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Matthew Lynch published in Ask An Expert, Teachers

The Edvocate’s Definitive Guide to Creating a Culturally Responsive Classroom

Becoming a culturally responsive classroom is hard. To help you along your journey, here is your guide to exploring and respecting the cultural backgrounds of your students while also using diversity as an asset. If you take our advice, you will have a culturally responsive classroom in no time.

Gather a wide base of knowledge about other cultures. This is one of the most critical steps that you as a teacher must take in order to educate students in a culturally responsive way. If you’re an educator, or you’re aspiring to become one, you’d better become familiar with the cultural values, traditions, communication styles, learning preferences, contributions to society, and relationship patterns of their future students.

Don’t just limit yourself to book learning. Granted, you can get some of the education you need by simply reading about cultural diversity. But there is something to be said for genuine interaction and discourse with members of students’ cultures.

Use your knowledge to understand your students better. Yes, it’s true that book knowledge about diverse cultural groups can come in handy when you’re designing lesson plans and educational materials. But taking it one step further, you can often interpret your students’ attitudes and behaviors a lot better if you know more about the cultures they belong to.

Traditional teaching environments force students from those and other groups to modify their thought and behavior patterns to fit standard European-American norms or else face academic and behavioral consequences. However, in a culturally responsive classroom, the onus is instead placed on the instructor to learn about and adapt to the cultural intricacies of the students that they teach.

Avoid stereotyping. This is a big problem that often comes when you are beginning to learn about other cultures. And at first glance, it does seem difficult to apply knowledge about culturally-influenced thoughts and behaviors to the classroom without falling into the traps of over-generalization and stereotyping.

But in order to avoid these problems, your next step is to engage in a rigorous examination of the general cultural practices of their students. This is the beginning of the personal dimension of culturally responsive pedagogy: learning about the specifics of students’ cultural backgrounds and how those cultural patterns and beliefs can be most positively expressed in a real classroom setting.

View each student’s culture as a dynamic and individualized concept. Remember this: a person’s culture represents the sum of many spheres of influence, including context within history, gender, age, religion, family relationships, group memberships, cultural beliefs and practices, historical context, and level of education. Therefore, to avoid stereotyping, the educator must view each student as possessing a personalized culture instead of as a member of a homogenous group.

A bit intimidating? It may seem so at first. However, in practice, there are a variety of methods that can be employed to learn more about a student’s cultural heritage and identity. Read on to Step 6 for some tips on this.

Use classroom assignments as a primary window into your students’ beliefs. Writing assignments can play a significant role in gathering information about student thought patterns and tendencies.  Interviews with family members, assignments asking students to write about learning experiences that occur outside of school, and assignments involving family stories and traditions all can play a significant role in discovering information about a students’ cultural heritage.  Students’ parents can often be solicited as sources of useful personal information and visiting the neighborhoods where diverse students live can help give educators an idea about the level of social support present and the types of challenges that the student might face outside of the classroom.

Get your students’ names right. It may sound simple enough, but a teacher who does not take the time to even know the names of his or her students, exactly as they should be pronounced, shows a basic lack of respect for those students. Teachers should learn the proper pronunciation of student names and express interest in the etymology of interesting and diverse names.

Encourage students to learn about each other. Teachers should have their students research and share information about their ethnic background as a means of fostering a trusting relationship with both fellow classmates.  Students are encouraged to analyze and celebrate differences in traditions, beliefs, and social behaviors.  It is of note that this task helps European-American students realize that their beliefs and traditions constitute a culture as well, which is a necessary breakthrough in the development of a truly culturally responsive classroom.

Give students a voice. Another important requirement for creating a nurturing environment for students is reducing the power differential between the instructor and students.  Students in an authoritarian classroom may sometimes display negative behaviors as a result of a perceived sense of social injustice; in the culturally diverse classroom, the teacher thus acts more like a facilitator than an instructor.  Providing students with questionnaires about what they find to be interesting or important provides them with a measure of power over what they get to learn and provides them with greater intrinsic motivation and connectedness to the material.  Allowing students to bring in their own reading material and present it to the class provides them with an opportunity to both interact with and share stories, thoughts, and ideas that are important to their cultural and social perspective.

Be aware of language constraints. In traditional classrooms, students who are not native English speakers often feel marginalized, lost, and pressured into discarding their original language in favor of English.  In a culturally responsive classroom, diversity of language is celebrated and the level of instructional materials provided to non-native speakers is tailored to their level of English fluency.  Accompanying materials should be provided in the student’s primary language and the student should be encouraged to master English.

Hand out praise accordingly. High expectations for student performance form the core of the motivational techniques used in culturally responsive instruction.  Given that culturally responsive instruction is a student-centered philosophy, it should come as no surprise that expectations for achievement are determined and assigned individually for each student.  Students don’t receive lavish praise for simple tasks but do receive praise in proportion to their accomplishments.  When expectations are not met then encouragement is the primary emotional currency used by the educator.  If a student is not completing her work, then one should engage the student positively and help guide the student toward explaining how to complete the initial steps that need to be done to complete a given assignment or task.  Once the student has successfully performed the initial steps for successful learning it will boost his sense of efficacy and help facilitate future learning attempts.

While popular among educators in traditional classrooms, reward systems should be considered with caution in a culturally responsive setting.  Reward systems can sometimes be useful for convincing unmotivated students to perform tasks in order to get a reward (and hopefully learn something in the process) but they have the undesirable long-term side effect of diminishing intrinsic motivation for learning.  This effect is particularly strong for students who were already intrinsically motivated to learn before shifting their focus toward earning rewards.  Given that one of the prime goals of culturally responsive instruction is to motivate students to become active participants in their learning, caution and forethought should be used before deciding to introduce a reward system into the equation.

A culturally response, student-centered classroom should never alienate any one student, but should bring all the different backgrounds together in a blended format. Teachers should develop their own strategies, as well as take cues from their students to make a culturally responsive classroom succeed.

Teachers: knock down your own biases first. For many teachers, who hail from a middle-class European-American background, a common side effect of being raised in that dominant Euro-American culture is the self-perception that “I’m an American; I don’t have a culture.” This is actually untrue—European-American culture simply dominates social and behavioral norms and policies to such an extent that those who grow up immersed in it can be entirely unaware of the realities of other cultures.

Fortunately, initial cultural biases can be overcome via hard work and reflection.  The necessary element for discarding pre-existing biases is a willingness to go through a process of rigorous self-appraisal in order to learn what needs to be changed to teach in a culturally responsive fashion.  A good way to start this process is by writing down reflections about family history, upbringing, and interpersonal relationship styles and how one’s experience may differ from the experience of a person raised in a different culture.

Eventually the focus of this reflection must turn toward one’s ideas about and racism and bias.  The culturally responsive educator should reflect on the fears, stereotypes, and biases that they have about individuals that are different from them. Once the educator can recognize that their own personal tastes are not objectively better than those favored by other cultures, they can begin to investigate and appreciate the traditions and values of those cultures.

