If your classroom has students with special needs, modern technology can be a massive blessing. Digital devices and screen capability have helped countless students overcome communication hurdles and obstacles to class participation. While technologies from across the field have been coopted to help students with special needs and disabilities succeed in school, specially designed technology, or “assistive technology,” has proved particularly useful.
Assistive technology in K–12 classrooms is designed to improve the functional capabilities of a child with a disability. While the word technology automatically conjures up images of cutting-edge electronics, some assistive technology is possible with just simple accommodations. Whether high tech or simple in design, assistive technology has the ability to transform the learning experiences for the children who benefit.
With so much talk about mobile devices at K–12 desks and teaching technology for the majority of students, it can be easy to overlook the strides also being made for students with disabilities in assistive technology. Here’s a look at strides being made in some common assistive technology areas:
Alternative Input Devices
These tools are designed to allow students with disabilities to use computers and related technology easily. Some alternative input devices include touch screens, modified keyboards and joysticks that direct a cursor through use of body parts like chins, hands, or feet. Some up-and-coming technology in this area is sip-and-puff systems, developed by companies like Microsoft, to perform computer functions through the simple process of inhaling and exhaling. On-screen keyboards are another area of input technology that is providing K–12 learners with disabilities better use of computers and mobile devices for learning.
Text-to-Speech Options
This technology is making mainstream waves through its use in popular cell phones like the Android-platform Razr M. While it is a convenience tool for people without disabilities, text-to-speech provides a learning advantage for students who have mobility or dexterity problems, or those who are blind. It allows students to speak their thoughts without typing and even navigate the Internet. Text-to-speech options can also “talk back” to students and let them know about potential mistakes or errors in their work.
Sensory Enhancers
Depending on the disability, children may need to learn differently than their peers. Instead of ABCs and numbers first, a child with language hindrances may benefit from bright pictures or colors to learn new concepts. Sensory enhancers may include voice analyzers, augmentative communication tools, or speech synthesizers. With the rapid growth of technology in the classroom, these basic tools of assistive technology are seeing great strides.
Screen Readers
This technology is slightly different from text-to-speech because it simply informs students of what is on a screen. A student who is blind or struggling to see what is on the screen can benefit from the audio interface screen readers provide. Students who struggle to do what so many other Americans accomplish so easily—glean information from a computer screen in a matter of seconds—can learn more easily through technology meant to inform them.
Assistive technology in simple and complex platforms has the ability to lift the entire educational experience and provide a better life foundation for K–12 students with disabilities.
If you have students an Individual Education Plan or any kind of learning disability, consider contacting your district’s special education coordinator to see what kinds of assistive technologies are available to you.
When you think about credit-recovery programs, you likely think of truant or at-risk students. These students, who need a push to catch up after falling behind, are getting lost in the shuffle, leading to lower overall graduation rates in high schools across the country. But with a well-structured academic support system combined with credit-recovery options, district leaders at Lawrence County Community Unit School District experienced a 9% increase in graduation rates.
Now here’s a typical story from Lawrence County CUSD. The only thing between Joe (a senior whose name has been changed) and his hard-earned high school diploma was one English final. Thinking he could breeze by, Joe failed the test, meaning that walking the stage to collect his diploma with the rest of his class was no longer a reality. After a series of meetings with the school’s guidance counselor and the principal, the team created a credit recovery plan. Joe was given three days to complete an entire semester’s work. Two all-night study sessions, three long days in the computer lab, and a passing grade got him a diploma—and the overwhelming feeling of success earned through determination.
Joe was lucky. He had a second chance, something many students don’t ever get. The reputation and perceived expense of credit-recovery and second-chance programs has caused schools across the country to quietly cut these programs, leaving students to find their own options. The truth is, not every student who could benefit from credit recovery or alternative options is an at-risk student. Many are special ed, are working to get ahead of the curve, or graduate on time with the rest of their class.
Lawrence County CUSD started its Second Chance Program about 13 years ago to help the group of nonconforming, at-risk students gain diploma status. Students would leave the traditional classroom setting to receive extra time and help from a specialized teacher. Within eight years, the school’s graduation rates increased dramatically.
