Pedagogue Blog

Matthew Lynch published in Education Leadership, Matthew Lynch

Entrepreneurial Skills Required in Educational Leadership

The entrepreneur must be highly professional and competent in handling a business, in order to accomplish their goals. Discovery and development of new products and production processes, and handling risk require some level of professional qualifications, which can be developed through further business related education. One major area that calls for leadership from entrepreneurs is developing human resources to gain a competitive advantage.

The importance of employees in service delivery cannot be overemphasized. The entrepreneur has to show leadership to increase efficiency in the role of human resource management, and also work to ensure employee satisfaction if they are to gain a competitive advantage over rival businesses in the same industry. The role of the leader in human resource management includes the recruitment, development, and motivation of employees. Let’s examine the traits applicable to school leadership.

Employee Recruitment and Development

Entrepreneurs need to observe and interpret labor market changes to position their enterprises as players in the market. For smaller enterprises, certain problems may arise. First, entrepreneurs have to assess the qualification needs, then set clear standards for qualification, to maintain and develop a unique market position. Second, before employees are hired, job design and cautious decision-making in the business have to be determined.

Communication, Motivation, and Control of Human Resources

Information and communication strategies within the business firm are important determining factors of service quality and the company culture. Small business leaders have to carefully create and implement practical channels of communication to achieve meaningful results. Again, the small market enterprises (SME’s) periodically face problems associated with favoritism and information/communication imbalances .

Employee Development and Empowerment

Research shows that, in the business world, employee satisfaction leads to increased customer satisfaction. This is why leadership tasks should include workplace design, and carrying out of a reward and incentive scheme that is geared toward improving employees’ service. Entrepreneurial leaders can choose the best basis for designing the service delivery process, according to the customer/employees’ needs, or employee judgment.

Many employees in SME’s have left their jobs for various reasons, including bad manners in the company, not being appreciated, noncompliance with agreements, harassment by superiors, or an unproductive working atmosphere. Job satisfaction is strongly influenced by the level of freedom in the job, as well as satisfaction with the leadership style in the enterprise.

So, we can assume that there are certain basic requirements that must be achieved for successful entrepreneurship. These include an appropriate wage system, team building, and a satisfactory internal communication system. Interestingly, the issue of wages can a factor of satisfaction, but not necessarily of motivation. Fair wages may not always be expected, thus an increase in employee earnings does not always lead to higher job satisfaction.

Most, if not all of personal motivators are basically highly important performance factors. Entrepreneurs in SME’s should realize the importance of long-term human resource tools such as career planning, training, education, and job diversification. They should also communicate to their employees to show that they are concerned about these issues.

In addition, the entrepreneur has a huge influence over the motivation of employees through the practice of fairness, freedom, and employee empowerment. Entrepreneurs can be divided into two groups: those considered “employee friendly” and those considered “employee distant’ by their employees. The former are seen as more creative in designing the right motivational and communication structure in the business. They offer empathy and fairness, providing higher motivation and job satisfaction for employees than the “employee distant” leader.

There is little evidence that an authoritarian leadership style and low educational achievement by entrepreneurs has a damaging effect on employee motivation. We can assume that higher fluctuation rates may be caused by inefficient human resource management, and the actions of leaders. There is no single effective leadership style: it all depends on the decision-making structures or cultural settings involved. Entrepreneurs should be aware that employees are motivated by a leader’s high sense of fairness and empathy, and should act accordingly to achieve success.

 

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Matthew Lynch published in EdTech & Innovation, Matthew Lynch

Educational Technologies that Every Teacher Should Know: Part II

Click here to read all the posts in this series. 

Technology continues to make its mark on K-12 learning and teachers need to stay abreast of the many new innovations. Today, I will continue my 5-part series on technologies and education concepts that every teacher should know about. I’m interested to hear your thoughts on these technologies and education concepts in the comment section as well.

Virtual Laboratories. Virtual laboratories are popping up in school districts and online learning curriculum across the country and making it easier and less expensive for students to do experiments remotely. Benefits of the virtual labs include: Flexible access. Perhaps the most often cited benefit of any online learning is convenience. The same is true of virtual laboratories if the experiments are on the student’s own time. In some cases, a virtual lab may be used during regular class time but still, in such instances, there is flexibility for the teacher who is not limited by using resources within a strict timeframe. Instant feedback. Students can redo experiments on the spot if needed. All the results are recorded automatically, making communication between teachers and students more efficient too. Experiments no longer have a “one chance” option and students can analyze what went wrong immediately and critically.

Schools and students using virtual labs have access to cutting-edge technology when it comes to experimentation. Companies that build and maintain virtual labs must compete with each other to stay ahead of technology progression and that raises the quality of student options. With a virtual lab, students do not have to settle on outdated, yet expensive, equipment because a school cannot afford to replace it consistently.

There is a fee associated with using virtual labs but the capital and maintenance costs are drastically reduced. Instead of one school footing the bill for resources, the cost is split among the clients of the particular virtual lab. This allows school to provide a better learning experience for students at a fraction of the cost. Like all classroom technology, virtual labs demand scrutniy to ensure that behind the flashy capabilities, their true purpose is being met. That will take some time and testing, of course, but I think it is possible with the right combination of in-person and remote lessons.

