supper, etc. I find that the more time I can devote to being available to students, the better my classes perform. I must say however I would like to see an update to this. When it was talking about the lack of progress of students in the 1990s and then discussed 'data in the last 5 years..' I had to scroll up to the date of the article. Being that it is almost 15 years old, I was sad to see how many of the gaps still exist in our schools...
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    Combining standards, high standards for all learners and highly qualified teachers helps to close the learning gap.
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    I was very interested in this article because I teach at a title 1 school in MCPS. Majority of my students are minorities or low income students. Our FARMS percentage is extremely high. I do not mean to repeat what Caryn had posted earlier but I mean to piggyback on her comment "To increase the achievement levels of minority and low-income students, we need to focus on what really matters: high standards, a challenging curriculum, and good teachers." I know this to be true in my classroom. For my students I have to high expectations and structure. I have to present them with a challenging curriculum. I need to devote myself and give them all I can. But, progress has come to a halt, which happened around 1988, and since that time, the gaps have widened. To me that is frightening and it makes me want to act immediately. "Because if we don't get the numbers out on the table and talk about them, we're never going to close the gap once and for all." People need to not be afraid of talking about the data, addressing the data, conquering the data. But in order for none to take offense everyone needs to know the correct data. Before speaking, people need to be educated. There simply cannot be "downright wrong-notions about the whys beneath the achievement gap." This article is great and goes on to give us proper data. It informs us of what needs to happen in order to close the gap: standards are key, all students must have challenging curriculum, students need extra help, and teachers MATTER A LOT.
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    Looks into why the instructional gap has widened after 1988 after having been narrowed the previous 18 years.  Offers patterns and key concepts to look at when trying to understand how to close these gaps.
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    I thoroughly enjoyed reading this article as it relates to the student achievement gap. I currently teach at a Title 1 school in Prince George's County where majority of my students are working at a level below their perspective grade. This article does a great job breaking down the statistics and providing steps to move forward in solving this major issue. Lesson 1 spoke to me directly because the teaching and comprehension of standards are the building blocks of students growth. I reinforce the focus standard(s) of the week by way of intervention, homework, informal, and formal assessment. This article is very VALUABLE!!!
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    I love the lessons outlined in this resource. I especially like how Lesson 4 places a focus on the teachers and how they matter. In impoverished schools, many times the most qualified and effective teachers do not want to be there, therefore limiting the quality of teachers present. It is unfortunate that this happens but it is very common.
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    Helpful article on closing the gap with low income and minority students.
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    While this article came out too long ago to have up to date technological solutions, it still offers a brief, helpful framework for looking to improve classroom outcomes.
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    Excellent resource laying out the achievement gap problem (with data) and valuable solutions to close the gap.
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    This resource does an excellent job of breaking down and making sense of the achievement gap. When the numbers are presented in this way, it makes it clear just how wide that gap is and how worrying it is that the gap is once again increasing. The most interesting piece of the article was the stark contrast in the reasons for the gap between adult stakeholders and student stakeholders. The adults appear to place blame on factors beyond the classroom that are difficult to control, while the students highlight the growing concerns within the walls of the schools that are much more actionable.
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    The points in this article are personal to me as I teach adults at a Community College. In every cohort that I have 50% of my students have difficulty writing a cogent paragraph and 90% of them have never heard of an academic journal. While this is not part of my curriculum, I also teach these things. My students need to be sent into the workforce being able to participate in conversations in the workplace.
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    The article really breaks down what happens to students during high school where they fall behind to move forward in attending college. One thing they mention is test scores. To attend college students have to take and pass a standardized test that determines of they will get into college and what college they can get into. I believe community college is a great way to bridge the gap between high school and a university. There they can determine a major and may attend school part time while still working. This gives them the time to determine what they want to do in life while still being able to survive.
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    We should understand how race, poverty and the environment influences a child's potential in education before they even start Kindergarten. But like a disabilites or inequities there is diversity in the factors that cause these disparities and our solutions to remedies these gaps must offer a multifaceted approach. An approach that offers rigors instruction in the classrooms, access and guidance for continued learning at home and within our communities.
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    This post hits home, as I see it at my Title I school. Students struggle but even the students passing AP classes and Honors courses, yet when they see the SAT's or the ACT's. Last year, my school's valedictorian only got a 1000 on the SAT and did not get to attend her first choice. We, as a school, and larger, we as educators need to ensure that we are doing everything we can to get these students to get past whatever challenges exist outside of the school and have strict standards that need to be met.
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    This a great resource for every teacher.
pgbelliveau