Now take a deeper look into the cultures of your students. It’s easy to be superficial and fall into the twin traps of over generalization and stereotyping when learning about the different cultures of your students. What is important to keep in mind is that each student’s culture is dynamic and individualized.

A person’s culture represents the sum of many spheres of influence, including context within history, gender, age, religion, family relationships, group memberships, cultural beliefs and practices, historical context, and level of education. To avoid stereotyping, the educator must view each student as possessing a personalized culture instead of as a member of a homogenous group. At first blush this may appear to be a daunting task, but in practice there are a variety of methods that can be employed to learn more about a student’s cultural heritage and identity.

For example, classroom assignments can provide a primary window into a student’s cultural beliefs.  Writing assignments can play a significant role in gathering information about student thought patterns and tendencies.  Interviews with family members, assignments asking students to write about learning experiences that occur outside of school, and assignments involving family stories and traditions all can play a significant role in unearthing information about a students’ cultural heritage.  Students’ parents can often be solicited as sources of useful personal information and visiting the neighborhoods where diverse students live can help give educators an idea about the level of social support present and the types of challenges that the student might face outside of the classroom.

Consider how cultural differences might affect academic performance. A person’s culture and upbringing has a profound effect on how they see the world and how they process information. This fact was discussed by Richard Nisbett in his work, The Geography of Thought: How Asians and Westerners Think Differently. Nisbett worked with psychologists in Japan and China and determined that the holistic way of viewing the world typical of many students from those countries differed from that of their American counterparts, who tended to view the world in parts or distinct classes of objects that could each be defined by a set of rules.

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References

Culturally responsive teaching is a theory of instruction that was developed by Dr. Gloria Ladson-Billings and has been written about by many other scholars since then. To read more of her work on culturally responsive teaching and other topics, click here to visit her Amazon.com page.

 

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Matthew Lynch published in Ask An Expert, Trending Topics

The A-Z of Education: The History of Education

In this series, I hope to guide you in acquiring the vocabulary that you need to know to be considered a competent education professional. In this article, we will discuss education vocabulary centered on the history of education.

Click here to view all of the articles in the series.

American Spelling Book was the name given to the 1783 publication designed to promote nationalism following the Revolutionary War. The book included moral lessons, word lists, and guides to pronunciation, as well as the change from British to American spellings.

Abstraction refers to the act of taking something away, or separating something from something else, though not necessarily with a decrease in complexity.

De jure refers to an occurrence or phenomenon sanctioned and supported by formalized legislature.

De facto refers to an occurrence or phenomenon existing in reality, particularly in the absence of any formalized legislature.

Equality refers to the state of being the same or equal.

Equity refers to impartiality, or the state of being fair and free of prejudice.

McGuffey Readers One of the most popular and widely used textbooks in history. While not overtly religious, the books emphasized moral lessons and were intended to develop students into good citizens.

New England Primer was an illustrated textbook comprised of religious readings used in schools during the colonial period.

Progressive Education Movement was a reform movement in education which began in the 1880s and lasted over 60 years. The progressive movement emphasized learning by doing and the creation of curricula to suit children’s interests.

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Matthew Lynch published in Ask An Expert, Trending Topics

The A-Z of Education: Curriculum and Instruction

In this series, I hope to guide you in acquiring the vocabulary that you need to know to be considered a competent education professional. In this article, we will discuss education vocabulary centered on curriculum and instruction.

Click here to view all of the articles in this series.

Convergent Questions allow students a chance to provide simple, single answer to questions, which can even be narrowed down to yes or no responses.

Curriculum refers to a predetermined set of courses, as well as the course content, that is offered at an educational institution.

Curriculum Mapping describes the process through which schools detect gaps in learning between curricula, by analyzing a database where teachers enter course planning, content, skills, and assessment information. Any gaps detected are managed appropriately to ensure that the standard of learning provided at the institution meets district or state requirements.

Differentiated Instruction refers to the concept that defines the fact that students learn differently and have to receive instruction according to those differences.

Direct Teaching Methods refer to instances where the teacher is primarily regarded as the provider of information. The teacher is in full control of the pace, content, and structure of the lesson at all times, and students are required to follow.

Divergent Questions are questions that could have more than one answer. These require students to analyze responses before selecting.

Indirect Teaching Methods refer to instances where students take the primary responsibility and the teacher acts as a facilitator. The students are responsible for the direction and pace of their learning, as well as the content to variable degrees.

Integrated Teaching Methods combine direct and indirect teaching methods. The teacher begins with an instructive session and gradually engages the students to take the lead.

Learning Style refers to the various methods by which students are able to learn information presented to them, and which style suits them best.

Pedagogical Content refers to what binds subject knowledge with pedagogy. Pedagogical content knowledge might be viewed as a profound understanding, interpretation, and adaptation of the curriculum, which may only be achieved by a profound knowledge of the subject, the curriculum, and the students. It refers to the way that the teachers organize the topics and choose the clearest analogies and metaphors in order to leave an impact on their students.

Standardized System is an education system that has the same characteristics for all individuals and all institutions.

Student-Centered Curriculum refers to a non-authoritative, participation-focused model that reflects the necessity of a focus on both learners and learning.

Subject-Centered Curriculum is divided into strict subject areas, where there is little flexibility for cross-curricula activity. Subjects are taught in isolation, and there is an emphasis on acquisition and memorization of information and knowledge regarding each specific content area.

Theories-in-Use are theories that we take for truths, often without consciously analyzing, evaluating, or questioning them in any way.

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Matthew Lynch published in Ask An Expert

The A-Z of Education: The Philosophy of Education

In this series, I hope to guide you in acquiring the vocabulary that you need to know to be considered a competent education professional. In this article, we will discuss education vocabulary centered on the philosophy of education.

Click here to view all of the articles in the series.

Alienation denotes a society that is organized into classes based on what they do or do not own.

American Exceptionalism is the idea that the United States is a special country with a manifest destiny.

Axiology is the branch of philosophy that considers the study of fundamental principles.

Behaviorism is the perspective that because behaviors are caused by experiences, altering circumstances will alter behaviors. (Also known as Behavior Modification)

Classical Conditioning is another term for conditioned behavior, a behavior that responds to a stimulus that doesn’t normally cause that reflexive response.

Classical Idealism is a branch of Idealist philosophy searching for the absolute truth. It is the theories of the renowned Western philosophers Socrates and Plato (427–347 BC), who were searching for an absolute truth.

Classical Realism is a branch of Realist philosophy that suggests that matter is real and that it is separate from our perceptions.

Cognitive Psychology, also known as constructivism, is the perspective that students “build” their knowledge as new experiences are linked to previous experiences.

Conception of Property and the Government is the liberalist notion that government shouldn’t interfere with business transactions.

Conceptualization of Ideas refers to the knowledge acquired through big ideas that allow us to understand the world around us.

Conditioned Behavior refers to a behavior that responds to a stimulus that doesn’t normally cause that reflexive response. (Also known as “reflexive conditioning” or “classical conditioning.”)