Autism and iPads. Depending who you ask, the iPad has varying effects on children with autism – but most parents and teachers would say that the device has made in-roads in their students’ attitude towards learning. Experts at Apple say that iPads “cure” sensory overload and give autism children control, along with opportunities for effective communication. Using less extreme language, researchers at Vanderbilt University say that speech-generating devices, like iPads, can encourage late-speaking children with autism spectrum disorders to speak. In other words, the basic technology that is readily available in classrooms and many households may also support learning initiatives for children with a specific disorder that impact traditional learning.

In coming posts, we will look at more technologies and concepts that every teacher should know.

Read all of our posts about EdTech and Innovation by clicking here. 

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Matthew Lynch published in Higher Education

Report: For-profit institutions source of most student loan debt

According to a new report by the Brookings Institute, a good chunk of student loan debt is held by students who attend for-profit institutions.

“The so-called student loan crisis in the U.S. is largely concentrated among non-traditional borrowers attending for-profit schools and other non-selective institutions, who have relatively weak educational outcomes and difficulty finding jobs after starting to repay their loans.”

That’s a fairly significant finding, I would say.

Students who attend non-profit private schools or public universities do not face the same debt issue because their job prospects are much higher upon graduation.

Borrowers at for-profit institutions have a harder time finding gainful employment, and when they do, their average earnings barely creep over $20,000.

[T]the median borrower from a for-profit institution who left school in 2011 and found a job in 2013 earned about $20,900—but over one in five (21 percent) were not employed; comparable community college borrowers earned $23,900 and almost one in six (17 percent) were not employed.”

The report also finds that students who attend the University of Phoenix hold the most debt. In 2014, students there held over $35 billion dollars in student loan debt.

If anything, this report shows that the government has to inflict tougher regulations on for-profit institutions in the higher education sector. College students work hard to make a better life for themselves and their families — but student loans can have the opposite effect, at least in the immediate. Tuition at these private schools is astronomical, and if students cannot find jobs to pay their loans back, attaining a degree from these schools is pointless.

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Matthew Lynch published in Diversity

Breaking the stereotype: Educating detained youth

By Jeff Knight — 

As adults, we understand the decision making process.  We know good decisions often lead to a favorable outcome, and even one bad choice can potentially affect your life forever.  There are a handful of youth whose bad decisions have ripped them away from life as they know it and landed them into a place few of them choose to be – secure detention.

The Mary Dickerson Juvenile Justice Center (MJDDC) is a 24-bed secure juvenile detention facility located in Camdenton, Missouri.  Usually, there are between 3-12 youth detained at MJDDC, waiting for their cases to be adjudicated in court.  While some are first time offenders, others are familiar faces who have had previous contact with the juvenile justice system.

MDJJC partners with the Camdenton R-III School District to provide educational services to youth while they are detained at the facility.  The average time spent at MDJJC is 8.5 days; some youth are in and out the same day, while others can stay for several months.  No matter the length of stay, every youth is entitled to an education and that is exactly what they get while they are with us.

Most people assume my students are “bad” kids and they are hopeless for one reason or another.   This stereotype couldn’t be further from the truth, at least in my case.  In several instances, I find they are actually good kids who have made a series of bad choices – or at least one very bad decision.  Others may be a product of their environment and could very well be in and out of the system their entire lives.  In either case, it is very rare for me to meet a child who I would characterize as a “bad” kid.

While working with our detained youth, I do my best to provide a sense of normalcy; a regular schedule and familiar learning spaces for students struggling through what may be the worst time of their lives.  I wake up each morning with the goal – and the hope – that I can reach kids teetering on the edge, and help them make a shift in the right direction.

The Juvenile Justice Center and School District Collaboration

Regardless of where a student attends school regularly, while at MDJJC each is considered a member of the Camdenton R-III School District, meaning they have access to the same high-quality education as all of our students.  Just because a student is detained does not mean they should be denied a proper education.

The school district employs one full-time teacher (me), and supplies class materials, computers and access to an online curriculum for students at MDJJC.  If there are ever more than six students in my class at any given time, the district sends a substitute to help.

On every school day, when residents aren’t engaged in other activities, they are in my classroom.  Immediately after breakfast, residents enter a spacious room with six computers and three desks.  Our school day is similar to a traditional school setting; students have specified time to work on English, math, science, and history.  In between, they have lunch, are given small breaks, and participate in recreation time.

At the end of the school day, residents return briefly to their sleeping rooms while there is a shift change for detention staff.  Immediately following shift change, residents return to programming and evening activities.  Outside course curriculum students have access to area youth ministers, and can participate in occasional music lessons.

For many residents, MDJJC is a new and scary experience.  They’re in strange clothes, surrounded by people they don’t know, subject to new rules and expectations, and their contact with the outside world is restricted and supervised.  I find students quickly realize their mistakes and suddenly crave normalcy.  In my eyes, providing a semi-traditional classroom is as close as they’ll get to normal while they are with us.  We have next to no behavior issues and celebrate success often.  At MDJJC, I’m not only a teacher; I’m a coach and a cheerleader to many students struggling to get their life back on track.