But in 2012, funding for Lawrence County’s Second Chance Program was cut, leaving at-risk students to struggle through courses in the traditional classroom setting. Graduation rates quickly dropped to less than 70%. Two years later, the Second Chance Program was revived with a new look, a new name, and a new online component allowing for even more flexibility. Since its resurgence, graduation rates have increased from 70% to 79%. This school year, administrators at Lawrence County CUSD hope to reach their goal of an 85% graduation rate.
Here are the steps Lawrence County CUSD are taking today to dramatically increase their graduation rates after they restarted their Second Chance program.
1. Students get special attention. At Lawrence County CUSD, teacher Barbara Fabyan has her own school within a school classroom at the high school where students needing extra academic support can come during the school day. It’s an environment that removes students from their regular classrooms, so they’re able to concentrate on their schoolwork without distraction. At any given time, she may have a 9th-grade student with an IEP needing special assistance on a project or another student who is at risk of dropping out and without determination may miss the deadline to graduate with the rest of his or her class.
2. Technology is used to make individualized instruction easier. While dozens of students come into her class strictly to recover failed credits, “Odysseyware, the customizable online curriculum program and credit recovery software we use, allows me to restructure entire courses or individual topics and assessments to best fit the student’s needs,” Fabyan said.
Fabyan’s classroom also serves as an alternative for students wishing to work at a faster pace. For example, one of her students had knee surgery and couldn’t participate in gym class. Instead, she worked through an online curriculum provider to earn a year’s worth of history credits in one semester.
Online options give students the freedom to work at their own pace while sticking with Illinois State Standards. Lawrence County offers a blended learning option which, based on the increase in graduation rates, has proven successful for students so far.
3. Fabyan uses a “tough love” approach to teaching in the credit-recovery classroom. “Making mistakes is part of learning,” she said. “When students come in, they know it’s their last chance to complete the work and make it to graduation. Some students have dug themselves a deep hole with truancy and behavioral issues, and they know my classroom is the only place they can go to dig themselves out. It’s a wake-up call.”
4. Students develop an unshakeable belief in themselves. When students enter Fabyan’s classroom, they often have negative thoughts about specific classes, teachers, and school in general—prejudices that hold them back from success. Her mission is to break down the walls of what “school” is and show students success is possible, but it won’t come easy. With the support from her fellow teachers and administration, Fabyan and her students are constantly empowered to beat the odds and push through adversity. It’s the encouragement that keeps the program alive, allows students to reach their goals using whatever means it takes.
5. Students actually get to explore their interests in school. According to the Center for Public Education, 47% of high school dropouts cite “uninteresting classes” as the major reason for leaving, and 35% say “failing in school” was a major factor in dropping out. With the virtual labs, videos, audio, and games that they get from an online curriculum, students are pleasantly surprised, then challenged and engaged.
“My students realize the traditional courses they were taking may have been easier compared to Odysseyware,” said Fabyan. “Students that used to be failing are excelling with more difficult content. They realize they really have to work hard to pass. It’s more challenging, but in a way they are more engaged in the content and actually learning.”
She notes many students saying, “I really feel like I’m learning something,” and, “If I had this online option for more of my courses I would know more, and wouldn’t have fallen behind in the first place.”
That sort of realization makes students sprint to the end and get their diplomas. By the time at-risk students have their certificate in hand, they’ve learned a lot more than the Common Core. They’ve mastered the art of overcoming challenges and are part of changing the reputation of students using credit recovery. And now, because of the great success of the Second Chance Program, classroom teachers all over Lawrence County CUSD are using Odysseyware to better align their lessons with CCSS and engage students in a typical classroom setting.
If you are an educator in a school struggling with graduation rates, what are some steps you are taking to improve them? Feel free to leave a comment.
Ever wondered why boys and girls choose particular toys, particular colors and particular stories? Why is it that girls want to dress in pink and to be princesses, or boys want to be Darth Vader, warriors and space adventurers?
Stories told to children can make a difference.
Scholars have found that stories have a strong influence on children’s understanding of cultural and gender roles. Stories do not just develop children’s literacy; they convey values, beliefs, attitudes and social norms which, in turn, shape children’s perceptions of reality.
I found through my research that children learn how to behave, think, and act through the characters that they meet through stories.
So, how do stories shape children’s perspectives?
Why stories matter
Stories – whether told through picture books, dance, images, math equations, songs or oral retellings – are one of the most fundamental ways in which we communicate.
