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Matthew Lynch published in Parental Involvement

The Crucial Role of Parental Involvement

By Matthew Lynch

It is beyond any doubt that low-performing schools would benefit from developing strong parent-school partnerships. However, it is not always easy to promote such a culture of shared responsibility. Schools may face difficulty in attaining an efficient collaborative framework among stakeholders, which include teachers, parents, students, the community, and the administration.

Generally, education and school leaders try to generate a social framework that will help teachers, administrators, and parents resolve differences in a peaceful and supportive manner. Overall improvement of student performance can be the outcome of improved relationships between teachers and parents.

Education leaders can encourage parental involvement by improving the structural environment of schools that directly affects teachers, administrators, students, and parents. Historically, American culture has tried to promote a locally inspired, community-based school structure; however, most of the calls for decentralization of schools and school district systems have failed to remove the bureaucratic nature of schools. This includes a structural division of responsibilities, a strict set of laws and regulations, and hierarchical control over the functionality and operation of schools.

Bureaucratic systems often create barriers that prevent teachers from developing effective student-teacher relationships and discourage parents from taking part in helping students develop their learning skills. Centralized schooling systems under the burden of stern bureaucracies can also cause alienation of teachers and obstruct student development. On the other hand, bureaucratic systems help teachers control and use their expertise to guide students effectively. A reduction in bureaucracy would increase administrative tasks among teachers, which would then have a negative impact on their performance.

The bureaucratic system should be based on flexible formulae that will guide the teachers, administrators, and parents in promoting the learning skills of students and help them achieve better results. The centralized or hierarchical authority of schools can be used to implement these supportive regulations and policies to enhance parental involvement. On the other hand, the wrong set of policies or the lack of flexibility may harm the process of teaching and learning.

Schools must be prepared for the fact that one outcome of effective parental involvement programs will be the desire of parents to become partners in the decision-making process existing in schools. Thus, school personnel must possess a genuine belief that shared responsibility for multiple aspects of the educational enterprise will result in improved learning environments for children and youth.

Understanding the deep-rooted importance of family and parental involvement in education and its effect on the academic performance of a child, requires recognizing the fact that parents are children’s first teachers. Home is the first school, and as such, it is the place where children learn an abundance of skills, knowledge, and attitudes, some of which supports what is taught in schools.

When parents get involved with their children’s education, they tend to succeed academically and perform better on exams. They miss fewer school days and tend to be more conscientious about completing school-related work outside of school. Conversely, children, whose families are not as involved in their school experiences, are often unable to compete academically with peers, have irregular attendances, and are less likely to graduate from high school.

Because of the positive impact that parent and family involvement in education has on the performance of children, schools often try to encourage parents and family members to increase their participation in the educational process. In order to increase partnership of parents with schools, schools must create an environment that offers enough incentives and support for parents.

Schools cannot expect that all parents and family members will increase their level of parental involvement on their own. School staff, including teachers, other school personnel, maintenance staff, and administrators, must work together to develop an environment that encourages parents to ask questions and share their feedback with school personnel. Some parents will need to be invited to schools, and learn to view schools as places where they may seek advice, receive suggestions on any number of school/student related issues, and understand it is a place where their inputs and thoughts are welcomed.

Some parents may be dissuaded from getting involved with what they perceive as a group of close-knit educational professionals who engage in language and practices meant to exclude parents from the work of educational systems. School districts must make sure parents understand state standards and assessments so that parents can be more involved in monitoring the progress of their children. Schools are required to make sure that communications with parents are in a language and format that are understandable to parents. In order for America’s children to succeed academically, the crucial role of parental involvement must be embraced wholeheartedly.