In my classroom, students range in age and grade, as well as in skill level and cognitive ability.  While one student might be working on 6th grade English, another may need help on their Trigonometry assignment.  Due to the flexibility of our digital curriculum, Odysseyware, I am able to customize lessons for each of my students to account for this.

Because students are often in and out of the facility so quickly, when they enter MDJJC there is no time for an assessment to gauge where they are in the curriculum or if they are meeting state standards.  When they enter the classroom, I simply ask what they’ve been learning in their classes and that’s where we start.

Bye-bye Paper Binders, Hello Online Curriculum

When I first began teaching at MDJJC, my classrooms were filled with binders of curriculum for each grade and subject.  When a new student arrived at the center, they were handed content from the folders and told to complete the work.  Because our students come from all over mid-Missouri, the binders oftentimes did not closely follow what the students were learning in their home school district.  As I am sure you can imagine, the binders were fairly cumbersome as well.  However, in the event of a power outage, we do have them to rely on.

A lot has changed since those days.  The district adopted Odysseyware as a customizable online credit recovery curriculum, and asked me if it would be a good option for students at MDJJC.  Thanks to its flexibility, I can help them pick up where they left off before arriving in my classroom.  For students in the Camdenton R-III district, credits collected count toward graduation. For students who attend school in another district, a report of all work completed is sent with them once they are released.  After a few days at MDJJC, the majority of my students head back to traditional school.  But for those who will not, we ensure they are on track to take their GED, using online courses as preparation.  Typically, students know whether they’re on track for graduation or not, and in some cases, a high school diploma simply isn’t realistic, so I do my best to help them prepare for the GED while they are in my classroom.

My students often like moving at their own pace without the pressure of a traditional classroom.  An online curriculum is ideal for a detention setting because it is flexible enough to allow students at different grade and ability levels to work independently.  They utilize features like spelling bees, the ‘read-to’ tool, and interactive games.  Students outside of the Camdenton R-III district often comment how they wish their school had a program like Odysseyware because it’s actually fun.  The curriculum perfectly aligns with Missouri state standards, so using it is a no-brainer.

I compare teaching detained youth to coaching my football team.  Every player has different needs and goals, and adjusting on the fly is just the way the game is played.  Though my classroom setting is anything but ordinary, I do my best to educate students who often need it the most.  My job is somewhat easy thanks to strong support from leadership at the Camdenton R-III School District, MDJJC, and flexible, engaging curriculum.

Together, we’re breaking the stereotype of educating detained youth one student at a time.

___

 

Jeff Knight has taught detained youth at MDJJC for eight years. After playing college football at the University of Missouri, he graduated from Southwest Missouri State (now MSU) with his education degree. Before teaching at MDJJC, Knight taught in Ozark, Nixa, Lebanon, and Camdenton. In his free time he enjoys spending time with his family and spending time outdoors. He can be reached via email at [email protected]

 

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Matthew Lynch published in Diversity, Equity

Wearing a suit equals success? It just might to these kids

Photo via Timefrozen Photography

Work hard, get good grades in school, and you’ll eventually find some semblance of the American dream in life.

It’s what all kids are taught as they matriculate through grade school. It’s why we so often hear the saying that one should “dress for success.”

It’s also why 100 men of color wearing suits greeted elementary school students on their first day of school last week.

An attempt to present a varying image to kids of color of what men of color may actually turn out to be: successful.

Statistics state that black male “students in grade K-12 were nearly 2 1/2 times as likely to be suspended from school in 2000 as white students” and that most of the nearly 2.5 million people in prisons and jails “are people of color…and people with low levels of educational attainment.”

From pictures to videos, so many kids of color see men of color as effigies of what not to become. The criminal on the news is likely a man of color and so is the high school drop-out.

Seeing a roaring crowd of black men cheering on young students from kindergarten to fifth and sixth grades was not only heart warming, it was inspiring.

A suit represents so much more than just a tailored look. It’s success; it’s happiness; it’s an ability to overcome; it’s positive; it’s anti-everything we’ve been feed to believe that’s negative about black men.

For each kid seeing that image, it’s eternal.

I applaud this action and know it will have even more of a long term impact than it did initially.

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Matthew Lynch published in EdTech & Innovation, Policy & Reform

We Need to Talk About BYOD

The BYOD Listening Project asks: In the rush to control students’ devices, have we overlooked the ‘moment of teaching’?

By Sharon Price Campbel

If you’re a teacher in the U.S., you have likely bumped into BYOD (bring your own device). Especially in recent years, school districts are rushing to “leave no device behind” and education technology companies are coming up with myriad new products and services to deliver the promise of BYOD Nirvana. At conferences and in district offices, educators are spearheading many iterations of teaching and learning opportunities.

What can we learn from the previous megatrends in education technology? The first small wave of technology occurred when computers were installed in public school offices. They were not to be touched by the likes of teachers, but by trained office professionals only. It took another decade for computers to become available to educators in the teacher’s lounge. By the turn of the millennium, computer-literate teachers began to ask for, beg for, and write grants for computers in the classroom.