How Partners in School Innovation is addressing the Teaching Gap | Partners in School I... - 1 views

  • (“To Close the Achievement Gap, We Need to Close the Teaching Gap”),
  • The teaching gap refers to disparities between the working conditions and level of support for teachers in the United States and their counterparts in other industrialized nations. 
  • teachers in the U.S. have larger class sizes, spend more time directly teaching children
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  • work more hours per week than the international average.
  • Perhaps most importantly, U.S. teachers have less time for planning, collaboration and access to quality professional development when compared with teachers in other countries.
  • PLCs, including one that supported kindergarten teachers to integrate Common Core-aligned writing into their everyday practice.
  • eachers came together three times throughout the year to learn about the three genres of Common Core writing (narrative, informative and opinion), score writing assessments, analyze student writing samples, set writing goals for their students and plan writing instruction that specifically met the needs of English learners. The learning from the PLC was then supported through collaboration at their school sites throughout the year.
  • professional learning helped them make significant changes in their approaches to writing instruction, resulting in improved performance of kindergarten students. Specifically, those students outperformed all other grades on the district’s end-of-year writing assessment.
  • student achievement increases when teachers have time to learn and plan together.
  • teachers were able to consistently and systematically reflect on student data and their instructional practice. In addition, teachers created clear, measurable goals and designed instructional plans that met the needs of their English learners.
  • advocate for policies that will help close the teaching gap
  • providing development on the instructional shifts within the Common Core, supporting teachers to collaboratively design and refine CCSS-based units and lessons, and providing professional development on how to assess CCSS mastery.
  • providing opportunities for teachers to engage in professional development and collaboration around creating culturally and linguistically responsive lessons and classroom learning environments that reflect the identities of their students
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    This site provided an article that looked into what the organization, Partners in School Innovations is doing to "not just close the achievement gap, but the teaching gap." Results from a survey are shared regarding average class sizes and the time spent teaching versus the time spent planning. The article provides a case study of a school that focused on instructional gaps and its results. This is a great read for administrators, policymakers and other stakeholders.
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    I realize this has more to do with achievement gaps than specific gaps within a single classroom, but it has been my experience that targeted instruction to support a few helps every learner in the room.
sfcanady