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Matthew Lynch published in EdTech & Innovation, Matthew Lynch, Teachers

3 Important Digital Resources for Student Success

The Internet is full of resources for teachers – time-management software, lesson plan ideas, and wealth upon wealth of informative websites. But the Internet isn’t just for educators – it’s chock full of tools for students, too. Below are some of the top three resources that modern technology can offer your pupils:

1. Drill-and-Practice Programs

These game-like programs function at different levels that students can progress through toward the final level. If a level has not been passed, the next level cannot be accessed. For educational purposes, this is created in such a way that the game cannot continue until a concept is mastered entirely. The concepts build from one level to the next. The learning of each level of the game prepares the student for the next level. This feature increases the fluency of a skill.

A different type of these drill-and-practice programs is called a “clicker.” These programs are basically response systems. Students enter the answers to the questions into a system, and they are automatically compiled and displayed for the teacher to see. This can be used for questions, competitions, discussion classes, and debates according to the answers.

2. Multimedia Software

Multimedia software allows users to create presentations with pictures, audio clips, videos, and even short movies. Imagine teaching history by showing a presentation of pictures and videos of the civil war, or teaching geography by exploring Google Maps with a projector, or watching an earthquake or a tornado developing in real time. As discussed earlier, these technology resources make classes richer and much more interesting to students. They can actually see that the lessons are real and that they are related to real-world problems and people. Multimedia resources can also be useful to present charts, graphs, and mind maps and project them for the whole class. Students can even provide feedback and re-create the concepts and diagrams after a class discussion. Resources such as these allow students to visualize concepts instead of passively listening to a lesson, leading to greater understanding.

GIS software applications are used to create, display, and manage geographic information digitally. This may seem costly, but, as mentioned, most city governments own this type of software, and the option of partnering with the schools is generally available. Such a partnership includes technical support and the resources for the school to take full advantage of the software, as well as the opportunity to work with experts and learn from them. Students can have access to unlimited project opportunities. Teachers can have access to a great amount of opportunities to include students in scientific environments otherwise inaccessible to them. These opportunities could include, for example, observation of how NASA experts take samples of water and find the pH level, temperature, oxygen dissolution, and contamination in just minutes. The software will also allow students to graph the data. Geography studies are also highly improved with this software.

3. Tutorials

As mentioned, these are educational software applications that provide instruction on a specific topic. The software generally includes visual materials and examples to present a certain concept, and then evaluates the student’s understanding after he or she is finished. Some tutorial subjects include different levels of evaluation, so until a specific concept is mastered, the program does not continue.

Online resources can fling your students’ education wide-open, especially if they have access at home. Learning is no longer limited to the walls of any building. Your students can delve into their education anytime, anywhere. The web lets your students take their learning worldwide.

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

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Matthew Lynch published in Matthew Lynch, Policy & Reform

Math Learning – A Universal Language?

Fifth-grade students at Woodward Elementary School had an interesting math assignment this fall: watching college football games. Though seemingly fun on the surface, the assignment had an ulterior motive. Students were asked not simply to watch the college football games, but to score the plays and keep track of yards, points and time. The raw data they collected was then translated into fractions and percentages and used as mathematics learning tools. What is most remarkable about this assignment, first reported by Fox News, is that the point of the exercise was not simply to make math “fun” or practical. Teacher Scarlett Childers was also looking for a way to reach across the socio-economic and language barriers of her students.

At Woodward, 98 percent of the student body is on the subsidized lunch program and 95 percent learned English as a second language. Math, it seems, became a universal language in her classroom, better understood through a real-world assignment. The statistics at Woodward represent a larger cultural trend, too. Over 60 million people, or one-fifth of people, in the U.S. do not speak English at home which presents a problem in English-speaking K-12 classrooms. Dual-language programs have long been the trendy tactic for bringing down language-learning barriers but is math the real answer?

Urban improvement

President Obama’s Race to the Top initiative emphasizes STEM learning, particularly in mathematics, in order for more students to make it to high school graduation and the college degree beyond it. That push is founded on facts. Take Rhode Island, for example. In the state, poor math performance in high school is linked to lower enrollment in college and failure to complete college. Under 42 percent of 11th grade Rhode Island students who were considered “below proficient” on NECAP math ended up enrolling in college. Rhode Island is not exactly known as a diverse area, so that statistic presumably means that most of those students are native English speakers and from mid- to high-income households.