A flood of federal money available for technology purchases created the second wave, the Educational Technology Tsunami. To cash in on the gold rush, business suppliers slapped “education friendly” labels on business equipment. Manufacturers racing to get their share of the federal bucks cut corners on research, design, and quality control to get products into the marketplace. Classrooms became a nightmare of unsupported, unreliable hardware and buggy software. Classroom teachers who had been enthusiastic became concerned about job security. They feared reporting faulty equipment and feared that they had inadequate computer skills. When the federal funding ended, school districts found themselves unable to financially support their technological machines and dreams.

Riding the same surge was the “No Child Left Behind” legislation. Its unattainable expectations, on top of education’s first attempt to merge onto the digital freeway, nearly crashed education.  Systems had been too quickly adopted and inadequately designed, and were incapable of the tasks they were purchased to perform. School districts became the graveyards of metal hulks and husks of educational technology—and federally-driven, data-based, student failure.

Since then, we have learned and improved. Manufactures and legislators are beginning to include educators in the conversation about expectations and realistic outcomes for tomorrow’s teaching tools. Teachers are getting very good at forming their own independent learning communities, and ideas are spreading faster than ever before. It was during this hyper-connected, surging wave of mobile device integration into all aspects of life that we ushered in BYOD.

It will take work. Early concerns about device security/privacy, unrestricted web access, and the potential for distractions in the classroom have driven the marketplace toward an obsession with control. There are now dozens of device management products that offer instructors and districts varying levels of control over student devices; however, these products don’t serve the fundamental purpose of BYOD in education, which is to improve instruction, empower students for self-directed learning, and leverage this generation of students’ technological prowess to turn the current model of instruction on its head.

In the rush to control students’ devices, we have overlooked the “moment of teaching.” Very few teachers are able to accomplish ordinary tasks, such as grabbing a picture from a document camera and getting it to each student device, without having to halt instruction and fiddle with far too many steps to integrate into teaching. So why is instructional software so clunky when we need it the most? The answer is that most companies making this software rarely set foot in an actual classroom. They are so focused on features and functions that they overlook how the product is used in the classroom during instruction. If one of the purposes of device management is to minimize distractions, shouldn’t the product just work and require no active management on the part of the teacher? Yet most device management products require that the teacher be behind his or her computer to share learning resources or to monitor and control student devices.

We can’t rely on product developers to just deliver brilliance. Rarely through history have major innovations been the result of one person or team, instead they have been the result of teams building on the work of or listening to others. The BYOD marketplace should be listening to the visceral and rational experiences of teachers, administrators, and students to make better products.

EXO U is sponsoring the BYOD Listening Project to strike up a dialogue between teachers, students, parents, administrators, and the marketplace, with the goal of pinning down and solving the increasing challenges that teachers and students face when attempting to integrate devices into a daily classroom teaching. I am serving as a moderator for the project, and we’re asking for your perspective on mobile devices in the classroom. What works? What doesn’t? Where are the significant pain points or problems at the interface of mobile devices and learning?

The BYOD Listening Project is asking for your engagement and in return, we will analyze, collate, and report themes and major takeaways. Our aim is to provide highly useful data and models for BYOD implementation that improve that moment of teaching.

Sharon Price Campbel has taught in Napa County Juvenile Offender programs, an alternative high school, and Youth Employment programs. For the last 28 years she has been a middle school teacher. In 2009, she was named a California School Master, the oldest, most prestigious California education award.

Read all of our posts about EdTech and Innovation by clicking here. 

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Matthew Lynch published in EdTech & Innovation

Reading Horizons Incorporates the Lexile® Framework for Reading in K-3 Literacy Platform

North Salt Lake, UT- Feb. 23, 2016 — Reading Horizons and MetaMetrics® are thrilled to announce the expansion of their partnership with the addition of Lexile® measures in the Reading Horizons Discovery™ program. Reading Horizons and MetaMetrics, developer of the widely adopted Lexile® Framework for Reading, first announced their partnership in May 2015 when Lexile measures launched in the Reading Horizons Elevate reading program.

Reading Horizons Discovery is a strategy-based reading solution designed for students in Kindergarten through third grade that incorporates multi-sensory, Orton-Gillingham principles of instruction and a unique marking system that delivers superior results. The effective, easy-to-use software utilizes the most current technology and instructional best practices to deliver assessments and skill-based lessons for each grade level, K-3. Initial assessments ensure that teachers have an accurate measure of each student’s ability and the software adapts to meet the needs and skill levels of those students and provides differentiation as they progress through the program.

The software includes formative assessments as well as vocabulary, games, and activities. Reading Horizons Discovery fulfills 92% of the standards for foundational reading skills for students in K-3, as well as other standards outlined by the Common Core State Standards, and is correlated to the findings of the National Reading Panel.

“We consistently strive to provide the most robust literacy solutions possible for our customers, including the ability to adjust instruction in order to meet readers where they are,” commented Reading Horizons’ President and CEO Tyson Smith. “Adding the Lexile® Framework for Reading in Reading Horizons Discovery immediately provides educators with yet another layer to truly assess where their students are at and how to best support their learning moving forward.”

