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(Step 5 - Module 1)

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Behaviors of Teachers and Their Students in Schools With and Without an Achievement Gap: An Observational Study

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Behaviors of Teachers and Their Students in Schools With and Without an Achievement Gap: An Observational Study

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This academic article compares teachers and students interaction in a classroom with and without achievement gaps.

The article did not find many differences between the two in its study. Though it did find that students with achievement gaps were more often off task despite the teacher being more involved than a teacher in a room with no achievement gaps.

The study also found that students at-risk need more smaller group interaction, which is difficult in an at-risk school. Schools in the inner cities usually have high population and large class sizes.

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Behaviors of Teachers and Their Students in Schools With and Without an Achievement Gap- An Observational Study.pdf

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The National Education Association has listed several ways for schools to prioritize and attack achievement gaps in schools.

This source breaks down different directions an administrator can take to target achievement gaps.

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An issue that needs to be addressed in classrooms across the country is the growing achievement gap between students. I want to be apart of a school that works to teach all students no matter their struggles.

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What Kids Should Know By The Time They Are Done With School

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What Kids Should Know By The Time They Are Done With School

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(Exploration Option 3)

This article is written by several different experts in education. Many agree that students learn discipline in school but is that all students need to know before entering the "real world?"

Of course not.

Some experts argue that teachers need more flexibility and freedom to teach and to allow students to be in control of their path.

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Education experts weigh in on the content areas children should have mastery over by the time they graduate.

Guillermo del Olmo / Picsfive / Shutterstock / Zak Bickel / The Atlantic

This is the second installment in our series about school in a perfect world. Read the first entry on calendars.

We asked prominent voices in education-from policy makers and teachers to activists and parents-to look beyond laws, politics, and funding and imagine a utopian system of learning. They went back to the drawing board-and the chalkboard-to build an educational Garden of Eden. We're publishing their answers to one question each day this week. Responses have been lightly edited for clarity and length.

Imagining the ideal school system
Read more

Today's assignment: The content. What should students be expected to know by the time they leave school?

Rita Pin Ahrens, the director of education policy for the Southeast Asia Resource Action Center

Students will leave school with the ability to think critically and independently, to leverage and adapt to ever-shifting technology and modes of communication, to navigate and direct their own independent research, and to understand how to collaborate with others. There also will be a stronger focus on both career preparation and college readiness. That means integrating the soft skills that current employers find valuable, as well as technology readiness. All of this will be taught in the context of the subjects we associate with school-art, history, science, and math-but we have to think more creatively about how we present concepts, content, and opportunities to really expand students' ways of thinking. Math doesn't always have to be taught in a 40- to 50-minute dedicated chunk of time. It can be-if that's appropriate for the age and learning objectives, especially for advanced math and science-but we need to reorganize and disrupt how we are currently teaching students.

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Fixing America's Broken School Calendar
Michael Horn, the co-founder of the Clayton Christensen Institute

Content knowledge is critical-not anathema-to helping students build higher-order skills such as critical thinking, communication, and collaboration in a variety of domains. Accordingly, content knowledge will continue to matter, but students will learn content in different ways-from online modules to in-person sessions. A core set of standards will be critical for all students to master-or, in some cases, gain exposure to-in English, mathematics, history, and science. These standards should be fewer, such that as students master them, they can go deep in areas they enjoy to find their passions and develop expertise. For example, every student may not need to master Algebra. Exposure to music and arts, as well as such things as financial literacy, economics, engineering, and computer science will also be critical to build a foundation for students with an eye toward helping them have a broad enough base such that they can find and develop passions and be engaged citizens. Finally, physical education will continue to have a role in schools, but the purpose will be to help students lead healthy lives-not necessarily to develop athletes-and to bolster learning, as evidence shows that exercising before learning can greatly improve productivity.

Richard Kahlenberg, a senior fellow at The Century Foundation

The Knowledge Matters Campaign notes the cramped nature of modern schools' narrow focus on math and reading skills: "From ancient civilizations to far-away galaxies, from tyrants to heroines, from terrible wars to magnificent works of art, the world of knowledge contains wonders that young people eagerly explore when given the opportunity."