Imagine then the ramifications of that statistic on more diverse, urban K-12 classrooms? The good news is that urban school districts, though still often underperforming in math, are showing the greatest positive improvement in math achievement. Large cities are making progress more quickly than the nation as a whole. Fourth and eighth graders in U.S. cities with at least 250,000 people have improved more quickly in math learning than the national average, according to a report by National Assessment of Educational Progress. The students who speak English as a second language in these urban settings are improving at a faster rate in math than their native English-speaking peers around the country – and that speaks volumes to the power of math as a universal subject and equalizer.

There are certainly programs that target urban students when it comes to math, and other STEM, learning but I’d like to think that much of that progress is a direct result of the teachers in the classroom, like Scarlett Childers. There is no way that one math-learning or ESL initiative drawn up by a district or the state can adequately address the students that need the extra boost. Individualized plans, like the college football scoring assignment, are what really get through to students and bring them to a place of better long-term comprehension. Instead of being a learning complexity, I believe innovative math learning initiatives are the key to overall K-12 academic improvement. Math is a universal language and one that needs practical applications to really have an impact. That starts with the teachers but needs support from the decision-makers to truly make a difference. How do you reach your students when it comes to math learning? What innovative ways help you?

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Matthew Lynch published in Ask An Expert, Matthew Lynch, Teachers

All You Need to Know About Substitute Teaching

The job market is wildly unpredictable. Depending on the year, it can be difficult for educators – especially newly graduated ones – to find a permanent position with a school. If your job searching process is taking longer than you expected, you may want to seriously consider looking into substitute teaching.

Practical experience is more important than ever in today’s job market, and you can’t immediately secure a teaching position following graduation, or wish to obtain more experience in the teaching field, substitute teaching may be an avenue allowing you to do so. When full-time teachers are unavailable due to illness, family responsibilities, or personal or professional conferences, substitute teachers may be called in. Some districts tend to hire permanent staff from their available substitute teacher pool when positions become available, so this could also be a way of moving gradually into a position or secure employment.

Approximately 270,000 substitute teachers are employed across the United States, and approximately 1 full year of a student’s K–12 education is taught by substitute teachers.

Qualifications for a substitute vary by district and according to need. However, a bachelor’s degree or enrollment in the final years of a teacher college program is usually the absolute minimum requirement. Many districts with a shortage of substitute teachers relax the qualifications simply to be able to cover the classes. Some may require certified teachers for long-term substitute teaching when the full-time teacher must take an extended leave of absence (e.g., maternity or medical leave).

To obtain a substitute teaching position, inquire at the office of the district where you wish to teach, or check the district Web site for details. The process for being added to the substitute list differs from district to district. If you do decide to accept a position as a substitute, know that you are playing an important part in helping keep a classroom running. Your presence enables education to keep going. While your role may be temporary, it is still extremely important!

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Matthew Lynch published in EdTech & Innovation, Matthew Lynch, Teachers

The 5 Obstacles You Must Overcome As a Tech-Savvy Educator

As amazing an impact as technology can have on education, modern digital resources are unfortunately far from evenly available. Do you know what technological poverty can look like? Do you know what causes lie behind it? Below, we’ve listed the top five most common barriers to introducing technology to the classroom.

1. The Digital Divide

Earlier in this chapter, we looked at the digital divide and broke it down by race, class, and gender. The digital divide is considered one of the biggest barriers to introducing technology into the classroom. All students are expected to have computer skills, and often it is just assumed that they all do. Unfortunately, this is not the case: access to technology is still not equal. Students who have less access to technology are mostly those living in low-income homes. Even if these students have a technology-based education at school, with a computer and Internet access, they will still not have the same advantages as those who have computer access at home. Access to technology by itself, however, is not a guarantee of computer literacy and skills. It also depends on how the technology is used. Some schools use computers for drill-and-practice exercises, while others foster problem-solving activities, challenging students to develop deeper levels of understanding.