​8 Proven Ways to Help Close the Achievement Gap | EdSurge News - 13 views

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    An informative and engaging article that provides eight solutions to tackling the achievement gap.  It is well organized and written with clear reasoning for each solution.
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    Emotional start, easy to read eight part checklist that can help bridge the instructional gap; good tools to make sure all is being done to properly cater towards the full comprehension of material by students.
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    This short article highlights years of research that examined the racial achievement gap. Research and finding suggest that much of what accounts for the disparities in achievement is attributed to socioeconomic factors. The article offers 8 ways for closing the gap among those most impacted based on the findings and best practices.
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    Great article. Another source of proof that higher levels of expectations and rigor really do help close the gap. I also like that they reinforce the value of school and home connection.
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    This article talks about using assessments to tell if interventions are working, this like a response to intervention. Raising the bar for the student to they can be successful. Monitor the students progress on a monthly basis and get the parents involved
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    When we met, April's mother was in drug rehabilitation and her father was in jail. She would stare at the ground and rarely utter a word. I was a sophomore in college and was serving as April's mentor; I feared that we might never develop a close relationship.
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    When we met, April's mother was in drug rehabilitation and her father was in jail. She would stare at the ground and rarely utter a word. I was a sophomore in college and was serving as April's mentor; I feared that we might never develop a close relationship.
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    I almost put this article up myself. Very moving.
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    This article highlights 8 ways to provide educational gains to students needing them most. The goal is closing the achievement gap between struggling learners and high performing students. 1. Use Evidence-Based Instruction, 2. Provide a Rigorous Curriculum, 3. Increase Instructional Time, 4. Introduce Supplemental Instruction, 5. Monitor Progress, Ideally Monthly, 6. Motivate & Engage, 7. Deepen Professional Development, 8. Link School and Home
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    This is a great article that highlights different things that can be done in the classroom to close the achievement gap the two that I think are most important are the increased instructional time, and link between school and home. I think almost every teacher has wished for more instructional time in the classroom, I know I only see my students every other day and I often think about how much more I could teach them if I saw them every day like math and ELA. I also think the communication between home and school is important to a student's ability to learn.
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    Great article! I like how it was connected to an inspirational story. I like how each of the ways was described. Often in the busyness of teaching, it's good to have reminders of what is needed, so that you can strengthen weaknesses.
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    (Week 9: Sheila, Suzanne and Cathy) This article is accessible through the link above. This article explains eight ways educators can inspire academic advancements in students, especially students from lower socioeconomic statuses. While mentoring the author gain insight on how to help close the achievement gap. The writer and her team identified that evidence base instruction, a rigorous curriculum, increased instructional time, supplemental instruction, progress monitoring, motivating and engaging, professional development, and a link to school and home would accomplish those gains. The author believes that "if teachers know about and follow those suggestions they could help close the achievement gap." (Fisher, 2015) This article can be a great resource for teachers. Many of the suggestions could be incorporated by most teachers. However, the article also assumes that if followed these eight tools will close the achievement gap. The author also does not explain how teachers can increase instructional time. Reference: Fisher, O. (Oct 2015). 8 proven ways to help close the achievement gap. Istation. Retrieved from https://www.edsurge.com/news/2015-10-27-8-proven-ways-to-help-close-the-achievement-gap
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    The article was very informative. I especially liked the 8th suggestion, "Link home and school." This is an essential piece that I think educators need to do a better job with for at-risk students. When there are more people engaged and involved, students have a broader network of support to ensure success. We need to do more community outreach to help our students improve both academically and in the broader sense.
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    I really enjoyed this article. As a new instructor I am constantly looking to engage my adult students. Through my instruction, making that personal connection is so important. Once you make that personal connection I find that students start making a personal connection with their assignments as well. I find having a non-academic conversation at the beginning of class can help the students feel involved classroom citizens.
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    This article really gives great advice on how teachers can help close the achievement gap by changing small things they do in the classroom. The two things that stuck out to me was allowing more time and progress monitoring. Sometimes time is all a student needs to succeed. When students feel rushed they end up just picking whatever answer they think is right or just something to complete the assignment. Allowing students to return to their unfinished work could really help students concentrate knowing that they don't have to rush to finish an assignment. As far as progress monitoring goes, it helps when the teacher really cares about making sure the students are on the right track and that their parents are aware of the work they have completed or would need to complete to get them on track.
trplm06

Standards In Practice: Instructional Gap Analysis Strategy - 24 views

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    This presentation talks about instructional gaps and how they relate to a cycle of low achievement. There is a tendency for assignments to fall further away from the appropriate grade level. Following the Standards in Practice (SIP) model, teachers will be able to close an instructional gap and make assignments more rigorous in order to provide students with the instruction they need to obtain proficiency.
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    This is FANTASTIC resource for teachers to use as a guide for addressing instructional gaps during a data cycle! Thank you for posting this!
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    I like the example assignments they gave from the grade 7 assignment to show that students can and will only perform to the level of the assignments they are given.
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    Great resource! I was part of the group who didn't realize the significance of the Instructional Gap. This presentation did a great job in showing the importance of understanding the Instructional Gap and how we can work in closing that gap.
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    This was a very interesting read. It reminded me of some of the changes we have put in place in my department as a result of the PARCC. We have definitely had to revisit how we teach and what we are teaching, as well as how it aligns to our standards. One issue we faced was that students could not make heads or tails of the grade level writing prompts. Our mentor teacher did a great series of professional developments for us that gave us some strategies for helping students unpack questions. It makes it much more manageable for the kids.
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    This resource is excellent for examining instructional gaps. In my program sometimes I feel as if there is no reason to the rhyme. I may use this method to determine exactly what I want to get out of each lesson. Since I am not the lesson planner (my curriculum specialist does it) It is hard to understand why some of the lessons are provided and what they need to know beforehand. This article provided a tool to use for that.
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    In this resource it states, "Students can do no better than the assignments they are given..and the instruction they receive." While analyzing my data, I found a instructional gap that I need to address in future lessons. This resource will be a great help to me.
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    This presentation is a great resource. I like how it gives specific examples on how to expand an assignment to help students become successful in the classroom. The graph showing the difference in a grade level assignment vs a grade level standard was very telling. If we fail to push our students inside the classroom, we are setting our students up to fail when they are given grade level material on a state assessment. It is important that material given in the classroom matches the standard they will be assessed on later.
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    This article provides an overview of instructional gaps and how to expand assignments to ensure we are teaching and assessing students in way that provides good instruction. It was a helpful overview that provided me with great thinking points and a clear structure on how to move forward.
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    The article was a lot of help. I typically gave lower level readings to my students that are ELL's so they can understand their concept as their reading levels are typically lower. I'm going to try more with the SIP model to see if students will rise to the occasion.
toladipo