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Schools Aren't Teaching Students What They Need to Know

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Education experts weigh in on the content areas children should have mastery over by the time they graduate. This is the second installment in our series about school in a perfect world. Read the first entry on calendars.

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Understanding the Gaps: Who Are We Leaving Behind - And How Far?

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Understanding the Gaps: Who Are We Leaving Behind - And How Far?

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(Exploration Option 2)

The National Education Association has several articles concerning learning gaps, and what schools are doing to combat this issue.

In past years, there have been gaps in minorities, ELL students, students with disabilities, and students who are at-risk or homeless.

NEA notes that it is mandatory educators take on this gap challenge immediately. First, all students deserve the opportunity to learn, but second, minority populations are growing rapidly in the US.

More funding and resources are needed in these struggling areas before NEA sees any real progress.

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Backgrounder. 2017. Understanding the gaps: Who are we leaving behind - and how far? National Education Association.

Bluestein, J. 2012. Guidelines to offering choices. Education World.

Capo, Z. 2018.

Thousands expected for Saturday rally in Houston for more public education funding. American Federation of Teachers.

Glatter, H., Deruy, E., & Wong, A. 2016.

What kids should know by the time they're done with school. The Atlantic.

National Education Association. 2017.

Strategies for closing the achievement gaps.

Ratcliff, N., Carroll, K., Jones,  C., & Costner, R. 2017. Behaviors of teachers and their students in schools with and without an achievement gap: An observational study. ERIC.

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(Exploration Option 3)

In an effort to help create a comfortable classroom climate students need to have a choice. When students have a say in how they learn they become invested in the decisions they make. Students will want to make the correct choice more often than the incorrect choice.

This PDF guides teachers on how to make their student successful in their choices.

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Thousands Expected  For Saturday Rally in Houston For More Public Education Funding

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Thousands Expected  For Saturday Rally in Houston For More Public Education Funding

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(Exploration Option 2)

School funding has been a hot topic this past school year. Several states held walk-outs where teachers marched to the capital and demanded pay raises and additional resources for their students.

The American Federation of Teachers issued a press release May 16th announcing a "Speak Out and Stand Together" Rally for more educational funding in Texas.

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AFT President Randi Weingarten Will Speak

HOUSTON- Thousands of educators and their supporters are expected Saturday for a "Speak Out and Stand Together" rally in Discovery Green to support more public education funding.

Speakers will include Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers; Mike Collier, candidate for lieutenant governor; Justin Nelson, candidate for state attorney general; state Rep. Donna Howard; Troy Reynolds, founder of Texans for Public Education; Zeph Capo, president of the Houston Federation of Teachers; Louis Malfaro, Texas AFT president; teachers; pastors; and members of school boards.

"As we've seen in the teacher uprisings across the nation, educators and the public agree that children's futures depend on a well-funded public education system. In Texas, we're fighting for more public education funding and for the election of lawmakers who will join us in the fight. We need schools and classrooms that have the resources to provide a quality education, and teacher pay to recruit and retain teachers, not drive them out," said Zeph Capo, president of the Houston Federation of Teachers.

WHAT: Rally-the first statewide action of Texas school employees

WHEN: Saturday, May 19, noon to 1:30 p.m.

WHERE: Discovery Green

1500 McKinney St., Houston

NOTE: Teachers-English- and Spanish-speakers-will be available for interviews.

Contact the HFT's Bryanda Sanchez at 713-623-8891 before or during the rally.

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Thousands Expected for Saturday Rally in Houston for More Public Education Funding

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AFT President Randi Weingarten Will Speak HOUSTON- Thousands of educators and their supporters are expected Saturday for a "Speak Out and Stand Together" rally in Discovery Green to support more public education funding. Speakers will include Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers; Mike Collier, candidate for lieutenant governor; Justin Nelson, candidate for state attorney general; state Rep.

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Upon completion of a Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction I plan to be a curriculum coach. I want to help struggling teachers find their voice and become confident in front of their students.