The digital divide has been closing recently, due to lower prices for computers, new mobile phone technology, and a growing number of schools that have computer equipment. But the digital divide in the differences in the quality of hardware, software, and connectivity resources doesn’t seem to be closing. More wealthy homes will always be ahead of homes living in poverty, and urban and suburban students will always have better and faster Internet connections than rural students, who sometimes don’t have an Internet connection at all.

2. Lack of Funds

Maintaining a network within a school with decent hardware and software requires a considerable amount of money, which many schools simply do not have. Information technology is expensive. State and local governments spend more than $5 billion annually to equip schools with computers, networks, hardware, and software. Apart from the cost of providing the school with the necessary equipment to maintain this, schools have to have a technology budget each year that includes hardware and software maintenance, in addition to the hiring of trained personnel to handle technical issues.

3. Lack of Training

To achieve a successful introduction of technology into the classroom, trained support personnel and training for teachers are essential. Teachers can’t be expected to use technologies that they’re not comfortable working with. Technical problems can discourage teachers from using the technology, so it’s important to have a technical support professional available at all times. This way, problems will be only minor inconveniences. Providing teachers with complete training on the technology they will be using, as well as the possible problems and how to solve them, is a valuable investment for education. Teachers who are comfortable with and understand these technologies are the most likely to effectively use these technologies in the classroom.

In response to the fact that teacher training on technology is “hit and miss” in American schools, many educational institutions are including technology training in their course work for obtaining an initial teacher license.

4. Internet Access

Access to cyberspace—the world of information provided through the Internet—is of huge benefit to students and teachers. Access creates opportunities for communicating with any part of the world, opportunities for online simulation applications, social networking, Web-based documents, and endless other sources of information. These are just some of the benefits that a school without Internet access misses out on. During the 1990s, President Bill Clinton created the National Information Infrastructure (NII), the goal of which was to encourage all schools, hospitals, and government agencies to become connected to the Internet. This program included an E-rate, or Education Rate, which were discounted rates for schools and libraries, based on the income levels of the students’ families and location of the school. Since NII was implemented, the number of public schools with Internet access has risen dramatically. By 2005, fifteen years after the NII was established, there was virtually no difference in access between poorer and wealthier schools.

5. Access to Technology

As mentioned, differential access to technology creates a digital divide. Schools are making big efforts to reduce this gap, and making it possible for all students have access to high-end technology in both poor and wealthy schools. Schools have been able to reduce the number of students per computer, but despite this, the digital divide concerning the difference in technology access at home has not changed as much. This gap between quality technology access in low-income homes and more affluent homes remains wide.

Does your classroom experience any of these issues? If so, have you taken any steps to try to overcome the obstacle? Talk to the other teachers in your school and to your administrators about how you can work together to remove the hurdles standing between your students and their chance at a maximized education.

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

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Matthew Lynch published in Ask An Expert, Matthew Lynch, Teachers

Landing Your Dream Teaching Job

Finding a job after completing your degree can seem like a pretty daunting feat. However, you don’t have to go it alone. There are several resources and networking services available to help soon-to-be and new graduates find a placement. Some of the most common include:

1. College Career Centers

Most colleges have a career services office to assist graduates in finding employment. Career services offices allow you to complete a current placement file containing all of your credentials. The career services personnel will provide your placement file to any employers requesting credentials. The career services offices also provide current job postings, may arrange on-campus interviews, and can provide you with other job search resources.

2. The School Districts Themselves

Once your placement file is updated, contact the districts where you’re most interested in working. Find out their procedures for applying for a certified teaching position and if they expect any openings in your area. Many districts have this information available online, but other districts may require you to call.

3. Local Job Fairs

Job fairs are also an excellent place to apply for teaching positions. At a teacher job fair, area districts set up booths and accept applications from potential candidates. Candidates should dress professionally and prepare for a pre-interview.

4. Personal Contacts

Finally, remember to use your contacts. Ask your collaborating/mentoring teacher, other teachers you know, colleagues, college instructors, and anyone who may have information regarding job openings. Most important, don’t forget to follow through with all of your leads.

