High School Math Reforms

Download "How the world's best-performing school systems come out on top" by McKinsey and Company

The reports suggests reforming teacher education by raising the requirements to teacher education programs (not increasing the work load, but accpeting only the brightest students), thereby focusing on better training students, paying higher starting salaries (not increasing salaries accross the board), eliminating teachers from the program early if they do not show promise after some kind of intervention. Created a pool of talented teachers makes the teaching profession more respectable. Finland is a good example. They spend less per student but are ranked higher than the US. South Korea is an interesting example because while the middle schools teacher training programs are hard to get it, its high school counter-part is not. As a result, middle school education is by far better than high school. There is an oversupply of high shcool teachers because it is easier to become one. The U.S. can improve the quality of teachers by raising requirements to get into teacher training programs. Like medical school, business school, or law school, there needs to be highers standards to get into teacher training programs that what is in place today. Basically, anyone with a bachelors degree can enroll in a teacher training program. And once you get the best into the programs, then you can pour money into them and prepare them well. If you control the supply of teachers, you can control the quality. "The quality of an educaiton system cannot exceed the quality of its teachers".

Specially Designed Academic Instruction in English (SDAIE)

1)      TAP PRIOR KNOWLEDGE

                It is important for teachers to have a clear understanding of the concepts their students already possess that are related to the topic of study.  Teachers can make certain assumptions about the information that students have if the students consistently been in schools in this state or even in this country since kindergarten.  Those same assumptions cannot be made about students who have not been schooled in this country.

                A variety of strategies can be incorporated to determine prior knowledge of students.  Inquiry charges, such as K-W-L chart, direct questioning, pictorial representations, and small group discussions give insights into the students knowledge base.

Supply needed background information

                Research shows that the more students know about a subject, the easier it is for them to learn new information related to the subject.  To enrich background information, monolingual teachers can train bilingual students, parents, and community members to assist other students.  Texts in a variety of languages should be kept in the classroom.  Preview- review will help students comprehend the English delivery of the lesson.  Pre-teaching a few related key words develops both vocabulary and background knowledge.

Personalize the lesson

                Personalizing the lesson helps students make connections between the old information and the new information.  Use students’ names, familiar characters and places, and analogies to help students connect with the lesson.  Infuse the lesson with multiculturalism whenever possible.  This will enable students to see the value of their own culture as well as the value of other cultures.

 

2)      CONTEXTUALIZE THE LESSON

                Students are most likely to comprehend new concepts if the teacher presents the lesson in concrete, visual ways.  Student’s retention of the material is enhanced when given the opportunity to manipulate the new information through role-play, discussions with peers, experiments, graphic organizers, or other concrete, hands-on activities.

                Although students may appear to comprehend native-like speech, academic language differs greatly from social speech.  It can be physically exhausting for a student to sit in an English speaking academic environment for six or seven hours each day.  Teachers make lessons more comprehensible by using visuals and clearly enunciating.  It is important to be sensitive to grammar structures, vocabulary, or idiomatic expressions that may be confusing.  If you know the native language of your students, use cognates when possible.

                A critical need of the English learner is vocabulary development but vocabulary words are quickly forgotten when taught out of context.  Dr. Alfredo Schifini states that language is acquired in global chunks.  Therefore it is not necessary to drill discrete vocabulary items.  Words that are used in context, with descriptions that are supported by visuals, are understood and retained.  Students will not succeed in the mainstream classroom if they lack the content specific vocabulary that their native English speaking counterparts have developed over the years.  The teacher needs to be aware of the subject matter vocabulary that students are expected to use in order for students to achieve their full academic potential.  Repetition that doesn’t fell repetitive is the key.

                Neither the content nor content words should be simplified.  After a lesson has been taught, students can make a list of their new vocabulary words.  If students have had plenty of opportunities to use and hear the words in context, it is likely that they will not need to use their dictionaries.  Students may want to draw pictures of their vocabulary words to help them remember what the words mean.  Some students will want to write the meanings of the words in their native language.  Other students will not know what the words mean in their native language because the concepts may be new.  Let students do whatever they need to do to succeed.  SDAIE provides a vehicle for conceptual development.  When children attain more concepts, their vocabulary expands.

               

3)      PROVIDE A POSITIVE AFFECTIVE DOMAIN

                Dr. Stephen Krashen points out that students are best able to acquire English language skills when there is a low affective filter in the classroom.  In other words, in an environment that is accepting and encouraging rather than critical, a student will be best able to understand the comprehensible input of the teacher.

                A low anxiety environment is equally important in the content area classroom.  Teachers can provide a positive affective domain by focusing on the content of the student’s message rather than the form.  Teachers who overtly correct student’s grammar or pronunciation inadvertently walk that fine line between giving students time to “find” the word and being supportive by supplying needed vocabulary.  Teachers can create an environment that provides the wait time that students need by asking students to discuss a topic with their partner or in their groups before directly asking the student a question.

                Student- student interaction is important in developing a supportive classroom environment.  Students are able to translate for one another and teach one another in ways we teachers cannot.  Students have better retention of the material when they teach their peers and they feel empowered as successful learners when they help their teammates.

                Classroom bookshelves should be filled with books, videos, and audiotapes in the languages spoken by the students.  These primary language materials will help students access the information, convey to students that their bilingual skills are valuable, and permit parents to participate in their student’s education.