The assessment’s initial Lexile measure serves as a benchmark for gauging both a student’s reading ability and the complexity of text so that appropriate reading materials can be matched to the student as they progress. Reading Horizons Discovery automatically unlocks reading passages in the software library as additional skills are mastered. Each book in the library has been measured by MetaMetrics and has an official Lexile level. 

“I applaud Reading Horizons for extending their use of Lexile measures to K-3,” stated Malbert Smith III, Ph.D., president and co-founder of MetaMetrics. “More than that, Reading Horizons is measuring their readers at the start of their academic career. This allows for early detection of struggling readers, and then immediate intervention to strengthen the reader’s ability before they fall too far behind their peers. The power of Lexile measures also allows educators to seamlessly track their students reading growth throughout their K-12 progression.”

About Reading Horizons

Founded in 1984, Reading Horizons provides teacher training, direct instruction materials, and interactive software that empower teachers to effectively teach beginning readers, intervene with struggling readers, and provide instruction and support to English Language Learners. To learn more about Reading Horizons, please visit them online at www.readinghorizons.com or follow them on twitter https://twitter.com/ReadingHorizons.

About MetaMetrics

MetaMetrics is focused on improving education for learners of all ages and ability levels. The organization develops scientific measures of academic, achievement, and complementary technologies that link assessment results with real-world instruction. To learn more about MetaMetrics, please visit them online at www.metametricsinc.com.

Read all of our posts about EdTech and Innovation by clicking here. 

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Matthew Lynch published in Higher Education

Best Resources and Tools for a College Freshman

This guest post is written by Robert Morris, an educator from New York. He is passionate about edtech, education and literature. His articles appeared on Lifehack, Edudemic and Bigthink. Circle Robert on Google+!

So you enrolled in college and your first term began successfully? Congratulations! You have a lot to celebrate since the following four years will probably be the most memorable ones in your life. However, college also brings many responsibilities.

You will face unexpected changes that can shake the foundation of your self-esteem. To help you go through this revolutionary year of your life like a champ, we have created a list of essential resources that every college freshman should know.

27 Money Tips for College Students – Before you apply for a college credit card, you need to learn how to take care of your finances by yourself. Budget planning may not be your idea of college fun, but you have to tackle the new responsibilities as a grownup. This article featured at GetRichSlowly.org provides valuable tips on money management for students.

Ninja Essays – If you thought academic writing was difficult when you were in high school, wait until you start college! You will need to write essays, term papers, case studies, research papers, and dozens of other types of content for all classes you take. A freshman can easily get frantic when there is so much work to be done. Bookmark essay writing help site NinjaEssays.com, since you will definitely need its assistance during college. At this website, you can hire professional writers to help you with any academic project you get stuck with.

Investing 101 Course – If you want to save money and be financially stable, you need to learn a thing or two about investing. If your college doesn’t offer an investing course, then you should definitely consider gaining such knowledge through an online course. Investing 101 is an easy program provided at TheCollegeInvestor.com. It will help you understand the principles of investing and start getting into the market through safe steps.

Discover it Card – This is one of the best credit cards for students in terms of beneficial fees, rates, and cash back incentives. You will get 5%-20% cashback bonus through the company’s online shopping mall, as well as other bonuses that will inspire you to use the card responsibly. You will get through the entire application procedure within minutes.

Dorm Room Checklist – Moving into a dorm room is more difficult than you can imagine. You will have to create an entirely new living space from scratch, and many things you were used to will be missing. This checklist provided by DormSmart.com will help you prepare all essentials for campus and get your baggage ready on time.

The College Crush – How to Actually Date In College – Your love life will drastically change as soon as you start college. TheCollegeCrush.com is a valuable website that will teach you how college dating works. There are plenty of useful articles you can read before the first semester starts, but you should start with How to Actually Date In College.

How Much Do The Top Income Earners Make – Even if you are not motivated by money, you surely want to choose a rewarding career that will ensure a bright future for you and your family. This article featured at FinancialSamurai.com will help you determine whether your interests are worth fighting for or you should consider going for a more promising major.

The most important tip is: Don’t forget to have fun!

Being a college freshman can be a frightening experience if your expectations are too great. You will have to study a lot and write endless pages of academic content before the end of the term. However, that shouldn’t prevent you from meeting new friends and having fun as every other freshman should. You don’t want to remember the best years of your life by spending the entire time with your computer and piles of books. There are many adventures waiting to be experienced, so don’t forget that you need to have fun along the way.

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Matthew Lynch published in EdTech & Innovation

What fewer women in STEM means for their mental health

Jennifer Drake, University of Toronto

“You’re in engineering!?! Wow, you must be super-smart…”

It has been over 10 years since I was a first-year engineering undergraduate student; but when I remember the time a fellow female student made this comment, I can still feel a visceral, bodily reaction: my muscles tense, my heart rate increases, my breath quickens.

Comments like these on the surface appear as compliments. But when unpacked, they reveal subversive attitudes about women in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math).

As I think back to this encounter, there are two aspects that stay with me. First was the surprised, skeptical tone of the other student’s voice that conveyed it was surprising and unusual (or, to put it more crudely, freakish) that I was in engineering. Second was the attitude that since I was in engineering, this could be explained only if there was something exceptional or outstanding (or, once again, freakish) about me. Women remain an underrepresented group in STEM. In Canada, women account for 23% of engineering graduates and 30% of mathematics and computer graduates. In the United States, women are 12% of the engineering and 26% of the computing workforce.