Conservatism is the belief that institutions should function according to their intended original purpose and any concepts that have not been maintained should be restored

Constructivism is the perspective that students “build” their knowledge as new experiences are linked to previous experiences. (Also known as Cognitive Psychology.)

Critical Theory is a philosophy of education that analyzes institutions, organizations, and instruction in terms of power relationships.

Deconstruction Method is a process of criticizing literary text, philosophical text, and political theory. It entails a breakdown of the rational purposes, or logos, of earlier Western philosophy that was believed to govern the universe.

Deductive Reasoning is reasoning that allows a person to think from general principles to a specific event.

Dialectical Epistemology is continuing to engage in class conflict and struggle and materialism.

Dialectical Materialism is the combination of materialism and realism with the Idealist idea of dialectical change. It perceives society as a developing and constantly changing network of human relationships that have economic consequences.

Educating for General Citizenship refers to the Liberalist belief that we should educate everyone equally and in preparation to become a political leader.

Episteme are the assumptions that contribute to a society at a particular time in history.

Epistemology is the branch of philosophy that contemplates how people come to learn what they know.

Equalitarian refers to aspiring to the doctrine that all human beings are equal; a less common word for egalitarian.

Essentialism is a philosophy of education that consists of core knowledge in reading, writing, math, science, history, foreign language, and technology.

Ethno-nationalism refers to loyalty to an ethnic or racial group rather than to a nation.

Existentialism is the philosophy that accentuates attentive personal consideration about one’s character, beliefs, and choices. The primary question existentialists ask is whether they want to define who they are themselves, or whether they want society to define them.

Existentialist Phenomenology concludes that we construct our own truths from within, as opposed to the previous theories of one universal truth.

Experimentalism is a conjecture that the earth is still in process and is still becoming, so that there is no absolute truth.

Forms of Good refers to a belief by Plato who arranged his ideas, referred to as “forms,” in a hierarchy with the greatest of all forms being the Forms of Good.

Global Communication Processes are how information is delivered. Television, email, Internet, newspapers, and textbooks are all sources of Globalization Communication

Global Economic Processes involve all aspects of buying and selling goods and services across the globe.

Global Educational Processes are the process by which schools and universities are expected to “compare and compete” globally. The World Bank fosters to the globalization these institutions by adjusting policies for less technologically developed countries.

Global Political Processes are the process by which government and officials are expected to “compare and compete” globally. The World Bank fosters to the globalization these institutions by adjusting policies for less technologically developed countries.

Globalization is the process that promotes worldwide participation and relationships between people of different countries, cultures, and languages.

Great Works are works of literature written by history’s finest thinkers that transcend time and never become outdated.

Historical Materialism is an analysis of capitalism.

Humanistic Psychology is a philosophy that focuses on the value and meaning of education rather than the dissemination and attainment of facts.

Idealism is a major school of thought in educational philosophy, of which the underlying principle is that reality is mostly spiritual. It is the belief that physical things exist only in the mind.

Individualism is the Liberalist belief that individuals retain inherent human rights that the social order cannot give or take away.

Inductive Reasoning refers to reasoning that allows a person to think from that specific event back to what the general principle was that caused the event.

Information Processing refers to how the brain processes information by attending to stimuli, and receiving, storing, and retrieving information.

Liberalism is the ideology that people should enjoy the greatest possible individual freedom and that it should be guaranteed by due process of law.

Life-Affirmation involves questioning even the most socially acceptable doctrines, such as Christianity and morality.

Logic is the branch of philosophy that looks to bring organization to the reasoning process.

Marginalize refers to taking or keeping somebody or something away from the center of attention, influence, or power.

Marxism is an ideological and political movement that focuses on the class system as a form of conflict within the social, political, and educational realms.

Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that considers questions about the physical universe.

Modern Idealism is a branch of Idealist philosophy that believes in a material world and a world of the mind. It implies that since a man is thinking that he must exist. It further questions existence and how we came to be, concluding that some form of deity must be present that allows us to exist.

Modern Realism is a branch of Realist philosophy that suggests that everything we know comes from experience and reflecting on that experience. We are not born with any innate or preconceived ideas, but rather are a blank slate.

Nationalism is a national spirit, a love of one’s country, and the emotional ties to the interests of a nation and the symbols that represent it.

Operant Conditioning is a behavior conditioned by reinforcement for performing desired actions rather than causing reflexive behaviors.

Paideia Program refers to a Perennialist program developed from the book The Paideia Proposal. It is based on the Great Works of literature, and has been implemented by hundreds of schools in the United States.

The Paideia Proposal is a book that was written by Mortimer Alder in 1982, which described a system of education based on the Great Works. The book inspired the school model referred to as the “Paideia Program.”

Perennialism is a philosophy of education that asserts that certain notions transcend time and are predominantly found in the great literature of the ages.

Philosophy of Education Statement is a written description of what we interpret the best approach to education to be.

Postmodernism is a major school of thought in Educational Philosophy that describes the cultural changes to philosophy that are caused by present-day information such as from contemporary literature, feminism, and art.

Pragmatism is a major school of thought in Educational Philosophy, which concludes that our ideas serve a purpose and that we seek out that purpose by solving problems and considering what the consequences may be.

Problem-Solving Method is the method developed by John Dewey that deduces that people think in order to solve problems, and lists the steps used to search for absolute truth. The steps include: recognizing that there is a problem, clearly defining a problem, suggesting possible solutions, considering possible consequences, and observing and experimenting to either accept or reject the idea as an absolute truth.

Progress and Representative Political Institutions refer to the Liberalist belief that holds that liberation of human rights will lead to improving the human condition.

Rationality and the Power of Reasoning refers to the belief that most people can be reasonable, and that teachers need to use teaching methods that build and support the ability to rationalize and use their intelligence

Realism is a major school of thought in Educational Philosophy that is the notion that the world exists “because it does.”

Reflexive Conditioning is another term for conditioned behavior: a behavior that responds to a stimulus that doesn’t normally cause that reflexive response.

Religious Idealism is the branch of Idealist philosophy that theorizes two separate worlds: a world of God and a world of humanity. These two worlds are separated by sin, and the soul is the bridge to rejoin the world of God.

Religious Realism is the branch of Realist philosophy that presumes that God is pure reasoning, which is the truth of all things. Religious Realists believe the sole purpose of existence is to reunite the soul with God.

Scaffolding is a constructivist technique of “constructing meaning.”

Schemata are how we organize our knowledge that allows us easy access to memories that haven’t been used in some time.

Secularism is the belief in the strict enforcement of the separation of church and state.

Social Reconstructionism is the perspective that schools are the organization that should be used to solve society’s problems.

Society-Centered Philosophies go beyond focusing on strictly the teacher or the student, and focus on a group or a people instead. Whether it is a minority group or the world as a whole, society-centered philosophies focus on educating a group of people rather than a curriculum or a student.

Socratic Method is the process of gaining knowledge by carefully questioning and then criticizing the answers.

Socratic Seminars are lectures in which the teacher asks a specific series of questions in order to encourage the students to think, rationalize, and discuss the topic.