Nearly 80 years ago, Louise Rosenblatt, a widely known scholar of literature, articulated that we understand ourselves through the lives of characters in stories. She argued that stories help readers understand how authors and their characters think and why they act in the way they do.
Similarly, research conducted by Kathy Short, a scholar of children’s literature, also shows that children learn to develop through stories a critical perspective about how to engage in social action.
Stories help children develop empathy and cultivate imaginative and divergent thinking – that is, thinking that generates a range of possible ideas and/or solutions around story events, rather than looking for single or literal responses.
Impact of stories
So, when and where do children develop perspectives about their world, and how do stories shape that?
Studies have shown that children develop their perspectives on aspects of identity such as gender and race before the age of five.
A key work by novelist John Berger suggests that very young children begin to recognize patterns and visually read their worlds before they learn to speak, write or read printed language. The stories that they reador see can have a strong influence on how they think and behave.
For example, research conducted by scholar Vivian Vasquez shows that young children play out or draw narratives in which they become part of the story. In her research, Vasquez describes how four-year-old Hannah mixes reality with fiction in her drawings of Rudolph the reindeer. Hannah adds a person in the middle with a red X above him, alongside the reindeer.
Children can mix reality and fiction in their interpretation of stories. Margaret Almon, CC BY-NC-ND
Vasquez explains that Hannah had experienced bullying by the boys in the class and did not like seeing that Rudolph was called names and bullied by other reindeer when she read Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Vasquez suggests that Hannah’s picture conveyed her desire not to have the boys tease Rudolph, and more importantly, her.
My own research has yielded similar insights. I have found that children internalize the cultural and gender roles of characters in the stories.
In one such study that I conducted over a six-week period, third grade children read and discussed the role of male and female characters through a number of different stories.
Children then reenacted gender roles (eg, girls as passive; evil stepsisters). Later, children rewrote these stories as “fractured fairy tales.” That is, children rewrote characters and their roles into those that mirrored present-day roles that men and women take on. The roles for girls, for example, were rewritten to show they worked and played outside the home.
Subsequently, we asked the girls to draw what they thought boys were interested in and boys to draw what they thought girls were interested in.
We were surprised that nearly all children drew symbols, stories and settings that represented traditional perceptions of gendered roles. That is, boys drew girls as princesses in castles with a male about to save them from dragons. These images were adorned with rainbows, flowers and hearts. Girls drew boys in outdoor spaces, and as adventurers and athletes.
Drawing by an eight-year-old boy. Author provided
For example, look at the image here, drawn by an eight-year-old boy. It depicts two things: First, the boy recreates a traditional storyline from his reading of fairy tales (princess needs saving by a prince). Second, he “remixes” his reading of fairy tales with his own real interest in space travel.
Even though he engaged in discussions on how gender should not determine particular roles in society (eg, women as caregivers; men as breadwinners), his image suggests that reading traditional stories, such as fairy tales, contributes to his understanding of gender roles.
Our findings are further corroborated by the work of scholar Karen Wohlwend, who found a strong influence of Disney stories on young children. In her research, she found that very young girls, influenced by the stories, are more likely to become “damsels in distress” during play.
However, it is not only the written word that has such influence on children. Before they begin to read written words, young children depend on pictures to read and understand stories. Another scholar, Hilary Janks, has shown that children interpret and internalize perspectives through images – which is another type of storytelling.
Stories for change
Scholars have also shown how stories can be used to change children’s perspectives about their views on people in different parts of the world. And not just that; stories can also influence how children choose to act in the world.
For example, Hilary Janks works with children and teachers on how images in stories on refugees influence how refugees are perceived.
Kathy Shortstudied children’s engagement with literature around human rights. In their work in a diverse K-5 school with 200 children, they found stories moved even such such young children to consider how they could bring change in their own local community and school.
These children were influenced by stories of child activists such as Iqbal, a real-life story of Iqbal Masih, a child activist who campaigned for laws against child labor. (He was murdered at age 12 for his activism.) Children read these stories along with learning about human rights violations and lack of food for many around the world. In this school, children were motivated to create a community garden to support a local food bank.
Building intercultural perspectives
Today’s classrooms represent a vast diversity. In Atlanta, where I teach and live, in one school cluster alone, children represent over 65 countries and speak over 75 languages.