The reality is that STEM professions are most commonly male and it remains surprising when these professional roles are held by women. The large gender imbalance means that women may naturally feel they’re outsiders at school and at work. This situation is often uncomfortable and mentally demanding, when even just showing up and doing your job comes with constant social stresses and anxiety. Ironically, the difficulties that they (we) encounter often dissuade the next generation of women from joining us. It’s a self-reinforcing cycle that we need to break.

Fight or flight, designed for quick response

Because of their underrepresentation, women in STEM often regularly question their place in these professions. When things feel uncomfortable – like when I was confronted with that comment a decade ago – our brains can overinterpret the situation as an imminent threat. And there’s an evolutionary reason for that physical response.

Stress is an adaptive response to perceived threats. It’s how the body reacts to these situations. Anxiety is stress that lingers after the immediate threat is gone; it’s experienced as a feeling such as embarrassment, fear or worry.

Fight-or-flight is a physiological response.
Jvnkfood, CC BY-SA

This stress response evolved in human beings to help us navigate a wild, dangerous and unpredictable world. When faced with imminent danger, like a pouncing tiger, our bodies have evolved an automatic reaction to help us react fast. Stress hormones are released, the heart beats harder and faster, breathing becomes rapid and muscles tense, ready for action.

This automatic response prepares our bodies for possible actions: fight or flight! From the perspective of evolutionary adaptation, it’s in our best interests NOT to distinguish between life-threatening and non-life-threatening dangers. Act first, think later. In the African wilds in which early humans roamed, the consequence of underreacting could mean death.

Good during lion attack, less good during daily life

In modern life, we don’t have to worry much about attacks from lions, tigers or bears. But adaptive mechanisms are still very much a part of our brain’s biology.

The flight-or-flight response is intended to be short-term. The problem comes in when stress becomes a daily part of life, triggering a physiological response that’s actually detrimental to health over the long term. Repeated and long-term releases of the stress hormone cortisol cause changes in brain structure that leave individuals more susceptible to anxiety and mood disorders, including depression. When exposed to long-term stress, the brain structure called the hippocampus shrinks, affecting one’s short-term memory and ability to learn.

Subtle cues can make female students feel marginalized.
World Bank Photo Collection, CC BY-NC-ND

Messages you don’t belong can be stressful

These physical stress responses can unfortunately run at a constant low level of activation in people who are made to feel like they don’t belong or aren’t good enough – such as women in STEM. Social situations like my undergraduate encounter – and their ramifications – are a part of day-to-day life.

The effects of stress on women in STEM fields are often already obvious during their undergraduate studies. A study of women in engineering at the University of Waterloo has shown that female students tend to have lower overall mental health. Women in STEM fields are more likely to report higher levels of stress and anxiety and higher incidences of depression.

Sadly, the percentages of women working in these fields have remained stagnant for decades. In 1987, women represented 20% of the STEM workforce in Canada. In 2015, their numbers remain unchanged at 22%. In the United States, the reality is very similar, with women representing 24% of the workforce. Confrontational reactions like “You’re in engineering!?!” communicate the message that as a woman, one may not belong in the social group of engineering. The brain perceives these kinds of social interactions as threatening, dangerous and stressful.

The social cues that women may not belong in male-dominated STEM fields can often be subtle. For example, researchers have shown that the presence in labs of objects considered stereotypical of computer science, such as Star Trek and video game posters, are perceived as stereotypically masculine and can dissuade women from expressing interest in topics like computer programming.

Moreover, seemingly complimentary “Wow, you must be super-smart!” comments also communicate an even more troubling possibility that, in order to belong in this group (of men), as a woman, one must be exceptional. Women + Engineering = Super Smart.

But what if a female student is not exceptionally intelligent? What if she is only ordinarily smart? Or, even more troubling, what if she does not believe that she is smart at all? In her mind, she becomes a sheep in wolf’s clothing, an impostor who has tricked those around her into accepting her into a group where she does not belong. From the brain’s perspective, this is literally interpreted as being in the lion’s den.

Women can flourish in STEM, but it can mean shutting out the noise.
USAID Asia, CC BY-NC

STEM should welcome everyone

So what can be done? If we are to increase the participation of women in STEM fields, we must make workplace and educational environments inclusive. In order to thrive, female students need to believe that they belong in technical professions, in both academia and the private sector.

The social marginalization caused by gender imbalances in STEM programs can be mitigated. Targeted intervention programs that foster social belonging and coping mechanisms to deal with stress and threat can help women develop skills to handle the mental challenges caused by gender inequality and help women integrate into their male-dominated environment.

Connecting female students with female professional role models such as mentors or instructors has also been extremely effective at improving women’s self-concept and commitment to STEM.

Finally, campaigns like the #Ilooklikeanengineer hashtag disrupt our common stereotyping of STEM professionals and help support a cultural shift.

The rates of female representation in STEM will not change overnight. It will probably be at least another generation before parity becomes an achievable target. But it’s through changing these attitudes and stereotypes that we will reduce some of the social stresses on women in these fields, helping women choose STEM as a career path, stay in these fields, and most importantly, remain healthy and happy.