The Real Versus the Possible: Closing the Gaps in Engagement and Learning | EDUCAUSE - 0 views

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    (Week 9: Tolulope Oladipo and Michelle Bear) This is a journal article that is available in Diigo. The link to the article is also provided below: The Real Versus the Possible: Closing the Gaps in Engagement and Learning. Retrieved from https://www.educause.edu/research-and-publications/books/educating-net-generation/real-versus-possible-closing-gaps-engagement-and-learning. This article explores the generations of learners, how we can utilize technology in learning, the discovery of education community and learning science. The authors discussed further educational Goals about learning, improving student's success, engagement and learning through people to people interaction, people and tools, using information technology device as a vehicle by which concepts are presented (such as using simulations, and animations), using collaboration and rich media communication to promote interaction an engagement. The author discusses how access to technology determines generation of learners, such as the Net generation. According to the authors, many students in the K-12 and post-secondary education do not have adequate access to advanced instructional technologies or the web. Despite the engagement created by technology-enabled interactive instruction, many students, teachers, do not have the requisite experiences. The authors went further that internet resources are not yet fully integrated into the day-t0-day classroom routine. The authors cited a finding that proposed that motivation is a key factor to learning, and that engagement and learning can be achieved through competency and control, curriculum, instruction, the organization, management of the schools and the environmental conditions. Furthermore, according to the authors, the Board on Children, Youth and Families 2004 National report recommended that we can keep young people in school and making learning worthwhile by forming a good connection between learners and the context in which learning occurs. We sh
srichards29

5 Ways to Improve Learning Gaps - 12 views

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    This website offers fun, interactive, online games for students to play over the summer to assist in closing their learning gap. This would be a great resource for teachers to give to their students at the end of the school year, or even over long breaks, for them to practice skills they are lacking.
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    A great article which presents innovative ways to improve learning gaps for young children.
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    Very interesting article, it provides ways to bridge the gaps that exists in the learning process.
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    Ah, the summer slide! Good resource to share with students and parents to help minimize the learning gap of students in the summer time.
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    The main takeaway from this resource for me was where the onus falls for the learning gap. Unlike the instruction gap, the learning gap seems more focused on the student needing to bring up their learning to ensure that they maintain over the summer, or reach new levels. The common denominator is that these all seem to take place outside of the classroom. However, I could see a teacher recommend these resources to different groups or having centers set up to ensure that students are working in areas that they need to improve to close their learning gaps during class time.
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    Resources and exposure to programs like this are imperative for underprivileged students who's family's do not have an understanding of how to maintain and increase their child's educational progress during the summer.
angelatrice

Mind the Gap in the Classroom - 4 views

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    The abstract included really says it all: "This reflective essay describes a teacher's development of a student-centered approach to teaching which bridges the gap between students' knowledge before and after a course. In 'mind the gap teaching,' students' prior knowledge leads the conversation and, in turn, the teaching, allowing them to integrate new information more effectively." The essay does a really great job of addressing the need for a lot of personal reflection as a teacher in an effort to improve instruction in the classroom.
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    This is a great article about the evolution of a teacher and how they evolved to developing the "Mind the Gap Teaching" in their words this is when a teacher includes the process of taking in information from the students first, before they try to teach it to them. In other words they are trying to see how they can relate this to their past experiences instead of just relying on the fact that they know information from a previous post.
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    I think this is a great article that shows the growth of a teacher throughout the years. The idea of calling the instructional gap between students knowledge as "mind the gap" speaks to the history nerd in me. I'd love to share this teachers journey with my fellow faculty members because we are making the switch in my school to a more student centered classroom, and we have a lot of skeptics. I think the section of benefits is the best, particularly the line about "the quality of comments" that students started sharing. It shows that the students are interested in what is going on in the classroom.
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    This article is a way to focus on student knowledge. Closing the gap between what is being taught and what is actually being retained by the students.
jessicacarr65