Student-Centered Philosophies refer to philosophies that focus more on educating students individually. They place more emphasis on the individuality of the students and helping them to realize their potential.

Teacher-Centered Philosophies are philosophies that pass knowledge on from one generation of teachers to the next. In teacher-centered philosophies, the job of the teacher is to impart a respect for authority, determination, a strong work ethic, compassion for those around us, and sensibility.

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@oldbrainteacher published in Ask An Expert, Assistive Technology, Digital & Mobile Technology, EdTech & Innovation, EdTech Policy & Reform,

An Open Letter to District Administrators

Dear School District Administrators,

Most open letters are written as a passive criticism or open critique of a large institution. I have no wish to be passive in my critique and observations.  They are intended to spur conversation and reflection.  These are the tools of our trade as teachers.  I was hired to critique and foster reflection.

 

 

 

After studying and researching in your administrative offices over the previous year, you have embraced personalized learning as a targeted result, as we deploy technology throughout the district.  It is a goal widely acknowledged to be systemic in scope and paradigm shifting by its nature. So with all sincerity, I applaud your willingness to step bravely into a well-reasoned approach to 21st-century learning.

It is widely agreed that personalized learning is also a new pedagogical mindset that must extend beyond the classrooms; that fact pushes forward my primary question “How does the leadership of a personalized learning environment shift itself to accommodate the new network of change?”

pass or failAs I continue learning to apply a more personalized approach to my teaching. I have found that many of those same skills can be used to reflect and evaluate options. So I have tried here to apply a similar cognitive approach, an open critique and sincere question on eight observations I have noted as my school, and our district has embarked on a journey of blended and personalized learning.

In the classrooms we are, approaching the close of another school year, you at the District offices are approaching the hiring season. As you do so, I would ask that you perhaps take some time to consider the qualities your prize as you develop a leadership team for the future.  It is commonly understood that there is a shortage of new teachers in the US, as well as a disconcertingly high number of experienced professionals leaving our classrooms. But that is not the case for program administrators and principals. The number of people earning Masters Degrees’ in educational leadership or seeking an administrative endorsement is higher now than at any time in the past 25 years. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics

You have the opportunity to look broadly and consider carefully those that will help lead us through this systemic paradigm shift.

Personalized learning achieved through a blended curriculum keeps students engaged; it pushes them to grow and demands that they understand both themselves as learners and our curriculum as it pertains to their lives. In a very real sense, PL embodies the vision that led so many of us into teaching as a profession. The opportunity to connect not just with a child, but with a child through teaching and learning.

Personalization is full of hard data, human connections and an intricate web of lessons, apps, and projects. Peel back that top layer and the overwhelming nature of the idea begins to surface, PL disseminates the control of the learning within a classroom, the students practicing to take control of their own path. The teacher building supports and taking them away.

That complex dance of adding and subtracting scaffolding while it is being used is being successfully done. But it is severely limited when it has to fall within blocks of time and for a set number of minutes each week.

  • Where once our administration needed to be skilled at defining, defending and delineating blocks of time we are now asking them to find flexibility within a rigid structure and extra time where the was never enough.

?  How do we as a district support the required complexity of a school schedule while still offering the time to rigorously dig deeply into an area of study?

Underneath the popular jargon and interview buzzwords that you will hear, like Grit and Mindset, are classrooms where those life skills are being developed.  In those rooms, both students and teachers are failing, examining their efforts and sometimes failing again.  Learning to fail and from failure is important for real success.

  • As an institution, we are built to reward success and admonish failure. As a culture of educators, we are largely populated by those that thrived in that climate exemplifying their own successes and hiding their failures.

? How do we insure ourselves and reassure others that our district leadership understands the role of failure and exploration as we move into a new mindset?

We do not work in an industry where taking chances, innovating or finding a creative alternative is celebrated, least of all at the administrative level. Rather we as a profession, are accurately profiled as safe, steady, stable, predictable types.  Our administrators even more so than those of us in the classroom.

  • We are now in an era where we will need to be inventive, take calculated chances and create new ideas. We will need to look for those traits in our leaders as we move into uncharted paths with impressionable cargo.

? What are the important character trait of a 21st-century school administrator, and how do we ensure that the status quo does not continue to be the status quo?

?  How will the changing power dynamic in classrooms impact both our schools and our district as a whole?

One of the most powerful aspects of personalized learning is that it is, out of necessity, powered from the classroom up.  Teacher-leaders are the ones moving the bar and setting the standards. Those classroom maestros will need strong support and stronger feedback.

  • Please remember as you consider the next steps for those that will be leading the dwindling number of magnificent classroom teachers that we are a profession built on the artful combination of personal connections, honest feedback, and transparent agendas with all of our students, not simply those in the most need.

?  How can we use our transition into personalized learning, as an opportunity to both support and capitalize on the prowess of our teacher-leaders?

The devices, the web resources, the alignment of lessons and project to a standard, all of these pieces are new and as unfamiliar as they are integral to this shift.  As a teacher, I know there is no shame in saying I don’t know, and that I will not be able to master all of those elements of the job I love without support.  I am confident and comfortable say that my principal and school as a whole will need support as well.

It is not an uncommon critique to observe that the current structure of our educational system was built with management in mind rather than support and growth. Nor is it an uncommon refrain for teachers ask for support. It is uncommon, however, to have the opportunity to create the needed change.

?  What structures of support can we enhance or establish to best help our schools thrive as centers of blended and personalized teaching?

?  How do we find a way to structure and support creativity while still managing growth and learning?

If you are overwhelmed by the questions and standards set before you if you feel as though the task is disproportionate to the tools available. Please know that I, and every classroom teacher, that works for you is familiar with those insecurities. We grapple with them every fall, we understand, from experience I can tell you that the while the challenge never fades the overwhelmed feeling does.

With sincere thanks for all that you do to move us forward,

Brian Cleary  @oldbrainteacher

 

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Matthew Lynch published in Ask An Expert, Education Leadership

There’s more than practice to becoming a world-class expert

D. Zachary Hambrick, Michigan State University and Fredrik Ullén, Karolinska Institute

Some people are dramatically better at activities like sports, music and chess than other people. Take the basketball great Stephen Curry. This past season, breaking the record he set last year by over 40 percent, Curry made an astonishing 402 three-point shots – 126 more than his closest challenger.

What explains this sort of exceptional performance? Are experts “born,“ endowed with a genetic advantage? Are they entirely “made” through training? Or is there some of both?

What earlier studies show

This question is the subject of a long-running debate in psychology, and is the focus of the new book “Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise” by Florida State University psychologist Anders Ericsson and science writer Robert Pool.

In a 1993 study, Ericsson and his colleagues recruited violinists from an elite Berlin music academy and asked them to estimate the amount of time they had spent engaging in “deliberate practice” across their musical careers.

Deliberate practice, as Ericsson and his colleagues have defined it, includes training activities that are specifically designed to improve a person’s performance in an endeavor like playing an instrument. These activities require a high level of concentration and aren’t inherently enjoyable. Consequently, the amount of deliberate practice even experts can engage in is limited to a few hours a day.