The Conversation

Jennifer Drake, Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering, University of Toronto

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

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Matthew Lynch published in EdTech & Innovation, Equity

Digital Early Learning Program in Napa County sees strong results

Submitted by Dr. Barbara Nemko, Napa County Superintendent of Schools

 “The children love [the program] and in fact they ask daily, ‘Is it my turn on the iPad today?’ Also … we as teachers are learning too.” – Marianne Stegman, Site Supervisor, St. Helena Child Development Center

Tackling Achievement Gap Before Kindergarten

Research has shown that children from low-income families come to school typically lagging two years behind their more privileged peers on standardized language tests. This achievement gap, which has been called a 30 million word gap (Hart and Risley, 2004), affects their ability to learn to read, and persists throughout their school careers. Identified as equally important in learning to read by researchers is access to books in the home. Again, children from low income families frequently have few or no books at home, and enter kindergarten not knowing that books in English are read from left to right, or being able to identify the letters of the alphabet.

To prepare these at-risk students for kindergarten, The Napa County Office of Education (NCOE) began collaborating with local non-profit NapaLearns to launch the first countywide offering in the nation of a digital early-literacy program. The program primarily uses the Footsteps2Brilliance “app” on tablets and other devices, and is provided at no cost to preschools and to parents of preschool age children in the county, including those not enrolled in a preschool program.  The digital early literacy tools include libraries of books that are engaging, animated, and capable of reading themselves to children in either English or Spanish.  These books teach the 1,000 most important Dolch words, as well as phonics and comprehension skills, through stories and games that motivate children to want to read the stories again and again.  Once downloaded onto a device these books can be opened with or without wifi.  For those families who cannot afford a device, NCOE has partnered with NapaLearns to offer a rent-to-buy HD Kindle for children.

The Results are Immediate and Impressive

NCOE’s Digital Early Learning program was piloted in 2011 as a 4-week summer boot camp for four-year old English language learners.  Impressive results in language use led us to administer the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, pre- and post, to kindergarten students the following year, producing statistically significant results in both expressive and receptive language.  The countywide launch for all preschool students came in February 2014, and Napa County preschoolers were challenged by me to read one million words by June 30.  Instead, they topped five million, and have continued their astonishing rate of growth. A kindergarten teacher recently administered the DIBELS test and discovered that the children who scored the highest were those who spent the most time reading their digital books at home. There are currently over 1,200 children enrolled who have been exposed to  over 12 million words, and have correctly answered the comprehension questions on their  first try 67% of the time. These children are using the program at home 55% of the time.

The Family that Reads Together…

The staff working on our Digital Early Learning initiative have conducted extensive bilingual and multicultural community outreach, and opportunities for parent training, to ensure the widespread participation in this free program.  In one year we have provided more than 30 parent workshops, as well as workshops for preschool and kindergarten teachers.  Outside of Napa, we were invited to the White House Summit on Early Literacy to share about the positive impact of digital early learning in our county.  Moving forward, we are excited to begin an ongoing five-year longitudinal study, to determine if children who use our digital early literacy in preschool are more proficient readers at the end of third grade than children who do not.

For more information on this program, contact Seana Wagner, Public Information Officer at [email protected] or 707-265-2351.

 

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Matthew Lynch published in Equity, Higher Education, Matthew Lynch

Diverse Conversations: You Can Go Back Home

“You can never go back home.”

These famous words by Henry David Thoreau began to ruminate in my mind as I prepared to conduct an interview with President Francis L. Hendricks. You see, President Hendricks is a 1979 graduate of Mansfield University and he recently returned to the university as it’s 28th president. Apparently, “you can go back home” and to much fanfare and excitement. I recently sat down with him  to see what life is like for a former student returning home to run his alma mater. Without further ado, let’s begin the interview.

Q: What are your impressions of Mansfield University since your return to campus?

A: This is a magical place; it was when I attended here and it certainly is today! Students have always come here to learn, delve into interests and discover unknown passions. With a strong Liberal Arts base, in a beautiful rural setting, Mansfield University is able to offer professional programs in fields in which students are interested. Mansfield University has remained true to its commitment of outstanding instruction in an intimate classroom setting, where you are taught by professors who know you personally and care about your preparation for your life’s journey. The pride and commitment of our campus community is as strong now as it was when I was a student in the 1970s. From our grounds keepers who want a parent’s first view of campus to be one of beauty, to our faculty and staff who realize we are our students’ family away from family, their dedication is to our students. One of our employees just celebrated her 64th year as a dining services staff member and is valued by all.

Q: It must be exciting to come back as President. How did you react when you were offered the job?

A: I was ecstatic! I care so deeply about Mansfield University and welcomed the opportunity to come back and “pay forward” all the university has done for me. As a non-traditional candidate for University president, I truly had no expectations of being offered the position. I did however know that Mansfield University prepared me well for my future and gave me the foundation needed to be successful. At Mansfield, I was able to build relationships with professors, staff and even the President, all of whom mentored me and provided me sound advice when needed. I wanted to be able to do the same; to connect with students and serve them as those before served me. I am a product of Mansfield University and truly humbled to have been chosen its 19th President.