It may take several attempts at reaching out and applying for positions before you finally receive an offer. Be persistent, show up in person whenever you can, and don’t be afraid to ask for help from those who are already established in the field who might be able to help you get a foot in the door.

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Matthew Lynch published in Ask An Expert, Matthew Lynch, Teachers

How You Should Dress for a Teaching Job Interview

Interviews are an important part of the application process. Interviews are often the first chance you’ll get to make an in-person impression. In addition to how you hold yourself and how you present yourself through language and diction, how you dress is a major part of the impression you’ll leave. How you choose to dress in a professional interview tells employers a lot about the assumptions you make about the position you’re applying for, what you know of social cues and cultural context, and how highly you value putting in the effort to put your best foot forward. Read on to learn the do’s and do not’s of dress code for an interview:

Appropriate Attire When Interviewing

  • Solid-color conservative suit
  • 
Coordinating blouse or tie
  • Limited jewelry
  • Neat, conservative hairstyle
  • Manicured or neatly trimmed nails •
  • Light makeup for females
  • Portfolio or briefcase
  • Little or no perfume or cologne

What Not to Wear to an Interview

  • Sunglasses on top of your head
  • A backpack or unprofessional bag
  • Above-the-knee skirts
  • “Loud” clothing
  • Heavy makeup on women
  • Earrings on men or more than one pair on women
  • Nonmatching socks or shoes

Don’t let a teaching position slip away from you because you chose the wrong outfit. Interview attire should be a step up from your normal work wear. Wear crisp, clean clothes that say you’re a put-together, reliable professional. You want your interviewer to be able to imagine you as immediately ready for work in the classroom. Dirty socks and crumpled shirt don’t exactly say “classroom-ready.” While getting dressed, ask yourself, “Do I look ready to work? Do I look like I think today is important, or do I look like I’m treating today like any other? Does my appearance say that I value myself?” Put extra effort into looking like you want to be taken seriously, and you will be!

 

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Matthew Lynch published in Ask An Expert, Matthew Lynch, Teachers

How Teachers Should Dress at Work

Whether it’s during your student teacher or when you’re officially on the job, how you dress in the classroom is as important as how you dress in the interview to get you there, or even the work you do while teaching. How you dress will set the tone for what you expect of yourself – and your students.

Because teachers are held to the highest standards in the community, they’re expected to dress rather conservatively. When preparing for an internship, consider the following guidelines when building a wardrobe. Some of these address comfort, practicality, and professionalism. Outward appearance often has an effect on the amount of respect given by students and other faculty/staff. 
Typically, interns should dress in business-casual attire, unless otherwise instructed. Here are a few suggestions on how to dress while attending your internship:

Hair
Neat, natural styles. No extreme colors or cuts.

Tops
Shirts should be clean and without wrinkles. Avoid tight-fitting blouses, tank tops, and t-shirts. Do not expose midriffs, undergarments, or cleavage.

Pants and Skirts
Pants should be neatly pressed, clean, and should fit comfortably. Skirts should be no higher than 1 inch above the knee. Avoid jeans and pants with rips or tears.

Shoes
Closed-toe, closed-heel shoes are recommended. Remember, teaching involves pro- longed periods of standing, so take comfort into consideration when choosing footwear.

Accessories
Makeup should be natural, and jewelry should be tasteful and kept to a minimum. There should be no visible body piercings or tattoos.

Hygiene
Appropriate grooming and bathing should be reflected in appearance.

Your appearance is a social cue that signals to everyone around you how you’re expecting to act and what kind of interactions you’re planning to have. You want to your dress to say that you expect to do the best job possible – and that you expect your students to do their best, too.

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Matthew Lynch published in Higher Education

Report: College graduates with high debt face long-term health issues

According to a new study via Gallup.com, college graduates “who took on the highest amounts of student debt, $50,000 or more, are less likely than their fellow graduates who did not borrow for college to be thriving in four of five elements of well-being: purpose, financial, community, and physical.”