Indeed, the diversity of the world is woven into our everyday lives through various forms of media.
When children read stories about other children from around the world, such as “Iqbal,” they learn new perspectives that both extend beyond beyond and also connect with their local contexts.
At a time when children are being exposed to negative narratives about an entire religious group from US presidential candidates and others, the need for children to read, see, and hear global stories that counter and challenge such narratives is, I would argue, even greater.
Cell phones: good or bad? There’s no denying they’ve made modern life much more convenient. Communication happens at the drop of a hat – or at the click of a button. However, the instant gratification can make cell phones a little too attractive, making it hard for students to let go and focus on learning.
In our increasingly technological society, teachers have to deal with the fact that students as young as seven own cell phones, and many bring them to school. Some schools initially banned cell phones, but with the multitude of tragedies that have happened over the last decade, many have changed their policy. Also, parents pushed for the change, insisting their children needed to use their cell phones to reach them after school hours and to schedule rides. Many schools have now lifted their bans on cell phones.
Unfortunately, while restrictions on cell phone use have either been lifted or relaxed by most school districts, the distractions caused by cell phones and smart phones have increased. This is partly because the cell phones of today allow users to do much more than they could in the past. In addition to texting and making calls, students can take pictures, record short videos, play games, surf the Net, and more.
As a teacher, you’ll undoubtedly have problems with students abusing cell phones by texting each other during class, sending answers to exam questions, and harassing and bullying classmates. Because of this, you’ll need to impose strict rules to combat these issues. Your school may already have rules in place concerning cell phones that they require all teachers to adhere to. If it doesn’t, consider implementing the following rules in your classroom:
Students who are caught using a cell phone in the classroom without permission will have points deducted from their class participation score.
Students who are caught using a cell phone during a test will receive a one- or two-grade deduction from their test score.
Students must place their cell phones in a basket at the beginning of class. When class is over, they can retrieve their phones.
Cell phones in the classroom are not all bad, because they can be used as powerful teaching tools. Many feature multifunction calculators that can be used during math and science classes. The camera can be used to take wonderful photos, and the video feature can be used to take short videos. If your school does not have laptops available for classroom use, students can use the Internet browser on their phone to search for valuable information or to complete complex projects. Students can even use a dictionary app.
The cell phone can be a powerful distraction or an educational tool. You have to decide which it will be in your classroom. Make sure that you explain the school’s policy on cell phones at the beginning of the year. In the absence of formal school rules, you can make your own. Take advantage of this powerful teaching tool, but don’t let it distract your students.
Teachers as Hackers? Isn’t hacking a negative thing? Isn’t hacking all about computers? Two recent conferences used the word “Hackathon” to describe a creative session or an activity taking place in the program. Hacking is becoming a part of the educational jargon.
In the following paragraphs I explore and justify the use of the expression “hacking” to describe the behavior of educators that behave innovatively in the 21st–century education system. Several terms are used to describe teachers who take initiative and change their teaching practices; “leaders” or “change agents.” When leadership is used, it mostly refers to teachers who have accepted formal roles in schools, such as mentoring new teachers or leading team meetings. The term change-agents is often used to describe those who influence others in the organization.
The word “hacker” traditionally describes someone who seeks and exploits weaknesses in a computer system or network. In past decades, the term has had both negative meanings, denoting criminal activity, and positive meanings, using creativity to achieve a goal. Bolstering this positive meaning is the expression “Hacker culture,” which combines excellence, playfulness, cleverness, and exploration in performed activities.
The first time I came across the term hacking outside of the computer world was the Swedish furniture company IKEA, which sells mass production furniture and home goods worldwide. What started as the blog of one creative person who made modifications and repurposed of Ikea products became a dynamic website and a community of IKEA hackers. The hacks (adaptations and adjustments) help users to personalize mass production items and to fit them to their needs in a creative, do-it-yourself way.
The first time I came across the term “hacking” in education was in April 2015 while reading the article The Techies Who Are Hacking Education by Homeschooling Their Kids. Jason Tanz describes California parents who homeschool their children using online resources and innovative teaching methods. It was about the same time that I inquired about issues of teacher leadership and the role of teachers as change agents. It occurred to me that what I perceive as teachers’ innovative behavior (that has the power to reform public education) is actually hacking of schools.