Researchers found that skill level correlated with deliberate practice. Elliot Margolies, CC BY-NC-ND

Ericsson and his colleagues’ major discovery was that there was a positive correlation between the skill level of the violinists and the amount of deliberate practice they had accumulated. As deliberate practice increased, skill level increased.

For example, by age 20, the most accomplished group of violinists had accumulated an average of about 10,000 hours of deliberate practice – or about 5,000 hours more than the average for the least accomplished group. In a second study, Ericsson and colleagues replicated the finding in pianists.

On the basis of the studies, these researchers concluded that deliberate practice, rather than talent, is the determining factor for expert performance. They wrote,

We reject any important role for innate ability.

In a recent interview, Ericsson further explained that

we can’t find any sort of limiting factors that people really can’t surpass with the right kind of training. With the exception of body size: You can’t train to be taller.

Is it all about training?

Based on this evidence, the writer Malcolm Gladwell came up with his “10,000-hour rule” – the maxim that it takes 10,000 hours of practice to become an expert in a field. In the scientific literature, however, Ericsson’s views have been highly controversial from the start.

In an early critique, Harvard psychologist and multiple intelligence theorist Howard Gardner commented that Ericsson’s view required a “blindness” to earlier research on skill acquisition. Developmental psychologist Ellen Winner added that “Ericsson’s research demonstrated the importance of hard work but did not rule out the role of innate ability.” Renowned giftedness researcher Françoys Gagné noted that Ericsson’s view “misses many significant variables.” Cognitive neuroscientist Gary Marcus observed,

Practice does indeed matter – a lot and in surprising ways. But it would be a logical error to infer from the importance of practice that talent is somehow irrelevant, as if the two were in mutual opposition.

How important is training?

For our part, working with colleagues around the world, we have focused on empirically testing Ericsson and colleagues’ theory to find out more about the relationship between deliberate practice and performance in various domains.

A 2014 study led by Case Western Reserve University psychologist Brooke Macnamara used a statistical tool called “meta-analysis” to aggregate the results of 88 earlier studies involving over 11,000 participants, including studies that Ericsson and colleagues had used to argue for the importance of deliberate practice.

Each study included a measure of some activity that could be interpreted as deliberate practice, as well as a measure of skill level in a domain such as music, chess or sports.

It isn’t all about practice.Ahd Photography, CC BY-NC

The study revealed that deliberate practice and skill level correlated positively with each other. In other words, the higher the skill level, the greater the amount of deliberate practice. However, the correlation wasn’t so strong as to warrant the claim that differences in skill level are largely due to deliberate practice.

In concrete terms, a key implication of this discovery is that people may require vastly different amounts of deliberate practice to reach the same level of skill.

A more recent study synthesized the results of 33 studies to understand the relationship between deliberate practice and performance in sports at a more detailed level.

One important finding was that deliberate practice lost its predictive power at the highest levels of skill. That is, on average, there was almost no difference in accumulated amount of deliberate practice between elite-level athletes, such as Olympians, and subelite athletes, such as contestants in national championships.

Training isn’t the only factor

As we discuss in a recent review article with behavioral geneticist Miriam Mosing, this evidence tells us that expertise – like virtually all phenomena that psychologists study – is determined by multiple factors.

Training history is certainly an important factor in explaining why some people are more successful than others. No one becomes a world-class performer without practice. People aren’t literally born with the sort of specialized knowledge that underpins skill in domains like music and chess. However, it now seems clear that training isn’t the only important factor in acquiring expertise. Other factors must matter, too.

What might these other factors be? There are likely many, including basic abilities and capacities that are known to be influenced by genes.

In a 2010 study with psychologist Elizabeth Meinz, 57 pianists ranging in skill from beginner to professional estimated the amount of deliberate practice they had accumulated across their musical careers, and took tests of “working memory capacity.” Working memory capacity is the ability to focus one’s attention on information critical to performing a task by filtering out distractions.

Working memory capacity made a difference while sight-reading. woodleywonderworks, CC BY

The pianists then attempted to sight-read pieces of music (that is, to play the pieces without preparation) on a piano in the lab. The major finding was that working memory capacity was a factor in the pianists’ success in the sight-reading task, even among those with thousands of hours of deliberate practice.

Our research on twins further reveals that the propensity to practice music is influenced by genetic factors. This research compares identical twins, who share 100 percent of their genes, to fraternal twins, who on average share only 50 percent of their genes. A key finding of this work is that identical twins are typically more similar to each other in their practice histories, as well as their scores on tests of basic music aptitude, than fraternal twins are to each other. For example, it’s more likely to find a pair of identical twins who have both accumulated over 10,000 hours of practice than a pair of fraternal twins who have both accumulated this amount of practice.

This discovery indicates that, while extensive practice is necessary to become a highly skilled musician, genetic factors influence our willingness to put in that practice. More generally, this research suggests that we gravitate toward and persist at those activities that we have an aptitude for from the outset.

Research by other scientists is beginning to link expert performance to specific genes. In a groundbreaking series of molecular genetic studies, the University of Sydney geneticist Kathryn North and her colleagues found that the ACTN3 gene, which is expressed in fast-twitch muscle fibers, correlates with high-level success in sprinting events. Based on these findings, North and her colleagues have called ACTN3 a possible “gene for speed.”

How can people excel?

In view of this evidence, we have argued that the richness and complexity of expertise can never be fully understood by focusing on “nature” or “nurture.”

For us, the days of the “experts are born versus made” debate are over. The task before us is to understand the myriad ways that experts are born and made by developing and testing models of expertise that take into account all relevant factors, including not only training but also genetic influences.

From a practical perspective, we believe that this research will provide a scientific foundation for developing sound principles and procedures for helping people develop skills. As sports science research is already starting to demonstrate, it may one day be possible to give people accurate information about the activities in which they are likely to excel, and develop highly individualized training regimens to maximize people’s potential.

Far from discouraging people from following their dreams, this research promises to bring expert performance within the reach of a greater number of people than is currently the case.

The Conversation

D. Zachary Hambrick, Professor of Psychology, Michigan State University and Fredrik Ullén, Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience, Karolinska Institute

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

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Matthew Lynch published in Ask An Expert

Has the library outlived its usefulness in the age of Internet? You’d be surprised

Donald A. Barclay, University of California, Merced

U.S. institutions of higher education and U.S. local governments are under extraordinary pressure to cut costs and eliminate from institutional or governmental ledgers any expenses whose absence would cause little or no pain.

In this political climate, academic and public libraries may be in danger. The existence of vast amounts of information – a lot of it free – on the Internet might suggest that the library has outlived its usefulness.

But has it? The numbers tell a very different story.

In spite of the findings of a survey in which Americans say they are using public libraries less, the usage numbers reported by libraries indicate the opposite.

Some upward trends

In the last two decades, the total number of U.S. public libraries slightly increased – inching up from 8,921 in 1994 to 9,082 in 2012 (a gain of 2.14 percent). Over the same period, the data also show that use of public libraries in the U.S went up as well.