The Usefulness of Brief Instruction in Reading Comprehension Strategies - 3 views

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    (Week 9: Adiatu, Julie, and Heather) This journal article was found in the UMUC Library by Julie, and is accessible through the link given above. The article was written by Daniel Willingham, a cognitive psychologist. Mr. Willingham believes that comprehension strategies, such as questioning and monitoring, are effective in improving reading comprehension and should be taught to students. The article raises the question of how much the strategies should be taught. Mr. Willingham determined that two weeks of strategy instruction is sufficient because students learn everything they need within this duration. The article is useful to teachers because it discusses the benefits of various reading comprehension strategies at a variety of grade levels, and points out the most powerful and weakest strategies. This journal article is useful to our group because the teachers' artifacts are based on the reading comprehension and vocabulary gaps of their students, and the authors stress that teachers should strictly monitor the oral reading skills of students that are having reading comprehension difficulties. Reference Willingham D. T. (2007). Ask the cognitive scientist: The usefulness of brief instruction in reading comprehension strategies. American Educator, 30(4), 39-45, 50.
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    This article explains different types of reading strategies that are best to use when teaching comprehension across all grade levels. This article is very useful to my group because we are all focusing on reading skills/comprehension and determining learning gaps in each grade level when it comes to this topic. The author describes which type of strategy works best for which grade level and everyone in my group teaches a different grade.
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    This article explains different types of reading strategies that are best to use when teaching comprehension across all grade levels. This article is very useful to my group because we are all focusing on reading skills/comprehension and determining learning gaps in each grade level when it comes to this topic. The author describes which type of strategy works best for which grade level and everyone in my group teaches a different grade.
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    This article explains different types of reading strategies that are best to use when teaching comprehension across all grade levels. This article is very useful to my group because we are all focusing on reading skills/comprehension and determining learning gaps in each grade level when it comes to this topic. The author describes which type of strategy works best for which grade level and everyone in my group teaches a different grade.
rcourtot1015

Bridging Gaps in Language, Literacy, and Achievement - 2 views

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    This article discusses academic vocabulary and how it can have an impact on the achievement gap.
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    This article discusses the relationship between achievement gaps and literacy gaps. As many students enter high school with low literacy skills, they become frustrated and struggle with the vocabulary needed to excel in math, science, social studies and other classes. As teachers, we need to help students to build the vocabulary needed to excel in all subject areas.
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    This article focuses on a potential root cause for the achievement gap, which the authors identified as the language and literacy gap. When students lack the language necessary to access the material in math, science, or other specialized classes; it can be difficult or overwhelming to try to bridge that gap in the classroom. Teachers need to do a better job of incorporating and explicitly teaching the academic language needed to be successful in the subject area in question. The process can start more general before leading to content specific "jargon," but the important thing is to expose students to the language frequently.
brady_g

Teacher Development Is Key to Closing the Achievement Gap - 4 views

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    This article discusses how professional development for teachers will help close the achievement gap. This blog centers on how the improvement of teaching practices will best assist students and that there should be universal teaching strategies. EDTC 615. k-12
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    615: This articles feels that providing the teachers with the professional development and resources they need to be more effective teachers which will in end help close the learning gaps of their students.
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    This article describes the importance of teachers continuing to work to improve their teaching in closing achievement gaps. The article states that there are 4 important elements in creating a system for teacher development. As teachers work to continue to develop their teaching and instruction styles the students will then benefit which will show in the data.
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    Details 4 critical ways in which we can improve the quality of instruction by focusing on improvement as instructors. Standardizing practices, strategies, assessments, etc. Interesting read and turns the system around to look at instructors what we are able to change.
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    This article is great at recognizing necessary checks and balances for teachers. Changing standards will not along close all of the achievement gaps. The improved curriculum must come with a way for teachers to know they are delivering appropriately and sufficiently.
Colleen Gradowski

http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED528919.pdf - 2 views

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    The research looks at academic gaps of low income communities. They looked at 3 factors, teacher performance, class abilities and classroom size. The researchers found that the better teaching practices significantly increased students scores, but the class abilities did not. They also found that class size was a factor. Although class size is important, teachers can not completely control that. However, this research shows that students fell into instructional gaps due to instruction that was not meeting teaching standards or not provided adequate instruction on the material.
kwashington904