Q: What made you want to apply?

A: It met the criteria of what my wife and I wanted to do after I retired from the military. We wanted a position where we knew we could make a difference in the lives of others. We wanted to, once again, be part of something that was bigger than both of us; and we wanted to use our experiences and contribute to the success of the team we would join. There was never any doubt that returning to Mansfield University would be the right step for us. It also would enable me to return to the region in which I was raised. In every way, it was coming home for me and my family.

Q: Have you spent time on some goal-setting or strategic planning?

A: Yes. From day one, I have been setting the tone for how we will build upon the university’s strengths, while simultaneously addressing the challenges we face. I work closely with the university’s strategic planning committee on our next Strategic Plan. The plan, which goes into effect in 2014, sets the foundation for where the university will be in 2020. In order to remain relevant to students’ needs and thrive in the “new normal” of public higher education, Mansfield University will take the appropriate steps to ensure our students’ success. We will embrace ownership of our University’s destiny. We will broadcast our excellence and we will strengthen and build partnerships within and outside of our immediate community.

Q: What’s your impression of the community and its interaction with the college?

A: The strong connection between the university and community dates back to 1857 when both the borough and the university came into being. Community business leaders serve on our council of trustees and other committees. Faculty and staff serve in leadership positions on local and county boards. The Mansfield community embraces ours students as their own and the University works hard to partner in community and economic development, events, and assistance. After all, Mansfield and its surrounding towns are where we live and raise our children. We are neighbors, friends and partners both in and outside of the work place. That connection led me to coin the phrase, “you can’t spell community without MU!”

Q: How do you imagine continuing the momentum that Mansfield University has achieved during the past decade?

A: We will continue to assess everything we do, from the programs we offer to the services we provide our students and their families. We will make adjustments based on those assessments which is the key to remaining relevant for current and future students and our alumni. We are key producers of leader-ready individuals in their chosen fields of study. Mansfield University greatly impacts the local community, region, Pennsylvania and beyond with its graduates and its presence. We must constantly look at how we can improve upon our delivery of education and services.

Preparing students for their life’s journey, must remain our primary focus.

Well, that concludes my interview with President Hendricks. I would like to thank him for consenting to this interview. Good Luck!

 

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Matthew Lynch published in Higher Education, Matthew Lynch

College Football Obsession: Sending the Wrong Academic Message?

This past weekend was the kickoff for the college football season. It seemed that every social media newsfeed was full of people cheering on their alma maters or sending shout outs to their favorite college mascots. The start of football season on the professional level and every tier below it has become an iconic fall tradition of American culture. This glorification of a sport, particularly in the case of college athletes, put priorities in the wrong spot though.

Does our collective obsession with college football and other collegiate sports give K-12 kids the wrong idea about the purpose of higher education?

Let’s face it; athleticism is at least partially genetic. People love to mention the story of Michael Jordan being cut from his high school basketball team as an example of motivation for anyone who faces adversity. No disrespect to Mike, but his raw athletic ability had to be apparent during his high school years. The fact that he was cut from the varsity team was likely more a result of relying on that talent, and not putting in the effort to hone it. Once he realized what a lot of practice and persistence, paired with unmatched talent, could mean in his life he was able to excel at what he was already good at doing.

Call me cynical, but not every kid who is cut from a sports team has the ability to be like Mike by just putting his nose to the grindstone.

The same goes for college athletes, many of whom are put on a pedestal by peers, coaches and parents. Yes the feats of the human body are admirable but should a young adult with athletic ability be treated better by an institution of higher learning than one whose strengths are in engineering or the life sciences? The promise of fame and fortune (achieved after a college career if NCAA rules are followed) make a “career” as a college athlete look glamorous. But what is lost from an academic standpoint?

Colleges and universities do not elevate athletes in principle, of course. There is no bylaw that mandates the best athletes be given advantages or treated better than everyone else on campus. But money talks. The highest grossing college football program is at the University of Texas and it brings in an astonishing $90 million annually to the school. You can add the Ohio State University, the University of Florida and the University of Notre Dame to the short list of college football programs that consistently bring in revenue in the tens of millions to their schools.

The direct financial impact is not the only way football, and other popular athletic programs, aid in a school’s bottom line. A strong athletic program brings in more future students and rallies boosters under a common cause. To call college football a cash cow is an understatement; these programs are more like the blue whales of university revenue outside of actual tuition.

So students athletes like Aaron Hernandez are allowed to act suspiciously, getting into violent bar fights, as long as they are part of an epic college team headlined by Tim Tebow. Years later when Hernandez is accused of involvement in multiple murders, and no longer a college football player, people claim that there was always something “odd” about him. So why did he get a pass?

Of course most college athletes walk the line. They hone their athletic abilities while showing respect to academics and the reputation of their schools. They should be applauded for their accomplishments but not to the point that academics take on a role of secondary importance on campus. It’s not the fault of the athletes, most of whom are just young adults. It is the fault of the school officials and supporters that send the message from grade school that sports culture is greater than academics.

What do you say? Does the cultural obsession with college sports send younger students the wrong message about the purpose of higher education?

 

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