U.S. public library usage statistics: 1993-2012. Chart created by Donald A. Barclay, using data from the National Center for Education Statistics, CC BY

Here’s what data on circulation (books and other items checked out to library users) and annual visits to public libraries reveal.

The number of books and other items borrowed from U.S. public libraries increased from 6.5 items per capita in 1993 to 8.0 items per capita in 2012 (up 23 percent). Over the same time span, the number of visits to U.S. public libraries rose 22.5 percent.

The one major public library usage measure that did decrease was the number of times library users asked questions of reference librarians, dropping 18 percent from 1993 to 2012.

The popularity of U.S. public libraries is, it seems, at least as strong as it was before the web became a household word (much less a household necessity).

Rise of the e-book

For academic libraries, the data are more mixed. Circulation of physical items (books, DVDs, etc.) in U.S. academic libraries has been on a steady decline throughout the web era, falling 29 percent from 1997 to 2011.

Total circulations (in 1000s) by U.S. degree-granting post-secondary institution libraries: 1997 through 2011. Chart created by Donald A. Barclay, using data from the National Center for Education Statistics., CC BY

More tellingly, over the same time span and among the same academic libraries, the annual number of circulations (of books, DVDs, etc.) per full-time student dropped from 20 circulations to 10 (down 50 percent).

Number of circulation transactions per full-time student in U.S. degree-granting post-secondary institution libraries: 1997 through 2011. Chart created by Donald A. Barclay, using data from the National Center for Education Statistics., CC BY

That fewer books are circulating is hardly a surprise given the vast amount of scholarly information (the bulk of it purchased with academic library budget dollars) that is now available to students via their electronic device of choice.

Electronic scholarly journals have driven their print-format predecessors to obsolescence, if not quite extinction, while e-books have become increasingly plentiful.

In 2012, U.S. academic libraries collectively held 252,599,161 e-books. This means that over the course of about a decade, U.S. academic libraries have acquired e-books equal to about one-fourth the total number of physical books, bound volumes of old journals, government documents and other paper materials acquired by those same libraries since 1638 – the year Harvard College established the first academic library in what is now the United States.

E-books are not only plentiful, they are popular with academic users (in spite of some shortcomings in usability). For example, data provided to the author show that when the University of California, San Diego made a collection of academic e-books available to students and faculty through the popular JSTOR interface, the usage numbers proved impressive.

In just under a year, UCSD students and faculty used 11,992 JSTOR e-books, racking up 59,120 views and 34,258 downloads. In response to user demand, the UCSD Library outright purchased over 3,100 of the titles offered via JSTOR, making those e-books a permanent part of the UCSD library collection.

Who needs the encyclopedia?

As with circulation numbers, reference questions asked of librarians in U.S. academic libraries have undergone a sharp decline – standing now at 56,000,000 per year, down 28.4 percent from 16 years ago. For the 60 largest U.S. academic libraries, the average number of reference transactions dropped from 6,056 per week in 1994 to 1,294 per week in 2012 (down 79 percent).

Average number of reference transactions per week for the 60 largest U.S. academic libraries: 1994-2012. Chart created by Donald A. Barclay, using data from the National Center for Education Statistics., CC BY

There’s not much mystery behind the drop in reference transactions. When I first began working as an academic reference librarian in 1990, hardly a day went by when I didn’t put my hands on such reference works as Places Rated Almanac, The Statistical Abstract of the United States and College Catalogs on Microfiche to answer reference questions.

Today, students access information digitally. The Google app on their smartphones allows students to look up information they once would have found only in analog, library-owned reference sources. And as for that old reference warhorse, the printed encyclopedia – Britannica churned out its final set in 2010.

Further contributing to the decline of in-person reference service is the fact that students are increasingly able to consult with academic librarians via the Internet.

By 2012, 77 percent of U.S. academic libraries were offering reference services via email or web chat. Currently, over 400 academic libraries provide around-the-clock, chat-based reference service as members of OCLC’s 24/7 Reference Cooperative, a global library cooperative that provides shared technology services.

Given only the above numbers, the hasty conclusion would seem to be that everything is online and nobody uses academic libraries any more.

But not so fast.

Even while circulation and reference transaction numbers were tanking, the data show a steady increase in the number of people actually setting foot in academic libraries.

The cumulative weekly gate count for the 60 largest U.S. academic libraries increased nearly 39 percent from 2000 to 2012. Library gate count data for all U.S. institutions of higher education show a similar (38 percent) increase from 1998 to 2012.

Cumulative weekly gate count for the 60 largest U.S. academic libraries: 2000-2012. Chart created by Donald A. Barclay, using data from the National Center for Education Statistics., CC BY

So if students are not going to the academic library to access print collections or ask reference questions, why are they going at all?

The lure of the academic library

I believe that students are trekking to academic libraries because academic libraries have been actively reinventing themselves to meet the needs of today’s students.

Academic library square footage is increasingly being converted from space to house printed books to space for students to study, collaborate, learn and, yes, socialize.

Libraries are no longer cold, forbidding spaces. Howard County Library System Follow, CC BY-NC-ND

Besides providing some of the last refuges of quiet in a noisy, distraction-filled world, academic libraries have taken such student-friendly steps as relaxing (or eliminating) longstanding prohibitions on food and drink, providing 24/7 study spaces and generally recreating themselves to be comfortable and friendly rather than cold and forbidding.

Examples of how forward-leaning academic libraries are attracting students include:

The Grand Valley State University Library’s Knowledge Market provides students with peer consultation services for research, writing, public speaking, graphic design, and analyzing quantitative data. Among a number of specialized spaces, the library offers rooms devoted to media preparation, digital collaboration, and presentation practice.

Library space is changing: three girls using a computer at San Jose library. San José Library, CC BY-SA

The libraries of North Carolina State University (NCSU) offer Makerspace areas where students get hands-on practice with electronics, 3D printing and scanning, cutting and milling, creating wearables, and connecting objects to the Internet of Things. In addition, NCSU students can visit campus libraries to make use of digital media labs, media production studios, music practice rooms, visualization spaces and presentation rooms, among other specialized spaces.

The Ohio State University Library Research Commons offers not only a Writing Center but also consultation services for copyright, data management plans, funding opportunities and human subjects research. Specialized spaces in the library include conference and project rooms, digital visualization and brainstorming rooms, and colloquia and classroom spaces.

Reimagining libraries

By thinking beyond the book as they reimagine libraries, academic librarians are adding onto and broadening a long learning tradition rather than turning their backs on it. In the words of Sam Demas, college librarian emeritus of Carleton College:

For several generations, academic librarians were primarily preoccupied with the role of their library buildings as portals to information, print and later digital. In recent years, we have reawakened to the fact that libraries are fundamentally about people – how they learn, how they use information and how they participate in the life of a learning community. As a result, we are beginning to design libraries that seek to restore parts of the library’s historic role as an institution of learning, culture and intellectual community.

Any library, public or academic, able to live up to so important a role will never outlive its usefulness.