                One of our best resources for assisting students is sitting in our schools.  Older students who are proficient in two languages can serve as teacher aides, especially at the middle school and high school level.  These cross-age or peer tutors can learn preview-review techniques and provide primary language support until qualified staff members are hired.

                Teachers who provide frequent student-student interactions can structure time for interactions with small groups of students or individual students.  These frequent teacher-student interactions enable teachers to assess the concept attainment of students in formal settings and permit students to develop a comfort level with both the teacher and the concepts that might be difficult to achieve in a whole class setting.

4)      TEACH STUDY SKILLS

                Many English learner students emigrate from countries where the academic program is very different from the one they encounter here.  Others enter school with interrupted or limited schooling.  All students need to learn study skills that will enable them to succeed in all curricular areas.  Late arrivals often need assistance in developing study skills that native English speaking students learned in previous grades.  Examples of these study skills include the ability to take notes and organize thoughts, the ability to differentiate between main ideas and supporting details, and the ability to identify cause and effect.

                CALLA, Cognitive Academic Language Learning Approach (Chamot and O’Malley) is an instructional approach which promotes language learning along with grade level academic gowth and explicit instruction in learning strategies.  Teachers encourage students to consciously focus on how they learn and on which learning skills they were able to use to best learn the information.   Students use this awareness of their learning skills as a vehicle for continual and future academic success.

                Students who come from cultures that use a circular discourse style will not quickly adapt to the linear discourse style used in our schools.  Teachers can use graphic organizers to help students develop and ability to use linear rhetorical styles.  Students who are bilingual and bicultural will develop the ability to use both discourse styles in appropriate settings.

                Use the technique of scaffolding to assure success in risk taking.  Scaffolding enables students to perform at higher levels that would not be possible without the support.  Support is gradually withdrawn as students’ linguistic ability expands.

                Students need to understand how to approach a textbook.  Titles, chapters, headings, topic sentences, and skimming for meaning need to be explained.  Students need to learn the purpose of the Table of Contents, the Glossary, etc. so they can quickly access the information in the books.

                Students armed with a variety of study skills are more successful in their academic careers.  Once students learn how they best study and learn new information, they will be able to successfully apply these strategies to their mainstream classes.

5)      MODIFY THE USE OF THE TEXTBOOK (or Less is More)

                English learners do not have the literary skills that their fluent English proficient counterparts possess.  It is unrealistic to expect teachers to cover as much material with English learners as with fluent English speakers.  It is unrealistic to cover material in the same time frame.  In the SDAIE classroom, the key concepts students need to learn are carefully selected and become the focus of all activities and discussions.

                Students will learn most of the information from the teacher’s oral delivery.  Before the students read from the textbook, the teacher should

• ·         Determine the background knowledge that the students possess
• ·         Supply any missing experiences of information which students will need to comprehend the lesson
• ·         Teach the main concepts using visuals, manipulatives, realia, etc.
• ·         Provide opportunities for students to interact with the concepts
• ·         Use the visuals in the book to explain the lesson
• ·         Use outside sources as needed

                By the time the students are ready to read from the textbook, the key vocabulary and the key concepts will be familiar.  Giving students a chapter summary before they read will enable students to better understand the text.  Teachers should analyze the text to determine which portions should be discussed and/ or read.  Reading activities include the teacher reading aloud critical excerpts from the text, rephrasing and paraphrasing along the way.  Students can read in pairs, in groups, in response to the teacher, or along with the teacher.  Student success during independent reading is dependent upon the quality of the teacher directed pre-reading activities.  Remember, the more students understand before they read from the book, the better they will understand the text.

6)      PROVIDE ALTERNATIVE FORMS OF ASSESSMENT

                How frustrating for both teacher and student to participate in a meaningful educational program filled with quality learning activities only to have a student fail.  Is it that the student did not learn the information or did we fail to provide a way for the student to show that he learned the content?  Many of the traditional tests that we give students require good literacy skills on the part of the students.  Since we know that English speaking peers, we can assume that tests that require students to do significant amounts of reading and/ or writing will be both physically fatiguing and frustrating.

                Often a teacher knows that the student has learned information but the teacher fails to value the way in which the student’s concept attainment was discovered.  It is time to rethink the importance of performance based assessments.  These authentic assessments are every bit as valid as the traditional paper and pencil exams.

    Teachers can interview a student to find out what the student learned, what the student feels he still does not know well, and what the student learned that he believes will be significant for his future.  Portfolios are one way teachers and students can see academic growth.  Students show concept attainment by creating videotapes and audio tapes, group or individual projects, and experiments.  Teachers can ask students to write exam questions that the students feel they can answer well.

                The purpose of SDAIE is to provide access to the core curriculum for English learners.  The only way teachers know they have successfully delivered the content is when students show gains in their academic development.  It is for this reason that performance based assessment is a critical component in the educational program English learners.

Graphic Organizers

There are many types of Graphic Organizers typically used in classrooms.

• Concept, Story, or Character Maps
• Venn Diagram
• K-W-L Charts (What I Know, Want to find out, Learned)
• Matrix
• Flow Chart
• Timeline
• Compare/contrast
• Spider Map