In short, debt may cause negative health issues.

The survey has an area of 25-years as Gallup only polled individuals who graduated college between 1990-2014. What the study found is that graduates who are burdened with $50,000 or more in student loan debt may struggle to repay their loans, which in turn has causes them to delay making large purchases, e.g. buying a new home.

Those saddled with debt are unable to save as much as their counterparts who do not have as much debt or none at all, and Gallup’s “thriving gap,” percentages between those with $50,000 in debt less the percentage of student’s without it, shows an 11 point percentage spread between the two parties.

The study also found that more recent college graduates seem to be performing worse than those who graduated prior to 2000. Those who obtained a college degree between the years of 1990-1999 are doing better socially, physically, and in purpose.

What this inquiry portends is that the government and colleges and universities will have to seriously tackle the issue of rising tuition costs as well as student loan debt.

Because student loan debt now outweighs credit card debt and has surpassed $1 trillion, America has a full blown fiscal crisis on its hands. With wage growth still stagnant and many individuals going without full employment, this crisis will likely get worse. That will mean more health issues and many former graduates with void savings accounts as well.

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Matthew Lynch published in EdTech & Innovation, Teachers

Using EdTech to assess small group instruction

A panel discussion with the teachers of Richardson ISD in Richardson, Texas

PANELISTS:

Caroline Canessa, Merriman Park Elementary, 5th Grade Reading-Language Arts

Leah Janoe, Dover Elementary, 5th Grade Math

Ashley Scott, White Rock Elementary, 3rd Grade

Jennifer Looney, Wallace Elementary, 3rd Grade

Alyson Hollon, Dover Elementary, 6th Grade Science

 

For those who may not know, can you elaborate on what your state standards ask teachers to assess in terms of small group discussions?

Jennifer Looney: According to our third grade standards, students should be involved in teacher-led and student-led discussions.

Leah Janoe: Students should participate in small-group discussions by asking questions and answering questions appropriately, which includes answering the question thoroughly, giving enough detail, and most importantly helping the conversation build and continue through their input.

Ashley Scott: We’re also asked to determine if students can use proper verb tense and grammar through discussions with peers.

 

Why is it challenging for teachers to monitor small group discussions?

Alyson Hollon: The biggest challenge with small group discussions or team collaborations is being able to monitor each group’s discussions at once, so that any misconceptions are addressed.

Caroline Canessa: This area of teaching can be very challenging! Often times it is hard to know whether or not student conversations or focus on the task at hand, or completely off the mark. Also, students may pretend to be on task while the teacher is near, but then return to being off task as soon as the teacher leaves the area.

Jennifer Looney: Small groups are often spread out all over the class, so it is hard for a teacher to have the time to engage with all groups. It is also a challenge to talk to one group while also monitoring behavior in a group across the room.

 

RISD has found and is trying out a tool that allows teachers to monitor several discussions all at once. Can you tell us about it?

Ashley Scott: The Flexcat system comes with two teacher microphones and remotes, one large speaker, and six individual speaker pods. The microphones can be used to project your voice out of the large speaker or out of individual pods. The remote controls the volume of your voice. You can use your normal talking voice and it does a wonderful job making it louder for all students to hear. With the pods I can control which group I would like to speak to directly. The microphone comes with an earpiece, which allows for you to listen through the pod to that group. You can turn on the pod without the students knowing and listen. Students can also use the call button on their pod and speak to the teacher through their pod.

Jennifer Looney: The speaker pods allow you to have ears all over the classroom. From working with a small group at my teacher table, I can tell what a group in the hallway is discussing and talk to them directly to refocus them without interrupting precious teaching time.

 

How has the Flexcat changed the way you run your classroom?

Leah Janoe: The Flexcat allows me to hear students’ natural conversations with each other, especially when I can listen in and hear how students are explaining a concept to each other. As a math teacher, I can listen in and see what steps students are verbalizing during group work and help clear up misconceptions in that manner. With the ability to project my voice using the main speaker, I’ve noticed that my students can actually hear my from any point in the room without me having to yell while teaching.