Hackers are expected to find weaknesses, develop creative solutions, and to collaborate with others. Hackers are described as professionals who are passionate and enjoy what they do. Teachers in 21st century schools – at least the successful ones – should act exactly like that. Good teachers are constantly looking for ways to reach their pedagogical goals and act accordingly. They take risks, reflect and explore new practices. The innovation or the hacking should not be the goal itself; it should serve as a platform for educators to succeed and to boost school reforms. Most importantly, hacking is an approach that can help produce the most important outcome of all: enhanced student learning and performance.
We need change, and there are many “right” ways to educate the 21st century youth. It is critical that teachers will lead the way, from the bottom up. Hence, I embrace the term “hacking,” and all it suggests. Hacking should be used to describe the actions of teachers who change their pedagogy and teach in new ways while acting as entrepreneurs. Hacking starts as an individual’s slight action and can grow larger to influence the teaching of others and to create a disruptive change in schools.
Perceiving educators as hackers can help all stakeholders change their perspectives and actions. We should trust teachers and to encourage them to take risks, explore and look for better ways to teach. We need to reform the ways we prepare teachers; to introduce innovative models of hacking and provide them with a relevant skill set. We need to support hacking behaviors by teachers for the future of our education system and for the future of our society.
Education should be an ongoing hackathon.
Maya Wizel is pursuing her PhD in education at Lesley University, and prides herself as being an education hacker. Follow her @MWizel.
**The Edvocate is pleased to publish guest posts as way to fuel important conversations surrounding P-20 education in America. The opinions contained within guest posts are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of The Edvocate or Dr. Matthew Lynch.**
Students today more than ever before need to be empowered to go on to live effective, successful lives. It is important students of all ages have good examples of learning and education in their lives. They also need constructive feedback from teachers that can help them to mature as learners and as people. As a teacher, you are privileged to be able to give them both.
Begin with a Passion For Teaching
Your love for teaching will be the first thing students notice about you as a teacher. It doesn’t matter if you particularly like an individual subject you may have to teach, although that certainly helps. What students need to see in you is a passion for the art of teaching that will tell them that it is important for them to learn.
If you have a passion to teach, it will be translated to your students in thousands of non-verbal ways throughout your classes. They will see it in your eyes, in the invigorating way you talk about your subjects, and even in your tone of voice. The payback for translating your passion to your students will be that some of them will emulate your example and become teachers themselves. If you can demonstrate the best parts of learning it can inspire others to be lifelong learners themselves.
Personal Interest in Your Students Is Vitally Important
The teachers that make the most significant impression on students are those who take a personal interest in their lives. You may be teaching a very large class of students, where it is difficult to get to know each child individually. Nevertheless, in any class there are those students who stand out to you as either being very talented or very needy. You should invest the time to reach out to both of them, because they both need your help in different ways.
Exceptional students need to be spurred on to greater growth. Take college students aside and encourage them to perhaps pursue and online Master’s in higher education. Talk to younger middle school and elementary school students about honing their talents and finding what they are good at. Help them to find out how they can use their personal talents to pursue the career they were meant for.
Needy students can need a challenge for any number of reasons. You will need to take the time out of your schedule to find out why. Perhaps they have a troubling home situation, or may have cognitive challenges. Unfortunately, many students today have chemical addictions as well. Whatever the reason, attempt to help them and put them on the right path. Even a kind note on an essay can be a good personal notice for more shy students.
Share Your Constructive Criticism When Needed
Constructive criticism always has a positive edge to it. Though it may be initially perceived by the student as being negative, it is intended to correct for greater positive growth. It does not beat down or demoralize. In any class of students, it is sometimes needed.
Constructive criticism is something that should always be shared in private. Begin by telling the student the good things you see about him or her. This will get you started off on the right track. Then tell them what you think is holding them back, and how they can make a positive change. After this is done, reaffirm your confidence in them as an individual. If you share your concerns in the right way, it’s possible that the student will heed your advice. Learning from mistakes and error is one of the most important parts of teaching and learning.
Being a teacher is not an easy job, but the reward is that you are allowed to help students to reach their individual potential as human beings, and see them succeed. With positive feedback and constructive criticism you can help student succeed. It’s up to them as much as you to see where the future can take them.