Closing the Achievement Gap Through Teacher Collaboration: Facilitating Multiple Trajec... - 4 views

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    Two prominent methods for closing achievement gaps are discussed in this article: 1. increase district control over teaching and curriculum, and "minimum standard of instruction", 2. using teacher teams to develop curriculum and teaching methods. Because district control leads to set curriculum, methods, and assessments across schools, progress is easily measured. However, talented and creative teachers tend to feel less valued as educators, and more like tools of implementation. This could cause less effectiveness for having to fit lessons within such a strict construct. Teacher teams, or Professional Learning Networks, empower teachers for contributing to development of effective lessons. Educators tend to enjoy this approach, since it is more natural to teaching and learning, though it is difficult to measure what is being learned. Under district control, the focus can be on research based interventions, where measurement relies on teachers not straying from the mandated processes. Alternatively, it can focus on teacher learning, which would output teachers with similar goals, but who can draw from their own experience and knowledge. Mountain High School in Pleasantville, California, was divided into "learning communities" of around 80 students. Teachers were to serve as advisors, regularly contact families, collaborate with colleagues, and ELL and Special education students were divided amongst the communities. The teacher lack of experience with PDs showed, as they were more focused on student problems rather than ways to improve instruction. Teachers were also not used to contacting parents outside of problematic situations. It was also necessary to provide accommodations that help struggling students to strengthen the lacking skills that are preventing further growth. The proposed methods seemed sound, though implementation in the case study, was still problematic. The lack of success was potentially due to lack of understanding of what compris
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    (Week 9: Amber, Angela, And Kenneth) This article is accessible through the link given by accessing Diigo. This article discusses two methods for closing the achievement gap due to teacher collaboration. The article discusses how teachers can collectively have discussion that may identify and address the structural issues that are built into the school system. Teachers can use this article to begin to understand how their instructional practices can be hampered by systematic inequalities. The idea of all of this is for these "Collaborations to require and build trust, routines and skills for further collaboration efforts. This also means that the collaborators will need training in order to help them talk about issues of teaching and learning and critique each other's practice (Levine and Marcus, 2007). This would be useful for our practicing teacher because (1) They teach in different districts so there will be some disparities, (2) critiquing each other can be more helpful and a great learning experience. References Levine, T. H., & Marcus, A. S. (2007). Closing the achievement gap through teacher collaboration: facilitating multiple trajectories of teacher learning. Journal Of Advanced Academics, 19(1), 116-138. From http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ786607.pdf
brady_g

Problem-based Learning Helps Bridge the Gap between the Classroom and the Real World - 2 views

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    Problem-based learning allows us to bring our students, course material, and the real world closer together. A few ideas for getting started with PBL. I enjoyed reading this article because it began with a quote and excellent question. "How do we get our students to understand what 'the field' is really like? How can we help them realize that they not only need to understand the information we are teaching, but that they need to be able to apply the information that we are teaching." This article touched more on the idea of students being able to able to apply the information that we are teaching them in the real world. Problem-based Learning Helps Bridge the Gap between the Classroom and the Real World, Jason R. Weber, (2014) Retrieved from http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/instructional-design/problem-based-learning-helps-bridge-gap-classroom-real-world/ Retrieved on 10/19/15
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    This brief article offers a quick introduction to the importance of preparing students for the real world through in-class activities, and provides 5 simple recommendations to help an instructor get the most out of PBL (problem-based learning, here) activities.
rrickford

Learning Gaps In Schools Can't Be Ended By Schools | HuffPost - 1 views

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    Great article explaining learning gaps in students and that the gaps cannot alway be filled in schools. It is not solely the responsibility of the teacher to teach, there are other resources/people that can help end/lower gaps.
kmclark1044