Ashley Scott: My kids are highly motivated to share their thinking and “be the teacher” up at the front of the class wearing the microphone. I can also send a student into a breakout room with a pod to finish work or make up a test. I can pop in on the pod and make sure everything is going OK or they can call me if they have a question. There is also a place for headphones so you could send a child with a pod and headphones to another class to work and still be able to talk directly to the student. It provides so much freedom and flexibility.

 

How have students reacted to the Flexcat?

Caroline Canessa: The students think the Flexcat is a lot of fun! They always ask to use the microphone and love to push the call button.

Alyson Hollon: The students were shocked at first when they realize that I could listen to their conversations even when I wasn’t near them. This has really pushed them to remain on topic and have higher-level group discussions. It has also given students who normally don’t ask questions the opportunity to ask me direct questions, reducing their feeling of apprehension.

Leah Janoe: My students have loved using the Flexcat system because they can discreetly call me to ask for help on a problem. Students who normally would not ask for help feel more comfortable asking for help if they can do so without me having to walk over to address them.

 

Could you share an example of a time when the Flexcat allowed you to catch a student really shining that you would have otherwise missed?

Ashley Scott: This year I had a few students new to our school. Most of my class has gone to school with their peers since kindergarten, and it can be an intimidating situation to walk into. It took this student until the third week to raise her hand to share with the class. One day I called on this particular child to “be the teacher” and share her thinking with the class during math. I gave her the microphone and once she heard her voice from the back of the room, she immediately smiled and stood up straight. You could see how excited and proud she was. Without the microphone, there is no way anyone would have been able to hear her because she was so nervous about sharing with her new peers.

Jennifer Looney: I have a very intelligent student who prefers to only share a few words at a time whole group because she is so shy. When she is with her tablemates, however, she is very talkative. I am able to listen in on her responses in a more laidback situation. I know several students have anxiety about whole class answers and responding directly to a teacher. As this student was working through a table problem in math, she guided her peers to solve a multiplication problem. It was really great to witness her come out of her shell and collaborate!

Alyson Hollon: I have this one student who really struggles working with teammates. One day I was listening to his group as they were finishing up a lab and he explained to another teammate why the chemical reaction occurred and he explained it so well. At this time I was working with my small group students and if I didn’t have the Flexcat I would never have heard his wonderful explanation.

 

What are your thoughts on education these days?

Caroline Canessa: The world of education is just as challenging and rigorous as it has always been.

Alyson Hollon: Today’s education is changing from teacher lead to student lead. Our students need “21st century skills” to be successful today which changes the role of teacher in a 21st century classroom. Students are more motivated and want to be in charge in their own learning.

Leah Janoe: In these times, I am amazed at what students are learning and how they are being taught. The methods and topics that students are using are amazing and I cannot imagine having learned with so many technology tools when I was in school.

 

What are your thoughts on technology in education? Why?

Jennifer Looney: Technology is used, in some way, for every career out there. Students must graduate knowing how to use this technology. To exclude technology from the classroom would be a great disservice to our students.

Leah Janoe: I am so excited for (and slightly jealous of) the technology opportunities my students have to integrate into their classes and learning. I’m amazed at all the tools students can use to encourage their learning.

Caroline Canessa: Technology in education is critical. It allows students access to information that they may not otherwise be able to access at home. It also readies all students for the future – which is increasingly more and more digital world.

 

Any other comments or experiences to share?

Alyson Hollon: I honestly believe with all the technology that I have in my classroom, the Flexcat is essential and necessary. A Flexcat should be in every classroom.

Ashley Scott: I would not want to go back to teaching without the Flexcat!

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

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Matthew Lynch published in Ask An Expert, Matthew Lynch, Teachers

What You Need to Know About the Teacher Application Process: Background Checks

Criminal background checks may be required before any field experience, student teaching, applying for employment, or after securing employment. The district will direct you on the process they use to gather your fingerprints, and you’ll usually be held responsible for the cost of the background check. Different states use different criminal background tests. The Massachusetts test, for instance, is called the Criminal Offender Records Information (CORI).