Brooke Chaplan is a freelance writer and blogger. She lives and works out of her home in Los Lunas, New Mexico. She loves the outdoors and spends most her time hiking, biking and gardening. For more information contact Brooke via Twitter @BrookeChaplan.
Children in today’s classrooms will most likely be digital natives, people who were born in the digital era and have used technology all their lives. These students may be more receptive to instruction involving technologies. Technology can be used successfully if a teacher has the tools and knows how to use them. For example, cell phones are often disruptive elements in the classroom. A savvy teacher might take advantage of cell phones as instructional tools, rather than allow them to be an intrusive element in the classroom. The Internet, computers, and communication devices are things that today’s children live with. Using them successfully will increase student enthusiasm about knowledge, and teachers will have the opportunity to lead richer classes.
You’ll be required to find ways to introduce technology into your classroom, not only to make your life easier, but also to ensure that your students are exposed to technology. The modern working world will require even the most unskilled of laborers to be technologically literate, which makes it important for this exposure to begin within the classroom. This will not necessarily require you to make every aspect of the learning process dependent on technology. You could simply use technology to deliver standards-based lessons, or to change some activities to make them more interesting for students. Linking Web-based activities with standards-based curricula will keep students’ attention on what you need to teach them, but it will also help them to think and develop their own understanding of the topic.
The field of technology is advancing rapidly, and you’ll need to remain in touch with ongoing developments to avoid missing opportunities to leverage technology in your teaching practice. Professional development is an essential investment; attending technology expositions or conventions assists pre-service and in-service teachers in learning about available new advances in technology. The staff on hand at these events can explain practical instructional applications. Increasing your understanding will enhance your confidence when introducing technology to your class.
The Internet allows access to nearly limitless information. It’s estimated that the information contained in a week’s worth of the New York Times is more than the information a person in the 18th century would have in a lifetime. Students now have access to online information inside and outside school. And although this information is easy to access and relatively easy to find, you’ll guide students to determine whether it’s reliable and guide them to avoid becoming overwhelmed by the enormous amount of online information.
Consider all the resources, whether in hardware or software, that you have at hand to bring into play in your classroom. Figure out how each can be used as an effective teaching tool. As a teacher, you have little enough time and space already; use technology to make your curriculum bigger and stronger, not just more cluttered.
Caption: A Turnitin study reports that technology tools can overcome psychological barriers struggling students encounter in writing. Pre-writing and frequent, informal writing exercises often guided by technology tools, can help.
In a recent survey of students from middle school to graduate school by Turnitin, half of the 1,400 students who responded said they find it challenging just getting started with a writing project.
For teachers, this shouldn’t come as a surprise. There are always students in every class who, for one reason or another, find it daunting to begin filling a blank page or screen with words. And they aren’t necessarily the worst students in the class: They could be anyone, including the highest achievers.
In talking with several teachers, U.K. researcher Paul Gardneridentifieda number of possible reasons for this problem. For instance, students might be perfectionists, and their fear of “getting it wrong” prevents them from starting to write. They might lack confidence in their ability, or they could be having trouble coming up with ideas—or maybe they’re just reluctant to take risks.
Often, the barriers to writing are deeply psychological in nature. In his paper, Gardner describes how one professional writer can only write on lined A4 paper with four holes punched in the margin. “On an occasion when he mistakenly bought paper with only two holes, he found he was unable to write until he had the correct paper,” Gardner noted.
Students who struggle with their writing need help overcoming these barriers, so they no longer think of writing as a difficult process. This is critical for so many reasons. The ability to write well is essential for academic success—and in today’s Information Age economy, it has become increasingly important for professional success as well.
New state standards place more emphasis on writing skills, and though the SAT has made its essay portion optional as of spring 2016, many colleges prefer or even require applicants to take it. What’s more, writing is the third most highly coveted skill among today’s employers, an analysis by Burning Glass Technologiesfound.
Fortunately, there are a number of strategies and technology tools that can support struggling writers. Here are four key ideas to start with.
Pay attention to the prewriting process.
Prewriting can help students ease into their writing with a clear plan, which makes the actual writing process simpler. During prewriting, students focus on choosing a topic, developing a purpose, identifying an audience, and collecting and organizing ideas. If students spend quality time prewriting, they won’t be as overwhelmed when it’s time to begin writing, making the process less stressful.