A Must-Have Guide to Culturally Responsive Teaching | Cult of Pedagogy - 1 views

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    This blog post was very eye opening and had me reflecting on my own classroom and teaching style throughout. Jennifer Gonzalez is a middle school teacher who recently read a book called "Culturally Responsive Teaching & The Brain" by Zaretta Hammond. Upon reading this book Jennifer talks about her experience with teaching students whose cultures, race, language, etc. did not match what schools teach and value. Additionally, she felt that she could have done a better job at teaching and reaching these students, who are typically labeled "at risk." Something I often feel. In feeling this way, in what she hopes will help her close the gap, Jennifer talks about the brain-based approach she read about. She touches on the Ready for Rigor Framework and the four separate practices that can help improve teaching. This blog post touched home for me as I taught a handful of ELL students this year and for some I felt like I did not do my best and I could have done better.
Angelique Noel

Resource area for teaching - 6 views

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    With all the areas that children are taught in school, the author feels that while trying work at the achievement gap we should look at the engagement gap. The eagerness that children have a young age needs to be maintained. Hands-on learning should be implemented into the lesson.
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    This article hits the nail on the head! At my school we are redesigning our language program to a more student-centered, hands-on instructional approach. I think it is very important to change up the old ways of teaching and find new ways that really engage students. This year, I took out all the desks in my room. Taking down that physical barrier has helped to improve student engagement. We sit or stand in a circle and students are much more motivated! Including games and activities that connect to students' interest is also important.
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    This is a great article focusing on engagement in the classroom! It discusses the necessity of hands on learning to maintain students interest. This is important for students of all academic levels. Hands on learning not only engages students because they are "doing", they also are developing critical thinking skills. As a special education teacher, I know that in order to assist my students in learning, I need to keep their attention and provide them with interesting, hands on learning.
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    I love this article! I have always been a strong believer in hands on learning and I love that they call it an engagement gap! Students get bored when a teacher gets up and lectures them all day. They need to be engaged! The activities need to be purposeful and have a specific meaning but a teacher can make just about any topic engaging just by getting the kids moving and interacting. I 100% agree that students retain information longer when they are engaged and enjoying what they are learning.
principalsimons

"Mind the Gap" in the Classroom - 2 views

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    Abstract: This reflective essay describes a teacher's development of a student-centered approach to teaching which bridges the gap between students' knowledge before and after a course. In "mind the gap teaching," students' prior knowledge leads the conversation and, in turn, the teaching, allowing them to integrate new information more effectively.
bowusu52

Assessing Student Learning - 1 views

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    There are normally a high number of learning gaps in many classrooms. Learning gaps are defined as the difference between where students are in their learning and where they should be. A gap is frequently caused by an obstacle (something that stands in the way of progress) or misconception (a mistaken thought, idea, or misunderstanding).
moore_tamea

Closing the Learning and Teaching Gap : nrich.maths.org - 4 views

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    This article compares Western teaching and learning with Asian (specifically Japan) learning/ Instruction. The author, Buchanan, touches on the methods used to differentiate such as for Gifted and Talented learners. Buchanan then gives suggestyions on improving teaching as a whole.
bcarri

Science Achievement for All: Improving Science Performance and Closing Achievement Gaps - 1 views

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    This article presents a Texas district's plan on closing the science instructional gap in ethnically diverse students in 2 low socioeconomic elementary schools. Teachers set up a multisensory interactive word walls to teach vocabulary, and designed inquiry science lessons that were aligned with standards and the Texas school district's curriculum framework and pacing guides for science instruction. Purposeful planning gave teachers a chance to become familiar with the progression of instructional goals, and provided time to create activities that fit within the framework and that addressed essential vocabulary. The inquiry science lessons incorporated 5-E: Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaboate, and Evaluate, where Engagement is meant to activate prior knowledge, Exploration is hands on inquiry, Explanation involves teacher-guided questions, Elaboration gives students the chance to "solidify" understandin, and Evaluation involves formative and summative assessments. Vocabulary development was achieved with the use of word walls and visuals, sometimes provided by the student to develop familiarity and fluency. Studies showed significant improvement in student achievement. Students reported recognizing science concepts in everyday life, a good sign of true learning. It even benefited the teachers, who reported having "refined" and strengthened science knowledge and teaching strategies as a result of professional development. A balance of focused district standards and teacher-designed interactive lessons using effective research based strategies, seems to have a powerful effect on closing learning and instructional gaps.
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