The Conversation

Donald A. Barclay, Deputy University Librarian, University of California, Merced

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

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Matthew Lynch published in Ask An Expert, Diversity, Education Leadership, Equity, Teachers

English Language Learners and Music Go Together Like Peanut Butter and Jelly

A professor shares her tuneful tips for helping ELLs learn what to expect from English.

Dr. Nancy Drescher is a professor at Minnesota State University in Mankato, and has taught both children and adult English language learners (ELLs) in the U.S. and abroad. In this interview, she offers best practices for teaching these students to read, understand structure, and gain background knowledge.

The Edvocate: You believe that simply teaching English vocabulary words and grammar is not the best way to go about teaching ELL students. If that’s not the best way, then what is?

Dr. Nancy Drescher: When it comes to teaching English to a non-native speaker, you first have to build context for the words in the learner’s mind. Rather than teaching a list of standalone words, it is more effective to teach vocabulary using collocations, idioms, and other common phrases. Being a good reader comes from knowing what to expect.

For instance, you would never ask someone for a jelly-and-peanut butter sandwich. It has all the right words, but a native speaker would never phase it that way. It would go against their expectations.

Since ELLs have no pre-built expectations for the language they’re learning, reading becomes a much longer process. They have to stop and process each word and its context individually instead of being able to view a text as a whole. Learning phrasing and how words fit within context helps ELLs build these expectations and facilitate their reading experience.

The Edvocate: So you’re saying this is necessary for reading, too, not just for speaking?

Dr. Drescher: Yes. Students coming from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds can have difficulty with reading because they are used to a different set of expectations, both in terms of how words go together and background experiences. Students who have grown up using standard English (that is the English expected in school) at home and who have experience similar to what teachers expect and naturally build on in their classrooms are at a distinct advantage when it comes to learning to read.

Building these expectations is a normal process of learning to read for any child, not just language learners. Adults often groan when their child asks to read the same book over and over again, but doing this is actually an important part of the process of building these language expectations. Hearing the same book over and over is comforting when children are in the midst of figuring out those expectations. Teachers then build on that initial experience with language structures, but when students come to school with different initial experiences (whether that is a completely different language or a non-standard variety) and their previously learned language doesn’t match that of the classroom and of books, it is much harder for teachers to make those connections and for students to make that transition.

One way teachers and students can make that transition a little easier is narrow reading. Narrow reading involves reading many books on one topic or in a series. The repetition builds expectations by way of building vocabulary and structures in context. This concept is applicable for language learners and for struggling readers in general. If a person reads 10 different books on a topic or in a series, each one will get progressively easier as students gain familiarity with the language and conceptual expectations related to that topic. Another way to build this language repetition is through music.

The Edvocate: Tell us a little more about how using music can help build these expectations you’re talking about.

Dr. Drescher: Educators have been using music in language teaching for years. Music can enhance a student’s ability to read, understand structure, and gain background knowledge. It also adds another learning style, which broadens the reach of the lesson being taught.

The Edvocate: How can music help enhance reading?

Dr. Drescher: Connecting music, language, and books makes language easier to remember. The repetitive nature of songs helps set linguistic expectations. An especially catchy song will remain in students’ heads long after the lesson has ended, enabling them to hold on to the information in an enjoyable format.

Music and songs can also make language learning enjoyable. This is especially helpful for younger children, but also true for adult learners. Songs don’t feel like a grammar drill. Music is something people do for fun, and every culture and group has its own songs. Music brings people together in a fun and engaging way.

The Edvocate: What sort of curriculum is necessary for teaching ELLs?

Dr. Drescher: A lot of times there isn’t a curriculum already in place for ELLs. The current push is to have inclusive classrooms, where ELL students and teachers integrate with mainstream classrooms. This makes it all the more important to find additional scaffolds and supports for students in these types of classrooms. These scaffolds will help everybody, but they are completely necessary for language learners.

The Edvocate: Are there any particular scaffolds you’d recommend?

Dr. Drescher: A few years ago, I started working with Cantata Learning. They create picture books and corresponding songs with educational content for pre-K–3 students. Cantata’s materials benefit language learners, but also mainstream students. Inspired by Cantata, I wrote a few connected lessons geared towards English language learners. The songs integrated well into lessons, and it was easy to find a song about a particular unit. That is the sort of thing I recommend.  If we can bring in multiple ways for students to engage with the language we hope they will be able to use and the content we want them to learn without drilling and killing their love of books and learning, I think we will find the most success for all kids.

The Edvocate: What do you think is the key to teaching English language learners?

Dr. Drescher: You have to keep in mind, learning any language is challenging, but our culture sometimes treats these challenges differently depending on the language being learned. For instance, a child learning English as a second language is often seen as having a deficit when compared to other children. However, when a native English speaker is learning a second language, or is enrolled in a second language emersion school, this is often viewed as an impressive feat.

It’s important to remember that English language learners do have knowledge and experience in their own language and in the world. By learning English, they are taking on a second language in addition to the one they already know. They are used to a different set of expectations, and so ELL lessons need to meet learners where they are in order to build on what they already have.

 

 

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Matthew Lynch published in Ask An Expert, EdTech & Innovation, First Year Teachers, Parental Involvement, Special Education,

Here’s why kids fall behind in science

Paul Morgan, Pennsylvania State University

Globally, the U.S. is at risk of declining economic competitiveness due to its continuing lower levels of educational attainment in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

The U.S. currently ranks 44th according to the quality of its mathematics and science education.

A “leaky STEM pipeline” – in which factors such as lower expectations, discrimination, and a lack of interest make it less likely that racial or ethnic minorities, women or those from low-income families will pursue STEM careers – makes many adults less likely to be employed in these types of positions.

Yet STEM positions are often high-paying and provide greater economic well-being and employment stability, especially as the U.S. transitions to a knowledge-based economy.

Efforts that increase schoolchildren’s science achievement – particularly those from diverse, traditionally marginalized populations – could help provide children with greater future employment opportunities while ensuring that the U.S. remains economically competitive.

The question is, when should these efforts begin? That is, how early do leaks in the STEM pipeline begin to occur?

Science achievement gaps

My research seeks to understand why some groups of children are more likely to struggle academically in U.S. schools. To date, I have been reporting on factors that increase children’s risk for lower achievement in reading and mathematics.

Early on, racial and ethnic minorities fall behind in science. NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, CC BY-NC-ND

Researchers have found that large science achievement gaps occur within the U.S. These gaps are very large by middle school, and they are disproportionately experienced by children who are racial or ethnic minorities, English Language Learners (ELLs), and those from lower-income families.

For example, 63 percent of U.S. eighth graders who are black display “below basic” (that is, less than partial mastery of knowledge and skills necessary for grade level work) levels of science achievement. The contrasting percentage for white children is 20 percent. While 52 percent of low-income children display below basic levels of science achievement, only 20 percent of higher-income children do so.

Yet why these science achievement gaps are occurring has been unclear.

Very few studies have examined children’s science achievement across time. Most studies have used samples of middle or high school students. As a result, when science achievement gaps begin to occur has not been well understood.