Use mind mapping software and brainstorming strategies to help students generate ideas. Encourage outlining and storyboarding to help them visualize and organize their project. Provide prompts and templates to help them get started.
Provide a safe, supportive environment that removes the sense of risk.
Writing is a more intensely personal activity than, say, solving an algebra problem or balancing a chemistry equation—and so students are likely to be more sensitive to critiques of their work. Therefore, it’s critical to put students at ease by establishing a safe, supportive environment where they feel comfortable sharing their ideas and getting feedback.
Establish a classroom culture in which everyone feels supported and valued. Help students understand that all feedback is designed to make them better writers, and provide plenty of encouragement and support.
Also, consider using a software-based formative writing tool, such as Turnitin’s Revision Assistant, to help students receive timely and actionable feedback on their writing. Technology can provide a safe, non-threatening environment for students, because they might be less inclined to feel as if their work is being judged by someone whose approval they desire, such as a teacher or fellow student.
Mix in opportunities for frequent, informal writing.
Not every writing assignment has to be a formal paper with a prewriting process, multiple drafts and revisions, and a final product. Giving students frequent, low-stakes opportunities to write helps them grow as writers, just like exercising every day helps develop one’s muscles.
If you get students writing more frequently—even with short, informal assignments, such as daily journal entries—then writing will become more natural to students, and they won’t be as intimidated when they have to write a formal paper.
Inspire students’ creativity.
There is plenty of researchsuggesting how the design of a learning space affects student creativity and achievement. You can inspire students’ creativity by making learning spaces more inviting and giving students multiple seating options, such as comfy chairs with various textures and colors rather than traditional desks arranged in formal rows.
By giving students a choice in where to sit and work comfortably, you are giving them a sense of ownership over their learning space—which can help them to relax and do their best work.
**The Edvocate is pleased to publish guest posts as way to fuel important conversations surrounding P-20 education in America. The opinions contained within guest posts are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of The Edvocate or Dr. Matthew Lynch.**
A guest post by Kristi Meeuwse, ADE
The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education. -Martin Luther King
Thinking critically and intensively is not reserved for older students. We work diligently to create learning experiences in kindergarten that allow our young students to think deeply about various topics. Having iPads allows us to enrich learning experiences in a way that wasn’t possible before. One of the iPad tools that is often overlooked is iTunes U. Why iTunes U?
It is a free repository of classes and educational content
Students have access to content anytime and anywhere
Content is easily updated and changed
Discussion feature allows rich conversation between students
While there are a large number of free classes available on iTunes U, perhaps you should consider creating your own. With the end of the school year only a few weeks away, it seems odd to be thinking of adding new things to your teaching bag of tricks, but this is the perfect time to do so. You can use some of your summer to create your own courses. It is easy to do. Simply log into the iTunes U course managerusing your Apple ID and add your content. What are the benefits to creating your own course?
Content is more meaningful to students
Content can be customized
Easy to create, easy to update
All resources are in one place: books, documents, videos, images, web links and apps
Here is the link to a Spiders course I created for my kindergarten students as well as one for teachers on Personalized Learningand another coursecreated by a 4th grade colleague about my school and how we innovate instruction using iPads.
iTunes U allows you to customize the learning experience for your students, even the youngest ones. It is also a great way to create a learning portfolio for students. Up to 5 people can collaborate on a course so you and your colleagues can work together and share the wealth. If you aren’t comfortable creating a full course initially, create a chapter and keep adding. It is easy to update any time.
If you aren’t already using iTunes U, consider giving it a try. It will open a whole new world to your students for learning and engaging in content.
Today we will do exciting new things. Let’s get to it.
This post originally appeared on iteachwithipads.net and has been republished with permission.
Kristi Meeuwse teaches kindergarten in Charleston, South Carolina. In January, 2011, her kindergarten class started a 1:1 iPad pilot for the school district and the results so far have been very successful. You can read more about it on her blog iteachwithipads.net.
But giving kids cash for grades and scores hasn’t proved straightforward either. So maybe the answer isn’t monetary.
Could students be better motivated by something as simple as a little formal recognition?