In many states, tests like CORI in Massachusetts are administered to protect the welfare of students. These criminal background checks are usually required of all candidates for, and current occupants of, positions that have the potential for direct and unmonitored contact with students. The tests may be administered to teachers, teacher’s aides, school nurses, counselors, coaches or other extracurricular staff or supervisors, food service employees, custodians, and transportation providers. Volunteers, interns, student teachers, or other persons regularly offering support to any school program or facility, whether paid or unpaid, may also have to take the test.

Criminal background checks are an important part of ensuring that your future students are safe. You may request to receive a copy of the report that will be sent to your prospective employer, or you may waive the option. Asking to receive a copy will not reflect negatively on you.

While it may be intimidating to have a government agency look into your past, know that the check is just a routine part of applying for a job. Take a deep breath, do the paperwork, and keep moving forward with the job-seeking process!

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Matthew Lynch published in Matthew Lynch, Policy & Reform

Year-Round Schooling: How it Affects the Economy

In this series I have been writing about different facets of the year-round schooling debate. First I looked at the effects on students and then moved to the impact on teachers. As I researched both groups, I found no distinct disadvantages to either (and some advantages) when placed on a year-round academic calendar.

Today I want to move away from the individual groups impacted and take a closer look at the overall economic effect of year-round schooling. Does this academic setup help or hurt taxpayers’ pockets?

On-campus costs and savings

Year-round school programs are based on one of two different concepts: single-track, which releases all students for breaks throughout the year together, and multi-track, which staggers student breaks and effectively keeps the school building occupied year round. Obviously on a multi-track schedule, school maintenance costs rise because the building is in full use year-round. The cost does not increase by as much as a quarter, though, because most traditional schedule school buildings do have some employees there in the summer months and most offer summer school classes for some of that time too. Still, in cold-weather climates, the cost of not having to pay for air conditioning alone can be a deal-breaker when the topic of year-round schooling is broached. There is also the added cost of transportation on more days of school, custodial staff and additional administrative staff.

There are some areas where year-round schools can be long-term money saving options, though. If a particular district has more students than traditional schedules can accommodate, the capital cost of new buildings can be avoided with a multi-track schedule that allows more students to use the same building. Beyond the capital cost of a building, money can be saved through a higher amount of students using the same resources, like library books or physical education equipment. Some schools have even listed a decrease in vandalism as a financial plus of year-round occupancy.

Community cost and savings

Each individual community will feel a different economic impact when it comes to year-round schooling. A tourist community with summer attractions, for example, may feel more of a squeeze if its low-cost employee pool of high school students is suddenly in class instead. The same could be said for ski communities though that could benefit from multi-track scheduling of high school students during its busiest seasons. The summer months tend to be when most high school students earn the most money, however, because there is a significant duration of time with no school responsibilities. Without those months of a steady paycheck, students (and parents) stand to lose potential college money. Trying to work and maintain a job alongside classes can have a negative impact on grades according to most research and most employers cannot accommodate students who are only available two or three week spans at a time.

So the potential economic cost of year-round schooling is two-fold: the individual student may suffer financially, and the local businesses may have to pay out more for jobs that are better-suited for high school students who do not have the time off to work them.

Savings to the community are a little less tangible, but can be reflected in some research that says year-round schooling reduces teen crime, thus saving money for the community. At-risk students tend to perform better in year-round setups, making them more successful in their academic career which could feasibly mean a stronger economy down the road if those students avoid dropping out of high school. While the savings associated with year-round school schedules may not show up on something as straightforward as a utility bill, they still exist.

Like the impact on students and teachers, the financial ramifications for year-round schooling do not seem significantly negative. But for cash-strapped districts, any upfront costs can be a deal-breaker.

What other potential costs or savings do you associate with year-round schooling?

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