Here’s what our study shows

To better understand these science achievement gaps, we analyzed a nationally representative sample of U.S. schoolchildren as they entered kindergarten and then continued through elementary and middle school.

The data were collected by the U.S. Department of Education, and designed to be representative of the population of children who entered U.S. kindergarten classrooms in 1998-1999.

The data included children’s reading and mathematics achievement, their classroom behavior, and many characteristics of their families and schools. Such characteristics included the quality of the children’s parenting, their family’s income, and the racial segregation of their schools. From third grade to eighth grade, the surveys included a measure of children’s science achievement.

During kindergarten and first grade, the surveys assessed children’s general knowledge about their natural (e.g., the seasons, the lunar phases, erosion) and social worlds (e.g., what a fireman does, what planes and trains have in common).

Our analyses of these data yielded three surprising findings.

The gaps exist when kids enter kindergarten. PRONavy Hale Keiki School, CC BY

First, we found that very large gaps in general knowledge were already evident among children entering kindergarten classrooms in the U.S. For example, about 60 percent of black children scored in the bottom 25 percent on the general knowledge measure. The contrasting percentage for white children was 15 percent.

About 65 percent of low-income children entered kindergarten with low levels of general knowledge. Only 10 percent of high-income children did so. The general knowledge and science achievement gaps in kindergarten were even larger than the reading or mathematics achievement gaps.

In other words, leaks in the STEM pipeline were originating “close to the tap.”

The second surprising finding was that general knowledge gaps by kindergarten strongly predicted science achievement gaps by third grade. For example, of those whose general knowledge was in the lowest 25 percent during kindergarten, 62 percent, 60 percent and 54 percent had levels of science achievement in the lowest 25 percent at the end of third, fifth or eighth grade, respectively.

This suggests that children who are already struggling with low levels of general knowledge in kindergarten are likely to still be struggling in science throughout elementary and middle school.

Children’s general knowledge was a stronger predictor of third grade science achievement than race/ethnicity, reading or mathematics achievement, classroom behavior or family income.

Both the general knowledge and science achievement gaps were very stable over time.

Children who are racial or ethnic minorities, English Language Learners or from low-income households displayed lower levels of science achievement by third grade and typically continued to lag behind throughout elementary and middle school. Girls displayed relatively lower science achievement than boys in third grade.

Closing these gaps

Our third finding was more encouraging. We found that we could explain most of these general knowledge and science achievement gaps. And this could help inform efforts by parents, practitioners, and policymakers to close these gaps.

For example, we were able to explain 75 percent of the third grade science achievement gap between black and white children as well as 97 percent of the gap between low- and high-income children.

Early interventions could help.NASA HQ PHOTO, CC BY-NC-ND

Factors that helped explain science achievement gaps included children’s reading and mathematics achievement, their behavior and, most importantly, their general knowledge.

Helping young children to be more knowledgeable about their physical and social surroundings, as well as to be better at reading and mathematics, may increase their science achievement as they grow older.

Asking children questions about their surroundings while encouraging and extending their initial explorations could help them improve their general knowledge and science achievement.

Encouraging policies that lead to high-quality childcare for children most at risk could reduce these gaps. Policies that counter the racial segregation of U.S. schools might also be helpful.

It is never too late to help children grow to be successful. But if we are really serious about their as well as our nation’s future opportunities, we will do more to help all children begin kindergarten already knowledgeable about their natural and social worlds.

Collective, coordinated, and sustained efforts by parents, practitioners, and policymakers during children’s early school careers could make all the difference.

The Conversation

Paul Morgan, Associate Professor of Education, Pennsylvania State University

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

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

Educators: These Two Principles Are Your Universal Code of Ethics

The sphere of ethical responsibilities and moral dilemmas is not just limited to teachers. Professionals from all fields—including doctors, architects, engineers, or psychologists—face ethical issues during their professional duties and find themselves grappling with right and wrong. That’s why most professions have generated a universal code of ethics that every professional belonging to the group is supposed to follow. Doctors abide by the Hippocratic oath, for example. But as mentioned, the teaching profession unfortunately has no universally accepted code of ethics. The InTASC Standards come close. A number of organizations have formulated useful codes of ethics. The National Education Association (NEA) Code of Ethics is an example. A number of state education departments also have their personalized formal codes, for example, the Alaska Professional Teaching Practices Commission.

Here is the NEA Code of Ethics:

PRINCIPLE I
Commitment to the Student

The educator strives to help each student realize his or her potential as a worthy and effective member of society. The educator therefore works to stimulate the spirit of inquiry, the acquisition of knowledge and understanding, and the thoughtful formulation of worthy goals.
In fulfillment of the obligation to the student, the educator—

1. Shall not unreasonably restrain the student from independent action in the pursuit of 
learning.
2. Shall not unreasonably deny the student’s access to varying points of view.
3. Shall not deliberately suppress or distort subject matter relevant to the student’s 
progress.
4. Shall make reasonable effort to protect the student from conditions harmful to learning or to health and safety.
5. Shall not intentionally expose the student to embarrassment or disparagement.
6. Shall not on the basis of race, color, creed, sex, national origin, marital status, political or religious beliefs, family, social or cultural background, or sexual orientation, unfairly:
Exclude any student from participation in any program
Deny benefits to any student
Grant any advantage to any student
7. Shall not use professional relationships with students for private advantage.
8. Shall not disclose information about students obtained in the course of professional 
service unless disclosure serves a compelling professional purpose or is required by law.

PRINCIPLE II
Commitment to the Profession

The education profession is vested by the public with a trust and responsibility requiring the highest ideals of professional service.

In the belief that the quality of the services of the education profession directly influences the nation and its citizens, the educator shall exert every effort to raise professional standards, to promote a climate that encourages the exercise of professional judgment, to achieve conditions that attract persons worthy of the trust to careers in education, and to assist in preventing the practice of the profession by unqualified persons.

In fulfillment of the obligation to the profession, the educator—

1. Shall not in an application for a professional position deliberately make a false statement or fail to disclose a material fact related to competency and qualifications.
2. Shall not misrepresent his/her professional qualifications.
3. Shall not assist any entry into the profession of a person known to be unqualified in 
respect to character, education, or other relevant attribute.
4. Shall not knowingly make a false statement concerning the qualifications of a candidate for a professional position.
5. Shall not assist a non-educator in the unauthorized practice of teaching.
6. Shall not disclose information about colleagues obtained in the course of professional service unless disclosure serves a compelling professional purpose or is required by law.
7. Shall not knowingly make false or malicious statements about a colleague.
8. Shall not accept any gratuity, gift, or favor that might impair or appear to influence professional decisions or action.

Teachers’ concerns for the best interests of students will motivate them to engage in ethical teaching and other educational practices. Teachers must also abide by a number of laws that exist not only to protect students, but also to protect teachers. Make sure you know what professional codes you are expected to uphold. Your action as an individual affects the tone of your community – school and otherwise – as a whole. Make your workspace a place that you’re proud of.

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