While I was serving as director of the National Center on Performance Incentives at Peabody College of Vanderbilt University, my colleagues and I sought answers in the decisions of various actors in American public schools.
The results may surprise you.
Which incentives encourage positive behavior?
Much of public policy can be characterized as attempts to influence individual behavior and decision-making in organizations.
Those who design and evaluate incentives typically operate under the crude assumption that the “target” is a rational actor (processing all available information and quickly identifying the behavior most likely to be the best one for his or her well-being).
So, policymakers end up offering seemingly beneficial public services at little or no cost. But they still meet with disappointment.
Our recent study attempted to better understand the response to a different kind of incentive – for one of the arguably more imperfectly rationale segment of our population: early adolescents.
We explored how incentives – monetary and nonmonetary – might encourage behaviors that lead to increased student learning, such as daily attendance and afterschool tutoring services (free but chronically underutilized).
We found that adolescents do not respond to incentives in ways that can be easily predicted by economic theory. But the right kinds of incentives could well lead adolescents to engage in behaviors likely to enhance their learning.
Money makes no difference
Here’s how we did our study.
We selected 300 fifth to eighth grade students in a large southern urban school district who were eligible for free, afterschool tutoring services.
Prior research had shown that these particular tutoring services were relatively high quality and had, in fact, increased student’s test score performance. We then randomly assigned these students to one of three groups:
a reward of US$100 (distributed via an online platform) for consistent attendance
certificates of recognition, signed by the school’s district superintendent, mailed to the student’s home, again for consistent attendance
a control group, which received no experimental incentives.
We found that the students who were offered up to $100 for regular attendance were no more likely to attend sessions than if they were offered nothing at all.
In other words, money made no difference.
Alternatively, when students received a certificate of recognition for attending tutoring sessions regularly, the differences were dramatic. The students in the certificate group attended 42.5% more of their allotted tutoring hours than those assigned to the control group.
Gender, parents and peers
Gender also played a role. Girls were significantly more responsive to the certificate of recognition than their male counterparts.
On average, girls in the control group attended only 11% of the tutoring hours assigned to them. However, girls receiving the certificate attended 67% of their allocated hours, representing a six-fold increase.
What’s more, the boys that received certificates attended more than two times as many of their allocated tutoring sessions in comparison to the male control-group students. But the girls in the group that received the certificates attended nearly twice as many of their allocated tutoring sessions than the boys who were eligible for certificates of recognition.
Overall, sending certificates directly to the parents seemed to have been effective. One reason for this could be that parents were more likely to reinforce the child’s extra effort when the certificate was received at home.
Often in school settings, parents are not hearing positive news when they are contacted by their child’s school – and this might be especially true of these students who qualified for tutoring services.
This is one time where the parent heard: “way to go, keep it up.” And they heard it directly from the district superintendent.
In addition, a student’s effort was not necessarily observable to peers, which could have helped facilitate the positive response.
Prior research suggests that the promise of certificates and trophies presented in a class or at a school assembly in front of peers might not necessarily act as a positive incentive. Academic achievement can often result in diminished social status among peers, especially for minority students.
Human behavior and education policy
Indeed, a recent study of a performance leaderboard system that publicly ranked students in a computer-based high school course in Los Angeles Unified School District was associated with a 24% performance decline.
The authors attributed this to students trying to avoid social penalties by conforming to prevailing norms.
For these reasons, working with the family to encourage and reward academic behaviors may hold more promise, compared to working directly through school settings where peer pressures and norms play an important role.
Policymakers and philanthropists in New York and Memphis are currently trying to interrupt a cycle of generational poverty through the Family Rewards Program. It is providing cash rewards to families who improve their short-term health care, education, and labor market participation and outcomes.
The impact results of this program are still awaited. This program doesn’t test other forms of incentives such as certificates.
But there are important implications for education policy discussions and whether cash should be the primary driver of human behavior, particularly for adolescents.
The results of our study show that children’s learning behaviors to incentives change in unpredictable ways. And these behaviors aren’t easily accounted for by models of individuals as rational decision-makers.
Our study provides evidence that for policies to influence adolescent behavior, they may need to draw from research and theory beyond classical economics or behavioral psychology, including what we are learning about the teenage brain and it’s sociocultural environment.
In short, we need to look at policies that are less Adam Smith and little more Friday Night Lights.
